Russia-Ukraine War: List of the most important events, day 853 | News about the Russia-Ukraine War

These are the most important developments on the 853rd day of the war.

Here is the situation on Thursday, June 27, 2024.

Battle

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited soldiers defending the eastern front region around Donetsk and introduced Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov, the new commander of the joint forces. Hnatov’s main task is to “save the lives of as many fighters as possible” while pushing back the invading Russian forces, Zelensky said in a video. The clip was shot in front of the town sign of Pokrovsk, where five people were killed and dozens injured in Russian attacks earlier this week.
• Five Lithuanians were injured when their vehicle came under fire while they were bringing aid to troops in Pokrovsk, officials and team members said. “All five of us are in hospital,” Sigitas Maliauskas, one of the Lithuanians, told AFP via Facebook. One of the volunteers had to have a leg amputated, a colleague said.
• Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, said the situation in the border town of Vovchansk was “explosive” as heavy fighting with Russian invading forces took place there. He said several dozen Russian soldiers were trapped in an industrial facility in the town and that Moscow had also launched aircraft attacks on Vovchansk, which is about five kilometers from the border.
• A Russian missile attack hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa and damaged an administrative building, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. No casualties were reported.

Politics and Diplomacy

• Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich was tried behind closed doors in Russia on espionage charges. Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, appeared in a glass-walled dock with a shaved head. He and the Journal have vigorously denied the charges. The United States has labeled the reporter “wrongfully imprisoned.” The next hearing is scheduled for August 13.
• Russia said it had ordered Carola Schneider, the chief correspondent of the Austrian ORF in Moscow, to leave the country in a “forced retaliatory measure” for Vienna’s decision to withdraw the accreditation of the chief correspondent of the state news agency TASS in Austria.
• The European Union has announced sanctions against Belarus “to close the biggest gap in our sanctions regime” against Russia, the EU presidency said in a statement. The bloc this week adopted its 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• The US Department of Justice has filed charges against 22-year-old Russian Amin Timovich Stigal for conspiring to hack and destroy computer systems and data in Ukraine and allied countries, including the US. The department has offered a reward of ten million dollars for information leading to his whereabouts.
• NATO has appointed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the organisation’s next Secretary General, taking over from Jens Stoltenberg. Rutte, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, will take up his new post on October 1.
• Russian pranksters using the code names “Vovan and Lexus” released footage of a video call with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron after tricking him into believing he was speaking to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The Foreign Ministry did not comment on the authenticity of the video, but confirmed earlier this month that the call had taken place. “Vovan and Lexus” are known in Russia for having duped a number of Western politicians over the years, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

weapons

• The EU is expected to sign a security agreement with President Zelensky on Thursday. The agreement will outline the EU’s commitment to help Ukraine in nine security and defense policy areas – including arms supplies, military training, defense industry cooperation and mine clearance – according to a draft seen by Reuters.