Last news • War in Ukraine
Naval sailors destroyed 10 "Shaheds" on the evening of June 21 – Ukrainian Navy
On the evening of June 21, Ukrainian naval sailors destroyed 10 enemy kamikaze drones "SHAHED-136". The Southern Protection Forces are prepared for a brand new wave of Russian assaults.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to attend a NATO summit in The Hague subsequent week, the European Council confirmed on June 20.
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte are set to fulfill Zelensky on June 24.
Zelensky was reportedly reconsidering attending the NATO summit, as questions stay over U.S. President Donald Trump's participation, the Guardian reported on June 17, citing unnamed Ukrainian officers.
A schedule launched by the European Council on June 20 confirms Zelensky's deliberate participation on the occasion.
A Ukrainian official informed the Guardian that Kyiv is in a "everlasting hazard" of changing into a sufferer of "Trump's brief consideration span," including that Russia has exploited this uncertainty with contemporary aerial assaults.
There have been "all types of guarantees for this summit," together with U.S. arms, the supply mentioned.
Zelensky was scheduled to fulfill U.S. President Donald Trump on the Group of Seven (G7) Summit, held June 15-17.
Trump left the multilateral occasion early as a result of renewed battle between Israel and Iran.
Zelensky met with numerous leaders, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Zelensky left the summit early, citing Russia's mass drone and missile assault on Kyiv.
On June 17, a Russian drone and missile assault on Kyiv killed 30 folks and injured one other 172. The almost nine-hour-long strike noticed Moscow's forces launch giant numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine's capital.
Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the assault, describing it as a "large and brutal strike" timed intentionally to coincide with the G7 summit.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
Air alert declared throughout Ukraine: what is understood
On the night time of June 21, an air alert was declared in Kyiv and all areas of Ukraine because of the risk of the usage of ballistic weapons from the northeast.
Russia's memorandum on a peace proposal is the "greatest provide Ukraine can get at the moment," Russia's envoy to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, stated at a UN Safety Council assembly on June 20.
"In the course of the direct Russian-Ukrainian talks that have been held, we introduced our memorandum on a peaceable settlement. It consists of two elements: situations for a complete long-term peace and situations for a ceasefire," Nebenzya stated.
"That is the most effective provide Ukraine can get at the moment. We advise accepting it as issues will solely worsen for Kyiv, from right here on out," he stated.
At Istanbul peace talks on June 2, Russian negotiators informed the Ukrainian delegation that their so-called "peace memorandum" is an ultimatum Kyiv can not settle for, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview printed on June 10.
"They even informed our delegation: we all know that our memorandum is an ultimatum, and you’ll not settle for it," Zelensky stated. "Thus, the query just isn’t the standard of the Istanbul format, however what to do in regards to the Russians' lies."
"In Istanbul, we additionally agreed on a large-scale trade of prisoners of struggle," Nebenzya stated on the UN Safety Council assembly on Ukraine.
Other than agreeing on large-scale prisoner exchanges, peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have been largely inconclusive as Moscow continues to problem maximalist calls for towards Kyiv.
Nebenzya famous that Ukraine and Russia ought to resume direct peace talks in Turkey after June 22, regardless of Russia's intensified drone and missile assaults on Ukraine.
On June 17, a Russian drone and missile assault on Kyiv killed 30 individuals and injured one other 172. The practically nine-hour-long strike noticed Moscow's forces launch massive numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine's capital.
Russia's statements diverged from these of different audio system on the UN Safety Council assembly on June 20.
"We name on Russia to comply with an unconditional ceasefire. Russia initiated this struggle; we name on Russia to finish it," Barbara Woodward, the U.Ok.'s Everlasting Consultant to the UN, stated.
Russia has illegally laid declare to 5 Ukrainian areas regardless of not controlling the entire territory. The areas embrace Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, in addition to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova
Kremlin plans to "re-educate" 56,000 Ukrainian youngsters in "Artek" – CNS
Russia plans to "re-educate" 56,000 Ukrainian youngsters by 2026 within the "Artek" camp below the guise of recreation. This crime is a systemic destruction of Ukrainian identification and a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 20 condemned Russia's makes an attempt to advance in Sumy Oblast, as Moscow intensifies its rhetoric of maximalist calls for towards Ukraine.
"The Russians had numerous plans and intentions there — completely insane, as traditional. We’re holding them again and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy Oblast," Zelensky stated in his night deal with.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, earlier on June 20, claimed that "all of Ukraine" belonged to Russia, citing the Kremlin's propaganda speaking factors. Moscow often claims that Russians and Ukrainians are "one folks."
Putin singled out Sumy, saying that "the town of Sumy is subsequent, the regional heart. We don't have a activity to take Sumy, however I don't rule it out."
Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast borders Russia and often faces Russian shelling in addition to drone and missile assaults.
"There was a gathering of the Workers — a really detailed report on the frontline. Specific consideration was paid to the Sumy Oblast, to operations within the border areas. I’m grateful to our items for his or her resilience," Zelensky stated.
Ukraine continues efforts to work with its allies to extend funding in protection manufacturing, he stated.
