June 3, 2022 Russia-Ukraine war

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement renewed his call for an end to violence as Ukraine marked 100 days of Russia’s war.

He said the conflict has already killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others, and that the war has “resulted in unacceptable violations of human rights and?is inflaming a three-dimensional global crisis – food, energy and finance – that is pummeling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies.”

Guterres said the United Nations is “committed to the humanitarian effort” but ultimately, negotiations and dialogue will be necessary to resolve the conflict.

“The sooner the parties engage in good-faith diplomatic efforts?to end this war, the better for the sake of Ukraine, Russia and the world,” he said.

Residents line up to evacuate the city of Sloviansk, Ukraine on June 2.

The Ukrainian military says fighting continues in the east of the country, specifically in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Officials said Russian forces are intensifying their attacks as they try to advance from several directions and take more of the area.

Ukraine’s military says that Russian units are being reinforced on the approaches to Sloviansk, and have had “partial success” in the ongoing combat in the eastern city in the Donetsk region.

The General Staff said Friday that Russian forces are preparing to resume an offensive towards Sloviansk. It said that the Russians are concentrating a force of up to 20 battalion tactical groups in the area. The Russians had tried to launch an attack on two towns north and northwest of Sloviansk — Barvinkove and Sviatohirsk — but had been unsuccessful, the General Staff said.

In the south, Ukrainian forces say they have?made significant progress?during an offensive against Russian positions in the region of Kherson.

Here’s what else to know:

Here’s a look at the areas Russians control in Ukraine:

Staring down the prospect of an extended stalemate in Ukraine, the US and its allies are placing a renewed emphasis on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war as the?conflict grinds into its 100th day?with no clear victory in sight for either side.

US officials have in recent weeks been meeting regularly with their British and European counterparts to discuss potential frameworks for a ceasefire and for ending the war through a negotiated settlement, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. Among the topics has been a four-point framework proposed by Italy late last month. That framework involves Ukraine committing to neutrality with regard to NATO in exchange for some security guarantees, and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on the future of Crimea and the?Donbas region.

Ukraine is not directly involved in those discussions, despite the US commitment to “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” US and Ukrainian officials said the US has not been pressuring Ukraine to commit to a certain plan or directly pushing them to sit down with the Russians.

Still, there is some confusion about what kind of framework the US would consider appropriate to bring to the Ukrainians for further discussion.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters earlier this week that the Italian framework is “one of those initiatives that we certainly would love to see bring a conclusion to this horrific war and the horrific attacks on the Ukrainian people.” But two US officials told CNN that the US actually does not support the Italian proposal.

In any case, US and western officials tell CNN that there is a growing concern that if the Russians and Ukrainians don’t get back to the table and work out a deal, the war will drag on – potentially for years.

Read the full story here:

Smoke and dirt rise in the city of Severodonetsk during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops at the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 2, 2022.

Related article Western allies meet regularly to game out potential framework for Ukraine ceasefire as war hits 100th day

Russia is not standing in the way of Ukrainian grain exports, President Vladimir Putin said, calling such accusations a “bluff” in an interview with the state TV channel “Russia-1.”

“This is a bluff. And I will explain why. The world produces about 800 million tons of wheat per year. We are told that Ukraine is ready to export 20 million tons. It’s only 2.5%,” Putin said in an interview.?

Some background: Leaders around the world have been sounding the alarm as Russia’s?months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports is increasing the risk of a global food crisis and famine in some parts of the world.

Two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the prices of key agricultural products produced in the region have skyrocketed. The?biggest problem is wheat, a pantry staple. Supplies from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for almost 30% of global wheat trade, are now at risk. Global wheat prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

At the same time, Russia also appears to be ramping up its efforts to steal large quantities of Ukrainian grain, as CNN has previously reported. Russian forces?are also stealing farm equipment and thousands of tons of grain from Ukrainian farmers in areas they have occupied, as well as targeting food storage sites with artillery, multiple sources have told CNN.

Russian units have tightened their grip on parts of the rich agricultural regions of?Kherson?and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, the sources said. Sowing operations in many areas have since been disrupted or abandoned.

