On June 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the production and deployment of short- and medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. weapons after the US withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019. This is part of the Kremlin's ongoing campaign of reflexive pressure to influence Western decisions in Russia's favor. In addition, the Kremlin has consistently tried to undermine the Western unity of military support for Ukraine. This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reported News.bg.
In recent months, exercises by the US and its partners have included launchers capable of firing missiles that could pose a variable threat to Russia from the exercise sites. Bornholm Island is located about 300 km from the westernmost coast of the Kaliningrad region and about 1400 km from Moscow. The U.S. Sixth Fleet said the Bornholm exercise involved transporting the Typhon launcher from land to shore as part of convoy defense rehearsals, suggesting the exercises likely involved shorter-range weapons.
Ukrainian forces said they struck an oil depot in Russia on June 28, and on the night of June 27-28 they struck a microelectronics plant and a military unit. The Center for Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) reported on June 28 that Ukrainian forces damaged or destroyed more than 30 Russian military aircraft in the first six months of 2024, although ISW could not fully confirm this report.< /p>
Many members of Russia's elite have reportedly shifted from criticizing Russia's military efforts in Ukraine to supporting them because they appreciate that Russia has the upper hand. Russian officials have called for tougher penalties in Russia's criminal justice system, possibly in response to recent terrorist attacks in Dagestan.
Russia may be building a shadow fleet to transport Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and circumvent Western sanctions. Ukrainian forces recently recovered lost positions near Volchansk and Kremenna, and Russian forces recently advanced near Chasov Yar. The Russian opposition publication "Important Stories" used data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) to estimate that over 71,000 Russians died in the war against Ukraine between 2022 and 2023.