Saturday, June 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Around 20 Ukrainians rally in front of the United Nations headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 2. The demonstrators call on the EU to save Ukrainian children from deportation to Russia. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Zelensky: Ukraine needs more Patriot air defense systems to fully protect its airspace. President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press briefing on June 2 that it is “very challenging” for Ukraine to receive the amount of Patriot air defense system it needs to fully protect its skies due to a waiting list to receive them.

Zelensky on counteroffensive: ’This is not a movie.’ During a press conference on June 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky fielded questions about Ukraine’s upcoming counteroffensive, emphasizing that it’s “not a movie” and it was difficult to describe in advance to the public how it will proceed.

Exiled mayor: Car bombing targets 4 collaborators in Russian-occupied Mykhailivka. Four collaborators in Russian-occupied Mykhailivka were targeted by a car bombing, exiled Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported on June 2.

Zelensky orders audit of bomb shelters, review of air defense systems. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to conduct a full audit of all bomb shelters in Ukraine.The decision, announced on June 2, came after three people died in Kyiv while trying to enter a closed shelter during a Russian attack the day prior.

Reuters: Port in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai to suspend export of highly-explosive material due to drone strike concerns. Russia’s Taman Port is suspending exports of highly-explosive liquefied petroleum gas due to ongoing concerns over drone strikes, Reuters reported on June 2.

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Official: Fighter jet coalition helping Ukraine now includes 9 countries.The coalition to provide Ukraine with fighter jets now includes 8 European countries, and more countries may join, online newspaper Yevropeiska Pravda reported on June 2, citing Ihor Zhovkva, a presidential deputy chief of staff.

UK intelligence: Russia faces dilemma to reinforce positions in Ukraine or within own borders. The recent attacks in Russian border regions create a dilemma for Moscow to either reinforce its own borders or its positions in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote on June 2.

Prigozhin accuses Russian Defense Ministry of placing mines along Wagner exit routes from Bakhmut. Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin accused “representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry” of placing mines along Wagner troops’ exit routes from Bakhmut.

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Ukraine war latest: Children among injured in Russian attacks; fighter jet coalition now includes 9 countries

The regional authorities reported that Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least four people and injured 10 others on June 2. Two people, including a child, were wounded in yet another Russian overnight attack on Kyiv Oblast, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported. The injured adult has been hospitalized.

Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Retired US General Petraeus: ‘Now it’s inevitable – we should give the ATACMS’

The Kyiv Independent interviewed retired U.S. General David Petraeus on the sidelines of a security conference held by the Cipher Brief in Kyiv on May 31. 

Petraeus is a four-star U.S. general who has commanded two wars; has headed multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Human cost of war

General Staff: Russia has lost 208,910 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 2 that Russia has lost 208,910 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 540 casualties on June 1.

Mediazona confirms identities of over 24,400 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.

Using open sources, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, established the names of 24,470 Russian soldiers who had been killed in the past 15 months of the full-scale war. The media carry out a name-by-name count of the dead.

Explosion injures 2 children in Kherson Oblast. Two children were wounded by an unidentified explosive object in the village of Zahorianivka, Kherson Oblast, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said via his official Telegram page.

Russia shells 8 communities in Sumy Oblast, killing 1. Russian forces shelled eight communities in Sumy Oblast over the past day, firing over 180 rounds from various types of weapons, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said on their official Telegram channel on June 2.

Russian forces bomb Kharkiv Oblast, killing 2, injuring 4. Russian forces launched two guided bombs at the village of Kivsharivka, killing two people and injuring four others, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on June 2.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 10 –

Why Ukraine fails to clear its judiciary from corruption

International response

EU allocates $54 million to Ukraine for provisional bridges. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will allocate 50 million euros to Ukraine’s State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure for the purchase of provisional bridges, the agency announced on June 2.

US satisfied with Ukraine’s readiness ahead of counteroffensive. The U.S. administration believes that together with allies and partners, they have adequately provided military assistance to Ukraine for conducting a counteroffensive, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on June 2.

German foreign minister: ‘International law is clear’ regarding need to arrest war criminals. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that “international law is clear” regarding war criminals and called on South Africa to adhere to it if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attended the upcoming BRICS summit, Zeit reported on June 2.

Swiss parliament votes against re-export of Swiss arms to Ukraine. The National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has voted against an amendment allowing the re-export of Swiss-made weaponry to third countries, such as Ukraine, the news agency Swissinfo reported on June 2.

In other news

Gay couple wins discrimination case against Ukraine at European Human Rights Court. A Ukrainian gay couple has won a discrimination case against Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights, the court announced on June 1.

Kyiv Independent journalist wins award for work on plight of women in Russian prisons. Kyiv Independent journalist Olesia Bida won an award at the “Pride of the Profession” journalism competition on June 2 for her reporting on the plight of women in Russian prisons. 

SBU: Kolomoisky’s purported business partner exposed in Ukrtatnafta embezzlement scandal. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on June 2 that it had exposed Mykhailo Kiperman, one of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s business partners, for embezzling nearly Hr 600 million ($16 million) from the oil refining company Ukrtatnafta.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Kate Tsurkan, Brad LaFoy, and Olena Goncharova.

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