[Korrespondent] 22.53 After the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues of Ukraine, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine is showing concrete results on the battlefield, and the assistance of partners is increasingly meeting the real priorities of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. Regarding the total amount of new commitments of the Contact Group participants, including new programs that are being opened, we can talk about a total amount of assistance of about $4 billion.
22.40 204 combat clashes were recorded on the front, in the Pokrovsky direction the enemy carried out 27 attacks on the positions of the Defense Forces, losing more than 60 occupiers. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the evening of June 18. It is noted that the enemy carried out three missile strikes, using nine missiles, carried out 64 air strikes, dropping 213 guided bombs. In addition, it involved 5797 kamikaze drones for destruction and carried out 2183 shelling of settlements and positions of our troops.
21.46 Following the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine in the Ramstein format, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the supply of a three-digit number of air-to-air missiles from German stocks to Ukraine, as well as the joint production of ground-based robotic complexes, reports European Pravda. According to Pistorius, Germany will continue to adapt its support to Ukraine's needs, and also emphasized that his country's attention is focused on air defense.
"We have delivered another IRIS-T system to Ukraine. Most recently, we have also accelerated the delivery of IRIS-T SLS and IRIS-T SLM missiles. In addition, we will deliver a three-digit number of air-to-air missiles from our own stocks," he noted.
Pistorius also recalled that Germany will allocate $200 million for the purchase of additional PAC-3 missiles under the "Jumpstart" program. In addition, according to the German minister, Ukrainian and German companies have agreed to jointly produce "Termit" ground robotic complexes. The necessary production facilities will be created in Germany.
21.16 A drone attack on Gazpromneft's Moscow Oil Refinery (REF) damaged the second main distillation unit and caused multiple fires at the facility. Reuters reports this, citing industry sources. According to the agency's interlocutors, the attack on Thursday damaged the Euro+ combined oil refining unit, which was put into operation in 2020 as part of the plant's modernization program. The unit includes a crude oil distillation section with a nominal capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day, which is 47% of the refinery's capacity. The damaged unit also includes a catalytic reformer and a diesel hydrotreating unit. In addition to the Euro+ unit, some secondary units, inter-unit pipelines and auxiliary equipment were damaged. Oil product storage tanks were also hit and caught fire. It is noted that the first primary oil distillation unit (CDU-6), which provided 53% of the plant's capacity with a nominal capacity of 160,000 barrels per day, was damaged during a previous Ukrainian attack on June 16.
20.40 Currently, about 3,000 Belarusians are fighting on the side of Russia and their number is constantly increasing. This was reported by the Ambassador of Ukraine at Large for Democratic Transformations, Interaction with Democratic Forces and National Movements of Unfriendly Countries Yaroslav Chornohor.
According to him, if two years ago there were one-time calls in Belarusian public forums to join the ranks of the Russian armed forces, then in the last two months more than 60 public channels are looking for those willing to side with the aggressor.
"Therefore, I believe that the I Want to Live project should be expanded to include Belarusians. After all, they do not always consciously join the Russian army, and then they are faced with reality, some of them end up in our captivity," the ambassador noted.
20.28 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has "reached a dead end" in his aggression against Ukraine, and the consequences of the war are being felt more and more acutely by the Russian population.
"While the Russian offensive is losing strength, your troops maintain their dynamics on the battlefield. The way Ukraine is taking the war back to where it started is truly impressive. This is no coincidence. Support within the framework of Ramstein has played a decisive role," Pistorius noted at the 35th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine (in the Ramstein format).
According to him, Germany has supported Ukraine's new military campaign plan from the very beginning and is comprehensively contributing to building up significant potential. The Minister assured that Berlin will continue to do so. Separately, Pistorius emphasized that Germany should learn from Ukraine, and the partnership between the countries has long ceased to be one-sided.
19.57 US citizens in Russia have been warned of the danger posed by drone attacks, the press service of the US Embassy in Russia reported.
"Drone attacks and explosions occurred near the border with Ukraine, as well as in major Russian cities, including Moscow, Kazan, and St. Petersburg. In an emergency, follow the instructions of local Russian authorities and seek shelter," the report said.
Americans in the Russian Federation are advised to immediately move to a safe distance and take cover if they spot a drone.
