A new locality, until now in the hands of Russian forces, has been liberated by Ukraine, according to kyiv. This is the eighth in two weeks, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced on Monday.
News of the counter-offensive. The Ukrainian army has reconquered the village of Pyatykhatky, located on the southern front of the conflict with Russian forces, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Monday (June 19th). We take stock of the latest news on the war front.
The village of Pyatykhatky has returned to the Ukrainian side, according to kyiv
The Ukrainian army has reconquered the village of Pyatykhatky, located on the southern front of the conflict with Russian forces, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Monday. With this village, a total of “eight localities have been liberated” in two weeks, since the start of the counter-offensive, with 113 km2 of territory recaptured, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on social networks.
In the south, Ukrainian troops “advanced up to seven kilometers in depth” Russian positions, said the official.
A Franco-Italian-made surface-to-air defense system delivered to kyiv
A medium-range SAMP/T surface-to-air defense system, of Franco-Italian manufacture, has been delivered to Ukraine where it is now operational, announced Emmanuel Macron, four months after promising it in kyiv.
Paris had announced in early February the delivery of this equivalent of the Patriot. “I am happy to be able to announce to you with my Italian colleague Giorgia Meloni that the Franco-Italian SAMP/T is now deployed and operational in Ukraine, where it protects key installations and lives”said the French head of state in a speech in Paris on the air and anti-missile defense of Europe.
Ukraine accuses Hungary of blocking access to its prisoners of war
Kiev has accused Budapest of blocking its access to a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war transferred to Hungary from Russia through the intermediary of the Russian Orthodox Church and without the knowledge of the Ukrainian authorities. “All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats in recent days to establish direct contact with these Ukrainian citizens have proved unsuccessful”said on Facebook the spokesman for Ukrainian diplomacy, Oleg Nikolenko.
Transferred to Hungary on June 8, these 11 Ukrainians “are de facto placed in isolation, they have no access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties”he lambasted. This group of prisoners is from Transcarpathia, a region in western Ukraine that is home to a large Hungarian community.
Injured in strikes in Russia
Seven people, including a child, were injured in Ukrainian strikes targeting the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine on Monday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. The strikes targeted several residential buildings in the Valouïsk district, the same source said, posting an image of a teddy bear next to a broken window in one of the affected buildings.
Ukrainian strikes also targeted two villages in the Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine, according to local governor Roman Starovoit.
UN accuses Moscow of blocking humanitarian aid
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine criticizes Russia for obstructing the delivery of aid to the victims of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, in the areas that Moscow controls in the south of the country. “We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” wrote Denise Brown in a press release.
Norway to spend more than 20 million euros on nuclear safety in Ukraine
Norway has announced that it will devote 250 million crowns (nearly 21.5 million euros) to nuclear safety in Ukraine against a backdrop of fears around the Zaporijia power plant after the destruction of a dam. “The illegal war initiated by Russia poses a threat to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine”the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The aid will be divided between a contribution of 100 million crowns to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enable its experts to maintain their presence on several nuclear sites in Ukraine, including Chernobyl and Zaporijia, and an envelope of 150 million to reinforce the safety of the installations.