Ukraine updates: EU takes aim at Russian sanction dodging

The European Union on Wednesday agreed to an 11th round of sanctions against Russia for launching its invasion of Ukraine, Swedish officials announced. 

"Today, the EU Ambassadors agreed on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia. The package includes measures aimed at countering sanctions circumvention and individual listings," officials from Sweden, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, wrote on Twitter. 

Under the sanctions, the transit via Russia of goods and technology which may be used by the Russian military or aid in its defense and security, will be forbidden.

The sanctions will also make it possible to impose restrictions on the sale of sensitive dual-use goods and technology to countries that could perhaps sell it on to Russia and expand the list of restricted items that could serve Russia's defense sector. 

In May, the EU announced that it was preparing an 11th round of measures, with one key area of focus being the prevention of circumvention of sanctions by third states and companies.   

Sweden said the new measures were approved at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels.  

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the new sanctions package.  

"It will deal a further blow to Putin's war machine with tightened export restrictions, targeting entities supporting the Kremlin," she said on Twitter.  

"Our anti-circumvention tool will prevent Russia from getting its hands on sanctioned goods," she added. 

Here are some of the other developments concerning Russia's war in Ukraine on Wednesday, June 21:

Zelenskyy acknowledges slow progress in BBC interview

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the counteroffensive against Russian forces was "slower than desired" during an interview with the UK public broadcaster BBC.

Despite the lack of major advances, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces would not be pressured into accelerating their offensive.

"Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It's not," he said. "What's at stake is people's lives."

Ukraine 'not optimistic' about renewal of grain deal

The outlook for the Black Sea grain deal — which allows for the transporting of Ukrainian grain to the global market — looks dim as the deadline for renewal approaches, at least according to the deputy prime minister for the restoration of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kubrakov.

"We are not optimistic at this time," he told reporters during a conference in London.

"Since the beginning of May, the corridor efficiency has decreased," he added.

Russia, which prior to the agreement was blockading Ukraine's Black Sea ports, has repeatedly expressed discontent with the deal and threatened not to extend it.

The last extension only added an extra two months, meaning it will expire on July 17 unless a new extension is agreed upon.

"We are doing our best to maintain this initiative," Kubrakov said.

Kyiv 'destroying the enemy,' Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that his country's forces were "actively destroying the enemy."

In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said forces on the eastern and southern flanks of the country were "physically cleansing Ukraine."

"A defense against terror means destroying terrorists. And it is a guarantee that the state of evil will never have the opportunity to bring evil to Ukraine."

Kyiv launched a much-anticipated counteroffensive nearly two weeks ago. Though quiet about the launch at first, Zelenskyy has been addressing his military's movements more recently.

Ukrainian forces are "gaining ground" towards Melitopol and Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region, Andriy Kovalev, a spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said early on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Russian forces struck military and infrastructure targets in Kyiv and western areas away from the front lines.

Zelenskyy said Russian drones attacked Kyiv for over four hours.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities said Ukrainian forces struck a Russian-controlled town in the southern Kherson region with drones. They said one woman was killed and four civilians were injured in the attack.

German FM promises another €381 million aid for Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Berlin was planning on providing Ukraine with additional humanitarian aid of €381 million ($416 million) to Ukraine this year.

Since Russia's invasion in February 2022,  German aid to Kyiv has amounted to €16.8 billion.

Baerbock also said there needed to be a link between Ukraine's recovery from the war and its accession to the European Union.

"I'm convinced that we need to further link Ukraine's recovery and the EU accession process," Baerbock said in London. "Our goal is to help rebuild a Ukraine that is fit for EU."

EU adds 3.5 billion euros to Ukraine weapons fund

The European Union agreed to add €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) to a fund used to pay for weapons for Ukraine, according to Sweden, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The EU's 27 member states have already spent €5.5 billion of the joint fund, which was established in 2021 to support partner countries around the globe, in order to help arm Ukraine.

That includes €3.6 billion to reimburse EU nations for weapons they supply to Ukraine and €2 billion on a program to send ammunition to Kyiv. 

EU leaders already topped up the fund, which is meant to run to 2027, by €2 billion late last year and gave their agreement in principle for adding the latest 3.5 billion.

'No grounds' to extend grain deal — Russia 

Russia has restated that there are "no grounds" to extend the Black Sea grain deal, and said that the agreement brokered with UN and Turkish mediation had not been properly implemented. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with reporters that the UN had been forced to acknowledge that "unfortunately, they are not managing to exert the necessary influence on the countries of the collective West in order to fulfil this Russian part of the agreement." 

Peskov was referring to a list of Russian demands, among them the removal of what Moscow says are obstacles to the export of its own grain and fertilizers. 

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed disappointment with the way the grain agreement was being implemented and called for an acceleration of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports. 

Guterres was unhappy with a slowing rate of ship inspections and the exclusion of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port — one of three Ukrainian ports covered by the Black Sea export deal. 

Russia expanding defensive lines in occupied areas: UK intelligence 

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) said that Russia was continuing "to expend significant effort building defensive lines deep in rear areas," particularly in the vicinity of the Crimean peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. 

