Day 498 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Civilians killed after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv
• Zelensky wanted the counteroffensive to start earlier
• Zelensky is coming to Bulgaria
• Ukraine has shown interest in the reactors of Bulgarian NPP “Belene”
• Lukashenko: Prigozhin is not in Belarus, but in St. Petersburg
• The Russian currency fell to 94 rubles to one dollar and over 100 to one euro
• Klishchiivka has fallen, Bakhmut is now under fire control of the VSU

Civilians killed after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv

At least four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv last night. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced updated casualty figures, adding that nine were injured. Several explosions have been heard in the city. About 60 apartments in an apartment building were destroyed, as well as dozens of cars. Rescue teams are searching the wreckage for more people. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyy noted that critical infrastructure was hit. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi addressed residents, saying the attack was the biggest on civilian infrastructure in the city since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised a "tangible response" to the Russian missile strike, posting a video of the damage to the building. Earlier, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak reported that one person was killed and six others were injured in a Russian strike on residential buildings in Belozor, Kherson region.

Lviv. Consequences of the night attack by Russian terrorists. Unfortunately, there are wounded and dead. My condolences to the relatives!

There will definitely be a response to the enemy. A strong one. pic.twitter.com/9yl1MT6Eu4

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 6, 2023

In Makiivka, in the Donetsk region, a fire broke out in an oil base after a strong explosion. The Ukrainian army said a Russian ammunition depot in the city had been destroyed.

Fighting continues around Bakhmut, as well as in the Lyman area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that he wanted the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian armed forces to begin earlier, explaining that the delay had given Russian forces an opportunity to plant more mines and better fortify their defense lines.

Mother and daughter????????
Anastasia Seniv and Myroslava Sadova.

Today in #Lviv they were killed by a russian rocket that hit the house where the dead lived. #GenocideOfUkrainians #stoprussia pic.twitter.com/uWGsyFrROW

— ????????My Home is Ukraine???? (@home_fella) July 6, 2023

Zelensky wanted the counteroffensive to start earlier

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that he wanted the counteroffensive against Russian occupation forces to begin earlier than June and that he had called on Western allies to speed up arms deliveries for that purpose, Reuters reported.

"I wanted our counteroffensive to take place much earlier, because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive develops later, then a larger part of our territory will be mined," Zelensky said. "We are giving our enemy time and opportunity to lay more mines and prepare their defensive lines."

He said the difficulties on the battlefield had delayed a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces aimed at retaking territory in eastern and southern Ukraine seized by Russia since the invasion began in February 2022.

The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly demanded that the United States and other Western allies supply his armed forces with more advanced weapons such as US-made F-16 fighter jets and longer-range missiles.

He did so in the CNN interview, while thanking Washington and European allies for their support.

“It's not even about Ukrainian superiority in the sky over the Russians”, Zelensky said. - “This is just about equality. F-16s help not only those on the battlefield to advance. It's just very difficult without air cover.” Last week, Zelensky said the counteroffensive was going "slower than desired," without being very specific, but noted that progress had been made "in all directions."

Reuters notes that it has not been able to verify the situation on the battlefield. Russia does not recognize Ukrainian successes and claims that Ukrainian forces are suffering heavy losses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to consolidate his power after the short-lived revolt on June 24 by mercenaries from the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Zelensky said. Prigozhin went into exile in Belarus after making a deal with Putin.

"Where did Putin go after all these events," Zelensky asked. "He rarely goes out. We see him in his offices, etc., but we never see him outside."

Days after the uprising, Putin appeared publicly to tell about 2,500 Russian security officials at a ceremony in Moscow that the people and the armed forces had united against the mutinous mercenaries.

"You saved our homeland from cataclysms. In fact, you stopped a civil war," he stressed.

Zelensky is coming to Bulgaria

Volodymyr Zelensky is coming to Bulgaria for a visit. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov during the government report on Facebook.

"What is foreseen in the program is a meeting between the two presidents," he said in response to the question of whether a meeting between Rumen Radev and Volodymyr Zelensky is expected.

There are increased security measures in the center of the Bulgarian capital.

“I never instigated the conflict with the president, I tried to calm the relationship so that we could have a normal dialogue. I called Radev and told him - President Zelensky is coming, so find a way to meet him”, said Denkov.

According to Bulgarian media “Dnevnik”, the Ukrainian head of state will not visit the National Assembly. First, he will go to meetings with cabinet representatives in the Council of Ministers, after which he will have a conversation with Rumen Radev.

Zelensky is expected to speak to journalists at the "Boyana" residence in Sofia at around 2 p.m.

