“Ukraine and the United States are discussing a possible freeze in hostilities along the front line,” writes The Economist. Contacts between the two sides are taking place daily. Informal talks with Russia have also resumed. “One of the ideas under discussion is a two-stage ceasefire: first, limiting hostilities to a 50-70 km zone on either side of the front line, and then reaching a broader agreement,” the report states.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized this in words: “We want to end the war in Ukraine before winter.” “Today, the Ukrainian army is effectively the main army in Europe.”
Russia has always been negative about a freeze in the conflict.
According to Russian sources, in parallel with the exercises, NATO is monitoring the Leningrad region, and this has raised alarm among Russians. highest military authorities. It was later learned that they had been approved. Aid packages to Kiev: The United Kingdom will allocate $1 billion. “It will purchase 350 missiles for Ukraine by the end of the year, including 100 Patriot interceptors, 150,000 drones, and radars,” Russian Defense Minister Dan Jarvis said. Germany will allocate $458 million; Sweden will allocate $108 million; and the Netherlands will allocate $500 million. The funds will be allocated to the PURL initiative, the purchase of drones, and air defense systems.
The Canadian-made Rochelle Senator armored vehicles were unloaded in Europe and underwent final preparations before being transferred to Ukraine. May 21, 2026. Significantly, they are being transported in containers.
The EU summit recommended that the European Commission and the European External Action Service, led by Kaja Kallas, further refine the details of their proposal to ban EU accession for Russian military personnel who participated in the SVO, according to the final declaration of the EU summit. “The vast majority” of EU countries supported negotiations with Russia on Ukraine, Politico reported. France and Germany opposed European Council President Costa’s initiative, believing it “is not the right time” for negotiations. Denmark, the Netherlands, and Estonia joined them.
The new Bulgarian Prime Minister, Rumen Radev, announced that his government will veto a new package of European Union sanctions against Russia. Radev, considered relatively close to Russia, explained that this move could have a negative impact on the local economy and called for the Russian oil company Lukoil to be excluded from the sanctions. Radev stated that Sofia sees risks for Lukoil’s activities, for the supply of spare parts for the Sofia metro and for fertilizers, and does not agree with sanctions against representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. Bulgaria has also threatened to veto the move. The EU’s 21st package of sanctions against Russia will not be approved unless it excludes Patriarch Kirill and restrictions that are dangerous for the Bulgarian economy, according to Reuters.
There was an attempt to set fire to a Ukrainian drone factory in France, according to Le Parisien. In early June, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Delair plant on the outskirts of Toulouse, but they failed to explode. A Belarusian citizen was later arrested near the plant while filming a drone prototype. French intelligence services suspect possible Russian interference.
The Verkhovna Rada has approved changes to the state budget regarding military salaries: the document provides for a UAH 1.56 trillion increase in spending on the security and defense sector through EU financial assistance. Also in defense matters, Ukraine will soon receive missiles for the Patriot air defense system and will use European loans to purchase Mistral portable anti-aircraft missiles and air-to-air missiles. Meteor (apparently for the Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets), says Defense Minister Fedorov. He also noted that the total amount of military aid announced at today’s Rammstein meeting is approximately $4 billion. The stand of the Ukrainian company Fire Point at the Eurosatory 2026 trade fair in Paris is simulating today’s FP-1 and FP-2 drone strikes against an oil refinery in Moscow.
The Russian Aerospace Forces have received two more Su-57 fighter jets. Meanwhile, Russian media reports indicate that the fire that broke out following the impact of a drone on an oil refinery in Moscow has been largely contained. The fire has been extinguished and the remaining flames are currently being extinguished, Sobyanin announced. There were no injuries at the refinery. Air pollution levels in Moscow do not exceed the maximum permitted levels, according to MosEcoMonitoring.
