News from Ukraine on June 16, 2023: Ukraine's membership in NATO, conteroffensive in Bakhmut and new torture chambers

This is the most interesting news from Ukraine on June 16, 2023 by Hromadske Radio.

The Polish Sejm has adopted a resolution on Ukraine’s membership in NATO. «Given the commitment of the Ukrainian people and their sovereign right to choose their own path of development, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland fully supports Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations,» the resolution says. As noted in the document, the Ukrainian army is becoming increasingly interoperable with NATO forces and stronger.

Cases of forced abductions of pro-Ukrainian citizens and the construction of new torture chambers for their detention are being recorded in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, one of the new torture chambers was set up by the Russian occupiers on the territory of a secondary school in the village of Velyki Kopani, Kherson region.

The Ukrainian Defence Forces are conducting offensive operations in certain areas, occupying dominant heights and forest belts to gradually drive the enemy from the approaches to Bakhmut. This was stated by Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi. «Despite the offensive of our troops in the south and the loss of territory and settlements in this area, the enemy continues to move some of the most combat-ready units to the Bakhmut sector, combining these actions with powerful artillery fire and strikes by assault and army aviation against the positions of our troops» Syrskyi said.