RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukrainian airfields hit by Russian strikes – Moscow
Russian forces launched multiple high-accuracy strikes on Ukrainian military airfields overnight from Sunday to Monday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
The attacks hit Ukrainian command posts, radar stations, and aircraft, as well as weapons and ammunition storage depots, the ministry claimed. The exact targets or the extent of the damage was not disclosed.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday evening that Russia had launched one of its largest drone attacks to date. Ukrainian media reported explosions across the country, although Kiev claimed that almost all of the drones had been shot down.
Officials in Ukraine’s western Khmelnitsky Region said on Monday that a military target had been hit in a Russian attack. The authorities described the site as a “facility” rather than an airfield, but said at least five aircraft had been “disabled,”adding that a runaway required repairs as a result of the strike. They also said other “objects” in the area had been hit.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that several major Ukrainian ammunition depots and military equipment storage sites had been struck close to the frontlines in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson Region.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces have also intercepted three ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles supplied to Kiev by the UK and 13 HIMARS projectiles, the ministry said.
Russia increased its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian military and energy infrastructure after the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in October 2022. The latest series of strikes followed a Ukrainian cross-border raid into Belgorod Region earlier this month, which resulted in at least one civilian death and left several people injured.
** Putin signs law governing elections in new Russia’s regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law amending existing legislation on the conduct of elections in the country’s new regions as well as election procedures, according to the document published on Monday.
The new regions of the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR), Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region, have now been delegated the right to independently determine certain provisions of the federal election law, starting from a single voting day this September. In particular, residents of the new regions are now eligible to cast votes at polling stations located outside of their home regions and may also use not only their Russian internal passports for personal identification purposes but also other documents with equivalent legal force.
Elections under martial law
The document also establishes the procedure for holding elections under martial law, stipulating that referendums and elections may be held on those territories where martial law has been declared following relevant consultations by Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) with the Russian Defense Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Under the bill, elections and referendums may be held, provided that all relevant bodies approve it, across the entire territory where martial law has been declared or in a specific part of such territory.
If holding an election or a referendum on the territory of one of the four regions would pose a threat to the lives or well-being of the citizenry, voting may be postponed by decision of the CEC, which must immediately inform the president of any such postponement. Once the relevant danger is eliminated, the CEC will determine when to resume the electoral process.
Electoral commissions for detainees
The law also provides for the possibility to form precinct election commissions in places of detention of suspected and accused persons, and defines the procedure for forming such commissions, their powers and the basis of their activities.
The document also contains provisions on the refusal of voting with absentee ballots and the prohibition of election campaigns on websites blocked by Russia's mass media and telecommunications watchdog (Roskomnadzor).
The law comes into force from the day of its official publication.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine air defences battle fresh wave of Russian attacks
Russia launched another wave of attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday and the city's air defence systems were shooting down incoming missiles, while air raid sirens blared in several other regions.
"A massive attack!" Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. "Do not leave shelters."
Falling debris hit several districts of the capital including the historic Podil and Pecherskyi neighbourhoods, and a 27-year-old woman was injured in southwestern Holosiivskyi district, officials said.
Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian capital in May using a combination of drones and missiles, mostly at night, in an apparent attempt to undermine Ukrainians' will to fight after more than 15 months of war.
Tuesday's strikes were Russia's 17th air assault on the capital this month and came after the city was attacked twice on Monday, including an unusual daytime strike.
In a rare acknowledgement of damage to a military "target", Ukraine said a runway was damaged and five aircraft were taken out of service on Monday in western Khmelnitskiy region.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the defence ministry as saying more than one air base had been hit. There was no confirmation from Ukraine of damage to other air bases.
Ukrainian officials said most of the drones and missiles fired on Sunday and Monday had been shot down and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised U.S.-supplied Patriot anti-missile defences.
"When Patriots in the hands of Ukrainians ensure a 100% interception rate of any Russian missile, terror will be defeated," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Monday.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
The air attacks come as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive backed with Western weapons to try to drive Russian occupiers out of territory seized since Moscow launched what it calls its "special military operation" in February 2022.
"With these constant attacks, the enemy seeks to keep the civilian population in deep psychological tension," said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration.
On the eastern frontlines, Russian paratroops and motorised units were replacing Wagner mercenary units in the eastern city of Bakhmut, according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the eastern group of Ukrainian Forces.
Wagner began handing over positions to regular troops this week after declaring full control of Bakhmut following the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
Moscow said it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" its neighbour and protect Russian speakers. Western opponents say the invasion is an imperialist land grab in which tens of thousands have been killed, millions uprooted and cities reduced to ruins.
Russia says it is open to resuming stalled peace talks with Kyiv and has welcomed mediation efforts from Brazil and China.
But a top aide to Zelenskiy said Kyiv's peace plan, envisaging the full withdrawal of Russian troops, was the only way to end the war.
"There cannot be a Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, a South African peace plan when you are talking about the war in Ukraine," chief diplomatic adviser Ihor Zhovkva told Reuters in an interview late on Friday.
CALL FOR A DMZ
Another Zelenskiy aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter that any post-war settlement should include a demilitarised zone of 100-120 km (62-75 miles) inside Russia along the border.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he believed Russia would not want to negotiate while it was still trying to win the war.
Ukraine's military said an attack on Odesa port had caused a fire and damaged infrastructure but did not specify whether the damage threatened grain exports.
Ukraine is an key global grain supplier and the port is vital for shipping. It is also one of three countries in a U.N.-brokered deal on the safe export of grain via the Black Sea.
Russia said on Monday the grain deal would no longer be operational unless a U.N. agreement with Moscow to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports was fulfilled.
This month, Moscow reluctantly agreed to extend the grain deal until July 17.
RT/Tass/Reuters