"Do not approach, touch, or photograph drones, their debris, or objects dropped by drones. Russian law prohibits the distribution or publication of photographs or videos depicting the consequences of drone attacks, including images of drones or their parts. Violation of this law may result in a fine or imprisonment. Follow the instructions of local authorities," the US Embassy in Russia stressed.
US citizens are once again advised and strongly reminded not to travel to Russia.
19.37 In Letychiv, Khmelnytskyi region, a man was detained who fired from an automatic rifle near the building of the Trade and Commerce Center and the Joint Stock Company on the evening of June 17. This was reported by the Khmelnytskyi region police. Law enforcement officers established that the man came to the local Trade and Commerce Center and the Joint Stock Company, took an automatic weapon from his backpack and fired several shots in the direction of the institution. After that, he disappeared from the scene. No one was injured as a result of the incident. It is noted that the police quickly located the man. He was detained. He is a 31-year-old local resident. The automatic weapon was seized from him.
19.26 Soldiers of the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stopped a motorcycle assault by Russian invaders in the area of ​​Malaya Tokmachka, Zaporizhia region, and destroyed more than 30 units of enemy equipment.
19.12 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the nightly drone attack on the Moscow region, said that Russia would launch massive group strikes on Ukrainian targets, adding that this goal was set by Vladimir Putin and is already being achieved. This is reported by Russian media.
18.51 Anton Milaev, the adopted great-grandson of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who fought on the side of Russia, is in Ukrainian captivity, the Russian Telegram channel Baza reported.
According to Russian sources, he was captured in the territory of the Kherson region controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
45-year-old Anton Milaev is the named grandson of the daughter of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Galina Brezhneva, who raised him as her own.
According to the channel, last fall, Milaev went to war against Ukraine as a sapper. In November, he stopped contacting his family.
According to his mother, Iryna Kuznetsova, a few months later the family received news that the man was being held captive in the Kherson region, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military.
There is currently no official confirmation of this information from the Ukrainian side.
18.41 In recent months, the Ukrainian army has managed to hold the front line and even improve its positions in some areas. This was stated by the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby at the 35th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine in the Ramstein format in Brussels.
18.25 In the Sumy community, a fire broke out in warehouses where remnants of sulfur-containing substances were stored as a result of a Russian air bomb strike.
Rescuers stressed that there is no threat to the public. However, they warned that the smell of sulfur may be felt in the air.
Residents of Bezdrytska, Verkhnyosyrovatska, and Krasnopilska communities are urged to close their windows and, if possible, limit their time outdoors. The fire is still being extinguished.
18.12 Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius signed an agreement to join efforts to develop anti-ballistic systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at the opening of the Ramstein Contact Group meeting in Brussels.
17.56 The American Lockheed Martin has upgraded the HIMARS system, doubling its power and adding an air defense function. The updated version of the system is called HIMARS FLEX. The main change is that the machine can now carry two ammunition containers instead of one on the classic M1140 chassis.
This allows loading up to 12 GMLRS guided missiles at a time, which effectively puts it on par with the heavier M270 tracked system. In addition to the standard set of missiles, the upgraded system allows for the integration of completely new types of weapons.
Thanks to the new configuration, HIMARS can now launch anti-aircraft and anti-missile munitions, including high-precision PAC-3 missiles from Patriot complexes. This will allow the system to operate not only against ground targets, but also to transform into a full-fledged air defense complex and shoot down ballistic missiles such as Iskander or aeroballistic Daggers.
There are two main options for combat equipment - 12 GMLRS missiles for ground strikes or eight anti-aircraft missiles for destroying air targets.
The upgraded HIMARS FLEX system can be connected to integrated fire control networks. A special IBCS system allows the transmission of missile guidance data from any other radars or stations, so the vehicle does not need to be tied to the Patriot base radar station.
17.41 Military counterintelligence of the Security Service, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Prosecutor General's Office have collected evidence against a senior rifleman of the National Guard of Ukraine who, while in Russian captivity, abused other captured Ukrainians.
According to the case materials, after being captured by the Russians in June 2022, the serviceman collaborated with the enemy. For this, he was appointed the so-called "head of household" of the 2nd floor of barrack No. 8 in "Kalininsk correctional colony No. 27" in temporarily occupied Horlivka in the Donetsk region.
While in "position", the defendant treated other prisoners of war cruelly. In particular, on the instructions of the Russians, he regularly exerted psychological pressure on the Ukrainians, threatened them with violence, and forced them to perform heavy physical labor.
