High-level statements from the Kremlin, including those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, continue to show Russia's broader territorial ambitions in Ukraine beyond Crimea and the four regions that Russia illegally annexed. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warned about this, News.bg reports.
On June 30, Putin held a meeting dedicated to the socio-economic development of the occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, during which he often called occupied Ukraine "Donbass and Novorossiya".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on June 30 to Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov's statement on June 27 that the city of Odessa is not "Russian" city and has its own history, stating that the history of the city of Odessa is "inseparably linked" with Russia.
On June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPEEF), Putin again stated that he considers the Russian and Ukrainian people to be "one people in reality" and that "Ukraine belongs to Russia."
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky stated on June 30 that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people" with a "historical homeland" and referred to "ancient Russian lands on both sides of the Dnieper (river), Novorossiya and Crimea".
Putin and other Kremlin officials have consistently stated that they do not believe that Ukraine is an independent state with its own history, identity and culture separate from Russia.
The Kremlin is set to launch a new "national messenger" app, linked to the Kremlin-controlled social media site VKontakte (VK), as part of an ongoing effort to censor Russian citizens and isolate them from the global internet.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) has published its report for the period December 2024 to - May 2025, detailing Ukrainian civilian casualties, systematic Russian mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, and limited Ukrainian mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war.
Azerbaijani authorities stormed the offices of the Russian state propaganda outlet "Sputnik" in Baku as Russian-Azerbaijani relations have recently soured following an attack on ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia.
Russian forces have recently advanced near Kupyansk and Novopavlivka and into the western Zaporizhia region.