Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin’s forces ‘kill 250 Ukrainian soldiers’ in thwarted major offensive

Hundreds of Ukrainian troops have been killed after a major battlefield offensive against Russian forces was thwarted in the Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said today.

At least 250 Ukrainian troops were killed, 16 tanks and infantry vehicles were destroyed, and 21 armoured combat vehicles were damaged in the skirmish, the ministry said.

“On the morning of 4 June, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction,” the ministry said today.

“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front” but Ukraine “did not achieve its tasks, it had no success”, the Russian ministry said.

It also shared a video claiming to show several Ukrainian armoured vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit. Officials in Kyiv have not commented on the Russian defence ministry’s claims so far.

It is not clear whether the attack was the start of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive which Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for.

Key Points

• Russia says 250 Ukrainian soldiers killed in thwarted major offensive

• Wagner chief says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state

• We are ready for counteroffensive, Zelensky tells Putin

• Mercenary boss accuses Moscow of trying to kill his troops

• U.S. seeks 'just and lasting peace' for Ukraine, Blinken says

• Russia attacks Ukraine with 15 cruise missiles, 18 drones in overnight aerial attack

Russia says 250 Ukrainian soldiers killed in thwarted major offensive

04:02 , Arpan Rai

The Russian defence ministry has said hundreds of Ukrainian troops have been killed after a major battlefield offensive against Russian forces was thwarted in Donetsk region.

“On the morning of 4 June, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction,” the ministry said today.

It added that “the enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front” but Ukraine “did not achieve its tasks, it had no success.”

The ministry shared a video claiming to show several Ukrainian armoured vehicles in a field blowing up after being hit.

At least 250 Ukrainian troops were killed, 16 tanks and infantry vehicles were destroyed, and 21 armoured combat vehicles were damaged in the skirmish, the ministry said.

Officials in Kyiv have not commented on the Russian defence ministry’s claims so far.

It in not clear whether the attack represented the start of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture some of the territory taken by Russian forces after the invasion of February 2022.

Ukraine war: What we know on day 466

04:25 , Arpan Rai

Heavy battles continue to grind in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine where Russia has been stationed for more than 15 months after it launched a full-scale invasion of the country.

- Russia now controls at least 18 per cent of what is internationally recognised to be Ukrainian territory, and has claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory.

- Russia’s defence ministry said it killed 250 of Ukraine’s forces after attacking them in southern Donetsk with six mechanised and two tank battalions on Sunday. Moscow has long suspected Ukraine would seek to drive a wedge through Russian-controlled territory.

- Ukraine has sought “silence” – an information control on its counteroffensive – ahead of the long-expected counterattack to reclaim territory that Russia has taken control over in the 15-month long war its been waging on its neighbour.

- An energy facility was ablze in Russia’s Belgorod region after a drone attack struck the building in the early hours today, regional governor said.

- Tens of thousands of Russian troops continue digging trenches along a front line which stretches for around 600 miles (1,000km), bracing for a Ukrainian attack which is expected to try to cut Russia’s so-called land bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

He fled Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. Now his invention could turn the tide of Putin’s war

04:00 , Joe Middleton

Gene Avakyan knows what it’s like to grow up during times of tension, Robert Waugh writes.

He fled Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. Now his invention could derail Putin’s war

Ukraine: Rescue workers search rubble of residential building after airstrike kills two-year-old

03:00 , Joe Middleton

Rescue workers have been filmed searching rubble after a deadly airstrike hit a residential area in Ukraine.

A two-year-old girl was killed, and 22 other people injured, when the airstrike landed in Dnipro on June 3, Dnipropetrovsk governor Sergey Lysak said.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the airstrike landed “between two two-storey residential buildings”.

While sharing footage of the rescue efforts, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “There are people under the rubble. All services are working.”

Ukraine: Rescue workers search rubble of building after airstrike kills two-year-old

A US family adopted a six-year-old from Ukraine. Now they say she was an adult dwarf who tried to kill them

02:00 , Joe Middleton

Michael and Kristine Barnett, of Indiana, decided in 2010 to open their home to a disabled six-year-old from Ukraine — or so they thought. What followed was a rapid cascade of suspicion and allegations that led to the demise of their marriage, criminal charges against each of them and an unbelievable tale that questions the innocence of all involved, writes Sheila Flynn.

Six-year-old saved by adoption or murderous adult imposter: Who is Natalia Grace?

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

01:00 , Joe Middleton

Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny voiced hope for better future in Russia as his supporters held pickets and demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday on Sunday

Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish his work to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests.

He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin‘s most prominent foe.

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

Ukraine releases cinematic trailer as counter offensive begins

Sunday 4 June 2023 22:18 , Joe Middleton

Inside the penal colonies: A glimpse at life for political prisoners swept up in Russia's crackdowns

Sunday 4 June 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light.

He won’t be able to see or talk to any of his loved ones. Phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation” cells, a 2-by-3-meter (6 1/2-by-10-foot) space. Guards usually blast patriotic songs and speeches by President Vladimir Putin at him.

“Guess who is the champion of listening to Putin’s speeches? Who listens to them for hours and falls asleep to them?” Navalny said recently in a typically sardonic social media post via his attorneys from Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

Inside the penal colonies: A glimpse at life for political prisoners swept up in Russia's crackdowns

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

Sunday 4 June 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy

When Dmitry Medvedev gave back the top spot in the Kremlin to Vladimir Putin in 2012, many observers hoped that the more liberal of the two men would continue to use his position to gently steer Russia in the direction of democratic reforms.

What they did not expect was how, a decade on, Medvedev has become Moscow’s primary mouthpiece for nuclear sabre-rattling, as well as death threats to the leaders of Western nations, following his mentor’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A law graduate and then assistant professor at St Petersburg State University in the 1990s, Medvedev entered politics as a consultant to Putin during his time as an official in the St Petersburg city administration, before leading Putin’s first presidential election campaign.

Arpan Rai reports:

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

ICYMI: Pictures show aftermath of Dnipro missile strike that killed one

Sunday 4 June 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy

Kremlin foe Navalny’s demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo - all denied

Sunday 4 June 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied.

Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Read the full story:

Kremlin foe Navalny's demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo -- all denied

ICYMI: Rescue workers search rubble of residential building after airstrike kills two-year-old

Sunday 4 June 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy

Rescue workers have been filmed searching rubble after a deadly airstrike hit a residential area in Ukraine.

A two-year-old girl was killed, and 22 other people injured, when the airstrike landed in Dnipro on June 3, Dnipropetrovsk governor Sergey Lysak said.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the airstrike landed “between two two-storey residential buildings”.

While sharing footage of the rescue efforts, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “There are people under the rubble. All services are working.”

Ukraine: Rescue workers search rubble of building after airstrike kills two-year-old

He fled Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. Now his invention could turn the tide of Putin’s war

Sunday 4 June 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

An aerospace engineer and entrepreneur who left the USSR as a child has created “robot” planes that he says could “change the world” and hopes they’ll be used in the war to help his birthplace.

Gene Avakyan knows what it’s like to grow up during times of tension, having been born in Kyiv, Ukraine, before leaving the country when he was just nine years old – fleeing in the middle of the night and made to walk a gauntlet of “soldiers with AK-47s” just to get on a train.

Since then, his life has changed dramatically, with the 52-year-old falling in love with aviation and space travel as a teenager, and dedicating his time to developing new technologies in this area.

Robert Waugh reports:

He fled Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. Now his invention could derail Putin’s war

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

Sunday 4 June 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy

Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny voiced hope for better future in Russia as his supporters held pickets and demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday on Sunday

Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish his work to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests.

