Here is the situation on Monday, June 17, 2024.
Fighting
- Seven people, including two young boys, were injured in a Russian attack on the village of Nova Poltavka village in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Politics and diplomacy
- Dozens of countries backed Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and urged dialogue for a lasting settlement after a two-day peacebuilding summit in Switzerland. Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates did not sign off on the statement. Switzerland said it was prepared to host a follow-up summit.
- The final communique also included a call for the full exchange of prisoners of war, and the return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. Kyiv says as many as 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
- At a news conference after the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said China should communicate its peace proposals on ending the war to Ukraine directly, instead of doing so via media outlets. Beijing did not send a representative to the summit.
- The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned in its annual yearbook that diplomatic efforts to control nuclear arms had suffered major setbacks amid strained international relations over the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, noting that Moscow had suspended its participation in the New START treaty, and staged tactical nuclear drills.
- About 500 people gathered in Kyiv under heavy police guard for the Ukrainian capital’s first Pride march since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Weapons
- Zelenskyy said the current level of Western military aid being sent to Ukraine was not enough to ensure Kyiv’s victory against Russian forces.