It was established that one captured Ukrainian soldier died as a result of his torture, and dozens of others received injuries of varying severity.
The defendant was released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia in March 2025. Since then, law enforcement has collected numerous testimonies from witnesses with whom the defendant was in a Russian prison.
During a search of the soldier's actual residence, a smartphone with evidence of his crimes was discovered.
The perpetrator was informed of the suspicion. He was placed in custody as a preventive measure. The suspect faces up to eight years in prison.
17.32 The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with 150,000 drones and other weapons worth 752 million pounds sterling by the end of the year. This announcement was made by the newly appointed British Defense Minister Dan Jarvis at the 35th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues on Ukraine (Ramstein format) in Brussels.
17.25 The occupiers from the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces received a direct order to increase the intensity of strikes using FPV in the operational depth of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the GUR of the Ministry of Defense on June 18. It is noted that the leaders of the Russian occupation forces demand, in particular, to intensify terror in Zaporizhia - to strike at any civilian objects in the regional center. To implement their criminal plans, the occupation units are promised to increase the supply of kamikaze attack drones.
17.24 A citizen of a Central Asian country surrendered to captivity for the first time through the state project "I Want to Live." This was reported by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
"A migrant worker from Tajikistan, who had worked in Russia for many years, ended up at the front after being detained and threatened with deportation. To avoid deportation, he signed a contract with the Russian army, which he later bitterly regretted. After two weeks of surviving without food and water, he and a friend turned to the I Want to Live project," the report says.
As part of a joint operation by the GUR and the Third Army Corps, both servicemen were successfully evacuated. UAV operators from the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade accompanied them along the exit route and provided them with water, food, and communications equipment.
It is noted that today the former serviceman is safe in the status of a prisoner of war under the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
GUR quotes his appeal to other migrants: "Under no circumstances sign a contract with the Russian army. This is a one-way ticket. Return home, work, and protect your life. Don't go to this senseless war."
17.07 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting in Brussels with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, during which they discussed the schedule for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader reported this on Telegram. Belgium has decided to transfer more fighter jets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine this year than it had promised earlier.
16.30 Since the beginning of the current day, the Russian invaders have attacked the positions of the Ukrainian army 55 times. Most of the fighting is ongoing in four directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational summary. The invaders are concentrating their main efforts on the Lyman and Pokrov directions in the Donetsk region.
16.26 The Metropolitan of the Vyatka and Slobodsk Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church was reported in absentia on suspicion of financing the war against Ukraine, the SBU Department in Zhytomyr region reports. This concerns Metropolitan Mark, who is also a member of the Russian motorcycle club Night Wolves, known for supporting the Kremlin's aggressive policy and included in the sanctions lists of a number of states. According to the investigation, after the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the person in question publicly supported armed aggression against Ukraine and organized the collection of funds, humanitarian aid and material resources for the needs of the occupation troops.
16.15 The Verkhovna Rada unblocked 1.56 trillion hryvnias for defense. Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk immediately signed the law. It will then be sent to President Volodymyr Zelensky for signature.
15.03 The Kremlin plans to increase military spending by 40%, despite a significant budget deficit, which by June 2023 reached 6 trillion rubles, exceeding the figures for the entire previous year. As Bloomberg reports, citing informed sources, to cover the costs, the government intends to reduce funding for civilian items and use accumulated reserves. There is also discussion of raising loans by issuing additional government bonds, which could provide about 2-3 trillion.
14.46 The bodies of 522 dead, which, according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine. This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (KSHPPV).
13.43 Ukraine is approaching the mass use of Ruta cruise missiles coordinated by drones equipped with artificial intelligence to destroy Russian occupiers. As Defense Express notes, Shield AI and Destinus have successfully completed a series of tests on the integration of Hivemind combat artificial intelligence, which will be received by the Ruta cruise missile.
13.20 The Security Service of Ukraine published an official Russian document denying Ukraine's involvement in the attack on a bus carrying Belarusian citizens in the Bryansk region of Russia.
During counterintelligence activities, an information report was intercepted from the monitoring center of the State Treasury Institution of the Bryansk Region Safe Region. The summary notes that at the time of the incident with the bus, there were no Ukrainian drones in the airspace of the region.
