This blog is closing now. We’ll be back in a few hours with more rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine.
In the meantime, you can find all our coverage of the conflict here and this is a full report on the key developments of the last 24 hours.
Summary
It’s 2am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
- 14 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, the majority women and children, said the United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine Amin Awad on Friday. In a statement released on the 100th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Awad spoke of displaced Ukrainians, describing the “scale and speed of [their] displacement not witnessed in history.”
- Moscow will help restore and rebuild Luhansk and Donetsk, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Friday after a visit to Luhansk. Approximately 1,500 specialists from various departments of the Moscow municipal economy complex and 500 pieces of equipment have arrived in Luhansk, said the mayor.
- Ukraine’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.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Ukraine must meet all the necessary standards and conditions for accession. The president went on to call on the EU to help Ukraine achieve its goals.
- 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. In addition to global food shortages, other issues discussed between the two leaders included grain supplies that are stuck in Ukrainian ports.
- “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. “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,” he added.
- Ukrainian 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.
- French 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”. “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.
- Switzerland’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.
Updated
14 million Ukrainians forced to flee since February, says UN
14 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, the majority women and children, said the United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine Amin Awad on Friday.
In a statement released on the 100th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Awad spoke of displaced Ukrainians, describing the “scale and speed of [their] displacement not witnessed in history.”
Awad went on to add:
This war has taken an unacceptable toll on people and engulfed virtually all aspects of civilian life. This war has and will have no winner. Rather, we have witnessed for 100 days what is lost: lives, homes, jobs and prospects. We have witnessed destruction and devastation across cities, towns and villages. Schools, hospitals and shelters have not been spared.
More than 3 million children saw their education suspended – an entire generation of children whose future hangs in the balance. All over the country, hundreds of thousands of people do not have access to water and electricity, and millions do not know where their next meal is coming from. 15.7 million people are in need of humanitarian support now, with numbers growing.
One hundred days on, the war ravages unabated especially in the east of the country. And with winter coming, millions of civilian lives could be in peril.
The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners in Ukraine continue supporting those whose lives have been shattered by war. In the past 100 days, we have provided immediate humanitarian aid to some 8 million people across the country, including in besieged cities in the east of Ukraine.”
Moscow 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.”
Ukraine’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.
Updated
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 reports.
⚡️ Von der Leyen: Ukraine's admission to the EU is the bloc's 'moral duty.'
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 3, 2022
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.
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.
Updated
“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.”
Ukrainian forces recapture 20% of territory lost in Sievierodonetsk, says Ukraine
Ukrainian 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.
Updated
French 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.
Updated
Switzerland’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.
Updated
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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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.
Updated
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.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 3, 2022
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.
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
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 3, 2022
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
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.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 3, 2022
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
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
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) June 3, 2022
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
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.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 3, 2022
Our support for Ukraine will never waver until Ukrainians enjoy the peace and freedom that their heroism deserves. pic.twitter.com/BnNVHusMoM
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”.
100 days too many. https://t.co/IjMVmz7MXv
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) June 3, 2022
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Kyiv “is ready to resume exports” from the port of Odesa.
Kuleba tweeted:
The question is how to make sure that Russia doesn’t abuse the trade route to attack the city of Odesa.
He added that there were “no guarantees from Russia so far”.
Ukraine is ready to create necessary conditions to resume exports from the port of Odesa. The question is how to make sure that Russia doesn’t abuse the trade route to attack the city of Odesa. No guarantees from Russia so far. We seek solutions together with the UN and partners.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 3, 2022
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 statement continued:
They were travelling in a vehicle provided by the Russian-backed separatists and driven by an individual assigned by the separatists. The driver of the vehicle was killed.
The agency extended its deepest sympathies to the family of the driver for their loss. It did not provide any further details about the incident.
The west needs to test Vladimir Putin’s sincerity in saying he will release grain trapped in Ukraine’s ports in the interests of preventing a worldwide famine, the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said.
The Austrian leader, speaking at a conference in Bratislava, said the world did not have the time to sort out the crisis, warning the threat of a famine all over the world was “really dangerous” and likely to see governments being destabilised.
Nehammer is one of a small group of European politicians that have remained in touch with Putin. He nevertheless said he had received verbal guarantees from Putin that he would allow grain convoys to leave Odesa, adding if the port was demined by Ukraine Russian ships would not attack Odesa.
He added:
The question always is, if you talk to the president of the Russian Federation, is how far we can trust him ... We have to try to find out if he is really a partner on the question of bringing out the corn out, or not.
As much as 20m tonnes of corn is waiting to be shipped out of Odesa, but the cargo ships cannot sail both because Odesa port is mined and there is no guarantee that the Russians that control the Black Sea will not intervene.
