Brief Facts:
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Sievierodonetsk but the overall military situation in the Donbas region has not changed in the last 24 hours.
- 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.
- U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine says Ukrainian forces themselves will determine the range of performance of HIMARS systems.
- Russian troops used strategic aircraft to launch a massive missile strike on Mykolayiv region.
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky states russia’s war kills up to 100 and wounds between 450 and 500 Ukrainian soldiers every day in Donbas.
- Zuzana 2 supply to Ukraine confirmed.
- Ireland recognizes Russia's invasion of Ukraine as genocide.
- UK will send MLRS to Ukraine.
- Russian shelling hit a methanol warehouse.
- The White House has officially confirmed, that the United States will provide Ukraine with HIMARS.
Side note: news are marked in accordance with the Kyiv time zone: Eastern European Time (EET), GMT/UTC+2
Read more: Day 98th of War Between Ukraine and Russian Federation (Live Updates)
Latest news
01:00 Ukrainian troops acting as a part of Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Group continue to conduct a defense operation in a certain area of responsibility in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas. Defenders of Ukraine have repulsed five enemy attacks on Thursday, June 2. Fighting continues at two locations.
The relevant statement was made by the Joint Forces Operation Task Force on Facebook.
"Ukrainian defenders of the Joint Forces Task Force have repulsed five enemy attacks today. Fighting is still going on at two locations. Our brave warriors inflict manpower and hardware losses on ruscist invaders," the post reads.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
Defenders of Ukraine Repel 5 Enemy Attacks, Destroy 5 russia’s Tanks, 3 UAVs in JFO Area
00:35 Russian troops killed 9 employees at Chornobyl nuclear plant, stole equipment.
It is according the information reviled in article in Washington Post.
Yevhen Kramarenko, the director of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, said the Russians had stolen equipment totaling $135 million, including nearly 700 computers, 344 vehicles, 1,500 radiation dosimeters, and firefighting equipment, the Washington Post reported. In addition, they kidnapped five workers before leaving the plant on March 31.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Washington Post
In Chernobyl’s delicate nuclear labs, Russians looted safety systems
00:10 Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Sievierodonetsk but the overall military situation in the Donbas region has not changed in the last 24 hours, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, The Guardian reports
In a late night video address, Zelenskiy thanked US President Joe Biden for promising to send missiles and said he expected good news about weapons supplies from other partners.
23:45 Ukraine’s defenders continue restrain invaders in the Operational-tactical group East area of responsibility. Enemy command and observation post was destroyed on Thursday, June 2.
The Operational and Tactical Group East reported this on Facebook.
“Ukrainian defenders continue to deter the aggressor in the area of responsibility of the Operational-tactical group East. Today, June 2, our artillery destroyed a command and observation post of the russian fascist forces,” the post reads
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
Operational-Tactical Group East: Ukraine’s Artillery Destroy Enemy a Command And Observation Post
23:10 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, The Guardian reports citing Euromaidan Press.
“According to the investigation, from February 24 to March 31, 2022, servicemen of the military unit of the National Guard of the Russian Federation during the occupation of Bucha looted the valuables of the local population. For the sole purpose of personal gain, the Russian military confiscated private property of citizens that could not be used for military purposes: from underwear and clothing to large household appliances,” the office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said in a statement on Thursday.
“Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by investigators of...the National Police of Ukraine,” the statement added.
22:50 U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine: Ukrainian forces themselves will determine the range of performance of HIMARS systems.
"As President Biden announced yesterday, a $700 million security assistance package had been signed. This includes HIMARS long-range rocket systems. This will help Ukrainian forces to aim more accurately but also have a longer range. The exact range will be determined by the Ukrainian forces," U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink told journalists after presenting credentials to the President of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
22:30 Russian troops used strategic aircraft to launch a massive missile strike on Mykolayiv region. Black Sea coast of Mykolayiv region and the rear areas of positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were also attacked
The Operational Command "South" stated this on its official page on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
“A massive missile strike with the use of strategic aviation was launched on Mykolayiv region. The enemy hit the previously destroyed railway bridge near the village of Trykhaty with four cruise missiles,” the post reads.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
Operational Command "South": Mykolayiv Region Suffered Massive Missile Strike of russia’s Strategic Aircraft
21:55 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky: The Russian Federation has created a serious threat to the water resources of a part of Europe.
