Wednesday, June 5

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A little boy hugs his mother following the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on a residential area in Dnipro, Ukraine on June 04, 2024. At least eight civilians, including a one-month-old baby and a 17-year-old boy, were injured in the attack. (Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Biden: Peace in Ukraine doesn’t mean NATO membership. “Peace looks like making sure Russia never, never, never, never occupies Ukraine. That’s what peace looks like. And it doesn’t mean NATO,” U.S. President Joe Biden said.

Ukraine’s use of German weapons to strike Russia will not ‘contribute to escalation,’ Scholz says. In the past, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly cited a fear of escalation as among the principal reasons for limiting Germany’s support for Ukraine.

‘These weeks will determine this year’ – Zelensky describes critical situation facing Ukraine. Speaking during his daily address on June 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s strongest attacks were currently ongoing in Donetsk Oblast, where Moscow’s forces are steadily advancing and which remains the Kremlin’s primary target.

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43% of Ukrainians see democracy decline, 19% improve, 29% say ‘no change,’ survey shows. Around 43% of Ukrainians think that the state of democracy worsened during the five-year tenure of President Volodymyr Zelensky, with 11% linking it to circumstances of wartime and 28% blaming the authorities, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on June 4.

Russia’s full-scale invasion has destroyed at least 210,000 buildings in Ukraine, NYT analysis reveals. An examination of satellite data reveals the destruction includes 106 hospitals, 109 churches, temples, mosques and monasteries and 708 schools, colleges and universities.

Russia sets up filtration camps in Vovchansk, says Ukrainian governor. Russian forces use filtration camps to identify and document Ukrainians in occupied territories. Those who pass through them are often subject to torture, sexual violence, and other violations, sometimes before being forcibly deported to Russia.

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Ukraine war latest: Peace in Ukraine doesn’t mean NATO membership, Biden says

Peace in Ukraine means a guarantee that Russia will never occupy the country again, but Kyiv’s membership in NATO is not necessary for this, U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview with Time published on June 4.

Photo: Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

With all eyes on Kharkiv, Russian troops take one Donbas village after another

As public attention shifted to Moscow’s renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces steadily advance in the country’s easternmost Donbas region, which remains Moscow’s primary target.

Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian strikes against Kherson Oblast kill 1, injure 4. Russian forces attacked the villages of Veletenske and Bilozerka in Kherson Oblast on June 4, killing one person and injuring four, local authorities reported.

Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy oblasts kill 1, injure 1. Russian forces carried out strikes against the Kryvorizhzhia district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and the village of Seredyna-Buda in Sumy Oblast, local authorities reported.

2 injured in Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast. Russian forces attacked 12 communities in Sumy Oblast on June 4, injuring two people, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

Opinions and insights

Fortifications put strain on Sumy Oblast farmers as Ukraine sacrifices farmland for defense

Choosing between their livelihoods and their lives, some farmers in the area are willing to risk it all to continue working land that’s littered with landmines and subject to Russian attacks.

Photo: George Ivanchenko / The Kyiv Independent

Opinion: No quiet for Europe on the Eastern Front

As the threat from the East persists, Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland continue to arm and construct fortifications along their borders with Russia, Belarus, and (partly) Ukraine.

Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

International response

NATO has 2-3 years to prepare for reconstituted Russian army, top Norwegian general says. “At one point someone said it’ll take 10 years (before Russia reconstitutes its offensive capacity), but I think we’re back to less than 10 years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia,” said General Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway’s top general.

US on Beijing’s refusal to attend peace summit: China could play a useful diplomatic role if it wanted to. “We are going to continue to make clear to China that we object to those actions, that we will hold entities responsible for those actions, and we have heard our European counterparts say the same thing,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on June 3.

Polish farmers resumed blockade at a Ukrainian border crossing, Border Guard Service says. Polish protesters have resumed their blockade at the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne border crossing over Ukrainian agricultural imports, Ukraine’s Border Guard Service said on June 4.

Poland arrests 18 over half a year for suspected sabotage plans on behalf of Russia, Belarus. At least one of the suspects was involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, while the other ten were involved in planning various forms of sabotage, such as arson, across Poland.

Germany plans to order additional 200,000 artillery shells from Rheinmetall, Reuters says. Berlin intends to order 200,000 more artillery shells from Rheinmetall, a German arms manufacturer, than originally planned, Reuters reported on June 4, citing an official letter it had obtained.

Media: Russia, Sudan close to signing 25-year agreement on military cooperation, port access. Russia and Ukraine have played a complex role in Sudan’s civil war, with the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group previously backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while Ukrainian commandos reportedly arrived in Sudan in August 2023 to support the government.

NATO ‘land corridors’ will rush US troops to front lines of any future European war, Telegraph reports. Warnings that the Kremlin could attack a NATO country in the near future have increased in urgency in recent months. According to The Telegraph, U.S. troops and armor would land at one of five ports in the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Turkey or Norway from where they would travel through land corridors to NATO countries bordering Ukraine.

In other news

NGO Save Ukraine rescues 6 children from Russian-occupied territories. Three families escaped from Russian-occupied territories with the help of Save Ukraine. Three out of the six rescued children are half-orphans.

NYT: Russian disinformation campaign targeting Paris Olympics, experts say. “(The hackers) are trying to cultivate an anticipation of violence,” said Clint Watts, the head of Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center, in comments to the New York Times.

Suspected FSB collaborator arrested while plotting terrorist attack against military enlistment office, SBU says. The suspect was detained while allegedly surveilling potential targets for an attack, the Security Service of Ukraine said.

Parliament passes law on use of English in Ukraine. The law also defines specific positions that require knowledge of English, and establishes protocols for the usage of English in various government and public sector offices.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dmytro Basmat, Rachel Amran, Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Denisova, Nate Ostiller, Oleksiy Sorokin, Chris York, Asami Terajimi, and Kateryna Hodunova.

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