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Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian Forces ‘recapture 20% Of Territory Lost In Sievierodonetsk’ – Live

Ukrainian forces recapture 20% of territory lost in Sievierodonetsk, says UkraineUkrainian forces have recaptured around 20% of the territory they lost in Sievierodonetsk since Russia’s invasion, according to Ukrainian officials.

“Whereas before the situation was difficult, the percentage (held by Russia) was somewhere around 70%, now we have already pushed them back by approximately 20%,” Serhiy Gaidai, the head of the eastern region of Luhansk, announced on national television on Friday.

Gaidai said that Russian forces were attacking and advancing upon Ukrainian positions for hours, only to be driven back by defenders who were not injured.

“This is how they are moving forward, step-by-step, because with artillery, aircraft, mortars, they are simply destroying everything,” he said.

“But as soon as we have enough Western long-range weapons, we will push their artillery away from our positions. And then, believe me, the Russian infantry, they will just run.”

Since the invasion, Russian forces have swarmed into the city in attempts to capture it in order to achieve its stated aim of controlling the entire Luhansk province. On Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian forces have had some recent successes in the region.

Members of a foreign volunteers unit which fights in the Ukrainian army take positions, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region Ukraine June 2, 2022. Photograph: Serhii Nuzhnenko/ReutersMoscow will help restore and rebuild Luhansk and Donetsk, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Friday after a visit to Luhansk.

Writing on his official Telegram channel, Sobyanin said:

“On behalf of the President of Russia, Moscow will provide humanitarian assistance and assistance in restoring the social and engineering infrastructure of two cities – Lugansk and Donetsk.

We signed agreements on cooperation and twinning between Moscow and Lugansk. We outlined plans to restore a normal peaceful life.

About 1,500 specialists from various departments of the Moscow municipal economy complex and 500 pieces of equipment are already in Lugansk.

We began to restore schools, houses, utilities. The plans include the improvement of the streets, the Avangard stadium, and the city park.

It is important to quickly eliminate the consequences of hostilities and prepare the city’s infrastructure for the autumn-winter period.

I am confident that we will implement all plans through joint efforts and with the support of residents.”

Police officers speak with a local resident as his house burns following shelling, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Lysychansk, Luhansk region Ukraine June 2, 2022. Photograph: Serhii Nuzhnenko/ReutersUkraine’s ambassador to Ankara, Vasyl Bodna, accused Russia of “stealing” and sending Ukrainian grain abroad to countries including Turkey.

“Russia shamelessly steals Ukrainian grain and sends it overseas from Crimea, including to Turkey,” Bodna said in a tweet on Friday.

6️⃣ “#Rusya utanmaz ve benzeri görülmemiş bir şekilde #Ukrayna tahılını çalıyor ve onu işgal altındaki Kırım’dan çıkarıyor. Bu tahılı #Türkiye dahil yabancı ülkelere götürüyor. Bu sorunun çözülmesinde yardım emesi için Türkiye’ye başvurduk.”

— Ukraine in Türkiye (@UKRinTR) June 3, 2022 “We have asked for Turkey’s help to resolve the issue,” he added in a message on Twitter.

Prior to Russia’s invasion earlier this year, Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat and sunflower oil.

Turkey, a NATO member, has provided combat drones to Ukraine while attempting to serve as a mediator in the conflict which reached its 100th day on Friday. Nevertheless, Turkey has refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia as it relies on it for grain and energy.

At the request of the United Nations, Turkey has offered to assist in securing maritime corridors for Ukrainian grain export.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, speaks during a rally, in Ankara, Turkey in May, 2022. Photograph: Burhan Özbilici/APEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine must meet all the necessary standards and conditions for accession but called on the EU to help Ukraine achieve its goals, the Kyiv Independent reports.

⚡️ Von der Leyen: Ukraine’s admission to the EU is the bloc’s ‘moral duty.’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine must meet all the necessary standards and conditions for accession but called on the EU to help Ukraine achieve its goals.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 3, 2022 AU head said he is “reassured” after talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on food shortages.

