Iran has once again launched missile attacks on Israel, striking the city of Beersheba. One of the missiles hit a residential building, killing at least three people, CNN reports. 

This came just hours after US President Donald Trump stated that Iran and Israel had allegedly agreed to a ceasefire. According to him, the truce was set to begin on the morning of 24 June, with Iran initiating a halt in hostilities, followed by Israel 12 hours later. The ceasefire, however, did not happen.

On the same day, 23 June, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow to seek additional support from Russian President Vladimir Putin following recent US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to Reuters. 

Later, Araghchi claimed that Iran was ready to halt military actions against Israel, while simultaneously blaming Israel for the war. 

Previously, US Vice President J.D. Vance declared that following American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran is no longer capable of building a nuclear weapon, per The Guardian. However, he declined to comment on the status or location of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, saying only that he believes it was buried.

On 23 June, after a Russian strike on Kyiv, which killed nine civilians, including an 11-year-old girl, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian assaults have become possible due to “a coalition of killers”, meaning Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Putin mourned Nazi victims—then ordered missile strike on Kyiv, which kill 11-year-old girl and her mother

“Everyone in countries bordering Russia, Iran, and North Korea should ask themselves whether they could protect lives if this coalition of killers survives and continues spreading terror,” he emphasized.

Ukrainian forces continue to hold around 90 square kilometers of territory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyy. He claims that the operation has blocked a planned Russian assault on the Pokrovsk direction in Donetsk Oblast by forcing the redeployment of enemy troops.

Liga reports on 22 June that General Syrskyy, speaking to journalists, has confirmed that Ukrainian forces remain in control of approximately 90 km² in the Glushkovo district of Kursk Oblast. He explained that the operation prevented a large-scale Russian advance toward Pokrovsk by anchoring enemy troops in place.

“Our active operations in the Glushkovo district of Kursk Oblast disrupted these plans. As a result, those units were not relocated to other directions. One of the brigades already moving toward the Pokrovsk direction was returned to Kursk,” Syrskyy said.

Syrskyy also highlighted that the Kursk operation had earlier drawn in nearly 63,000 Russian soldiers and about 7,000 North Korean troops, reducing pressure along other fronts and enabling Ukrainian forces to regroup.

The Ukrainian battlefield monitoring project Deep State’s map shows only 5.5 km² in Kursk Oblast as controlled by the Ukrainian forces.

Russia concentrates forces but stalls at Ukrainian border

Currently, roughly 10,000 Russian troops are engaged in combat within Glushkovo, according to Syrskyy. Meanwhile, near the Northeastern border in the Pivnichnoslobozhanskyi direction – north of Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Russia has amassed around 50,000 personnel, including two airborne divisions, four main brigades, the 177th Marine Regiment from the Caspian Flotilla, and other units.

Despite the buildup, Russian forces advancing from Kursk into Sumy Oblast have been stopped just several kilometers inside Ukraine, along the line of Kindrativka, Andriivka, Yablunivka, and Yunakivka.

Syrskyy noted progress on the border:

“The situation there is stabilized. During this period, we reclaimed Andriivka, and in Yunakivka we advanced between 200 to 700 meters over the past week.”

Ukrainian forces launch assault on Yunakivka after liberating Andriivka in Sumy Oblast