A Russian weapons ammo went up in smoke after being hit by a Ukrainian ‘Hurricane’ rocket launcher.
The Ukrainian military said troops used a BM-27 Uragan (‘Hurricane’) self-propelled 220-mm multiple rocket launcher to blast the Russian ammunition depot in the country’s eastern Donbas region.
Operational Command North said on June 30: “Somewhere in the Donbas, with the help of the BPAC, our defenders accurately aimed at the ammunition depot with the ‘Hurricane’ and found it! Glory to Ukraine!”
The information was also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We contacted the Ukrainian military and Operational Command North for further comment, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, but haven’t received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation.” July 1 marks the 128th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and July 1, Russia had lost about 35,750 personnel, 1,577 tanks, 3,736 armored combat vehicles, 796 artillery units, 246 multiple launch rocket systems, 105 air defense systems, 217 warplanes, 186 helicopters, 645 drones, 143 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 2,610 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 61 units of special equipment.
A missile strike on Odesa has killed 18 people including two children, according to regional governor Maksym Marchenko, with over 30 people hospitalized. Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov has said that Russia is using inaccurate missiles from old Soviet stockpiles in over half of its strikes on the country.
Ukraine’s top brass has said that they have forced the Russians to abandon Snake Island and have derided Kremlin officials for claiming that they left as a “gesture of goodwill”. Ukraine’s military added that the Russians had fled the island in speedboats after being hit by a barrage of missile strikes and artillery.
The situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk has been described as “extremely difficult”, with Russian shelling making it impossible for civilians to evacuate.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss has said that pushing Russian forces out of Ukraine completely was a “realistic” ambition and justification for providing additional weapons.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that a new “iron curtain” is appearing between Russia and the West.
Russia accused Norway of disrupting critical supplies from being delivered to the Svalbard islands on Wednesday, June 29, threatening to retaliate. But Norway said that it was not blocking access to the archipelago in the Arctic, stating that it was only applying international sanctions and that the Russians had other ways of getting there.
Russia refers to the Svalbard archipelago as Grumant, having long claimed to have discovered the islands. A Russian firm conducts mining operations there.
NATO leaders recently called Russia “the most significant and direct threat to allies’ security and stability,” and announced a new “strategic concept” in response to President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. NATO is planning to boost its quick reaction forces from 40,000 troops to over 300,000 troops.
President Joe Biden announced that the United States will increase its military forces across Europe.
NATO has also formally invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the alliance. The move comes after Turkey agreed to support Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Sweden and Finland will formally sign the NATO accession protocol on Tuesday, July 5.
Turkey had initially opposed the countries’ bids to join the military alliance, accusing both of harboring Kurdish militants. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at the NATO summit in Madrid and the three countries reached an agreement.
President Erdogan has since said that Turkey could still block Finland and Sweden from joining the Alliance if they failed to meet his expectations to extradite people designated by Turkey as suspected terrorists.
