Ukraine’s forces remain on the defensive in the eastern Donbas region – as it happened

Thank you for joining us for today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

It is currently 3am in the capital Kyiv. We will be pausing our live reporting overnight and returning in the morning.

In the meantime, you can read our comprehensive summary of the days’ events in our summary below.

• Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he expects Russia will intensify attacks on Ukraine and possibly other European countries after the EU Commission proposed it as a candidate for EU membership. “Obviously, this week we should expect from Russia an intensification of its hostile activities,” he said in a nightly video address. “And not only against Ukraine, but also against other European countries. We are preparing. We are ready. We warn partners.”

• Ukraine’s forces remain on the defensive in the eastern Donbas region, where fighting continues in Sievierodonestsk. Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, said Russia was massing forces in an attempt to take full control of the city after weeks of fighting but maintained that “all Russian claims that they control the town are a lie”. “They control the main part of the town, but not the whole town,” he told Ukrainian television.

• European Union foreign ministers will discuss ways to free millions of tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. It is hoped a deal can be struck to resume Ukraine’s sea exports in return for facilitating Russian food and fertiliser exports but remains unclear if the EU would get involved in militarily securing such a deal. “Whether there will be a need in the future for escorting these commercial ships, that’s a question mark and I don’t think we are there yet,” an EU official said.

• The war in Ukraine could last for years and will require long-term military support, according to Nato and other western leaders. “We must prepare for the fact that it could take years,” Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild on Sunday. British prime minister, Boris Johnson, added: “I am afraid that we need to steel ourselves for a long war.”

• Ukraine’s parliament voted through two laws on Sunday which will place severe restrictions on Russian books and music. Proposed laws will forbid the printing of books by Russian citizens, banning the commercial import of books printed in Russia and prohibiting the playing of music by post-1991 Russian citizens on media and on public transport in the latest attempt to break cultural ties between the two countries.

• The New York Times identified over 2,000 munitions used by Russian forces in Ukraine, “a vast majority of which were unguided.” According to the newspaper, over 210 weapons that were identified were types that have been widely banned under a variety of international treaties.

• Austria’s government announced that it will reopen a mothballed coal power station because of power shortages arising from reduced deliveries of gas from Russia. The authorities would work with the Verbund group, the country’s main electricity supplier, to get the station in the southern city of Mellach back in action, the chancellery said on Sunday.

• Morocco’s national human rights body has urged Russian authorities to guarantee a “fair trial” for a young national appealing a death sentence imposed by a pro-Russian court in Ukraine. Amina Bouayach, president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), has contacted the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and urged the Russian body to take “the necessary steps to ensure Brahim Saadoun receives a fair trial during his appeal.”
  

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Successful Ukrainian counterattacks in the Zaporizhia area are forcing Russian forces to rush reinforcements to this weakened sector of the front line, the institute for the study of war has said in its latest update.

Russian forces focused on maintaining their occupied frontiers north of the city of Kharkiv and fired at Ukrainian positions in the Kharkiv region on Sunday, the report added.

According to the policy research organisation, Russian forces are also likely seek to levy their attempts to interdict the T1302 Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway to support offensive operations in Lysychansk.

Ukraine’s parliament has voted through two laws which will place severe restrictions on Russian books and music in an attempt to break cultural ties between the two countries.

One law will forbid the printing of books by Russian citizens, unless they renounce their Russian passport and take Ukrainian citizenship. The ban will only apply to those who held Russian citizenship after the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule, Reuters reports.

It will also ban the commercial import of books printed in Russia, Belarus, and occupied Ukrainian territory, while also requiring special permission for the import of books in Russian from any other country.

Another law will prohibit the playing of music by post-1991 Russian citizens on media and on public transport, while also increasing quotas on Ukrainian-language speech and music content in TV and radio broadcasts.

The laws need to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to take effect, and there is no indication that he opposes either. Both received broad support from across the chamber, including from lawmakers who had traditionally been viewed as pro-Kremlin by most of Ukraine’s media and civil society.

Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said he was “glad to welcome” the new restrictions.

The laws are designed to help Ukrainian authors share quality content with the widest possible audience, which after the Russian invasion do not accept any Russian creative product on a physical level,” the Ukrainian cabinet’s website quoted him as saying.

The new rules are the latest chapter in Ukraine’s long path to shedding the legacy of hundreds of years of rule by Moscow.

