A day after large-scale rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities, Russia resumes its attacks. The airstrikes are primarily aimed at power supply facilities in Ukraine. In the capital Kyiv, people have to prepare for planned blackouts. Dhe countries of the G7 group speak out after the war crimes attacks and pledge further support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video conference. After a long wait, Ukraine will receive the first modern air defense system IRIS-T-SLM from Germany.
Russia launches more airstrikes
In retaliation for the Crimean Bridge bombing, Russia has again bombed cities across Ukraine. The targets are said to have included the public infrastructure in the west, far from the front. The mayor of Lviv said about a third of the city had no access to electricity after air strikes on Monday and Tuesday. Around 300 Ukrainian towns across the country are said to be without electricity.
The city of Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine, near the front, was hit by 12 rockets on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian authorities. As a result, one person was killed. In Kyiv, the alarm sirens sounded continuously for five hours in the morning. Unlike on Monday, however, no rockets hit the Ukrainian capital. However, DTEK, the capital’s electricity supplier, announced regular power cuts as a result of the shelling. They should alternately affect different parts of the city.
The bombings were less severe than Monday’s attacks, which targeted energy, military and communications infrastructure nationwide, but also hit purely civilian targets such as a university, a playground and parks. According to the latest information, at least 19 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
G7 wants to hold Putin accountable for war crimes
The seven leading democratic economic powers have strongly condemned the recent Russian missile attacks on Ukraine and pledged further military support to the Ukrainian armed forces. After a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement recalling that “indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constituted a war crime”. “We will hold President Putin and those responsible to account,” it said, referring to the Kremlin chief.
Lavrov brings up meetings between Putin and Biden
The Russian leadership is open to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden. If Washington were to offer a meeting at the G20 summit, Moscow would consider it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Russian state television. According to him, the Kremlin would also be prepared to “listen to any proposals for peace talks” – for example, mediated by Turkey. However, he could not say in advance where this process would lead, Lavrov explained. He then further qualified that there had been no proposals to get in touch with the USA.
Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking substation in border region
Shortly after its own violent attacks on the neighboring country, Russia in return accused Ukraine of attacking a Russian power plant near the border. “Ukrainian forces shelled a substation in Shebekino,” Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in his Telegram channel on Tuesday. As a result, more than 2,000 people in the western Russian region were cut off from the power supply. Gladkow also published a photo showing a large fire and thick smoke. Initially, there was no reaction to the accusation from Kyiv.
Ukraine receives first German IRIS-T air defense
According to a report, Ukraine has received the first German air defense system IRIS-T-SLM. The handover took place near the Polish-Ukrainian border, reports the “Spiegel”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had originally promised Ukraine the delivery at the beginning of June. According to the federal government, it is the most modern air defense system that the Federal Republic has at its disposal. The Bundeswehr itself does not yet use the weapon. The 140 million euro system consists of four vehicles – a fire control device and three rocket launchers. It should be able to protect a medium-sized city from air attacks.
NATO doubles its presence in the Baltic and North Seas
According to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO has doubled its presence in the Baltic and North Seas after the “sabotage” of the Nord Stream pipelines. According to this, more than 30 ships of the alliance partners are now in use in the waters. They would be supported from the air and by “underwater capacities”, said Stoltenberg in Brussels. Four leaks were discovered off the Danish island of Bornholm on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that run from Russia to Germany. According to an official Danish-Swedish report, the leaks were caused by explosions with enormous explosive power.
Germany and the Czech Republic agree to exchange armored rings for Ukraine
The armaments group Rheinmetall will deliver 15 combat and recovery tanks to the Czech Republic to support Ukraine. As the group announced, the NATO partner will receive the “Leopard 2A4” battle tank and the “Buffalo” armored recovery vehicle. In the course of the exchange of rings, the Czech Republic is for its part handing over military equipment and tanks of Soviet design to Ukraine. The group announced that a corresponding agreement had been concluded in Prague with the German and Czech governments. The total order value is said to be around 157 million euros.
Kyiv: Bodies of dozens of civilians exhumed in retaken towns
According to Ukrainian sources, the bodies of dozens of civilians have been found in two cities recaptured by the Ukrainian army in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. “Numerous mass graves have been discovered in the liberated cities of Sviatohirsk and Lyman,” the prosecutor general’s office in Kyiv said. 34 bodies were exhumed in Sviatohirsk and 44 bodies in Lyman. Some of the bodies exhumed in Sviatohirsk are said to show signs of “violent death”. According to the attorney general’s office, more than 100 graves were found in a cemetery in Lyman. Among the 44 bodies that have already been exhumed is a one-year-old child who was buried with his entire family.
Kyiv: More than 30 soldiers released after prisoner swap
Despite Russia’s recent violent attacks on Ukraine, another exchange of prisoners has taken place between the two countries, according to information from Kyiv. “We managed to free 32 of our soldiers,” wrote the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak Facebook. He also published a photo showing some of the men on a bus. Many of them had previously been considered missing. Initially, there was no information about the exchange from Moscow.
London: Russian army runs out of ammunition
According to British secret services, Moscow is increasingly running out of ammunition in the Ukraine war. “We know, and Russian commanders at war know that they are running out of equipment and ammunition,” said GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming, according to a pre-release speech transcript quoted by the BBC. Russian President Vladimir Putin makes “misjudgments” and “strategic mistakes”.
Strack-Zimmermann demands battle tanks for Kyiv
Before the consultations of the G7 states with the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann calls for an increase in arms deliveries to Kyiv. “In this acute situation, we must continue to support Ukraine with military material,” Strack-Zimmermann told the newspapers of the Funke media group. For the fighting in the south of the country, Ukraine primarily needs tanks, she adds. “Ukraine’s wish is primarily for the Leopard 2 main battle tank, but they would also be very grateful for the Marder infantry fighting vehicle,” says the chair of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
IAEA chief calls for nuclear protection zone at meetings with Putin
At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called for a protection zone around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia. “We mustn’t lose any time,” said Grossi after the meeting in St. Petersburg. The situation around the nuclear power plant occupied by Russia is “increasingly dangerous, unstable and challenging” because of the frequent military attacks.
To avoid a nuclear accident, Grossi proposed the establishment of a ceasefire zone. Demilitarization with troop withdrawals is not part of the plan. At the beginning of the meeting, Kremlin chief Putin said that Russia was ready to discuss the “situation” surrounding the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “In any case, we are open to this dialogue and glad to see you.”
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