Ukraine has shown interest in the reactors of Bulgarian NPP “Belene”

Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov announced that Ukraine had made an inquiry about the reactors from "Belene" NPP already last year.

"I inquired about what was done when I entered the government. It turned out that the caretaker government did not move the matter forward," he announced during the live broadcast from the Council of Ministers, where he answered questions from citizens and journalists.

Denkov explained that today a memorandum will be signed with Ukraine in the field of energy. This will become a fact during the visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky to Bulgaria.

"The Belene project has no basis for us, there is no need to look for four blocks, as heard from a former minister. There is no such needs in the region at the moment. We need to stabilize our system with the necessary base capacities and develop all the technologies".

The Bulgarian Prime Minister insisted that there is no real danger of war in the Balkan country today, but "we must work to ensure that there is no war at all from now on."

"I don't see how Russia can win the war, the question is how they will end the peace talks, which depend on the efforts on the battlefield," he said.

According to him, there are two reasons for helping Ukraine. The first is that it was attacked.

"70 years after World War II, countries must stick to their borders and Russia attacked Ukraine. If one aggressor succeeds in one place, it will embolden others. The second reason is directly related to Bulgaria - Russia threatened that after Ukraine other countries such as Moldova, the Baltic states can follow. And Russia has already declared us an enemy country without us doing anything," stressed Denkov.

When asked how he would reduce Russian influence, he replied: "We need to be much more active in telling the real stories, facts and data. In part of the media, false information is being spread, we hear made-up stories and they get support at a high level."

Lukashenko: Prigozhin is not in Belarus, but in St. Petersburg

The head of the private military company "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin is not on the territory of Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today, quoted by the state news agency Belta.

"As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. Where is he this morning? He may have left for Moscow in the morning..." Lukashenko said and added:

"As far as I am informed as of this morning, the fighters of PMC ‘Wagner’ are in their camps. In their permanent camps, where they are residing after the withdrawal from the front."

He also indicated that he does not see any risks for Belarus if "Wagner" fighters are deployed in the country.

The Russian currency fell to 94 rubles to one dollar and over 100 to one euro

The Russian currency continues to depreciate, reaching a level of 94 rubles per US dollar at the start of trading on Thursday. This is a new low for the ruble since the end of March 2022 - just weeks after it briefly fell to 150 to the dollar early last March in the first reaction to the start of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

The sharp depreciation of the ruble in recent days is the result of increased demand for foreign currencies in view of the political uncertainty in the country after the failed rebellion of Prigozhin and his private military group "Wagner" and persistently low demand for Russian exports.

Russia's collapse in energy revenues has contributed to the ruble's sustained depreciation since June 24, when Wagner's aborted march on Moscow took place.

Total energy revenues decreased by 47% to 3.38 trillion. rubles (about 3 billion dollars) in the first half of the year, according to data from the Finance Ministry, reflecting the impact of Western sanctions on Russian exports and Russia's inability to compensate for the loss of the European gas market.

The development prompted the ministry to sell 39.4 billion rubles worth of foreign currency to prevent further weakening of the ruble, more than the government expected. Unbalanced government accounts and risks of rising inflation have fueled expectations that the Central Bank of Russia will begin its tightening cycle (raising interest rates) at its next meeting.

As export earnings fall, the Russian ruble continued to weaken today to fresh 15-month lows.

Apart from the US dollar, the Russian currency depreciated and halted the European single currency, with the euro briefly breaking above the psychological barrier of 100 rubles at the start of today's trade, reaching the level of 102 rubles, before correcting back below 100. This represented the first appreciation of the euro over 100 rubles since 15 months ago.

The Russian currency continues to depreciate against the Chinese yuan, reaching a level of 12.76 rubles.

Klishchiivka has fallen, Bakhmut is now under fire control of the VSU

Russian military correspondent Sladkov reported on his Telegram channel that the Russian army has left Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, and the town is now under the fire control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (VSU).

"I don't blame our guys for anything. According to my information, the issue is ‘shell diet’, I hope I'm wrong," said the correspondent.

Sladkov sounds quite desperate in his post.

"Without strength, you cannot be strong. The weak do not win. Bakhmut is under threat of being stormed. Will we hold it? Who knows," he wrote.

According to the Telegram channel “Rybar”, close to the Ministry of Defense, Russian troops have not completely withdrawn from Klishchiivka, but there is progress of Ukrainian forces in this direction.

In addition, Rybar writes that the VSU continues to hold a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Antonovsky Bridge area, and that Russian defenses have failed to stop the transfer of additional Ukrainian forces there.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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