Ukraine, Briefly

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• Russian assaults on civilian targets escalated rapidly in the second half of June, according to Ukrainian officials, with strikes involving older and less accurate weaponry from the Soviet times that result in more deaths, the New York Times wrote.

• Russia took control of Ukraine’s Luhansk area, one of two eastern regions targeted by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to NPR. The announcement follows the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Lysychansk, an industrial city that had been the region’s last major Ukrainian-controlled bastion. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that more than 2,600 cities and towns remain under Russian occupation, the Hill added.

• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Ukraine of launching missiles against military installations on his country’s territory, CNN reported. Lukashenko, a close supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, labeled the purported incident a “provocation” without providing any proof.