Bob Homans June 18

20220620 (out of sequence - my Internet was down)

Ukraine – 6/18 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
June 18, 2022

Latest Denis

The most significant news in Denis’ latest report is the Ukrainian counterattack toward Izyum, northwest of Sievierodonetsk.   Also, yesterday Denis reported about the sinking by 2 Harpoon missiles of a Russian seagoing tug loaded with supplies bound for Snake Island in the Black Sea.

Russia’s Plodding Offensive – Finally, an Explanation

Today’s Wall Street Journal finally provided the explanation I’ve been looking for, why with Russia’s 10 – 20/1 artillery advantage can they not cover more territory.   It’s all about manpower.  Russia is throwing conscripts into the fight, without adequate training.   When Russia holds its annual draft every April, it usually takes 4 months of training before they become combat ready.   Russia started its “special operation” at the end of February, or just before the end of Russia’s normal 12-month enlistment period.   Those who were drafted on April 1st likely were brought into the fight before they were fully trained.   Now, they’re adding additional conscripts who have little or no training.   Thus Ukraine, if they don’t have a manpower advantage, they clearly have a training advantage.   There is a 30-day waiting period for joining territorial defense.

Re-Opening of the Odesa Opera House

This is a wonderful article from the New York Times, about the re-opening of the Odesa Opera House.   The performance started with the singing of the National Anthem of Ukraine.  When reading the article, I started to cry.  I cannot think of a better way for Ukraine to stick its fingers in Putin’s eye, than by performances of defiance like this.

6/18 Sitrep (my comments in bold face)

One of my current interlocutors often talks about the fog of war.  Making sense of the abundance of current information and misinformation is difficult.  Interpreting events is harder.

Ukraine’s military yesterday published a partial list of Ukrainian equipment losses since the start of the invasion.  It also reported about successful attacks in Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Kherson over the past week.  Further it reported successful counter attacks, defensive battles and territorial losses last week as well.

Over the same period Russia’s military did not report about equipment losses, counter attacks, or defensive battles.  It only reported about its successful conquest of Severodonetsk, which it is struggling to conquer to this day.  Russia’s biggest loss in this war, the battle cruiser Moskva, was reported by Russia’s military because of an accidental explosion in its munitions hold. Russia does not report losses of any kind.

There is no doubt that there are good reasons why any military withholds or limits information about its operations.  However, when there is not even a feather weight of truth released the negative consequences far outweigh the benefits of secrecy. 

Russia’s soldiers and officers, who are losing daily to Ukraine, even though they outgun and outman the Ukrainians, to this day have no idea what they are doing in Ukraine. Their deliberate ignorance is the result of Russia’s decision to lie or say nothing to its own armed forces. As a result, Russia’s armed forces are doing poorly or losing except in battles with unarmed defenseless civilians, infrastructure and dwellings.

INTERNATIONAL

Analysts and company sources report that some of the new Samsung smartphones cannot be activated with the Russian SIM card due to regional restrictions imposed by Samsung.

Ministry of Trade and Industry:  Russia plans to revive automobile brands «Volga» and «Pobeda».    Due to sanctions, other Russian passenger vehicles are being sold without seatbelts and airbags.   When I first came to Ukraine, in mid-2005, I was at a meeting and my host offered to provide me with a ride back to my office.   When I got in the front passenger seat and tried to put on my seatbelt, the driver stuck his hand out and said “no, no, no.”  Apparently by my wanting to use the seatbelt I was casting aspersions on his driving.  Things have changed substantially since then – a small example of Ukraine’s continuing embrace of the Rule of Law.

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:  Norway has introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia and Putin’s regime.  The sanctions are aimed at limiting Russia’s ability to finance the war against Ukraine.

●        In particular, Oslo banned the import of crude oil and other oil products from Russia into the country. “We support the EU on sanctions against Russia. Now we ban the import of oil, which is transported by sea from Russia to Norway.”

