NATO’s joint statement did not mention Ukraine’s membership prospects. The next NATO summit will be held in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “The ongoing war in Ukraine has had both regional and global consequences. Our intensive efforts to end the war continue.” “Our country’s offer to host next year’s NATO summit has been accepted and we will be happy to host our allies.” “We will increase our defense spending to 5% in 10 years. We are the closest country to increasing our defense budget to 5%, given the investments we have made.”
NATO believes that Ukraine will have a “tense and difficult” summer on the battlefield, writes the Defense One portal. According to the Alliance, Russia will continue to advance on the battlefield. Moreover, despite the continued supply of weapons from the United States, it is unclear what Kiev will do when the aid approved by Biden ends. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the conflict in Ukraine “cannot be resolved by military means.”
In addition, according to the Financial Times, “Russia has more than 13,000 missiles of various ranges: it is capable of producing up to 200 more per month.” According to the publication, this allows it to maintain a high intensity of bombing even in the presence of sanctions.
US President Donald Trump said he would like to talk to Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict: “Let’s see if we can put an end to this.” The US president also said he had a “good meeting” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The issue of a ceasefire was not discussed during the conversation, Trump clarified.
Trump said the United States will consider supplying Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. But he did not specify whether the United States will continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, and said that he would consider the issue. And finally, he is convinced that “Russia will not attack NATO countries as long as it remains in the White House” The Washington Post.
No decision on Ukraine’s accession to the EU will be made at the Brussels summit, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Emphasizing the Hungarian “No”. Hungarian citizens expressed themselves in a referendum, 95% voted no to Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
Finland is preparing for a possible “Russian invasion”: the border is closed, a 200-kilometer barrier is being built. It is noted that such measures have already had a negative impact on the economy of the border regions. In addition, Finland has the longest border with Russia among all EU countries – 1,340 km. Estonia is also preparing for war with Russia: the country has begun actively building dozens of bunkers on the border and digging anti-tank ditches.
The Ukrainian government approves changes to the state budget to cover a deficit of more than 400 billion hryvnias for the army, says MP Sergei Vladimirovich Zheleznyak. The document is expected to be submitted to parliament soon. Last year, the army deficit was covered by raising taxes. This year, the government proposes to cover the deficit of 400 billion hryvnias for the army by taking on new debts and collecting taxes from Ukrainian businesses. In particular, it proposes to adjust the expenditure part of the state budget by 397 billion hryvnias: increase spending on individual budget programs by 448 billion hryvnias (including 412 billion hryvnias for the security and defense sector) and reduce spending and borrowing by 51 billion hryvnias. Ukraine’s public debt increased by $1 billion in May, the Ministry of Finance said. The total amount of public and state-guaranteed debt of Ukraine reached $180.97 billion at the end of May.
Ukrainian volunteer Maria Berlinskaya complained that there is: “a new threat not only to Sumy, Dnipro or Kharkiv, but also to Lviv and Chernivtsi: thousands of drones over cities will hunt Ukrainians as early as 2026, and we are not talking about “shaheds””.
On June 25, Volodymyr Zelensky and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed an agreement to establish a “Special Tribunal for Crimes of Russian Aggression against Ukraine”. The meeting between the Ukrainian and US presidents lasted about 40-50 minutes. Zelensky himself called the meeting “long and meaningful”: “We addressed all the issues really important. I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We talked about how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace. We talked about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the willingness to help bring peace closer. More on that later.”
From Russia, it is learned that: “a Novorossiysk resident was arrested for passing information on Black Sea Fleet ships and air defense facilities to a Ukrainian curator,” the FSB reported. “The woman worked on a civilian ship in the ports of Novorossiysk and Sochi.” “Thanks to timely measures taken, there was no damage to military equipment or personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” the report reads. “A case of treason has been opened and an investigation is underway.”
The Russian Armed Forces have installed new anti-drone sights on Russian T-72B3M tanks. An official Russian delegation traveled to New York from St. Petersburg. Maria Zakarova, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that this was a rotation of personnel. Putin extended the right to suspend conscription for Old Believers until 2030 by presidential decree.