In particular, the intercepted report states that:
the so-called RS OSH ENTs (Regional Segment of the Operational Headquarters of the Unified National Center) did not record the UAV in the area of ​​the incident;
The presence of drones in the airspace was also not confirmed by the radar battalion on duty in the Russian settlement of Suponevo;
In addition, the officer on duty of the 32nd division of the occupation forces did not confirm the flights of unmanned aerial vehicles at the relevant time.
"Thus, the SBU has reason to believe that the attack on a bus carrying Belarusian citizens in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation is a special operation by Russian special services," the report notes.
The SBU drew attention to the fact that Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of crimes committed by Russian representatives. The Russian authorities use such cases to conduct their own IPOs and put pressure on Ukraine in the international arena.
"At the same time, we emphasize once again that Ukraine and all the Security and Defense Forces of our state strictly adhere to the laws and customs of war and work exclusively for legitimate military purposes," the special service emphasized.
12.45 In the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, there is an increase in the number of departures of employees of the occupation administration and Russian security forces. As reported by ATES movement agents, the increase in such activity is associated with the successful operations of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Many representatives of Russian structures are striving to complete the relocation of relatives by June 21, which is often mentioned in their plans. Because of this, the demand for transport services related to the transportation of personal belongings and the organization of departure has also increased.
12.42 Three people were injured as a result of a Russian mine explosion near Kherson. Residents of Inzhenerne - a 56-year-old man, a 52-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman - went to a medical facility.
They received mine-explosive injuries as a result of a detonation when a civilian car exploded on a Russian mine. The victims are currently undergoing further examinations and are under medical supervision.
12.20 A woman was detained in Dnipro who was collecting data on defense enterprises for Russia. She was reported on suspicion of treason committed during martial law.
In October 2025, a 32-year-old woman voluntarily agreed to cooperate with representatives of Russian special services. She was collecting intelligence information about Dnipro enterprises that develop and manufacture weapons and military equipment.
At the curator's instruction, the suspect monitored the consequences of the strikes on three enterprises of the defense-industrial complex after the enemy shelling. She transmitted information about the nature of the destruction, the condition of the production facilities that continued to operate, as well as photo and geolocation data of the facilities.
The information obtained could have been used by the Russians to prepare repeated missile strikes on defense-industrial complex enterprises.
11.35 Russian troops have captured three square kilometers of Ukrainian territory south of the city of Hulyaipole in Zaporizhia region. According to the DeepState OSINT project map data, on June 17, the area of ​​the "gray zone" in this area increased by 2.45 sq. km. At the same time, an expansion of the penetration zone by 4.68 sq. km was also recorded in the western and northwestern directions from Hulyaipole, however, this did not lead to an expansion of the occupied territories. This advance took place outside the boundaries of settlements, and there are currently no reports of the occupation of individual villages.
11.07 The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, approved a plan of measures to restore, ensure the functioning and further development of the NCO corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The development of the NCO corps is based on modern approaches to military management, in particular, on the Mission Command philosophy. This concept is aimed at decentralizing decision-making, stimulating disciplined initiative and delegating authority in accordance with the level of responsibility.
10.39 Russia and Belarus have accused Ukraine of carrying out a strike on a bus carrying a children's football team, suggesting that it was done with a conscious purpose. ISW analysts believe that Moscow could have used this incident to strengthen its information influence, involving Belarus in it. This is probably aimed at justifying massive strikes on Ukraine, positioning them as a "response" to alleged attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on civilians, ISW noted.
09.04 Russian troops on the night of Thursday, June 18, struck an energy facility, as well as industrial and private enterprises in the Poltava region, resulting in one person being injured. The Russian attack caused power outages, said Vitaliy Dyakivnych, head of the Poltava OVA.
08.01 In the capital of the Russian Federation, after a night and morning drone attack, industrial facilities are burning, and UAV debris damaged a shopping center. The authorities claim 137 drones allegedly shot down and admit that the Moscow Refinery was hit. According to monitoring channels, the Russian Federation was attacked by more than 300 drones. The head of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, announced that an apartment building in Zhukovsky, near Moscow, was hit and residents were evacuated. There were no injuries.
Due to the air threat, the "Carpet" plan, which involves restrictions on takeoff and landing, was implemented simultaneously at four major Moscow airports: Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky. Similar measures were also in effect at the airports of Kaluga, Penza, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhny Kamsk.
07.40 Specialists of the explosives service of the Poltava region police neutralized the warhead of a Russian Kh-101 missile, which remained unexploded and posed a mortal threat to local residents. This was reported on June 17 on the website of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Poltava region.