Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.
June 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news
By Kathleen Magramo, Rob Picheta, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNN
Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, June 20, 2023
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Ukraine’s health ministry says water in regions affected by dam collapse remains highly contaminated
From CNN’s Mariya Knight and Maria Kostenko
Ukraine’s health ministry said water in the regions affected by the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse remains highly contaminated.
“In reservoirs of the Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, individual indicators significantly exceed the established hygiene and sanitary standards,” said a health ministry statement released on Monday. The Odesa region is “under the greatest danger” at the moment, the statement read.
About 40 surface water monitoring points have been set up along the river channel in the flood zone and along the seacoast in Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions, according to the statement,. The most dangerous pollutants in the water were salmonella, rotavirus, worm eggs, and E. coli.
The Ministry of Health urged the residents against swimming and fishing in the waters of Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions.
Russia and Ukraine continue to blame each other for the dam collapse. Russia cited security concerns for declining the United Nation’s help in the Russian-occupied flooded areas.
Vladimir Saldo, Russian-appointed governor of the Kherson region, said Monday that 8,100 people have been evacuated from the region since the start of the rescue operation — including 583 children and 290 people with low mobility. Saldo also said medical assistance and monetary compensation were being given out in affected areas.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration in the Ukrainian-controlled areas, said the situation on the left bank of the Kherson region — currently occupied by Russians — was “critical” and said the Russians failed in the evacuation efforts.
"People are trapped in the water. Officially, 11 people died of drowning in Oleshky alone. However, this figure is underestimated, as Russia is trying to hide the fact that civilians died," he said.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for international support to help rescue victims of the dam collapse in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and accused Russia of not providing “any real help to the people in the flooded areas.”
Focus of war in Ukraine moves to the southern and eastern fronts. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Ukraine has not lost any of its positions, instead it has only gained new ones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.
“In some areas our warriors are moving forward, in some areas they are defending their positions and resisting the occupiers' assaults and intensified attacks,” he said. “We have no lost positions. Only liberated ones.”
Here are the latest developments:
- Russia heavily mined areas along the southern front: Russian troops heavily mined areas along Ukraine’s southern frontline and sent considerable numbers of reservists into the fight there, the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces claimed. “The adversary is trying to prevent the advance of our units. To this end, they have deployed a system of fortifications with dense minefields and a significant number of reserves,” Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in a post on Facebook.
- Russia's major focus is still on the eastern front: Russia’s focus is still on the war’s eastern front, Ukrainian military officials said, Monday. “The Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions remain the major focus of the enemy’s effort,” the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces reported in its evening update.
- New UK legislation allows Russian sanctions to remain in place until compensation is paid to Kyiv: The UK has introduced new legislation allowing Russian sanctions to remain in place until Moscow pays compensation to Kyiv, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a news release Monday. The new legislation will also allow sanctioned individuals to donate frozen funds to reconstructing Ukraine.
- China assured US it will not provide lethal aid to Russia: China has assured that it has not and will not provide lethal aid to Russia, but the United States remains concerned that Chinese companies may do so, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. Blinken said the assurance is appreciated and there is no evidence to contradict them.
- NATO won't formally invite Ukraine to its July summit: NATO will not issue a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the military alliance during a high-profile summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, in July, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday. The secretary general added that although consultations are ongoing regarding Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, he is “not in a position to pre-empt the outcome of these consultations.”
Ukraine has not lost any positions. It's only gained new ones, Zelensky says
From Mariya Knight in Atlanta
Ukraine has not lost any of its positions, only gained new ones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.
“In some areas our warriors are moving forward, in some areas they are defending their positions and resisting the occupiers' assaults and intensified attacks,” he said. “We have no lost positions. Only liberated ones.”
Zelensky noted “a significant political decision by the UK regarding sanctions” was made Monday.
He said the UK will “maintain sanctions against Russia until the aggressor compensates for all the damage” done to the Ukrainian people. “And it is very important that the assets of the aggressor state and all those associated with it […] are used to compensate for the damage caused by the Russian war and terror.”
Hungary is refuting Ukraine’s claim that former POWs from Russia are being denied consular access
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
The Hungarian government has refuted claims that it has denied Ukraine’s diplomats access to 11 soldiers who were held as prisoners of war (POWs) by Russia before being moved to Hungary earlier this month.
Zoltán Kovács, Hungary’s state secretary for international communication, told CNN that the soldiers had been “freed in Russia” after the cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta and “were able to declare, out of their own free will, that they wished to come to Hungary.”
Kovács said that most of the soldiers also had Hungarian citizenship, and the rest had, “received refugee status in Hungary.”
They are now “free individuals” who “can stay in Hungary or can leave Hungary at any time out of their own free will,” he added.
The soldiers' transfer to Hungary was first reported on June 8, when the office of the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, announced that, “a group of Ukrainian war prisoners of Transcarpathian origin who had participated in hostilities [had been] transferred to Hungary” that day under an agreement the Church had mediated.
On June 9, Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, welcomed the soldiers’ release but said Kyiv had not been informed about the negotiations leading to it and requested its consul be granted immediate access.
Today, June 19, Nikolenko claimed that the soldiers were being, “kept in isolation, do not have access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties, [and] they are denied the right to establish contact with the Embassy of Ukraine.”
Kovács denied this and said, “The Hungarian government is not following or monitoring their movements any further.”
Russia's major focus is still on the eastern front, Ukrainian military says
From CNN’s Maria Kostenko in Kyiv and Jo Shelley in London
Russia’s focus is still on the war’s eastern front, Ukrainian military officials said, Monday.
