News
In this week's summary:
- In the border area of Sumy Region, Ukrainian troops launched counterattacks and generally stabilized their defenses.
- In the Siversk sector, the Russian Armed Forces made a significant advance westward from Bilohorivka along the Siverskyi Donets River.
- The AFU has drawn advancing Russian units into «bloody battles» southwest of Kostiantynivka.
- On the western flank of the Pokrovsk sector, Russian assault units regularly “slip through” into the Dnipropetrovsk Region.
- The new commander of the AFU Ground Forces is Brigadier General Hennadii Shapovalov, former head of Operational Command “South.”
- A combined drone-and-missile raid hit Kyiv on the night of June 17, 2025, killing 28 people and injuring more than 130 others.
- Near Soledar, a Russian Su-25 assault aircraft was lost — the crash likely occurred due to wing damage during a maneuver.
- According to CIT, Russia's production of new T-90M tanks enables the country to maintain its current tank fleet size — provided that it continues to limit their use.
Situation at the front
In the Sumy Region, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of Yablunivka and Novomykolaivka. Russian forces also advanced in Yunakivka, reaching the key H-07 (Kursk–Sumy) highway, and expelled Ukrainian troops from Guyevo in the Kursk Region, recapturing the village. During a counterattack, the Defense Forces of Ukraine recaptured Andriivka in the Sumy Region, just five kilometers from the state border. Ukrainian sources (1, 2, 3) report a relative stabilization along the border in the Sumy Region while publishing videos of strikes on Russian assault groups.
On the Siversk salient, Russian forces are advancing westward from Bilohorivka along the Siverskyi Donets River. Ukrainian military analyst Kostiantyn Mashovets believes the Russians intend to take Siversk using frontal assaults. Judging by the geolocated footage of strikes on Russian forces, they already managed to reach Serebrianka.
In the Toretsk sector, the Russian command is aiming to reach the Oleksandro-Kalynove – Katerynivka line in order to gain fire control over the Defense Forces of Ukraine’s supply routes in Kostiantynivka, while also advancing north of Toretsk near Dachne and Dyliivka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of Malynivka and Kopteve east of Myrnohrad; Shevchenko Pershe was also seized, and the pocket near Yelyzavetivka was eliminated. At the same time, according to Russian assessments, Ukrainian forces have fought “bloody battles” against the advancing troops southwest of Kostiantynivka, in the vicinity of Oleksandro-Kalynove and Yablunivka.
East of Myrnohrad, a large-scale mechanized assault by Russian forces involving up to 24 vehicles was repelled. The Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade released detailed footage of the assault, claiming the destruction of 14 enemy vehicles. Nevertheless, Russian troops managed to advance 2 kilometers in Yablunivka. Satellite images also show (1, 2) that the Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out at least 950 strikes with guided aerial bombs in the area between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka over the course of 20 days.
On the western flank, Russian forces planted a flag in Orikhiv and broke through into the western part of Udachne. The Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed the capture of Novomykolaivka. At the same time, the Defense Forces of Ukraine successfully counterattacked near Kotliarivka and Orikhiv. Individual Russian assault groups continue to “slip through” into the Dnipropetrovsk Region, but DeepState gives a positive assessment (1, 2, 3) of the condition of Ukrainian engineering fortifications along the border with the Donetsk Region.
In the South Donetsk sector, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the “liberation” of Komar. However, fighting in the settlement continued afterward and included the use of a tank by Ukrainian forces. Russian forces are advancing both inside and around the settlement. Russian forces also broke through between Komar and Otradne toward the village of Zaporizhzhia — not to be confused with the regional center of the same name — near the border of the Dnipropetrovsk Region and have almost captured it. Kostiantyn Mashovets predicts that the Defense Forces of Ukraine will not be able to hold the Oleksiivka–Komar line.
Volodymyr Zelensky appointed General Hennadii Shapovalov as the new commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Previously, Shapovalov headed the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO Mission to Assist Ukraine and led the Operational Command “South.” The appointment followed the resignation of the previous commander, Mykhailo Drapatyi, who stepped down after a Russian missile strike on a training area in the Dnipropetrovsk Region killed 12 Ukrainian soldiers.
Within the Defense Forces of Ukraine, a Drone Forces Group has been established in order to implement unified approaches in intelligence, planning, and drone tactics, as well as to create a system for automated needs assessment and operational performance analysis.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
The Ukrainian Air Force reported ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ) shooting down 579 Shahed-type and other unidentified drones out of 1,109 launched against Ukrainian territory from June 13-20. An additional 389 drones were classified as radar-lost. Additionally, the Air Force reported intercepting 32 out of 51 missiles of various types, while three more missiles were classified as radar-lost.