Nehammer added there could be no question of the EU lifting sanctions on Russia in return for Russia giving the grain convoys safe passage.
United Nations officials, along with Turkey, are discussing the terms for grain convoys to run along a safe humanitarian naval corridor. Meetings are planned for next week.
The Slovak prime minister, Eduard Heger, agreed that Europe could not succumb to Russian blackmail to lift the sanctions if he lifted the blockade, saying “it is a separate issue”.
Both men acknowledged the pressure from the African Union to ensure that Russian fertiliser exports were not blocked by sanctions. The US says there are no specific sanctions on Russian fertiliser exports.
The president of Senegal and the African Union, Macky Sall, on a visit to Sochi, urged Putin to take into consideration the suffering of the continent due to the blockage of grain exports. Sall asked Putin to “be aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theatre of war, are victims of the war on an economic level”.
“Everything related to food, wheat, fertilisers should be” excluded from the sanctions against Russia, Sall later said, saying that due to the restrictive measures “we no longer have access to wheat from Russia and in particular to fertilisers” which are crucial for Africa. “This really creates serious threats to the continent’s food security,” the AU president warned again.
Updated
‘Critical’ situation at Russian-held nuclear plant, says 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 defence ministry’s defence intelligence said:
A critical situation has developed at the ... plant in terms of ensuring stable and safe operations. There are practically no spare parts and expendable materials left.
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.
The facility is being operated by week-long rotations of staff who have all of their personal belongings and phones taken from them when they begin, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said in a statement.
Updated
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 told a briefing.
Pavlichenko said:
As for sexual violence against the civilian population, this is a very difficult topic. A topic that, as a rule, the victims do not want to talk about, because the fear and pain that they experienced ... they want to forget as soon as possible.
Updated
The chair of the African Union, Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, said Vladimir Putin “expressed a readiness” to ease exports of Ukrainian cereals during a meeting between the two leaders earlier today.
Sall tweeted photos of the pair meeting in Sochi, and said Putin told him Russia was “ready to ensure the export of its wheat and fertiliser”.
Je remercie le Président #Poutine pour son aimable accueil et pour notre entretien convivial en compagnie du Président @AUC_MoussaFaki de la Commission de @_AfricanUnion . pic.twitter.com/e3rTjDbYrx
— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) June 3, 2022
Le Président #Poutine nous a exprimé sa disponibilité à faciliter l’exportation des céréales ukrainiennes.
— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) June 3, 2022
La Russie est prête à assurer l’exportation de son blé et de son engrais.
J’appelle tous les partenaires à lever les sanctions sur le blé et l’engrais. pic.twitter.com/7PqVLNhqWD
Updated
EU bans most Russian oil, sanctions Putin’s alleged girlfriend and Bucha and Mariupol ‘butchers’
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.
The EU released the names of 65 more people targeted by the latest round of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, among them Kabaeva, whom it described as “closely associated” with Putin, although he has denied they are romantically linked.
Also named was Azatbek Omurbekov, who the EU said led Russian troops as they “killed, raped and tortured civilians” in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, earning him the nickname “Butcher of Bucha”.
Another addition to the blacklist is Mikhail Mizintsev, a general the EU said oversaw the siege and bombardment of the southern port city of Mariupol that killed thousands. Russian strikes on Mariupol hit a maternity hospital and a theatre, killing hundreds of children, the EU said, dubbing him “the Butcher of Mariupol”.
One name that did not appear on the blacklist is the head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, after Hungary demanded he be taken off the list.
The latest round of sanctions also included a ban on most oil imports and removing Russia’s top lender Sberbank from the international SWIFT payments system.
The sanctions cover the two-thirds of Russian exports currently being brought in by ship and come into full force in six months for crude oil and eight months for refined products.
Today so far...
It’s just past 6pm 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.
- 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.
-
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.”
- Ukrainian officials are embarking on a concerted diplomatic push to start the country’s journey towards EU membership. However, there are still doubts in a number of western European capitals over whether it is possible to begin the formal process already.
- Russia is now achieving tactical success in Donbas and controls more than 90% of Luhansk, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence report. After Russian forces failed to achieve their initial objectives to seize Kyiv and Ukrainian centres of government, Russia adapted its operational design to focus on the Donbas, the report reads.
- The UK has taken in fewer Ukrainian refugees per capita than all but one of 28 European countries, a Guardian analysis of official figures from across the continent has found. The Home Office put the number of Ukrainians who had arrived in the UK as of 29 May at 65,700 – equivalent to about 10 refugees per 10,000 population. In comparison, Poland has admitted the highest rate of Ukrainian refugees of any EU country, taking in 957 refugees per 10,000 population.
Good afternoon from London. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong here to bring you all the latest news from the war in Ukraine. I’m on Twitter or you can email me.