Political scientist Sergey Markov:  Medvedev is trying to show Putin that he can be trusted; that is why he is sharply speaking about Ukraine and the West.  Several people close to him, like Arkady Dvorkovich, have left Russia. And concerns have risen about Dmitry Medvedev himself. He shows Putin that he is a patriot. I have a feeling that there are also some personal reasons. He is exaggerating.

The Wall Street Journal: Russian forces conducted a series of operations against the US-led coalition in Syria this month, including one at a strategically located base in the southern part of the country.   American military officials are concerned that this could escalate into a direct conflict between the US and Russia in Syria, which the US wants to avoid.

Reuters: The United States is afraid to sell Ukraine Grey Eagle drones.  The reason is the fear that "the complex equipment of drones could fall into the hands of the Russians.”  

This is another example of the Biden Administration making a promise, and then reneging on the promise – they previously announced that they were sending Grey Eagle drones.  Another example is, according to some reports some of the M-777 howitzers that the U.S. is delivering to Ukraine are coming without the guidance systems, the absence of which make the howitzers significantly less accurate.  The reason given is that there are U.S. export controls on the guidance systems.   If so, why not waive them, or is that too difficult?

RTV Slovenia:  Minister of Defense - Slovenia has exhausted the military stocks that it can transfer to Ukraine.  According to him, in the last batch, Slovenia supplied Kalashnikov assault rifles, helmets, body armor and 35 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The minister added that the supply of weapons these days is still ongoing. In the future, Slovenia may offer Ukraine assistance with mine clearance and instruction or training for Ukrainian troops.

DPA:  German Chancellor said that some countries and some leaders should talk to the President of the Russian Federation, and these negotiations should be "clear," Scholz said, without explaining which countries he was talking about.

●        Ukraine will receive German weapons for the battle for Donbas. “We will supply an anti-missile system that can save Odesa or Kyiv. We also decided together with the UK and the United States that we will supply multiple launch rocket systems,” Scholz added.

CNN:  The Japanese airline Zipair has announced that it will remove the letter Z from its aircraft on June 18. Its customers are concerned that the logo with it may indicate support for Russia's war against Ukraine.   Other possible candidates for removal include the U.S. car rental company “ZipCar,” and “Zippo” cigarette lighters.

Kaliningrad Governor:  Railway transit of goods to the Kaliningrad region from other regions of Russia will be significantly curtailed by the Lithuanian authorities.  Explanations from the European Commission that import is based on which the transit was carried out earlier no longer applies because of sanctions.

February Morning:  Ex-presidential candidate of Belarus Valery Tsepkalo noted the low motivation of Belarusians to fight against Ukraine.  No one believes, either inside Belarus or myself, that Lukashenka can attack Ukraine,” he says.

RND:  Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called the impasse in the implementation of the Minsk agreements one of the reasons for the current war in Ukraine.  Also, in her opinion, the reasons were her resignation from office, elections in France and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

●        At the same time, Merkel did not rule out that she could again become a mediator in the settlement of hostilities between Ukraine and Russia - God help Ukraine!

●        Angela Merkel gave the 2019 Commencement Address at Harvard.   She came not as Chancellor of Germany, but as a private citizen.  It was my 50th Harvard College Reunion.  Rather than using the occasion to discuss NordStream II, sanctions and other important issues, on her way out the door as Chancellor she used the occasion to trash Donald Trump (but without using his name).   Most attendees loved it; much as I might’ve agreed with her sentiments, I was disappointed.

Pentagon: *The United States has allocated about $5.6 billion to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The Armed Forces received more than 1,400 Stingers, over 6,500 Javelins, 126 howitzers, 700 Switchblade drones, 20 Mi-17 helicopters and other military equipment.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister:  Denmark has officially confirmed its support for the status of an EU candidate for Ukraine.

BFMTV:  Macron says that "under normal conditions, Ukraine should not have become an EU candidate", but the context of the war in the country changes the situation.

●        Macron adds that the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine is a "strong political gesture" that will need to be ratified over the next few years.

RTL:  Prime Minister - The Netherlands are ready to support granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate country.