Furthermore, given the geopolitical tensions, the Russian Foreign Ministry is urging citizens to carefully consider any travel to Thailand, said Maria Zakharova, official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. “Many Russians, without even realizing it, risk literally finding themselves in the crosshairs of American intelligence services. Under the current circumstances, we strongly recommend that Russian citizens who have the slightest reason to believe they could be subject to criminal prosecution by American authorities refrain from traveling to Thailand, which has a bilateral extradition treaty with the United States,” Zakharova said during a briefing.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said: “Russia will respond decisively and destructively to any NATO aggression against its regions.”
“Words alone are not enough in response to Kiev’s actions,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continued regarding the drone strikes in Moscow. According to Lavrov, Russia will carry out massive strikes against Ukrainian Armed Forces targets; the task assigned by Putin is being carried out.
The minister also added: “The current international situation poses the risk of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. Russia prefers that the objectives of joint military operations be achieved through diplomatic channels. The EU is seeking negotiations on Ukraine to save the Kiev regime. Europe is strengthening its military capabilities, including its nuclear capabilities. The EU wants to buy time to achieve ‘combat readiness’ for a possible conflict with Russia by 2030. Moscow is concerned about Paris’ plans to provide a ‘nuclear umbrella’ to several EU and NATO countries. Europeans must understand that there is no return to the old security model.”
And again from Russia, this time the Ministry of Defense returned to the issue of American chemical laboratories in Ukraine: “New evidence has emerged that Ukraine is developing biological weapons,” the Russian Ministry of Defense stated. “A veterinary institute in Kharkiv has been studying serious human-transmissible diseases with pandemic potential. Documents on Pentagon biological research published by the US Director of National Intelligence are evidence of Kiev’s violation of the Biological Weapons Convention. In Ukraine, as part of biological warfare […] The University of the Philippines (UP) project studied the spread and migration of anthrax. The main contractors for the construction of the biolaboratories were Metabiota, Black & Witch, and CHTM Hill. Biological laboratories in Ukraine have conducted studies on the pathogens that cause plague, anthrax, tularemia, Marburg virus, and Ebola fever.”
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on June 19. Mykhailivka and Mais’ke villages and along the railway lines leading to the district center. A Ukrainian counterattack west of Ryasne was repelled by Russian forces.
In the Kursk region, a Ukrainian drone attacked the village of Stepanovka, in the Rylsky district. One person was injured.
In the Belgorod region, one person was killed and seven others were injured, including a doctor and an ORLEAN soldier, in several drone strikes in various locations. Numerous villages are under constant Ukrainian fire.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Northern Forces group is fighting for the capture of Kozakha Lopan. In the Vovchansk sector, firefights continue in the villages of Losivka, Ukrains’ke, and in the forests of the Vovchansk district.
In the southern sector of Kupyansk, fighting continues near Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, on the eastern bank. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are moving reserves to strengthen their defenses.
In the Slovyansk sector, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of a key Ukrainian defense area, Rai-Oleksandrivka, after months of fighting. Clearing operations are ongoing. Slovyansk is located 15 km away.
Kostyantynivka remains a high-intensity combat zone, with Russian forces pushing Ukrainian forces north and disrupting their logistics.
In the Dobropillya sector, counterattacks are underway for Myrne (northwest of Hryshyne). Further north, the battle for Bilyt’ke is ongoing.
In Donetsk, six civilians were injured by drone strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the Eastern Group of Forces’ offensive zone, Ukrainian forces have ordered the mandatory evacuation of children and their parents from the rural community of Dubove, in the Synelnykove District. In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region, units of the Eastern Group of Forces continue to penetrate Ukrainian defenses towards the villages of Lyubyts’ke and Zirnytsya.
In the Zaporizhia region, seven civilians were injured and one was killed by strikes by Ukrainian Armed Forces. The strikes targeted the municipal districts of Vasylivka, Berdyansk, Kamyansko-Dniprovskyi, Tokmats’kyi, and Yakymivka, as well as the cities of Enerkhodar and Melitopol.
In the Kherson region, five civilians were injured in Ukrainian Armed Forces drone strikes over the past 24 hours. A total of 126 drone strikes and 11 bombing incidents have been recorded in the last 24 hours. Bridges are being repaired after the attacks.
Graziella Giangiulio
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