Zelenskyy, Trump and Macron arrived at the G7 summit in Paris. “I propose a meeting with Putin at the G7 summit in the coming days. Trump and Macron will be present, meaning the Europeans plus the United States. This is a good opportunity for us to meet,” Zelensky said. “But Russia has once again demonstrated that it is not ready for dialogue,” he noted.
On June 16, Zelenskyy showed footage of his meeting with Trump. US Secretary of State Rubio was also present at the meeting, as was Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council. Speaking about his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in France, Donald Trump said that once the deal is concluded, Iran will take a back seat and the United States will focus on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. A subsequent meeting between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine will take place later. Trump emphasized that he wants to do everything possible to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. “Iran is no longer the primary objective; Ukraine is the priority. I had a very good meeting with Zelenskyy.” Russia must find an agreement; “He has lost a huge number of people, especially soldiers,” President Trump said in Evian.
Regarding the invitation to Putin to attend a meeting between Zelensky and Trump at the G7, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: “Zelenskyy’s offer to meet Putin at the G7 summit in France was not communicated to Russia through official channels.” “If Zelenskyy is ready to talk seriously, he can always come to Moscow.”
The German Chancellor said that the first “window for diplomacy” regarding ending the war in Ukraine has opened, according to The Guardian. Merz intends to discuss these diplomatic prospects in depth with Trump immediately after his arrival in Evian. At the same time, EU officials are concerned about the visit to Moscow by US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as this could indicate that US authorities want to negotiate with Russia on Ukraine without European participation, according to Politico.
Poland has suspended the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets. to Ukraine because Kiev has not shared its drone technology, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said. According to him, the aircraft will be transferred after this issue is resolved.
The Netherlands is preparing for a possible war with Russia: the country has tested the creation of a camp capable of housing up to 2,000 Russian prisoners of war in the event of a conflict, AD reports. The facility will be protected by artificial intelligence, motion-sensing cameras, and drones. Barracks for approximately 20 people will be available, as well as showers, a medical center, and a canteen.
Great Britain will finance supplies of enriched uranium for Ukrainian nuclear power plants for the next two years, according to Politico. The project will cost 210 million pounds (approximately $270-275 million). According to the British Prime Minister, these supplies should help ensure the stable operation of Ukraine’s energy system during future heating seasons.
The UK will announce new sanctions against Russia June 16. Restrictions are planned for ships carrying Russian LNG to counter the “shadow fleet.” The United Kingdom will reportedly be the first country to adopt such measures. The United Kingdom has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list by 43 items. Specifically, restrictions have been imposed on Rosgosstrakh, as well as subsidiaries of Yandex and Wildberries.
The Russian Armed Forces struck Kyiv for the first time with a Banderol drone, apparently targeting the Kyiv Radar Plant JSC. During the nighttime attack on June 15, the Palace of Ukraine in Kyiv was also hit.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are strengthening their defenses with drones on the border with Belarus: new units of unmanned systems will be created in the northern sector, Syrsky said. The unmanned component in the TRO brigades is also being strengthened. This will significantly improve the units’ capabilities in terms of reconnaissance, enemy engagement, and protection of designated areas of responsibility.
Zelenskyy confirmed The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the Moscow oil refinery. “An oil refinery 500 kilometers away was damaged. Russia must be forced to end the war against our people. And Ukrainian long-range weapons are an important component of that coercion. This is a fair response to Russian attacks and a response to the prolongation of a war that must end,” Zelenskyy said.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advised against speculating on the possible end date of the conflict in Ukraine. On Monday, June 15, during a visit to Minsk, Lavrov was asked by journalists whether he shared Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s view that the conflict in Ukraine could end this year. “I wouldn’t speculate now. Everything is being decided, as President Putin said, in a situation where the West is failing to fulfill its obligations, when, due to the EU’s aggressive policies, together with Great Britain, the Alaska agreements are being sabotaged. President Putin emphasized that in these circumstances, everything is being decided on the front lines, everything is being decided in our armed forces, which the entire country is watching,” Lavrov said.
Putin signed a decree on the holding of the State Duma elections on September 20.
