Key developments on June 27:
- Ukraine's drones strike 4 Su-34 fighter jets in Russia's Volgograd Oblast, Normal Employees says
- North Korea deployed 20% of Kim's elite 'private reserve' to battle in opposition to Ukraine in Russia, Umerov says
- Professional-Palestinian activists reportedly destroy army gear meant for Ukraine
- Zelensky indicators decree to synchronize Russia sanctions with EU, G7
- Russia's short-range drone strikes trigger over 3,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine, UN studies
Ukrainian drones struck 4 Su-34 fighter jets on the Marinovka airfield in Russia's Volgograd Oblast in a single day on June 27, Ukraine's Normal Employees stated.
The operation was carried out by the Particular Forces and the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) in cooperation with different army items, according to the General Staff.
Volgograd Oblast is situated some 900 kilometers (560 miles) southeast of Moscow.
In keeping with preliminary information, two Russian fighter jets had been destroyed, and the opposite two had been broken. Russia makes use of such plane to bomb Ukraine, notably to drop guided aerial bombs, the General Staff stated.
The assault additionally prompted a fireplace within the airfield's technical and operational unit, a facility the place fight plane are serviced and repaired, in line with the Normal Employees.
The Kyiv Unbiased couldn’t independently confirm these claims.
As Russia intensifies aerial assaults on Ukraine and the civilian death toll climbs, Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks on Russian territory. The latest surge in drone strikes goals to disrupt airport operations, overwhelm air defenses, and mount stress in opposition to the Russian inhabitants.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
North Korea deployed 20% of Kim's elite 'private reserve' to battle in opposition to Ukraine in Russia, Umerov says
North Korea has already deployed round 11,000 elite troops to help Russia's warfare in opposition to Ukraine, accounting for greater than 20% of North Korean chief Kim Jong Un's elite "private reserve" power, Protection Minister Rustem Umerov stated throughout a June 26 press briefing.
"These are troopers specifically chosen primarily based on bodily, psychological, and different standards," Umerov stated. "These items have already suffered important losses."
Umerov stated intelligence signifies North Korea had thought of sending extra forces to battle with Russia. Nevertheless, in line with Umerov, the transfer would additional deplete its strategic reserves and enhance dangers to regime stability. There have been 4 recognized rotations of North Korean items deployed in opposition to Ukraine, in line with Umerov.
In keeping with a June 15 report from the UK's protection intelligence, North Korea has doubtless sustained greater than 6,000 casualties in Russia because the deployment of troops to Kursk Oblast in fall 2024.
U.Okay. intelligence attributed the excessive casualty charge to giant, extremely attritional dismounted assaults.
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Russia's rising army partnership with North Korea has raised considerations in Kyiv and amongst its allies. The 2 international locations signed a Complete Strategic Partnership Settlement in 2024. The treaty commits each international locations to supply help if both is attacked.
Kim beforehand described the pact as having a "peaceable and defensive nature," framing it as a proper safety assure between the longtime companions.
In follow, Umerov stated, North Korea is bearing the army burden, whereas Russia has not upheld its reciprocal obligations, elevating considerations throughout the North Korean regime.
"Russia's use of elite North Korean troops demonstrates not solely a rising reliance on totalitarian regimes but additionally critical issues with its mobilization reserve," Umerov stated. "Along with our companions, we’re monitoring these threats and can reply accordingly."
Umerov added that Ukraine, working in coordination with its Western companions, is intently monitoring the motion and deployment of North Korean items deployed to battle in opposition to Ukraine. He stated Russia's dependence on international forces might sign vital shortages in its personal recruitment and mobilization efforts.
In keeping with South Korea's Nationwide Intelligence Service, North Korea is prone to ship extra troops to Russia over the summer season. Pyongyang may additionally ship as much as 25,000 laborers to Russia to help drone manufacturing, in line with the report.
The extra troop deployment would come on prime of what Seoul estimates is already substantial help from North Korea, which incorporates the cargo of over 10 million artillery shells and ballistic missiles in change for financial and technical help from Moscow.
The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk
Professional-Palestinian activists reportedly destroy army gear meant for Ukraine
Round 150 pro-Palestinian activists have damaged right into a storage facility and broken army gear meant for Ukraine, the Belgian information outlet 7sur7 reported on June 26.
The ability belongs to OIP Land Methods, an organization that produces army gear for Ukraine. The activists reportedly thought the gear can be provided to Israel.
The activists, who had been sporting white overalls and masks, took half within the Cease Arming Israel marketing campaign. The protests search to stress Belgian authorities to take care of the army embargo in opposition to Israel and impose sanctions on it.
The protesters, armed with hammers and grinders, first entered the corporate's places of work, the place they smashed computer systems, after which broke into the hangars, the place they severely broken some automobiles, Freddy Versluys, CEO of OIP Land Methods, stated.