Norway has joined the EU sanctions against Russia, – the government says.  "Now we ban the import of oil transported by sea from Russia to Norway", – the statement says.

Associated Press: US President - Putin will not stop at Ukraine, Europe will be in chaos if the US and NATO do not intervene.  Despite political risks and a blow to the American economy, the United States must confront Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine.

Swedish Foreign Minister:  Sweden supports the granting of EU candidate status for Ukraine, as well as for Moldova.

Krone:  Gazprom" limited gas supplies to Austria.  "If necessary, given the significantly lower demand, these volumes can be replaced with gas from storage and the spot market," -the company added.

Belarus President: Poland has intentions to take Western Ukraine. We must react here. Because we cannot allow the Poles to surround us. This is a dangerous option. And I once said: the Ukrainians will also ask us with the Russians so that we can help them maintain territorial integrity.

●        Minsk is not going to fight in Ukraine, but if they hit Mozyr, then we will hit Kyiv without entering Ukraine.

●        Warned Kyiv against attacks on the Russian Federation.  Under no circumstances should this be done. Because Russia will use a new level of weapons. And he will apply it to Kyiv, to those who make these decisions.

EU Commissioner:  The European Commission claims that the possibility of opening membership talks with Northern Macedonia is completely blocked by the Bulgarian government.

Moldova Deputy Prime Minister:  Moldova is discussing gas supplies with Azerbaijan: there are real chances that Chisinau will soon have an alternative source of fuel. “There are real chances that Moldova will buy gas from Azerbaijan, this will be an opportunity to diversify the sources of supplies. I will not name specific dates, but in the coming years we will have a guaranteed alternative.”

Presidential Spokesman:  The President of the Russian Federation decided to postpone the speech at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum for an hour due to the massive DDOS-attacks on the SPIEF systems.

●        The United States, having proclaimed victory in the Cold War, declared itself" "God's messengers - Putin at SPIEF-2022.

●        16.7% is big inflation, but we will work with it.  The task is to restore final demand, to maintain production.

●        Sanctions against Russia are insane and thoughtless.

●        Putin said today that the decision to start a war against Ukraine was forced because "the West was actively developing the Ukraine’s military and continues to do so now." He also emphasizes that ""all the tasks of the ""special operation"" will certainly be solved."

●        Fighting is always a tragedy. But this is a necessary measure

●        Putin on Ukraine's accession to the EU: We have nothing against it, this is not a military bloc.

President of Kazakhstan: Russia has been and remains the most important trading partner within the Eurasian Economic Union for Kazakhstan; at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

●        Kazakh President Tokayev tells Putin that the "DPR" and "LPR" are quasi-states, and his country does not recognize them.

Zelenskyi will take part in the G7 summit to be held in Germany on June 27 via video link, the German Cabinet reported.

Bloomberg:  The European Commission has decided to recommend granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate country. The decision to grant or deny candidate status on June 23-24 will be taken by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels.

●        The European Commission also recommended granting Moldova the status of a candidate for EU membership," said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

●        At the same time, Georgia has not received such a recommendation from the European Commission.

●        Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective, we want them to live with us in the European dream

Ukrainian President’s Office: The European Commission has provided an action plan that should be implemented to start Ukraine's negotiations on EU accession.

ZDF:  Scholz said that only Ukraine can determine which terms of the agreement with Russia will be fair.  No one in Europe can and will not dictate this," the German chancellor said.

AFP:  German Network operator GRTgaz said today that the company has not received gas from Russia via the pipeline since June 15.

British intelligence: In Russia, the war has accelerated the state's long-term path to authoritarianism - the possible introduction of a 20-year sentence for those who fight against the Russian Federation, criminal prosecution for protesting and speaking out against the war.

NATIONAL

Ministry of Health:  In Ukraine, only 32 medical infrastructure facilities out of all those that Russians damaged by missiles and shells have been completely restored.   In total, the Russians damaged 618 medical institutions, of which 118 were completely destroyed.