“One of the most important targets for the Russian army in Ukraine today is bridges across rivers. There are occasions when the Russian army strikes missiles three times at the same bridge to completely destroy it. It is impossible to overestimate the threat that Russian aggression has created for the water potential of our entire part of Europe - the center and east, the Black Sea basin,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said, addressing the GLOBSEC International Security Forum in Bratislava.
He noted that fighting in Donbas had created a threat of groundwater pollution since 2014. If the flooding of coal mines in Donbas continues – including at the Yunkom mine, where an underground nuclear explosion took place in 1979 – poison and even radioactive contamination can get not only into the rivers of Ukraine but also into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Ukrinform reports.
20:50 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky : Russia’s war kills up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers every day in Donbas. The president also said at the International Security Forum in Bratislava that between 450 and 500 soldiers are wounded every day. “The war continues and hundreds of families will not meet their loved ones,” he said.
20:25 Russian forces are occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament.
Frontlines of battle stretch across more than 1,000km (620 miles), the Ukrainian president added, The Guardian reports.
19:50 The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has released the new operational update on the state of warfare as of 18:00 on June 2.
The enemy tactics is clear: fortifying captured positions and shelling Ukraine's settlements until our defenders retreat. Eastern direction is the most tense right now, as russia has there its main forces.
Find more details on the theme and key points of the report in a publication by Defense Express:
Ukraine’s General Staff Operational Report: Heavy Artillery Shelling On Ukraine’s Positions, Enemy Conducts Electronic Warfare
19:20 Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says Russia to intensify air attacks.
Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov stated during todays briefing in Ukraine Media Center that Ukrainian military intelligence expected Russian forces to increase air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure and attempt to capture the entire Black Sea coast all the way from the east of Ukraine to Moldova’s Transnistria.
19:00 The current situation on the battlefield in Ukraine could be a turning point in the confrontation against Russia.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this at the GLOBSEC International Security Forum in Bratislava, calling on the world to increase arms supplies to Ukraine.
"Right now on the battlefield in Ukraine is a situation that could provide a turning point in the confrontation. Right now, these days, when Russia will lose the war against Ukraine, the freedom of Europeans will win for decades to come," he stressed, Ukrinform reports.
18:30 The Mayor of Melotopol Ivan Fedorov: Resistance in Russian-occupied Melitopol is growing.
Underground resistance in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine is growing, Mayor Ivan Fedorov said, adding that a number of Russian soldiers have been killed, CNN reports.
17:30 The russo-Ukraine war may be definitely called the war of paradoxes in terms of applied armament. The evidence to the above said is another enemy’s rare armored vehicle to be spot (and destroyed), which resembles the ancient Soviet BTR-152.
Find more details about it in the article by Defense Express: Wagner Military Group Use a Rare Reincarnation of the Soviet BTR-152 in Ukraine
16:50 Operational Command North: Invaders shell area in Chernihiv region bordering Russia.
“The occupiers continue to fire on the border settlements of Chernihiv region from the territory of Russia. From 11:45 to 12:15, observers recorded 12 explosions in Mykhalchyna Sloboda. Tentatively, it was a 120mm mortar,” the statement reads, Ukrinform reports.
16:10 Russia’s stockpile of cruise missiles is not infinite and they cannot waste them “in vain”, it seems that russia's main targets have been changed as well.
Find more in the article by Defense Express: Russia to Save Kalibr Cruise Missiles, But What For?
15:40 Ireland recognizes Russia's invasion of Ukraine as genocide.
Irish Senator Mark Daly said that Ireland’s Senate had adopted the resolution on June 1. Lawmakers called on governments around the world to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia while working to end the imports of Russian oil, gas, and coal, which are “funding the Russian war machine,” the resolution reads, Kyiv Independent states.
