I'm David Knowles and this is Ukraine the latest. Today we bring you the

latest news from across Ukraine. We analyze Vladimir Putin's surprise visit to

North Korea and we go to Germany

to hear about Ukraine's tricky start at the European Football Championships.

Bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory.

If we give President Zelensky the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job. Slava Ukrainian. the It's Tuesday the 18th of June, two years and 117 days since the full-scale invasion began.

Today I'm joined by our associate editor Dominic Nichols, assistant comment editor Francis

Erly, and our guest is British Ukrainian journalist Andrew Todes.

I started by asking Dom for the latest news from Ukraine.

Well hello David and hello wherever you are. Let's start up in the northeast of Ukraine

on the Volchansk area. So President Zelensky, speaking in his daily message last night,

said that his army is repelling the Russian offensive around that area in the

Harquive region he said our forces are gradually pushing the occupier out of the

Harkey region and I think every warrior and every unit for this

who are clearly fulfilling their task.

Now this chimes with what we've seen in the last few weeks and reported on, this very

notable lack of any Russian advance in the area or any

success in exploiting it. I've said many times it's either an advance in and of its own right,

in which case it ain't going anywhere. It hasn't linked up even.

Or it's the diversion to draw Ukrainian forces away ahead of some big push elsewhere in the

Dombas perhaps and that hasn not happened.

So it's just been wobbling around in the border area really, so it has been nibbled away out and

...