He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin‘s most prominent foe.

Read the full story:

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

Russia's most famous icon handed over from museum to church despite protests

Sunday 4 June 2023 17:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian Orthodox believers celebrated Trinity Sunday with Russia’s most famous icon transferred from a museum to Moscow‘s main cathedral despite the keepers’ vociferous protests.

The Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev, which was kept in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery since the 1920s, was moved to Christ the Savior Cathedral before the holiday on President Vladimir Putin‘s personal order.

Putin’s abrupt decision to hand over the 15th-century icon to the church came despite a strong opposition from the Tretyakov keepers, who warned that the icon was too fragile to move and requires constant care to avoid a drastic deterioraton in its condition.

Read the full story:

Russia's most famous icon handed over from museum to church despite protests

Russian forces repel incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs - Interfax cites ministry

Sunday 4 June 2023 17:00 , Martha Mchardy

Russian forces used artillery to repel a cross-border incursion by a group of pro-Ukrainian “saboteurs” on Sunday, Interfax news agency reported, citing Russia’s defence ministry.

Earlier, the governor of Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, had reported fighting in the border town of Novaya Tavolzhanka.

‘A threat to our children is a threat to all children,’ says Ukrainian first lady

Sunday 4 June 2023 16:54 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska visited Kharkiv today to commemorate Ukrainian children killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a written statement she said: “The world must realize, if it hasn’t realized yet: a threat to our children is a threat to all children. Childhood has no borders.

“It is difficult to open monuments to those killed. Especially if these killed are children.

“I remember a photo of a father holding the hand of his son who was killed at a bus stop here in Kharkiv,” she went on.

“Parents hold their children’s hand when they learn to walk. Parents hold their children’s hand when they take them to kindergarten or school for the first time. And the most terrible thing is when parents hold the hands of the children who have been killed.”

It comes as her husband, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said today at least 500 Ukrainian children have died since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while 1,005 have been injured.

Over 19,500 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russian authorities, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Watch: Rescuers search rubble following deadly strike on Dnipro that left one dead

Sunday 4 June 2023 16:45 , Martha Mchardy

Latest pictures from the war in Ukraine

Sunday 4 June 2023 16:14 , Martha Mchardy

Russian governor says he is ready to meet group keeping soldiers captive

Sunday 4 June 2023 15:40 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Sunday that he was willing to meet a pro-Ukraine group of Russian fighters keeping two Russian soldiers captive.

In a joint statement with the Russian Volunteer Corps, the Freedom of Russia Legion said earlier it was willing to hand over the soldiers in exchange for a meeting with the governor.

“Most likely they killed them, as hard as it is for me to say. But if they are alive, from 5-6 p.m - Shebekino checkpoint. I guarantee safety,” governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Ukraine has previously denied any involvement with the Freedom of Russia Legion.

However, the group has claimed it cooperates with the Ukrainian armed forces and operates under Ukrainian command.

Russian governor says ‘Ukrainian saboteurs’ fighting in border town

Sunday 4 June 2023 15:27 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Sunday that fighting with a ‘Ukrainian saboteur group’ was taking place in the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the Ukrainian border.

Protests, poisoning and prison: A look at the life of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Sunday 4 June 2023 15:05 , Martha Mchardy

In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

Already serving two convictions that have landed him in prison for at least nine years, he faces a new trial that could keep him behind for two more decades.

Navalny turns 47 today in prison, where he has been repeatedly locked up in solitary confinement.

A look at Navalny’s life, political activism and the charges he has faced through the years:

Read the full story:

Protests, poisoning and prison: A look at the life of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Ukraine’s military urges ‘silence’ ahead of expected counteroffensive

Sunday 4 June 2023 14:22 , Martha Mchardy

The Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault.

Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south.

But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy.

Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defence systems shooting down Russian missiles.

“Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start,” the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive.

The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire.

It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defence against Russian missiles and drones.

Kyiv’s Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armour and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces.

In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions.

“To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “But we are going to do it, and we are ready.”

Other senior officials, including defence minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations.

In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin.

Last week, it posted a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip.

Kremlin: Western long-range missiles to Ukraine will fuel 'spiralling tension'

Sunday 4 June 2023 14:19 , Martha Mchardy

The Kremlin said on Sunday that any supply of long-range missiles to Kyiv by France and Germany would lead to a further round of “spiralling tension” in the Ukraine conflict.

Britain last month became the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles.

Ukraine has asked Germany for Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range of 500 km (311 miles), while President Emmanuel Macron has said France will give Ukraine missiles with a range allowing it to carry out its long-anticipated counteroffensive.

“We are already starting to see discussions about deliveries from France and Germany of missiles with a range of 500 km or more,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

“This is a completely different weapon which will lead to, let’s say, another round of spiralling tension,” he said.

Russia has repeatedly criticised Western countries for supplying Ukraine with weapons and has warned that NATO members have effectively become direct parties to the conflict.

Moscow has made clear it sees such weapons supplied by the West as legitimate targets in what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, now in its 16th month.

Ukraine says it needs more weapons, including long-range missiles, to defend itself against Russian attacks and re-capture its occupied territory.

Peskov also reiterated that Russia would continue its operations in Ukraine until the “job is done... There is no alternative”.

Moscow says it had to act in Ukraine to protect its own security and push back against what it says is a hostile and aggressive West bent on the destruction of Russia.

A US family adopted a six-year-old from Ukraine. Now they say she was an adult dwarf who tried to kill them

Sunday 4 June 2023 14:05 , Martha Mchardy

Michael and Kristine Barnett, of Indiana, decided in 2010 to open their home to a disabled six-year-old from Ukraine — or so they thought. What followed was a rapid cascade of suspicion and allegations that led to the demise of their marriage, criminal charges against each of them and an unbelievable tale that questions the innocence of all involved, writes Sheila Flynn.

Six-year-old saved by adoption or murderous adult imposter: Who is Natalia Grace?

Homecoming on film: Award-winning Mariupol documentary screened for 1st time in Ukraine

Sunday 4 June 2023 13:35 , Martha Mchardy

The award-winning film “20 Days in Mariupol” made its premiere in Ukraine on Saturday, seen for the first time by some of the Ukrainian medics and first responders who were chronicled in the documentary about how Russian forces bombed and blasted their way into the southeastern port city last year.

Repeated standing ovations in a packed Kyiv cinema, mixed with tears and hugs, greeted those Ukrainian civil servants who toiled nearly non-stop in and around a Mariupol hospital that was a centerpiece of the film about the city early on in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

For some, the screening served as an unsettling flashback to their own brush with death in the city — a fate inescapable for untold numbers of other victims of Russia’s invasion, including toddlers, infants and expectant mothers whose final moments were caught on video shown in the film.

Read the full story:

Homecoming on film: Award-winning Mariupol documentary screened for 1st time in Ukraine

Circumstances of death of 2-year-old gril killed by Russian missile strikes in Dnipro revealed

Sunday 4 June 2023 13:02 , Martha Mchardy

The circumstances of the death of a two-year-old girl killed by Russian missile strikes in Dnipro have been revealed.

The city’s governor Serhiy Lysak said the two-year-old, who has been named as Lisa, was at home with her mother when Russian artillery struck the garden of their house.

The girl’s father, who returned home from work to find his house destroyed, “screamed wildly” when he found his wife and daughter under the rubble, the governor said.

“It is difficult to imagine what the girl’s father felt,” he added.

The girl’s mother was taken to intensive care, but the two-year-old died at the scene.

