As the war enters its 853rd day, these are the key developments.
This is the situation on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
Fighting
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited soldiers defending the Donetsk eastern frontline region and introduced Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov, the new commander of the joint forces. Hnatov’s main tasks include “preserving the lives of as many fighters as possible” while repelling invading Russian forces, Zelenskyy said in a video. The clip was recorded in front of the Pokrovsk sign, where five people were killed and dozens injured in Russian attacks earlier this week.
- Five Lithuanians were injured when their vehicle was attacked while delivering aid to troops in Pokrovsk, officials and team members said. “The five of us are in the hospital,” Sigitas Maliauskas, one of the Lithuanians, told news agency AFP via Facebook. One of the volunteers had a leg amputated, a colleague said.
- Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern region of Kharkiv, said the situation in the border town of Vovchansk was “volatile” amid intense fighting with invading Russian forces. He said several dozen Russian soldiers were blocked inside an industrial facility in the city and that Moscow was also using aircraft to attack Vovchansk, which is about 5 kilometers from the border.
- A Russian missile attack hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, damaging an administrative building, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. No casualties were reported.
Politics and diplomacy
- Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich was tried behind closed doors in Russia on charges of espionage. Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, appeared on a glass-walled pier with his head shaved. He and the Journal vehemently denied the allegations. The United States designated the reporter as “unjustly detained.” The next hearing will take place on August 13th.
- Russia said it had ordered Carola Schneider, chief Moscow correspondent for Austrian broadcaster ORF, to leave the country in what it considered to be a “forced retaliatory measure” following Vienna’s decision to revoke the accreditation of the agency’s chief correspondent. state news agency TASS in Austria.
- The European Union announced sanctions against Belarus “to plug the biggest gap in our sanctions regime” against Russia, the EU presidency said in a statement. The bloc this week adopted its 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- The U.S. Department of Justice said it charged 22-year-old Russian Amin Timovich Stigal with conspiring to hack and destroy computer systems and data in Ukraine and allied countries, including the U.S., and announced a $10 million reward for information about your whereabouts.
- NATO has chosen Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the organization’s next secretary general, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. Rutte, who is a strong supporter of Ukraine, will take up his new role on October 1.
- Russian pranksters using the pseudonyms “Vovan and Lexus” released footage of a video call with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron after tricking him into thinking he was speaking to former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the authenticity of the video, but acknowledged earlier this month that the call had taken place. “Vovan and Lexus” are well known in Russia for having misled a number of Western politicians over the years, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Weapons
- The EU is expected to sign a security deal with President Zelenskyy on Thursday. The agreement will establish the EU’s commitment to help Ukraine in nine areas of security and defense policy – including arms deliveries, military training, defense industry cooperation and demining – according to a draft seen by the Reuters news agency.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
