Events on June 30 in the review of “Babel”: the occupiers fled from Ziiny Island, NATO countries are preparing to hand over a lot of heavy weapons to Ukraine

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Babel has been conducting daily live text coverage and promptly informing about the main news on the Telegram channel. We also make a daily digest of the most important events of the day in case you havenʼt been able to follow live.

On the eve of the Russian military carried out a group flight by helicopter to the north of Kherson oblast, but the Armed Forces repulsed it with a portable anti-aircraft missile system. In the morning, the Russians fired several different weapons at the Zelenodolsk community in the Kryvyi Rih district. In Zelenodolsk, the enemy destroyed a warehouse containing 40 tons of grain. The explosion caused a fire. Russian troops fired cluster munitions at Slovyansk. The explosions took place on Batyuk and Vilna streets, injuring six people.

The occupiers left Zmiiny Island after another shelling by the Armed Forces. The enemy hastily evacuated the remnants of the garrison in two boats. There is a fire on the island, explosions are heard. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Russian troops were leaving the island, but called it a "gesture of goodwill." The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny published a video of the work of our servicemen on Zmiiny and thanked them for their professionalism and courage.

This morning, the Russians are advancing near Verkhnokamyanka and storming near the Lysychansk refinery. Also, the Russian army does not abandon its intentions to block Lysychansk and take control of the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway. In addition, Russia does not stop shelling the territory along the Siversky Donets River. Donsody district is under constant fire pressure.

The Armed Forces liberated the village of Potemkine in Kherson oblast from the occupiers. Soldiers of the 60th Separate Infantry Brigade conducted a successful offensive, during which they repulsed several enemy counterattacks and destroyed Russian infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and the Tiger armored vehicle.

Peopleʼs Deputy "Servants of the People" and a collaborator Oleksiy Kovaliov, who is in the occupied territory of Kherson oblast, first appeared on video after the assassination attempt. A video with him was published on June 30 by the Russian propaganda publication RIA. He calls the attempt a "sabotage of the Ukrainian special services".

Ukraine breaks off diplomatic relations with Syria. Ukraine has also imposed economic sanctions in response to Syriaʼs recognition of the "independence" of the so-called LNR and DNR.

US President Joe Biden has announced a new $ 800 million aid package to Ukraine. He clarified that we are talking about new modern western air defense systems for Ukraine, more artillery and ammunition, anti-battery radars, additional ammunition for HIMARS missile systems.

Italy will hand over artillery equipment to Ukraine. This was stated by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. Commenting on Politico, Rutte added that "Italy “will be supplying” Ukraine with heavy weapons “similar” to the howitzers that Germany and the Netherlands are sending to the country, the Dutch prime minister said it was unknown, but "Italy has said it will supply similar weapons".

The Swedish government has decided to provide additional military support to Ukraine. At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the Swedes will send anti-tank weapons, auxiliary weapons and demining equipment totaling approximately SEK 500 million (almost € 46.8 million).

The Czech company Jablotron plans to hand over three modern Bivoj reconnaissance drones to Ukraine in the near future. They noted that the Ukrainian military has already been trained.

After the NATO summit in Madrid, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his country would send more than 30 units of armored vehicles and several new drone cameras to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that the Allies do not have a list of exceptions to the types of weapons that can be supplied to Ukraine. Stoltenberg said this in response to questions about possible deliveries to Ukraine of Western-style battle tanks. According to him, at the summit in Madrid announced the supply of new batches of weapons.