“We do not prevent the export of Ukrainian grain. It can be exported through ports that are under the control of Ukraine,” Putin said.?

“But we did not mine the approaches to the ports! Ukraine did. I have already said many times: let them clear the mines and let ships with grain go out,” he said.?“We guarantee their passage without any problems.”

Ukraine has accused the Russians of placing mines in the Black Sea.

Putin also suggested that the Ukrainian grain should be exported through Belarus, Romania, Hungary, and Poland, but any traffic through Belarus would involve the West lifting sanctions against its government, which is Russia’s closest ally.?

Putin also said that Russia has almost completed demining of the Ukranian ports under its occupation.

“There is another possibility (for the export of grain). These are through the ports of the Sea of Azov - Berdyansk, Mariupol which are under our control. We are ready to ensure the smooth export, including Ukrainian grain, through all these ports,” Putin told “Russia-1” state TV channel.?

“We are already completing mine clearance that Ukrainian troops have mined there. The work is being completed, we will create the necessary logistics,” Putin said.

This week, for the first time since the Russian invasion, a merchant ship left Mariupol for the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don.

Putin also said that Russia is ready to increase its own grain exports to 50 million tons in 2022-2023.?

“In the current agricultural year 2021-2022, we will export 37 million tons of grain, and for 2022-2023, I think we will raise this export to 50 million tons,” he said in an interview with a state TV channel.?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an attends a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, on June 1.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an held a phone conversation Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg regarding?the request of Sweden and Finland to join NATO.?

President Erdo?an stated that Turkey’s security concerns regarding Sweden and Finland’s membership requests are based on?“legitimate grounds,” according to the statement from the Presidency’s Communications Directorate,

He also emphasized that both countries should make it clear that they have stopped supporting?“terrorism,” that?they have lifted the sanctions against Turkey, and that they are ready to show alliance solidarity, the statement added.

Stoltenberg also drew attention to the need to meet the expectations of Turkey, an important ally, it said.

Turkey, which joined the alliance three years after it was established in 1949 and has the group’s second-largest army, has said it won’t support the membership bids unless its demands are met.

Erdo?an accused the two countries of harboring members of the separatist militant Kurdistan’s Workers Party, also known as PKK.

The PKK, which seeks an independent state in Turkey, has been in an armed struggle with that country for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.

A French man has died during fighting in Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

The statement offered condolences to the man’s family.

The foreign ministry didn’t specify details on why the man was in Ukraine or when and where exactly he was killed.

He is the second French citizen killed in the war in Ukraine in less than one week. French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, who is also chair of the African Union, discussed the ongoing food and grain crisis, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation, during a meeting in the Russian city of Sochi on Friday, according to the Kremlin.?

During the meeting, which took place at Putin’s?Sochi residence of Bocharov Ruchei, Putin told the AU chair?that “Africa’s political role in the international arena, in general, is growing” and?“we believe that Africa as a whole and its individual states, with which we traditionally have very good, without any exaggeration, friendly relations, have great prospects.”

“On this basis we intend to further develop our relations with Africa as a whole and with its individual states,” Putin said, according to a transcript by the Kremlin.?

Sall told Putin “we have high hopes for our cooperation, including bilateral cooperation between Russia and the African continent, but we are also here today to talk about the crisis and its consequences,” according to a transcript by the Kremlin.?

“As you know, a number of countries voted in favor of resolutions within the United Nations, and it should be noted that the position of the African continent is very diverse and, despite great pressure, many countries still did not condemn Russia’s position,” Sall said.?

Sall also said that sanctions against Russia have further exacerbated the situation, as they have halted access to grains, and especially wheat, from Russia.

Sall said he hopes the AU and Russia can work together on resolving those issues, as they have “consequences for food security in Africa.”

A woman walks amongst the destruction in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on June 1.

The Ukrainian military says Russian units are being reinforced on the approaches to Sloviansk as they prepare to resume an offensive toward the eastern city.

Neighboring Kramatorsk is the largest urban area in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control.?

The General Staff said Friday the Russians are concentrating a force of up to 20 battalion tactical groups in the area. The Russians had tried to launch an attack on two towns north and northwest of Sloviansk — Barvinkove and Sviatohirsk — but had been unsuccessful, the General Staff said.

