Day 477 of the Invasion of Ukraine: The EP called on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the alliance

Ukraine |Author: Nikola Danailov | June 15, 2023, Thursday // 11:38|  views

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Day 477 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

  • The EP called on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the alliance
  • The South African president will mediate peace between Ukraine and Russia
  • Russia has set a date for elections in the annexed Ukrainian territories
  • Moscow sent Chechens along the border with Ukraine
  • Ukraine's counteroffensive is taking shape, but the main test is yet to come
  • Lloyd Austin calls on members of the Contact Group on Ukraine to continue helping with its air defenses
  • Air alert in half of the regions of Ukraine; fighting continues in the Donetsk region
  • Night explosions in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa
  • Stoltenberg warned that Russia is investing heavily in new nuclear weapons
  • Ukraine and Poland are developing a joint draft resolution for the NATO summit in Vilnius
  • American general: Ukraine can liberate Crimea this summer
  • Instead of a blessing: HIMARS salvo mowed down 100 Russian soldiers, lined up for a motivational speech
  • Ukrainian refugees are raising the alarm about a global eco-catastrophe after Kakhovka


The EP called on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the alliance

Members of the European Parliament called on NATO allies to uphold their commitment to Ukraine and pave the way for an invitation to Kyiv to join the defense alliance.

In the resolution adopted today with 425 votes in favor, 38 against and 42 abstentions, MEPs stressed that they expect "the accession process to begin after the end of the war and to be completed as soon as possible".

Until full NATO membership is achieved, the EU and its member states should work closely with Ukraine to develop a temporary framework for security guarantees, MEPs say.

The Parliament emphasizes that Ukraine's integration into NATO and the EU will increase regional and global security and strengthen ties between Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam is a war crime

The MEPs condemn in the strongest terms the destruction of the Kakhovka dam by Russia on June 6, which constitutes a war crime, caused large-scale floods and led to an environmental disaster and ecocide in Ukraine, they added.

All those responsible for war crimes, including the destruction of the dam, will be held accountable in accordance with international law, the MEPs added.

Need for a comprehensive package of EU measures to rebuild Ukraine

Parliament calls for a comprehensive and adequate package of EU measures for the recovery of Ukraine, which should focus on immediate, medium and long-term assistance, reconstruction and recovery of the country.

They look forward to the European Commission's upcoming proposal for a review of the current Multiannual Financial Framework and the proposed Ukraine Recovery Mechanism, which will cover the financing of Ukraine's recovery efforts in the coming years.

MEPs stress the importance of linking Ukraine's recovery with preparations for EU accession and ongoing internal reforms. They emphasize that the restoration of damaged infrastructure and industrial capacity should be carried out in accordance with the principle of "building again but better" and the European Green Deal.

It is hoped that negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will begin this year

Parliament reaffirms its support for the European Council's decision to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership last year.

MEPs hope for a positive recommendation from the European Commission after Ukraine has successfully completed the seven steps outlined in the Commission's opinion. They are demanding a clear path to start accession talks, which, with enough support, could begin as early as this year.

The South African president will mediate peace between Ukraine and Russia

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa isited Poland today as part of an African mission to discuss a potential peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, his office said, as quoted by Reuters. Ramaphosa will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine tomorrow and with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

And African leaders will propose a series of "confidence-building measures" as part of their efforts to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters.

Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are leading a delegation that includes leaders from Zambia, Comoros and Egypt's prime minister, who will travel to Kyiv on Friday and St Petersburg on Saturday for their meetings with Zelensky and Putin.

The framework document, which has not been made public, lists a number of measures that could be proposed by African leaders as part of the first phase of their engagement with the warring parties.

Those measures could include the withdrawal of Russian troops, the removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, the revocation of Putin's arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court and the easing of sanctions against Moscow.

The list also includes an "unconditional deal on grain and fertilizers".

