June 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Helen Regan, Aditi Sangal, Lianne Kolirin and Hafsa Khalil, CNN

Updated 2:47 a.m. ET, June 29, 2022

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8:28 p.m. ET, June 27, 2022

EU will supply Ukraine with special protection equipment against chemical, nuclear and other threats

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite in London

Upon requests from Ukraine, the European Union will supply the war-torn country with $12 million worth of medical equipment, protective gear, and specialized equipment for public health risks such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, the bloc announced Monday in a statement.

"As hospitals in Ukraine are in urgent need of medical equipment, the EU is also donating patient monitors, infusion pumps and ventilators, together with protective equipment for the medical staff, like masks and gowns," the EU Commission said in the statement.

The assistance will be delivered to Ukraine from the EU’s emergency stockpiles hosted by Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Germany, Greece and Denmark, it added.

For these supplies, the EU has mobilized the “rescEU strategic reserves," according to Janez Lenarcic, EU commissioner for crisis management. "Medical equipment, and equipment tailored to chemical, biological or nuclear emergencies are on the way to Ukraine. Hospitals and medical workers in Ukraine are working under fire, and we must do everything in our power to provide them the necessary tools to save lives."

8:41 p.m. ET, June 27, 2022

Analysis: Tide turns in the Ukraine war as Russia makes progress in the east

Analysis from CNN's Tim Lister

Russian forces are arguably having their best spell since the invasion of Ukraine began four months ago.

They have eliminated most Ukrainian defenses in the Luhansk region, consolidated control of a belt of territory in the south, improved their logistics and command structure and blunted the effectiveness of Ukrainian attack drones.

Within the last week, the Russians have been rewarded for their intense — some would say merciless — bombardments of the remaining parts of the Luhansk region held by Ukrainian forces, which have finally given up Severodonetsk and lost territory south of Lysychansk.

The head of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, predicted last Friday that Russian forces would completely encircle Lysychansk within two or three days. So far they haven't, but the city is in imminent peril.

Russian forces have also stepped up attacks in the Donetsk region, getting slightly closer to the belt of industrial towns in the region that runs south from Sloviansk through Kramatorsk to Kostiantynivka.

In Lysychansk and many of the towns studded across the meandering front lines that pass through five regions, the Ukrainians may well face a repeat of what happened in Severodonetsk, where they were bombarded into withdrawing. There was simply nothing left that could be defended.

The immediate dilemma for the Ukrainian military is whether it remains committed to defending Lysychansk, with the risk of losing troops and weapons if the city is encircled — and whether Ukraine's political leadership will order a withdrawal to new defensive lines.

Read the full analysis here.

8:27 p.m. ET, June 27, 2022

Russia launching more strikes into Ukraine than in recent weeks, US defense official says

From CNN's Michael Conte and Tim Lister

Russia has launched more strikes into Ukraine in the past week than the US has seen in recent weeks, according to a senior US defense official.

“It could be related to the G7. It certainly could be related to the Ukrainian movement of HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) into theater. Or it could be a larger portion of their long-term battle strategy here. I’m just not sure,” said the official.

The official said Russia is making gains in the Donbas region but is still facing Ukrainian resistance.

In a background call with reporters, the official added the US is aware that several Russian generals have been relieved of command and there are “continued morale concerns with Russian forces.”

In the Kherson region, the US is aware that local officials who have been working with Russia have been assassinated amid Ukrainian resistance, and that the Ukrainians have made modest gains in the northern part of the region.

The official also said the Ukrainians are using the HIMARS that were delivered to their country in security assistance packages “very well.”

8:26 p.m. ET, June 27, 2022

France says countries invited to G7 need to pick sides over war in Ukraine

From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu in Paris

Some countries invited to participate in the G7 summit in Germany “will have to choose sides” as the war in Ukraine continues to rage on, an Élysée source told journalists on Monday.

“It is the stability of the international order that is at stake,” the Élysée source said.

Germany, host country of the G7 summit, has invited Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to join the summit. Some of the invitees, such as India, have yet to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.