Ukraine updates: Russia push offensive as Kyiv awaits F-16s

Ukraine's army chief said the arrival of the first F-16s would stop Russia in its tracks

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky says Russia is aware that deliveries of weapons such as F-16s will hamper its battlefield chances.

Syrsky said the command of Russia's troops was making every effort to increase the intensity and expand the theater of conflict.

Russia has made steady advances in eastern Ukraine and the south, with Ukraine citing ammunition and manpower as a major issue.

In other related news, Russia said the result of an international peace summit — to which it was not invited — were effectively zero.

Here are the latest developments from Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, June 17:

Ukraine says Russia eager for gains ahead of F-16 deliveries

Ukraine says Russian forces are ramping up attacks on its territory in a push to make territorial gains before Kyiv receives more foreign military aid — including F-16 fighter jets.

Russia has advanced steadily in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk and also further on stretches of the front that Kyiv has struggled to hold, blaming manpower and ammunition shortages.

"The enemy is well aware that as a result of the gradual receipt of a significant amount of weapons and military equipment from our partners, and the arrival of the first F-16s, which will strengthen our air defense, time will play in our favor and its chances of success will decrease," Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in a Facebook post.

"Therefore, the command of Russia's troops is currently making every effort to increase the intensity and expand the geography of hostilities to maximize the depletion of our troops, disrupt the training of reserves and prevent the transition to active offensive actions," he added.

Syrsky said Russian forces were focusing firepower on the Donetsk region, particularly on the Pokrovsk front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a peace summit in Switzerland this weekend that present levels of military aid from abroad were still insufficient and that deliveries were arriving late.

He has appealed to allies for faster deliveries of promised F-16 fighter jets and urged Western countries to keep sending more air defense batteries.

Russia says Ukraine summit yielded 'zero' results

Moscow has said that an international peace summit on Ukraine led by Kyiv, to which Russia was not invited, produced "zero" results.

Officials gathered in Switzerland from more than 90 countries at the weekend, backing Ukraine's independence.

However, the conference left the central question of how to end the conflict unresolved.

"If we talk about the results of this meeting, then they come down to zero," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

A vast majority of countries attending the summit backed the final document, although several countries did not sign it. They included Saudi Arabia, India, and the United Arab Emirates.

"Many countries understood the lack of perspective of any serious discussion without the presence of our country," Peskov said.

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "still open to dialogue and serious discussion."

Putin last week said Russia would take part in peace talks only if Ukraine gave up four of its regions, effectively demanding a surrender.

Ukraine's finance minister says debt rework dead 'critical'

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko says an important debt rework deal is still expected by August, despite talks with holders of its international bonds.

An agreement, with holders of pre-existing bonds that allowed Ukraine to suspend payments after Russia's 2022 invasion of the country, comes to an end in August.

Marchenko said Kyiv would keep up talks with the holders of some $20 billion to ensure a new deal before the deadline.

"Strong armies must be underpinned by strong economies to win wars," the minister said. "Ukraine has shown remarkable resilience in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion, and our economy has outperformed expectations – but it is a fragile balance, which depends on the continuation of consistent, substantial partner support. Timely debt restructuring is a critical part of this support."

Ukrainian energy supplier says power shortages to worsen

Ukraine's state energy operator has announced further drastic restrictions on electricity supply in the coming weeks due to ongoing Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

"In the coming weeks, the situation will deteriorate significantly compared to today," the head of the state energy company Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kydrytsky, told state media late on Sunday evening.

Ukrainians must prepare themselves for having no electricity for up to twelve hours a day, he said. The supply situation is not expected to improve before the end of July, Kydrytsky said.

The impact of systematic Russian attacks on thermal and hydroelectric power plants might be made worse by the need for maintenance work at nuclear power plants and bad weather conditions.

Planned power outages may also occur during peak consumption times, Kydrytsky said.

Russian attacks on the power network have meant that energy shortages in Ukraine are a daily occurrence for many people. President Volodymyr Zelenksyy recently said Ukraine can only produce half as much electricity this year as last year.

rc/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)