Date—June 27, 2022

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Stories

1. Zelenskiy: Ukraine needs a robust air defense – modern, fully effective, which will provide complete protection against Russian missiles. “Today, Russia struck missiles at Kyiv again. Early in the morning. The Second Army of the world triumphantly “won” a kindergarten and a house. The man died. He was only 37 years old. There are wounded, and among them – a girl named Zhenya, she is seven years old, the daughter of the deceased, now she is in “Okhmatdyt.” Her mother was also injured. By the way, a citizen of Russia. Like this. She was not threatened by anything in our country. She was completely safe until Russia decided that everything was equally hostile to them now – women, children, kindergartens, houses, hospitals, railways, “said Ukrainian President Volodymyr. Zelensky. He also reminded that rockets struck across the Mykolaiv area, the Chernihiv region, Odesa, and Cherkasy. Artillery and mortar shelling did not stop in the Kharkiv region, Sumy region, and Donbas in the south of our state. “What are these missiles about today? Yesterday’s 62 missiles are for only one Saturday, for 24 hours. They are about Russian handwriting: to escalate every time international events occur. And at the same time, they are about determination. For example, the leaders of the G7, who gathered in Germany today for a summit, have enough common potential to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine and Europe as a whole. It is possible,” Zelensky said. Ukraine’s need for modern air defense is discussed daily with partners, and there are already some agreements, but partners need to move faster “if they are partners, not observers.” “Delays in the transfer of weapons to our state, any restrictions – this is an invitation for Russia to fight again and again. The occupiers – these terrorists – must be beaten with all their might so that they do not think they can oppress and outplay someone,” Zelensky said. We can only stop Russia’s aggression if we get everything we ask for, and just when we need it – weapons, financial support, and sanctions against Russia. “It simply cannot be in this war. Because it is here – in the sky over Kyiv, in the sea near Odesa, on the land of Kharkiv region, Donbas, in Kherson, and in the Zaporizhia region – that is where it is decided what life will be like in Europe in the future. It is here, in Ukraine, and nowhere else. Of course, there are not as many missiles in Russia as we have self-confidence. But only more powerful weapons can stop Russian weapons,” the president summed up. (Source: LB).

Opinions

1. UK Intelligence: Russia will use reservists in Donbas. We are talking about the participants of the new project of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation BARS (Special Combat Army Reserve). Within the framework of BARS, reserve service members, primarily those recently retired, are offered a contract to serve in the mobilization reserve. BARS participants receive cash payments, allowances, access to the medical system of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and the possibility of priority admission to military universities. The article said that units staffed by reservists are involved in all major exercises. The Southern Military District (SMD) became an experimental platform for implementing the new BARS project, whereby at the beginning of September 2021, Russia had formed a mobilization reserve of 38,000 people. It is known that the military of the Southern Military District was actively involved in the battle for Donbas. According to a UK Department of Defense report, BARS participants are usually interested in security tasks in the rear. To replenish its forces in the Donbas, Russia also uses a personnel mobilization resource, including all who have served in the Armed Forces over the past five years. Volunteers from this category, the report says, are likely to replenish the third battalions of some brigades. There are fewer reservists than Russia needs. However, they are not ready to announce a general mobilization of the authorities of the Russian Federation. (Source: Meduza).

2. Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities are a strategic challenge to the security of Europe. And the condition for dialogue on restoring relations between the civilized world and Russia should be the demilitarization of at least the European part of the terrorist state. Experts should determine the depth and parameters of disarmament, said Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. He also said it was important to tighten sanctions so that Russia could not manufacture and maintain high-tech weapons, which now contain many components supplied by companies from NATO countries. “This is an additional 500-1000 km of safety for each European city. It is an obvious and logical step that should be enshrined in the strategy of the North Atlantic Alliance,” Reznikov added. (Source: Facebook).

Military Help

1. ISW: Russian troops launched a massive missile strike on Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district on June 26. The institute suggests that it is a response to Western leaders ‘discussion of aid to Ukraine during the G7 summit and previous strikes on April 29 during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Kyiv. The Kremlin continues manipulating Russian law to conduct a “secret mobilization” to continue the war in Ukraine without total mobilization. Russia’s State Duma has announced plans to consider an amendment to the law on military service on June 28, which will allow young men to be offered military contracts as soon as they reach adulthood or high school to circumvent the need for military training. The head of the Main Military-Political Department of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko, is leading the so-called “special operation” in Ukraine instead of the commander of the troops of the Southern Military District, Oleksandr Dvornikov. The occupiers continued the attack on the southern outskirts of Lysychansk and strengthened control over Severodonetsk and surrounding settlements. Russian troops are operating east of Bakhmut to keep the T1302 Bakhmut-Lysychansk under control. They also carried out an unsuccessful ground assault northwest of Slovyansk. Russian troops intensified artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions in the southern direction. The occupying authorities are stepping up measures to stop Ukrainian guerrillas in the occupied territories by filtering and abducting civilians. (Source: ISW).

