Putin warns Ukraine, Russian soil is attacked again?

In a war update today, June 17, the British Ministry of Defense said that Russia may have gained a "temporary advantage" in southern Ukraine, especially since deploying attack helicopters using longer-range missiles against ground targets, according to The Kyiv Independent .

The UK Ministry of Defence added that Russia has reinforced its attack helicopter force since Ukraine's counter-offensive began in the south.

According to the British Ministry of Defense, some images show that "more than 20 additional Russian helicopters have been deployed to Berdiansk airport (in Ukraine), about 100 km from the front line". There is currently no information about Ukraine's reaction to the new assessment from the British Ministry of Defense.

Also today, Reuters reported that Ukrainian officials on June 16 announced that their forces were advancing into southern regions in a counterattack against Russian forces.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the country's army "is actively moving to advance in several directions at once."

In eastern Ukraine, Ms. Maliar said Russian forces were trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces from established positions.

Chiến sự tối 17.6: Ông Putin ra cảnh báo với Ukraine, đất Nga lại bị tấn công? - Ảnh 1. — Ukrainian servicemen fire rockets towards Russian positions in the eastern Donetsk region on June 13.

In addition, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's land forces, described the situation in the east as tense, as Russia sent its best divisions into the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region with support from artillery and aircraft.

Kyiv announced on June 15 that Ukrainian forces had regained control of about 100 ^{square kilometers of} territory in just over a week of counter-offensives.

Moscow has not officially acknowledged Kyiv’s advances in the early stages of the counter-offensive, but claimed Russian forces inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian forces on June 16, according to Reuters.

See more : War Day 477: US General assesses Russian forces during Ukraine counterattack

Russian Defense Minister Calls for More Tank Production

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu today called for the production of more tanks "to meet the needs of Russian forces" in Ukraine while Kyiv launched a counterattack with Western weapons, according to AFP.

Mr Shoigu, who visited a military plant in western Siberia, stressed the need to “maintain increased tank production” and better security features in armoured vehicles, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Minister Shoigu stressed that this was necessary "to meet the needs of Russian forces carrying out a special military operation" launched by Moscow in Ukraine in February last year.

See more : What is Russia's strategy when Ukraine receives US tanks?

Putin warns Ukraine

Speaking at Russia's top economic forum in St Petersburg on June 16, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia always responds militarily to Ukrainian attacks, but Moscow rarely shows immediate retaliation, according to TASS news agency.

Mr Putin warned Kyiv to understand that in the event of further attacks on Russian territory, Moscow would consider setting up a "protective cordon" in Ukraine.

Earlier today, Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Bryansk Oblast, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Russian air defense units repelled a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on a pumping station of the Druzhba oil pipeline, according to Reuters.

Drone attacks inside Russia have increased in recent weeks, often targeting energy facilities. Russia blames Ukraine, while Kyiv has not publicly claimed responsibility, according to Reuters.

See more : Russia has sent nuclear weapons to Belarus, will retaliate against any attack by Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister outlines scenario for end of conflict

In an interview with RT on June 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that by the time the Russia-Ukraine conflict is resolved, Kyiv will accept the loss of its former territories and Western-led globalization will end.

Mr Lavrov described the West's proxy war with Russia as "a geopolitical conflict" in which the US is trying to eliminate a powerful opponent and "by all means defend its hegemonic position".

“Such efforts are futile, and we all know this,” Lavrov said in the interview, adding that Ukraine and Kyiv’s backers would be forced to accept new “concrete realities” before a ceasefire could be reached.

First, Kyiv must accept that any potential peace deal will need to take into account the loss of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which were annexed by Russia last year.

Before sending troops into Ukraine, Moscow offered more generous terms, and Lavrov warned on June 16 that "the longer they delay negotiations, the harder it will be to reach an agreement with us," according to RT.

Ukraine and Kyiv’s European backers have acknowledged that the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, in which Kyiv promised limited autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk, were a ruse to give Ukraine time to prepare for war with Russia, according to RT. Lavrov told RT that this situation will never be repeated.

"We are not ready to base security guarantees on more commitments and promises or even documents that the West can provide us. We must ensure our national security ourselves," Lavrov stressed.

Finally, Lavrov declared that the era in which the US and its allies controlled the institutions of globalization, primarily development banks and multilateral organizations, was coming to an end. “Today, everyone understands that growth processes need to be regionalized, and this vision is dominant. All countries on this vast continent should use the advantages given by God and nature to develop mutually beneficial logistics, financial and transport chains,” Lavrov stressed.

There is currently no information about the reaction of Ukraine and the West to Mr. Lavrov's statement.

See also : Putin's allies predict the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

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