National Security and Defense Council:  Military assistance from the United States under the lend lease procedure has not yet begun.  Weapons from the United States to Ukraine under the law on land lease will begin to arrive in the coming months.  It could be July-August, possibly September.

●        Some say that Ukraine loses up to 1,000 troops daily at the front.  However, they do not have access to such information.  He added that he did not know how these statements could be made but noted that "we must answer for our words."(Ed - David Arakhamia Head of Zelensky’s political party said this on live TV two days ago,)

"Voice of America":  David Arakhamia Head of Zelensky’s Political Party - Ukraine may resume negotiations with Russia after holding a counter-offensive in August. We do not want to share our plans with Russians because they can see them in open sources. But I believe we will launch a counter-offensive in some places.

British Intelligence:

●        In the last 48 hours, Russia has likely renewed its efforts to advance south of Izium, advance deeper into the Donetsk region and envelop the Severodonetsk Pocket from the north.

●        As of 14 June, Russian and separatist officials have claimed they are attempting to establish humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to evacuate Severodonetsk.

●        Russia has precedent, both earlier in the Ukraine campaign and in Syria, of using unilaterally declared ‘humanitarian’ corridors as a mechanism to manipulate the battlespace and impose the forced transfer of populations.

●        Ukrainian civilians trapped in Severodonetsk are likely to be suspicious of using the proposed corridor.

●        Options to leave the town are limited by the destruction of bridges, but Russia’s proposed route would take them towards the town of Svatove, deeper inside Russian-occupied territory.

●        If trapped civilians don’t take up the offer of exiting via a corridor, Russia will likely claim justification in making less of a distinction between them and any Ukrainian military targets in the area.

Russian military journalist:  A battalion commander of the so-called "police of the DNR" with the call sign "Pulia" was killed in Donbas.  He was reported killed in an accident, but there are no photos of the crash.

Institute for the Study of War:

●        Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, was fired due to mass casualties among Russian paratroopers. The Kremlin appointed the current chief of staff of the Central Military District, Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky(a native of the Donetsk region), as Serdyukov’s replacement and named the Deputy Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces.

●        Russian forces are continuing to deploy additional forces to support offensive operations in the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk area

●        Russian forces continued efforts to sever Ukrainian lines of communication to Lysychansk, both from the north toward Sloviansk and in the south near Bakhmut.

●        Ukrainian forces are likely conducting a counteroffensive northwest of Izium intended to draw Russian forces away from offensive operations toward Sloviansk.

●        Ukrainian forces and aviation continued to strike Russian logistics and fortifications in occupied settlements along the Southern Axis (Kherson Region).

●        Russian forces continued to regroup and transfer personnel within the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Cabinet of Ministers proposes to prematurely terminate the powers of local deputies of parties that are banned in Ukraine.  As of June 17, 2022, the 8th Administrative Court of Appeal (Lviv) banned 10 parties due to pro-Russian activities that pose a threat to Ukraine: "Opposition Bloc", "Socialists", "Justice and Development", "Ours", "State", "Vladimir Saldo Bloc, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Sharia Party, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces.

The Ministry of Defense:  For the first time announced the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in equipment during the war.

●        We lost about 50% of our equipment.

●        About 1,300 infantry fighting vehicles,

●        400 tanks

●        700 artillery systems

General Wesley Clark’s statement about “thinking the unthinkable” concerning porrible NATO physical presence in Ukraine, is perhaps becoming more thinkable.   There are now two direct threats to NATO members emanating from Ukraine: 1. The prospect of a protracted war, like the 8-year war between Iraq and Iran in the 1980’s, but this time on NATO’s doorstep; 2. The inability of Ukraine to export its wheat harvest, leading to food shortages in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, leading in turn to large movements of refugees that will affect NATO members.   Regarding No. 1, Russia needs to stand down and get out of Ukraine, because Ukraine won’t stop fighting until Russia does so.  Russia has threatened to obliterate Ukraine and its people.   Regarding No. 2, it is becoming clear that the only solution is de-mining Ukraine’s ports, naval escort and air cover for the grain carriers, combined with naval protection of Ukraine’s southern coast, including Russia abandoning Snake Island, to ensure against a possible Russian amphibious attack.   NATO is the only organization that is in the position of addressing both threats.