Because the starting of the Russian invasion, the corporate has provided the Ukrainian military with about 260 armored automobiles. The injury brought on by the activists' actions is estimated at $1.1 million, in line with 7sur7.
"An additional supply has now been delayed by at the very least a month. That's all these Hamas sympathizers can have achieved with their motion," Versluys stated.
The corporate was reportedly focused by pro-Palestinian protesters as a result of Elbit Methods, an Israeli protection firm, owns it.
Protesters consider that Elbit provides 85% of the drones and a lot of the floor army gear utilized by the Israel Protection Forces, 7sur7 reported.
But, the OIP Land Methods CEO claimed that his firm has not produced protection methods for Israel for over 20 years.
OIP Land Methods has offered protection merchandise to Ukraine on a number of events, together with Leopard 1 tanks, that are manufactured on the Tournai plant.
Zelensky indicators decree to synchronize Russia sanctions with EU, G7
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on June 27 to coordinate sanctions in opposition to Russia with worldwide companions, notably the European Union and the Group of Seven (G7), the President's Workplace stated on its web site.
A day earlier, EU member states' leaders gave their political consent to increase the sanctions beforehand imposed on Russia for its warfare in opposition to Ukraine.
The EU Committee of Everlasting Representatives (CORPER) additionally prolonged sectoral sanctions in opposition to Russia for an additional six months on June 26, European Pravda reported, citing a diplomatic supply. The sanctions embody restrictions in opposition to whole sectors or industries of the Russian financial system or areas of operation of Russian companies.
In the meantime, the individuals didn’t approve the brand new 18th bundle of sanctions, which focused Russia's vitality and banking sectors, because of Slovakia's veto.
Zelensky's June 27 decree implements a call by Ukraine's Nationwide Safety and Protection Council's (NSDC) to synchronize the sanctions in opposition to Russia with the EU and G7.
In keeping with the doc, sanctions authorized by accomplice states have to be submitted to the NSDC for consideration and approval no later than the fifteenth day after the accomplice state's determination comes into power.
The Cupboard of Ministers, the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Nationwide Financial institution of Ukraine should additionally make sure the implementation of sanctions authorized by worldwide companions in Ukraine.
After the seventeenth bundle of sanctions in opposition to Russia took impact on Could 20, Ukraine's allies introduced the next day that one other spherical of restrictions was already within the works.
The push for tighter sanctions comes as Russia continues to reject ceasefire proposals and presses ahead with army operations.
Russia's short-range drone strikes trigger over 3,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine, UN studies
Brief-range drone assaults have turn into one of many deadliest threats to civilians in Ukraine’s front-line areas, killing at the very least 395 folks and injuring 2,635 between February 2022 and April 2025, in line with a brand new bulletin by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The report, "Lethal Drones: Civilians at Threat from Brief-Vary Drones in Frontline Areas of Ukraine," highlights the rising use of first-person-view (FPV) drones by Russian forces and their devastating influence on the civilian inhabitants.
The bulletin paperwork assaults through which drone operators intentionally focused civilians partaking in each day actions — driving personal automobiles, using bicycles, strolling outside, or evacuating others in clearly marked ambulances.
"Though individually much less damaging than artillery or missiles, the sheer scale and growing frequency of short-range drone assaults have made them one of many deadliest weapons in Ukraine," stated Danielle Bell, head of the mission.
"Over 3,000 civilian casualties — and the relentless frequency of those assaults — haven’t solely prompted immense human struggling but additionally instilled worry, severely disrupted each day life, and crippled entry to important providers in a number of frontline communities."
The monitoring mission documented, verified, and analyzed 3,030 civilian casualties ensuing from short-range drones between 24 February 2022 and 30 April 2025.
The researchers performed web site visits to very high-risk areas, together with the southern metropolis of Kherson, Zolochiv in Kharkiv Oblast, and different front-line places. Investigators interviewed survivors and witnesses of drone assaults, medical personnel, and humanitarian employees to evaluate the total influence of those strikes on civilian life.
Casualties surged in late 2023 and early 2024, with numbers abruptly doubling in July 2024. April 2025 marked the deadliest month on document, with 42 civilians killed and 283 injured. Drone strikes continued into Could and June.
On 23 June, a 65-year-old driver was killed in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, when a drone struck a minibus. In Kharkiv area, a 58-year-old volunteer was killed on 22 Could when a drone dropped a munition on a residential balcony. On 20 Could, six civilians had been injured when a drone hit a bus in Kherson Oblast.
The overwhelming majority of casualties — 89% — occurred in territory managed by the Ukrainian authorities. The UN says these assaults violate worldwide humanitarian legislation, notably the ideas of distinction and precaution, and should in some circumstances represent warfare crimes.
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