According to Ukraine, in May and June nearly 200 soldiers died every day. In the meantime, the losses seem to be falling significantly: President Zelenskyj announced this in an interview. Ukraine is also reporting progress from the Cherson region. There, their troops surrounded more than 1,000 Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, the US is preparing to deliver four more HIMARS multiple rocket launchers. Apparently, the Russian army is also arming itself: Chechen ruler Kadyrov reports that he has received new armored vehicles. Lithuania lifts the ban on transporting sanctioned goods in and out of Kaliningrad, Russia, by rail.

Zelenskyj adviser: More than 1000 Russians in Cherson surrounded

According to information from Kyiv, more than 1,000 Russian soldiers have been surrounded by Ukrainian forces in the occupied southern Ukrainian region of Cherson. Not far from the Vysokopillya settlement, the Russians found themselves in a “tactical encirclement,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych. This could not be verified independently. Vysokopillya was also not mentioned in the report of the Ukrainian General Staff. The Ukrainian army recently launched several counter-offensives in the Cherson region, which Russian soldiers largely took control of after the war began in February.

Ukraine suffers fewer casualties

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian army is suffering significantly fewer casualties than just a few weeks ago. Around 30 Ukrainian soldiers are currently being killed every day, he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. In May and June it was 100 to 200 a day.

US sends Ukraine more HIMARS missile launchers

The US releases another $270 million worth of military aid to Ukraine. According to the US Department of Defense, four new HIMARS rocket launchers, up to 580 Phoenix Ghosts drones and 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition are to be delivered. The new pack also includes four vehicles that can be used as command posts. This brings the number of HIMARS rocket launchers sent to Ukraine to 20. Ukraine says the multiple rocket launchers, which can fire at targets up to 80 kilometers away, are crucial in the fight against Russia.

Kadyrov reports receipt of new armored vehicles

According to the ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen military has received new armored vehicles. This is reported by the Russian daily newspaper “Kommersant”, citing a telegram contribution by Kadyrov. The armored vehicles bear the name “Akhmat”. According to the information, it was developed based on the experience of Russian and Chechen troops in Ukraine. Kadyrov did not say who the manufacturer of the armored car was.

US government is considering possible fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine

According to the US government, it is also examining a possible delivery of American fighter jets to Ukraine. National Security Council communications director John Kirby stressed “that these are exploratory considerations that cannot be implemented in the near future.” The Pentagon’s preliminary tests are not about machines from the former Soviet Union, but about those of American design.

Lithuania again allows freight transport by rail to and from Kaliningrad

Lithuania lifts the ban on transporting sanctioned goods in and out of Kaliningrad, Russia, by rail. “It is possible that some goods will be transported today,” Mantas Dubauskas, spokesman for the state railway company, told the Russian news agency RIA. The state-owned Russian news agency Tass quoted a Kaliningrad government official as saying that 60 wagons of cement would soon be shipped to the exclave. The European Union said last week that the transit ban would only affect road traffic, not rail traffic. Therefore, the Baltic state of Lithuania should allow Russia to transport concrete, wood and alcohol to the exclave via EU territory. Kaliningrad Oblast borders NATO and EU member states Lithuania and Poland and relies on transit rail and road transport through Lithuania for most goods.

Russians demand compensation from banks for losses

A few dozen Russian private clients are demanding compensation from major bank VTB for losses they suffered from foreign investments after Western sanctions. In a letter, they accuse the country’s second-largest financial institution of having stopped the transaction options for private investors too quickly, thereby depriving them of the opportunity to sell their currently frozen assets. VTB declines to comment on this. According to the financial institution, the assets of private investors amounted to the equivalent of 47 billion dollars last year.

That will be important on Saturday

You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.