Here are the key events on day 1,218 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is how things stand on Thursday, June 26:
Fighting
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Russian air defence units destroyed two drones targeting Moscow, the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said. Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport suspended departures and arrivals in response to the threat, news agencies quoted aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya as saying. Restrictions were also in place for a time at airports along the Volga River.
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The governor of the Russian region of Voronezh, which borders Ukraine, reported that more than 40 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed throughout the day.
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In Russia’s Bryansk region, also on the border, the regional governor said that seven drones had been destroyed.
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The Russian Ministry of Defence, in a report earlier in the evening, reported that 18 drones had been destroyed over a three-hour period in several regions extending through central and southern Russia.
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Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Yalta in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency claimed, citing the Defence Ministry in Moscow.
Politics and diplomacy
- NATO allies have pledged to increase their annual defence spending to a total of 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. Amid Russia’s military threat, the transatlantic military bloc also reaffirmed its commitment to collective defence, stating that “an attack on one is an attack on all”.
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United States President Donald Trump said he would consider providing more Patriot missiles that Ukraine needs to defend against mounting Russian strikes, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “really has to end that war”.
- Trump also said that he will speak to Putin “soon” about ending the war. He also told reporters that it is possible that Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed with Trump the possible joint production of drones during their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
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Ukraine and the Council of Europe human rights body have signed an agreement forming the basis for a special tribunal intended to bring to justice senior Russian officials for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. An agreement on the matter was signed by Zelenskyy and Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset at the Council’s headquarters in Strasbourg.
- Following the signing of the agreement in Strasbourg, Zelenskyy said “strong political and legal courage” was required to make sure every Russian “war criminal faces justice”, including Russian President Putin.
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The whole of NATO, including the US, is “totally committed” to keeping Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, the alliance’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, said in an interview.
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Putin will not travel to next week’s BRICS summit in Brazil because of an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the European Union had evolved into an enemy of Russia that posed a direct threat to its security, and Moscow was now opposed to Ukraine joining the trade and political bloc.
- German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stressed the importance of the US as a partner in the Ukraine conflict and said allies were working to prevent Washington from losing interest, in comments to the ARD broadcaster.