Ukraine says this process, previously referred to as “decommunisation” but now more often called “derussification,” is necessary to undo centuries of policies aimed at crushing Ukrainian identity.

European Union foreign ministers will discuss ways to free millions of tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine due to Russia’s Black Sea port blockade at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

Ukraine is one of the top wheat suppliers globally, but its grain shipments have stalled and more than 20m tonnes have been trapped in silos since Russia’s invaded the country and blocked its ports.

The EU supports efforts by the United Nations to broker a deal to resume Ukraine’s sea exports in return for facilitating Russian food and fertiliser exports, but that would need Moscow’s green light.

Turkey has good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, and has said it is ready to take up a role within an “observation mechanism” based in Istanbul if there is a deal.

It is unclear if the EU would get involved in militarily securing such a deal.

Whether there will be a need in the future for escorting these commercial ships, that’s a question mark and I don’t think we are there yet,” an EU official said.

Meanwhile, talks among EU member states on a new package of sanctions against Russia are continuing, according to the EU official who signalled that fresh measures are not imminent.

The existing sanctions are already extensive and there is not much scope for agreement to impose sanctions on Russia’s gas exports to the EU, the official said.

Ukraine has just thanked Australia for sending four armoured vehicles to the war-torn country.

Ukraine will not forget this. Another batch of Australian armoured vehicles are on their way to Ukraine.

These are four of the 14 M113 armoured personnel carriers promised by the Australian government. A half-world-long aviation aid bridge unites our people in these difficult times for Ukraine.”

It’s 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:

• Austria’s government announced Sunday that it would reopen a mothballed coal power station because of power shortages arising from reduced deliveries of gas from Russia. The authorities would work with the Verbund group, the country’s main electricity supplier, to get the station in the southern city of Mellach back in action, said the chancellery.
• Russia has deported over 300,000 Ukrainian children since its invasion of Ukraine in February, the Kyiv Independent reports. In total, 1.9 million Ukrainians have been deported to Russia since the invasion, according to the report.
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Sunday that he expects Russia to intensify attacks on Ukraine after the EU Commission proposed it as a candidate for EU membership. “Obviously, this week we should expect from Russia an intensification of its hostile activities, as an example,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
• The New York Times has identified over 2,000 munitions used by Russian forces in Ukraine, “a vast majority of which were unguided.” According to the outlet, over 210 weapons that were identified were types that have been widely banned under a variety of international treaties.
  
• Russia is preparing for an offensive towards the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk, the Kyiv Independent reports. Additionally, according to the general staff of the Ukraine armed forces, Ukrainian troops are repelling a Russian offensive near Berestove, a town approximately 70km from Sloviansk.
• Ukraine’s parliament adopted new laws on Sunday, including a ban on publications imported from Russia and Belarus. Other news laws adopted included prohibition of public performance of music “of the Russian region” and the exemption of military personnel “involved in hostilities” from the country’s special war tax.
• Morocco’s national human rights body has urged Russian authorities to guarantee a “fair trial” for a young national appealing a death sentence imposed by a pro-Russian court in Ukraine. Amina Bouayach, president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), has contacted the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and urged the Russian body to take “the necessary steps to ensure Brahim Saadoun receives a fair trial during his appeal.”

This post was amended on 20 June 2022. The Kyiv Independent reported that 1.9 million Ukrainians have been deported to Russia since the invasion, not from Russia as an earlier version said.

That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand over the blog to my colleague in Australia, Samantha Lock, who will bring you the latest updates on Ukraine. Thank you.

Austria’s government announced Sunday that it would reopen a mothballed coal power station because of power shortages arising from reduced deliveries of gas from Russia.

Agence France-Presse reports:

The authorities would work with the Verbund group, the country’s main electricity supplier, to get the station in the southern city of Mellach back in action, said the chancellery.

The statement followed a crisis meeting of the government. The aim is to be able to once again produce electricity from coal, should that be required in an emergency. But the process would likely take several months, the environment ministry told Austria’s APA news agency.

Mellach power station, which was the country’s last coal-fuelled power station, closed in the spring of 2020 as the government phased out polluting energy in a bid to move to 100 percent renewables.

“Our first objective is to secure the country’s supply,” said Austria’s conservative chancellor, Karl Nehammer, who governs with the Greens.

But 80% of the country’s gas supplies come from Russia, he explained.

This is about replacing the missing Russian gas with other sources or suppliers so as to be able to continue to build up reserve.

