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Vladimir Putin faced a rare protest in Moscow by Russian women who demanded his defence minister Andrei Belousov return their mobilised husbands from the frontline in Ukraine.
A group of 18 women gathered to appeal personally to Belousov, who was appointed to the role last month. They asked him to impose strict limits on how long soldiers could serve before they were rotated out of active duty, said Paulina, 20, whose husband is fighting in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian sources claimed that Ukraine fired American weapons at Belgorod for the first time after Washington lifted a ban on Kyiv using its weapons inside Russia.
The Ukrainians reportedly fired the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, at bordering Belgorod city, Russia’s defence ministry and military bloggers said.
The escalation comes as Norway’s top general warned that Nato’s window of preparing against Russia had dwindled from about ten years to two or three years.
“At one point someone said it’ll take ten years but I think we’re back to less than ten years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia,” said General Eirik Kristoffersen, head of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
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US embassy in Ukraine issues warning to dual citizens
The American embassy in Ukraine has announced that US-Ukrainian dual citizens will no longer be able to leave the country.
The notification comes after the Ukrainian government reportedly removed the exception that allowed some Ukrainian males between 18 and 60 to leave the country, as long as they could prove they were resident abroad.
“Previously, dual US-Ukrainian citizens in this group could enter and then depart Ukraine if they had deregistered their Ukrainian residency and registered their US residency,” the embassy statement reads. “According to our information, this exception was revoked as of 1 June.”
The Ukrainian government also passed a bill on the mobilisation of men into the military in April as it faces a shortage of manpower amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 06:43
Eight including two children injured after Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine‘s central city Dnipro injured eight people, including two children, and damaged civilian infrastructure yesterday, Ukrainian authorities said.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two Iskander-K cruise missiles over the region. The missile debris damaged civilian infrastructure, causing a fire and injuring residents, according to Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor.
A month-old boy and a seventeen-year-old were among those injured, in addition to six adults, based on preliminary information from the governor and the state emergency services.
The attack damaged cars and knocked windows out in residential buildings and a hospital, Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov added that at least 47 residences and a school were damaged.
Emergency services put out the fire caused by the attack.
Russian forces also launched four drones in the overnight attack. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two of them over the northern region of Chernihiv.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 06:20
Missile threat alert across Ukraine after aircraft intercepted
A missile threat alert was announced across the country after a MiG-31K aircraft took off overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Forces said they monitored the MiG-31K, an aircraft that can carry the Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles that are being used by Russian forces to attack Ukraine.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 05:57
China pushes Beijing’s version of Ukraine peace plan after snub to Switzerland
The Chinese foreign minister has continued to push Beijing’s potential role as a mediator in Ukraine-Russia peace talks, days after China withdrew from an upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.
Wang Yi told reporters that both Russia and Ukraine have separately indicated their support for the peace plan laid out by China and Brazil last month.
Mr Wang said the two countries have “affirmed most of the content” of the plan that called for an international conference, inviting both Russia and Ukraine.
He said 26 nations have agreed or expressed interest in the plan and a total of 45 countries have given “positive feedback” to the idea.
China is seen as a close ally to Russia, a fact that puts into question its ability to serve as an independent mediator, though Ukraine has not entirely ruled out the idea.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 05:38
Biden to skip Switzerland’s Ukraine peace summit
US president Joe Biden is set to skip the upcoming Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland despite the Ukrainian president’s direct appeal to his most significant ally.
The US will instead be represented by vice president Kamala Harris and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan during the two-day event on 15 and 16 June in Lucern, the White House said in a statement.
Mr Zelensky had said that only Vladimir Putin will “applaud” Biden if he fails to show up in Switzerland.
“I believe that the peace summit needs President Biden, and other leaders need President Biden because they will look at the US’s reaction,” Mr Zelensky said at a press conference in Brussels last week.
Mr Biden’s absence “would only be met by an applause by Putin – a personal, standing applause,” he added.
China has already pulled out of the summit after it expressed concerns over Russia not being invited.
The Kremlin has pressurised its allies not to take part in the summit, claiming it lacks clear goals and that it was absurd to hold it without Russia.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 05:05
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
Exclusive: Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov tells The Independent that Russian forces are trying to ‘destroy’ his city, home to some 1.4 million civilians
Alexander Butler5 June 2024 05:00
Britain to deliver 1,000 first-person view drones to Ukraine
The UK is expected to send 1,000 first-person view drones to Ukraine, according to a tender posted on the government’s website.
The government is inviting bidders to provide drones that are “capable of carrying varying payloads depending on their propeller size”, reported The Telegraph.
The notice called for 15 batches of 20 “first-person view racing quadcopter style drones” worth £300,000.
The potential delivery would be part of an international coalition launched by Britain and Latvia in February to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the front lines of Ukraine.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 04:42
Russia calls French military instructors in Ukraine ‘legitimate target’
Russian foreign minister Sergi Lavrov said any French military instructors in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” for Russian armed forces amid reports Paris was considering sending trainers to Kyiv.
During his Africa tour yesterday, Mr Lavrov claimed French instructors were already on Ukrainian territory.
“As for the French instructors, I think they are already on the Ukrainian territory,” Mr Lavrov said, referring to the military instructors that France could send to train Ukrainian troops. “Regardless of their status, military officials or mercenaries represent a legitimate target for our armed forces.”
Ukraine‘s top commander said last week he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to access Ukrainian training centres soon.
But French president Emmanuel Macron said last week he would not comment on “rumours or decisions that could be made.”
He said he would elaborate on France’s support during the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day later this week.
Mr Macron’s office said it would not comment on Mr Lavrov’s remarks.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that “instructors who train the Kyiv regime’s troops don’t have any sort of immunity, and it doesn’t matter whether they are French or not.”
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 04:14
Biden to meet Zelensky during France visit
President Joe Biden will meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Normandy during his D-Day celebration visit to France, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
He confirmed that the US was not planning to send American military trainers to Ukraine.
“For our part, we’re not planning for a training mission in Ukraine,” Mr Sullivan said.
“They need more air defences and we are working on that and they need a continued flow of weaponry which we will supply to them.”
The US president’s remarks in Normandy, both on Thursday at the formal 80th anniversary ceremony and on Friday at the famed Pointe du Hoc cliffs, will centre around the dangers of isolationism and the need to stand up to dictators, Mr Sullivan said.
Shweta Sharma5 June 2024 03:54
They escaped Russia’s deadly assault on Kharkiv – now these Ukrainians face another catastrophe
They escaped Russia’s deadly assault on Kharkiv – now they face another catastrophe
People from villages and towns around the region have been forced from their homes by fierce fighting, reports Tom Watling
Alexander Butler5 June 2024 03:00
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