Russia controls more than 90 percent of Luhansk, according to the UK Ministry of Defense
Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas and controls more than 90 percent of Luhansk, the UK Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence report released this morning.
After Russian forces failed to achieve their initial goals of seizing government centers in Kyiv and Ukraine, Russia adapted its operational design to focus on the Donbas, the report says.
Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and now appear to have the initiative in the face of the Ukrainian opposition.
Russia controls more than 90% of Luhansk Oblast and is likely to complete control in the next two weeks. Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at a significant cost of resources and concentrating force and fire in a single part of the global campaign.
Russia has not been able to generate maneuvers or movements on other fronts or axes, all of which have gone on the defensive. “
However, compared to Russia’s original plan, “none of the strategic goals have been achieved,” the report adds.
For Russia to achieve any form of success will require a large continued investment in labor and equipment, and is likely to take much longer. “
Updated at 09.15 BST
The ambassador of Kyiv to Ankara has said that Turkey is one of the countries that is buying grain that Russia stole from Ukraine.
Reuters reports that Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar also told reporters that he has asked the Turkish authorities and Interpol for help in investigating who is involved in the shipments of grain passing through Turkish waters.
Russian forces have reopened the port of Mariupol, having completely occupied the city and cleared the surrounding waters.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk writes to us today saying that Ukraine is desperate for peace, but that it will not sign a false Russian agreement:
Among those who advised a quick solution was former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who suggested that we should cede territory in exchange for ending the war. His intervention was appalling, and for a well-known strategic thinker, it was surprisingly unstrategic. Granting territory will not end the war. It will reinforce it. Russia has not abandoned its main goal of getting rid of Ukraine, erasing us from the map. Any concession would reward and legitimize its strategy. Far from stopping Russia’s pursuit of its broader military goals, he would feel emboldened.
Responding to force with territorial concessions would also have tragic global consequences. It would open the door to similar cases around the world. We do not want to live in a world where brute force decides which country we live in and which regime we belong to. We do not want to live in a world where only big countries can be truly sovereign.
Read more here: Andriy Zagorodnyuk: Ukraine is desperate for peace, but we will not sign a false Russian agreement
Reuters has what it says is an exclusive interview with Attorney General Iryna Venediktova, who oversees multiple war crimes investigations in Ukraine. It reports that prosecutors investigating war crimes cases in Ukraine are examining allegations of forced deportation of children to Russia as they seek to build a charge of genocide.
Venediktova said: “We have more than 20 cases of forced displacement. From the first days of the war, we started this case on genocide.”
He said that in the midst of the chaos and destruction caused by Russia’s assault, focusing on the expulsion of children offered the best way to get the evidence needed to comply with the strict legal definition of genocide: “It is for that this forced relocation of children is very important to us. “
Venediktova declined to provide a figure on how many victims had been forcibly transferred. However, Ukraine’s human rights defender Lyudmyla Denisova said in mid-May that Russia had displaced more than 210,000 children during the conflict, part of the more than 1.2 million Ukrainians that Kyiv said who had been deported against their will.
Russia has said in the past that it is offering humanitarian aid to those who want to flee Ukraine voluntarily. Russia’s Tass State News Agency quoted an anonymous law enforcement official as saying on Monday that more than 1.55 million people had arrived from Ukrainian territory and Donbas had crossed the border. with the Russian Federation, including more than 254,000 children. “
Venediktova said the war was complicating efforts to gather evidence. “Today we do not have access to the territory. We don’t have access to people we can ask, who we can interview, “he said.” We are waiting for this territory to be vacated. “
Updated at 09.13 BST
“Our partners know where their weapons are used,” said Ukraine’s presidential adviser
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has tweeted that Ukraine has no intention of using US weapons to attack Russian territory, and has said it is misinformation from Russia to suggest that it would. Tweeted:
Assignment no. 1 today for Russia: undermining confidence between Ukraine and the US. Ukraine is waging a defensive war and has no plans to use the MLRS to attack facilities in Russia. Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions – PSYOP of the Russian special services.
Task # 1 for Russia today is to undermine trust between 🇺🇦 and 🇺🇸. Ukraine is waging a defensive war and has no plans to use the MLRS to attack facilities in 🇷🇺. Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions – PSYOP of 🇷🇺 special services.
– Mikhail Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) June 3, 2022
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has said that the EU is on the side of Ukraine in commemorating the 100th anniversary of Russia’s latest invasion of the country. She tweeted:
100 days ago Russia unleashed its unwarranted war against Ukraine. The courage of the Ukrainians demands our respect and admiration. The EU is with Ukraine. Today in Paris I will talk to Emmanuel Macron about the current and future support of the EU in the country.
100 days ago Russia unleashed its unwarranted war against Ukraine.
The courage of the Ukrainians demands our respect and admiration.
The EU is with Ukraine.
Today in Paris I will talk to @emmanuelmacron @ Europe2022FR about the current and future support of the EU in the country.
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 3, 2022
Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, has published a post in the Telegram to commemorate the 100th day of the war. He says:
During 100 days of large-scale warfare, PvK forces “West” shot down 23 cruise missiles and 11 enemy drones in the sky over the Lviv region.
I would like to emphasize that these figures only apply to the Lviv region, as the Western Air Command operates in 8 regions of western Ukraine.
Thanks to the Air Force for responding to all threats and protecting us for 100 days day and night.
I ask the residents of the county not to heed the alarm signals. Every time the siren sounds there is danger. So we have to go to the shelter.
He also urged residents not to take pictures or videos of “suspicious flying objects” but to report them to a Telegram chatbot that has been set up for this specific purpose.
Ukraine renews diplomatic drive for quick EU membership
Ukrainian officials are embarking on a concerted diplomatic push to start the country’s journey towards EU membership, as skepticism continues in several Western European capitals over a quick approach.
Since the invasion of Russia, many in Europe, including Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, have spoken out in favor of putting Ukraine on a fast track to EU membership by granting it candidate status.
However, there are still doubts in Berlin, Paris and other capitals about whether it is possible to start the formal process, before a summit of leaders later this month is expected to decide on the issue.
“It will be very difficult to say no, but it will be even harder to say yes,” said a European diplomat briefed on the talks.
Ultimately, the decision is likely to be reduced to a personal discussion between European leaders at the summit, and the positions of Frenchman Emmanuel Macron and German Olaf Scholz are considered crucial.
Here are some of the latest images to post on our news feeds from Ukraine.
Two women walk among the remains of the bombings on a street in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko / EPAA destroyed the Russian column on the road near Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: Oleg Petrasyuk / EPAA girl plays with toys with her mother on a train as they try to leave the country, at the central train station in the port city of Odessa, south of Ukraine, in Ukraine. Photo: Sedat Suna / EPA
Russia controls more than 90 percent of Luhansk, according to the UK Ministry of Defense
Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas and controls more than 90 percent of Luhansk, the UK Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence report released this morning.
After Russian forces failed to achieve their initial goals of seizing government centers in Kyiv and Ukraine, Russia adapted its operational design to focus on the Donbas, the report says.
Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and now appear to have the initiative in the face of the Ukrainian opposition.
Russia controls more than 90% of Luhansk Oblast and is likely to complete control in the next two weeks. Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at a significant cost of resources and concentrating force and fire in a single part of the global campaign.
Russia has not been able to generate maneuvers or movements on other fronts or axes, all of which have gone on the defensive. “
However, compared to Russia’s original plan, “none of the strategic goals have been achieved”, the report …