Invasion Damage

1. Russian troops are attacking Lysychansk from the Popasnyansky direction. The city has a lot of damaged housing and infrastructure. Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, notes: “In Lysychansk, Vovchoyarivka, Loskutivka, and Verkhnyokamyanka, the Russians do not stop destroying housing, industrial and administrative facilities. Vovchoyarivtsi. Fighting is taking place in Vovchoyarivka. The Russians tried to attack in the Verkhnokamyanka area but were forced to withdraw – not all of them could do it on their own. ” There is a lot of damage in Lysychansk. If possible, streets and houses are inspected for victims. At least five high-rise buildings were destroyed, one of which ten apartments burned down at once. Six private homes were damaged on one of the streets. The Russians also fired on the bus station, St. Mitrofan’s Church, and the Church of the Holy Martyr Barbara, one of the enterprises, the border detachment, and one of the administrative buildings: “They are trying to blockade the city from the south, destroying everything their artillery and volley fire systems. We are defending Lysychansk.” (Source: Telegram).

2. In the temporarily captured Mariupol, more than a hundred more bodies of the victims of the Russian bombing were found under the rubble of a house. “Mariupol. New sad discoveries. During the inspection of buildings in the Livoberezhny district the house a hit by an air bomb at the intersection of Victory Avenue and street. More than 100 bodies of those killed in the bombing were found in Meotida, ”said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. Andryushchenko added that the occupiers do not plan to seize and bury the bodies. (Source: Telegram).

Foreign news

1. The Ukrainian side appealed to Switzerland to help provide consular services for Ukrainians in Russia. “Switzerland has offered its courtesies to both Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is currently asking us for support, including from the consulate, for its citizens in Russia. We are currently discussing with Russia, as the three parties must agree. Offering our love.” “The way we do it in US-Iran relations is conducive to trust in us,” said Ignacio Cassis, President of the Swiss Confederation. He also said that against the background of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the question arose of the practicality of Switzerland’s neutral status – in particular in the context of the country’s accession to EU sanctions. “The resumption of EU sanctions against Russia was a political decision based on the values ​​enshrined in our constitution,” Cassis said, adding that Russia was violating international law and “our principles and values.” It will be recalled that Switzerland already represents the interests of Georgian citizens in Russia, as Tbilisi severed diplomatic relations with Moscow after the Russian invasion in 2008. The Swiss embassy in Tbilisi has a department of Russian interests, and the embassy in Moscow has a department of Russian goods. On February 24, the day of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also recalled to Kyiv the Chargé d’Affaires of Ukraine in the Russian Federation Vasyl Pokotyl for consultations. It began the evacuation of the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow. At the same time, Ukraine did not sever consular relations with Russia – by Article 2 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. (Source: UP).

2. The G7 countries have agreed to ban gold imports from Russia, according to statements by the British government and US President Joe Biden. Russian gold will not be allowed to be imported into the UK, USA, Japan, and Canada. Three other countries of the group – France, Germany, and Italy, as well as the European Union as a whole, are not mentioned in the text. Biden said the G7 countries would “together” announce a ban on Russian gold imports. The US President noted that this is an essential item of Russian export, which brings the Russian Federation “tens of billions of dollars.” British authorities said that in 2021 gold exports brought Russia 12.6 billion pounds. “Its value to the Russian elite has grown in recent months as oligarchs rushed to buy gold bars in an attempt to protect themselves from the financial impact of Western sanctions,” the report says. The Russian authorities have not yet commented on the decision. The G7 summit in Germany also discussed setting a maximum price for Russian oil and looking for sources of oil and gas that could replace Russia. (Source: Meduza).

3. In Russia – default on sovereign debt in foreign currency due to Western sanctions. It was the culmination of increasingly severe Western sanctions, which blocked the payment of foreign creditors. For months, the country has tried to circumvent the penalties imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine. But at the end of the day, on Sunday, June 26, the grace period for the payment of interest in the amount of 100 million US dollars, which had to be paid by May 27, expired. Non-payment during the next grace month is considered a default event in case of omission. The last time Russia defaulted on its foreign creditors was more than a century ago, when the Bolsheviks, under Vladimir Lenin, abandoned the tremendous debt burden of the tsarist country in 1918. According to some indicators, the debt approached a trillion dollars in today’s money. Returning to the current situation, for comparison, as of early April, foreigners held Russian Eurobonds equivalent to almost $ 20 billion. The current situation with Moscow’s international isolation indicates the country’s rapid transformation into an economic, financial, and political outcast. Since the beginning of March, national Eurobonds have been trading at troubling levels. The central bank’s foreign exchange reserves remain frozen, and the largest banks are cut off from the global financial system. But given the damage already done to the economy and markets, the default at the moment is also largely symbolic and of little importance to Russians, who are already dealing with double-digit inflation and the worst economic contraction in recent years. As expected, Russia declined to report defaults, saying it had the funds to cover any bills and was allegedly forced not to pay. In particular, last week, the Kremlin announced the transition to servicing its outstanding sovereign debt of $ 40 billion in rubles, criticizing the “force majeure” situation, which, she said, was artificially created by the West. “It’s a very, very rare thing for a government that would otherwise have the funds to be forced to default due to the actions of outside governments,” said Hassan Malik, a senior sovereign analyst at Loomis Sayles & Company LP. “This will be one of the most groundbreaking defaults in history.” The official statement usually came from rating companies, but European sanctions have led to the fact that Russian companies are now removed from any ratings. According to the documents for the bonds, the grace period of which expired on Sunday, the owners of these bonds can withdraw themselves if those who own 25% of these securities agree that the “Default Event” has occurred. On June 14, the two largest US banks, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs suspended operations to service Russia’s debt obligations. (Source: Bloomberg).