Russia says its forces have taken two villages in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, increasing military pressure amid struggling international efforts to broker an end to the war. Moscow’s forces captured the villages of Sredneye and Kleban-Byk along the 1,000km frontline, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday. The taking of Kleban-Byk would mark a further advance towards Kostiantynivka, a key fortified town on the road to Kramatorsk, a major Ukrainian logistics base.
Ukraine’s military did not acknowledge that any of the villages had changed hands. On Saturday, Ukrainian officials said on Telegram that its forces had stopped a Russian advance and recaptured the village of Zeleny Gai in Donetsk, which was being subjected to new Russian attacks. The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa added his voice to calls for a Russia-Ukraine summit during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ramaphosa stressed the urgency of holding meetings between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and the US. Zelenskyy said he was ready for any meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but accused Moscow of trying to drag things out.
The Pentagon has been blocking Ukraine from using US-made long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv’s ability to employ the weapons in its defence, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. The report could not be immediately verified.
Russian air defences downed a drone headed for Moscow on Saturday, and several airports in central Russia suspended operations due to safety concerns. Meanwhile, France summoned the Italian ambassador after Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini challenged French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion of deploying European soldiers in Ukraine in a postwar settlement.
The family of a British aid volunteer reportedly killed in a drone strike in Ukraine expressed disappointment with the authorities’ response. Annie Lewis Marffy, 69, was fatally injured in a Russian drone strike on 11 June, according to a police file, but her body remains in an area of hostilities and cannot be evacuated.
