505th day since the beginning of the war. 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 number is one dead and four injured. Among them are a 19-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man, both of whom were struck by broken glass caused by falling debris from downed drones. The head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, spoke of a “massive attack” and explained that the drones “entered the capital from different directions”.
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. Summarizing the outcome, President Zelenskyy acknowledges the allies’ line, but adds that “nothing counts but membership”.
“Ukraine will join NATO when conditions allow,” said Giorgia Meloni
In the final declaration of the summit, a kind of Cold War 2.0 is born: the alliance reconsiders its strategy and returns to defense against Russia, also with Beijing in mind. “We united the world to support Kiev. “Compactness is a model for all challenges,” says US President Biden at Vilnius University. Lavrov’s reply: “NATO has returned to Cold War patterns. Moscow will respond to threats to the best of its ability.”
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Analysis – NATO Becomes ‘World Policeman’, But Can It Replace Weary America?
What happened yesterday
07:06
Zelenskyy: “No territorial compromise to NATO. We will not trade a single village”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out the possibility of a compromise on Kiev’s future NATO membership in possible negotiations with Russia over 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.
06:49
Kiev: A dozen Russian drones shot down overnight
Authorities in Kiev said they shot down a dozen Russian drones in Kiev’s airspace overnight in Russia’s latest airstrike on the capital. This is reported by the city’s military administration on Telegram. One person was killed in the offensive and four others were injured
06:16
Russian General Ivan Popov fired: ‘They got rid of me because they don’t like the truth’
A senior Russian general commanding the armed forces in occupied southern Ukraine was suddenly dismissed from his post after he accused Moscow’s Defense Ministry leadership of betraying his troops through a lack of support. General Ivan Popov was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, which fought heavy fighting in the Zaporizhia region. He is one of the highest-ranking officers to have taken part in Russia’s bloody campaign in Ukraine. Popov said in a voice memo posted to Telegram last Wednesday that he raised questions about the “lack of counter-battery combat, the lack of artillery reconnaissance stations, and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery.” “I also asked a question.” “I had no right to lie, so I laid out all the problematic issues that exist in the army today, but you have no right to lie.” “I don’t like the truth .” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “signed the order and got rid of me,” the general also said in the recording, accusing the high-ranking official of Kremlin treason.
03:26
Lavrov ruled out that peace talks are planned for July
There will be no peace talks between Moscow and Kiev in July. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denied rumors of a resumption of talks. On June 26, German television ARD reported that an international meeting on Ukraine was held in Copenhagen on June 24 “under conditions of strict secrecy” and was attended by diplomats from Western countries, as well as representatives from Brazil, India, China and South Africa. The same TV indicated that official talks on the peace settlement in Ukraine could take place in July. But Lavrov denies and dismisses this possibility: “We have not received any information on this matter. There are reasons to believe that this is fake news, given the continued intention of Kyiv and its Western contacts to escalate hostilities.”
00:18
Aircraft warnings across Ukraine of launches of Russian Kalibr cruise missiles targeting the center of the country
Shortly after midnight local time (11 p.m. Italian time), air alerts went on throughout Ukraine, including the capital Kiev, over an attack by Russian Kalibr cruise missiles aimed at the central Cherkassy region, the armed forces describe on various Telegram channels. But also for the regions of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, the alarm appears in the corresponding app in intense color.
00:12
Ukraine: Air raid sirens in Kiev and six other regions
Air raid alerts have been issued in the Kiev region of Ukraine and in the capital itself. This is reported by the agency Tass. Air raid sirens are also wailing in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.