Timeline: day 114 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Today is June 17. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 114 days. We're reporting on the current news. The article will be updated.
What about today?
Key points
Ukrainian intelligence officers obtained technical documentation for the Crimean bridge. Our military doesn't hide that this bridge is the number one goal. It will be much easier to aim at the "Achilles' heel" of the Crimean bridge with detailed information about its structure.
When asked by journalists about Ukrainians requesting 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks, and 300 MLRS, and allies giving less: "I'm not sure where the number—what you're referring to, but I've talked to General Zaluzhnyi, and we get lists. These are official requests from their Department of Defense. They asked for ten battalions of artillery; 12 battalions of artillery were delivered. Again, I'd say 97,000 anti-tank systems. That's more anti-tank systems than tanks in the world. They asked for 200 tanks; they got 237 tanks. They asked for 100 infantry fighting vehicles; they got over 300. We've delivered, roughly speaking, 1,600 or so air defense systems and about 60,000 air defense rounds. This is—when I say 'us,' I mean the international community. You're looking at 260 artillery tube systems. Either rocket or tube artillery has already been delivered. There's 383 committed, and like I said, almost half a million rounds of artillery."
Let us be grateful for the help of the allies. Remember, at the beginning of a full-scale war, we could only dream of being given modern howitzers, MRLS, and Harpoon to destroy the enemy fleet, even in small quantities. Everything will come, but not at the wave of a magic wand. Supply, military training, and logistics happen in more than one day.
The key outcomes from the morning report of Ukraine's General Staff:
- Near Hoptivka in the Kharkiv region, the enemy conducted offensive reconnaissance near the village of Kochubiivka and was repulsed.
- Fights for Krasnopillia and Bohorodychne are being fought near Sloviansk.
- The storming of Zolote was repulsed in the Luhansk region.
- In the Donetsk region, near the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway, there were attacks on Vasylivka and Berestove.
Ukrainian defenders in the east destroyed twenty-six occupiers and a fuel depot!
Fighters slow down the aggressor in the area of responsibility of the East operational and tactical grouping. On June 16, the invaders made one attempted assault. russian troops lost 26 ruscists, armored personnel carriers, drones, and a warehouse with fuel and lubricants.
There is no doubt that the victory in the war unleashed by russia is Ukraine's. The whole world sees it! "This is a dreadful mistake by russia. russia will never take control of Ukraine," Admiral Tony Radakin, the head of UK's armed forces, told PA Media in an interview.
The russians have set up at least 20 filtration camps in the temporarily occupied territories. Ukrainians who have been forcibly abducted or illegally arrested are being transferred there, said Yevhen Tsymbaliuk, Ukraine's representative to international organizations in Vienna, at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
Ukraine's talks with russia
Die Welt reports that EU leaders who visited Kyiv on June 16—French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi—"behind closed doors" called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sit down at the negotiating table with putin. "The economic losses suffered by their countries because of the war are becoming greater and harder to compensate. Economic growth has slowed sharply, and inflation has reached record levels," the publication explains the position of European leaders. It is not yet known what Zelensky's response to such arguments is, but the paramilitary outfit in which he met Western politicians is more eloquent than words.
Whatever it is, the position has been voiced: EU leaders are not pressuring Ukraine to give up our territories for peace. "Ukraine must win this war," Macron even said. "We can only negotiate peace on the terms of Ukraine," Scholz said.
As for grain: EU leaders have agreed that they cannot trust russia; it is necessary to work through the UN and have straightforward guarantees. At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that significantly developing land corridors is on a plan.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
On financial and information aid, weapons and politicians
The West will not supply Ukraine with attack aircraft and tanks, now officially confirmed by Emmanuel Macron. "It is a nearly official position of NATO partners that we are helping Ukraine defend itself, but we're not going to war with russia. Therefore, we have agreed not to supply certain weapons, such as attack planes or tanks, and President Zelensky is aware of this agreement," the President of France said yesterday at a press conference in Kyiv.
Instead, France will provide additional Caesar artillery units. Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new address that Germany has confirmed the provision of air defense for our country and further support.
Slovenia sent 35 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Slovenian Defense Minister Marjan Šarec didn't specify which vehicles the Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive, but it could be Yugoslav M-80As. They are analogous to the BMP-1 with a 20-mm gun and ATGM launcher on the tower.
British FV103 Spartan armored personnel carriers were first noticed in the service of the Ukrainian military. How many more "surprises" await the occupiers!
M113 tracked armored personnel carriers handed over to Ukraine by Lithuania are also already participating in the fighting. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvidas Anusauskas stated this. "Lithuanian M113s have already entered the battlefield in Ukraine to protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. Together to victory," he wrote. Thanks for the help!
News from partners
In the Netherlands, the officials caught a russian spy trying to get a job as an intern in The Hague. The court is investigating russia's war crimes. A russian man working for the russian intelligence (GRU) was detained in April. He "used a well-thought-out cover" and pretended to be Brazilian. But it did not work.
Even after visiting Bucha, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to continue talking to putin. Macron, however, said that he sometimes had telephone conversations at Zelensky's request to deliver critical messages, but it was often his initiative.