"The aforementioned measures should aim to facilitate the creation of a favorable environment for a ceasefire, and will allow the parties to build trust and consider formulating their strategies for restoring peace," the document said.

A cease-fire agreement could follow, which would have to be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the West, the document said.

Russia has set a date for elections in the annexed Ukrainian territories

Russia's Central Election Commission has set September 10 as the date for regional elections in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims it has annexed, coinciding with votes in other Russian regions, state news agency RIA reported, as quoted by Reuters.

TASS, another state news agency, quoted the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, as saying that Russia's Defense Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) believed the vote could be held in September.

Russia does not fully control Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, and fighting continues in all four regions. The districts are due to elect local governors in September.

Russia declared the regions part of its own territory after hastily holding what it called referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine last September. Kyiv and the West denounced them as illegal and coercive.

Moscow sent Chechens along the border with Ukraine

Chechen fighters have been deployed in Russia's Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, to prevent attacks by "Ukrainian subversive groups", Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Thursday.

Over the past month, Belgorod Oblast has reported a series of attacks by pro-Ukraine Russian guerrilla groups that identify themselves as opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

Kadyrov, a Putin ally who leads Russia's Chechnya region, said fighters from the Zapad-Akhmat Battalion were deployed near the border village of Nekhoteevka and a checkpoint in the Grayvoron region, the site of a cross-border attack in May.

Ukraine's counteroffensive is taking shape, but the main test is yet to come

After a week of heavy fighting, the real tests for Kyiv's counteroffensive are coming, with Ukrainian troops some distance from Russia's main defense line and most of the forces prepared for the onslaught still on standby.

Ukraine struck two areas along its southeastern front last week as it began the main phase of its long-awaited operation, reporting seven villages captured but also suffering losses, including Western infantry fighting vehicles and tanks.

"On both sides, a lot of it will come down to attrition," said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and one of the analysts who reported losses on both sides based on satellite and photographic evidence.

"The risk for them (the Ukrainians) is that before they get to that (Russian) defense line, they are too exhausted and it will be too difficult to break through and use that."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Western equipment such as battle tanks and armored vehicles should help protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

Russia has prepared thousands of defensive positions all the way to occupied Crimea on the Black Sea, including minefields, anti-tank ditches, rows of concrete "dragon's teeth" barricades and trenches.

The positions, reviewed by Reuters using satellite imagery in April, are heavily concentrated in the strategically important south, where Kyiv could seek to cut Russia's land bridge to Crimea and divide Kremlin forces.

Ukraine can monitor where Moscow is sending troops to shore up its lines and strike in less defended areas, including in the east, military analysts say.

"Ukraine has a choice," said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "It cannot achieve strategic surprise, but it will do its best to achieve operational and tactical surprise. That will include concealment, camouflage, deception, disinformation, which they used quite successfully last fall."

Moscow's strategy in the south is likely aimed at maximizing Ukrainian casualties before Kyiv can reach the main Russian defense line about 10-15 km away, according to Lee. "There is no point in (them) fighting to the death there or risking being surrounded," he added.

Ukraine has been preparing for the counteroffensive for at least six months, having retaken the main southwestern city of Kherson in November and part of Kharkiv Oblast in September.

The military has formed 12 armored brigades for the operation, nine of them trained and equipped by the West, analysts say. A brigade usually consists of at least 3,500 - 4,000 soldiers. Ukraine said it had formed eight assault brigades of 40,000 troops mobilized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Konrad Muzyka, a Poland-based military analyst who has followed the war closely, said only three of the 12 brigades had been seen in combat in the southeast so far.

The main strikes came near the Ukrainian-held town of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Velika Novosilka in Donetsk Oblast, about 80 km to the east.

These strikes may mean that Ukrainian generals have targeted Tokmak, an occupied town in Zaporizhzhia region about 25 km from the front line. Another 50 km away is the town of Melitopol. Both settlements are heavily fortified.

