Ukrainian Brigade warns of Russian attempt to take Borova in Kharkiv Oblast

Important developments on June 18:

• Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade warns of a Russian attempt to capture Borova in Kharkiv Oblast
• Kyiv claims Russian troops beheaded a Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk Oblast
• Putin arrives in North Korea to sign strategic partnership agreement
• Media: Sources say Italy could send Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine
• Source: SBU drones attack Russian oil depots in Rostov Oblast

Russian troops are intensifying their attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing the village of Borova in neighboring Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade said on June 18.

Borova is located about 35 kilometers south of Kupiansk and only 20 kilometers west of the front line in Luhansk Oblast.

In a Post on TelegramThe brigade said Moscow’s forces were using tanks, first-point-view (FPV) drones and anti-aircraft missiles in their advance, and claimed they had used chemical weapons, but did not provide further details.

“The front line… in Kharkiv Oblastadjacent Luhansk Oblastis today one of the areas with the most intensive enemy offensive,” they wrote.

“The immediate task of the occupiers is to reach the (villages) of Cherneshchyna (and) Pershotravneve and then to take Borova.”

According to the crowdsourcing Deep State According to the Russian monitoring service, Russia has amassed 10,000 troops in a “shock fist” operation to take the village.

Borova was occupied by Russian forces in March 2022, but was freed later that year during Ukraine’s major counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast.

Both the 3rd Assault Brigade and DeepState reported that Russian forces are currently suffering heavy losses but are able to replenish their troop strength.

“The enemy is using entire platoons and companies to attack our positions,” wrote the 3rd Assault Brigade.

“Their rapid liquidation will be compensated by the increase in manpower by 250-400 soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation every week.”

The brigade stated that it had managed to hold the front line “despite the enemy’s numerical superiority and lack of reserves”.

The Kyiv Independent could not confirm the reports.

The White House demands that Ukraine win the war before it can join NATO

His statement came days after Kyiv and Washington signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement at the G7 summit in Italy. The parties see it as a “bridge to Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership.”

Russian troops beheaded Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk Oblast, Kyiv claims

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin on June 18 accused Russian forces of beheading a Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk region, saying it was another war crime and part of a “planned strategy” by the Kremlin.

In a post on social media Costin His office had received information that Russian commanders had given orders “not to take Ukrainian soldiers prisoner, but to kill them with inhuman cruelty – by beheading.”

His post was accompanied by a blurry image showing a military vehicle with a severed head on the hood.

The Kyiv Independent could not confirm the photo.

His office released further information in a post on Telegram, saying the gruesome discovery was made during an “aerial reconnaissance at one of the combat positions in the Donetsk region.”

“This is a terrible barbarism that has no place in the 21st century,” Kostin said.

“And this is further proof that the aggressor’s war crimes are not isolated cases, but a planned strategy of the Russian regime.”

“These criminal orders were given at the level of the battalion and company commands of the occupying forces.”

Kostin said Ukraine would not “leave these crimes unpunished” and called on the “entire civilized world to isolate and punish this terrorist country.”

Russia is accused of numerous War crimes during the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, including the execution of captured Ukrainian soldiers.

Earlier this month, Ombudsman of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate videos showing Ukrainian prisoners of war allegedly being beaten, humiliated and threatened by Russian soldiers in the direction of Kharkiv.

“Unfortunately, such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception to the rule, but a common tactic of the occupiers,” Lubinets wrote.

Lubinets had previously appealed to the UN and the ICRC to investigate further crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war, including the Carrying out at least five Prisoners of war in Avdiivka in February.

By March 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine collected pre-trial information on 128,000 victims of war crimes.

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Putin arrives in North Korea to sign strategic partnership agreement

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang on June 18 for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Putin, who travelled to North Korea for the first time in 24 years, praised the country for supporting North Korea’s all-out war against Ukraine in an opinion piece in state media prior to the visit.

As Russia’s military reserves are running out and domestic production capacity is simultaneously being affected by Western sanctions, North Korea has become Russia’s leading arms supplier.

In anticipation of Putin’s arrival, his portraits and Russian flags were placed in the North Korean capital.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, the two countries are expected to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.

Putin claimed that Russia and North Korea were developing unspecified trade and payment systems “that are not controlled by the West” and were jointly resisting sanctions against them, which he described as “unilateral and illegal restrictive measures”.

Moscow has reportedly received extensive military packages from Pyongyang, including ballistic missiles and around 5 million artillery shells.

Both Kyiv And Washington had previously stated that Russia had used North Korean-made missiles in its attack on Ukraine.

In March, Ukrainian prosecutors reported that Russia had fired at 50 Such missiles are to attack six Ukrainian oblasts in the course of a comprehensive war.

Despite the growing alliance, Putin has not visited North Korea since 2000, when he met former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

The current North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un met with Putin in Russia in September 2023.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China was providing support that “enables Russia to maintain its defense industrial base, to keep the war machine running, to keep the war going.”

Ukraine could receive long-range Storm Shadow missiles from Italy, the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on June 18, citing unnamed sources.

“A batch” of Storm Shadow missiles and another SAMP/T air defense system is to be included in the ninth aid package for Ukraine, which Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto will present to the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee by the end of June.

In contrast to the missiles, the delivery of the SAMP/T system publicly confirmed by the Italian government.

The missiles were requested by Kiev, the source told NewspaperThe number of missiles to be sent was not announced.

With the delivery of Storm Shadow to Ukraine, Italy will become the fourth country, alongside Great Britain, France and the USA, to supply Kyiv with long-range missiles.

The British Storm Shadow Missilesand their French equivalent SCALPhave a range of up to 250 kilometers (150 miles), while the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which Washington is sending to Ukraine, has a flight time of about 300 kilometers.

Ukraine has repeatedly and successfully used these missiles to attack Russian targets in the occupied territories. including Crimea.

While several countries have said they have no objection to Ukraine attacking targets in Russia with Western-supplied weapons, Rome has repeatedly stated that its weapons are intended for use only within the borders of Ukraine.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the success of attacks on Russia’s interior using weapons from the West, saying the ability to “hit the positions and launch pads of Russian terrorists near the border … is really important.”

SBU drones hit Russian oil depots in Rostov Oblast, source says

Drones of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) attacked two oil depots in Russia’s Rostov region on the night of June 18, a source in the security and defense forces told the Kyiv Independent.

In recent months, Ukrainian Armed Forces have started a series of drone attacks aimed at damaging Russia’s oil industrywhose profits Moscow’s war effort.

Russian authorities reported fires at several oil storage tanks in the Russian city of Azov in the southwest of Rostov Oblast on the same day.

According to the source, the drone attack successfully targeted the Azovska and Azovnaftoprodukt oil depots, which housed 22 oil tanks. Heavy fires broke out after the reported attacks.

“The SBU will continue to implement ‘drone sanctions’ against the Russian oil refining complex and reduce the enemy’s economic potential, which will provide the aggressor with resources for waging war against Ukraine,” the source added.

According to local Telegram channels, residents reported hearing explosions and footage of the fire was shared on social media.

The source said the explosions were heard near the city’s railway station and the port where the oil depots are located.

In total, the SBU has carried out 20 successful attacks on Russian oil industry facilities in various regions, the source said. Other previous attacks have been linked to Ukraine. Military Intelligence (HUR) or the Armed Forces.

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According to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigative project Schemes, the depot in the Russian city of Azov is operated by Azovproduct and can store up to 30,000 tons of oil products.