Date—June 1, 2022

For more information, 

subscribe on Telegram channel

Stories

1. ISW: Russian forces, including Chechen units, control up to 70% of Severodonetsk, and the Ukrainian army is gradually withdrawing from the city. Throwing all its troops at Severodonetsk, Russia exposed other sectors of the front and, in particular, created the conditions for a limited Ukrainian offensive in the Kherson region. There, Ukrainians are pushing Russian troops east of the Ingulets River and have occupied the settlement of Davidov Brod. The General Staff AFU did not report the liberation of this settlement but reported a Russian airstrike on it, which indicates that Russian troops have withdrawn from there. ISW’s findings are mainly based on the geolocation of video footage on social media. (Source: BBC).

War

1. Zelensky: “The situation is tough, 60-100 soldiers a day die in battle, and about 500 people are wounded in battle. That’s how we keep our defensive lines.” The President of Ukraine noted that the most challenging situation is in eastern Ukraine. Earlier, Zelensky said that Ukraine would not rush to deoccupy the territories if it required tens of thousands of victims but wait for the necessary weapons. (Source: Newsmax). 

2. Operational Command “South” released operational information about the events of May 31. The statement reads: “Developments in our operational area are intense and dynamic. Fighting continues on the line of contact. The enemy is looking for means and measures to counter the counteroffensive of our forces. To the positions by artillery and mortar fire, the enemy doesn’t neglect attacks of settlements by the cluster munitions from jet systems of volley fire “Tornado-S” and guns of long-range artillery “Peony” of 203 mm caliber. Apartment buildings destroyed outbuildings and garages of citizens and damaged the power supply network. In many houses, windows were broken. Several shells exploded in the gardens of private households—no casualties in our units. Faced with an accurate repulse of our shooters, we retreated to the starting positions. At the same time, the enemy conducted air reconnaissance with the Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle. Ukrainians destroyed a shot of the fighters of our anti-aircraft missile unit of the air reconnaissance. Our missile and artillery units and aircraft inflicted losses on the enemy during the day: 70 racists, self-propelled artillery, two anti-aircraft guns, 2 Msta-B howitzers, four units of armored vehicles, and five vehicles. Also, we suppressed two command and observation posts of enemy battalion tactical groups. A naval group of enemy forces continues the blockade of navigation, intensifies its actions around the Zmiiniy, and keeps two frigates ready for a missile strike, equipped with cruise missiles such as “Caliber.” The enemy’s location of anti-aircraft missile and cannon systems, multiple rocket launchers, including modernized ones, and electronic warfare stations on Zmiiny indicates the intention to protect racist ships from our defeat and the threat of weapons on the coast of Odessa. Although there are no signs of preparations for a landing operation, attempts to approach and land DRGs on the bank or at the mouth of the Danube, or demonstrative shelling of coastal areas, are not ruled out. The storm again tore off two enemy sea mines today. The waves carried one to the sloping sandy shores of Odesa, where it was neutralized, taken to a safe place, and blown up by specialists of the Naval Detachment, while they blew up the other just at sea while it was at a safe distance. Listen to the warnings of the defense forces, be vigilant and attentive, and do not expose yourself to danger in restricted areas. In particular, parts of the coast are currently particularly dangerous.” (Source: Censor).

3. General Staff AFU: The removal of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from the storage bases of the Republic of Belarus was noted. Their further transfer to the armed forces of the Russian Federation for the purpose of replenishment of current losses is not excluded. (Source: Censor).

4. UK Intelligence: Russia’s takeover of Liman is helping its main operational objective, which is likely to remain the encirclement of Severodonetsk and close the pocket around Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk region. Heavy artillery and mortar shelling continue, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Severodonetsk. Supply routes linking the buildup of Ukrainian forces with the rest of the country are likely to remain under Ukrainian control. Russia achieved more apparent local successes than at the beginning of the campaign, thanks to a large concentration of forces and firepower in a relatively small area. This forces Russia to take risks in other parts of its territories. Further, Russia will need to ensure the implementation of problematic operational tasks outside of Severodonetsk, including capturing the strategically important city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnepr-Donetsk highway. (Source: Twitter).

Opinions

1.  US President Joe Biden wrote a column about the war in Ukraine and the goals of US aid to this country. Biden writes that the United States will continue to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons and Ukraine with funding, but they want the war to remain within the borders of the country. (Source: NYT).

Economy, Social life, and Culture

1. Lavrov intends to visit Turkey as part of a military delegation in early June to discuss the possibility of creating a potential sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Earlier on Monday, in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Zelensky, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Ankara attaches particular importance to creating such a safe maritime corridor. As a result of the Russian blockade of the leading Black Sea and Azov ports, about 22 million tons of grain have accumulated in Ukraine, almost half of all Ukrainian exports. Erdogan assured Zelensky that Turkey is doing everything possible to continue negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and is ready to provide additional mediation assistance. (Source: BBC).

Military Help

1. The Swiss government has blocked the supply of Swiss-made armored vehicles to Ukraine. The Danish government wants to hand over about 20 units of its Piranha III combat vehicle fleet to Ukraine as military aid. The Danish authorities have formally applied for permission from the Swiss Secretariat of State for Economic Affairs Seco – and have been refused: Seco rejected the request a few days ago. Without Bern’s permission, aid to Ukraine is impossible: when buying cars, Denmark undertook to transfer military equipment to a third party only with the consent of Switzerland. The veto on the export of armored vehicles is reminiscent of the ammunition dispute with Germany. Seco refused to hand over ammunition to Ukraine for Gepard installations in early April. As with shell, Seco justified its “no” in the case of the Danish Piranha machines with neutrality and the War Materials Act. It bans the export of weapons to warring countries. However, it is not yet known whether Switzerland will adhere to its position, given the pressure from abroad. Last week, German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck warned that he wanted “maximum support” for Ukraine. Before Russia attacked Ukraine, Germany also ruled out arms exports to warring countries. He and his Green Party changed their minds: “We need to re-evaluate our attitude to reality.” The Swiss Federal Council is expected to decide this or next Friday. There are voices in the federal administration and parliament who see room for maneuver in the Military Materials Act: Switzerland may allow European states to hand over Swiss arms under certain conditions. Central politicians, such as State Councilor Pirmin Bischoff, favor a more generous interpretation: “The Federal Council must now take action and correct its practice. The Green Liberal parliamentary group leader, Tiana Moser, also wants to change course. and about the weapons that Switzerland has already sold to friendly democracies: “We will hand over these weapons to a country that is defending itself from the aggressor.” (Source: UP).

Invasion Damage

1. Ukraine stopped the evacuation of civilians from Severodonetsk due to continuous shelling by the Russian army. According to Jan Egeland, general secretary of the Norwegian Refugee Council, the city is experiencing horrendous destruction. “Thousands of civilians cannot leave the city because of the shooting and do not have access to water, food, medicine, and electricity,” he said. there’s practically no chance of that.” In an interview with the BBC, the head of the Luhansk region, Sergei Gaidai, said that up to 15,000 civilians could remain in the city. According to the town mayor, Alexander Stryuk, the front line cuts the town almost in half. (Source: BBC).

2. From the port of Mariupol controlled by the Russian military in the direction of Rostov-on-Don, a ship loaded with rolled metal products, the Astrakhan dry cargo ship, left. Russians took two thousand five hundred tons of rolled metal out of the port of Mariupol. Kyiv called Russia’s decision to remove metal worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Mariupol an act of looting and robbery. Before the occupation, there were about 200,000 tons of metal worth $170 million on the territory of the Mariupol port. (Source: BBC).