Dmitry Ivanov, a pro-democracy activist and computer science student who runs the “Protest at MGU” (Moscow State University) Telegram channel, has been put into a pre-trial detention facility and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Our Pjotr Sauer spoke to Ivanov for a story we published in March about Russian anti-war activists who refused to flee the country despite the risks.
Dmitry Ivanov, who runs the “Protest at MGU” telegram channel has been sent to a pre-detention facily. He is one of the few anti-war activists still in Russia. “I don’t think I should be afraid or run away. This is my country,” he told us in Marchhttps://t.co/71mNqteh7b
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) June 3, 2022
Every single person that we talked to for this story has either been jailed, fined or fled the country
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) June 3, 2022
Updated
The head of the African Union, Macky Sall, urged Vladimir Putin to consider the suffering of African countries from food shortages caused by Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
The Russian president hosted Sall, who is the president of Senegal, at his Black Sea residence in Sochi where the pair discussed global food shortages and grain supplies stuck in Ukrainian ports.
Sall asked Putin to “become aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theatre (of action), are victims on an economic level” of the conflict, AFP reports.
“Everything that concerns food, grain, fertiliser” must be “actually outside” of western sanctions against Russia, Sall said, adding that due to sanctions “we no longer have access to grain from Russia and especially fertiliser” that is crucial for Africa’s “already deficient” agriculture.
Sall added:
That really creates serious threats to the food security of the continent.
In his remarks in front of reporters, Putin did not mention grain supplies but said Russia was “always on Africa’s side”.
Putin said:
At the new stage of development, we place great importance on our relations with African countries, and I must say this has had a certain positive result.
Updated
The official Telegram channel of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has been sharing an update from Russia’s investigations into crimes it says have been committed by Ukrainian forces in areas of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia.
The website of the investigative committee of the Russian federation has stated that at a meeting in Mariupol “the involvement of six more security officials has been established” in what it alleges are crimes, and that “nine more were detained and brought to criminal responsibility”. The committee lists the defendants and the Ukrainian military units to which they belonged.
The report states:
It is noted that a significant part of the crimes against civilians is committed with particular cynicism. Random passers-by or people who provided medical assistance to wounded relatives or townspeople were subjected to reprisals. The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, after listening to the circumstances of individual crimes, added that the actions of representatives of the Ukrainian national battalions sometimes exceed the brutality of the Wehrmacht soldiers during the Great Patriotic War. He emphasised the need for a detailed reflection in the case files of information that the executors of the orders of the Ukrainian command about shelling and targeted killings of civilians were aware of their criminal nature.
The report also claims, without any supporting evidence, that in Mariupol “about 70% of houses were seriously damaged by Ukrainian armed groups”.
The port city of Mariupol was besieged by Russian forces for about two months at the start of the latest Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, has posted a message on Telegram to mark 100 days of the war. He says:
100 days of Russia’s barbaric war to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians …
100 is like one long, difficult day. Emotions, hard work, bloody battles, losses and deaths. However, a time of courage and perseverance. We stand and fight all together. Everyone in their place. We admire our armed forces. We will liberate our land from the Russian barbarians who came to it!
Yes, it will be difficult. But I believe that each of us will pass through these trials with dignity. Because this is a war of evil and good. And goodness and justice still win.
Ukraine has granted citizenship to prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov, who fled Russia in March with his wife after denouncing the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been seeking the arrest of Nevzorov, accusing him of spreading false information.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said the authorities in Kyiv had granted citizenship to Nevzorov and his wife, Lydia.
Nevzorov confirmed he had received Ukrainian citizenship in a statement on Telegram messenger, in which he said Russia’s war was a crime and Ukraine its victim.
“I take the side of the victim. And I am damn grateful to those tormented, desperate, bloodied people of Ukraine who allowed me to take my place among them,” he said.
Russia launched an investigation against Nevzorov, whose YouTube channel has over 1.8 million subscribers, after he reported that Russian forces had deliberately shelled a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol. Russia has denied the bombing, accusing Ukraine of a “staged provocation”.
Updated
Zelenskiy declares ‘victory will be ours’ on 100th day of war
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 Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, and presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelenskiy said:
The leaders of parliamentary factions are here. The president’s chief of staff is here. Prime minister of Ukraine Shmyhal is here. Podolyak is here. The president is here.
Our team is much bigger. The armed forces of Ukraine are here. Most importantly, our people, the people of our country, are here.
He adds:
We have been defending Ukraine for 100 days. Victory shall be ours. Glory to Ukraine.
The video, posted today, echoes a similar video the president posted on 25 February, a day after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, in which he says “we are all here” while standing with his team.