“Generation after generation will hate the aggressor for everything he has done. We will not forgive,” the governor said.

At least 22 people were injured, including five children, after a Russian rocket attack hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday night.

Pro-Ukraine Russian fighters say they have two Russian soldiers captive

Sunday 4 June 2023 12:25 , Martha Mchardy

A group of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters said on Sunday they had taken two Russian soldiers captive amid fighting in Russia’s Belgorod region and offered to exchange them during a personal meeting with the regional governor.

The joint statement by the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps was posted on the former’s Telegram channel.

Ukraine has previously denied any involvement with the Freedom of Russia Legion.

However, the group has claimed it cooperates with the Ukrainian armed forces and operates under Ukrainian command.

The claims have not been independently verified.

‘Paranoid’ Russian officials outlaw blue and yellow colours in public, says UK Ministry of Defence

Sunday 4 June 2023 12:19 , Martha Mchardy

“Paranoid” Russian officials have effectively outlawed the wearing of blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, in public, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the UK defence ministry said some Russian officials have outlawed the colours because they “might evidence discreet support for Ukraine.”

The ministry said the clampdown “highlights uncertainty within a paranoid Russian officialdom of what is and is deemed permissible within an increasingly totalitarian system.”

“Some local Russian security officials are likely interpreting Russia’s draconian wartime legislation to mean that public display of blue and yellow items is outlawed because it might evidence discreet support for Ukraine,” the update said.

In May, a care home worker was reportedly arrested after wearing a blue and yellow jacket to work, the Ministiry of Defence said.

Meanwhile, in recent days, Russian National Guard troops arrested a 22 year old man in Volkhov near St Petersburg for displaying what was eventually determined to be the blue and yellow flag of Russia’s own Aerospace Forces.

The Ministry of Defence said Russia’s ultra-nationalist, pro-war Liberal Democratic party, whose own branding features yellow on a blue background, had criticised the arrests.

At least 500 children killed during war, says Zelensky

Sunday 4 June 2023 12:03 , Martha Mchardy

At least 500 Ukrainian children have died since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, president Zelensky has said.

The president said in a statement that “Russian weapons and hatred, which continue to take and destroy the lives of Ukrainian children every day”, killed the hundreds who had perished since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022.

“Many of them could have become famous scholars, artists, sports champions, contributing to Ukraine’s history,” he said.

Mr Zelensky said it was impossible to establish the exact number of children who were casualties due to the ongoing hostilities and because some areas are under Russian occupation.

“We must hold out and win this war!” the Ukrainian president said. “All of Ukraine, all our people, all our children, must be free from the Russian terror.”

Rescuers found the two-year-old’s body early on Sunday while combing through the rubble of an apartment building in the suburbs of the central city of Dnipro.

The regional governor, Serhiy Lysak, said five children were among 22 people injured by Saturday’s attack, which damaged two residential buildings.

Russia says Ukraine shelled market area in town of Shebekino

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:59 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces shelled a market area in the town of Shebekino, about 7 km (4 miles) from the Ukrainian border, but that no one was injured.

He said the shelling had caused fires to break out near the town’s market, a private area and a grain depot.

The reports have not been independently verified.

“Emergency services are on the scene,” governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian forces 'may not hold on to Bakhmut,' says military analyst

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:56 , Martha Mchardy

Vladimir Putin’s troops “may not hold on to Bakhmut,” a military analyst has said.

Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. research group, said Russian forces will “find it difficult to defend” Bakhmut now Wagner mercenary fighters are withdrawing from the city.

“And so they may not hold on to Bakhmut, and the whole thing may have ended up being for nothing for them down the line,” he told the War on the Rocks podcast in an interview on Tuesday.

Russian forces declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut last month after a nine-month battle with Ukrainian forces.

However, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has warned that “the battle for the Bakhmut area hasn’t stopped,” she said. “It is ongoing, just taking different forms.”

Maliar said artillery shelling still goes on in Bakhmut at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city.

It comes as Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his men would withdraw from the city, after a dispute with the Kremlin over a lack of ammunition received from Putin’s government, and a loss of over 20,000 of his men.

They will be replaced by Russian forces.

Russia had envisioned the capture of Bakhmut as partial fulfilment of its ambition to seize control of the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial heartland. Now, its forces have been compelled to regroup, rotate fighters and rearm just to hold the city.

Watch: Rescuers search rubble following deadly strike on Dnipro

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine minister in ‘disbelief’ at closed Kyiv bomb shelters

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:15 , Martha Mchardy

A senior Ukrainian government official expressed “disbelief” on Sunday after learning that nearly half of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected during an initial audit were closed or unfit for use.

President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered an inspection of all Ukrainian shelters on Friday, a day after three people were killed in Kyiv when they were unable to access one during a Russian air strike.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, said that out of 1,078 shelters examined on the first day, 359 were unprepared and another 122 locked, while 597 were found to be usable.

“I greeted with disbelief that fact that half were open and considered ready,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Yesterday, when we selectively checked the shelters in the Obolon district with our mayor, the absolute majority of the shelters were closed.”

Kamyshin said the inspections, taking place with the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its 17th month, would continue.

Russia has stepped up regular attacks on Kyiv since early May, especially at night, in what officials say is an attempt to damage morale ahead of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to reclaim Russian-occupied territory.

Thursday’s deaths caused a public outcry and a promise of a harsh response by Zelensky, which appeared aimed at Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has clashed with the president before.

Klitschko acknowledged at a local committee meeting on Friday that he bore some responsibility but said others were also to blame, particularly allies of the president who had been appointed to lead the city’s districts.

In pictures: Aftermath of Dnipro air strikes as girl, 2, dies and 22 injured

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:00 , Martha Mchardy

Three dead and seven injured after shelling in Donetsk

Sunday 4 June 2023 10:34 , Martha Mchardy

Three people have died and seven were injured after shelling in the Donetsk region on Saturday night.

One person died and seven were wounded after attacks in Hirnyk, a town south of Kharkiv, Sky News reported, citing the Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Meanwhile, a further two people died In Horlivskyi near the city of Donetsk, the governor is reported to have added.

Fears rise for civilian safety as Ukraine investigates locked air-raid shelters

Sunday 4 June 2023 10:30 , Martha Mchardy

Concerns around civilian safety spiked in Ukraine on Saturday, as officials announced that an inspection had found nearly a quarter of the country’s air-raid shelters locked or unusable, just days after a woman in Kyiv allegedly died waiting outside a shuttered shelter during a Russian missile barrage.

The Ukrainian interior ministry said through its press service Saturday that of the “over 4,800” shelters it had inspected, 252 were locked and a further 893 “unfit for use.”

That same day, the Kyiv regional prosecutor’s office reported that four people were detained in a criminal probe into the 33-year-old’s death on Thursday outside the locked shelter. The prosecutor’s office said that one person, a security guard who had failed to unlock the doors, remained under arrest, while three others, including a local official, had been put under house arrest.

Susie Blann reports:

Fears rise for civilian safety as Ukraine investigates locked air-raid shelters

Four detained after death of woman outside locked air-raid shelter

Sunday 4 June 2023 10:15 , Martha Mchardy

Four people have been detained after a woman in Kyiv allegedly died waiting outside a shuttered shelter during a Russian missile barrage.

A security guard who had failed to unlock the doors remains under arrest, Kyiv regional prosecutor’s office said, while three others, including a local official, had been put under house arrest, the Associated Press reported.

It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky launched an audit of shelters across the country.