14:40 According to the equipment and armament russia has started to apply in the war against Ukraine,it’s easy to assume that the enemy is clearly experiencing lack of necessary items to be used as intended. This time it’s a problem with drones: instead of military UAVs russia is using special equipment assigned for rescue operations.
More details in the article by Defense Express: Russians Use Emergency Drones in Ukraine
13:30 Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai: Invaders say they completely control Sievierodonetsk, but fighting continues.
"Of course, they have a huge goal, and now the town of Sievierodonetsk is the best target. But during the night that passed, they had no success in Sievierodonetsk, although they reported that they had occupied and now controlled the entire town. Unfortunately, they really control most of the town, but they do not control the whole town. The fighting continues," Haidai said, Ukrinform reports.
13:05 Russian helicopter raised from the river
Ukrainian military from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade shared a photo of the helicopter that got shot in late February during the first days of russian invasion. Confirmed by Operational Command "North". It was raised a while ago, and now it has dried and been put on display.
More details on how it happened:
Alligator From the Bottom of River: Russian Helicopter Raised On Surface
12:25 Ukrainian Navy neutralizes sea mines
Ukrainian Naval Forces Command said, over the past week, 5 mines have drifted towards the coast in the Odesa region from the Black Sea. The last one spotted was blown up safely in the sea on June 1.
11:59 Russian shelling damaged railway infrastructure
Railway infrastructure facilities were damaged in the Lviv region of western Ukraine due to the russian shelling on the evening of June 1. The situation in the region was reported by the Head of the Lviv region administration Maksym Kozytskyi, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
The railway facilities are significantly damaged, he noted. Many trains are delayed. Five people were injured. Specialists of Lviv Railway are working on the restoration of railway communication.
Update: The rail traffic has been reinstated – Yurii Buchko, Deputy Head of Lviv Oblast Military Administration.
11:47 Zuzana 2 supply to Ukraine confirmed
The contract for the provision of 8 units of Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers has been signed. It was announced by the Minister of Defense of Slovakia Jaroslav Nad. On his Twitter account, he thanked Ukraine's defense minister Reznikov and the "Konstrukta Defence" manufacturer.
11:16 Russian BM-21 "Grad" elimination
Defenders of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade have shown results of active counter-battery warfare. A russian MLRS was spotted firing on Ukrainian positions and received an artillery strike back.
10:37 Ukrainian air defense shot down a "Kub" kamikaze drone
A russian "Kub-UAV" was downed today by an air defense unit of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The aerial vehicle is called a kamikaze drone because it doesn't go back to the operator. It is able to hang in the air and attack the target by diving vertically downwards or descending on a parachute, functioning as an explosive, General Staff informs.
10:12 Russia has taken control of most of Sieverodonetsk but will need more to advance further – British intelligence
UK Ministry of Defense has released a new intelligence update on Ukraine. It says russian forces have gained control over most of Severodonetsk city in eastern Ukraine, suffering losses in the process. It was possible due to the artillery advantage. But in order to continue the offensive, the invaders will need to cross a river – a natural obstacle that is controlled by the Ukrainian Army.
"It is likely Russia will need at least a short tactical pause to re-set for opposed river crossings and subsequent attacks further into Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian armed forces have prepared defensive positions. To do so risks losing some of the momentum they have built over the last week."
09:47 The battle for Donbas requires both defense and attack – CinC of Ukrainian Armed Forces
In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Thierry Burkhard, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi discussed the current situation on the Ukrainian frontlines. It is the most difficult, in particular, in the eastern Luhansk region. Russians are trying to push Ukrainian units from their positions.
Zaluzhnyi said the operations carried out by the Defense Forces are "complex and require a combination of both defensive and offensive actions".
"However, the enemy has a decisive advantage in artillery, which raises the question of the earliest possible transition of our units to NATO-type weapons. It will save the lives of our people and our territories," he noted.
08:44 UK will send MLRS to Ukraine
The United Kingdom will send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday, Ukrinform reports citing CNN. M270 launchers are able to strike targets up to 80 kilometers away, offering "a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces," as said in a statement from the British Foreign Office.