Supervisory Board:  There are 107 bags with the remains of Russian soldiers in the refrigerators of 'Ukrzaliznytsia', before there were almost 300.

Ministry of Defense:  The mobilization will last as long as it is necessary to staff all the units that are defending the state from the Russian troops.  Mobilization is inappropriate to be divided into waves and stages. The mobilization is being carried out in accordance with the presidential decree and in connection with the introduction of martial law in Ukraine.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

07:51 JUNE 18

●        In the Sloviansk direction, Russians continue to focus on conducting an offensive in the direction of the Sloviansk town. Fighting continues.

●        Fighting continues for the Severodonetsk city. To improve the tactical position of the unit, Russia tried to carry out assault operations outside the city but had no success.

●        In the Bakhmut direction, near Hirske, Hirske and Kodema, Ukrainian soldiers once again inflicted losses on the Russian army. After an unsuccessful assault, the Russians withdrew.

19:18 JUNE 17

●        In the Kharkiv direction, to identify weaknesses in the defense of Ukrainian troops in the areas of Dementiivka, Rubizhne and Piatyhatky, the Russians activated sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The Armed Forces of Ukraine discovered them and inflicted losses. The enemy retreated.

●        Not far from Kochubiivka, the Russians tried to conduct reconnaissance in force. The Ukrainian defenders gave them no chance of success, and the enemy retreated with losses.

●        In the Sloviansk direction, the main efforts of the Russian army are concentrating on continuing the offensive in the direction of Sloviansk, the fighting continues. The Russians tried to conduct reconnaissance in force near Krasnopillia, but failed and retreated.

●        Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine forced the Russians to leave the village of Dmytrivka, the Izium district of the Kharkiv region.

●        Fighting continues to establish full control over the city of Severodonetsk.

●        In the areas of Syrotyne and Metiolkine, Ukrainian soldiers successfully repulsed the assault. The enemy retreated to their previously occupied positions with losses.

●        Ukrainian defenders suppressed an attempt by enemy reconnaissance in force with selective fire near Hirske.

●        Also, the enemy again unsuccessfully conducted assault operations in the areas of the settlements of Berestove and Kodema. Failed and left.

●        The Russians attempted assault operations near Nyrkove, the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian military fire forced to abandon this idea. Now the enemy is counting his losses.

Reuters:  Johnson offers Zelenskyi a massive training program for Ukrainian troops on British soil.  We are talking about a program with the possibility of training up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers every 120 days.

●        Johnson says that negotiations on the future of Ukraine can begin when there are no Russian troops on its territory, and then security guarantees will be provided to Kyiv.

Tamila Tasheva, the representative of the President of Ukraine for Crimea said Ukraine is considering all means of returning the annexed Crimea, including the military one, and adds that approaches to the return of the peninsula have changed after February 24.

Energy Minister:  The United States will help Ukraine get through the next heating season.  According to him, they discussed increasing the supply of nuclear fuel by the American company Westinghouse, which will allow Ukraine to completely abandon Russian nuclear assemblies at its nuclear power plants.

●        The reserve of the energy system of Ukraine is sufficient not only to meet domestic demand for electricity, but also for export to the EU countries.

Minister of Culture and Information:  Ukraine does not agree with the decision by the European Broadcasting Union regarding the impossibility of holding the international song contest Eurovision 2023 in the country.

Prosecutor General; A teacher who called the atrocities in Bucha "staged plots" will be tried in the Zhytomyr region.

Ministry of Education and Science:  The Russian Federation is trying to find lists of Ukrainian graduates of military age.  A letter is being circulated on social networks instructing the heads of educational institutions to compile lists of military-age graduates. The document was allegedly signed by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science.  The Ministry emphasizes that this letter is a fake and another example of the information war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

President’s Office:  The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated 1023 settlements previously occupied by the Russian army. The restoration of infrastructure in the de-occupied territories continues.”

