The Russian President’s visit to North Korea has strengthened the bond with Pyongyang, well beyond the supply of weapons and the possible use of their respective armies in theater.
Putin called the agreement reached at the Pyongyang summit a turning point that will increase the level of cooperation between the two countries. He said that Russia does not exclude military-technical cooperation with the North Korean regime.
Kim Jong-un said the pact was defensive in nature: “Relations between our two countries have reached a new level, to the level of an alliance.”
Putin and Kim have not made clear whether the new agreement is a commitment to fight for each other in the war or simply a promise to provide support in other forms. Countries are already providing each other assistance: from oil, to food, to ammunition.
In France, the election campaign heats up. The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, said he was in favor of supplying Ukraine with the ammunition necessary for self-defense, but against sending weapons that could provoke a wider conflict. This makes him relatively close to President Emmanuel Macron’s position on France’s role. However, unlike Macron, Bardella said he was against sending French troops to Ukraine.
According to Politico, China’s “sympathy” for Russia that was evident to most observers as early as February 2022, became more apparent with the Swiss Peace Summit. Less discussed, however, is how much Beijing’s support for Moscow has increased since then. This became evident in the run-up to last weekend’s Swiss peace summit. In fact, Beijing is closer than ever to Moscow in the conduct of the conflict against Kiev.
Moscow decides to leave the OSCE. Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko said the Federation Council and the State Duma will prepare the decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the activities of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and to suspend the payment of contributions. Moscow is moving further and further away from Europe to become “Asian”.
The Danish government is approving the 19th aid package to support Ukraine’s immediate needs and long-term defense capabilities.
The aid package combines a framework to finance significant donations to the Ukrainian defense industry, additional equipment to support F-16 fighters supplied by Denmark, and donations from the Danish Ministry of Defense’s own stockpile.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stressed that Ukraine still needs significant military support due to ongoing Russian aggression and cannot be left alone.
The European Commission has submitted for approval a draft EU budget for 2025 worth 199.7 billion euros, equivalent to $214.6 billion, the European Commission’s website reported on June 19.
The budget will be complemented by €72 billion as part of the EU’s NextGenerationEU economic transformation programme. For Ukraine, the draft budget includes €4.3 billion in grants under the Ukraine Facility and €10.9 billion in loans.
Weapons and the economy are the hot spots of Western political commitment. All the countries involved in the conflict are, however, looking for cheap and effective means to detect and counter drones. Solving this problem will give a significant advantage to one of the warring parties.
The German company Rheinmetall adapts the production of military equipment to the conditions of military operations in Ukraine. The company plans to produce the Leopard 1 tank combined with the Skyranger air defense system, equipped with a 35 mm automatic cannon and short-range anti-drone missiles.
The modification aims to combat Russian drones and missiles. There are plans to transfer the technology to the Leopard 2 tank platform, which has not proved to be an ace in the hole for Kiev to date.
And now a quick look at the situation of the front updated at 2.00 pm on 19 June 2024.
Overnight, the Ukrainians admitted to a Russian attack with Geranium in the Lvov, Vinnitsa and Zaporozhye regions. Power outages were reported in Lvov after the explosions.
In the direction of Kharkov, fighting continues in Volchansk. Kiev is evacuating the wounded and moving reinforcements across the Volchya River. In the Liptsy area the Ukrainians have reduced the intensity of their counterattacks and are strengthening their reserves. A transfer of Ukrainian units from different parts of the front in underway. Both sides are launching attacks with heavy weapons and precision aerial bombs.
On the Torskoye ledge, Ukrainian channels claim that the Russian army rushed towards Torskoye, raiding several forests separating the fields.
West of Avdeyevka, Russian troops advanced up to 1 km on the northern flank near Sokol and also north of Umanskoye. Despite the deployment of numerous FPV drones against the advancing Russian troops, the Ukrainians failed to completely stabilize the front.
North of ChasovYar, the advance of Russian units in the village of Kalinovka was reported. Russian operations continue in the eastern part of ChasovYar, as well as in the Kleshcheyevka area.
Situation in the Chasov Yarsky direction: the assault on the Novy microdistrict continues. Ukrainian forces, despite heavy fire, continue to resist, although most of the passages through the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal have been destroyed.
North of Ugledar, in the Paraskoviyevka – Konstantinovka area, fighting takes place and the assault on Krasnogorovka continues.
On the Zaporozhye front, battles north of Rabotino and Novopokrovka. The Russians, however, maintain the initiative. The situation is complicated by the imperfect organization of Russian communications and Ukrainian radio and electronic warfare systems.
In the direction of Kherson, a landing attempt by a small Ukrainian group in the Krynki area was repelled; small floods in the island area cannot be ruled out. Given the heavy rains, the release of water from the Dnieper hydroelectric power station was observed.
The Belgorod region continues to suffer daily Ukrainian attacks.
In the Kursk region, the Tyotkino checkpoint, the settlements of Tyotkino, Novy Put and Volfinsky, the villages of Khodeykovo and Veseloye in the Glushkovsky district, the village of Gordeyevka, the villages of Viktorovka and Uspenovka in the Korenevsky district, the villages of Sverdlikovo and Gornal in the Suzhansky district were repeatedly bombed. Drone attacks on the Krupets checkpoint in the Rylsky district. The Russians used small arms and electronic warfare to shoot down 22 Ukrainian drones in the border areas.
In the DPR, four civilians were injured following 155 mm caliber enemy artillery fire.
Direction Oleksandro-Kalinovo. Russians and Ukrainians report the breakthrough of the front line from Horlivka towards Toretsk. The advance of the Russian units was approximately 3-5 kilometers on one of the best fortified sectors of the front. According to initial information, Russian troops broke through from Leninske to the administrative borders of Artemove, but this information has not yet been conclusively confirmed.
Antonio Albanese
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