The Ukrainian interior ministry said that of the “over 4,800” shelters it had inspected, 252 were locked and a further 893 “unfit for use.”

Speaking to journalists in Moldova, president Zelensky said: “Everyone will be held responsible. The reaction will be firm.

“Russia, as the enemy, is not enough for us, we have internal enemies as well, I would say [who will be held accountable, but] there are many journalists here.

“There is a word: it is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t say it.

“I would say this: There may be a knockout.”

Ukraine piles on pressure after Russia declares victory in Bakhmut

Sunday 4 June 2023 10:00 , Martha Mchardy

Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut.

The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside.

“We are moving forward,” Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. “We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout.”

Mstyslav Chernov and Jamey Keaten report:

Ukraine piles on pressure after Russia declares victory in Bakhmut

In pictures: Destruction caused by Russian missile attack on Dnipro as girl, 2, dies

Sunday 4 June 2023 09:30 , Martha Mchardy

Clashes continue around Bakhmut even as combat eases in city

Sunday 4 June 2023 09:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

Clashes with Russian forces in the villages and areas surrounding Bakhmut continue even as combat has eased inside the obliterated eastern Ukrainian city.

Moscow is reportedly suffering heavy losses as Russian forces unsuccessfully carried out two operations around Bakhmut and launched a number of air strikes on nearby villages.

“The enemy continues to suffer significant losses in the Bakhmut direction,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said on the Telegram messaging app, according to Reuters.

Ukraine shelling continues in Russia’s Belgorod as thousands relocated - governor

Sunday 4 June 2023 08:30 , Martha Mchardy

Shelling by Ukrainian forces on Russia’s Belgorod region continued overnight on Sunday after two people were killed the previous night and hundreds of children were evacuated away from the border, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday.

“Overnight, it was quite restless,” Gladkov said on the Telegram channel, adding that the Shebekino and Volokonovsky districts suffered “lots” of damage from shelling during the night.

More than 4,000 people were relocated to temporary accommodation in the region, which borders Ukraine to its south and west, Gladkov said.

Five drones shot downed in Crimea's Dzhankoi, says Moscow-installed official

Sunday 4 June 2023 08:25 , Martha Mchardy

Five drones were shot down and four were jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, a Russian-installed official in the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 said on Sunday.

There were no casualties but windows were broken in several houses, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that one unexploded drone was found on the territory of a residential house, forcing the temporary evacuation of about 50 people in the area.

The reports have not been independently verified.

Russian missile attack on Dnipro kills 2-year-old, injures 22 - governor

Sunday 4 June 2023 08:23 , Martha Mchardy

A 2-year-old girl was killed and 22 people injured, including five children, when a Russian missile struck near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said on Sunday.

“Overnight, the body of a girl who had just turned two was pulled from under the rubble of a house,” Serhiy Lysak wrote on the Telegram messaging channel.

Seventeen people were being treated in hospital after the attack on a residential area by Iskander short-range cruise missiles, Lysak said.

The claims have not been independently verified. There was no immediate reaction from Moscow.

The missile hit between two two-storey residential buildings in the Pidhorodnenska community, partially destroying them and damaging a number of houses, cars and infrastructure, Lysak said.

“Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Saturday after the first reports of the explosions.

Moscow and Kyiv deny their military forces target civilians.

Pictures posted on social media showed rescue teams working at a shattered, smouldering building amid piles of twisted building materials.

Following the attack in Dnipro, Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on the country. Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday it destroyed more than half of the air targets.

Four of the six cruise missiles and three of the five Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia were downed, the air force said on Telegram.

Kyiv’s city military administration earlier said all Russia-launched targets approaching the capital had been intercepted. It was not immediately clear where the missiles and drones that were not destroyed hit.

Drone shot down in Crimea – report

Sunday 4 June 2023 08:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

A drone was reportedly shot down in Dzhankoi in Crimea after it caused damage to buildings in the region.

“There is damage to windows in several houses in a residential district” from the overnight incident, Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser in the Moscow-installed administration of Crimea, posted on Telegram.

“All services are working. Official information - in the morning,” Mr Kryuchkov said, according to Reuters.

Wave of Russian air attacks repelled on way to Kyiv

Sunday 4 June 2023 07:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s air defence systems reportedly repelled a wave of air attacks by Russia on Ukraine early today.

“According to preliminary information, not a single air target reached the capital,” Serhiy Popko, the head of the military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Air defence destroyed everything that was heading towards the city already at their distant approaches,” Mr Popko said, according to Reuters.

Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told local television that four of six cruise missiles had been shot down by air defences but that two had struck an “operational airfield” near the central city of Kropyvnytskyi.

He added that two of the five Iranian-made drones launched by Russia had struck infrastructure in the northern Sumy region.

Insulin withheld from residents of occupied Ukrainian region

Sunday 4 June 2023 06:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

Russian forces in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southeast Ukraine are reportedly withholding insulin to residents refusing Russian passports.

Ukrainian military’s National Resistance Center accused Russian troops of withholding medical services to residents in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast as a coercion tactic to force them to become Russian passport holders.

Over the past nine months, more than 1.5 million Ukrainians in occupied territory have been issued Russian passports, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in late May.

Ukrainians refusing Russian passports are reportedly being threatened with deportation or forcibly mobilised into the Russian military, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Internal conflict 'likely' in Russian military, Ukraine says

Sunday 4 June 2023 04:41 , Vishwam Sankaran

As Ukraine prepares its long-awaited counteroffensive to reclaim lost territory, the country’s military intelligence says there is a possibility of internal conflict among personnel in retreating Russian troops.

Andriy Yusov, spokesperson of Ukraine military intelligence, said yesterday that mutinies may occur in Russia’s army “as a result of the successful actions of Ukraine’s defense and security forces and the de-occupation of our territory.”

Speaking of the counteroffensive, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the complex move to reclaim territories from Russian troops “could go a variety of ways.”

“I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready,” he said.

“A barbaric method of waging warfare” - Zhovkva

Sunday 4 June 2023 04:00 , William Mata

Dr Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the president’s office and his chief foreign affairs adviser, has called out the Russian methods of attack.

In a piece set to be published in the Sundat Times on June 4, the Ukraine official said Russian tactics are “failing”.

“It’s a barbaric method of waging warfare in the 21st century because they are fighting not against military objects but hitting civilian targets, multi-storey buildings, hospitals in residential areas, killing children,” Zhovkva said.

“Maybe the Russians are trying to prevent the counter-offensive by bombarding and shelling Kyiv and Ukraine to end our courage and the desire to start. But if so, they are failing because the counter-offensive will happen.”

Pictures: Ukraine - Saturday, June 3

Sunday 4 June 2023 03:00 , William Mata

“Gratitude is important"

Sunday 4 June 2023 02:00 , William Mata

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenksy has taken to Twitter to thank his soldiers for their efforts.

“Please don't forget to thank our warriors in person,” Mr Zelensky tweeted.

“Thank those whom you know personally. Thank those whom you may simply follow in social networks. Thank those whom you just heard about – and can tell other people about them. Gratitude is always important, and it's important to hear words of gratitude when you fight for your people.

“Glory to all our heroes! Glory to Ukraine!”

“The Russians attacked the city”

Sunday 4 June 2023 01:00 , William Mata

Ukraine’s ministry of defence has tweeted a video of the aftermath of the attack in Dnipro.

“The Russians attacked the city,” the tweet read. “They hit between two two-story residential buildings. Unfortunately, there are people under the rubble.”

Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak to discuss Ukraine at meeting

Sunday 4 June 2023 00:00 , William Mata

Rishi Sunak has stressed the need to forge a "close and candid relationship" with US President Joe Biden ahead of their White House meeting.

The Prime Minister will watch a baseball game with business leaders and political figures in Washington DC ahead of holding talks with Mr Biden next week.

Mr Biden's administration has billed it as an opportunity to discuss support for Ukraine as well as protecting the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.

Twenty injured, others trapped in blast near Ukrainian city of Dnipro

Saturday 3 June 2023 23:33 , William Mata

An explosion near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday hit a two-storey dwelling, injuring 20 people including five children, and rescuers pulled residents out from under the rubble, the regional governor said.

Serhiy Lysak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said three of the children were in serious condition. A total of 17 people were being treated in hospital.

Media reports said emergency teams had pulled four people from under rubble in the town known as the Pidhorodnenska community. Lysak said another child was likely still trapped.

Reports on social media said a Russian missile caused the explosion and that an emergency services building was also hit.

There was no confirmation of a missile strike from Ukrainian military officials.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, also writing on Telegram, said the explosion occurred between two dwellings.

"Unfortunately, there are people under the rubble," Mr Zelensky wrote. "Once again, Russia proves it is a terrorist state."

Moscow denies its military forces target civilians.

Ukraine: ‘We need more weapons for counter-offensive'

Saturday 3 June 2023 20:23 , William Mata

Dr Ihor Zhovkva, Ukraine’s deputy head of the president’s office and his chief foreign affairs adviser, has said the country is in need of further weapons to re-take land that Russia has advanced into.

“I’m not a military man,” he told The Sunday Times. “I’m working on the diplomatic front and my task is more weapons, more support, more ammunition.

“But if you want to start a successful counter-offensive you need everything at your disposal, including artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks, so probably we don’t have enough.”

Zelensky shared condolences after India train crash

Saturday 3 June 2023 20:00 , William Mata

Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a message of condolence after the train crash in Odisha.

He tweeted on Saturday: “On behalf of myself and the people of Ukraine, I express my deepest condolences to Prime Minister @narendramodi and all relatives and friends of those killed in the train accident in the state of Odisha.

“We share the pain of your loss. We wish a speedy recovery for all those injured.”

Round up: Some key events from June 3

Saturday 3 June 2023 19:00 , William Mata

Here are some of Saturday’s headlines:

First up, the leader of Russian mercenary group Wagner said on Saturday that infighting between Kremlin factions had opened a Pandora’s Box of rifts. “Pandora’s Box is already open - we are not the ones who opened it,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a message posted by his press service. See above for more on this one.

Concerns around civilian safety spiked in Ukraine on Saturday, as officials announced that an inspection had found nearly a quarter of the country’s air-raid shelters locked or unusable, just days after a woman in Kyiv allegedly died waiting outside a shuttered shelter during a Russian missile barrage. Full story here.

Alexy Navalny turns 47 this week but it will not be a pleasant birthday for the critic of Vladimir Putin who will be in a cell with hardly any light. In a span of a decade, Mr Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

China / US / Turkey: Meetings and big decisions ahead

Saturday 3 June 2023 18:00 , William Mata

Leaders and negotiators from three countries with interests in Russia and Ukraine are set for meetings and decisions this weekend. Here is a brief round-up:

Firstly, Turkey’s longtime president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is to be sworn in for his third term on Saturday. The country of 85 million controls NATO’s second-largest army, hosts millions of refugees and played a crucial role in brokering a deal that allowed the shipment of Ukraine grain, averting a global food crisis.

Then there is American secretary of defense (sic) Lloyd Austin who vowed on Saturday that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns went to Beijing in May to meet with Chinese counterparts. Burns' visit, first reported by The Financial Times, comes as Washington tries to cool tensions with Beijing over the balloon and other recent conflicts between the world's two largest economies and geopolitical rivals.

Pope to visit Mongolia at end of summer in visit rich in geopolitical significance

Saturday 3 June 2023 17:00 , AP

Pope Francis is traveling to Mongolia at the end of the summer, a visit that will be a first for a pontiff and one rich in geopolitical significance given its proximity to Russia and China.

The Vatican on Saturday confirmed the August 31 to September 4 trip to the landlocked US-allied country sandwiched between Russia and China, two countries popes have never visited.

The visit comes as Francis is trying to toe a diplomatic line in his relations with both countries: With Moscow, Francis is seeking an opening for a peace envoy to nudge Russia and Ukraine to negotiations to end the war.

Read the whole AP report here.

Wagner chief says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state

Saturday 3 June 2023 15:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions were destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters.

That row had now been settled but infighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora’s Box of rifts, he said.

Prigozhin, a 62-year-old former restauranteur who founded the Wagner mercenary group and is a member of President Vladimir Putin’s wider circle, has gained widespread notoriety during the 15-month war in Ukraine.

His troops have spearheaded battles in the city of Bakhmut and elsewhere, but he has also rowed with the Russian military over tactics, logistical support and other issues.

Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces who are also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine had been resolved. But he laid the blame for the discord on unidentified Kremlin factions - which he calls “Kremlin towers”.

Their scheming had got so out of hand that Putin had been forced to scold them at a Security Council meeting, he said.

“Pandora’s Box is already open - we are not the ones who opened it,” Prigozhin said in a message posted by his press service. “Some Kremlin tower decided to play dangerous games.”

“Dangerous games have become commonplace in the Kremlin towers...they are simply destroying the Russian state.”

He did not identify the Kremlin faction but said that it continued its attempts to sow discord, it would have “hell to pay”. The Kremlin did not comment on his remarks.

Kremlin says France can hardly be a 'moderator' in Ukraine conflict

Saturday 3 June 2023 15:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

France can hardly be a “moderator” in the Ukrainian conflict due to its active participation in it, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov told Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin that, at the same time, President Vladimir Putin is open to any contacts in order to achieve Russia‘s goals.

US, allies clash with Russia, China over North Korea's failed military spy satellite launch

Saturday 3 June 2023 14:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China on Friday over North Korea’s failed launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn.

The confrontation was the latest over the North’s escalating nuclear, ballistic missile and military programs, which U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood warned are threatening international peace and security. The failed launch “not only disrupted maritime and air traffic in the region, but it also caused alarm for its neighbors in Japan and the Republic of Korea,” he said.

Pyongyang is threatening another launch soon.

Read more here:

US, allies clash with Russia, China over North Korea's failed military spy satellite launch

A six-year-old Ukrainian girl saved by adoption or a murderous adult imposter: Who really is Natalia Grace?

Saturday 3 June 2023 13:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Michael and Kristine Barnett, of Indiana, decided in 2010 to open their home to a disabled six-year-old from Ukraine — or so they thought.

What followed was a rapid cascade of suspicion and allegations that led to the demise of their marriage, criminal charges against each of them and an unbelievable tale that questions the innocence of all involved, writes Sheila Flynn:

Six-year-old saved by adoption or murderous adult imposter: Who is Natalia Grace?

Russia warns United States: don't brandish ultimatums on arms control

Saturday 3 June 2023 13:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia warned the United States on Saturday it should stop brandishing ultimatums over the collapse of arms control agreements, saying Moscow would only return to a nuclear arms reduction treaty if Washington abandons its hostile stance.

Russia and the United States, by far the biggest nuclear powers, have both expressed regret about the disintegration of the tangle of arms control treaties which sought to slow the Cold War arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear war.

Amid the crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict, President Vladimir Putin announced in February that Russia was suspending participation in the New START treaty - an agreement signed in 2010 that limits the number of Russian and U.S. deployed strategic nuclear warheads.