Meanwhile, the first batch of Ukrainian corn was brought to Spain by a new route—through the Baltic Sea—to avoid the russian blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.
What's in russia?
russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov commented on the war crimes committed by the russian military on the territory of Ukraine. He said that "russia is what it is, and we are not ashamed to show ourselves as such." russia, even at the highest level, doesn't hide its atrocities and barbarism.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
Sanctions do work: putin confirms the collapse of russia's car industry. From his speech at the meeting on the development of the automotive industry, it is clear that russia is "significantly" reducing car production, and measures are needed to ensure that the situation does not become an emergency. 18 out of 20 plants in russia stopped operation. Production fell by 83%; sales have been minimal in the last 16 years.
Samsung smartphones imported to russia under the gray scheme cannot be activated; they require SIM of the countries where the phone is registered.
Life considering hostilities
All works by russian authors will be removed from the school curriculum in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Education's decision, Ukrainian children will no longer study them. It is recommended to transfer Gogol's works to the section of Ukrainian literature.
russian authors promise to replace russian works with world classics, like O'Henry, Ibsen, Camus, Balzac, Flaubert, Wilde, Sholem Aleichem, and others.
Kyiv and the region
Photo by Ihor Kyrykevych
This is the village of Moshchun, where one of the fiercest battles for Kyiv took place. The village no longer exists. It is 100% destroyed. The forest was destroyed by bombing. The village is ruined but not dead. Residents returned there: they live in barns, cellars, and tents. Flowers grow everywhere among the fires and ruins, and vegetable gardens are sown. Our people are that!
More than 43,000 explosive devices have already been neutralized in the Kyiv region. 20,763.36 hectares of territory, 1,035 facilities, 577.8 km of roads and 7 km of railways, 1,039.14 km of power lines, and 11,443 km of gas pipelines were inspected, and 43,003 explosive units were identified and neutralized. Work continues.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
The Ukrainian military repulsed the enemy's assault in the direction of the settlement of Zolote; the enemy was forced to withdraw. The head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhii Haidai, announced this.
The number of shellings by the russian army is growing daily. "A missile strike on the community center, where the residents of Lysychansk were hiding, has already claimed three lives. Seven people were hospitalized. Another air strike destroyed the preventorium building, where people were probably also present," Haidai added.
A resident was killed in the shelling on the street. It also became known about the two victims in the old districts of Sievierodonetsk—a mother and son. In Lysychansk, the school building and two houses were destroyed; Hirske, 18 homes, and Vrubivka, seven. Many damages in the village of Synetskyi near Sievierodonetsk.
The situation in the Donetsk region: enemy shelling, tanks, artillery, mortars, Grad MLRS, Kh-22, and Kh-59MK missile strikes continue. At the epicenter of the shelling are Avdiivka, Niu York, Toretsk, Krasnohorivka, Novoukrainka, Nelipivka, Kurdiumivka, Ocheretyne.
Kharkiv region
The night has passed again with shelling, particularly in the northernmost part of the city. No one was injured. Fighting continues in the Izium direction.
Sumy region
The head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, said that around 5 am the russian army started firing mortars at the Khotyn community with 30 "hits." There are no casualties or damage.
Zaporizhzhia region
A ruscist car with stolen property overturned in Tokmak. Eyewitnesses report that the armored vehicle contained plasma TVs, Wi-Fi routers, and agricultural bags. The car fell into the Molochna river.
In the morning, the regional military administration reports that air defense forces in the Zaporizhzhia region shot down an enemy missile. "The air defense of the Zaporizhzhia region neutralized an enemy missile over the Vilniansk district about 10:00. The information is being clarified. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties or damage," the local military administration said.
Kherson region
The russians plan to launch attacks under a false flag near Kherson to prevent the population from supporting Ukrainian counter-offensive operations. The American Institute for War Studies (ISW) reported this.
The russians are also continuing to strengthen their reserve positions in the Kherson and Mykolayiv regions, probably in response to Ukrainian counterattacks.
Mykolaiv region
We can safely add a new symbol of stability and steadfastness of the Ukrainian people, following the rooster jar from Borodianka—canned jars from the Mykolayiv region. The house is non-existent because of the russian shelling, but they survived. The 59th separate motorized infantry brigade says it's not a miracle, showing a fantastic discovery. "It's rightful. These are Ukrainian jars with Ukrainian vegetables grown on Ukrainian soil, prepared by a Ukrainian hostess for a Ukrainian family. We have indestructible glass jars, and the russians tried to destroy the people."
This morning for the Mykolaiv region can't be called good. About 7 am the russians struck missiles across Mykolaiv. The head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, Vitalii Kim, reported that one person died because of the rocket attack. Six, including a child, were injured. Four residential high-rise buildings and an infrastructure facility were damaged. Rescue operations are underway.
Odesa region
The Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit another tugboat with Tor surface-to-air missiles on board when it transported ammunition, weapons, and personnel of the Black Sea Fleet to Zmiinyi Island. Even the Tor anti-aircraft missile system on board didn't prevent the Ukrainian Navy from demilitarizing russian invaders.
The Ukrainian unit used Harpoon anti-ship missiles to neutralize the russian target, the head of the Odesa regional military administration said in a comment to Suspilne.