Earlier, the United States of America announced the provision of another, more mobile MLRS to Ukraine. More details here:
The Pentagon Published List of Weapons from the 11th Aid Package to Ukraine
08:17 Russian shelling hit a methanol warehouse
Yesterday, on June 1, russian forces targeted an industrial facility in Severodonetsk, as reported by Serhii Haidai, Head of the Luhansk region administration. Several times the facility got shelled. Russians hit one of the administrative buildings and the warehouse where methanol was stored. There are no details as to the chemical pollution of the air.
07:44 Russians dropped improvised explosives from drones
The incident was recorded in the northern Sumy region, reported by Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, the Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration. An explosive has a detonator, plastic explosive, and a pile of bullets for air guns with shuttlecock feathers attached to it. Such a device affects the area of roughly 30-50 m around it.
07:13 Lithuania signed an agreement on military cooperation with Turkey to buy Bayraktar drones for Ukraine
Lithuanian defense minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced that the agreement with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Demir will "pave the way for the purchase of Bayraktar". As Defense Express earlier reported, the money (about €6 mln) for the strike UAV was raised by the civilian population of Lithuania. The fundraiser was initiated by a TV celebrity.
06:40 According to the Dziennik Ukraine will purchase about 60 more AHS Krab self-propelled artillery howitzers from Poland, in addition to the 18 already delivered to Ukraine. The agreement was signed on May 31. Kyiv will receive howitzers capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 40 km from the Guta Stalova Volia plant. Deliveries are expected in the next few months.
The value of the deal is about 3 billion zlotys (about $ 700 million). The issue of ammunition remains a problem. It is likely that the Americans will provide Ukraine with them.
Krab SPG is a 155mm Polish self-propelled gun, with a firing range of up to 40 km, a rate of fire of 6 shots per minute. To compare with a common Soviet 122mm 2C1 Gvozdika: 4-5 shots per minute, with a firing range of up to 15 km.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
Ukraine Will Purchase More AHS Krab from Poland - Media
04:55 Another "transfer of arms from Germany" showed a fundamental discrepancy between words and real actions. After stories with Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard 1A5 tanks, Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers, the case came to IRIS-T SAM, which was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
A few hours after his statement to lawmakers in the Bundestag, the German government clarified that these are new complexes that still need to be built. This was stated by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok, adding that it will take "months", reports Die Welt.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
Berlin Officially Announces Deadline for IRIS-T SAM Transfer to Ukraine
02:20 According to the Reuters sources, the Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia, three people familiar with the situation said.
The sale of the General Atomics-made drones could still be blocked by Congress, the sources said, adding that there is also a risk of a last-minute policy reversal that could scuttle the plan, which has been under review at the Pentagon for several weeks.
Ukraine has been using several types of smaller shorter range unmanned aerial systems against Russian forces that invaded the country in late February. They include the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma AE, and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2.
Find more details on the theme in a publication by Defense Express:
It became know that Ukrainian Troops Can Get New Type of Weapons from USA
00:59 According to the report of the Joint Forces Task Forces (JFTF), all over the defense line, russian troops used combat aviation, multiple launch rocket systems, cannon artillery, tanks, mortar systems, launching missile and air strikes on civil infrastructure facilities and residential areas.
The occupiers fired on 25 settlements in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, destroying and damaging 73 civilian objects, including 67 houses, Citizens' Safety Center, AZOT enterprise, furniture and central concentrator factories, and a police department. As a result, at least 3 civilians were killed and 3 others were injured. Data on the exact number of dead, wounded, destroyed and damaged in both areas are being clarified.
Ukrainian fighters repulsed 13 enemy attacks in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area over the past day.
The following enemy armored vehicles were destroyed:
- 2 Tank;
- 6 artillery systems;
- 8 armored vehicles;
- 4 automobile vehicles;
Air defense units shot down 7 russian Orlan-10 drones.
As Defense Express reported, russians are facing non-stop military losses on Ukrainian soil. About 30700 aggressor's troops were eliminated, 1022 air targets (excluding cruise missiles) of invaders were shot down, thousands of tanks, armored vehicles and tracks were destroyed by defenders of Ukraine from 24.02 to 01.06.
Read more: Chronicle of the Russian Federation Crimes in Ukraine (June)
