This is how things stand on Wednesday, June 18:
Fighting
- The death toll from dozens of Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv early on Tuesday rose to 16, according to Ukrainian authorities. Two people were also killed in attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa, according to officials.
- North Korea will send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to support reconstruction efforts in Russia’s Kursk region, Russian news agencies reported citing the head of the Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, who made the comments as he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.
Diplomacy
- Canada scrapped plans for the G7 to issue a strong statement on the war after opposition from the United States, a Canadian official told reporters on the sidelines of the summit, the Reuters news agency reported.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he told the G7 leaders that diplomacy was now “in crisis” and they needed to push US President Donald Trump to use his “real influence” to bring an end to the war. “Even if the American President is not putting enough pressure on Russia right now, the truth is that America still has the broadest global interests and the largest number of allies,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
- Ukraine called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after Russia’s deadly attack on Kyiv and other cities, Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine’s UN ambassador, was quoted telling Ukraine’s national news agency, Ukrinform.
- The Trump administration’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, is set to meet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the coming days, the Reuters news agency reported, citing four people familiar with the plans. Kellogg has in private cast the trip as a step towards reviving talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Sanctions
- The United Kingdom announced sanctions on people and entities accused of being tied to Russia’s finance, energy and military operations. The sanctioned individuals include two UK residents accused of sending electronics to Moscow.
- Australia announced sanctions on 60 vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, following the lead of several of its Western partners, including Canada and the European Union. “Russia uses these vessels to circumvent international sanctions and sustain its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement on Wednesday.
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