Moscow has lost several European gas clients after it demanded that all “unfriendly” countries pay for Russian natural gas in rubles in response to a barrage of western sanctions over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.

Gazprom has said exports to countries that did not belong to the former Soviet Union were down 28.9% between January 1 and June 15 compared with the same period last year.

Russia has deported over 300,000 Ukrainian children since its invasion of Ukraine in February, the Kyiv Independent reports.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Sunday that he expects Russia to intensify attacks on Ukraine after the EU Commission proposed it as a candidate for EU membership.

Obviously, this week we should expect from Russia an intensification of its hostile activities, as an example,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

“And not only against Ukraine, but also against other European countries. We are preparing. We are ready.”

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The New York Times has identified over 2,000 munitions used by Russian forces in Ukraine, “a vast majority of which were unguided”.

According to the outlet, over 210 weapons that were identified were types that have been widely banned under a variety of international treaties.

“All but a handful were cluster munitions, including their submunitions, which can pose a grave risk to civilians for decades after war has ended,” the New York Times said, adding: “More than 330 other weapons appeared to have been used on or near civilian structures.”

Russia is preparing for an offensive towards the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk, the Kyiv Independent reports.

Additionally, according to the general staff of the Ukraine armed forces, Ukrainian troops are repelling a Russian offensive near Berestove, a town approximately 70km from Sloviansk.

Ukraine’s parliament adopted new laws on Sunday, including a ban on publications imported from Russia and Belarus.

Other news laws adopted included prohibition of public performance of music “of the Russian region” and the exemption of military personnel “involved in hostilities” from the country’s special war tax.

Morocco’s national human rights body has urged Russian authorities to guarantee a “fair trial” for a young national appealing a death sentence imposed by a pro-Russian court in Ukraine.

Agence France-Presse reports:

Brahim Saadoun, a Moroccan citizen born in 2000, was sentenced to death on June 9 along with two British men by a court in Donetsk, a self-proclaimed statelet in eastern Ukraine.

The trio have been accused of acting as mercenaries for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

Amina Bouayach, president of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), has contacted the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, a source from the Moroccan rights council told AFP on Sunday.

She has urged the Russian body to take “the necessary steps to ensure Brahim Saadoun receives a fair trial during his appeal,” the source said.

Taher Saadoun, father of the accused, has said his son, who obtained Ukrainian citizenship in 2020, “is not a mercenary”, calling him instead a “victim of manipulation”.

But Dmytro Khrabstov, 20, a friend of Saadoun, has said the Moroccan joined the Ukrainian military last year, telling friends he wanted to “die as a hero”.

The Moroccan government had not responded until last Monday, saying through its embassy in Ukraine that Saadoun “was captured while wearing the uniform of the army of the state of Ukraine, as a member of the Ukrainian marine unit”.

It said he was “currently imprisoned by an entity that is recognised by neither the United Nations nor Morocco”, without commenting further.

Morocco has taken a position of neutrality at the United Nations on the war in Ukraine.

The move reflects Rabat’s desire to avoid alienating Russia, a member of the UN Security Council, on the question of the disputed Western Sahara, a key Moroccan diplomatic priority.

Morocco controls 80 percent of the disputed former Spanish colony and insists the territory must remain under its sovereignty, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front movement seeks independence.

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UK ministers will change visa rules and now allow unaccompanied Ukrainian minors to enter the UK, The Times reports.

The new rule change will allow hundreds of stranded children and teenage refugees to enter the UK.

The change comes to an existing rule that currently prohibits individuals under 18 years old who are without a parent or guardian from entering the UK.

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Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based thinktank, wrote in a note that “Russian forces will likely be able to seize the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk in the coming weeks, but at the cost of concentrating most of their available forces in this small area”.

Gaining full control of the Luhansk region – one of the two provinces making up the Donbas – is now a top target for Russian forces, as part of a larger focus on trying to take complete control of the Donbas.

In Sievierodonetsk’s twin city of Lysychansk, residential buildings and private houses had been destroyed, Gaidai said. “People are dying on the streets and in bomb shelters,” he said, adding that 19 people had been evacuated on Sunday.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, Ihor Terekhov, said he would cancel a planned trip to Madrid to discuss the city’s reconstruction with Norman Foster and other architects due to the uncertainty caused by increased bombardment, Reuters reports.

In southern Ukraine, western weaponry had helped Ukrainian forces advance 10km (6 miles) towards Russian-occupied Melitopol, its mayor said in a video posted on Telegram from outside the city.

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