It’s unclear whether the Russians have taken further territory to the east of Sloviansk after winning control of the town of Lyman late last month. The Ukrainian side says Russian forces have used artillery in two areas closer to Sloviansk — Shchurove and Brusivka.

In Severodonetsk, the General Staff said battles continue: “Under cover of artillery fire, the [Russians] stormed residential areas in the eastern part of the city. [The enemy] has partial success.”?

But the Russians had made no headway in their efforts to advance on other settlements in the pocket of territory that Ukrainian forces continue to defend — that includes Bakhmut, Soledar and Lysychansk. Once again, the General Staff said, the Russians had tried to cross the Siverskiy Donets River and “to create conditions for its crossing by the main forces of the force.”

The river has proven to be a major barrier to Russian forces.

Russian action included an airstrike by Mi-8 helicopters at the positions of Ukrainian troops in the areas of the settlements of Slatyne and Dementiivka, rural settlements north of Kharkiv.

This post has been updated.

Two Reuters journalists were injured when they came under fire near the city of?Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters spokesperson confirmed to CNN in a statement Friday.?

The driver of the vehicle they were traveling in was killed, the?spokesperson?said.?

“Reuters extends its deepest sympathies to the family of the driver for their loss,” the spokesperson said.?

The spokesperson didn’t provide additional details about the incident.

The city of Severodonetsk, in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, has seen some of the heaviest shelling in recent days. The Ukrainian military said Friday shelling of defensive positions continues and has reported Russian airstrikes in the area.?

People shovel soil into an open grave in Buch on April 20 after Russian forces had retreated from the city.

Forty-five member states in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have once again called for a fact-finding mission into human rights abuses, war crimes and potential crimes against humanity being committed in Ukraine.

This is the second time the Moscow Mechanism — the OSCE’s procedure to investigate human rights abuses — has been invoked since Russia’s war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

In a?statement?Thursday,?French OSCE Permanent Representative Christine Fages said, the 45 member states “request that the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) inquire of Ukraine whether it would invite a new mission of experts to consider, follow up and build upon the findings of the Moscow Mechanism report received by OSCE participating States on 12 April.”

The April 12 report?found “clear patterns” of violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine and detailed numerous incidents that it says could constitute war crimes.

The report says it found “credible evidence” suggesting violations of “even the most fundamental human rights (right to life, prohibition of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment) have been committed, mostly in the areas under the effective control of Russia or entities under overall control of Russia.”

In a statement at the OSCE at the time, US Ambassador Michael Carpenter said that “taken as a whole, the report documents the catalog of inhumanity perpetrated by Russia’s forces in Ukraine.”?

The 110-page report?was the result of a three-week-long fact-finding mission by the three OSCE experts, and covered the time period from the start of the war on February 24 to April 1.?

President Joe Biden speaks on Friday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

US President Joe Biden said it was up to Ukraine when asked whether the nation needs to cede part of its territory to achieve peace and end the Russian invasion, telling reporters Friday that “I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.”

Biden did add that it “appears” at some point there will need to be a “settlement” between the two countries, adding “what that entails, I don’t know.”

Biden said that in the meantime, the United States will continue to put Ukrainians in a position where they can defend themselves.

Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, told CNN that the war in Ukraine is not only a fight for freedom, but also a battle to prevent hunger around the globe.

“Ukraine will have food to feed?its people. The big question is?if we don’t have Ukraine to win?this war and to make sure that?ports like Odesa are open again, what we’re?going to have is a big food?shortage around the world,” he said from Kyiv.

Russia has implemented a blockade of Ukrainian ports, and there are more than 20 million tons of grain that are?currently stuck inside Ukraine.

Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the US State Department, and the United Nations’ program to fight food insecurity buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year.

Andrés said a potential food crisis has already been compounded by issues from hurricanes and drought around the world over the past year.

“If we?don’t think about food in the?same way we think about people, the?economy, fuel, we are going to?be up for a big problem in the year?2023,” he said.

He said he and his team were able to bring food through the Danube River, but there is not enough capacity to have multiple grain ships there. He called on democracies around the world to help open all the Ukrainian ports to ship grain.

Smoke rises from Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on June 2.