The United States said this week it would stop providing Russia some notifications required under the treaty, including updates on its missile and launcher locations, to retaliate for Moscow’s “ongoing violations” of the accord.

Russia‘s point man for arms control, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, said Washington had informed Moscow about the move ahead of going public with it so it was no surprise.

But Ryabkov said the pillars of arms control were collapsing and were in a “semi-lethal” condition due to what he cast as the hostile policies of the United States.

“Talking to the Russian Federation in the language of ultimatums just does not work,” Ryabkov told Russia‘s three main news agencies.

“Through the fault of the United States, many elements of the former architecture in this area have either been completely destroyed or moved in a semi-lethal state.”

Indonesia proposes demilitarised zone

Saturday 3 June 2023 12:44 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Indonesia’s defence minister on Saturday proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarised zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko dismissed the plan, reiterating Kyiv’s position that Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Prabowo Subianto called on defence and military officials from around the world, gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, to issue a declaration calling for a cessation in hostilities.

He proposed a multi-point plan including a ceasefire and establishing a demilitarised zone by withdrawing 15 kilometres (nearly 10 miles) from each party’s forward position.

The demilitarised zone should be observed and monitored by a peacekeeping force deployed by the UN, he said, adding that a UN referendum should be held “to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas”.

“I propose that the Shangri-La dialogue find a mode of ... voluntary declaration urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately start negotiations for peace,” Prabowo said.

Nikolenko said Russia had committed the act of aggression, occupying Ukrainian territories, and any proposals for a ceasefire would allow it to regroup and reinforce.

“There are no disputed territories between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to hold referendums there,” he said.

“In the occupied territories, the Russian army commits war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Russia is now trying in every possible way to disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”

Russia has denied Ukrainian accusations of war crimes and genocide.

Inside the penal colonies: A glimpse at life for political prisoners swept up in Russia’s crackdowns

Saturday 3 June 2023 12:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light.

He won’t be able to see or talk to any of his loved ones. Phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation” cells, a 2-by-3-meter (6 1/2-by-10-foot) space. Guards usually blast patriotic songs and speeches by President Vladimir Putin at him.

“Guess who is the champion of listening to Putin’s speeches? Who listens to them for hours and falls asleep to them?” Navalny said recently in a typically sardonic social media post via his attorneys from Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. Rallies have been called for Sunday in Russia to support him.

Inside the penal colonies: A glimpse at life for political prisoners swept up in Russia's crackdowns

We are ready for counteroffensive, Zelensky tells Putin

Saturday 3 June 2023 11:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the country was ready to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces to recapture occupied territories.

Mr Zelensky warned the counteroffensive was “not a movie”, adding that it is difficult to describe it to the public in advance.

“I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready,” he said.

Japan's growing military strength not a threat - minister

Saturday 3 June 2023 11:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Japan will not use its growing military strength to threaten other countries, its defence minister said on Saturday, while affirming its aim to prioritise diplomatic efforts and dialogue to avert misunderstandings.

“We do not seek rivalry or conflict,” Yasukazu Hamada said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference in Singapore with 600 delegates from 49 countries.

Japanese aggression before and during World War Two is still a cause of tension in relations with some countries, especially South Korea and China.

The United States in 1947 imposed a constitution on Japan that renounces war but in recent years governments have been boosting defence capacities and in December, Japan unveiled its biggest military build-up since the war.

Hamada said Japan did not aim to establish military power to pose a threat to others.

The defence ministry would pursue diplomatic efforts first, he said.

“As a nation that generally desire peace, we aim to enhance our own and original deterrent capabilities and promote the resolution to differences in interest and opinions through dialogue,” he said.

Under a five-year defence, which will double defence spending, Japan will acquire longer-range missiles that it hopes will deter China from resorting to force in East Asia.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government worries that Russia‘s attack on Ukraine could embolden China to attack neighbouring Taiwan.

Russia 'less flexible' after suffering heavy casualties, UK defense ministry says

Saturday 3 June 2023 10:34 , Vishwam Sankaran

Russia is “less flexible” in reacting to operational challenges’ after Bakhmut, according to the UK defense ministry.

In the region, Russia is redeploying regular units after Wagner mercenary forces complete their withdrawal.

The UK defense ministry said Russian forces will be likely “less flexible to operational challenges” after suffering heavy casualties and weapon expenditure in Bakhmut.

Russian drones found to have parts built by Ukraine's allies

Saturday 3 June 2023 10:22 , Vishwam Sankaran

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said today that Russia’s Shahed drones had parts made by Ukraine’s allies.

The drones were part of Russia’s “most massive attack” on Kyiv last month.

Mr Danilov said the Iranian-made Shahed drones contained components that were produced by Ukraine’s allies.

ICYMI: Germany calls on South Africa to arrest Putin if he attends BRICS summit

Saturday 3 June 2023 10:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on South Africa to adhere to abide by “international law” if Russian president Vladimir Putin attended the upcoming BRICS summit.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued an arrest warrant on March 17, and South Africa is one of the 123 countries party to the Rome Statute which established the ICC.

This means that the African country is obliged to arrest Putin if he enters its territory, according to international law.

“International law is clear on this point. War criminals and those responsible for waging aggressive wars will eventually be held accountable,” Ms Baerbock said.

ICYMI: 'We are ready,' says Zelensky on launching counteroffensive

Saturday 3 June 2023 09:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

Ukrainain president Volodymyr Zelensky said today the country is ready to launch its anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces.

The long-awaited move is aimed at recapturing Russian-occupied territories in the country.

“I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready,” Mr Zelensky said.

Last month he said Ukraine needed more armoured vehicles from the West before launching the counteroffensive.

Without providing more details on when exactly the counteroffensive moves would start, the Ukrainain president said “you will understand that it has begun.”

Russia may have lost about 45,000 people due to Ukraine war – report

Saturday 3 June 2023 08:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet working with BBC Russia, says Russia may have lost about 45,000 people in the aftermath of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

This figure according to BBC and Mediazona is by the most conservative estimate.

The total “irreversible losses” to Russia, including those who were wounded, killed, or missing, may amount to 203,000, the analysis suggests, according to Kyiv Independent.

Children among those injured in new waves of Russian attacks

Saturday 3 June 2023 07:30 , Vishwam Sankaran

Russian attacks have killed at least 4 people and injured 10 yesterday across Ukraine, local reports say.

A child was reportedly injured in a wave of Russian attack on Kyiv last night.

Ukraine’s Air Force said launched cruise missiles with Tu-95 bombers from the Caspian Sea to hit Kyiv.

The attack also reportedly included kamikaze drones, with the waves of assault causing civilian casualties on the ground in the city.

US says it is satisfied with Ukraine's counteroffensive readiness

Saturday 3 June 2023 07:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said he believes, along with allies and partners, the US has adequately provided military assistance to Ukraine for its counteroffensive.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that the main goal of the upcoming counteroffensive is to liberate Russian-occupied territories.

Some of the “complex measures” needed for Ukraine’s counteroffensive were “already underway” in the east of the country, deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said in April.

Wagner accuses Russia of placing mines along mercenary group's exit route

Saturday 3 June 2023 06:29 , Vishwam Sankaran

Wagner mercenary group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of placing mines the exit routes of teams of the mercenary group from Bakhmut.

He accused “representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry” of placing mines along the troops’ exit routes.

Mr Prigozhin said there were explosive devices placed along Wagner troops’ exit routes, including “hundreds” of anti-tank mines.

