Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
These images purport to show a Russian missile being launched at night from the Black Sea at an airfield in Ukraine.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), which said in a statement on Monday, 20th June, that the images show how “the crew of the ‘Bastion’ coastal missile system from the Black Sea coast launched a high-precision ‘Oniks’ missile at the military infrastructure of Ukraine.”
Oniks missiles are supersonic anti-ship cruise ordnance that the Russian MoD has said that it has used in Ukraine before. The MoD said in May that high-precision Oniks missiles were used to destroy military infrastructure near the city of Odesa.
Igor Konashenkov, 56, the chief spokesman for the Russian MoD, also said in a briefing on Monday, 20th June: “The Russian Federation Armed Forces continues launching attacks at military facilities located in Ukraine.
“An Oniks high-precision missile launched by the ‘Bastion’ coastal missile system struck Artsiz airfield in the Odesa region.
The attack has resulted in the destruction of a control station for Bayraktar-TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and two UAVs on the ground.”
The Russian MoD spokesman also said that 11 Ukrainian platoons of Grad multiple rocket-launching systems had been neutralised “near Kurtimovka, Ochertino, Tonenkoye, Sukhaya Balka, Novgorodskoye, Mayorovka, Otradovka and Zaytsevo over the past 24 hours.”
The Russian MoD also claimed that “12 artillery plattoons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been neutralised at their firing positions near Dzerzhinsk, Novgorodskoye, Nikolayevka, Leninskoye and Zaytsevo.”
Among other targets, it claimed to have taken out, the Russian MoD also said that “Russian air defence systems have shot down a MiG-29 of the Ukrainian Air Force near Apostolovo (Dnepropetrovsk region)”; adding that nine drones had also been shot down
They claimed that “in total, 208 airplanes and 132 helicopters, 1,260 unmanned aerial vehicles, 345 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,696 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 576 combat vehicles equipped with multiple rocket-launching systems, 2,055 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 3,731 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation” to “liberate the Donbass”. Today marks the 117th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 20th June, Russia had lost about 33,800 personnel, 1,477 tanks, 3,588 armoured combat vehicles, 749 artillery units, 235 multiple launch rocket systems, 98 air defence systems, 216 warplanes, 181 helicopters, 601 drones, 130 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,527 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 55 units of special equipment.
The new head of the British Army, Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, has told British forces that they need to be ready to face Russia on the battlefield and said the British Army now needs to be capable of defeating Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited Ukraine’s southern frontline as Ukrainian forces mount a counter attack in the region to push back Russian troops.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the war in Ukraine could last years, adding that while the costs were high, the cost of allowing Russia to achieve its military goals would be even greater.
Washington told China last week that it risked ending up on the “wrong side of history” following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assurance to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Beijing supports Russian “sovereignty”. Russia has now become China’s top oil supplier amid ongoing sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, where the water supply is reported to be dwindling. Hundreds of civilians are taking shelter in the bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant.
Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said all three bridges into Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed, making delivering supplies and evacuating civilians impossible.
United States President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another USD 1 billion in security assistance and weapons. And US General Mark Milley says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 per cent of its armoured force during the ongoing invasion.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German and Italian leaders visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held talks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with President Zelenskyy on 16th June.
President Zelenskyy said that a “historic week” has begun as Kyiv awaits a decision from Brussels regarding its EU candidate status.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
