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Trump said that "we know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding." "He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," he continued.
Zelensky was expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit. However, it is not clear if the meeting will take place because Trump left the summit early due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Russian drones and ballistic missiles targeted the capital overnight, killing 15 people and injuring at least 114, local authorities reported. Damage to civilian infrastructure has also been reported throughout the city.
"At the moment, we see reluctance — at least on Israel’s part — to resort to mediation or pursue a peaceful resolution," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed.
"On the capital's Nyvky neighborhood, emergency workers are now finding these kinds of cluster munition parts," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement.
The Nevinnomyssk Azot chemical plant — a key supplier to the Kremlin's military-industrial complex — has suspended production following Ukrainian drone strikes, Russian independent media reported on June 16.
U.S. President Donald Trump departed the G7 Leaders' Summit late on June 16, ahead of an anticipated high-stakes meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 17.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce additional support for Ukraine during the G7 summit, CBC News reported on June 16, citing government sources.
On June 16, the Ukrainian government reportedly agreed to begin drafting recommendations for a bidding process to develop the Dobra lithium field in central Ukraine.
The surge in activity near Novopavlivka suggests Russian forces are attempting to push into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which neighbors the embattled Donetsk Oblast, said Victor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces.
"This could have been done by the Russians on purpose to increase the number of bodies transferred and to load our (forensic) experts with work, adding to all this cynical information pressure. Or it could be their usual negligent attitude toward their own people. In any case, we also identify these bodies," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the upcoming round was intended to "eliminate irritants" and help normalize the operations of both nations' diplomatic missions.