Eurasia Press & News
In today’s summary:
- Russian troops are rushing to the Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway on the northern flank of the Avdeevsky operational area
- The Russian Armed Forces entered the eastern suburbs of Chasov Yar, but attempts to storm the city head-on seem futile
- The Russian Ministry of Defense and Ramzan Kadyrov reported on the “liberation” of de facto non-existent settlements
- In the Kharkov direction, Ukrainian troops are conducting counterattack operations in Volchansk and in the area of the village of Liptsy
- Within a week, three military airfields in Russia were attacked at once – among other things, two of the newest Su-57s were damaged
- Confirmed losses of Russian air defense in June – four S-300/S-400 launchers, four radars and seven air defense systems
- A Su-34 fighter crashed in North Ossetia – this is the 47th non-combat loss of Russian aviation during the war
- Argentina announced plans to transfer rare Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard carrier-based attack aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Situation at the front
This week, events unfolded in a particularly threatening manner for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the eastern operational zone (mainly in the Donetsk region ). The situation in the Avdiivka operational area gave Ukrainian military observer Konstantin Mashovets a reason to talk about a “crisis” in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and warn that Russian tactical successes in the Ocheretino area could develop into operational successes if additional reserves are brought in.
DeepState writes about the advance of the Russian Armed Forces in Novoaleksandrovka , which lies towards the Pokrovsk – Konstantinovka highway , and Russian sources even report on the occupation of this settlement. Moving further south, in a westerly direction, Russian forces occupied Novopokrovskoye , and advanced into the villages of Sokol and Karlovka . At the same time, the author of the Z-channel “Junker” complains that the offensive in the Ocheretino region is bogged down, since “there is no one to develop success, there are no troops.”
Further south, in the Marinka area , Russian troops advanced into Paraskovievka , and also carried out a large-scale mechanized attack on Georgievka , claimed by sources on both sides ( 1 , 2 ). A Ukrainian soldier, the host of the Telegram channel “Officer ✙,” writes about the threat posed to the city of Kurakhovo , while his colleague Stanislav Bunyatov claims that the Ukrainians managed to recapture their lost positions.
At the Vremevsky salient, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of Staromayorsky , in confirmation of which the Z-channel “Warrior DV”, associated with the “Vostok” group operating here, posted a video of the “flag stick” . DeepState claims that the Ukrainian Armed Forces retain the northern outskirts of the village liberated during the Ukrainian counter-offensive in 2023, but criticizes the command of the 1st Separate Tank Brigade for organizing defense in this area. The Russians are also advancing in the village of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region , controlling the ruins of a school in the south of the village.
West of Bakhmut, Russian paratroopers managed to enter Chasov Yar , or rather, the Kanal microdistrict east of the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal , and carry out a “flag attack” there. Konstantin Mashovets believes that further assault on the microdistrict and attempts to force the canal in this area seem futile, and assumes that the Russian command will try to push the Ukrainian group behind the canal in the area of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka and then approach the city from the south. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to Bunyatov, maintain a presence in Ivanovskoye (until 2016 – Krasnoye ), the capture of which by the Russian Armed Forces was previously reported, although they are in a difficult situation there.
Other successes of the RF Armed Forces are rather curious. In particular, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the “liberation” of two villages ( Timkovka and Artemovka ) in the Kupyansk direction . Moreover, the first of them was liquidated in 1987, and the second (renamed Myasozharivka in 2016 ), according to the last Ukrainian census of 2001, had a population of 37 people. Ramzan Kadyrov, in turn, published footage of his forces entering Ryzhevka in the Sumy region , which, as DeepState explains , has been in the “gray zone” since 2022, being rather a continuation of the Russian village of Tyotkino . For some reason, having fired at fields that had nothing to do with Ryzhevka or Tyotkino , Kadyrov’s men, according to Zelensky, retreated.
In the Kharkov direction , unlike other areas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are conducting limited offensive actions: according to the military observer of the BILD publication Julian Röpke, they managed to liberate several more blocks of Volchansk – although, as “Officer ✙” admits , advancement there is difficult. At the same time, both he and WarGonzo talk about a successful Ukrainian counterattack in the area of the village of Liptsy , as a result of which the enemy was pushed back to the southern outskirts of Glubokoye . Meanwhile, Russian forces are hastily building fortifications in the north of the Kharkov region , and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to stop them ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).