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The Guardian’s Shaun Walker on how some Ukrainians are looking back on the weeks before Russia’s invasion and asking if more could have been done:
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in the early hours of 24 February, with mass missile strikes and the advance of a land force from several directions, many key Ukrainian officials were apparently caught by surprise. Some were fast asleep.
There had been rumours of a Russian invasion for weeks, and the previous evening US and Ukrainian intelligence received information that pointed to an invasion that night with almost certainty. Yet there was little in the way of last-minute efforts to fortify towns close to the border, or to warn citizens to brace for the inevitable.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was at home with his wife and children. Numerous officials in charge of key regions close to the border, and mayors of cities containing strategic military targets, have told the Guardian in interviews over recent weeks that they were in bed and woke up in shock at the sound of booms, rather than having spent the final hours of peace coordinating the defence of their towns.
It is possible it would not have made a difference anyway, but as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reaches the 100-day mark some are starting to look back at the period in the buildup to the war and ask if more could have been done.
There is widespread acknowledgment, even among Zelenskiy’s fiercest political opponents, that his wartime leadership has been defiant and inspirational. But along with the praise there are also questions about those weeks before the war, in January and February.
Why did Zelenskiy remain sceptical of the increasingly alarming warnings from US intelligence that Vladimir Putin was planning a full-scale invasion? Could he have done more to prepare the country? Would it have had much effect?
“We don’t want to initiate an investigation for a while, but we cannot avoid it in the future,” said Volodymyr Ariev, an MP with the European Solidarity party of the former president Petro Poroshenko. He said his party had been pushing for weeks in the run-up to the invasion for the government to take the threat of war more seriously.
Read the full article: As war drags on, Ukrainians start to ask: could we have prepared better?
Updated
Vladimir Putin and his “war of aggression” are responsible for the risk of famine in Africa and not the west, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Germany strongly condemns the Russian president’s attempt to create a narrative that the west is responsible for causing the global food crisis, they said at a regular government news conference.
The foreign ministry spokesperson said:
We have to stress that the fact that there is a risk of famine in parts of the world, that some countries are being cut off from grain exports, is a consequence of the Russian war of aggression and not of western sanctions.
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.
Thousands of people “are living with the anguish of not knowing what happened to their loved ones”, ICRC’s director general, Robert Mardini, said.
Mardini’s statement said:
It would be hard to exaggerate the toll that the international armed conflict in Ukraine has had on civilians over the last 100 days. The scale of destruction in cities defies comprehension.
Homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed and civilians have suffered the horrors of conflict, with lives lost and families torn apart.
He urged all parties to allow access to prisoners of war, adding that “while we have been able to visit some prisoners of war, the parties are yet to give us access to them all. And some is not enough.”
Updated
Here’s more from the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who 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, the state-owned news agency Belta cited Lukashenko as saying.
The topic was discussed in a phone call between Lukashenko and the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, today, Belta reports.
Lukashenko told Guterres that Belarus was ready to free up needed capacity on its railway for Ukraine’s grain, Belta said.
The Belarusian leader also proposed organising talks between Belarus, Ukraine and countries which are ready to provide access to their ports, Belta said.
The state-owned news agency added:
At the same time, the most important thing, as was mentioned during the conversation, is that these ports – in Germany, Poland, the Baltic States or Russia – should be open for Belarusian goods as well.
It also said:
If conditions were created for the transit of Ukrainian grain, the ports that will be handling it should also be able to load goods from Belarus.
Belarus, a major global potash producer, has been impacted by strict western sanctions since 2021 which disrupted its exports of the fertiliser via the Baltic Sea ports.
The disruption of exports of both grains and fertilisers is caused by “the policies that the West and the rich countries, especially the United States, are pursuing today”, Lukashenko was quoted by Belta as saying.
Earlier today, local newspaper Belarus Today quoted Lukashenko as saying:
Now everyone is looking for logistics ... Okay, we can talk. We do not mind: bring it through Belarus, but there must be compromises.
Earlier this week, Guterres cautioned that any agreement to unblock shipments of commodities from the region was still some way off because “the fact that everything is interlinked makes the negotiation particularly complex”.
Updated
Updated
The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said increased German military spending meant the country was remilitarising and would increase security risks for Moscow.
Reuters quotes Zakharova as saying:
We perceive the statement of the German chancellor [Olaf Scholz] as yet another confirmation that Berlin has set a course for an accelerated remilitarisation of the country.
How could this end? Alas, this is well known from history.
Updated
The UK has taken in fewer Ukrainian refugees per capita than all but one of 28 European countries, a Guardian analysis of official figures from across the continent has found.
Seven million people have fled Ukraine for other European countries since Russia invaded on 24 February, according to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).
The Home Office put the number of Ukrainians who had arrived in the UK as of 29 May at 65,700 – equivalent to about 10 refugees per 10,000 population.
