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Forged from the remnants of the Soviet Spetsnaz, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces have become a vital pillar of the country’s current defense, playing their role in some of the war’s most decisive engagements – from Kyiv to Donbas, and to Kursk Oblast in Russia.
Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that at least 20 of the bodies Russia returned as Ukrainian were actually Russian soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other countries in the region are increasingly being drawn into Russia's war effort, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) says.
Russia launched 272 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type suicide drones, along with two aeroballistic missiles and six cruise missiles, Ukraine's Air Force said.
Seven people were injured in Russian drone and artillery attacks on Kherson Oblast on June 20-21. Strikes hit multiple settlements, including the city of Kherson.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his June 20 nightly address that Ukraine is developing interceptor drones to counter Russian drone strikes, adding that domestic production is "already delivering results."
Russia's memorandum on a peace proposal is the "best offer Ukraine can get today," Russia's envoy to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, said at a UN Security Council meeting.
The grouping was created to "improve the efficiency of management, transform the Forces, and adapt to the requirements of modern warfare," according to the statement.
Ukraine has been calling on Western partners to lower the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, two diplomats told Politico that the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel would make it impossible to impose new restrictions.
Ukraine introduced new restrictions as Russia has escalated drone attacks against Ukrainian cities over the past weeks, launching record 400-500 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) per night.