Intelligence Directorate Ministry of Defense:  Announced the acceleration of the process of checking candidates for joining the Legion "Freedom of Russia".

President:  Ukraine introduces visa regime for Russian citizens from July 1 – Long overdue!

●        The head of the international committee of the State Duma, said that Russia has no reason to introduce a visa regime with Ukraine in response to its decision.

Ministry of Finance:  The state budget of Ukraine received 1 billion Canadian dollars (equivalent to 773 million US dollars) of soft loans from Canada.  The funds were raised in accordance with the loan agreement between Ukraine and Canada.

State Security Service: The SSU neutralized an extensive network of Russian agents, which was coordinated by Aksionov's adviser.  Aksionov is the Chief Minister for Crimea.  Just before Russia’s invasion, in 2014, Aksionov was Head of a Party that received around 4% of the vote in Crimean Parliamentary elections. Prior to Russia’s invasion, Crimea was an autonomous republic within Ukraine.  Before entering politics, Aksionov was a small-time criminal.   The Security Service of Ukraine conducted a large-scale special operation, during which 19 Russian agents were detained in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk and Vinnytsia regions.

●        The detainees corrected the rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities and reconnoitered the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, collected information about the places where Russian prisoners were kept, the SSU reported.

●        The SSU neutralized a criminal group operating in Kyiv under the guise of a volunteer battalion.  The gang included 5 people of different nationalities. Their activities were led by a native of Dagestan, controlled by representatives of the Russian special services.

Minister of Defense:  Not everything can be revealed - about the supply of weapons to Ukraine after the "Ramstein-3" meeting.  He stressed that the deliveries are of high quality, and what kind of weapons they are will be announced later. I had the opportunity to communicate with partners "NATO de facto". I am glad that my colleagues confirmed that Ukraine is already a de facto member of this family.

British intelligence: The Russian army made attempts to pick up the pace in the Popasna direction to encircle Severodonetsk from the south.

CHERNIHIV

First Deputy Interior Minister:  Russian troops shelled the Chernihiv region with shells with propaganda leaflets assigned to the residents of the Chechen Republic.  "Citizens of the Chechen Republic! They are trying to drag you into an armed confrontation with federal troops. They are trying to force you to protect the interests of others. The interests of local tycoons, leaders, gangs, terrorists, - the leaflet says.

SUMY

Regional Military Administration:  Russians fired on the Krasnopol community of the Sumy region today; at lunchtime, two drones flew into the territory, one of which dropped an explosive device, and the other was destroyed.

●        In the evening, the Russians began mortar shelling from the territory of Russia, 24 mortars. Closer to the night, shelling from "Grad" began, in total about 80 rockets. Civilian infrastructure and utilities were damaged.

POLTAVA

Regional Military Administration: Kremenchuk is under enemy attack. 6-8 Russian missiles hit the refinery and other infrastructure. All details later. The threat of blows remains. Stay in the shelters!

●        The Russians attacked an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, where six to eight rockets were launched on June 18.

KHARKIV

Mayor: Today a Russian missile hit the industrial zone of the city of Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region.  As a result of the Russian missile, critical infrastructure was destroyed.  One person was injured. Later the number injured increased to 3.

LUHANSK

Ministry of Defense:  The Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled the assault and pushed back the Russians in the area of Zolote.

Regional Military Administration:  At present, evacuation from the bomb shelters of the Severodonetsk Azot association is impossible.  Physically getting out of the plant is now impossible and simply dangerous due to constant shelling and fighting. There are 568 people in the shelter, including 38 children.

●        Russians are unable to break through in Toshkivka and Zolote. Many forces had thrown at the cutting of the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, but they did not succeed. Lysychansk is heavily shelled, but we bring humanitarian assistance every day. There is a huge problem with humanitarian aid.

●        9:28 June 18 The situation in the Lugansk region is difficult but controlled. The fiercest battles are around Severodonetsk, but the city is not fully controlled by the Russians. There are heavy battles in the neighbouring villages.