“The Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions remain the major focus of the enemy’s effort,” the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces reported in its evening update. “Heavy fighting continues. There were 39 combat engagements over the last day.”
Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian military, told state TV that Russian troops were, “using infantry units, airborne units, as well as ‘Storm Z’ (convict) assault units” in the east and had shelled Ukrainian positions there more than 500 times over the past day.
Russia heavily mined areas along the southern front, Ukrainian military general says
From CNN’s Maria Kostenko in Kyiv and Jo Shelley in London
Russian troops heavily mined areas along Ukraine’s southern frontline and sent considerable numbers of reservists into the fight there, the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces claimed.
“The adversary is trying to prevent the advance of our units. To this end, they have deployed a system of fortifications with dense minefields and a significant number of reserves,” General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in a post on Facebook. “The operation continues as planned,” he added.
Zaluzhnyi posted a video of himself alongside the commander of Ukraine’s southern forces, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, whose units Ukraine said earlier Monday had liberated eight settlements in the south over the past two weeks.
Russia’s actions in the south were further outlined by one Ukrainian deputy unit commander on the ground.
Kostiantyn Denysov, a fighter with Ukraine’s Legion of Liberty, told state television Monday that Russian troops had “dug in really well” and unleashed “massive firepower” to prevent any Ukrainian advance.
“We’re liberating some of the settlements, but it is here on the ground that we see at what cost. Guys with heavy wounds, with contusions. This is the price of fighting for freedom,” Denysov said.
“There are several areas on the frontline where constant fighting is ongoing. We have to admit that the enemy has dug in well. They have brought in here regular Russian army. There are also some mobilized, including those from the Moscow region,” he continued. “The enemy has a lot of artillery. They are shelling our guys from everything. They are using drones to adjust their fire. They have got a lot of drones, which is a big problem. They are attacking not only our guys, but also civilian infrastructure from the air.”
Denysov said that Russian units had built, “concrete trenches and minefields… setting traps for our guys on the temporary fortifications” and making it difficult for Ukraine to recapture its territory.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing left of some settlements except for the name,” he said.
Russia is transferring resources to Zaporizhzhia from other parts of Ukraine, multiple authorities say
From CNN's Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych and Maria Kostenko
Russia appears to be moving its personnel and heavy military equipment from other parts of Ukraine to support its front line in the Zaporizhzhia area, Ukrainian and UK officials say.
The Ukrainian Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, reported this transfer from the Nova Kakhovka and Kakhovka area in Kherson to the Zaporizhzhia front line via Melitopol.
The UK Defense Ministry, in its intelligence assessment Monday, also reported it is "highly likely" Russia has started relocating "elements of its Dnipro Group of Forces (DGF) from the eastern bank of the Dnipro River to reinforce the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut sectors" over the last 10 days.
"This potentially involves several thousand troops from the 49th Army, including its 34th Separate Motorised Brigade, as well as Airborne Forces (VDV) and Naval Infantry units," the ministry said, adding that it was likely because of "Russia’s perception that a major Ukrainian attack across the Dnipro is now less likely following the collapse of Kakhovka Dam and the resulting flooding."
Ukraine deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said the situation in the eastern areas of Donetsk and Kharkiv remains difficult, with Russia pulling in its forces to attack Lyman and Kupyansk, but the forces are not allowing Russians to advance.
"The enemy has not given up their plans to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They have concentrated a significant number of their units in the east, including airborne assault units," Maliar said.
Ukrainian officials have claimed limited advances in parts of Donetsk, including around Avdiivka, which has been under attack by Russian and Russian-backed groups since the start of the invasion.
Some analysts perceive a slow-down in Ukrainian offensive operations in the south, as various parts of the long frontline see heavy combat.
"Ukrainian forces may be temporarily pausing counteroffensive operations to reevaluate their tactics for future operations," according to the Institute for the Study of War.
The institute said Sunday it "has previously noted that Ukraine has not yet committed the majority of its available forces to counteroffensive operations and has not yet launched its main effort."
Moldovan court declares pro-Russian party "unconstitutional" and demands immediate dissolution
From CNN’s Cristiana Moisescu in London and Xiaofei Xu in Paris
A pro-Russian Party in Moldova has been banned by the country’s constitutional court.
“The SHOR political party is considered dissolved from this moment on,” Nicolae Roșca, president of the Moldovan constitutional court said at a publicly broadcasted hearing.
The party is named after its current leader Ilan Shor and is subject to sanctions by western powers such as the United States and Canada.
It was the leading force in organizing anti-government and pro-Russia protests in Moldova since 2022.
This decision of the court is definitive and can’t be appealed, according to the ruling, which said the Ministry of Justice will set up a dissolution committee.
Party representatives could serve out the rest of their terms as individual members and have no right to join another party, according to the court.
The SHOR Party currently has five members in the 101-member Moldovan Parliament.
More context: Tensions are mounting in Moldova, a small country on Ukraine’s southwestern border, where Russia has been accused of laying the groundwork for a coup that could drag the nation into the Kremlin’s war.
Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, has accused Russia of using “saboteurs” disguised as civilians to stoke unrest amid a period of political instability, echoing similar warnings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has meanwhile baselessly accused Kyiv of planning its own assault on a pro-Russian territory in Moldova where Moscow has a military foothold, heightening fears that he is creating a pretext for a Crimea-style annexation.
Earlier this year, Zelensky warned that Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a Russian plan to destabilize an already volatile political situation in Moldova.