Russian air defence systems have struck nine Ukrainian Air Force aircraft, including seven Su-27s, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported on Tuesday.
They said: ‘Two more Ukrainian aircraft, a MiG-29 and an Su-27, were shot down by Russian air defence systems,’ and a ‘surgical strike’ on an airfield wiped out five Su-27 fighters and damaged two others.
Additionally, Russian air defence shot down six Storm Shadow cruise missiles, a Hammer guided bomb, a HIMARS rocket, and 81 drones, including a Bayraktar TB2, over Monday and Tuesday.
Russian aviation, artillery, and drone units also attacked concentrations of enemy troops and military equipment in 115 areas, the Russian Ministry of Defence added.
Within the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian armed forces have suffered significant casualties in clashes with Russia’s Battlegroup Yug. More than 635 soldiers have been killed, in addition to the destruction of two armoured fighting vehicles and 16 motor vehicles.
Battlegroup Tsentr successfully repelled six Ukrainian counterattacks, leading to the loss of up to 440 Ukrainian troops.
- The Ukrainian armed forces shelled the village of Gornostaevka in the Kherson Region using mortars, wounding one man and killing his wife, regional government chairman Andrey Alekseenko said on Tuesday.
‘Just two hours ago, the Ukrainian armed forces launched a mortar attack on the village of Gornostaevka. A mine exploded near an old car belonging to a retired couple who were driving along Osennaya street. A 75-year-old woman and her husband were seriously injured.
‘Although the shelling continued, ambulance workers did everything they could to save their lives.’
Alekseenko added: ‘Unfortunately, the woman died almost immediately. Her husband miraculously survived.’
The couple had chosen to stay in Gornostaevka despite daily attacks on the village.
‘No matter how hard the Ukrainian nationalists try to intimidate people, paralyse the work of operational services in the frontline zone, they will not succeed,’ Alekseenko said.
‘Ambulance and repair teams from the city continue to work, to treat and restore the destroyed. We will definitely help this family.’
- Opponents of Belarus and Russia are trying to pull both countries into a conflict and escalate the situation to such an extent that ‘the entire world will shudder,’ Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned on Tuesday.
‘They are itching to get us involved in some conflict in order to spread us thin along this border and make our resistance impossible and drive the escalation to such an extent that the entire world will shudder.
‘The situation is very serious, and we absolutely cannot let our guard down,’ he said during a meeting in Minsk with Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Moscow is concerned over the concentration of Ukrainian troops on the Belarusian border because Russia is Minsk’s ally.
Replying to a question about possible interaction between Putin and Lukashenko on the matter, the Kremlin official noted that the two leaders ‘may do so if they find it necessary’.
Minsk has reported Ukrainian troops amassing on the border with Belarus.
General Chief-of-Staff Pavel Muraveiko noted the active movement of Ukrainian forces, periodic drone flights across the border and the activisation of reconnaissance over Belarusian territory.
In response, Minsk has bolstered its border protection, redeploying additional forces there.
- Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos Head Yury Borisov has approved a general schedule for creating the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) through to 2033, the space agency’s press office reported on Tuesday.
The statement said: ‘Yury Borisov has approved a general schedule to create the Russian Orbital Station.
‘Russia is set to launch the future orbital outpost’s first research and energy module in 2027.’
Roscosmos also plans to launch the universal nodal, gateway and baseline modules by 2030 to form the core orbital station together with the research and energy module.
The project is estimated at 608.9 billion rubles (about £5.5 billion).
In addition, Roscosmos signed contracts on July 2nd to carry out research and development work on the orbital outpost’s space segment and a system with next-generation manned spacecraft plus an Angara heavy carrier rocket to service it.
The approved general schedule to build the ROS envisages the new spacecraft’s flight tests, the creation of carrier rockets and ground infrastructure facilities and work by the space industry’s research institutes to provide support for the project.
The idea of creating Russia’s national orbital station was first outlined in April 2021.
In October last year, Roscosmos Chief Borisov said that the station was estimated at 609 billion rubles until 2032, of which 150 billion rubles (about £1.35 billion) were intended to be spent in the first three years.
The project is open for international cooperation and Russia had offered African countries and BRICS member states to participate in the station’s creation.
The ROS creation will help continue Russia’s human space flight programme, considering its exit from the the International Space Station (ISS) project, address the tasks of scientific-technical development, the national economy and state security that cannot be implemented on the ISS due to technological restrictions and international agreements.
The Russian Orbital Station will help raise the competitive edge of Russian manned space systems and practice advanced space technologies.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair ministerial debates at the United Nations Security Council on 16th and 17th July, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
It stated: ‘Three major events are planned during Russia’s presidency of the UN Security Council.
‘Open ministerial-level debates on the topic of multilateral cooperation in the interests of forming a fairer, democratic and sustainable world order will be held on 16th July and open ministerial-level debates on the situation in the Middle East will be held on 17th July.
‘These two events will be chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
‘The third event – debates on cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (CSO) – will take place on 19th July.’
According to the ministry, the agenda also includes a meeting on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2720 on the humanitarian mechanism for the Gaza Strip, with the participation of Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.
The ministry said: ‘As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a responsible participant in the international community, Russia will do its utmost to ensure the smooth operation of this body.
‘Bearing this in mind, Russia will direct its colleagues toward efforts to find common ground with due account of the interests of all parties concerned.’
Russia took over presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Monday.