Macky Sall, the African Union head and Senegalese president, said he was “reassured” after meeting with Putin regarding global food shortages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Putin hosted Sall at his Black Sea residence in Sochi on Friday, which also marked the 100th day of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. In addition to global food shortages, other issues discussed between the two leaders included grain supplies that are stuck in Ukrainian ports.

“I found Vladimir Putin committed and aware that the crisis and sanctions create serious problems for weak economies, such as African economies,” Sall said to reporters, adding that he was “very reassured and very happy with our exchanges”.

In a televised interview in the evening, Putin accused the west of “bluster” by claiming Moscow was preventing grain exports from Ukraine.

“There is no problem to export grain from Ukraine,” he said, suggesting several possible routes.

Putin said that exports could transit through the Russian-controlled ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk, or the Ukrainian-held port of Odessa as long as Ukraine “cleared” the waters around it of mines. He added that other options include the Danube River via Romania, Hungary or Poland.

“But the simplest, the easiest, the cheapest would be exports via Belarus, from there one can go to Baltic ports, then to the Baltic Sea and then anywhere in the world.”

But Putin said any export via Belarus would be conditional on the “lifting of sanctions” by the west against Minsk, allied to Moscow.

Macky Sall, the presdident of Senegal, said he was ‘reassured’ after meeting with Putin regarding global food shortages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: Mikhail Klimentyev/KREMLIN POOL/SPUTNIK/EPA“Victory shall be ours,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video featuring the same key ministers and advisers who appeared with him in a defiant broadcast on 24 February, the day his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, launched his unprovoked assault.

“Our team is much bigger,” Zelenskiy declared on Friday. “The armed forces of Ukraine are here. Most importantly, our people, the people of our country, are here. We have been defending Ukraine for 100 days already … Glory to Ukraine.”

‘Victory will be ours’: Zelenskiy marks 100th day of war – videoUkrainian forces recapture 20% of territory lost in Sievierodonetsk, says UkraineUkrainian forces have recaptured around 20% of the territory they lost in Sievierodonetsk since Russia’s invasion, according to Ukrainian officials.

“Whereas before the situation was difficult, the percentage (held by Russia) was somewhere around 70%, now we have already pushed them back by approximately 20%,” Serhiy Gaidai, the head of the eastern region of Luhansk, announced on national television on Friday.

Gaidai said that Russian forces were attacking and advancing upon Ukrainian positions for hours, only to be driven back by defenders who were not injured.

“This is how they are moving forward, step-by-step, because with artillery, aircraft, mortars, they are simply destroying everything,” he said.

“But as soon as we have enough Western long-range weapons, we will push their artillery away from our positions. And then, believe me, the Russian infantry, they will just run.”

Since the invasion, Russian forces have swarmed into the city in attempts to capture it in order to achieve its stated aim of controlling the entire Luhansk province. On Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian forces have had some recent successes in the region.

Members of a foreign volunteers unit which fights in the Ukrainian army take positions, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region Ukraine June 2, 2022. Photograph: Serhii Nuzhnenko/ReutersFrench President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had committed a “historic and fundamental error” by invading Ukraine and was now “isolated”.

Agence France-Presse reports:

“I think, and I told him, that he made a historic and fundamental error for his people, for himself and for history,” he said in an interview with French regional media.

“I think he has isolated himself,” Macron said. “Isolating oneself is one thing, but being able to get out of it is a difficult path.”

The French president repeated that Russia should not be “humiliated… so that the day the fighting stops we can pave a way out through diplomatic means”.

Macron also said he did not “rule out” a visit to Kyiv.

Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Vladimir Putin had committed a ‘historic and fundamental error’ by invading Ukraine. Photograph: Thibault Camus/APSwitzerland’s government on Friday rejected a request by Denmark to send nearly two-dozen Swiss-made armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.

Switzerland’s executive Federal Council confirmed the decision on Friday after Denmark requested Switzerland transfer 22 Swiss-made Piranha III wheeled armored personnel carriers, which Denmark had obtained and stored in Germany, to Ukraine.

Friday’s decision also comes as the Swiss government announced that it would allow the transfer of certain military equipment to Germany and Britain as they stock up on supplies that they have previously sent to Ukraine.

