Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes gives you an update every evening. Between strong statements, advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential information for this Friday, June 28.
The fact of the day
Russia on Friday threatened the West with “direct confrontation” over the “intensification” of US military drone flights in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine. Moscow believes that the assistance provided to Kiev in terms of weapons, intelligence gathering and identification of targets on Russian territory has made the United States and its allies parties to the conflict in Ukraine.
US drone flights in the Black Sea “increase the likelihood of incidents in the airspace with aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which increases the risk of a direct confrontation between the Alliance and the Russian Federation”, he said. denounced the Russian Ministry of Defense. “The NATO countries would be responsible,” he warned, adding that Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov had ordered the General Staff “to take measures to quickly respond to provocations.” “.
After refusing for a long time, for fear of provoking an escalation, in recent weeks the Americans and Europeans have begun to authorize, under conditions, strikes with Western precision weapons on Russian territory to destroy sites and systems used to bomb Ukraine.
Russia had already threatened the United States with reprisals on June 24, accusing them of “killing Russian children”, the day after a strike in Crimea.
Statement of the day
« “We do not believe that European diplomacy can act in any way to normalize relations” »
The words are signed by Russian Dmitri Peskov, Kremin spokesperson. He considers the reappointment of the German Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission and the appointment of the Estonian Kaja Kallas as head of European diplomacy as “bad” for relations with Moscow.
According to the spokesman, the first “is not in favor of normalizing relations between the European Union and Russia.” As for the second, it is “known” for its “completely implacable, sometimes even violent Russophobic statements,” he stressed. “The prospects for relations between Moscow and Brussels are therefore bad,” he concluded.
The number of the day
Sept. This is the number of civilians killed by Russian bombings this Friday in Ukraine. Four civilians were killed in a bombing of the small town of New York in eastern Ukraine, and three others died in strikes in the northeast, near Kharkiv, and the south, near Kherson , announced the authorities.
Ukrainian troops have lost ground to the Russians this year as they face a shortage of ammunition and soldier exhaustion after more than two years of Russian invasion.
At least 174 verified civilian deaths were recorded in May, the highest monthly level of civilian casualties in eleven months, according to the United Nations.
The trend
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he was working on a new plan to end the war in Ukraine, while continuing to strengthen militarily to be able to force Russia to accept a “just peace”.
“It is very important for us to show a plan to end the war that is supported by the majority of the world, that is what we are doing diplomatically,” he said at a press conference in Kiev, alongside his Slovenian counterpart Natasha Pirc Musar. “We do not want to prolong this war and we must achieve a just peace as soon as possible,” he added.
But Volodymyr Zelensky also insisted that his country must simultaneously strengthen its military industry, because “Russia only understands strength, and only respects the strong.” “These are two things in parallel: being strong on the battlefield, and developing a plan, a clear and detailed plan, which will be ready this year,” he insisted.