On the 100th day of war, Russian forces appear to have made little headway in the last 24 hours as they try to break Ukrainian resistance along the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. In the south, a Ukrainian counteroffensive is making progress, according to Ukrainian officials.

In Luhansk, shelling of defensive positions around Severodonetsk continues, according to the Ukrainian military’s Friday update. The military reported Russian air strikes in the area as well.?But the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that “the enemy tried to carry out assault operations, suffered losses, and retreated to previous positions.”

The military reported damage to properties in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Hirske, adding that one woman died.

Oleksandr Motuzianyk, the Ukrainian defense ministry’s spokesman, said the Russians persisted in efforts to surround Ukrainian troops?near Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. But Ukrainian units had thwarted Russian efforts to seize the nearby towns of Metiolkine and Bilohorivka, he said.?Russian forces continued assault operations in residential areas of Severodonetsk but suffered casualties.

The military said Ukrainian units inflicted heavy losses — “at least 50% of the personnel, weapons and equipment” — on the?150th Motorized Rifle Division. There is no way to independently verify that claim.

In Donetsk, fighting continued along much of the front line, with 14 towns and villages coming under fire, the general staff said. Russian forces are trying to degrade Ukrainian defenses around Bakhmut and Sloviansk. Motuzianyk later said that?Russian attempts to take two villages about 20 kilometers (or about 12 miles) northwest of Sloviansk had failed.

Altogether, the Ukrainian military reported that at least seven civilians were killed and eight were injured in the past 24 hours in Luhansk and Donetsk, but as usual gave no casualty figures for the military. It said that over the past 24 hours,1,472 people had been evacuated from areas of hostilities.

In the southern region of Kherson, the Ukrainians say their offensive continues, and attempts by Russian forces to recover lost ground had failed. The Kherson regional military administration said fighting continued in the Beryslav district.?

Khlan also claimed that resistance inside Kherson was growing.

“Our people continue to resist in the occupied territories. Every day we see flags appear in the city of Kherson, slogans appear against the occupiers, as well as leaflets,” he said.

Ukrainian forces appear to have advanced several kilometers inside Kherson. The Operational Command South said Russia had shipped in nearly 30 infantry fighting vehicles to reinforce their units and were shelling villages far behind the front lines. It also said that Russian forces had resumed shelling of settlements south of Kryvih Rih and of the city of Mykolaiv, where two people had been killed.

In the northeast, Russian shelling around Kharkiv continued, killing one person, according to the regional military administration. About six settlements came under fire from artillery and rocket systems.

There was also renewed cross-border shelling of villages in the Sumy region.?

India’s foreign minister on Friday defended Indian oil imports from Russia at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, saying there is a need to be “even-handed.”

“Is buying Russian gas not funding the war? It’s only Indian money and oil coming to India which funds [the war] but it’s not gas coming to Europe which funds [the war]? Let’s be a little even-handed out here,” Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said?during an annual meeting on Indian foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific.

India has repeatedly defended its oil imports from Russia and has justified its increase in oil imports for this year. Jaishankar confirmed that India’s oil imports had gone up at least nine times between 2021 and 2022.?

The comments come on the heels of the partial ban on Russian oil imports announced by the European Union on Monday.?

“We don’t send people out there saying, ‘go buy Russian oil.’ We send people out there saying, ‘go buy oil.’ Now, you buy the best oil you can in the market. I don’t think I would attach a political messaging to that,” Jaishankar said.

A Ukrainian flag flies amongst destruction in Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 17.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday the scale of the destruction in Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion “defies comprehension.”?

In a?statement?on the impact of 100 days of the war in Ukraine on civilians, ICRC’s Director-General Robert Mardini?said that?“it would be hard to exaggerate the toll that the international armed conflict in Ukraine has had on civilians over the last 100 days.”

“Thousands of them are living with the anguish of not knowing what happened to their loved ones, including relatives of prisoners of war,” Mardini said, urging those involved in the conflict to provide ICRC access to all prisoners of war.???

The UN Refugee Agency said on its official Twitter account Friday that “one third?of the population of Ukraine has been forced to flee in 100 days,” adding that the agency is?focused on protection and shelter for Ukrainians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a brief video message Friday that Ukrainians have been defending their country for 100 days against Russian aggression and that “victory shall be ours.”