Switzerland’s War Materiel Act, also known as the country’s “neutrality law,” prohibits the transfer of Swiss-made weapons systems, ammunition and other war material to countries that are involved in international conflicts.

The country has previously refused a German request to send Swiss-made 35mm ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine.

It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, marked the 100th day of war with a video message in front of the presidential office in Kyiv where he pledged that “victory will be ours”. Flanked by some of his closest allies, including prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, and presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelenskiy echoed a similar defiant video published shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. European and world figures tweeted their support for Ukraine to mark the 100th day since Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade the country. The European Union has formally adopted a ban on most Russian oil imports as part of a sixth round of sanctions since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. The bloc also announced sanctions on Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast long rumoured to be Vladimir Putin’s girlfriend, as well as Russian military commanders who it said led troops involved in atrocities in Ukraine.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which is located in the Russian-occupied south-eastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, is facing a critical shortage of spare parts, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. The Zaporizhzhia plant has been occupied by Russian troops since shortly after Moscow launched its invasion, but the facility is still being operated by Ukrainian technicians. Ukrainian police have opened 16 criminal investigations into allegations of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers against civilians, according to Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, Kateryna Pavlichenko. About 50 complaints of sexual violence by troops against civilians have been received by the police, Pavlichenko said.

Two Reuters journalists were wounded and their driver killed after their car came under fire in eastern Ukraine, a spokesperson for the news agency said. The driver of the vehicle was killed and the two journalists “sustained minor injuries” while en route to the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, Reuters said in a statement.

The Kremlin said Russia will continue its military “operation” in Ukraine until all its goals have been achieved. “Certain results have been achieved,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters 100 days after Moscow sent troops into its neighbour. The head of the African Union, Sengalese president Macky Sall, urged Vladimir Putin to consider the suffering of African countries from food shortages caused by Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. During a visit to Sochi, Sall said due to western sanctions against Russia “we no longer have access to grain from Russia and especially fertiliser”. A German foreign ministry spokesperson said Putin was responsible for the risk of famine in Africa, not the west. Putin denied Moscow was preventing Ukrainian ports from exporting grain, claiming that “no one is stopping it”.

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said Minsk was ready to discuss the possible transit of Ukraine’s grain via Belarus, with some “compromises”. Belarus will allow the transit of Ukraine’s grain to Baltic Sea ports if it is allowed to ship Belarusian goods from these ports, Lukashenko reportedly told the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres.

The scale of destruction in Ukraine “defies comprehension”, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement to mark the 100th day of the conflict. ICRC’s director, Robert Mardini, urged all parties to allow access to prisoners of war, adding that “it would be hard to exaggerate the toll that the international armed conflict in Ukraine has had on civilians.” That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, today as I hand the blog over to my colleague in New York, Maya Yang. Thank you.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, denied Moscow was preventing Ukrainian ports from exporting grain, claiming that “no one is stopping it”.

Putin suggested the best solution would be to ship the grain through Belarus, as long as sanctions on Minsk were lifted, Reuters reports.

The Russian leader’s remarks came after his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, said Minsk was ready to allow the transit of Ukraine’s grain to Baltic Sea ports if it is allowed to ship Belarusian goods from these ports.

Speaking on national television, Putin said reports of a Russian export ban were “a bluff” and that western countries were trying to cover up their own policy mistakes by blaming Russia for problems on the global food market.

Putin said:

If someone wants to solve the problem of exporting Ukrainian grain – please, the easiest way is through Belarus. No one is stopping it. But for this you have to lift sanctions from Belarus.

He warned that problems with the global food market were set to worsen because of British and US sanctions on Russian fertilisers.

Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, said he was “really upset” over the removal of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, from the EU’s latest round of sanctions.

The EU announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, including a phased embargo on Russian oil imports as well as sanctions against Russian military commanders who it said led troops involved in atrocities in Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin’s alleged girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva.

One name that did not appear on the blacklist was Patriarch Kirill, after Hungary, led by prime minister Viktor Orbán, insisted he be taken off the list.