In general, as Bloomberg writes , the Russian Armed Forces failed to realize the “window of opportunity” that opened due to the delay in the supply of American military aid. At the same time, The New York Times notes that Russian troops still retain an advantage in artillery, although Ukrainian forces have gained the opportunity to conduct counter-battery combat thanks to the arrival of new shipments of ammunition.
Dmitry Rogozin complains about the situation with Russian artillery – according to his data, due to wear of the barrels, firing accuracy suffers, many self-propelled guns are difficult to camouflage, and most of the systems are inferior in range to the artillery of NATO countries in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In turn, the former commander of the Airborne Forces and State Duma deputy Vladimir Shamanov criticized the quality of the military uniform of the Russian army, comparing it with a “partisan detachment” due to the motley uniform that soldiers buy with personal funds.
The described problems did not prevent Vladimir Putin, on the eve of the Ukrainian “peace summit” in Switzerland, from outlining maximalist demands for peace negotiations. According to Putin, the only precondition for the start of negotiations is the neutral, nuclear-free and non-aligned status of Ukraine, as well as the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Kherson , Zaporozhye , Donetsk and Lugansk regions . As Julian Röpke demonstrates , this means surrendering 26 thousand square meters without a fight. km of Ukrainian territory.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are mastering various methods of combating Russian aircraft-type reconnaissance UAVs flying tens of kilometers deep into Ukrainian territory. Another video of a drone hunt from the Soviet Yak-52 light aircraft has been published (according to some sources , more than ten drones have already been shot down in this way), as well as new footage ( 1 , 2 ) of the destruction of UAVs using FPV drones – as reported by the Russian channel “ Chronicle of a UAV operator,” Ukrainian kamikaze drones are increasingly on duty in the air, waiting for Russian drones.
The Insider has released an overview of the “red lines” for the warring parties in Ukraine. The West and Moscow chose different strategies: Vladimir Putin immediately moved to the threat of nuclear weapons and raised the stakes as much as possible. In response, Ukraine and its allies, in small steps, tested their readiness to implement the stated threats one after another, in accordance with the “salami strategy.” As a result, if at the beginning of the invasion the West was afraid to transfer even outdated tanks to Ukraine, now it is preparing to send contingents of military instructors there.
Mutual shelling and sabotage
Ukrainian air defense systems had to repel massive attacks by Russian drones and missiles three times within a week – on the night of June 8 (as stated, nine Shaheds out of 13 were shot down), on June 12 (the destruction of all 24 drones and five of six missiles was declared, not managed to shoot down the Iskander OTRK ballistic missile) and on June 14 (all 17 Shaheds and 7 out of 10 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles were shot down, three Iskander missiles and one Kinzhal were not shot down ).
On June 12, as reported by Ukrainian monitoring channels, the target of the attack was the Vasilkov airfield in the Kiev region , where the 40th tactical aviation brigade is stationed. In this case, Kh-101 missiles with a cluster warhead were used . In addition, an industrial facility caught fire , which continued to be extinguished two days later . On June 14 , Russian forces struck Starokonstantinov in the Khmelnitsky region – there is an airfield of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade with Su-24 aircraft upgraded to launch Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG missiles .
Also this week, the Russian Armed Forces once again hit a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft with Lancet loitering ammunition at the Dolgintsevo airfield in the Dnepropetrovsk region . Finally, in the Poltava region , strikes were carried out with Iskander missiles with a cluster warhead on the position area of the S-300 air defense system in the area of the Mirgorod airfield and on the Su-27UB aircraft at the airfield itself . Z-channel “Informant” notes that the strikes were filmed by a Russian UAV at a distance of at least 150 km from the border, and “Officer ✙” criticizes the lack of protection of airfields with electronic warfare and electronic warfare equipment and reinforced concrete shelters.
The OVA and law enforcement agencies of the Kharkov ( 1 , 2 ), Donetsk ( 1 , 2 ) and Dnepropetrovsk ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) regions reported about civilians injured as a result of shelling this week . On the afternoon of June 12, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area of Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk region , killing nine people and injuring another 29.
