Russian forces have stepped up attacks near Toretsk, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian officials.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone is moving crippled electrical infrastructure in central Ukraine and injured at least two other people in the western Lviv region, Ukrainian officials said.
These are the developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine on Wednesday, June 19:
French defense contractor Thales has announced that it has signed three agreements with Ukraine, adding one to create a joint venture in the country that will be the source of military equipment.
“Areas of cooperation include electronic warfare, tactical communications, air defense systems and radars, as well as unmanned aircraft systems,” they add.
The agreements were signed under the auspices of Ukraine’s Ministry of the Armed Forces and Ministry of Strategic Industries, Thales said.
France is one of Ukraine’s allies and supports kyiv with army and humanitarian aid.
At the end of May, Paris announced its goal to reduce the number of running shoes in the country, despite considerations from some allies. And in June, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to send Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine.
The European Commission will impose price lists on Ukrainian egg imports in the next two weeks after reaching a past agreed annual threshold for such imports, a spokesman said.
The Commission adopted the same resolution on Tuesday in relation to oat imports from Ukraine.
Following Russia’s large-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine benefited from a special mechanism put in place to stimulate industrial flows with the EU, its main export market.
However, the EU set limits on imports after farmers across the bloc protested reasonable Ukrainian imports, calling them unfair competition.
Ukraine’s presidency has announced that it will soon sign a security agreement with the European Union, the latest in a series of agreements it hopes will guarantee military aid for years to come as it fights Russia.
“The Ukrainian and European negotiating groups finalized the text of the security agreement and agreed to sign it in the near future,” the Ukrainian presidency said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky last week praised an “unprecedented” 10-year security agreement with the United States, calling it a “bridge” to the NATO club for his war-torn country.
In total, Ukraine has signed security agreements with more than 15 countries, including Germany.
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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had arrested a man recruited through Russian agents on an online dating site. According to the service, he sought to provide Moscow with important and sensitive information about Ukrainian troops.
A pro-Kremlin resident of the northeastern city of Kharkiv was recruited for a “dating chat” on the Telegram messaging service, the service added.
“SBU agents arrested the informant red-handed while he was taking photographs of special cars of Ukrainian soldiers,” the security said, adding that the suspect faces eight years in prison.
He claimed that Russia had planned to use the knowledge to make targeted moves and attack Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said he supports Ukraine’s right to protect itself from Russia. However, he declared that if he were elected prime minister, he would supply kyiv with missiles that would allow it to attack Russian territory.
That is why Bardella said he intends to send long-range missiles or other weapons that would allow Ukraine to attack Russian territory.
Bardella also said he would honor France’s commitments to its partners, adding allies to NATO, to increase defense spending.
Bardella’s National Rally (RN) leads opinion polls ahead of snap parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7, raising questions about the foreign policy implications if it wins enough seats to form a government.
Even if the RN were to lead the French government, Emmanuel Macron would still be president and head of the French army. But the letter also gives the minister a role in defence.
A Russian drone moves broken electrical infrastructure in central Ukraine and injured at least two other people in the western Lviv region, according to Ukrainian officials.
The Ukraine Air Force said it destroyed 19 of the 21 drones introduced through Russia in six regions of Ukraine.
The Energy Ministry said via the Telegram messaging app that emergency services had been dispatched to the sites of the attacks and that maintenance was being carried out on broken electrical appliances in the western Lviv region.
Russian forces brought in drones to attack the Lviv region, which borders NATO member Poland, and wounded two men, according to Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi.
Kozytskyi said on Telegram that Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed the five drones. The injuries were caused by falling debris.
The drone strike in Malekhiv village, Lviv city district, broke a multi-story residential building, as well as dozens of windows in other residential buildings, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense treaty with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at a summit in Pyongyang, where Putin held the first in 24 years.
“This is a revolutionary document,” Putin said at a press conference in the North Korean capital, adding that it provides “among other things, mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty,” according to Russian media agencies.
Kim called Putin “the dearest friend of the Korean people” and said his country “expresses its full solidarity with the Russian government” over the war in Ukraine.
The two countries have been allies since the founding of North Korea after World War II and have become even closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of sending ammunition and missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Formation
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Russian forces have intensified their attacks near Toretsk, a frontline city in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
The army said at a press conference on Tuesday that Russia had “intensified” its attacks near Toretsk and “launched five attack operations at once”, encircling cities and towns.
The Ukrainian military said the escalation of Russian attacks began “after a long pause. “
Russian troops have tilted the battlefield initiative in their favor in recent months, advancing north and south of Toretsk, but the front line near the mining town has remained stable.
dh/rc (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)