“We have been defending Ukraine for 100 days. Victory shall be ours. Glory to Ukraine,” he added.

The message echoes a video from the president shortly after Russia’s invasion first began in February, with Zelensky flanked by his staff on a street in Kyiv, saying “we are all here.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov assessed the results of the first 100 days of the war in Ukraine on Friday, saying “certain results” have been achieved and work will continue until all goals are met.

“The operation has as its main goal the protection of people in the DPR and LPR. In terms of ensuring their protection, measures are being taken and certain results have been achieved,” Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call.?

Peskov said that many settlements “have been liberated from the pro-Nazi-minded armed forces of Ukraine, as well as directly from the nationalist elements,” repeating the Kremlin’s baseless justification for the war.

The lives of countless people have been upended during the war, with thousands dead and millions displaced due to the invasion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have all issued comments to mark the 100th day of war in Ukraine.

Von der Leyen called Russia’s invasion “unjustifiable,” tweeting that “the bravery of Ukrainians commands our respect and our admiration.” She said that the European Union stands with Ukraine and that she is meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron today to discuss support to the country.

Scholz said he met with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk on the 100th day of the war.

Borrell noted the “senseless destruction” that Russia’s invasion has caused, including thousands of deaths, millions of refugees and tons of blocked grain.

Truss said that “Putin’s invasion has brought death and destruction on a scale not seen in Europe since WW2. This war has huge ramifications for global peace, prosperity and food security.” She also commended Ukrainians’ bravery and reaffirmed British support to the country.

A child looks out a steamy bus window with finger-drawn doodles as civilians are evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, in this March 9, 2022 file photo.

Almost 12 million people have been displaced since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February, according to the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.?

In a speech to the Luxembourg parliament on Thursday, Zelensky said Russian troops have entered 3,620 settlements in Ukraine, of which 1,017 have been taken back by the Ukrainians while 2,603 are still held by Russia.

Zelensky said more than 5 million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine since the war started.

According to the latest update from the UN Refugee Agency, estimated 6.6 million refugees fled Ukraine?since late February, with 2.1 million people coming back to Ukraine since February 28. Further 8 million have been displaced internally, meaning they fled their homes, but stayed elsewhere in Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry wants to “explain” the consequences of what is called “West’s hostile actions” to the legal representatives of foreign media outlets that are in Moscow, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday as she invited them to a meeting.?

“If Russian media operators are not allowed to work normally in the US, Russia will take the harshest measures,”?Zakharova said at the Foreign Ministry’s weekly briefing in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova gives a weekly press briefing at the Russian Foreign Ministry, in Moscow, Russia on December 1.

Zakharova said the Foreign Ministry press center will explain the consequences of “their governments’ hostile policy […] their media and the entire media sector,” jokingly?adding that “we will provide tea and coffee.”?

“So much has been tolerated by our journalists working in the West,” she said, reiterating once again Moscow’s claims that Western media are waging a disinformation campaign against Russia.

On Friday, the European Council said in a news release that the EU has introduced sanctions against some Russian broadcasters, suspending the broadcasting activities in the EU of three Russian state-owned outlets: Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24 / Russia 24 and TV Centre International. Several other Russian media outlets have been banned in previous rounds of sanctions.

Meanwhile, Russia introduced a censorship law in March making it impossible for news organizations to accurately report the news in or from Russia, forcing many foreign media outlets to scale back or shut down their operations in the country.

The law,?according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, makes it a crime to disseminate “fake” information about the invasion of Ukraine, with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for anyone convicted.?

A dead dolphin found on the coast of the Black Sea.

Injured and dead dolphins have been washing up on the coast of the Black Sea after being hurt or killed by powerful military sonars, according to the head researcher at the Tuzlivski lymany Nature Park in the Odesa region in southwestern Ukraine.

Ivan Rusev said that at least six dolphins have been found on the shore within the borders of the park.

“Since the beginning of the Black Sea war near Odesa, hundreds of dead dolphins have been found,” he said in a Facebook post.?

Atanas Rusev, the head of the Bulgarian campaign “Save the Dolphins” said on Facebook that there have been several instances of dolphins getting stranded in the delta of the Ropotamo River, which leads into the Black Sea.?

“Several dolphins were unable to navigate and were very weak. Some of the dolphins had burns from bomb blasts or mines. Imagine a dolphin with a protracted burn … according to experts who examined them, the dolphins were not able to eat for at least 10 days. Those who were not burned were severely injured,” he said, adding that injured and dead dolphins have been washing up on the coasts of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

Several studies in the past have confirmed that military sonars are harmful to marine life and many militaries have adopted mitigating measures to protect wildlife.?

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy arrives at the extraordinary special EU summit about Ukraine, Energy and Defence, in Brussels, Belgium, on May 31.

The European Council has formally adopted the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine, it said in a press release Friday.?

The European Council is the top political body of the European Union, bringing together the heads of states or governments of the 27 EU member states.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the sanctions package increased “limitations to the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war by imposing further economic sanctions.”

He added:

The Council has listed the different areas impacted by the sanctions as:

The announcement followed an extraordinary European Council summit attended by EU leaders in Brussels on Monday.

Read more about the sanctions here.

After 100 days of war, Russian forces now control about 20% of Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian military said it managed to?push back Russian assaults in multiple areas of eastern Ukraine, but added that fighting continues as Russian forces try to advance from several directions in their bid to take more of the Donbas area.?

Here’s the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine:

The?General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine?said?Friday that at least five Russian attacks have been “repulsed” over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine.

The military said that Russian forces “tried to engage in clashes and storm operations” with the “help of separate units and sabotage and reconnaissance groups” in two areas around Donetsk. It added the attack was unsuccessful, and the Russians troops “retreated to [their] previous positions.”

Ukraine’s military said some units of Russia’s 150th Motorized Rifle Division “suffered significant losses [of] at least 50% of the personnel, weapons and equipment” in the area around Popasna, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Severodonetsk.

It said that it believed “the personnel of the enemy is demoralized” due to the “constant postponement of their rotation.”

In the Sloviansk area to the west of Severodonetsk, Russia was “unsuccessful” in carrying assault operations in two areas and “withdrew after losses,” the military said.

Russia also “conducted unsuccessful assault operations” in the Bakhmut area.

But despite the losses highlighted by the Ukrainian military, Russia continued with heavy shelling across the east.

A?separate update?from Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force on Friday said Russian forces were attacking 28 areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day.

At least seven civilians were killed and eight others injured, the task force said. Further 1,472 people have been evacuated from the areas of hostilities in the past day, the statement added.

Around 80 buildings were destroyed or damaged, including factories, three fire stations, and residential properties. Five large fires were caused by Russian shelling in the region, and “in a number of cases, fire and rescue units came under fire and were forced to return to their locations,” the task force said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces said fighting continued in the center of Severodonetsk. Around 80% of the city is now under the control of Russian forces.

In the northeast, a missile strike was launched on civilian infrastructure in Sumy, and shelling hit three residential areas, the military said.

The military also said that Russian forces “continue to prepare for an offensive” in Kharkiv, firing artillery and multiple rocket launchers in five areas.

Ukraine is “waging a defensive war” and “does not plan to attack facilities in Russia” with weapons provided by the US, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.

“Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions [to attack Russia are] Psychological operations of Russian special services,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter, adding that “Russia’s number one task today [is] to undermine trust between Ukraine and America.”

In a statement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that the US would send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System which has munitions capable of launching rockets roughly 49 miles – a range far greater than anything Kyiv has been sent to date.

President Joe Biden announced that the US would send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, pictured here in a file photo dated September 30, of U.S. Marine Corps training in Okinawa, Japan.?

Acknowledging the Kremlin would view the shipment as a provocation – due to the long range of the missiles and their potential to reach Russian territory – Biden has explicitly warned that the weapons should only be used by Ukrainian forces defensively and within their borders.?

“We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia…We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,” Biden wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed on Tuesday, ahead of the announcement.?

The UK has also agreed to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine in close coordination with the US, as Ukrainian forces continue to fend off Russia’s offensive.

Pro-Russian troops rides on top of an armoured personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the town of Popasna in the?Luhansk?Region, Ukraine, on June 2.

The UK Ministry of Defence expects Russia to take control of the whole of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine within the next two weeks, according to its latest intelligence assessment.

In the report, the ministry said that after failing to take Kyiv, Moscow has?changed its strategy in Ukraine to focus on the Donbas, the part of eastern Ukraine that is formed of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Two parts of the Donbas have been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. They have become known as the Luhansk and the Donetsk People’s Republics and comprise roughly a third of the total area of the Donbas.

The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserts the two regions are, in effect, temporarily Russian-occupied. The self-declared republics have not recognized by any governments, other than Russia and its close ally Syria, and the Ukrainian government has steadfastly refused to talk directly with the leaders of either.

The British assessment said: “Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and currently appear to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition.”

It added:

But the report said that Russia is failing to gain momentum in other areas, where it has been forced into defensive mode.

“Measured against Russia’s original plan, none of the strategic objectives have been achieved. 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,” it added.

Russia is suffering from “systematic counterattacks” by Ukrainian troops in Kherson in the south of Ukraine, a statement from Operational Command South said on Friday.

Two civilians were also injured as a result of the “massive shelling” of the area of Novovorontsovka in the north of the Kherson region.

Russian troops “continue to try to hold the ground” in Kherson, a separate update from the Kherson Regional Military Civil Administration said, and at the border with the neighboring Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, “hostilities are taking place.”

Residents of Kherson and some local communities have been without any internet or phone connection “for the fourth day in a row,” the Regional Military Civil Administration said.

There is also information that ”the occupiers in Kherson have seized passport services” and are now issuing Russian passports to residents, the update said.

In nearby Mykolaiv, Operational Command South said two people were killed and two others injured on Thursday after heavy shelling in the morning, afternoon and evening hit two high-rise buildings and four homes.

However Russia’s “desperate attempt” to retake their lost positions around Mykolaiv “didn’t succeed,” Operational Command South said, adding that two Russian airstrikes also hit their positions, with no losses.

Northeast of Mykolaiv in the Kryvyi Rih area, Russian troops “intensified air reconnaissance and attempted assault operations,” but the attempt was thwarted and they retreated to their former positions.

Russia’s Pacific Fleet has begun a series of week-long exercises involving more than 40 warships and 20 aircraft, state-run news agency TASS reported Friday, citing the Defense Ministry.

Russia’s command ship the Marshal Krylov, the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, and a group of large anti-submarine ships and corvettes, small anti-submarine ships, minesweepers, missile boats and support vessels will all be operating in designated areas of the Pacific Ocean during the exercises, the ministry’s statement said.?

The exercises come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached the 100-day mark on Friday.?

The Ukrainian military has claimed that Russian units have “suffered significant?losses?in manpower and equipment” since the war began in late February.??

After 100 days of war, Russian forces now control about 20% of Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian military says fighting continues in multiple parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, with Russian forces trying to advance from several directions as they seek to take more of the area.?

Here’s the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine:

Rewind the clock to February 23, the day before Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine, and one might be tempted to guess that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s days in office were numbered.

After all, Russia’s military outspent that of?Ukraine?by roughly 10 to one. Moscow enjoyed a twofold advantage over Kyiv in land forces; and the nuclear-armed power had 10 times the aircraft and five times the armored fighting vehicles of its neighbor.

A visibly angry?Russian President Vladimir Putin had appeared on television just days before, delivering a rambling historical monologue that made clear he expected nothing less than regime change in Kyiv.

The Kremlin leader seemed to be gambling that Zelensky would flee his capital, much as the US-backed president of?Afghanistan?had left Kabul just a few months earlier, and that Western outrage would subside, albeit with the temporary pain of new sanctions.

100 days later, whatever plans Putin may have had for a?victory parade?in Kyiv are on indefinite hold. Ukrainian morale did not collapse. Ukrainian troops, equipped with modern anti-tank weaponry delivered by the US and its allies, devastated Russian armored columns; Ukrainian missiles sank the guided-missile cruiser?Moskva, the pride of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet; and?Ukrainian aircraft?stayed in the air, against the odds.

