Russia launched a surprise attack on Toretsk. The city is being evacuated, but thousands of people still refuse to leave their homes.

Eight hundred and sixty-third day of the war. Photos

Every day since the Russian invasion began, Meduza editors have selected the top war photos from the day before. These photographs contain scenes of cruelty, violence and death, but most of them are not placed under a special cover, which is usually used by the editors to hide such images. In this series of photo stories we try to document the war as it is.

863rd day of the war. Main

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban flew to Moscow and met with Putin. Here's what theysaid after the meeting.
• Research by Meduza and Mediazona: 120 thousand Russian soldiers died in Ukraine during two and a half years of war.
• Levada Center has recorded an increase in the number of supporters of peace negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Respondents from Moscow were most often in favor of continuing the war.
• Meduza found out how pro-government and state publications should cover Putin’s “peace plan” for Ukraine.
• The investigation confirmed the involvement of the deceased General Oleg Tsokov in the case of the former commander of the 58th Army, Ivan Popov.
• The drones attacked Rostov-on-Don and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. A refinery and a residential building were hit. A child died and there were casualties.

Viktor Orban in Moscow

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow on July 5. According to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, the purpose of the visit was to “cease fire as soon as possible” in Ukraine and begin peace negotiations. At a meeting in the Kremlin, Putin told Orban that he was ready to discuss the “nuances” of peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting lasted more than three hours, following which Orban and Putinmade statements to the press, but did not answer questions from journalists. Putin once again repeated that Russia is ready to negotiate an end to the war with Ukraine on the terms that he previously put forward, and also accused Ukraine of being unwilling to take the diplomatic route. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Orban came to Moscow “without agreement or coordination with Ukraine.” “For our state, the principle of “no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine” remains unshakable, and we call on all states to strictly adhere to it,” the ministry said.

Toretsk is under threat of attack

As Meduza wrote in a recent report on the main events at the front, in recent days the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (RF Armed Forces) have launched a new offensive in the Donetsk region. In a surprise attack, they occupied the outskirts of the city of Toretsk, north of Donetsk. Videos have appeared according to which the Russian Armed Forces, advancing from Gorlovka, deeply - three to five kilometers - wedged themselves into the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the villages of Severnoye (formerly Kirovo) and Druzhba, northwest of Toretsk. The offensive is carried out along the Gorlovka-Konstantinovka railway. Both Russian and Ukrainian sources claim that during the assault, the Russian Armed Forces used a multi-kilometer tunnel, which they dug under the strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to reach their rear. The operation involved the same Russian units that dug a tunnel on the southern outskirts of Avdeevka this winter.

The offensive is also being carried out in other directions around Toretsk. To the southeast - in the village of Yuzhnoye (formerly Artemovo) - Russian troops also advanced several kilometers deep into the Ukrainian defense. In addition, an attack began on the village of New York northwest of the city. The exact configuration of the front line in this area is unclear.

According to the Main Police Department of the Donetsk Region, at least a third of the houses in Toretsk have already been destroyed. The city is being evacuated. According to data as of July 1, during the first three days of evacuation, 711 people, including 20 children, left Toretsk. There are still about 5 thousand people in the city, in total there are about 10 thousand in the territorial community.

Funeral of Aidos Sadykov in Kyiv

The funeral of Kazakh opposition blogger and activist Aidos Sadykov took place in Kyiv. On June 18, he was wounded as a result of an assassination attempt ; in serious condition, Sadykov spent almost two weeks in intensive care and died on July 2. Citizens of Kazakhstan Altai Zhakanbaev and Meiram Karataev are suspected of committing the crime. According to Radio Azattyk, the suspects may be associated with the special services of Kazakhstan.

Aidos and Natalya Sadykov are the authors of the YouTube channel “ Base ”, which has just over one million subscribers. “Mediazone. Central Asia” writes that in their videos they criticize the authorities of Kazakhstan, and also talk about corruption and police brutality. Since 2014, the Sadykovs have lived in Kyiv; they moved there from Kazakhstan after parliament member Maral Itegulov accused Natalya Sadykova of libel. In 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan put the Sadykovs on the wanted list on charges of inciting hatred. The latest video on their channel was released on June 18, it is called “The President of Kazakhstan has become a puppet of Russian agents of influence.”

The main photographs of the previous - eight hundred and sixty-second - day of the war can be viewed at this link .