Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- The Kremlin continues to only diplomatically support Iran, showcasing the limitations in the Russian-Iranian strategic relationship.
- Russian officials are attempting to influence conversations about increasing NATO defense spending by misrepresenting Russia’s ongoing efforts to restructure and expand Russia’s military capabilities as a defensive reaction to NATO.
- Putin also acknowledged his ongoing efforts to empower Russia’s internal security services in order to safeguard regime stability and internal security.
- Russian forces conducted a large-scale combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine on the night of June 22 to 23 that largely targeted Kyiv City and killed at least seven people and injured 28.
- Ukraine’s Western partners continue to allocate military aid to Ukraine and collaborate with the Ukrainian defense industrial base (DIB).
- Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast. Russian forces advanced near Kupyansk, Borova, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka and in Sumy Oblast.
Authors: Anna Harvey, Olivia Gibson, Jennie Olmsted, Angelica Evans, Jessica Sobieski, William Runkel, and Kateryna Stepanenko.
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