Ukraine receives new money, and the Armed Forces align the front line in Zaporizhzhia: highlights of June 21
Ukraine receives new financial support from its Western partners, and its defenders are leveling the front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and holding back the occupiers' offensive in the east. We have collected the key news for June 21.
New financial assistance
The European Investment Bank is allocating €840 million to rebuild Ukraine, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has announced. In particular, the money will be used to prepare, evaluate, finance, and implement infrastructure restoration projects.
The United States will provide $1.3 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine to be used for energy and infrastructure needs. During the restoration, the system will be made cleaner, more sustainable, and integrated with Europe.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also announced a financial assistance package for Ukraine. London is guaranteeing three billion dollars in World Bank loans to Ukraine over three years and is offering more than $300 million in aid to Ukraine this year.
In addition, the World Bank and donors will provide new financial assistance to Ukraine – more than $1.75 billion will be allocated for emergency assistance and recovery measures.
New sanctions and money for weapons from the EU
The EU ambassadors agreed on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, as well as an additional 3.5 billion euros for the European Peace Fund, from which the EU can provide military equipment to its partners.
Fighting at the frontline
The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions. They had partial success there over the past day, consolidating their positions and leveling the front line. In the Lyman and Bakhmut sectors, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to hold back a large-scale offensive by Russian troops.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that after the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched a counteroffensive, progress on the battlefield was slower than he would have liked, but emphasized that lives were at stake.
“Discrediting” Klitschko
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced a “fierce campaign to discredit” the city government and him personally amid law enforcement investigations into the deaths of people near a locked shelter.
Klitschko posted a video message in which he complained about “endless searches that paralyze the work of city departments and services”.
“In wartime, they are wreaking havoc on the management of the capital. They do not allow critical infrastructure enterprises to work properly. They come several times for one document,” the mayor said.
Explosion in Paris
On June 21, an explosion occurred in Paris with the epicenter at the Paris American Academy, a private design and fashion school. The building caught fire and collapsed. At least 24 people were injured, four of them in critical condition.
Other news
- The Defense Ministry signed the first contracts for the purchase of food for the Armed Forces under the new procedure.
- Switzerland claims that armored vehicles made in Switzerland were transferred to Ukraine without permission.
- In Odesa, the death toll from a missile attack rose to 4: another man died in hospital.
- A knocking sound was heard in the area of the missing boat with tourists. There is hope that the crew survived.
- The case of the shelter: the director of the Department of Municipal Security of the Kyiv City State Administration was placed under house arrest.
- - In Kyiv, 100 thousand consumers lost power.