During this period, the following Russian strikes were reported:
· In Kyiv, 28 civilians were killed in an air attack on the night of June 17, including 23 people in an apartment building hit by a missile, which caused one entire section of the building to completely collapse. Another 134 people were injured. After the attack, submunitions from cluster munitions were found in the city. According to Russian pro-war bloggers, the targets included Patriot SAM system positions at Boryspil and Zhuliany airports, the Kyiv Radio Plant, an armored vehicle factory, and a dormitory of the National Aviation University (1, 2, 3).
· In Odesa, two people were killed and 17 injured during a drone attack on the night of June 17. The attack damaged residential buildings in Odesa’s historic center, along with a kindergarten, an infectious diseases hospital, and a facility for children with special needs (1, 2, 3, 4).
· On the night of June 20, more than 10 drone impacts were recorded in Odesa. A UAV crashed into a 23-story residential building, and another struck a four-story building; both caught fire. One person was killed, and approximately 20 others were injured.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, reported the destruction of 726 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russia and Russian-occupied territory from June 13-20. During this period, Ukrainian forces carried out, among others, the following strikes:
· On June 13, a HIMARS strike using cluster munitions hit a Russian military convoy transporting personnel near Makiivka in the Donetsk Region. Eight Russian soldiers were killed and another 12 were wounded.
· The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that, on the night of June 14, a strike hit the facilities of JSC Novokuybyshevsk Petrochemical Company in the Samara Region — a leading Russian producer of explosive components.
· On June 15, a facility producing Shahed drones in Yelabuga (Tatarstan) came under attack. One person was killed and 13 others were injured; another later died in the hospital. During the attack, workers in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone reported an evacuation.
· On June 18 and 20, Ukrainian drones attacked the JSC Shipunov Design Bureau of Instrument Engineering in Tula, which develops precision-guided weapons. The enterprise has suspended operations.
According to data collected by CIT volunteers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), between 8:00 p.m. on June 11 and 8:00 p.m. on June 19, at least 75 civilians were killed and another 443 injured as a result of strikes against civilian infrastructure on both sides of the front line.
Losses
Over the course of the week, Russia and Ukraine conducted two exchanges of critically ill and severely wounded prisoners of war under the Istanbul agreements (1, 2). Additionally, on June 16, the exchange of the bodies of fallen soldiers was completed. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s calculations, the Russian side handed over a total of 6,060 bodies in exchange for 78. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko accused Russia of sending bodies of Russian soldiers among Ukrainian ones and published a Russian ID as evidence.
On June 13, a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft crashed near Soledar, reportedly due to a structural failure during a sharp maneuver.
Analyst Naalsio updated the vehicle loss count in the Kursk sector. Between May 19 and June 9, visual confirmation was available for the loss of 29 vehicles from the side of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and 13 from Russian forces. Meanwhile, in the Sumy Region, according to the OSINT researcher known as Imi (m), Russia lost only one armored vehicle throughout the entire offensive, likely because they are putting fewer of these vehicles in harm’s way.
Weapons and military vehicles
Over the past week, the following military aid packages to Ukraine were announced:
· Volodymyr Zelensky stated that one Patriot battery has been sent from Israel to the U.S., where it is currently undergoing upgrades and repairs before delivery to Ukraine.
· The Government of Canada announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, which will include drones, helicopters, and ammunition worth over 2 billion Canadian dollars (approximately $1.5 billion). Part of the funds will be allocated to the development of Ukraine’s defense industry.
· The Government of Czechia intends to continue supplying artillery ammunition to Ukraine in 2026 under the “Czech Initiative.” The volume of shipments this year is expected to reach approximately 1.8 million rounds.
According to a CIT study, Russia produced 250–300 T-90M tanks “from scratch” in 2024, and the number is expected to increase this year. CIT added that this level of production is sufficient to maintain the size of the current Russian tank fleet given the reduced use — and therefore lower losses — of armored vehicles in recent months. However, any further scaling up in production will require significant capital investment.
Photos of the following Russian “frontline defense industry” products were also released:
· A North Korean 107mm Type 75 MLRS mounted on a UAZ-3303 all-terrain vehicle.
· A makeshift armored recovery vehicle (BREM) based on a T-62 tank chassis, equipped with a “barbecue grill” — a protective cage of metal bars — and metal “dreads” (slat armor) for additional defense against shaped-charge warheads.
· A “cargo” motorcycle with compartments for transporting ammunition, drones, and rations.