Near Velika Novosilka, Ukraine liberated a group of four villages, including two visited by Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as two others nearby, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Monday.

Troops have advanced to 6.5 km and captured 90 square kilometers, she said of the territory along a 100-kilometer stretch of the southern front line. On Wednesday, it reported more progress of 300-350 meters in various areas in the past 24 hours.

"They did pretty well at first," Muzyka said.

"My main concern five or six days into this main phase is that progress seems to have stalled. The momentum they built up in the first few days is basically gone, and we don't know why that is."

Maliar also reported progress on the flanks of the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russia announced it had captured last month. Military analysts believe it is unlikely to become the focus of the main Ukrainian offensive.

The counteroffensive is complicated by Ukraine's lack of air power. Kyiv has been lobbying the West for months for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets, but their eventual deployment would take at least several months.

Kyiv imposed an information blackout to aid operational security, making independent assessments of the battlefield difficult. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the Kyiv attack so far as a failure involving heavy casualties.

Images shared by Russian military bloggers show destroyed or damaged US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 tanks, leading elements of military aid sent by the West for the counteroffensive.

Muzyka estimated that Ukraine may have lost up to 15 percent of its Bradley vehicles and several percent of its Leopards, although it is possible that Ukrainian forces have recovered some of them and are sending them for repairs.

Military analyst Jack Watling wrote for the RUSI think tank that it was too early to say whether the offensive was a success or a failure.

"We must refrain from premature statements of success or failure," he emphasized.

Lloyd Austin calls on members of the Contact Group on Ukraine to continue helping with its air defenses

The US defense secretary urged members of the contact group on Ukraine to continue helping with its air defenses to protect its citizens. Austin spoke before the start of the forum and on the first day of the alliance's defense ministers' meeting.

Austin expressed special thanks to the Netherlands and Denmark, which have taken the initiative to train Ukrainian pilots for the F-16, as well as Germany and Poland, which are supplying Leopard tanks to Ukraine. He emphasized:

"Thus, two coalitions will be created - one that will be dedicated to the training of the pilots, and the other - to the provision and maintenance of the Leopard tanks. Many members of this contact group have already begun providing long-term assistance to Ukrainian military forces. This will ensure that they will have the necessary armaments to defend themselves against Russian aggression in the future as well."

Bulgaria is represented by Defense Minister Todor Tagarev, who is expected to speak to journalists tomorrow.

Air alert in half of the regions of Ukraine; fighting continues in the Donetsk region

In Ukraine, an air alert was declared overnight in 12 of the 24 Ukrainian regions. Authorities reported explosions in Kryvyi Rih, Odesa and Kharkiv.

The air alert remained in effect for the longest time in the southwestern Odesa region, where five series of explosions rang out that night. Authorities also reported Russian attacks in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and in Kharkiv in the northeast.

Fighting continues in the western part of the Donetsk region, especially in the Makarovka region and in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia region, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said. At the beginning of the month, Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture territories occupied by Russia. Kyiv claims the offensive was successful, something Moscow denies. Against this backdrop, Russia continues to carry out daily missile and drone attacks.

And in the area of the flood, after the explosion at the Kakhovka dam, restoration works continue. More than 800 households have been reconnected to the power grid, local authorities said. The level of the Dnieper River continues to fall. Today, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi is expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is also affected by the destruction.

Night explosions in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa

Ukrainian authorities reported explosions that night in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. These two Ukrainian cities have been the target of deadly Russian shelling in recent days, BTA reported.

"Kryvyi Rih. Explosions," the chairman of the city council Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on Telegram.

The death toll in the Russian missile attack on the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday meanwhile reached 12, after one of the wounded died in hospital yesterday, DPA noted.

Explosions were also heard last night in Odesa in the southwest.

The air defense system has been activated, said the spokesman of the regional military administration, Sergey Bratchuk, as quoted by the Ukrinform agency.

