Tuesday, July 1. Russia's War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,224.
Russian Attacks and War Developments
Russia hit Ukraine with the most massive aerial barrage of the war to date on the evening of Jun 28 and into the early hours of June 29. The strike included 60 missiles, significantly more than any other recent large-scale attack, along with 477 drones and decoys, marking the second-highest drone deployment. Only the fierce June 9 attack a few weeks earlier saw more drones utilized, with 479 units dispatched. Ukrainian forces intercepted 39 missiles and shot down 249 drones, as well as electronically jamming an additional 226 drones. Impacts were recorded in six locations, but no civilian deaths were reported.
While repelling the attack, Ukraine lost its fourth F-16 fighter jet. Although details surrounding the loss remain undisclosed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously bestowed the title of Hero of Ukraine on pilot Maksym Ustymenko, who reportedly downed seven aerial targets that night. In total, over the past week, Russian forces launched 114 missiles, more than 1,270 drones, and nearly 1,100 glide bombs at targets across Ukraine, according to President Zelenskyy.
Russia also tested new weapons during its attacks last week, including the 'Grom-E1' rocket-assisted glide bomb, or hybrid missile glide bomb, which Ukraine's air defenses shot down near the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine. At the same time, Russian forces used a new drone called 'Chernika' for the first time in strikes on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv. The 'Chernika' drone carries a warhead of similar explosive force to other Russian drones but has a different design. Despite being made with inexpensive components, it features advanced guidance systems.
In an apparent effort to expand its air fleet, Russia is reportedly working to boost production of combat aircraft at the Kazan Aviation Plant, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The plant builds strategic bombers such as Tu-160M, as well as helicopters, and aims to increase output by 2028. However, the facility will likely struggle to fulfill new production goals due to sanctions and labor shortages; it delivered only a few bombers in 2024.
Spike in Civilian Deaths
The United Nations has reported a sharp increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine. During the six-month period starting December 2024, the U.N. found a 37% increase in civilian deaths compared to a similar timeframe the previous year. At least 968 civilians were killed and over 4,800 injured. Nearly half of these casualties resulted from air-dropped munitions and missile strikes on densely populated areas. In addition, the Kremlin's reported use of cluster munitions in some of its attacks, which disperse submunitions over wide areas to maximize destruction, contributed to a rise in casualties.
The report also points to systematic human rights abuses, including credible evidence of executions of prisoners of war. The U.N. documented the killings of at least 35 Ukrainian POWs and one Russian captive. Among other reported atrocities are torture, electric shocks, sexual violence, and other forms of abuse. 'These are not isolated incidents - they point to well-documented patterns of widespread and systematic torture,' said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Russia Seizes Key Ukrainian Lithium Field
Russian forces captured a second major lithium field in Ukraine on June 26. Shevchenko field, located near an eponymous village in eastern Donetsk region, measures less than 100 acres, yet is home to one the largest high-grade lithium deposits in the country, and all of Eastern Europe. Its reserves are roughly estimated at 1.2 million tons of ore with lithium concentration above 1.5%. Countrywide, Ukraine's lithium reserves are estimated at 500,000 metric tons.
Russia now controls two of Ukraine's four largest known lithium deposits, including one in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. The other two major lithium fields are in central Ukraine, away from the front lines.
This loss exposes a vulnerability in the U.S.-Ukraine minerals partnership, which grants American companies priority access to Ukraine's strategic resources. 'This deposit will definitely find a license holder,' stated Vladimir Ezhikov, a Russian-appointed official in the occupied Donetsk region, in a Kremlin-run media outlet last year, signaling Moscow's intent to exploit the asset. Currently, resources valued in the billions of dollars remain under Russian occupation, deposits that the Ukrainian government could otherwise license to international partners. Under occupation, however, such opportunities are effectively foreclosed.
By Danylo Nosov, Karina L. Tahiliani
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