As of 11 May, 720,000 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in Germany, which has a population of similar size to the UK’s, working out at 87 per 10,000 population.
France is the only European country with a roughly equivalent per capita figure to the UK’s, with just over 57,500 arrivals as of 25 May, or nine refugees per 10,000 population – although figures from individual prefectures indicate that 93,000 have now arrived in the country, significantly more than the most recently available official figure.
Some much smaller countries by population, including Austria, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, have admitted many more refugees in both absolute and relative terms, according to their governments. Bulgaria, for example, was the initial destination for more than 290,000 people fleeing the war, equating to 423 per 10,000 population.
The countries bordering Ukraine have, as would be expected, admitted many more still: UNHCR data shows that a combined 5 million refugees have entered Poland, Romania and Hungary. Poland has admitted the highest rate of Ukrainian refugees of any EU country, taking in 957 refugees per 10,000 population.
Russia ‘will continue in Ukraine until all goals achieved'
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has been speaking with reporters at his regular briefing, where he said Russia will continue its military “operation” in Ukraine until all its goals have been achieved.
Referring to the Russian-controlled territories in Luhansk and Donetsk, Peskov said:
One of the main goals of the operation is to protect people in the DNR and LNR. Measures have been taken to ensure their protection and certain results have been achieved.
He also spoke about the meeting between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the chair of the African Union, Senegal’s president Macky Sall, in Sochi later today.
The visit by Sall and the president of the African Union Commission to Russia has been planned “amid efforts from the presidency to contribute to de-escalation amid the war in Ukraine, and to free stocks of cereals and fertilisers, the blockade of which particularly impacts African countries”, a statement by Sall’s office read.
The agenda of the meeting will include the “deep concern of the African continent about the growing food crisis and lack of fertilisers”, Peskov said.
He added that Putin will give the Senegalese president an “exhaustive” explanation of what is really happening with Ukrainian grain.
The topic of Ukrainian grain will also be high on the agenda when the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, visits Turkey next week, the Kremlin said.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here taking over from Martin Belam to bring you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Today so far …
- Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday that Russian forces are occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament. The front lines of battle now stretch across more than 1,000km (620 miles), he said.
- Ukraine has had “some success” in the battles in Sievierodonetsk but it is too early to tell, according to Zelenskiy. “The situation there is the hardest now, just as in the cities and communities nearby – Lysychansk, Bakhmut and others. Many cities are facing a powerful Russian attack,” he said in his latest national address.
- About 60% of the infrastructure and residential buildings in Lysychansk, one of only two cities in the east still under at least partial Ukrainian control, have been destroyed from attacks, according to a local official. Oleksandr Zaika, head of the Lysychansk City military-civil administration, said 20,000 people were left in the city, down from a pre-war population of 97,000.
- About 800 people, including children, are hiding underneath the Azot chemical factory in Sievierodonetsk, according to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk region. The UK’s ministry of defence said Russia had taken control of most of Sieverodonetsk, a key eastern Ukrainian city that has come under intense Russian shelling.
- Russia is now achieving tactical success in Donbas and controls more than 90% of Luhansk, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence report released early this morning.
- The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said Ukraine does not intend to use US-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory, and said it is disinformation from Russia to suggest they would. He said “Our partners know where their weapons are used.”
- Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said he believed the Kremlin was trying to move the war into a “protracted phase” by building layered defences in occupied regions in the south of the country, primarily in Kherson.
- Pro-Russian officials in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine said a decree had been issued to “nationalise” state assets in the south-eastern region. The deputy head of the Moscow-imposed administration, Andrei Trofimov, said the nationalisation would affect land, natural resources, and facilities in strategic sectors of the economy, as well as property owned by Ukraine as of 24 February.
- Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk has pleaded with Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz during a visit to Berlin to supply Kyiv with state-of-the-art weapons systems to help it resist Russia’s advance in the east of the country.
- Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has said the EU stands with Ukraine as she marked 100 days since Russia’s latest invasion of the country. She said she would discuss “the EU’s current & future support to the country” with French president Emmanuel Macron later today.
- Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with a local newspaper that his country was ready to discuss possible transit of Ukraine’s grain via Belarus.
- Kyiv’s ambassador to Ankara has said Turkey is among the countries that is buying grain that Russia stole from Ukraine.
- Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said the alliance was in touch with Turkey to find a “united way” forward to address Ankara’s concerns over Sweden and Finland’s bid to join. Stoltenberg’s latest remarks come after he told reporters yesterday that he would convene senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Brussels in the coming days to discuss the issue.
- Russia’s foreign ministry has said it was summoning the heads of US media outlets in Moscow to a meeting next Monday to notify them of measures in response to US restrictions against Russian media.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you for the next few hours.
