Ukraine's Counteroffensive Continues Against Russia; A Village in Donetsk 'Liberated'

An Ukrainian official said on Monday that the country's forces liberated a village in the Donetsk region during a counteroffensive aimed at reclaiming territories occupied by Russia. Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, praised the country's naval brigade in a Telegram post, stating that the Ukrainian flag is flying over the village of Sturzhiv. She mentioned that this scene will be repeated in every region until Ukrainian forces liberate all of Ukraine's territory. This victory came a day after Ukrainian officials reported that their soldiers reclaimed three other villages in the area. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on Monday that heavy fighting occurred in other parts of Donetsk, including Bakhmut and the Luhansk region. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russian attacks on evacuation routes for civilians fleeing flooded areas after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine last week during his Sunday night speech. He stated that during the evacuation of civilians from a village on the banks of the Kherson region, 'the occupiers created this disaster by blowing up a dam and left people in flooded cities and villages to their fate, then shelled the boats that wanted to take people away.' He also reported on the visit of representatives from the International Criminal Court regarding the destruction of this dam. Concerns also exist regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where the water level for cooling operations has significantly decreased due to the dam's break. The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Sunday that it needs access to the areas around the plant to assess the current water level. Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, stated in a statement that he expects IAEA experts to visit the site soon and plans to travel to the plant this week. Meanwhile, NATO has begun its largest air exercise in history with 250 aircraft from 25 countries in Germany. General Ingo Gerhartz stated last week that planning for this exercise began in 2018 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea. Gerhartz emphasized that NATO is a defensive alliance and that this exercise, which will last until June 23, will not involve the deployment of any aircraft towards Kaliningrad, Russia, which borders two NATO members, Poland and Lithuania. In addition to NATO members, Japan and Sweden, which has applied to join NATO and received necessary approvals from all existing members except for two countries, are also participating in this exercise. Zelensky stated that Ukraine has begun counteroffensive operations against Russia. The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese components are aiding the rapid construction and delivery of Iranian drones to Russia. Verification of Russia's lies about the destruction of the Kakhovka dam was also mentioned. The President of Ukraine confirmed the start of the counteroffensive against Russian forces, stating that Ukrainian military counteroffensive actions against Russian forces are underway.