Speaking at a conference today, Bettel said the dropping of Patriarch Kirill was “not acceptable”. He said:

I have to tell you I’m really upset. I’m sorry to tell you that yesterday we found an agreement about the sanctions because we said to Viktor Orban, ‘OK, we take Patriarch Kirill off the list’. This is not acceptable.

He was on the list and afterwards they threaten to refuse everything because of the presence of Kirill.

European and world figures have been tweeting their support for Ukraine to mark the 100th day since Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade the country.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU stands with Ukraine and that the bravery of its people “commands out respect and our admiration”.

100 days ago Russia unleashed its unjustifiable war on Ukraine.

The bravery of Ukrainians commands our respect and our admiration.

The EU stands with Ukraine.

Today in Paris, I will discuss with @emmanuelmacron @Europe2022FR the EU’s current & future support to the country.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 3, 2022 The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the EU would continue to stand by Ukraine until its victory “over Russian aggression”.

100 days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 100 days of EU strongly supporting Ukraine

100 days causing thousands of deaths and 6.8 million refugees

100 days of senseless destruction with billions worth of damages

100 days of blocked ports & bombed fields, 22M t of grain blocked pic.twitter.com/GxQ5rmN6K2

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 3, 2022 Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, condemned Russia’s “expanded, genocidal” war in Ukraine and said support must continue until “justice prevails”.

100 days of #Russia’s expanded, genocidal war in #Ukraine.

100 days of brave Ukrainians tirelessly fighting for freedom and democracy.

100 days of unprecedented support from people around the globe.

We can’t get tired. We must continue until Ukraine wins and justice prevails. pic.twitter.com/nikwgmFqL0

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 3, 2022 Moldova’s deputy prime minister, Nicu Popescu, said his country stood “firmly” with Ukraine in support of “its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

It’s been 100 days of Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine; 100 days of war, suffering, loss of life and destruction. #Moldova strongly condemns Russian aggression. We stand firmly with Ukraine, support its sovereignty & territorial integrity and provide safety for its many refugees. pic.twitter.com/iOyPng5RBd

— Nicu Popescu (@nicupopescu) June 3, 2022 Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, said Ukraine had demonstrated that it can “defeat a power once perceived as invincible”, and that “Europe and the civilised world have shown unity in the face of challenge”.

100 days since Russia launched its #unjustified aggression against Ukraine

100 days that Ukraine has shown that it can #defeat a power once perceived as invincible

100 days that Europe and the civilized world have shown #unity in the face of challenge#StandWithUkraine

— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) June 3, 2022 Swedish foreign minister, Ann Linde, pledged that “pressure on Russia will increase until aggression has ended”.

100 days since 🇷🇺 full-scale invasion of 🇺🇦. 🇺🇦 stands strong and has our full support. Pressure on 🇷🇺 will increase until aggression has ended. Aggression & war crimes have no place in the 21st century.

— Ann Linde (@AnnLinde) June 3, 2022 The UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, said support for Ukraine “will never waver” until the time when Ukrainians can “enjoy the peace and freedom that their heroism deserves”.

In the 100 days since Putin’s barbaric invasion, Ukrainians have fought back with supreme courage and dignity.

Our support for Ukraine will never waver until Ukrainians enjoy the peace and freedom that their heroism deserves. pic.twitter.com/BnNVHusMoM

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 3, 2022 Iceland’s foreign minister, Thórdís Gylfadóttir, said the past 100 days of Russia’s “evil and destruction” had been met with “heroic resistance” by the people of Ukraine.

Today marks 100 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia’s 100 days of evil and destruction have been met with 100 days of heroic resistance by the people of Ukraine. 100 days of sacrifice and 100 days of hope and pride. Iceland stands with Ukraine – Ukraine must prevail and win pic.twitter.com/cIB8HiJIt5

— Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir (@thordiskolbrun) June 3, 2022 The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, lauded Ukraine’s “bravery and determination” in defending itself against Russia’s invading forces.

Today marks 100 days of Ukraine’s bravery and determination in defending its freedom against Russia’s invading forces. We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine with the means to defend itself. #UnitedWithUkraine

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 3, 2022 Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, said simply that 100 days of war was “too many”.

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