The UN says at least 4,395 people have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war
People are in the middle of graves recently made in a cemetery during the Ukraine-Russia conflict at the Staryi Krym settlement on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 22, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
The United Nations has confirmed 4,395 civilian deaths and 5,390 wounded in Ukraine since Russia invaded its former Soviet counterpart on February 24.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely to be higher, as the armed conflict could delay reports of fatalities.
The international organization said most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide range of impact, including heavy artillery bombardment and multiple rocket launch systems, as well as missiles. and airstrikes.
– Amanda Macias
Russia says it has destroyed US and European weapons shops in Ukraine
Russia’s Defense Ministry has stated that it has destroyed a large number of weapons in Ukraine provided by the West.
In an update to the Telegram, the ministry said high-precision air missiles had been struck near Udachne train station in the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, one of two self-proclaimed pro-Russian enclaves in the region.
According to Russia, the missiles had “destroyed a large number of weapons and military equipment delivered to a group of Ukrainian nationalists, including the United States and European countries.”
Russia often refers to Ukrainian fighters as “nationalists” and other derogatory terms.
CNBC was unable to immediately verify the update information, although Russia has previously focused on deliveries and storage of weapons sent to Ukraine by its Western allies.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
“Tasty and it’s over”: McDonald’s reopens in Russia with a new brand
A queue to enter the new fast food restaurant that came as a replacement for McDonald’s in Moscow’s Pushkinskaya Square.
Images of Soup light rocket | Getty Images
McDonald’s restaurants in Russia have reopened with a new brand after the American fast food giant closed its doors to customers due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There were long queues in Moscow, as on Sunday 15 branches of the fast food chain reopened, now called “Vkusno & tochka”, meaning “Tasty and ready”, in and around Moscow.
A woman takes a selfie in front of the new fast food restaurant on Moscow’s Pushkinskaya Square.
Images of Soup light rocket | Getty Images
People visit the old U.S. fast food chain McDonald’s during its reopening with a new name Vkusno & tochka, which translates to “Tasty and That’s It.”
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The chain is now owned by businessman Alexander Govor, who agreed to buy all 847 Russian McDonald’s stores after the chain joined other international companies to boycott Russia after its invasion.
Entrepreneur Alexander Govor, who agreed to buy all 847 Russian McDonald’s stores, had served as McDonald’s licensee in Russia before the purchase.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Govor had served as a license holder for McDonald’s in Russia prior to the purchase and had operated 25 restaurants in Siberia. The contract of sale provided for the retention of workers for at least two years, under equivalent conditions.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
We need to make sure that Ukraine “cannot be attacked again,” says German Minister of State
Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Russia was destroying civilian infrastructure, but had not “advanced so far.”
Metin Act | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
There has been a “fundamental change” in Germany’s defense policy, and the country is committed to strengthening its own capabilities while delivering weapons and military systems to Ukraine, said State Minister Tobias Lindner. of Foreign Affairs.
Germany has said it will send a ground defense system to Ukraine, and Lindner told CNBC’s Martin Soong that this is partly because the war is expected to go on for a long time.
“The second reason is that we have to make sure that after the war, Ukraine cannot be attacked again,” he said.
“We have to make sure that there are no incentives for eight years in the future [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to do it again, “he added.
As for the current war in Ukraine, Lindner said it is too early to judge whether the situation has turned in Russia’s favor.
He said Russian forces were destroying civilian infrastructure, but that “they are not making much progress.”
In addition to short-term ammunition deliveries, other deliveries may be needed in a few months, he said.
“We have to prepare for a war that may not end in a few weeks,” Lindner said.
– Abigail Ng
Ukraine needs “parity in heavy weapons” to end the war, according to the official
President Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said Ukraine needs more heavy weapons to help it fight Russia and “end the war.”
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Russian forces now control most of Severodonetsk, the governor says
Russian forces control most of the stormed city of Severodonetsk, according to the latest update from Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the eastern Luhansk province where the city is located.
“The fights are so intense that the fight can last a day, not even on the street, but only on one floor. [of a building]”Haidai said on Facebook this morning.
A damaged building is shown in Lysychansk as black smoke and dirt rise from the nearby city of Severodonetsk during the battle between Russian and Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on June 9. of 2022.
Aris Messinis | Afp | Getty Images
He said that the Russians now control 70% of Severodonetsk and that “mass evacuation and transport of human goods due to the bombing is impossible.”
He said about 500 residents, including about 40 children, are still being held at the Azot chemical plant in an industrial area that is being heavily bombed by Russia. The reception of civilians in an industrial area is reminiscent of the hundreds of people who hid in the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol for months before Russia took control of the works after a long and bloody siege.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Sweden expects a “fast track” to NATO membership, the official says
Despite Turkey’s objections, Sweden is waiting for a quick solution so that it can become a member of NATO, said Jan-Olof Lind, secretary of state for Sweden’s defense minister.
“We’re looking forward to a fast track so we can start our NATO membership,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
Sweden and Finland announced their intention to apply for membership of the alliance in May.
“We stand firm in the position that we will continue our application process with NATO along with Finland,” Lind said. “So the outstanding issues need to be resolved one way or another. That’s what we expect.”
– Abigail Ng
Russia has used widely banned cluster munitions, according to Amnesty International
An unexploded tail section of a rocket, which appears to contain cluster bombs, was launched from a BM-30 Smerch multi-rocket launcher in Lysychansk on April 11, 2022.
Anatoly Stepanov | Afp | Getty Images
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Kharkiv by Russian indiscriminate bombings with widely banned cluster munitions and intrinsically inaccurate rockets, Amnesty International said on Monday.
Amnesty said it had found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210 / 9N235 cluster munitions as well as “dispersible mines”, both subject to bans in international treaties because of their indiscriminate effects.
The new report by the international human rights organization documents how Russian forces have caused widespread deaths and destruction by bombing Kharkiv’s residential neighborhoods since their invasion began in late February.
He cites an attack on the afternoon of April 15 in which Russian forces fired cluster munitions on and around Myru Street in the Industrialni district. “At least nine civilians were killed and more than 35 injured, including several children. Doctors at Kharkiv City Clinical Hospital showed metal fragments from Amnesty International that had been removed from patients’ bodies, including distinctive pieces of steel rods contained in cluster 9N210 / 9N235. ammunition, “Amnesty said.
Amnesty notes that while Russia is not a party to either the Convention on Cluster Munitions or the Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, international humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks and the use of indiscriminate weapons by nature.
“Launching indiscriminate killings or injuring civilians, or damage to civilian objects, constitutes war crimes,” Amnesty said. Russia has refused to target civilians or civilian infrastructure, despite widespread evidence that it has done so.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
River crossings are a big problem for Russia, says the United Kingdom
This photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a destroyed railway bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River in Raygorodok in eastern Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yasuyoshi Chiba | AFP | Getty Images
Russia has to make difficult river crossings to achieve success in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, and that is unlikely to be easy, the UK Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday. latest intelligence update.
The UK noted that the battle around Severodonetsk “continued to rage” over the weekend, the UK said on Twitter that “in the coming months, river crossing operations are likely to be one of the most important determinants in the course of the war “.
The key 90-kilometer-long central section of Russia’s first line on the Donbass lies west of the Siverskyi Donets River. To achieve success in the current operational phase of its Donbas offensive, “Russia will have to complete ambitious flanking actions or carry out river assault crossings,” the UK said.
Ukrainian forces have a strategy of tearing down bridges before withdrawing, …