Responding to the British Royal Marines’ blockade of the ship in the English Channel, Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian president and president of the Maritime College, stated: “The United Kingdom has made no attempt to intercept Russian tankers escorted by Russian naval vessels in the English Channel.” “We must not wait for NATO ships, planes, and drones to appear on our maritime borders: they are already trying to establish themselves there permanently. On the contrary, we must be right under the nose of a potential adversary,” Patrushev said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. “A good example is our Navy’s escort of merchant ships in the English Channel, literally off the coast of England. Not a single British ship or plane has made any move to cross it.”
The International Court of Justice has recognized Russia’s sovereignty within its new borders for the first time: “This is of great importance for the future,” said Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Medvedev. “But from the perspective of the current situation, the arbitration tribunal’s decision is completely irrelevant. Bandera’s Ukraine cares nothing for international law and international courts. It understands only the language of force. Therefore: We must destroy Bandera’s fleet, which is being replenished by those European scoundrels, including its naval drones; We must destroy their merchant ships carrying war material, assuming all their ships do so; We must continue to crush their armed forces, regardless of their rank and location,” Medvedev added.
The number of drones shot down approaching Moscow has reached 60, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced. Temporary air traffic restrictions are in effect at all four Moscow airports: Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky. A Moscow oil refinery was damaged by a drone attack, Sergei Sobyanin said. “There were no injuries. The drone attack on the capital has been ongoing for 24 hours,” the mayor said. Traffic in Moscow’s Kapotnya district was blocked following the drone attack on the Moskovskaya oil refinery, according to the press office of Moscow’s regional carrier Mostransavto. The fire at the refinery broke out at 10:30 a.m. Italian time. Russian military personnel shot down two Flamingo cruise missiles and 491 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones in 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
“Claims that China is aiding Russian troops in the war zone in Ukraine are slander,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said. This was his comment on the comments of EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas. “These claims have no factual basis; they are pure slander and defamation,” Lin Jian said. Following yesterday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas confirmed the information that “the Chinese military is training Russian soldiers to participate in combat operations in Ukraine.” She called Beijing “a decisive accomplice to the war,” AFP reports.
And now a look at the frontline, updated at 3:30 PM on June 16. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 172 Ukrainian drones overnight. A fire broke out at an oil depot in Poltavskaya, Krasnoarmeysky District, Krasnodar Krai. Following recent airstrikes, foreign media reported that Tatneft has halted production at its Nizhnekamsk refinery.
In Bryansk Oblast, Ukrainian forces carried out an airstrike with a fixed-wing drone during agricultural work on a field belonging to the Miratorg agricultural company, near the village of Selishche, Pochepsky District. Three machine operators were killed.
In the Sumy region, in the Shostka District, attack aircraft from the Sever Group of Forces continue to engage in small-arms fire near Bachivsk. In the Sumy District, Italian attack aircraft are engaged in combat near Ivolzhans’ke, Pysarivka, and the village of Nova Sich. In Krasnopil’s’kyi district, small-arms fire continues in wooded areas near the village of Mykhailivka and along the railway line leading to the district center.
In the Kursk region, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone injured one man.
In the Belgorod region, six people were injured in separate drone strikes. Numerous villages are under attack from Ukrainian forces.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Northern Group of Forces continues its offensive in the village of Kozakha Lopan’ and the surrounding forests. In the Vovchansk sector, our forces have advanced up to 500 meters in nine areas, and fighting continues in the village of Losivka and the forests of the Vovchansk district. In the Velykyi Burluk sector, fighting continues in the forests near Petro-Ivanivka.
In the direction of Kupyansk, Zapad fighters are pushing back Ukrainian forces from a bridgehead east of Oskil, with advances in Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, Kivsharivka, Novoosynove, and Hlushkivka, as confirmed by objective surveillance footage.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of the village of Dovha Balka, located southwest of Kostyantynivka.
The roads of Donetsk are under attack. One man was killed and three wounded by drone strikes on highways.
On the Zaporizhia front, intense fighting is once again underway for Stepnohirsk. Attacks on Russian rear areas continue, causing civilian casualties.
In the Kherson region, Ukrainian forces injured two civilians. Russian forces are responding with drone and FAB (Flight Air Border Force) strikes across the Dnieper.
Graziella Giangiulio
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