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  • ✇The Kyiv Independent
  • 'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14
    Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.Russian forces struck residential buildings in Odesa overnight on June 20, killing a civilian and injuring at least 14 others, including three emergency workers, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.The attack, which the service described as "massive," rang out around 1 a.m. local time. The attack drones struck over 10 targets, including seven residential buildings, and led to multiple large-scale fires. At the site of one of the
     

'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14

19 juin 2025 à 22:30
'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russian forces struck residential buildings in Odesa overnight on June 20, killing a civilian and injuring at least 14 others, including three emergency workers, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

The attack, which the service described as "massive," rang out around 1 a.m. local time. The attack drones struck over 10 targets, including seven residential buildings, and led to multiple large-scale fires.

At the site of one of the attacks, a 23-story residential building caught fire between the 18th and 20th floors, and led to the evacuation of over 600 people.

In a separate attack on a four-story building within the city, three firefighters were injured when structural elements collapsed on the responders. The building is described as being "completely engulfed in flames," according to the State Emergency Service.

The three injured firefighters are currently hospitalized in stable condition. Additional information on the attacks, as well as casualties, is being clarified as search efforts under rubble and debris continue.

'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14
Firefighters extinguish a fire at a residential building in Odesa on June 20, 2025 following a Russian drone attack that injured at least 13 people, including three firefighters. (Ukraine State Emergency Service/Telegram)
'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14
The aftermath of a Russian drone attack on a residential building in Odesa on June 20, 2025. The attacks on the city injured at least 13 people, including three firefighters. (Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper/Telegram)

In addition to the buildings, Odesa's main train station also had infrastructure damaged as a result of the drone attack, Ukraine's railway agency Ukrzaliznytsia reported.

Odesa, a port city on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast with a population of around 1 million, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks throughout the full-scale war.

"The overhead contact line and the rail and sleeper grid were affected," the agency wrote in a statement, adding that no injuries had been reported.

On June 10, a missile and drone attack on Odesa killed two people and injured eight.

Russia has continued to increase the frequency and severity of its attacks on Ukrainian cities, while rejecting a ceasefire in Ukraine. Overnight on June 17, Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv since the start of full-scale war in February 2022, killing 30 people and injuring 172 others.

‘A brutal strike’ — Massive Russian missile and drone attack hits Kyiv, killing 30, injuring 172
At least 28 people have been killed and 134 others injured after a mass Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on June 17.
'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova
'Massive' Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14


  • ✇The Kyiv Independent
  • EU proposes integrating Ukraine into bloc's mobile roaming area
    The European Commission has proposed that Ukraine join the European Union's mobile roaming area starting January 1, 2026, providing Ukrainian users the ability to make phone calls, texts, and use mobile data in the bloc's 27 countries at no extra charge. "We want Ukrainian citizens to stay connected to their loved ones across the EU, as well as in their home country. That's why we propose that Ukraine join our roaming family," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statemen
     

EU proposes integrating Ukraine into bloc's mobile roaming area

19 juin 2025 à 21:29
EU proposes integrating Ukraine into bloc's mobile roaming area

The European Commission has proposed that Ukraine join the European Union's mobile roaming area starting January 1, 2026, providing Ukrainian users the ability to make phone calls, texts, and use mobile data in the bloc's 27 countries at no extra charge.

"We want Ukrainian citizens to stay connected to their loved ones across the EU, as well as in their home country. That's why we propose that Ukraine join our roaming family," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

The proposal, first announced on June 16, will serve as a means of integration into the European Union's "Roam like at Home" provision in affect between all EU nations. The proposed change will impact the over four million Ukrainian refugees living in the EU.

Ukraine's full integration in the roaming provisions will replace voluntary measures that "allowed for roaming without surcharges and affordable international calls for EU and Ukrainian citizens abroad," according to the European Commission. The current measure will extend to December 31, 2025, ahead of the planned integration.

If approved, Ukraine will become the only country outside of the EU to join the bloc's "Roam like at Home" policy.

The move, which awaits European Council approval, comes as Ukraine continues to implement reforms in pursuing membership in the European Union.

Ukraine applied for EU membership at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The country has made quick progress, achieving candidate status within months, with the initial negotiations formally launching in June 2024.

Since the start of 2025, Ukraine has opened three negotiation clusters under Poland's rotating presidency.

Poland lead the EU Council's presidency until June, and Denmark will take over the role in July. Ukraine aims to open the remaining three negotiation clusters in the second half of 2025 under the Danish chairmanship, the President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

There are six accession negotiation clusters, consisting of several individual chapters. Negotiations prepare a candidate country to become an EU member.

The EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, said that Ukraine could potentially join the bloc by 2029 if it successfully implements necessary reforms.

‘I am against Ukraine’s entry into the European Union,’ Polish president-elect Nawrocki says
“Ukraine must understand that other countries, including Poland, Hungary, and other European countries, also have their own interests,” Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki said.
EU proposes integrating Ukraine into bloc's mobile roaming areaThe Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn
EU proposes integrating Ukraine into bloc's mobile roaming area




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