Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Kremlin officials are reiterating Russia’s commitment to its original war aims of complete Ukrainian capitulation as Ukraine, the United States, and Europe appear ready to restart negotiations to end the war.
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Putin continues to rely on a negotiating tactic that aims to falsely portray the Russian military as on the verge of collapsing Ukrainian defenses.
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The Kremlin is conducting a cognitive warfare campaign to frame potential Ukrainian strikes against legitimate Belarusian targets that support Russian military operations as a Ukrainian escalation against Belarus and the Union State.
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Signal repeaters on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border enable Russian forces to conduct precision drone strikes against the Ukrainian deep-rear and therefore would represent a legitimate military target for potential Ukrainian strikes.
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Belarus has materially supported Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2022 and is effectively a cobelligerent with Russia.
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The Kremlin may attempt to invoke the Union State collective security treaty in an attempt to draw Belarus into the war so that Russia can leverage Belarusian manpower and training resources.
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Russian gains in Kostyantynivka remain limited to small group infiltrations that are not resulting in consolidated territorial control.
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Kremlin officials acknowledged Ukraine’s escalating long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure but downplayed their country-wide impact on fuel supplies.
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The Kremlin continues threatening retaliatory strikes against Ukraine, likely to project strength amid growing domestic gasoline supply shortages.
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Ukrainian forces regained some positions in Kostyantynivka.
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Russian forces launched 135 drones against Ukraine overnight.
While gains have been made and there appears to be progress in Crimea, Eastern Ukraine will remain in conflict. What seems less clear is the discord in Russia itself. Infrastructure and logistics are being struck with specific effect near Moscow. Some Russian occupiers are leaving but numbers are unclear even as some relocation is happening. If Crimea is retaken there will be years ahead including a Russian-oriented insurgency and a corrupt lawlessness that took a vacation these past four years.
Kyiv has previously accused Moscow of using cluster munitions, which scatter into smaller explosives when dropped.
Reacting to the attack, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more international pressure on Moscow to end the war and for quicker supplies of air defence systems.
“Every delay in implementing air defence agreements, every delay in supplies to protect Ukraine and Ukrainians is in effect a loss of life,” he wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine announced on Tuesday that its forces had targeted a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure in Russian-occupied Crimea.Kyiv has previously accused Moscow of using cluster munitions, which scatter into smaller explosives when dropped.
Reacting to the attack, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more international pressure on Moscow to end the war and for quicker supplies of air defence systems.
“Every delay in implementing air defence agreements, every delay in supplies to protect Ukraine and Ukrainians is in effect a loss of life,” he wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine announced on Tuesday that its forces had targeted a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 135 Shahed-type, Gerbera-type, and Italmas-type strike drones and Parodiya-type decoy drones from the directions of Oryol, Kursk, and Bryansk cities; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; and Millerovo, Rostov Oblast.[82] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 118 drones, that 13 drones hit 11 locations, and that drone debris fell at three locations. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast and a gas station in Zaporizhia Oblast.[83] Ukraine’s largest energy company, DTEK, reported that Russian forces struck an energy facility in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight and caused power outages.[84] The Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported on June 23 that Russian shelling against energy infrastructure and hostilities also caused power outages in Zaporizhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv oblasts.[85]
Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces also conducted an Iskander-M ballistic missile strike against Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, during the day on June 23, damaging industrial, transport, educational, cultural, and residential infrastructure and killing at least three people and injuring 23.[86]
Russian forces are reportedly using Starlink-enabled naval drones to try to strike the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MoD) advisor on defense technology and drone and electronic warfare (EW) expert Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov reported on June 23 that Russian forces unsuccessfully tried to strike the Ukrainian coast with several unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in the early morning.[87] Beskrestnov reported that Ukrainian forces detected and destroyed the USVs at sea and that Russian forces had installed Starlink systems on the destroyed USVs, as Russia does not have other long-range control systems.