"This includes an extensive zone of defences of 9 km in length, 3.5 km north of the town Armyansk, on the narrow bridge of land connecting Crimea to the Kherson region," the MoD stressed in its daily intelligence briefing. 

"Russia continues to see maintaining control of the peninsula as a top political priority," the MoD said.  

Heavy fighting continues on several frontline sections in southern Ukraine, it added. 

Zelenskyy tells recovery conference Ukraine needs 'real projects'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was necessary to move towards real reconstruction projects.

The comments were made as leaders and government representatives from more than 60 countries met for a conference to secure funding to help Ukraine's reconstruction in London.

"We must move from agreement to real projects," Zelenskyy said. "There is a Ukrainian delegation that will present concrete things and we propose to do them together during my tour," he said.

The International Ukraine Recovery Conference is being hosted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and is the second to be held since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that rebuilding could cost at least $750 billion.

Death toll rises from dam breach

The death toll from flooding sparked by a breach of a huge Ukrainian dam continues to rise, with Andrey Alekseyenko, a senior official with Russian occupation authorities, confirming Wednesday it had "risen to 41."

The breach of the Russia-controlled Kakhovka dam earlier this month inundated large swathes of the Kherson region, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the dam on the Dnipro River, while Moscow says Kyiv is responsible.

Moscow claims three drones intercepted over Russia

Russian officials on Wednesday said three drones were intercepted over Russian territory.

Two were approaching military warehouses in the Moscow region, said Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the area.

"Debris was found, no damage or casualties," Vorobyov said, adding that the drones fell near the village of Kalininets.

Russia's channels on the Telegram messaging app, including one with links to the security services, and the state-owned TASS news agency said at least one more drone was intercepted near the village of Lukino.

Russia to get two nuclear submarines

The Russian Navy is set to receive two new nuclear submarines, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told the TASS state news agency in an interview that the vessels will be in operation by the end of the year. 

The submarines are the missile cruiser Emperor Alexander III and the multipurpose Krasnoyarsk.

United Shipbuilding Corporation is Russia's largest shipbuilding company.

Pentagon overestimated Ukraine military aid

The US Department of Defense has announced a miscalculation in the valuation of its funding for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine to support it in the fight against Russia.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the amount was overestimated by $6.2 billion (roughly €5.68 billion) due to an accounting error. Of the sum, $3.6 billion concerned the fiscal year 2023, and $2.6 billion for the fiscal year 2022.

The Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, said the errors have no impact on the support for Ukraine or the presidential drawdown authority.

UK to unveil $3 billion backing for Ukraine reconstruction

The UK is preparing to announce a massive $3 billion (approximately €2.75 billion) package to Ukraine during a two-day conference hosted by London and focused on attracting investment to the war-torn country.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to announce the package in a speech during the conference, which starts on Wednesday. 

The package will include $306 million of bilateral assistance, as well as expanding British International Investment in Ukraine.

"So, together with our allies we will maintain our support for Ukraine's defense and for the counteroffensive, and we'll stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes as they continue to win this war," an excerpt of Sunak's speech read.

The US is also due to announce "a new, robust" assistance package for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy addressed the conference in his Tuesday nightly address, stressing that rebuilding Ukraine was a "vehicle and a guarantee of security" that would ensure "protecting against any repetition of Russian aggression."

UN chief urges speedier exports under Black Sea grain deal

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the acceleration of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea, under a deal that Russia has been threatening to quit next month.

Brokered nearly a year ago with UN and Turkish mediation, the deal allowed Ukraine to safely export grains out of three ports despite the war. This helped evade a global food crisis and helped Ukraine sell its grains.

However, Guterres reported a significant drop in food exports from October 2022, when they reportedly stood at 4.3 million metric tons, to 1.3 million metric tons in May. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, speaking on behalf of Guterres, described the May figure as "the lowest volume since the initiative began last year."

Guterres was particularly disappointed by a slowing pace of ship inspections and the exclusion of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port — one of the three Ukrainian ports covered by the deal.

Russia has repeatedly complained that many conditions of the deal ensuring its interests are not being upheld.

Ukraine accuses Russia of 'mining' Zaporizhzhia cooling pond

Ukraine's military intelligence chief has accused Moscow of "mining" the cooling pond of the Russian-occupied nuclear plant.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR agency, made the accusation in television statements on Tuesday. He nevertheless did not provide evidence to support his claims.

The reactor is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe. It is located in southern Ukraine and has been occupied by Moscow since its invasion of the country in February 2022.

More DW coverage on Russia's war in Ukraine

Dmitry Muratov, Nobel prize-winning editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, spoke at DW's Global Media Forum. He called for help for political prisoners, from Alexei Navalny to US journalist Evan Gershkovic, and said that since the word "war" is forbidden in Russia, he would use the word "hell."

The war in Ukraine has seen brutal attritional fighting and trench warfare, but also the novel use of drones and robots. Is artificial intelligence revolutionizing modern warfare or just complementing old technology? Watch our report on how Ukraine uses artificial intelligence on the battlefield.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has warned that Russia's spy operations are expected to increase in Germany. The agency noted that far-right movements are harnessing opposition to military support for Ukraine.

kb,jsi,rmt/rt (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)