Sunday, June 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Rescuers extract a man from the rubble of a two-story building in the town of Pidhorodne in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after a Russian missile struck a residential area on June 3. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)

Kyiv official: City’s air defenses intercept all incoming missiles, drones Russia launched overnight. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all of the missiles and drones that Russia launched at Kyiv overnight on June 4, Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration reported on Telegram.

Zelensky: ‘We are ready’ for counteroffensive. “We are ready” for the counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal released on June 3. “We would like to have some things, but we can’t wait,” he added.

Interior Ministry: 20% of bomb shelters across Ukraine unsuitable for use.   Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on June 3 that law enforcement checked over 4,800 bomb shelters across Ukraine, and about 20% proved to be unsuitable for use.

Danilov: Russian Shahed drones contain **parts made by Ukraine’s allies.**Parts produced by Ukraine’s allies were found in Iranian-made Shahed drones, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on June 3. Danilov said Ukraine “found parts there that are not produced either in Iran or in Russia.”

UK Defense Ministry: Russia ‘likely less flexible in reacting to operational challenges’ after Bakhmut. Russia is “likely to be less flexible in reacting to operational challenges” after suffering heavy casualties and enormous weapon expenditure in Bakhmut, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on June 3.

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Maliar: Russia rotating frontline troops but Wagner still in Bakhmut.  According to Maliar, the situation on the front line is imperceptibly changing, with Russia regrouping and replacing the worn-out troops that have been attacking in six directions in Donbas.

Land Forces chief says Russia continues to suffer ‘significant’ losses in Bakhmut. Russia continues to suffer “significant losses” in Bakhmut, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s Land Forces, reported on June 3 following a visit with frontline troops in the embattled city.

Kherson military administration official accused of serving Russia during occupation. The Security Service of Ukraine on June 3 arrested a Kherson regional military administration official on suspicion of collaborating with Russian occupiers. He faces 15 years in prison.

Military intelligence: Internal conflict possible in Russian military. Military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told a talk show on Suspilne TV on June 3 that “as a result of the successful actions of Ukraine’s defense and security forces and the deoccupation of our territory, internal conflicts in Moscow are possible.”

Exiled mayor: At least 6 explosions heard **near occupied Melitopol.**A least six explosions were heard near Russian-occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ivan Fedorov, the city’s exiled mayor, reported on June 3. One of the explosions was reported at a railway near Melitopol, which Russian forces had reportedly been using to transport military equipment and personnel. Fedorov did not provide further details.

Read our latest from “Explaining Ukraine”

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Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, flagrantly violating the Budapest Memorandum, many have wondered if Ukraine made a fatal mistake in giving up its nuclear weapons and if the West was wrong to demand that Ukraine do so.

Photo: Mikhail Chernichkin/AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Update: Two-year-old killed, 22 injured in Russian missile attack near Dnipro. A two-year-old girl was found dead in the rubble of a residential building that was hit by a Russian missile strike on the town Pidhorodne in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on June 3, regional Governor Serhii Lysak said in a post on Telegram on June 4.

Russian forces attack 4 communities in Sumy Oblast, injuring 1 person. Russian forces attacked the northern region of Sumy Oblast 10 times, injuring one civilian, and damaging infrastructure, the regional military administration reported on June 3.

General Staff: Russia has lost **209,470 troops in Ukraine.**According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,829 tanks, 7,502 armored fighting vehicles, 6,289 vehicles and fuel tanks, 3,533 artillery systems, 582 multiple launch rocket systems, 342 air defense systems, 313 airplanes, 298 helicopters, 3,165 drones, and 18 boats.

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International response

Zelensky says ‘no point’ in attending NATO summit if Ukraine not ‘given a signal.’“If we are not acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal.

Spokeswoman: Washington more focused **on military aid than NATO accession for Ukraine.**White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre avoided a question on June 3 on U.S. support for Ukraine’s NATO accession, saying that Washington believes in an open-door policy for the alliance but is currently focused more on providing tangible aid to Ukraine.

Scholz defends Ukraine military aid in public response to hecklers. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a firm response to around 100 pro-Russian hecklers that interrupted his speech at a festival near Berlin on June 3, as seen on a video of the event widely posted on social media.

Dutch defense minister: Chinese diplomat’s view **on Ukraine ‘very, very false.’**In an interview with Politico on June 3, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren dismissed a Chinese diplomat’s claim that Russia’s war against Ukraine was caused by the so-called failure of Europe’s security architecture.

In other news

Kremlin bans Western journalists from Russian Economic Forum. No journalists from what Moscow deems “unfriendly countries” will be allowed to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian state-controlled Tass news agency on June 3.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Khrebet, Lili Bivings, Igor Kossov, Oleksiy Sorokin, Asami Terajima, Rachel Amran, Francis Farrell, Teah Pelechaty, and Olena Goncharova.

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