●        The Russians assaulted Nyrkove. Ukrainian soldiers forced them to withdraw.Russians conducted airstrikes on Syrotyne and Borivske.  Five wounded were evacuated to the Dnipropetrovsk region

●        The Russians are re-shelling the area at all the bridges, which are no longer suitable for movement. They opened fire on Synetskyi and Pavlohrad near Sievierodonetsk.

●        Lysychansk is completely under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the infrastructure is broken there, there is no gas and water. The city is not shelled as often as Severodonetsk, but the shelling is more powerful. The destruction is catastrophic.

●        15:26 June 17: Heavy fighting continues in Severodonetsk, in the areas of Toshkovka and Zolote.

DONETSK

National Police:  Russian troops shelled 12 settlements in Donbas killing and wounding civilians. Thirty-four civilian facilities, the vast majority of which were residential buildings, were destroyed.

●        A policeman who had brought a woman in labor to the hospital on time was asked to become the godfather of the child. «We took with us a paramedic, first aid kits and were prepared to deliver a baby on the road under shelling»

Mayor:  Slavyansk is preparing for the offensive of the Russian troops, expected from day to day.  "Judging by the statements of the Russian side, the enemy's attack on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk is expected any day. The front line has lined up directly along the Seversky Donets River, and this is perceived by the residents of the city with concern.

Regional Military Administration During today, Russians killed 4 civilians of Donbas: 2 - in Panteleymonivka, 1 - in Bakhmut and 1 - in Krasnogorovka. Another 6 civilians were injured

●        Territorial defense fighters in the Donetsk region shot down a Russian Mi-35M helicopter.

Adviser to the mayor:  In Mariupol, every day 10-15 people seek medical help with symptoms of cholera or dysentery.

●        In Mariupol, people collect technical water from puddles. The problem with drinking water has increased.  "So much so that there is no water, especially where the occupiers have reported that the water supply has been restored. People are forced to pick up technical water from puddles and use it for life,"

Social Media:  Shelling has resumed in temporarily occupied Donetsk, hitting the Kyiv district of the city.

ZAPORIZHIA

Berdyansk City Council:  Explosions were heard in temporarily occupied Berdyansk last night; part of the city was cut off from electricity.

Regional Military Administration: Russian troops continue to destroy houses of civilians and other infrastructure in the Huliaipole district of the Zaporizhzhia region. Previously, because of Russian shelling, several injured residents of the regional center were taken to the hospital with injuries of varying severity.

●        According to intelligence, from Russian barracks in Mykhailivka, Vasylivka district, where the place of residence of Russians was previously recorded, there was a case of desertion of 60 Russian soldiers.

KHERSON

The head of the Kherson Regional Council called on local residents to leave the region. He advised to leave, in particular, through the temporarily Russian-occupied Crimea, recognizing that this is now the only way to leave Kherson in an organized manner.

DNIPRO

Regional Military Administration:  Russian troops shelled the Kryvyi Rih and hit the village Velyka Kostromka with artillery. There is destruction. People did not suffer.

MYKOLAIV

The Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council decided to ban the use of the Russian language in middle schools from September 1.

National Police:  Average of 65 damaged objects per day are the consequences of attacks on the Mykolaiv region.  Over the past 24 hours, the Russians launched missile strikes on Mykolaiv and shelled the Lyman, Chervonyi Yar, Lepetykha, Kavkaz, and Polihon villages. There are dead and injured, including children.

Regional Military Administration:  reported 2 died and 20 were injured as a result of a missile strike on Mykolaiv that hit the Crystal and Equator factories.

KYIV

Social Media:  Children sell lemonade. The proceeds are donated to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Regional Military Administration: Loud music and fireworks have been banned in Kyiv.  Non-compliance with the regime of silence negatively affects the psycho-emotional state of the inhabitants of Kyiv.

Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins.  Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.

SOURCES

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/ 

https://euromaidanpress.com/

https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis

www.ubn.news