Also this week, there were several incidents ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) with “abnormal descents” of the FAB with the UMPC module to the Belgorod region . Another dropped aerial bomb was found in Donetsk near hospital No. 14. According to ASTRA estimates, over the past four months the Russian Aerospace Forces “dropped” at least 93 aerial munitions on the regions of the Russian Federation and the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Over the past week, it became known about attacks by Ukrainian forces on the following military and infrastructure facilities:
by tug and barge in the Sea of Azov , the vessels received minor damage;
at the Mozdok airfield in North Ossetia , where no damage was recorded , but all strategic bombers were relocated from there , except for the one painted on the surface;
at the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region , where two of the newest Su-57 fighters were damaged;
at the headquarters of the 6th Army (presumably with Western airborne ammunition or HIMARS MLRS ), an ammunition depot and the position of the Russian military in the Belgorod region;
at an oil depot in the Voronezh region , which received minor damage;
at the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region , where a hangar was damaged , and at an electrical substation nearby;
according to air defense position areas in Crimea ( 1 , 2 ), losses from the S-300/S-400 complexes are confirmed by ASTRA sources ( 1 , 2 ) and satellite images ( 1 , 2 , 3 ).
The “authorities” of the Kherson region and the “DPR” , as well as the governor of the Belgorod region ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) reported that civilians were injured as a result of shelling . In the latter, the border town of Shebekino suffered the most , where on June 14 the entrance to a multi-storey building collapsed . Five people were killed and six more were injured.
Losses
The BBC Russian Service and the Mediazona publication, together with a team of volunteers, updated the calculations of casualties in the war on the Russian side, confirmed by reports in open sources. In total, the names of 56,452 victims have been identified. Over the past two weeks, the list has increased by 1,689 people. Among them, 14% are volunteers who entered into a contract after the start of the war, and 12% are mobilized.
The BBC and Mediazona also released a joint investigation into payments to the relatives of mercenaries from the Wagner PMC who died in the war. Using the payment database from January 2022 to August 2023, journalists found that in total, at least 48,366 people were recruited from prison, and the total amount of compensation paid to relatives for deaths and wage arrears during the war in Ukraine amounted to 108 billion rubles . In the battle for Bakhmut, according to data from the database, 19.5 thousand people died, of which 17.2 thousand were former prisoners, and 2.4 thousand were “civil employees”.
Analyst Naalsio updated estimates of losses of Russian and Ukrainian equipment based on open sources. In the Avdeevsky operational area , according to his data, confirmed losses of equipment of the RF Armed Forces from June 1 to 7 amounted to 27 units, and of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – 14 units. In the Krynok area on the left bank of the Dnieper, during the same period , it was possible to record six lost units of Russian equipment and not a single one of Ukrainian equipment. In the Kharkov region, during the week from June 4 to June 11, Naalsio counted 10 lost units of equipment of the Russian Armed Forces and one lost of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to calculations of the Ukrainian OSINT resource “⚡️Viyskovy Vishchun”, only the losses of air defense systems in service with the Russian Armed Forces in June confirmed by visual materials are:
two Buk-M1/M2 air defense systems
two Tor air defense systems
three Osa air defense systems
four radars
four S-300/S-400 air defense missile launchers
In addition, damaged and destroyed (but without photographic and video evidence):
two or three Buk air defense systems
one Tor air defense system
five radars
one or two Pantsir air defense systems
8-10 S-300/S-400 air defense missile launchers
one command post of the S-400 complex
A Su-34 fighter-bomber crashed in North Ossetia , allegedly on a training flight and taking off from the Mozdok airfield . According to preliminary information from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction and the crew died. The crash could have been associated with the relocation of aviation after the mentioned UAV raid on the airfield. According to The Insider’s calculations, this is already the ninth non-combat loss of the Su-34 during the SVO, and in total during this time the non-combat losses of Russian aviation (including from “friendly fire”, technical malfunctions, pilot errors, etc.) amounted to 47 planes and helicopters.
