Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 854

As the war enters its 854th day, these are the main developments.

Here is the situation on Friday, June 28, 2024.

Fighting

• Ukraine’s military said its forces had forced Russian soldiers out of a district in the strategically important town of Chasiv Yar on the war’s eastern front. Russia, meanwhile, said its forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway.
• The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said the country had sent about 10,000 naturalised citizens to fight in Ukraine, and that it was cracking down on those who had received Russian citizenship but were not registering with military authorities.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it launched missile attacks on Ukrainian airfields, which it believes have been designated to host Western military aircraft. It said the attacks were successful but did not provide any details.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukraine and the European Union signed a security pact to ensure long-term support to Kyiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the EU’s leaders to live up to their promises to provide military equipment including air defence systems.
• Lithuania and Estonia also signed security agreements with Ukraine.
• Jordan Bardella, who could become French prime minister if the far-right National Rally (RN) wins the election for the national assembly, said in a debate that he would “not let Russian imperialism absorb an allied state like Ukraine”. Bardella also said he was against sending longer-range missiles to Ukraine that could hit Russian territory “and place France and the French in a situation of co-belligerence”. The RN is currently tipped to win the polls, which take place on June 30 and July 7.
• Sri Lanka asked Russia to allow its former soldiers fighting for Russia against Ukraine to return home voluntarily, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following two days of talks in Moscow. It also called for compensation for 17 Sri Lankans killed in the fighting.
• A Russian court in the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea sentenced a man in his early 30s to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of “high treason” for filming Russian military sites to help Ukraine’s armed forces, Russian news agencies reported.
• South Korea imposed sanctions on five companies and eight individuals it said were involved in illegal military transactions with North Korea.

Weapons

• The Czech Republic called for more donors to join its initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine, warning that more contributions were needed to meet its targets. Some 18 countries are currently involved in the plan, and Prague said earlier this week that the first shipment of ammunition – 155mm shells – bought under the initiative had reached Ukraine.