Belarus halts equipment used to guide Russian strikes after Ukraine's ultimatum
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that communications equipment which Ukraine claimed was helping support Russian drone attacks from Belarusian territory has stopped operating.
Speaking on 24 June, Zelensky said the equipment ceased functioning on 22 June, just days after he warned Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko that Minsk had one week to remove it or Ukraine would take action itself.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine does not yet know whether the systems were physically dismantled or simply switched off, but they are no longer operating.
The equipment reportedly consisted of relay systems mounted on communication towers in Belarus and was allegedly used to assist Russian Shahed-type drones during attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have argued that such infrastructure helps drones maintain communications and navigation during long-range strikes.
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service reported a noticeable decrease in Russian drones entering northern Chernihiv Oblast, while large-scale Shahed attacks along the Belarus-Ukraine border have reportedly stopped since the equipment went offline.
The issue had become a new source of tension between Kyiv and Minsk. Following Zelensky's warning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of threatening Belarusian sovereignty, while Moscow announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko planned to discuss the situation during an upcoming meeting.
Belarus remains one of Russia's closest allies and has supported Moscow's war effort since the start of the full-scale invasion, including by allowing Russian forces to use Belarusian territory for military operations and logistics.
Kremlin says that the US has abandoned the "spirit of Anchorage"
Senior Russian officials have claimed that the United States has abandoned the so-called "spirit of Anchorage" — a term used by the Kremlin to describe alleged understandings reached during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia had remained committed to those understandings, while the United States had failed to fulfil its obligations. According to Ushakov, Moscow no longer expects Washington to honor the alleged commitments and is now focused solely on achieving its own objectives in the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went further, claiming the Anchorage meeting had been an American tactic to buy time for Ukraine to strengthen and rearm its military. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also argued that Washington had moved away from what he called the "fundamental understandings" reached at the time.
The phrase "spirit of Anchorage" has been frequently used in Russian diplomatic messaging since 2025. Moscow has portrayed it as an informal framework under which the United States allegedly accepted Russia's demand to secure control over all of Donbas in exchange for freezing the front line. Washington has never publicly confirmed the existence of any such agreement.
Russian officials now argue that U.S. policy has shifted closer to the positions of European allies such as the United Kingdom and France, which continue to support Ukraine militarily and politically.
According to analyst Oleg Ignatov, the Kremlin's recent rhetoric reflects frustration that Washington has not acted as a mediator in a way Moscow had hoped. Russian officials had expected the Trump administration to help pursue a settlement more favorable to Russia, but U.S. attention has increasingly shifted to other international issues, including tensions with Iran.
Russia hits cinema in central Konotop: four injured, including child
Four people, including an 11-year-old child, were injured in a Russian drone strike on the city center of Konotop in Sumy Oblast.
According to regional authorities, Russian forces used drones to attack civilian infrastructure in the city. Initial reports indicated that a man and a woman had been injured, with the man suffering serious injuries and receiving medical treatment.
Later, Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin said the strike hit a cinema in the city center. He noted that children had been playing near a fountain nearby when the attack occurred.
The number of injured later rose to four, including two women, a man, and an 11-year-old child. Authorities are continuing to assess the full extent of the damage caused by the attack.
Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia, remains one of the regions most frequently targeted by Russian drone, missile, and artillery strikes.
Russia redeploys air defenses to Moscow and the Kerch Bridge as Ukrainian strikes intensify
Ukraine's long-range strike campaign has forced Russia to redeploy air defense systems to protect Moscow and the Kerch Bridge, weakening defenses in other regions and occupied Ukrainian territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 24, citing intelligence from Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
According to Zelensky, Moscow has prioritized the defense of the Russian capital and the Kerch Bridge at the expense of other areas. The bridge, a key supply route linking Russia to occupied Crimea, remains strategically important for transporting fuel, ammunition, and military equipment to Russian forces.
Zelensky said recent Ukrainian strikes destroyed more than 60,000 metric tons of ammunition at a Russian Baltic Fleet arsenal near Saint Petersburg and also targeted defense industry facilities producing radio-electronic components and other military equipment.
The president added that Ukrainian officials reviewed intelligence on Russia's missile production and strategic aviation capabilities and are preparing further measures in response to ongoing Russian attacks.
Ukraine has intensified long-range strikes in recent weeks, including attacks on Moscow and occupied Crimea. Kyiv says the campaign aims to disrupt Russian military logistics, fuel supplies, ammunition stockpiles, and defense production facilities.
The Kerch Bridge has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the full-scale war and suffered major damage in attacks in 2022 and 2023. Despite the strikes, Russia has continued efforts to keep the bridge operational because of its military and symbolic significance.
Meanwhile, Russia has adapted its own aerial campaign against Ukraine, increasingly using concentrated ballistic missile strikes against specific targets in an effort to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses amid shortages of interceptor missiles.
Following Ukraine's large-scale drone attacks on Moscow earlier this month, Russian leader Vladimir Putin publicly accused Ukraine of targeting civilian infrastructure and attempting to disrupt Russia's energy sector and tourism industry.