French media published material about Sri Lankan citizens who went to work in the Russian army. Now they are desperately trying to return home: 22 managed to desert, 16 were killed, 37 were wounded, “a dozen” were captured, and in total up to 2,000 people were fighting on both sides. Relatives of the mercenaries are demanding that politicians help return them to their homeland.
Weapons and military equipment
The German government has updated the list of weapons and military equipment delivered to Ukraine. According to these data, recently the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received, among other things, 10 more Leopard 1A5 tanks, 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles , three HIMARS MLRS and one each of IRIS-T SLM and IRIS-T SLS air defense systems. In parallel with this, it became known about the opening of a Rheinmetall technical center in western Ukraine, where Leopard tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles will be serviced . Also this year it is planned to release the first German Lynx infantry fighting vehicle in Ukraine.
At the same time, the German Ministry of Defense reported that they would no longer be able to give Ukraine its own Patriot air defense systems after the upcoming transfer of the third such system. However, Germany promised to supply Ukraine with 100 missiles for Patriot together with Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway (the latter will allocate €125 million for this). The United States, in turn, has reportedly decided to allocate another Patriot complex to Ukraine, and the Netherlands will supply one radar and three launchers of this air defense system as part of an initiative to assemble a full-fledged system using various allies.
In addition, the Netherlands will allocate €60 million for drones for Ukraine (including FPV and naval drones), and will also supply Kiev with 152-mm ammunition for Soviet artillery systems that remain in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the same time, the new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, which are planned to be produced mainly in the Netherlands, will have to wait until 2026 .
Canada, on the other hand, has already begun deliveries of the first ASCV armored personnel carriers , as well as other armored vehicles, drones, remote control systems for small arms and 2,300 CRV7 unguided missiles without warheads, which were previously planned to be disposed of.
As for the Baltic countries, Lithuania will transfer 14 units of M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine for mine clearance, Estonia will send Mistral MANPADS and ammunition for them, and Latvia will launch the production of charges for 155 mm artillery rounds . In general, Europe plans to catch up with Russia in terms of production of artillery ammunition by the end of the year, and in 2025 to reach 2.5 million rounds per year.
It is also worth noting unannounced deliveries from the Balkan countries: in Croatia, it was possible to film preparations for sending an An-32B transport aircraft to Ukraine, and the Slovenian media became aware of the transfer of 26-wheeled BOV (4×4) armored personnel carriers of Yugoslav production, including six in the variant BOV-3 ZSU , as well as three more Yugoslav M-80A infantry fighting vehicles (in addition to the 35 units transferred in 2022).
The most unexpected likely supply of equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is the upcoming shipment by Argentina of five rare deck-based attack aircraft Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard, produced in France in 1974-1983. These aircraft were delivered to Argentina in 2019, but they proved impossible to use due to the lack of squibs for ejection seats, the acquisition of which was prevented by the British embargo imposed after the Falklands War. Now the Argentine government plans to transfer the planes to France in exchange for helicopters or UAVs, after which they will be equipped with the necessary components and transferred to Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s own Su-25 attack aircraft, according to Sergei Golubtsov, chief of aviation of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, “taught” how to launch Western-made glide bombs. The number of launches of such aerial bombs is reported to reach 300 per month (versus 3,000 Russian ones). In addition, Ukraine will begin testing its own analogue of the Russian UMPC module in the coming weeks.
This week, The Insider published two interesting columns by foreign experts: Deputy Director of the Russian program of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies John Hardy believes that in order to protect Ukraine from constant bombing, it is necessary not only to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with as many Patriot air defense systems as possible, but also to allow Ukraine to strike with ATACMS missiles on Russian airfields, and independent military analyst Colby Badvor notes that the delivery of the F-16 in the coming months will, among other things, finally challenge Russia’s dominance in the field of electronic warfare.
Meanwhile, the Russian military and military-industrial complex continue to practice “barbecue construction.” Among the notable models that have been highlighted this week are the BMP-2 with additional armor on top of the sides, obviously intended to protect troops on armor, as well as the UAZ vehicle , equipped not only with anti-drone, but also anti-fragmentation protection, created by JSC “Research Institute of Steel” together with NJSC “Metal Invest”