"Odesa. Air defense works! Beat them, brothers!" Bratchuk wrote on Telegram. Yesterday, the Ukrainian army announced that three civilians had been killed in a Russian missile attack on Odesa. Last night, explosions also rang out in Kharkiv in the northeast.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has confirmed that Russia has suffered heavy losses since the start of its counteroffensive, DPA reported.

Despite false Russian reports to the contrary, the Ukrainian army suffered far fewer casualties in its offensive than the occupiers, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram.

According to her, Russian losses are nearly nine times greater than Ukrainian losses in the eastern city of Bakhmut, and in southern Ukraine the ratio is over five to one.

In recent days, Russia's defense ministry has repeatedly announced that its forces have stopped the Ukrainian counteroffensive and inflicted numerous casualties on the other side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to "catastrophic losses" of the Ukrainian army.

Hanna Maliar dismissed these claims as a disinformation campaign aimed at demoralizing Ukrainian soldiers and society.

The statements of both sides in the conflict have not been independently verified.

Media reports that the Ukrainian army has made little progress in its counteroffensive, which began at the beginning of this month, DPA noted.

Stoltenberg warned that Russia is investing heavily in new nuclear weapons

So far, we have not seen such a deployment of nuclear forces that would require a change in the deployment of ours - this is how NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded to a question about Russia's announced intention to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus just before the Alliance summit in Vilnius in mid July.

However, before the start of the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, he stated that Russia is investing huge funds in new nuclear weapons, which it has near the borders with NATO, including and in the Far North. He assured that the Pact has always responded to this and will continue to do so.

Stoltenberg has once again stressed that he will not seek to extend his term, which expires in September.

Ukraine and Poland are developing a joint draft resolution for the NATO summit in Vilnius

Ukraine and Poland are developing a joint draft decision for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

"We need to dispel Russian suggestions that someone in NATO is afraid of Russia," Zelensky said after a phone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The two discussed long-term guarantees for Ukraine's security and peace in Europe. "Poland quite realistically perceives the need for Ukraine's membership in NATO," noted Zelensky. The United States and Germany remain reserved.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss new military aid to Ukraine and the upcoming summit in July, when a decision is expected to ensure Ukraine's long-term security. "We will send a strong message that Ukraine should become part of NATO," said the alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. From the meeting of the Ramstein group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine today, Kyiv expects a decision on the provision of F-16 fighter jets.

American general: Ukraine can liberate Crimea this summer

The Ukrainian counteroffensive has been underway for several days, but so far Kyiv’s troops have managed to move the front only a few kilometers.

Along with important successes for Ukraine, such as the breakthrough on the front in the Donetsk region, there were also failures, such as the failed attacks in the south of the country, in which German Leopard 2 tanks were also destroyed.

However, with the right weapons, things can go very fast. This is what former American general Ben Hodges claims. He believes that even Crimea can be liberated this summer. But only on one condition.

"If the West gives Ukrainian forces everything they need ... then I still expect Ukraine to liberate Crimea by the end of this summer," Hodges wrote for the Center for European Policy Analysis.

According to Hodges, Kyiv, needs, above all, long-range precision weapons. They allow targets far behind the front to be attacked, such as ammunition depots or command centers.

This means that if the West supplies the right weapons, Ukraine could expel Russian troops from Crimea before September.

Britain has already started and delivered Storm Shadow cruise missiles (with a range of 560 km) to the Ukrainian army.

Ukraine has also asked Germany if it can get the Taurus bunker buster. But the superweapon with a range of 500 kilometers, which can hit all targets in Crimea even today, has not yet been delivered from Berlin.

However, Hodges is particularly hopeful about the US government because it could supply ATACMS missiles. Although they would only have a range of up to 300 kilometers, they could be launched from the ground, unlike the Taurus or Storm Shadow. According to Hodges, these weapons would give the Ukrainian offensive a "huge boost".