Russia launched 135 attack drones against Ukraine overnight, including Shaheds, Gerbera, Italmas and Parodiya decoys. Ukraine says 118 drones were shot down or suppressed, while 13 strikes were recorded at 11 locations.NOELREPORTS @NOELreports
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on June 23 that Ukrainian forces are conducting large-scale drone strikes against claimed civilian infrastructure in Russia and that these drones have an unspecified “massive impact.”[28] Putin claimed that Ukrainian forces conduct the drone strikes to destabilize the Russian society, deflect from alleged Russian battlefield advances, and cast doubt about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, possibly referring to the Russian military’s increasing inability to protect critical infrastructure from strikes across Russia and occupied Ukraine. Putin also attempted to downplay Ukrainian strike capabilities by claiming that the “entire West is working” to facilitate these strikes. Ukrainian forces have recently intensified their long-range strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, including striking the Moscow Oil Refinery on June 18, and Putin is likely trying to vaguely address the growing concerns in Russian society about Ukrainian strikes and growing criticism of the Kremlin’s failure to repel Ukrainian strikes.[29]
https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-23-2026/https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-23-2026/
Russian officials continue to pursue solutions to repel Ukrainian long-range drone strikes. Leningrad Oblast Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko announced on June 23 one-time payments of 250,000 rubles ($3,356) to new mobile fire group recruits and bonus payments of 100,000 rubles ($1,342) for each Ukrainian drone the soldiers intercept.[35]
Geolocated imagery published on June 23 shows the aftermath of a possible Ukrainian strike on the Alekseyevsky Building Materials Plant in Alekseyevka, Belgorod Oblast (roughly 128 kilometers from the international border).[36] Russian opposition source Astra reported that there was a missile alert in Belgorod Oblast before the strike on the plant.[37]
Ukraine delivered Storm Shadow missiles against a Russian missile production site inside its borders. The platform achieved terminal effects after penetrating integrated air defenses. Whether integrated air defenses retain their pre-2022 deterrent …#UkraineRussiaWar #StormShadow #DeepStrike
— DefenseHUB (@defensehub.blog) 2026-06-24T01:01:09.684772+00:00
defense of ukraine
https://t.co/caReTeXPB4Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦
@ragnarbjartur
⚡️ RUSSIA’S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — JUN 23, 2026
https://t.co/caReTeXPB4
https://t.co/caReTeXPB4Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦
@ragnarbjartur
⚡️ RUSSIA’S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — JUN 23, 2026
Chuck PfarrerChuck Pfarrer @ChuckPfarrer
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Operational update as of 22:00 on June 23, 2026, regarding the Russian invasion.
In total, 204 combat engagements have taken place since the start of this day. The enemy launched two missile strikes using two missiles, carried out 48 airstrikes, and dropped 160 guided bombs. In addition, it deployed 6,037 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,140 shelling attacks on populated areas and our troops’ positions.
Six combat engagements took place in the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors. The enemy carried out 51 shelling attacks on populated areas and our troops’ positions, six of which involved the use of multiple launch rocket systems.
Over the past 24 hours, in the Southern Slobozhansky direction, the enemy launched 13 assaults on the positions of our units near Izbytske and Starytsia, as well as in the direction of Kutkivka, Kozacha Lopana, Lyman, Vovchanski Khutory, and Okhrimivka. Two combat engagements are still ongoing.
In the Kupiansk direction, the enemy carried out one assault today on the positions of the Defense Forces in the direction of Shyikivka.
Eleven attempts by the invaders to advance were repelled in the Lyman direction in the areas of Novoselivka, Drobysheve, and Lyman. One engagement is ongoing.
In the Sloviansk sector, the Defense Forces successfully halted thirteen attempts by the invaders to advance near Riznykivka, Zakytne, and toward Kryva Luka and Rai-Oleksandrivka.
One enemy assault was recorded in the Kramatorsk sector near the village of Malynivka.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, the Defense Forces repelled fourteen enemy assaults near the settlements of Pleshchiivka, Ivanopillia, Illinivka, Rusyn Yar, and toward Kostiantynivka. One engagement is ongoing.
The enemy carried out a total of 32 attacks in the Pokrovsk sector. The occupiers attempted to advance in the areas around the settlements of Vilne, Novyi Donbas, Novooleksandrivka, Kotlyne, and toward Hryshyne, Myrne, Toretsk, Kucherovyi Yar, Bilytske, Nikanorivka, Dobropillia, Dorozhne, Hannivka, Rodynske, Serhiivka, Muravka, and Filiya. Two firefights are still ongoing.
