The Armed Forces of Ukraine on Friday morning shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles headed for the military airfield in the Khmelnytskyi region, the Air Force of Ukraine reported. The missiles were launched by Russian strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 485, LIVETEXT:

08:23 Russian troops bombed nine settlements in Ukraine’s Sumy region, more than 147 explosions were heard, reports The Kyiv Independent with reference to the military administration of the region in northeastern Ukraine.

According to regional authorities, Russian forces shelled the area 21 times on Thursday, injuring one person and damaging a water tower and residential buildings.

08:16Air defenses shot down a drone on Thursday evening over the southern Russian city of Kursk, near the border with Ukraine, the region’s governor said, according to Reuters.

Roman Starovoit stated that the anti-aircraft systems were activated twice. He did not mention any damage or casualties and asked residents to avoid any falling debris.

01:20The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Russia is “the world center of cynicism and from here any order for any evil that they hope to disguise as a catastrophe can come,” referring to the situation at the Zaporizhia NPP and the Russian “terrorist act” in Kakhovka

00:50 Zelensky recalled the Ukrainian ambassador from Belarus

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Tuesday dismissed Ihor Kizym from the post of ambassador to Belarus, according to the decree published on the website of the President of Ukraine.

Last week, the Verkhovna Rada registered a draft resolution on recognizing Belarus as an aggressor country, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the first deputy head of the anti-corruption committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, reported on Telegram on Monday.

In addition, in the explanatory note, the Ukrainian government called on “immediately to work out the issue of breaking diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus” and to appeal to the international community with a request to increase sanctions pressure on Minsk in order to “force the Belarusian leadership to stop using its territory to commit war crimes.” .

00:12 RBC: Kyiv warns that Hungary is preparing a special information and psychological operation against Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinetsky, claims that Hungary violated international humanitarian law by taking 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia without notifying Ukraine.

In addition, Lyubinets noted, Budapest is currently preparing a special information and psychological operation (IPSO) to accuse the Kyiv authorities of unwillingness to exchange prisoners of war with the Russian Federation.

A brief summary of recent events:

• The United Nations has added Russia’s armed forces to a global list of criminals, confirming that Russian forces and related groups killed 136 children in Ukraine last year, according to a report submitted to the UN Security Council.
• Reuters report: Western arms companies shy away from Ukraine’s invitation, but dream of big profits after the war
• Wagner Group is looking for gamers for the position of drone pilots / What conditions must be met. An ad posted on the Russian social network VKontakte shows that a mercenary group is looking for video game enthusiasts to become drone pilots.
• Kyiv warns that Hungary is preparing a special information and psychological operation against Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinetsky, claims that Hungary violated international humanitarian law by taking 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia without notifying Ukraine.
• Russia said Thursday that Ukrainian forces had scaled back operations in southern and eastern Ukraine and were “regrouping” after losses in the counteroffensive, AFP reported.
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday that Russia will complete the creation of a “reserve army” by the end of June, making the comments during a meeting of the Moscow Security Council chaired by Vladimir Putin.

—————-

Thursday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro