Here are the key events so far on Monday, June 6.
Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- Ukraine has reversed a Russian advance in Severodonetsk and recaptured about 20 percent of the strategic eastern city, meaning Ukraine now controls half, the governor of Luhansk said.
- A Russian state media journalist reported Moscow’s Major General Roman Kutuzov was killed in eastern Ukraine, adding to the string of high-ranking military casualties sustained by Moscow.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited front-line troops in the Zaporizhia region, as well as the towns of Soledar in the Donetsk region and Lysychansk in the Luhansk region, as Russia continues its attack on the Donbas.
- The website of Russia’s Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities appeared to have been hacked, with an internet search for the site leading to a “Glory to Ukraine” sign in Ukrainian, the Reuters news agency reported.
- Russia fired missiles at Western military supplies for Ukraine in Kyiv on Sunday; Ukraine claimed destroyed tanks were donated from abroad.
- The United Kingdom’s defence ministry said Ukrainian counterattacks in Severodonetsk were “likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower”.
- Russia moved several air defence systems to Snake Island in the Black Sea, an activity which contributes to Moscow’s blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders grain exports, the UK’s defence ministry said.
- Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power operator Energoatom said a Russian cruise missile flew “critically low” on Sunday morning over a major nuclear power plant.
(Al Jazeera)
Casualties
- Russian missile attacks killed three people and injured another two in the Donetsk region on Sunday, the governor said.
- Ukraine’s military said the Russian army has lost 31,250 personnel since the beginning of its invasion on February 24.
- Russian forces continued to shell Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, wounding six people, the governor said.
- Evacuations resumed from the Ukrainian-held part of Luhansk province on Sunday, and 98 people had managed to escape the town of Lysychansk, underscoring that “evacuation from Severodonetsk is currently impossible”, the regional governor said.
- Russian shelling in Luhansk wounded one woman and damaged more than 27 houses, the regional governor said.
Diplomacy
- The UK said it will supply Ukraine with M270 multiple-launch rocket systems that can attack targets up to 80km (50 miles) away in a move coordinated with the United States.
- Vladimir Putin stressed long-range missile supplies sent to Ukraine mean “we will … strike targets we haven’t hit before”.
- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Belgrade has been cancelled after North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Montenegro closed their airspace to Lavrov’s plane, Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti reported on Sunday.
Economy
- Russia has been seeking buyers among African countries for the grain stolen in Ukraine, with up to 500,000 tonnes of wheat worth $100m stolen since Moscow invaded in February, the New York Times reported.
- Russian aluminium producer Rusal filed a lawsuit against global miner Rio Tinto, seeking to win back access to its 20 percent share of the alumina produced at a jointly owned refiner in Queensland, Australia.
- Russia’s sanctions against Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries could cost German taxpayers and gas users an extra 5 billion euros ($5.36 billion) a year to pay for replacement gas, the Welt am Sonntag weekly reported, citing industry representatives.
- Lavrov said on Saturday that Western sanctions would not affect the country’s oil exports, predicting a big jump in profit from energy shipments this year.
Football
- Ukraine lost 1-0 to Wales in their World Cup qualifier match, ending Ukraine’s mission to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar while under invasion by Russia.
