Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 477.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation.

Kryvyi Rih. An attack on the night of June 13 by at least three Russian cruise missiles on the eastern city of Kryvyi Rih killed 11 civilians and wounded 28 others at a 5-story apartment building, and killed another seven civilians at a warehouse stocked with bottled water set for delivery to parts of the country, including the Kherson region, for victims of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion.

Kherson region. Also on June 13, Russian artillery targeted the southern settlement of Bilozerka. The 72-year-old priest of a local church was killed, an elderly woman was wounded and more than four homes, a post office and a central square were damaged.

Donetsk region. Heavy Russian attacks on the eastern cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka yesterday killed three civilians, wounded three others and caused damage to 20 homes, a gas pipeline and the power grid. Rescue and utility crews are still working at the sites.

Over the past two weeks, there has been an increase in Russian tactical combat air sorties in Ukraine’s south. Likely, this is in response to increased Ukrainian offensive operations, as the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) attempt to support ground troops with air strikes. Despite the increase, Russia’s daily sortie rate remains much lower than the peak of up to 300 daily missions early in the war, informs UK Ministry of Defence.

World.

Based on reports from the front lines, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told USA Today on Monday that U.S.-led efforts in training and equipping Ukraine’s armed forces with modern Western weaponry are paying off. Ukraine contends that its forces have recaptured 100 square kilometers (about 38 square miles) of territory occupied by Russia and advanced around Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia and elsewhere. Stoltenberg warned, however, that breaking through formidable Russian defenses likely would entail heavy Ukrainian casualties.

At the 13th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels today, 50 defense ministers discussed such matters as procurement of allied jets, training of Ukrainian pilots and new repair hubs for damaged equipment. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that the Netherlands and Denmark have developed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s. Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and the US also announced a joint effort to improve Ukraine's air defenses with delivery of hundreds of short- and medium-range missiles and associated systems needed to protect critical national infrastructure and support the unfolding counteroffensive.

The European Parliament today adopted a resolution calling on NATO allies to pave the way for Ukraine's admission as a full-fledged member of the alliance. Until then, the resolution states, the EU, its member states, its NATO allies and like-minded partners must work closely with Ukraine to develop a temporary framework for security guarantees to be implemented immediately after the war.

Icons from Khanenko Museum in Kyiv are now on exhibit at the Louvre in Paris. Visitors at France's world-renowned museum can admire four encaustic icons on wood from the sixth and seventh centuries, originating from the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and a micromosaic icon from Constantinople, dating from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, decorated with an exceptional goldsmith’s frame. Ukraine’s Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, welcomed the Louvre's cooperation and its establishment of a separate department dedicated to the study of Byzantine icons.

By Daria Dzysiuk, Alan Sacks.