The Ukrainian president says armed forces are "physically cleansing Ukraine." Meanwhile, the UN chief has urged the acceleration of exports of grain from Black Sea ports. DW has the latest.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that his country's forces were "actively destroying the enemy."

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In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said forces on the eastern and southern flanks of the country were "physically cleansing Ukraine."

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"A defense against terror means destroying terrorists. And it is a guarantee that the state of evil will never have the opportunity to bring evil to Ukraine."

Kyiv launched a much anticipated counteroffensive nearly two weeks ago. Though quiet about the launch at first, Zelenskyy has been addressing his military's movements more recently.

Also on Tuesday, Russian forces struck military and infrastructure targets in Kyiv and western areas away from the front lines.

Zelenskyy said Russian drones attacked Kyiv for over four hours.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities said Ukrainian forces struck a Russian-controlled town in the southern Kherson region with drones. They said one woman was killed and four civilians were injured in the attack.

Here are some of the other developments concerning Russia's war in Ukraine on Wednesday, June 21:

Russia to get two nuclear submarines

The Russian Navy is set to receive two new nuclear submarines, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told the TASS state news agency in an interview that the vessels will be in operation by the end of the year.

The submarines are missile cruiser Emperor Alexander III and the multipurpose Krasnoyarsk.

United Shipbuilding Corporation is Russia's largest shipbuilding company.

Pentagon overestimated Ukraine military aid

The US Department of Defense has announced a miscalculation in the valuation of its funding for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine to support it in the fight against Russia.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the amount was overestimated by $6.2 billion (roughly €5.68 billion) due to an accounting error. Of the sum, $3.6 billion concerned the fiscal year 2023, and $2.6 billion for the fiscal year 2022.

The Pentagon's deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the errors have no impact on the support for Ukraine or the presidential drawdown authority.

UK to unveil $3 billion backing for Ukraine reconstruction

The UK is preparing to announce a massive $3 billion (approximately €2.75 billion) package to Ukraine during a two-day conference hosted by London and focused on attracting investment to the war-torn country.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to announce the package in a speech during the conference, which starts on Wednesday.

The package will include $306 million of bilateral assistance, as well as expanding British International Investment in Ukraine.

"So, together with our allies we will maintain our support for Ukraine's defense and for the counteroffensive, and we'll stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes as they continue to win this war," an excerpt of Sunak's speech read.

The US is also due to announce "a new, robust" assistance package for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy addressed the conference in his Tuesday nightly address, stressing that rebuilding Ukraine was a "vehicle and a guarantee of security" that would ensure "protecting against any repetition of Russian aggression."

UN chief urges speedier exports under Black Sea grain deal

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the acceleration of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea, under a deal which Russia has been threatening to quit next month.

Brokered nearly a year ago with UN and Turkish mediation, the deal allowed Ukraine to safely export grains out of three ports despite the war. This helped evade a global food crisis and helped Ukraine sell its grains.

However, Guterres reported a significant drop in food exports from October 2022, when they reportedly stood at 4.3 million metric tons, to 1.3 million metric tons in May. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, speaking on behalf of Guterres, described the May figure as "the lowest volume since the initiative began last year."

Guterres was particularly disappointed by a slowing pace of ship inspections and the exclusion of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port — one of the three Ukrainian ports covered by the deal.

Russia has repeatedly complained that many conditions of the deal ensuring its interests are not being upheld.

Ukraine accuses Russia of 'mining' Zaporizhzhia cooling pond

Ukraine's military intelligence chief has accused Moscow of "mining" the cooling pond of the Russian-occupied nuclear plant.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR agency, made the accusation in television statements on Tuesday. He nevertheless did not provide evidence to support his claims.

The reactor is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe. It is located in southern Ukraine and has been occupied by Moscow since its invasion of the country in February 2022.

More DW content on Russia's war in Ukraine

Dmitry Muratov, Nobel prize-winning editor-in-chief of Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, spoke at DW's Global Media Forum. He called for help for political prisoners, from Alexei Navalny to US journalist Evan Gershkovic, and said that since the word "war" is forbidden in Russia, he would use the word "hell."

The war in Ukraine has seen brutal attritional fighting and trench warfare, but also the novel use of drones and robots. Is artificial intelligence revolutionizing modern warfare or just complementing old technology? Watch our report on how Ukraine uses artificial intelligence on the battlefield.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has warned that Russia's spy operations are expected to increase in Germany. The agency noted that far-right movements are harnessing opposition to military support for Ukraine.

rmt/rt (AFP, Reuters)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2023 07:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).