“We conducted investigative actions jointly with law enforcement agencies to document everything. Currently, investigations are underway,” he said, according to the Kyiv Independent.

'This is a moment of transition in the war,' retired US general says

Saturday 3 June 2023 05:54 , Vishwam Sankaran

Retired US general David Petraeus said there is currently a “moment of transition in the war” following Russia’s failure to achieve the objectives of their winter offensive.

“They barely were able to take Bakhmut, where the Ukrainians described it as a mousetrap for enabling the killing of very large numbers – tens of thousands, reportedly, of Russian soldiers,” he told Kyiv Independent in an interview.

Mr Petraeus added with Ukrainians developing additional brigades, including six armor brigades, would enable Ukraine them to better carry out a counteroffensive against Russia.

“This counteroffensive is going to attack Russian forces that are significantly depleted. They’ve taken very heavy losses. They’ve been in combat in many cases for a year or more, continuous, in the lines,” the retired general said.

Coalition providing Ukraine with fighter jets now has nine countries

Saturday 3 June 2023 05:30 , Vishwam Sankaran

The coalition of countries providing Ukraine with Western-built fighter jets now comprises nine countries, according to Volodymyr Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff Ihor Zhovkva.

He said the coalition includes the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, and France.

These countries have either pledged to train Ukrainian pilots or to provide the war-torn country with modern fighter jets.

The coalition is now reportedly taking steps to accelerate the training of Ukrainian pilots to “including, but not limited to, the F-16s.”

Ukraine's counteroffensive 'not a movie,' Zelensky says

Saturday 3 June 2023 04:48 , Vishwam Sankaran

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country’s upcoming counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied territories is “not a movie,” adding that it is difficult to describe it to the public in advance.

“The main thing is for Russia to watch it. And not only watch it but feel it,” Mr Zelensky said at a press conference yesterday.

Without providing details on the timeline of when the counteroffensive would start, he said “you will understand that it has begun.”

Blinken calls Russia's invasion of Ukraine 'case study in failure'

Saturday 3 June 2023 04:08 , Vishwam Sankaran

US secretary of state Antony Blinken told a crowd at the Helsinki City Hall in Finland that the full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia was a “case study in failure”.

“When you look at President Putin’s long-term strategic aims and objectives, there is no question: Russia is significantly worse off today than it was before the full-scale invasion,” he said, according to KyivPost.

Mr Blinken said the Russian president has “revealed weakness where he aimed to project strength and where he intended to divide, he has united.”

He called out Mr Putin for sending Russians to die in “a meat grinder of his own making.

Car bomb targets ‘Kremlin supporters'

Saturday 3 June 2023 04:01 , Jane Dalton

A car bomb targeted four “collaborators” in Russian-occupied Mykhailivka, The Kyiv Independent reports.

According to exiled Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, the “Kremlin supporters” were in a car that exploded, it said.

There was no information yet on whether anyone was killed.

Mykhailivka is in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, near the nuclear power plant, and has been under Russian occupation since the start of the invasion.

British troops train Ukrainian volunteers

Saturday 3 June 2023 03:01 , Jane Dalton

Ukrainian troops have been having urban combat training with British troops at an undisclosed location in England.

The Ukrainian volunteers undergo urban warfare training, as well as field training exercises under the UK-led support programme, which includes instruction in weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and the law of armed conflict.

US says tanks and F-16s will not be ready for counteroffensive

Saturday 3 June 2023 02:01 , Jane Dalton

Training for Ukrainian forces on advanced US Abrams tanks has begun, but will not be ready in time for the imminent counteroffensive, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned:

U.S.: Tanks, F-16 jets part of long-term strategy for Ukraine, won't be ready for upcoming offensive

Russian attack on Kharkiv leaves residents homeless

Saturday 3 June 2023 01:01 , Jane Dalton

Residents have been receiving free meals from volunteers after their apartments were damaged in a Russian rocket attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine.

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

Saturday 3 June 2023 00:01 , Natalie Crockett

When Dmitry Medvedev gave back the top spot in the Kremlin to Vladimir Putin in 2012, many observers hoped that the more liberal of the two men would continue to use his position to gently steer Russia in the direction of democratic reforms.

What they did not expect was how, a decade on, Medvedev has become Moscow’s primary mouthpiece for nuclear sabre-rattling, as well as death threats to the leaders of Western nations, following his mentor’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A law graduate and then assistant professor at St Petersburg State University in the 1990s, Medvedev entered politics as a consultant to Putin during his time as an official in the St Petersburg city administration, before leading Putin’s first presidential election campaign.

Arpan Rai has more:

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

No immediate Nato membership for Ukraine

Friday 2 June 2023 23:00 , Natalie Crockett

Volodymyr Zelensky has pressed Nato to let Ukraine join the alliance but members of the Western defence alliance are divided over how fast that should happen.

Many are wary that such a move could thrust member states into war with Russia.

In a joint briefing in Kyiv with Estonian President Alar Karis on Friday, Zelensky said joining the alliance was the best security guarantee for Kyiv.

“But we are adequate people and understand that we will not pull any Nato country into a war,” Zelensky said. “And that’s why we understand that we won’t be a member of Nato while this war is ongoing. Not because we don’t want to, because it’s impossible.”

Mercenary boss accuses Moscow of trying to assassinate his troops

Friday 2 June 2023 21:55 , Jane Dalton

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been arguing with top military brass for months, has escalated the feud by accusing pro-Moscow forces of trying to blow up his men.

Prigozhin’s Wagner Group troops have largely pulled back from the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, most of which they captured last month after taking heavy casualties, and handed over their positions to regular Russian forces.

Prigozhin, writing on Telegram, said his men had discovered a dozen locations in rear areas where defence ministry officials had planted various explosive devices, including hundreds of anti-tank mines. When asked why the charges had been set, the officials indicated it was an order from their superiors.

“It was not necessary to plant these charges in order to deter the enemy, as it (the area in question) is in the rear area. Therefore, we can assume that these charges were intended to meet the advancing units of Wagner,” he said.

None of the charges went off and no one was hurt, he said, adding: “We assume this was an attempt at a public flogging.”

Zelensky orders audit of air raid shelters after deaths

Friday 2 June 2023 21:00 , Natalie Crockett

President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered a review of all Ukrainian air raid shelters after three people died when they were locked out during a Russian attack.

A nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed by falling debris after rushing to a Kyiv shelter on Thursday and finding it was shut.

“There can be no excuses for this level of negligence in the city,” Zelensky said in his evening video address. He said he had told ministers to conduct a “full audit of bomb shelters”.

It comes as police detained four people as part of an investigation into the deaths. Three of them may be charged with official negligence, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

Kremlin foe Navalny's demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo -- all denied

Friday 2 June 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied.

Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organising anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

“When you are sitting in a punishment isolation cell and have little entertainment, you can have fun with correspondence with the administration,” wrote Navalny.

Read more:

Kremlin foe Navalny's demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo -- all denied

Special insurance fund for companies coming to Ukrainian Black Sea ports, says Ukraine’s agriculture minister

Friday 2 June 2023 19:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s agriculture minister Mykola Solsky said the government had already created a special insurance fund of around $547 million for companies whose ships would come to Ukrainian Black Sea ports under a new arrangement.

“If we are completely blocked, which has almost happened (already) in fact, then the carriers can go (via) this corridor with guaranteed insurance from our government,” Solsky said.

He said that ship owners could have “strong enough” confidence that the Ukrainian military and its air defences “can do their job”.

