Russian forces launched a mechanized offensive near Toretsk on 17 June using armored and motorized vehicles, signaling a possible shift in operational focus amid ongoing equipment shortages, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.
For months, Russia has pushed to capture the remaining parts of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, with a focus on Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar and other Ukrainian strongholds. Pokrovsk had been the focal point of Russia’s ground assaults. Now, Russia appears to have concentrated on attempts to seize Kostiantinivka, northeast of Pokrovsk.
ISW’s 18 June report mentions Russia’s advances in northern Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts and near Donetsk Oblast’s Chasiv Yar and Toretsk.
Assault near Yablunivka with armored and motorized vehicles
ISW cited geolocatedfootagefrom17 June showing Russian troops carrying out a mechanized assault west of Yablunivka, which lies west of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast. The footage confirmed the presence of at least three armored vehicles and four motorized units, likely all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), in the assault.
Reinforced assault near Kostiantynivka repelled by Ukrainian forces
On 18 June, Ukrainian military observer Yuriy Butusov reported that a reinforced company-sized Russian assault near Kostiantynivka ended in failure. Ukrainian defenders reportedly destroyed 15 heavy armored vehicles and eight motorized vehicles during the clash.
Decline in Russian mechanized assaults since winter 2024–2025
According to ISW, Russian forces have decreased the frequency of mechanized assaults since Winter 2024–2025. This change likely stems from increasing effectiveness of Ukrainian drone operations and a dwindling Russian supply of armored vehicles.
As traditional tank reserves diminish, ISW observed that Russian forces increasingly rely on civilian vehicles, ATVs, and motorcycles. In April 2025, the Russian Ministry of Defense began formal efforts to integrate motorcycles into offensive tactics. These changes highlight growing logistical limitations for Russian mechanized units.
“Russian mechanized assaults in the Toretsk direction may indicate that the Russian military command intends to prioritize this sector of the front,” ISW wrote.
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A report from a cybersecurity company last week found that over 40,000 unsecured cameras—including CCTV and security cameras on public transportation, in hospitals, on internet-connected bird feeders and on ATMs—are exposed online worldwide.
Cybersecurity risk intelligence company BitSight was able to access and download content from thousands of internet-connected systems, including domestic and commercial webcams, baby monitors, office security, and pet cams. They also found content from these cameras on locations on the dark web where people share and sell access to their live feeds. “The most concerning examples found were cameras in hospitals or clinics monitoring patients, posing a significant privacy risk due to the highly sensitive nature of the footage,” said João Cruz, Principal Security Research Scientist for the team that produced the report.
The company wrote in a press release that it “doesn’t take elite hacking to access these cameras; in most cases, a regular web browser and a curious mind are all it takes, meaning that 40,000 figure is probably just the tip of the iceberg.”
Depending on the type of login protocol that the cameras were using, the researchers were able to access footage or individual real-time screenshots. Against a background of increasing surveillance by law enforcement and ICE, there is clear potential for abuse of unknowingly open cameras.
“Knowing the real number is practically impossible due to the insanely high number of camera brands and models existent in the market,” said Cruz, “each of them with different ways to check if it’s exposed and if it’s possible to get access to the live footage.”
The report outlines more obvious risks, from tracking the behavioral patterns and real-time status of when people are in their homes in order to plan a burglary, to “shoulder surfing,” or stealing data by observing someone logging in to a computer in offices. The report also found cameras in stores, gyms, laundromats, and construction sites, meaning that exposed cameras are monitoring people in their daily lives. The geographic data provided by the camera’s IP addresses, combined with commercially available facial-recognition systems, could prove dangerous for individuals working in or using those businesses.
You can find out if your camera has been exposed using a site like Shodan.io, a search engine which scans for devices connected to the internet, or by trying to access your camera from a device logged in to a different network. Users should also check the documentation provided by the manufacturer, rather than just plugging in a camera right away, to minimize vulnerabilities, and make sure that they set their own password on any IoT-connected device.
This is because many brands use default logins for their products, and these logins are easilyfindableonline. The BitSight report didn’t try to hack into these kinds of cameras, or try to brute-force any passwords, but, “if we did so, we firmly believe that the number would be higher,” said Cruz. Older camera systems with deprecated and unmaintained software are more susceptible to being hacked in this way; one somewhat brighter spot is that these “digital ghost ships” seem to be decreasing in number as the oldest and least secure among them are replaced or fail completely.
Unsecured cameras attract hackers and malicious actors, and the risks can go beyond the embarrassing, personal, or even individual. In March this year, the hacking group Akira successfully compromised an organisation using an unsecured webcam, after a first attack attempt was effectively prevented by cybersecurity protocols. In 2024, the Ukrainian government asked citizens to turn off all broadcasting cameras, after Russian agents hacked into webcams at a condo association and a car park. They altered the direction of the cameras to point toward nearby infrastructure and used the footage in planning strikes. Ukraine blocked the operation of 10,000 internet-connected digital security cameras in order to prevent further information leaks, and a May 2025 report from the Joint Cybersecurity Advisory described continued attacks from Russian espionage units on private and municipal cameras to track materials entering Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was caught rolling her eyes after French President Emmanuel Macron whispered something to her as they sat at the G7 summit roundtable.
A Ukraine maternity hospital has been hit after Russia launched a deadly wave of drones and missiles in an attack on Odesa early Tuesday morning (10 June).
Emergency crews battled flames and searched for survivors after a massive Russian drone and missile strike hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday (7 June), killing at least three people.
This Kyiv cafe is providing a rare moment of calm for Ukrainians under Russia’s bombardment by allowing visitors to unwind with a group of adorable piglets.
Vladimir Putin made a surprise inspection at a nuclear plant in Kursk, in his first visit to the region since Russian forces claimed they ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month.
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