According to preliminary estimates, 44 occupiers were killed and 17 wounded here today; one self-propelled artillery unit, two vehicles, and three pieces of specialized equipment were destroyed; and two enemy vehicles were damaged. A total of 258 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types were destroyed or neutralized.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, our defenders repelled one enemy attack in the direction of Oleksandrohrad.
Eighteen attacks by the occupiers took place in the Hulyaypole sector near the settlements of Hulyaypole, Zaliznychne, and Charivne, as well as toward Rybne, Dobropillia, Kosivtseve, Zarichne, Staroukrainka, and Danilivka.
No combat engagements were recorded in the Orikhiv and Dnipro sectors.
In other sectors, there were no significant changes in the situation.
Let’s defeat the enemy and bring our Victory closer! Glory to Ukraine!
Signal repeaters on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border enable Russian forces to conduct precision drone strikes against the Ukrainian deep-rear and therefore would represent a legitimate military target for potential Ukrainian strikes. Zelensky noted on June 21 that four Russian-installed repeater stations in Gomel and Brest oblasts allow Russian forces to fly guided drones at extended ranges and to conduct drone strikes against energy, railway, and civilian infrastructure in Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Volyn oblasts.[13] Zelensky previously reported in December 2025 that Russian forces used Belarusian territory to bypass Ukrainian drone interception systems and credited the increase in Russian Shahed drone strikes against western Ukraine to Russia’s exploitation of Belarusian territory and technical assets.[14] Zelensky subsequently reported that Russian forces carried out precision drone strikes against a locomotive in Volyn Oblast, and ISW reported that Russia had been increasingly targeting trains and railway infrastructure since Summer 2025 to undermine Ukraine’s logistics.[15] Russian forces are increasingly leveraging Belarusian territory, airspace, and repeaters to conduct precise strikes against Ukrainian moving targets, critical infrastructure, and logistics. A Kremlin-affiliated Russian milblogger noted on June 23 that Russian forces are increasingly prioritizing strikes against Ukrainian rail logistics, particularly in western Ukraine and near Belarus.[16]
Belarus has materially supported Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2022 and is effectively a cobelligerent with Russia. Russia has de facto annexed Belarus and has used Belarus as a sanctuary from which to launch its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[17] Russia also used Belarusian military infrastructure and airspace to launch missile, air, and Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine since 2022.[18] Belarus is key for Russia’s sanctions evasion schemes, and Russia and Belarus are increasingly integrating their economies via the Union State framework.[19] Any legitimate Ukrainian strike against Belarusian infrastructure that supports Russia’s war effort in Ukraine is therefore not inherently escalatory.
The Kremlin may attempt to invoke the Union State collective security treaty in an attempt to draw Belarus into the war so that Russia can leverage Belarusian manpower and training resources. ISW previously forecast that the Kremlin could attempt to use Belarus’ population as a recruitment base to offset the systemic manpower shortages that the Russian military has been facing since May 2022.[20] ISW also forecasted that the Kremlin could seek to recruit Belarusian citizens into the Russian military, particularly as Belarusians and Russians have a single citizenship status under the Union State Treaty and, in theory, have equal rights under Union State law.[21] The Kremlin could assert that Belarusians, therefore, also have the same civic duties and responsibilities under Union State law. Russian officials may one day insist that Belarusian subjects of a de facto annexed Belarus serve within the Russian military or within Russian-controlled Union State military formations under a uniform Union State law.
SSU detains eight more pro-Russian propagandists#news #uazmi #war #ukraine #russiaThe Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained eight more pro-Kremlin agitators in different regions of the country for supporting Russia’s armed aggress…
— 🇺🇦 News (@uazmi.media) 2026-06-24T00:30:16.615Z
Over the past few months, Russia and Ukraine have significantly ramped up attacks. As Moscow launches barrages of strikes on Ukraine, Kyiv in turn has targeted Russian refineries and infrastructure with its own drones.
Ukraine’s drone attacks have led to fuel shortages in Russia. Many regions across the country have reported restrictions on fuel sales and rising prices for oil products, creating concerns about the stability of Russia’s economy.
On Monday, the Moscow Exchange stock index fell by five percent before it rebounded slightly. It is still around its lowest level since March 2023, while the rouble weakened past the 75-mark against the US dollar for the first time since May 6.
…RU OIL TANK annieli modified image cropped from original video of Moscow area refinery explosion
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