06/20/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:41 Ukraine: “Biggest blow” is yet to come +++
According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, the “biggest blow” in the Ukrainian armed forces’ offensive against the Russians is still to come. The military operation is difficult because Russia is doing everything it can to stop the offensive, Maliar says on Telegram. The enemy will not give up their positions so easily. Ukraine must prepare for a tough duel. This is currently happening. The Ukrainian troops advanced as planned. The “biggest blow” is yet to come.
+++ 00:25 Navalny wants to start a new campaign against Putin +++
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny announces a new campaign against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. “We will conduct an election campaign against the war. And against Putin,” he explains about his lawyers. Despite the ban on his movement, it could have a great impact through targeted messages, since “every grandma now has WhatsApp and Telegram”. The campaign will be classified by the authorities as “illegal and subversive,” Navalny predicts. Nevertheless, they will fight with all their might against “the apparatus of war, corruption and stupidity”.
+++ 23:14 Selenskyj: So far no terrain lost in counter-offensive +++
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian army has not suffered any losses in its ongoing counter-offensive. “In some areas, our fighters are moving forward, in some areas they are defending their positions and withstanding the attacks and intensive attacks of the occupiers,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address. “We didn’t lose any positions, just liberated.” According to Kiev, Ukraine has liberated eight villages and a good 113 square kilometers in the two weeks since the counteroffensive began. Recently, however, there was also talk of bitter resistance by the Russians and of a “difficult situation” at the front.
+++ 22:21 fire in the center of Moscow +++
A fire broke out in the center of the Russian capital Moscow. According to initial reports, a five-storey building on Novoslobodskaya Street near the Slava rugby stadium is on fire. Further details are not yet known.
+++ 21:45 Macron: Samp/T anti-aircraft system in use in Ukraine +++
France and Italy have delivered the Samp/T air defense system to Ukraine, which is now in use. The system protects key installations and human lives there, says French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Samp/T is an air defense system jointly developed by France and Italy since the early 2000s. It is considered flexible and effective for defense against aircraft and missiles. Italy has five units deployed. The system, including the launcher for the rockets, is mounted on trucks.
(Photo: IMAGO/ABACAPRESS)
+++ 21:16 report: Bundeswehr has a large gap in artillery ammunition +++
According to a report by “Spiegel”, the Bundeswehr has a serious shortage of artillery ammunition after earlier rounds of austerity measures and military aid to Ukraine. “The current inventory of explosive projectiles with a caliber of 155 millimeters is around 20,000,” the news magazine quoted from documents from the Federal Ministry of Finance. However, due to current NATO requirements, the Bundeswehr must have a stock of around 230,000 pieces of this type of ammunition by 2031. An accelerated purchase of 155 millimeter bullets is “absolutely necessary” and should now be ordered from existing framework agreements.
+++ 20:56 Ukraine wants to bring foreign arms companies into the country +++
Ukraine is in favor of a branch of Western armaments companies on its territory. Future deterrence will require a strong defense industry in Ukraine and a strong Ukrainian armed forces, Sergyi Boyev, Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries, said at the Paris Air Show. “That’s why we think it’s so important that international partners come to Ukraine, set up production and integrate Ukraine into the security framework of the free world.”
All events from the previous day can be found here.