Here is the situation on Monday, June 10, 2024:
Fighting
- Ukraine said its forces hit an ultramodern Russian warplane stationed on an airbase nearly 600km (370 miles) from the front lines. If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first-known successful strike on a twin-engine Su-57 stealth aircraft, lauded as Moscow’s most advanced fighter jet.
- On the front line, reports from both sides suggested Russian forces were making headway towards their longstanding goal of capturing the strategic town of Chasiv Yar. The town stands on high ground about 20km (12 miles) west of Bakhmut, which was seized by the Russians a year ago. It is seen by both sides as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, made no mention of Chasiv Yar, but said the area around the town of Pokrovsk, to the southwest, remained the most difficult sector to defend.”This is the toughest area along the entire front line, the one where pressure from the occupiers is the greatest,” he explained.
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Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo said it would impose hourlong power cuts throughout the country on Monday evening amid supply constraints. Ukrenergo said the rolling cuts would apply to domestic and industrial customers from 4pm to 10pm (13:00-19:00 GMT).
Politics and diplomacy
- Far-right parties, which are more opposed to supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, advanced in the latest elections to the European Parliament. The surge in support for the National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen dealt such a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron, a key supporter of Ukraine, that he called snap national legislative elections for June 30.
Weapons
- Russia’s Su-57 fleet has been largely absent from the skies over Ukraine and has instead been used to fire long-range missiles across the border.
- The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing last year that Russia is likely trying to avoid “reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology” that would come from losing any Su-57 jets in enemy territory.