Russia’s foreign ministry has said it was summoning the heads of US media outlets in Moscow to a meeting next Monday to notify them of measures in response to US restrictions against Russian media.
“If the work of the Russian media - operators and journalists - is not normalised in the United States, the most stringent measures will inevitably follow,” Reuters reports ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Updated
More talks are needed to strike a deal on allowing exports from Russia as part of an envisaged accord to resume Ukrainian food exports, the United Nations crisis coordinator for Ukraine has said.
“There was in principle agreement from Russia that they will agree to that, however there is more negotiation to be done to also ... facilitate the exports of Russia,” Reuters reports Amin Awad told an online UN news briefing from Geneva.
In another development, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with local newspaper Belarus Today that his country was ready to discuss possible transit of Ukraine’s grain via Belarus.
“Now everyone is looking for logistics... Okay, we can talk. We do not mind: bring it through Belarus, but there must be compromises,” the newspaper reported, citing Lukashenko.
Updated
Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker has pleaded with Germany’s chancellor to supply Kyiv with state-of-the-art weapons systems to help it resist Russia’s advance in the east of the country.
“Of course we above all need modern weapons”, said Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada, who is visiting Olaf Scholz and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin today.
“We can also fight with old weapons from old stocks, but new weapons are more efficient, Stefanchuk said. He specifically asked Germany to supply Marder and Leopard tanks.
On Wednesday Scholz had surprised some of his critics by announcing a delivery of German-produced Iris-T ground-to-air missile systems, a move that was expressly welcomed by Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin.
Initially wary of shipping heavy weapons to the ongoing conflict, Berlin in recent weeks announced deliveries of 50 Gepard flak tanks and seven Panzerhaubitzen 2000 howitzers – which have yet to arrive in Ukraine, however.
Updated
Ukraine defence minister: Russia constructing defences in Kherson, trying to move war into 'protracted phase'
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said he believed the Kremlin was trying to move the war into a “protracted phase” by building layered defences in occupied regions in the south of the country.
“The Kremlin is trying to move the war into a protracted phase,” Reuters reports he told the Globsex 2022 Bratislava forum by video link.
“Instead of advancing, the Russian armies are constructing layered defences” in southern occupied regions, primarily Kherson, he said.
Reznikov also addressed the issue of potential Nato membership for Ukraine. The alliance is meeting to discuss its’ ten year strategy in June, and Reznikov said “Ukraine will be also part of the strategy, because we also are the part of eastern flank of Europe, the eastern flank of Nato countries, eastern flank of the EU. I think it will be a win-win situation for all countries,” Reznikov said, “if we are talking about the membership of Ukraine with Nato de facto not de jure, it could be the good idea in this strategy.”
Kyiv’s ambassador to Ankara has said Turkey is among the countries that is buying grain that Russia stole from Ukraine.
Reuters reports ambassador Vasyl Bodnar also told reporters he has sought help from Turkish authorities and Interpol investigating who is involved in the shipments of grains transiting Turkish waters.
Russian forces have reopened the port of Mariupol, having fully occupied the city and demined the waters surrounding it.
Former Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk writes for us today, saying that Ukraine is desperate for peace, but won’t sign up to a bogus Russian deal:
Among those who advised a quick fix was the former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who suggested we should cede territory in exchange for ending the war. His intervention was appalling and, for a well-known strategic thinker, he was amazingly non-strategic. Conceding territory will not end the war. It will reinforce it. Russia has not abandoned its primary objective of getting rid of Ukraine, wiping us off the map. Any concessions would reward and legitimise its strategy. Far from stopping Russia’s pursuit of its broader military goals, it would feel emboldened.
Responding to force with territorial concessions would also have tragic global consequences. It would open the door to similar cases around the world. We do not want to live in a world where brute force decides which country we live in and which regime we belong to. We do not want to live in a world where only large countries can be truly sovereign.
Read more here: Andriy Zagorodnyuk – Ukraine is desperate for peace, but we won’t sign up to a bogus Russian deal
Reuters has what it says is an exclusive interview with prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova, who is overseeing multiple war crimes inquiries in Ukraine. It reports that prosecutors investigating war crimes cases in Ukraine are examining allegations of the forcible deportation of children to Russia as they seek to build a genocide indictment.
Venediktova said “We have more than 20 cases about forcible transfer of people. From the first days of the war, we started this case about genocide.”
She said that, amid the chaos and destruction wrought by Russia’s assault, focusing on the removal of children offered the best way to secure the evidence needed to meet the rigorous legal definition of genocide: “That’s why this forcible transfer of children is very important for us.”
Venediktova declined to provide a number for how many victims had been forcibly transferred. However, Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said in mid-May that Russia had relocated more than 210,000 children during the conflict, part of more than 1.2 million Ukrainians who Kyiv said have been deported against their will.
