From what is emerging, the next Secretary General of NATO will be the current Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, as the next Secretary General of NATO. The current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, will leave office on 1 October 2024. A few days ago Rutte made a series of statements that can be summarized as follows: we need to find a modus vivendi with Russia. The news was picked up by numerous Western media, underlining the very high probability of such an appointment. Even Stoltenberg himself called Rutte is a “strong candidate”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 3 to 4, which will discuss the Ukrainian conflict, bilateral agenda and the construction of a gas hub in Turkey, according to Turkish television Habeturk.
According to the Romanian media g4media, the Supreme Defense Council of Romania, contrary to the position of the military, decided to transfer one of the two combat-ready Patriot missile systems to Kiev: “In view of the significant deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine caused by persistent and massive Russian attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, especially energy, and the regional consequences of this situation, including for the security of Romania, the members of the Security Council, in close coordination with allies, decided to transfer the system Patriot in Ukraine”.
“This transfer is subject to the condition that our country continues negotiations with allies, in particular with the American strategic partner, in order to obtain a similar or equivalent system that meets the needs of ensuring the protection of national airspace, modernizing the “Romanian army and guarantee interoperability with the NATO system, as well as the identification of a temporary solution to cover the operational vulnerability thus created”, reports the Romanian media.
According to the Financial Times, the Biden administration has stopped all supplies of batteries and anti-aircraft guided missiles for the Patriot air defense systems not intended for Ukraine in order to guarantee supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces “until their needs defense will not be satisfied.”
Missiles and anti-aircraft artillery are used to cover energy targets that are targeted by both sides; in fact in its daily report, the Russian Ministry of Defense states: “In response to the Kiev government’s attempts to damage Russian energy facilities, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a group attack with long-range air-launched weapons high-precision beam and unmanned aerial vehicles against Ukrainian energy facilities, facilities that ensure the production of weapons and military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The objectives of the attack were achieved. All designated targets are hit.”
And Ukrainian and Russian social media sources reported that last night the gerans hit Ukrainian energy targets. Ukrenergo said that due to a Russian drone attack, equipment at power plants in the Kiev, Vinnitsa, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions was damaged.
In reverse, Russian air defense systems shot down 74 Ukrainian unmanned aircraft and hit 21 US-made HIMARS multiple launch missile systems.
Ukrainian forces have indeed carried out another attack on Russian oil infrastructure. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defense systems intercepted about 15 Ukrainian drones in six regions, but some UAVs managed to reach their targets.
In the Republic of Adygea, an accident occurred on the territory of the Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt oil depot in the village of Enem, causing a fire at the plant. At 6 am the emergency services put out the fire, which covered an area of approximately four hundred square meters.
In the Tambov region, drones attacked the Platonovskaya oil depot in the village of the same name. The fire is still being put out, with the involvement of all regional emergency services.
In the Krasnodar region, the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban was hit, where a Ukrainian drone crashed into a residential building. The likely target was the Slavyansk ECO refinery, one of the largest enterprises in the region, which had already been attacked previously.
And here is the Russian Ukrainian front line on June 20, 2024 at 3.00 pm.
In the direction of Kharkov, fighting continues in Volchansk. The Ukrainians are trying to evacuate the wounded and transfer reserves under Russian artillery fire. For the second day, the Ukrainian counterattacks eased. However, social media sources report that Ukrainian assault units made up of former prisoners of war have arrived. In the Liptsy area, Kiev is strengthening its forces.
On the Svatovo – Kupyansk front, Ukrainians expect the Russian army to attack Borovaya.
In the Toretsk area, south of Bakhmut, Russian armed forces advanced from the former “Mayorsk” entry-exit checkpoint to the eastern outskirts of the Pivnichnoye – Kirovo settlement, occupying a pumping station and a section of the railway up to at a depth of 2 km. It is also reported about the advance of our troops towards the settlement of Nyu-York – Novgorodskoye.
On the Zaporozhye front the situation has not changed significantly. Ukrainians use artillery and attack Russians with drones.
In the Kherson direction the situation has not changed. The actions of small groups of infantry on both sides are noted. Ukrainian forces use FPV drones for attacks.
Russia’s Belgorod region has been subjected to extremely frequent shelling over the past day. Seven civilians were injured in Shebekino, Grayvoron and Beryozovka.
A high intensity of attacks was also observed in the Kursk region of Russia. The Tyotkino settlement was repeatedly attacked, as were Novy Put, Yelizvetovka, Otruba in the Glushkovsky district, Uspenovka and the village of Gordeyevka in the Korenevsky district, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Gornal and Oleshnya in the Suzhansky district. A Ukrainian rocket was shot down over the Medvensky district.
Russian anti-aircraft shot down thirty-seven Ukrainian drones with light weapons and electronic warfare equipment in the border areas.
In the Krasnodar Territory, Slavyansk-on-Kuban was attacked, as were the villages of Enem in Adygeya and Afipsky, where UAVs hit oil refineries.
In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces advanced west of Netailovo, and in Krasnohorivka they continue to storm the positions of Ukrainian formations in the northeast. On the northern flank there is fighting near Karlove. On the opposite bank, Russian armed forces advanced towards the former dacha settlement. Consolidating this area will allow them to take the northern and central parts of Karlove under fire support to assist the assault teams.
Russian troops also managed to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Yasnobrodivka, the Ukrainians are attacking north-west towards Skuchne with heavy losses.
In the south, fighting continues in the central part of Krasnohorivka. From the east, Russian troops break through enemy defenses along Nakhimov Street and the bank of the Lozova River, forming a “semi-cauldron” for Ukrainian units defending in the private sector and on the territory of Shevchenko Park.
In Maksymilianivka, Russian armed forces have entered the eastern outskirts and fighting is also ongoing in the forest plantations south-east of the settlement. At the same time, the enemy still holds the northwestern outskirts that merge with Heorhiivka.
Antonio Albanese
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