"The amount of assist this yr is the most important for the reason that begin of the full-scale warfare," Zelensky famous.
Ukraine and Russia held direct peace talks in Turkey on Could 16 and June 2. The efforts have been largely inconclusive, with Moscow reiterating maximalist calls for in the direction of Ukraine.
The 2 sides have been in a position to agree on large-scale prisoner exchanges. Regardless of the efforts, Russia has intensified drone and missile assaults on Ukraine.
On June 17, a Russian drone and missile assault on Kyiv killed 30 folks and injured one other 172. The practically nine-hour-long strike noticed Moscow's forces launch massive numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine's capital.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
Russian military attacked a high-rise constructing in Sumy with a
On June 20, the Russian military attacked a high-rise constructing in Sumy with a Lancet assault drone, injuring a 75-year-old girl. The roof and about 20 home windows in two five-story buildings had been broken.
Ukraine's Unmanned Programs Forces (USF) introduced on June 20 the institution of a brand new command group that can unite the department with different high drone models within the nation's navy.
Drones have develop into one of many defining instruments of the full-scale warfare, used extensively by each Ukraine and Russia for surveillance, long-range strikes, and tactical battlefield firepower.
The brand new formation will unite all navy models of the USF with the Drone Line, a challenge launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky in February this 12 months to coordinate and broaden 5 of the nation's strongest drone models.
The brand new command umbrella was created to "enhance the effectivity of administration, rework the Forces, and adapt to the necessities of recent warfare," based on the assertion.
The models will function inside a single chain of command, with an outlined construction and a standard imaginative and prescient of unmanned aerial car (UAV) techniques with the intention to harmonize approaches, set up joint work, and use unmanned methods extra successfully in fight, the USF mentioned.
The Unmanned Programs Forces had been created as a separate department of Ukraine's navy in June 2024.
At the moment, Ukraine's strongest present drone models served in different branches of the protection forces, together with the Floor Forces, Nationwide Guard, and the Safety Service of Ukraine.
The newly-created group will probably be led by Main Robert Brovdi, higher identified by his callsign Magyar, whom Zelensky appointed because the commander of the USF in early June.
Brovdi had beforehand served as commander of the eponymous Magyar's Birds Unmanned Programs Brigade, a founding member of the Drone Line initiative and some of the persistently high-performing drone models within the Ukrainian navy.
A world-first phenomenon, Ukraine's Unmanned Programs Forces works to enhance the nation's drone operations, creating drone-specific models, ramping up coaching, growing drone manufacturing, and advancing innovation.
The USF has additionally carried out a whole lot of operations deep inside Russian territory.
Following in Ukraine's footsteps, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the creation of his nation's personal particular person drone department on June 12.
Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, beforehand deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was named the primary commander of the USF on June 10, 2024.
Brovdi changed Sukharevskyi, who was dismissed on June 3.
In keeping with navy personnel who spoke anonymously to Ukrainian information outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi's relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the start of the USF's formation.
Sukharevskyi's appointment was a choice by president Zelensky, not Syrskyi, sources mentioned.
Folks near each Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi additionally claimed the 2 males prevented face-to-face interactions.
The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova
Russian troops wounded a pregnant girl in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
On Might 29, 2024, Russian troops launched an assault in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, wounding a pregnant girl. She was hospitalized with a mine-explosive harm to her limbs and stomach.
The start of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts' occupation in 2014, the battle for Mariupol in 2022, and the seize of Avdiivka in 2024 are not simply episodes of Russian aggression in opposition to Ukraine. They’re now missions within the new Russian online game Squad 22: ZOV.
Practically a yr after the Russian studio SPN introduced in July 2024 that it had began engaged on the sport in cooperation with Russia's Protection Ministry, Squad 22: ZOV turned obtainable totally free in Russian, English, and Chinese language on Steam, a world distribution platform with over 30 million lively customers each day.
Earlier than the sport begins, gamers select from characters from Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, the place Moscow launched its 2014 invasion underneath the false pretext of defending Russian audio system from persecution, a baseless declare broadly debunked as Kremlin propaganda.
Within the recreation, the characters say they’re searching for to "deliver peace" to their homeland — however underneath the Russian flag. Their mission is to seize positions held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and advance deeper into Ukrainian territory, repeating Kremlin narratives that painting Russia’s struggle as a response to “Kyiv’s terror,” one other certifiably false declare.
The brand new recreation will not be the primary time Russia has used video video games as a automobile for propaganda aimed toward younger audiences. However it’s the first to deal with Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, that includes actual battles and characters primarily based on precise people.
Nearly instantly after it was revealed on Steam, the sport was unavailable in Ukraine. As of June, it has obtained combined evaluations. However consultants interviewed by the Kyiv Unbiased stated that even when the sport fails to draw a large viewers, it nonetheless poses a menace — and there’s nothing to cease Russia from persevering with to develop one other, doubtlessly more practical instrument for spreading its propaganda.
"Saying that Squad 22: ZOV promotes the genocide of Ukrainians, justifies the terrorism of the Russian military, and presents itself as 'a savior from the Nazis' is an understatement," Mykhailo Hrabar, a Ukrainian gaming blogger with a nickname OLDboi, informed the Kyiv Unbiased.
