Moscow claimed to have repelled a Ukrainian attack on the border region of Belgorod (Russia), where massive bombardments left a dozen injured Thursday, June 1, according to the authorities. More Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian authorities announced the death of three people in new Russian strikes on kyiv, targeted almost daily for more than a week. Here’s what to remember from the day.
Russia says it repelled Ukrainian attack on its border
On Thursday, Russian authorities claimed that Ukrainian forces had attempted to“to invade” the Russian region of Belgorod, on the border with Ukraine, and carried out heavy strikes causing around ten injuries. “Up to two companies of motorized infantry reinforced by tanks”tried to“invading Russian territory” around 3 a.m. local time, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to which “up to 70” armed men have “took part in the attack”.
The assault was preceded by the “bombing of civilian installations”Then “Three attacks by Ukrainian terrorist groups have been repelled” by the Russian military. The latter were supported by the air force, which carried out 11 strikes, and the artillery which carried out 79, according to the ministry. “In total, more than 50 Ukrainian terrorists, four armored fighting vehicles, one BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher vehicle, one pickup truck were eliminated”he said.
A group calling itself the “Russian Volunteer Corps”, which says it is made up of Russian fighters supporting Kiev and which claimed a role in the incursion into Belgorod last week, said on Thursday it was fighting near the border town of Chebekino. According to the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov, “uninterrupted strikes” Ukrainians targeted it, damaging several buildings and injuring twelve. The governor also reported that the fall of a drone on the city of Belgorod itself had injured two people.
Three dead, including a child in kyiv
Russia launched another airstrike on kyiv early Thursday, killing at least three people, including a child. A new night of dread for the inhabitants of the Ukrainian capital, which has been targeted relentlessly for a month.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, the anti-aircraft defense destroyed the ten Russian missiles that targeted the city, but the debris killed three people and injured 16 others. “Three people died in Kyiv, two women and a nine-year-old girl trying to enter a closed shelter. A closed shelter in wartime is not just indifference, it is a crime “denounced Interior Minister Igor Klymenko.
Zelensky asks for unwavering support from the “European family”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took advantage of the platform offered by the second meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), Thursday June 1 in Moldova, to plead forcefully in favor of his country’s accession to NATO and the European Union. EU. “Every doubt we manifest is a trench that Russia will try to occupy”he hammered. “All European countries which have a border with Russia and which do not want Russia to take part of their territory from them must be full members of NATO and the EU”insisted the Ukrainian leader.
Volodymyr Zelensky again called on his allies to provide more combat aircraft and air defense systems. “It’s difficult for us today because we don’t have modern fighter jets and that’s why Russia dominates the skies”he lamented.
UN ‘worried’ about Ukrainian grain exports
The UN says “worry” of “slow-down” of the implementation of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, the spokesman for the Secretary General said on Thursday, referring to “the specter of food price inflation”.
The crucial agreement for global food supplies, signed in July 2022 by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, was renewed in May only for two months, until July 17. Moscow is demanding guarantees on another agreement concerning its exports, in particular of fertilizers.
“We are concerned about the continued slowdown in the implementation of the Black Sea Grains Initiative, observed in particular in April and May”said Stéphane Dujarric. “In May, 33 ships left Ukrainian ports, half as many as in April. Only three left from the port of Youzhne/Pivdenny, one of the three covered by the Initiative”, he noted. As a result, 1.3 million tons of cereals were exported in May, “less than half of the previous month”.