He said Ukraine still hoped the current Black Sea grain initiative would work despite the current difficulties while any new option would need a new agreement or format.

“Since in legal terms the first format is working and we have hope for it, we will try to make it work and already if we have nothing to lose, then obviously we will discuss the details of plan “B”, Solsky said.

A U.N. spokesman said on Thursday that Russia had informed officials overseeing the initiative that Moscow would limit registrations to the port of Pivdennyi until all parties agree to unblock the transit of Russian ammonia.

Ukraine would be ready to export grain across Black Sea as part of ‘plan B’, says Ukraine’s farm minister

Friday 2 June 2023 18:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine would be ready to continue exporting grain across the Black Sea as part of a “plan B” without Russian backing if Moscow pulls the plug on the current grain export deal and it collapses, Ukraine‘s farm minister said on Friday.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv last July to help tackle a global food crisis aggravated by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a leading global grain exporter.

Agriculture minister Mykola Solsky told Reuters that Russia had already blocked the use of Ukraine‘s major Black Sea port of Pivdennyi despite the deal and was allowing only one ship a day to deliver Ukrainian food to certain countries.

Russia has said it will allow more ships through if all parties to the grain deal agree to unblock the transit of Russian ammonia via a pipeline through Ukrainian territory to Pivdennyi for export.

“The latest actions that are taking place there during yesterday, the day before yesterday, today, it says more about the fact that in fact only legally it looks like this corridor works, but in reality nothing much is happening there,” Solsky said.

US sanctions Iranian firm for helping government censor internet

Friday 2 June 2023 18:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The U.S. imposed sanctions on an Iran-based technology firm on Friday for its role in facilitating the Iranian government’s censorship of the internet as anti-government protests have swept the country since September.

A firm known as Arvan Cloud, its co-founders Pouya Pirhosseinloo and Farhad Fatemi, and a United Arab Emirates-based firm were all sanctioned for helping to facilitate the Iranian government’s attempts to control and censor internet traffic.

Internet disruptions were instituted after homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman detained by the country’s morality police, escalated into large-scale protests.

Iran’s export of attack drones to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine has increased tensions.

Read the full story:

US sanctions Iranian firm for helping government censor internet

One woman dies and three children injured after car drives over mine in Kharkiv

Friday 2 June 2023 17:50 , Eleanor Noyce

One woman has died and three children have been injured after the car they were travelling in drove over a mine, Sky News reports.

“I emphasise once again that mine danger in Kharkiv Oblast remains very high,” Oleg Sinegubov, head of Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region, said, adding that the vehicle was “blown up by an unknown explosive device.”

The incident occurred in the Bogodukhiv district at approximately 12pm on Friday.

“Be as careful as possible. Do not visit forests, fields, forest strips, roadsides, water banks”, Mr Sinegubov added.

A 37-year-old woman died at the scene, with three teenagers - two 12-year-olds and a 15-year-old - taken to hospital after they sustained serious injuries.

Analysis: The tension between Kosovo and Serbia has deep roots. The EU and US are still struggling to find a solution...

Friday 2 June 2023 17:20 , Eleanor Noyce

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the issue that loomed largest over the summit of 47 European leaders in Moldova on Thursday, a significant undercurrent involved a crisis between Kosovo and Serbia around 500 miles away.

Tensions that have existed for decades burst into fresh violent clashes this week in northern Kosovo – and the political fallout shows few signs of abating quickly. The US, the EU and Russia are among those weighing in, while Nato has said it is ready to send more troops to the area if an end to the unrest is not forthcoming.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Analysis: The decades of tension behind violent clashes in Kosovo

Russia's Belgorod governor: two hurt, industrial site ablaze after shelling

Friday 2 June 2023 16:55 , Eleanor Noyce

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Friday that two people had been injured and an industrial facility had caught fire after shelling around the border town of Shebekino.

Both Belgorod region and the town of Shebekino, which are adjacent to Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region, have come under repeated fire in recent weeks from the Ukrainian side of the border.

Watch: Antony Blinken delivers speech on Russia’s ‘failure’ in Ukraine during Finland trip

Friday 2 June 2023 16:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Watch as Antony Blinken delivers a speech on how Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has “failed” as part of his trip to Finland on Friday, 2 June.

The US secretary of state was expected to talk about how the US will continue to support Ukraine in pursuit of lasting peace.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Blinken met his Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki to sign a joint statement and make short remarks.

Mr Blinken has made a trip to Europe to “deepen transatlantic cooperation on top national security and economic priorities.”

He is visiting Helsinki to highlight the US’s relationship with Nato’s newest ally.

Watch:

Watch: Antony Blinken delivers speech Ukraine war during Finland trip

Russia: Chechen special forces waging offensive in east Ukraine

Friday 2 June 2023 16:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that the “Akhmat” group of Chechen special forces were waging an offensive near the town of Mariinka, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

Together with the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, troops from Russia’s Chechen Republic have been one of the main driving forces behind Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

Akhmat commander Apti Alaudinov said on Thursday that his forces were being moved to “another area” in preparation for a counter-offensive, but did not say where the troops were or where they were going.

Unlike Prigozhin, who has repeatedly lambasted Russia’s military leadership, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has recently refrained from echoing criticism of the defence ministry.

Members of the two groups have since openly sparred, with one of Kadyrov’s close allies on Thursday casting Prigozhin as a blogger who yells all the time about problems.

Brics nations mull new trading currency to ‘not become victims’ of Western sanctions

Friday 2 June 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

The Brics group of nations is mulling a new, common currency as an alternative to the US dollar for international trade so they can avoid the brunt of the West’s sanctions on Russia amid its war in Ukraine.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa’s foreign ministers convened in Cape Town for a two-day summit to assert their aspirations in the face of rival Western countries.

The bloc was briefed by the New Development Bank, a Shanghai-based lender created by it in 2015, about the potential use of alternative currencies to the current internationally traded currencies, said Naledi Pandor, the foreign minister of host nation South Africa.

Without directly mentioning Russia, she said the aim was “to ensure that we do not become victim to sanctions that have secondary effects on countries that have no involvement in issues that have led to those unilateral sanctions”.

The bloc’s joint statement after the summit, that concluded on Friday, was titled “The Cape of Good Hope”.

Shweta Sharma reports:

Brics nations mull new trading currency to ‘not become victims’ of Western sanctions

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

Friday 2 June 2023 15:20 , Eleanor Noyce

When Dmitry Medvedev gave back the top spot in the Kremlin to Vladimir Putin in 2012, many observers hoped that the more liberal of the two men would continue to use his position to gently steer Russia in the direction of democratic reforms.

What they did not expect was how, a decade on, Medvedev has become Moscow’s primary mouthpiece for nuclear sabre-rattling, as well as death threats to the leaders of Western nations, following his mentor’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A law graduate and then assistant professor at St Petersburg State University in the 1990s, Medvedev entered politics as a consultant to Putin during his time as an official in the St Petersburg city administration, before leading Putin’s first presidential election campaign.

Arpan Rai reports:

How Dmitry Medvedev went from being Russia’s president to Vladimir Putin’s attack dog

Russian-backed official says Ukraine shelled port of Berdyansk

Friday 2 June 2023 15:10 , Eleanor Noyce

A Russian-installed official in Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia region said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had shelled the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov and that a number of people had been injured.

“Information on the fatalities is being clarified,” Vladimir Rogov said on the Telegram messaging app. He was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency that British “Storm Shadow” missiles had been used in the attack.

Zaporizhzhia is one of five Ukrainian regions, including the Crimea peninsula, that Russia claims to have annexed.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website