Russia in the past has said that it is offering humanitarian aid to those wishing to flee Ukraine voluntarily. Russia’s Tass state news agency on Monday quoted an unnamed law enforcement official as saying that “more than 1.55 million people who arrived from the territory of Ukraine and Donbas have crossed the border with the Russian Federation. Among them, more than 254,000 children.”
Venediktova said the war was complicating efforts to gather evidence. “To this day we don’t have access to territory. We don’t have access to people who we can ask, who we can interview,” she said. “We are waiting when this territory will be de-occupied.”
Updated
'Our partners know where their weapons are used' – Ukraine presidential adviser
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has tweeted that Ukraine does not intend to use US weapons to attack Russian territory, and said it is disinformation from Russia to suggest they would. He tweeted:
Task #1 today for Russia — to undermine trust between Ukraine and US. Ukraine is waging a defensive war and does not plan to use the MLRS to attack facilities in Russia. Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions - PSYOP of Russian special services.
Task #1 today for Russia — to undermine trust between 🇺🇦 and 🇺🇸. Ukraine is waging a defensive war and does not plan to use the MLRS to attack facilities in 🇷🇺. Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions - PSYOP of 🇷🇺 special services.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) June 3, 2022
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has said the EU stands with Ukraine as she marked 100 days since Russia’s latest invasion of the country. She tweeted:
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 Emmanuel Macron the EU’s current & future support to the country.
100 days ago Russia unleashed its unjustifiable war on Ukraine.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 3, 2022
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.
Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, has posted to Telegram to mark the 100th day of the war. He says:
During 100 days of full-scale war, the forces of PvK “West” shot down 23 cruise missiles and 11 enemy drones in the sky over Lviv region.
I would like to emphasise that these figures apply only to Lviv region, as the West Air Command operates in 8 regions in western Ukraine.
Thank you to the Air Defence Forces for responding to every threat and protecting us for 100 days day and night.
I ask the residents of the region not to ignore the air alarm signals. Every time the siren sounds, there is danger. So, we need to go to the shelter.
He also urged residents not to take photographs or video of “suspicious flying objects” but to report them to a Telegram chatbot that has been set up for that specific purpose.
Ukraine renews diplomatic push for speedy EU membership
Ukrainian officials are embarking on a concerted diplomatic push to start the country’s journey towards EU membership, as scepticism remains in a number of western European capitals about a fast-track approach.
Since Russia’s invasion, many in Europe, including Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, have spoken in favour of putting Ukraine on a speedy path to EU accession by granting it candidate status.
However there are still doubts in Berlin, Paris and other capitals over whether it is possible to begin the formal process already, before a leaders’ summit later this month that is expected to decide on the issue.
“It will be very hard to say no, but it will be even harder to say yes,” said one European diplomat briefed on the discussions.
Ultimately, the decision is likely to come down to personal discussion between European leaders at the summit, with the positions of France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz seen as crucial.
Here are some of the latest images to drop on our newswires from Ukraine.
Russia controls more than 90% of Luhansk, UK MoD says
Russia is now achieving tactical success in Donbas and controls more than 90% of Luhansk, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence report released early this morning.
After Russian forces failed to achieve their initial objectives to seize Kyiv and Ukrainian centres of government, Russia adapted its operational design to focus on the Donbas, the report reads.
Russia is now achieving tactical success in Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and currently appear to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition.
Russia controls over 90% of Luhansk oblast and is likely to complete control in the next two weeks. Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at significant resource cost, and by concentrating force and fires on a single part of the overall campaign.
Russia has not been able to generate manoeuvre or movement on other fronts or axes, all of which have transitioned to the defensive.”
However, measured against Russia’s original plan, “none of the strategic objectives have been achieved” the report adds.
In order for Russia to achieve any form of success will require continued huge investment of manpower and equipment, and is likely to take considerable further time.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 3 June 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 3, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/J6pg0zEINb
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gtepCytay9
Updated
Nato chief warns of gruelling ‘war of attrition’
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, earlier warned that Ukraine’s allies needed to brace for a gruelling “war of attrition” ahead.
Speaking to reporters following White House talks with the US president, Joe Biden, on Thursday, the secretary general told reporters:
We just have to be prepared for the long haul,” the secretary general told reporters.
Because what we see is that this war has now become a war of attrition.”
Stoltenberg said Ukrainians were “paying a high price for defending their own country on the battlefield, but also we see that Russia is taking high casualties”.
While reiterating that Nato did not want to enter direct confrontation with Russia, Stoltenberg said the western military alliance has a “responsibility” to support Ukraine.
Most wars – also, most likely this war – will at some stage end at the negotiating table, but what we know is that what happens around the negotiating table is very closely linked to the situation on the ground, on the battlefield.”
