Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces captured a village in the Donetsk region near the town of Toretsk as Ukraine reportedly struck the occupied peninsula of Crimea and inside Russia.
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Russia announced on June 29 the capture of Shumy, a settlement located about 7 kilometers southeast of the mining town of Toretsk. The open-source intelligence group DeepState UA had already confirmed Russia’s capture of Shumy on June 21.
Moscow intensified its attack in the direction of Toretsk on the night of June 18 after having been inactive on this section of the front for most of the year, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said in its June 27 update on the war.
Toretsk is part of a Ukrainian salient that gives Ukrainian forces the possibility of striking in the rear of Russian forces attacking in the direction of Chasiv Yar and northeast of Avdiyivka, ISW said in the report.
“Russian offensive operations near Toretsk likely aim to reduce the threat posed by this Ukrainian salient while Russian forces continue to pursue gains in the Avdiyivka and Chasiv Yar directions,” the ISW said.
Russia has yet to commit significant forces in the direction of Toretsk, limiting its chances of making major gains in the area. Moscow may also be seeking simply to tie up Ukrainian forces in the Toretsk direction, preventing it from reinforcing other parts of the Donetsk front, the ISW said.
Deadly Air Strikes
Also on June 29, Russia struck the town of Vilnyansk in Zaporizhzhya region, killing seven civilians, including two children, and injuring 18, Ukrainian authorities said. Five more civilians were killed in other attacks along the front the same day.
A day earlier, a Russian strike on the city of Dnipro killed at least one person died and wounded 12, including a 7-month-old girl.
Russia has stepped up airstrikes this year in a bid to drain Ukraine’s resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure, and crush morale.
Ukrainian officials have said that half ot the nation's power system has been damaged by Russian strikes, leading to shortages that are constraining the economy and testing citizens' reslience.
"Our cities and communities suffer from such Russian strikes every day," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a June 29 post on X that included photos of the strike on Vilnyansk.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine must strike Russian missile launchers with long-range weapons and strengthen its air defenses. The United States on June 28 said it will provide Ukraine with $150 million worth of weapons and ammunition, including HAWK air defense interceptors.
Kursk Governor Aleksei Smirnov said a Ukrainian drone hit a house in a Russian border village, killing five people, including two children. The June 29 incident occurred in Gorodishche, located just meters from the border with Ukraine. Smirnov said the incident appeared to come from a "copter"-style drone, fitted to carry explosives that are then dropped over targets.
Ukraine's domestic drone industry has made major advancements over the past two years, turning out an ever larger number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that can fly further and carry greater payloads, putting a significant portion of Russian military targets within striking distance.