The G7 secures Ukraine with a system of guarantees and safeguards until NATO membership, which will only happen after the end of the war. “Kiev has never been so close,” said Secretary General Stoltenberg at the end of the Vilnius summit. President Zelenskyy accepts the result and recognizes the allies’ line, but reiterates that he will not accept “any compromise”. Lavrov’s reply: “NATO has returned to Cold War patterns. Moscow will respond to threats to the best of its ability.” During the night there were new Russian airstrikes, and the Ukrainian counter-offensive neutralized 10 drones
Kiev shot down 20 drones and 2 missiles in attacks on the third night
Russia launched 20 drones overnight, mainly against the Kiev region, and all 20 were shot down. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force, which also reports that two cruise missiles were intercepted. The Air Force also reported that a ballistic missile was not intercepted, but gave no details of the damage it caused. This is the third straight night of attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, hours after the end of the NATO summit in Lithuania. A drone strike by Russian forces on Kiev and Iran-made Shahed drones has caused one death. The government of western Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi region said a cruise missile had been intercepted over the region and reported no casualties. “We appreciate the painstaking work of the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine,” wrote the regional administration in Telegram.
Lavrov, F-16s in Ukraine as a nuclear threat to Moscow
The F-16s in Ukraine will pose a “nuclear” threat to Moscow. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov: The West poses an existential threat to Russia
With its actions, the West poses an “existential threat” to Russia, which will defend itself with all “available” means. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with the online newspaper Lenta.ru. After the start of the special military operation, “the USA and other NATO and EU countries have greatly intensified the hybrid war against Russia that began in 2014. Aggressive moves by these warring states pose an existential threat to Russia.” There is no doubt about that,” stressed the head of Russian diplomacy.
Lavrov, negotiations in July? Unreliable News
The reports about possible negotiations in July to solve the situation in Ukraine are “unreliable”. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the Russian newspaper Lenta.ru, according to the Russian news agency “Tass”. On June 26, German television station ARD reported that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine could officially start in July. On this occasion, the German broadcaster spoke of an international meeting on Ukraine that would take place on June 24 in Copenhagen at Kiev’s request with the participation of diplomats from Western countries and representatives “under conditions of the highest secrecy” from Brazil, India, China and South Africa. “We have received no such signals. Given the stubborn desire of Kyiv and its Western allies to escalate hostilities, there is every reason to believe that this information is unreliable,” Lavrov said.
Zelenskyy: good result of NATO. No to compromises on the territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is satisfied with the NATO summit that ended in Vilnius on July 12 and speaks of a “good result”. The President of Ukraine ruled out the possibility of a compromise on Kiev’s future NATO membership in the framework of possible negotiations with Russia on the territories. This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda. “We will never exchange the status of any of our territories, even if it is a village where a grandfather lives,” Zelenskyy said yesterday at the end of the NATO summit in Vilnius. We will not give up our territories and we will never trade them for a frozen conflict. That will never happen. “My position is clearly known to our partners,” he added.
Kiev shot down a dozen drones in the attack on the capital
Ukrainian forces shot down a dozen Russian drones over the skies of Kiev overnight, while Moscow launched its third airstrike on the capital in three days, the city’s military administration said on Telegram, according to Ukrinform. “The 505th day of the Russian Federation’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. “For the third day in a row, Kiev has been attacked with Shahed’s blocking ammunition,” said the city’s military administration chief Sergiy Popko. There was a massive Iranian drone strike last night. The unmanned aircraft entered the capital from different directions. About a dozen enemy targets were identified and destroyed by air defense forces and means in Kiev’s airspace. As previously reported, the attack killed one civilian and injured four others, two of whom were hospitalized. Popko said the latter were a 19-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man who were both hit by broken glass.
Russian air raid on Kiev at night, one dead
One person died and four others were injured in an air raid by Russian forces on Kiev last night: Ukrainian anti-aircraft guns shot down an as yet unknown number of Russian missiles and drones, the debris of which damaged several buildings. This was announced by the mayor of the capital, Vitaly Klitschko, via telegram. Strong explosions could also be heard from the ANSA hotel’s air-raid shelter.
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