Yet the actual main attack has yet to take place. Only when "large armored formations" are engaged will it be known "that the main attack has really begun," says the former general. The objective of the main attack is also being kept secret "for as long as possible" for strategic reasons, Hodges says.

But the fact is this: with long-range precision weapons, no area in Ukraine would be safe for the Russian army anymore.

Crimea is considered not only an important strategic goal, but also of great symbolic importance to both countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in August 2022 that the war "started with Crimea and must end with Crimea, with its liberation."

In 2014, Russia illegally occupied and annexed the Black Sea peninsula.

Instead of a blessing: HIMARS salvo mowed down 100 Russian soldiers, lined up for a motivational speech

The Ukrainian army has launched a HIMARS strike on a Russian military unit set up to welcome a general, killing at least 100 personnel, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest report. Although there is a lack of geo-located photo and video evidence of the attack, information about it appeared in the Telegram channels of Russian military bloggers such as "Rybar" and "Dva Majors", and the Gray Zone channel, close to PMC “Wagner”, also reported on it.

According to Russian sources, the tragic incident took place near Kremenna, Luhansk Region, in one of the divisions of the 20th General Army of the Western Military District, which was preparing to go on the offensive. "For two hours, people stood in one place and waited for the commander (Major General Suhrab Akhmedov) to make his motivational speech. But instead of him, the HIMARS salvo missile system and the enemy's artillery had their say. On the southern Donetsk direction, in a few days of fighting, there were fewer casualties than from the criminal stupidity of the division commander," wrote "Dva Majors". At least 100 militants were said to have been killed and another 100 wounded in the attack.

Channels and media close to Yevgeny Prigozhin are most active in covering the Ukrainian attack, emphasizing the Chechen origin of Major General Sukhrab Akhmedov.

"If, towards the middle of the second year of the war, commanders are found who lead columns forward and form the personnel in one large chamber, and then wait for a blow from the enemy's artillery, then such commanders must be shot in front of the line, if they will be colonels or even generals," wrote angry Russian military correspondents.

"There is no merit of the VSU in this war. We are at war with our own stupidity and depravity, smeared on top with beautiful reports," commented "Dva Majors".

The outrage, ISW commented, is reminiscent of previous instances of notable irresponsible Russian military actions that resulted in dramatic casualties, notably the December 31, 2022, Ukrainian strike against a large concentration of Russian forces in Makiivka, Donetsk region.

The Washington-based think-tank also dwells on the progress of the counteroffensive operation, the conduct of which was officially confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 10. The VSU continued counteroffensive operations on at least three fronts, achieving success on Wednesday. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had advanced 200 to 400 meters in unspecified sectors of the Bakhmut front and 300 to 350 meters in unspecified parts of the Zaporozhian direction. Russian military correspondents report that Ukrainian forces continue counterattacks on the northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Fighting continues in western Donetsk Oblast, especially around Makarovka (directly south of Velika Novosilka), and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast south of Orikhiv. Heavy rain and bad weather in southern Ukraine may have slowed the pace of Ukrainian attacks. Valery Shershen, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Tavrist Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, noted that the Ukrainian forces in the direction of Tavrisk (Zaporizhzhia) give priority to strikes against Russian electronic warfare systems.

Ukrainian refugees are raising the alarm about a global eco-catastrophe after Kakhovka

A protest demonstration of Ukrainian refugees under the title "Kakhovka - this is us" was held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Dozens of citizens of Ukraine gathered in front of “Levski” House, crossed Main Street and held a flash mob in front of the Central Post Office.

The demonstrators raised slogans: "Protect the Black Sea from Russian terror!", "Stop the war in Ukraine" and others.

"We are here to report on a global eco-catastrophe after the explosion of the Kakhovka dam - the disaster is not only regional, it is global," said a woman from the protestors, whose home is in the Black Sea Ukrainian city of Kherson.

"Let's stop Putin's madness!" another protester raised his voice.

"The blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP is a war crime," the protesters noted.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Kryvyi Rih, odesa

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