The primary Russian tutorial on how one can wage struggle in UkraineSquad 22: ZOV was produced by Russian nationwide Alexander Tolkach, who held varied positions, together with in Ukraine, earlier than engaged on the online game.
Tolkach was a diplomat in Europe, led exterior communications at DTEK, Ukraine's largest personal power firm, and labored for Hungarian online game developer Gaijin Leisure, notably on the Struggle Thunder online game standard amongst troopers as a army simulator.
In an interview with pro-Russian army blogger Kirill Fedorov, Tolkach stated Russia's Protection Ministry contacted him at first of 2024 to develop a recreation as quickly as potential "to show that we will." Tolkach additionally stated that Russian corporations are often reluctant to make video games concerning the Russian struggle in Ukraine due to their dependence on worldwide companions and the specter of sanctions.
"The Russians try to determine how far they’ll go along with their future, costlier, technically superior video games, with which they’ll appeal to the eye of Western gamers and pour something into their ears."
"We needed to launch our personal studio. The work continued, and we launched the sport in 9 months (on the native market). It’s not the proper one, however we’re not ashamed. And most significantly, we confirmed individuals: 'Look, nothing occurred to us,'" Tolkach stated on Might 20 on Fedorov Reside, referring to sanctions or bans from the worldwide gaming neighborhood.
The sport often refers to pro-Russian narratives that glorify the Russian military and justify Russian aggression, calling for the "liberation" of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories fron Ukraine. The builders additionally stated on the sport’s web site that they consulted with those that participated in Russia's struggle in Ukraine, together with Vladislav Golovin, a profession Russian army officer who took half within the siege of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast in 2022.
In line with the sport's description on Steam, Squad 22: ZOV is really useful by the Russian military as a primary infantry tactical handbook for cadets and members of Yunarmiya ("Youth Military"), the state-sponsored youth group that mixes ideological indoctrination with army coaching for kids and youngsters.
Oleh Kulikov, an esports analyst, informed the Kyiv Unbiased that the truth that a recreation is really useful on the state stage could curiosity a mean person much more than its content material. In line with the knowledgeable, Squad 22: ZOV is of low high quality and will likely be troublesome to have an effect on a variety of customers worldwide.
"For essentially the most half, propaganda video video games are low-grade and unattractive, and that is the place the Barbra Streisand impact is available in," Kulikov stated, referring to a phenomenon the place an try to cover one thing solely brings extra consideration to it.
Oleksandr Petryk, a Ukrainian esports commentator with the nickname Petr1k, echoed Kulikov's stance, saying that Squad 22: ZOV has graphics of video games launched within the early 2000s, and is unlikely to draw younger individuals in the best way that the Ukrainian online game S.T.A.L.Ok.E.R. has. Nevertheless, even when somebody by chance downloads the sport overseas and sees the interpretation of occasions in Ukraine from a Russian perspective, it would play into Russia's fingers, he added.
How to withstand Russian propaganda in our on-line world?Squad 22: ZOV, made in a matter of months and brazenly funded by the Russian authorities, is unlikely to trigger large-scale injury to Ukraine, however a greater Russian product can, the consultants interviewed by the Kyiv Unbiased stated.
"The Russians try to determine how far they’ll go along with their future, costlier, technically superior video games, with which they’ll appeal to the eye of Western gamers and pour something into their ears," recreation blogger Hrabar stated, including that Russia is already creating higher tasks, notably about Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries.
In line with the consultants, Steam, owned by the American Valve Company, has already been concerned in scandals when controversial video games had been revealed on its platform that illegally collected person knowledge or had a plot that contained sexual violence and had been eliminated solely after public outcry. The truth that Steam permitted Squad 22: ZOV was no shock.
"Steam has very weak moderation, which is partially carried out not even by Valve staff, however by lively neighborhood members," Hrabar stated. "After the platform canceled the Greenlight system, which allowed the neighborhood to vote for video games to be revealed, the pipe burst. Now you may get to the platform even with a bit of crap."
Esports analyst Kulikov added that to successfully counter Russian propaganda in video video games, Ukraine should develop its personal, thereby selling the Ukrainian model on the worldwide market. On the identical time, the Ukrainian authorities ought to reply to the launch of such propaganda tasks as Squad 22: ZOV.
"Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry wants to succeed in out to corporations like Valve Company, the very subsequent day after the sport is launched or introduced," Kulikov stated.
"Even when it doesn't work, it would assist to develop connections to ascertain operations and stop one thing extra severe from occurring sooner or later. And it’s certain to occur."
Hello, that is Kateryna, the writer of the article. Thanks for studying. The struggle between Ukraine and Russia has lengthy gone past the battlefield, and Russian propaganda is broadly unfold within the media, films, and video video games. The sport Squad 22: ZOV is considered one of many examples of Russian propaganda instruments, focusing on some of the weak audiences, youth. If you wish to see extra articles like this, and help us in countering Russian propaganda, contemplate becoming a member of our neighborhood at present.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York