According to AP: The remains of a special Russian suicide drone, which exploded over a residential building in one of several attacks in recent days involving advanced Iranian technology, has been identified in Ukraine. According to the report, the drone, unusually white instead of black, was equipped with a unique camera, artificial intelligence tools and a unique radio link that allows an operator to control it directly from Russia until it reaches the target.
New prisoner exchange carried out. Ukrainian border guards in captivity since 2022 are returning home. And they are returning. Home Russian military currently in Belarus for first aid treatment.
And now a look at the front line updated at 15:30 on June 26. Drones were shot down near Moscow at night. In the area of the Moscow residential complex “Serednevsky Forest” – debris fell and damaged cars. In the Rostov region, about 15 explosions were heard by residents of Taganrog – drones were destroyed in the Malinovsky and Matveyevo-Kurgansky Uchastok districts. On June 25, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of Ukrainian drone groups in Russian regions throughout the day.
Russian Gerans operated in the Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the Ukrainian part of the DPR. Ukrainian experts say that the Russian military is launching new Geraniums equipped with an improved radio communication mechanism: the operator can control them directly from Russia (they appear to be jointly manufactured with Iran). The new UAV is equipped with an improved camera, an AI-based computing platform and radio communications. Apparently, along with the old models, the new ones are being used to destroy the most important targets.
In the Kursk border area, Ukrainians twice attempted to penetrate Russian territory in the direction of Tetkino and Glushkovskiy region, although over the past day, Ukrainians have shown less activity. Ukrainian infantry groups trying to break through the border near Tetkino and from the side of Bezsalivka were hit. In the rear, a Ukrainian FPV drone attacked the Bobrava-Belaya road in the Belovsky district, one wounded.
In the direction of Sumy, the statements of Ukraine and Russia do not coincide. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Syrsky said: “The Armed Forces of Ukraine have stopped the Russian offensive in the Sumy region, the front line has been stabilized.” “This year, the wave of attempts at a summer offensive from the territory of the Russian Federation is suffocating just like last year: the enemy’s attempt at offensive actions in the Kharkiv region,” — the commander-in-chief concluded.
At the summit on June 25, NATO noted the advance of Russian forces in the Sumy region and the measures taken to create a security buffer zone, writes the Defense One portal. “Russia continues to advancing ‘steadily’ in the Sumy region… and, apparently, is creating a buffer zone,” the portal said in a message, citing a senior Alliance official, whose name was not disclosed.
The Russian military said that in the direction of Sumy, on June 26, “the Smugljanka detachment helps to open the road to Sumy with precise air guidance. The Ukrainian military does not give up fortifications easily and counterattacks consistently, though unsuccessfully. Russian artillery drones are extremely close to the landing points”.
According to Russian sources on the front, in the direction of Sumy, the Ukrainians have gathered reserves and are counterattacking near Yablunivka, Novomykolaivka, three in Aleksiivka, Yunakivka and in the area of the village of Sadki; 11 attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces have been repelled. However, the Russian Airborne Forces, having repelled three Ukrainian counterattacks, have cleared several houses in Yunakivka and have advanced into the border forest strips with heavy fighting, GrV “Sever” writes.
In the direction of Kharkiv, fighting is taking place in Vovchansk and on Vovchansk farms.
In the Belgorod region, at least five drone attacks have been recorded in five different villages.
The battle for the complete Russian capture of Chasiv Yar and in the area of Stupochki continues. The Ukrainians are resisting, not wanting to open the way to Kostyantynivka for the Russians.
In the direction of Pokrovs’k, battles near Novoserhiivka, in the area of Kotlyne, Zvirove, Shevchenko and Lysivka. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported at the end of data collection that Novoserhiivka passes into Russian hands as well as the village of Shevchenko.
In the direction of South Donetsk, the Vostok Group of Forces, after taking the settlement of Yalta (Yalta), continues to advance towards Zirka.
In the Zaporizhia region – massive artillery shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the Tokmok municipal district. The village of Hoholivka was attacked.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