Updated
Russia now controls a fifth of Ukrainian territory
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russian forces are occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament.
The front lines of battle stretch across more than 1,000km (620 miles), Zelenskiy said, adding that 100 Ukrainians are dying on a daily basis in eastern Ukraine, and another 450-500 people are wounded.
About 60% of the infrastructure and residential buildings in Lysychansk, one of only two cities in the east still under at least partial Ukrainian control, have been destroyed from attacks, according to a local official.
Oleksandr Zaika, head of Lysychansk City Military-Civil administration, said 20,000 people are left in the city, down from a pre-war population of 97,000.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy said Ukraine has had “some success” in the battles in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk but it is too early to tell.
“The situation there is the hardest now. Just as in the cities and communities nearby - Lysychansk, Bakhmut and others. Many cities are facing a powerful Russian attack,” he said.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments until my colleague, Martin Belam, takes the reins a little later on.
It is just after 8am in Ukraine as the devastated country enters its 100th day of war.
Here is a comprehensive run-down of where things currently stand.
- Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament. The frontlines of battle stretch across more than 1,000km (620 miles), the Ukrainian president said, adding that 100 Ukrainians were dying daily in eastern Ukraine, and another 450-500 people were wounded.
- Ukraine has had “some success” in the battles in Sievierodonetsk but it is too early to tell, according to Zelenskiy. “The situation there is the hardest now, just as in the cities and communities nearby – Lysychansk, Bakhmut and others. Many cities are facing a powerful Russian attack,” he said in his latest national address.
- About 60% of the infrastructure and residential buildings in Lysychansk, one of only two cities in the east still under at least partial Ukrainian control, have been destroyed from attacks, according to a local official. Oleksandr Zaika, head of the Lysychansk City military-civil administration, said 20,000 people were left in the city, down from a pre-war population of 97,000.
- About 800 people, including children, are hiding underneath the Azot chemical factory in Sievierodonetsk, according to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk region. The UK’s ministry of defence said Russia had taken control of most of Sieverodonetsk, a key eastern Ukrainian city that has come under intense Russian shelling.
- Civilians are being urged to flee the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk as Russia bombing intensifies. With no water or electricity, 100 people heeded the mayor’s call on Thursday to evacuate.
- Pro-Russian officials in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine said a decree had been issued to “nationalise” state assets in the south-eastern region. The deputy head of the Moscow-imposed administration, Andrei Trofimov, said the nationalisation would affect land, natural resources, and facilities in strategic sectors of the economy, as well as property owned by Ukraine as of 24 February.
- Ukraine more than doubled interest rates to 25% on Thursday in a move to try to stem double-digit inflation and protect its currency, which has collapsed since Russia’s invasion. In the first interest rates intervention since president Vladimir Putin’s troops attacked on 24 February, the Ukrainian central bank’s governor, Kyrylo Shevchenko, increased the benchmark interest rate from 10% to 25%.
- Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said the alliance was in touch with Turkey to find a “united way” forward to address Ankara’s concerns over Sweden and Finland’s bid to join. Stoltenberg’s latest remarks come after he told reporters yesterday that he would convene senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Brussels in the coming days to discuss the issue.
- The White House announced a fresh round of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, targeting Russian government officials and elites as well as several yachts linked to Putin. The sanctions were announced as Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he was “grateful” to the US and its secretary of state, Antony Blinken, for a new $700m weapons package for Ukraine.
- EU ambassadors dropped the leader of Russia’s Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, from a proposed blacklist, according to diplomats. The removal of Patriarch Kirill from the list of sanctioned individuals allows the EU to agree on a new round of sanctions after opposition from Hungary.
- Russia has accused the son of a Conservative MP of involvement in the killing of a Chechen brigade commander in Ukraine. Russia’s national guard said one of its commanders, the Chechen fighter Adam Bisultanov, was killed on 26 May in a clash with a “group of mercenaries from the UK and the USA” that included the “son of a British parliamentarian”, Ben Grant.
- European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said it is in the EU’s strategic interest but also “our moral duty” to make it possible for Ukraine to join the 30-nation bloc. Zelenskiy said in his latest national address: “In a few weeks, we are waiting for the answer of the European Union on the issue of candidate status for Ukraine. We are very much looking forward to it.”
- UN aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Moscow on Friday to discuss clearing the way for exports of grain and other food from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Since the invasion, Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stalled and more than 20m tonnes of grain are stuck in silos, while Moscow says the chilling effect of western sanctions imposed on Russia has hurt its fertiliser and grain exports.
- Ten Russian servicemen who looted the property of Bucha residents have been identified and reported on suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war. “Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by investigators of … the national police of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s prosecutor general said in a statement on Thursday.
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