Pentagon chief says Ukraine situation is 'marathon'

Russia sets election dates in 4 Ukrainian regions

Russia's Central Election Commission has set September 10 as the date for elections in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed last year, coinciding with voting in other Russian regions, the state-run RIA news agency reported.

A village in Donetsk on June 14.

TASS quoted Ella Pamfilova, head of the commission, as saying that the Russian Defense Ministry and the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) assessed that holding elections in September was feasible.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on Russia's plans.

Quick view: What hot developments happened in the Russian military campaign in Ukraine on day 476?

Russia does not currently have full control over the eastern and southern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and fighting is ongoing in all four regions. The regions are scheduled to hold gubernatorial elections in September.

Russia declared the four regions part of its territory after holding what it called referendums in the regions last September. Kyiv and the West condemned Moscow's actions as illegal.

War is a "marathon"

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on June 15 that the war in Ukraine is a "marathon, not a sprint," meaning it is a long-term process, not a short-term one.

In addition, Mr. Austin said that the US will "stand with Ukraine all the way," according to The Guardian .

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov in Brussels (Belgium) on June 15.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (including 31 NATO members and 23 other countries) at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Mr. Austin expressed his admiration for Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and said that Ukraine "is well positioned for the challenges ahead."

US to deliver depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine along with Abrams tanks

The Pentagon chief also called on Kyiv’s backers to “dig in” in providing more weapons and ammunition, especially air defense systems, to Ukraine. According to Austin, Patriot, IRIS-T and NASAMS air defense systems have protected Ukraine from Russian missile attacks, but Kyiv needs more.

Also in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was a "critical moment" for the fighting in Ukraine. He said the support NATO members had given Ukraine "over the past months has really made a difference on the battlefield".

"It's still early days but we also see that the Ukrainians are making progress and that Ukraine is able to liberate occupied territories," Stoltenberg told reporters before entering the meeting.

NATO members are racing to finalize plans to provide long-term support to Kyiv, but are now trying to figure out how best to ensure Ukraine's security until it can join the military alliance, Reuters reported, citing US and European officials.

The plan is expected to be approved next month at a NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

President Putin says Ukraine's counterattack caused 'catastrophic' losses

Attacks in many places in Ukraine

Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on June 15 that Russia had attacked two industrial facilities in the central Ukrainian city earlier in the day, while a drone attack was also reported in the southern Odessa region, according to Reuters.

Three rockets hit two industrial facilities that had “nothing to do with the military,” injuring a 38-year-old man, Vilkul said. A car was damaged by shrapnel from the downed rocket.

In the port city of Odessa, authorities said air defenses shot down all 18 Russian drones approaching the area on June 15. It was the second day in a row that Odessa has been attacked. On June 14, three people were killed and at least 13 injured in a missile attack there.

Russia considers law to allow recruiting criminals to fight in Ukraine

Meanwhile, authorities in the Russian-controlled Crimea peninsula also reported a UAV attack, saying they shot down nine Ukrainian UAVs.

On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had successfully attacked UAV production facilities in Ukraine with long-range, high-precision weapons, according to RIA.

IAEA chief visits Ukraine nuclear power plant

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations, visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the province of the same name in southern Ukraine on June 15, with a plan to inspect the safety situation there after the hydroelectric dam collapse last week.

Mr. Rafael Grossi on his way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on June 15.

A day earlier, Mr. Grossi had postponed his planned visit to the plant, which is now under Russian control. But Russia’s nuclear regulator Energoatom said today that Mr. Rossi had begun his journey to the plant. TASS news agency later confirmed that the official had passed through a checkpoint into the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia.

Will the US send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine?

Some sources say the US government plans to send Ukraine depleted uranium ammunition capable of effectively penetrating the armor of Russian tanks.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week quoted several unnamed US officials as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition to equip Abrams tanks that Washington transfers to Kyiv.

US newspaper: CIA knows Russia is not behind the Nord Stream attack

According to WSJ , for many months the US government has debated the possibility of transferring this type of ammunition to Ukraine due to concerns about the impact on the environment and health.

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