As the war enters its 851st day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Fighting
At least five people were killed and 41 injured, including four children, after a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin. About 61,000 people lived in Pokrovsk, which is about 24km (15 miles) from the front line, before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Two people were killed in the northeastern region of Kharkiv when their car hit a Russian antitank mine near the border village of Lyptsi.
One man was killed in the southern Kherson region, which is partially occupied by Russian forces, after a Russian-guided aerial bomb attack.
Four people were injured after a Russian cruise missile hit a warehouse in the southern port city of Odesa, sparking a fire that spread across 3,000 square metres (3,590 square yards), Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol as the commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine’s Armed Forces after he was accused of incompetence and abuse of power, replacing him with Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov.
The Ukrainian military said it registered 715 cases of the use of ammunitions containing “hazardous chemical compounds” by Russian forces in May.
Some of the people injured in the Russian attack on Pokrovsk receive hospital treatment [Alina Smutko/Reuters]
Politics and diplomacy
The Kremlin warned the United States of “consequences” and summoned its ambassador after a Ukrainian attack on Moscow-annexed Crimea killed four people. Russia said the attack was carried out with US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles and claimed Washington bore responsibility.
In response to the Russian claims, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States regretted any civilian loss of life and that Russia was to blame for the war. “We provide weapons to Ukraine so it can defend its sovereign territory against armed aggression — that includes in Crimea which, of course, is part of Ukraine,” Miller told reporters. Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said that Ukrainians “make their own decisions”.
Zelenskyy told Colonel Oleksii Morozov, the new chief of Ukraine’s state guard, to clear its ranks of people discrediting the service after two of its officers were accused of plotting with Russia to assassinate senior officials. The guard provides security for various government officials.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a visit to Beijing that he hoped China would “support efforts to strive for a peaceful end to the war waged by Russia in Ukraine,” that respects international law and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The US said it would help print 3 million new textbooks for Ukrainian primary schools, after a Russian strike destroyed the Faktur-Druk printing house in Kharkiv in May.
The European Union imposed sanctions on 61 more companies, including 19 in China, for allegedly providing “dual-use goods and technology”, which could be used by Russia’s defence and security firms to advance its invasion of Ukraine. Others targeted included companies from Russia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, India, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates.
The EU was due to open membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday at a ceremony in Luxembourg.
Weapons
The US is expected to announce on Tuesday that it will send an additional $150m in critically-needed munitions to Ukraine. The shipment is expected to include munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-armour weapons, small arms and grenades and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds, two US officials told the Associated Press news agency.