In late March, Russia’s military began withdrawing its battered troops from around the?Ukrainian capital, claiming they had shifted focus to capturing the country’s eastern Donbas region. Three months after its invasion, Russia no longer appears to be aiming for a short, victorious war in Ukraine — nor does it seem to be capable of achieving one.

Read the full analysis:

Russian President Vladimir Putin seen during the Summit of Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) at the Grand Kremlin Palace, May,16,2022, in Moscow, Russia. Leaders of post-Soviet states have gathered at the Kremlin for the summit of CSTO marking its 30th anniversary this year.

Related article After 100 days of war, Putin is counting on the world's indifference | CNN

Smoke and dirt rise in the city of Severedonetsk, the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, on Thursday.

President Volodymyr Zelenksy said Ukrainian forces are withstanding the Russian onslaught around the city of Severodonetsk in the eastern region of Donbas.

Reports from Thursday said that street fighting continued in Severodonetsk.?

“The Russian army uses all its armed capabilities and does not count people at all. It is especially cynical that in the first line of attacks, the occupiers very often use those people who were recruited into their army in the previously occupied territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” Zelensky said, referring to the militia of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

“The longer the war lasts, the more vile, shameful and cynical things Russia will forever write in its history,” he said.?

Zelensky also addressed the new rockets and munitions that the US will be sending Ukraine.

“The United States has confirmed that modern HIMARS fire missile systems are being sent to our country. These weapons will really help save the lives of our people and protect our land. I am grateful to President Biden, all our American friends, and the people of the United States for their support,” he added.

On the issue of Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, Zelensky said: “It is very important that now — 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.”

Ukrainian forces say they have made significant progress during an offensive against Russian positions in the occupied southern region of Kherson.

Ukrainian forces launched the offensive into Kherson from several vantage points to the north last weekend.?Since then, there has been little information about the operation, but?Ukrainian forces appear to have taken a number of villages in the northern part of Kherson and consolidated a bridgehead across the river Inhulets.

On Wednesday,?the head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, Gennady Laguta, said 20 settlements had been liberated.

One-fifth of Ukrainian territory is under Russia’s control, with Donbas “almost entirely destroyed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said while addressing Luxembourg’s lawmakers on Thursday.

Zelensky also said fighting continues along the front line that is stretched over “more than a thousand kilometers” along the territories of Kharkiv region to Mykolaiv in the country’s south. He added Ukraine’s Donbas region is “simply devastated,” calling it?“once one of the most powerful industrial centers in Europe.”?

Zelensky claimed that more than 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began over three months ago. CNN cannot verify those numbers.?“That’s greater than the death toll of the Soviet Union in 10 years of war in Afghanistan, greater than Russia’s death toll in two Chechen wars,” according to Zelensky.

In his remarks to the lawmakers, the Ukrainian president urged additional sanctions on Russia, asking for more weapons to support Ukraine’s fight along the front line. Zelensky also invited?Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel to visit Kyiv and asked for the deputies to support Ukraine’s ambition to join the EU, calling Ukraine a “de facto part of the European Union.”?

Zelensky spoke to the chamber on the 99th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since February, he has addressed dozens of parliamentary assemblies and institutions around the world, gathering support for Ukraine.

Cyber Command, the US military’s hacking unit, has conducted offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine as it defends itself against?Russia’s invasion, the head of the command has confirmed.

The disclosure underscores how important projecting power in cyberspace — in support of Ukraine’s defenses and to potentially deter Russia from conducting cyberattacks against US infrastructure — has been to the Biden administration as it continues to avoid directly engaging Russia in a shooting war.

A spokesperson for the command did not dispute the accuracy of the article but declined to elaborate on what the command’s operations in Ukraine have entailed.

It’s a rare public acknowledgment from US military officials of hacking operations that are often shrouded in mystery.

Read more:

Related article US confirms military hackers have conducted cyber operations in support of Ukraine

Around 800 people are hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot chemical factory in Severodonetsk, which has been targeted by Russian missile attacks, said Serhiy Hayday, the?head of Luhansk region military administration.

Hayday told CNN Thursday that local residents have sought shelter in the Soviet-era bomb shelters under the factory.

In a separate update on Thursday, regional Ukrainian officials said the Russians have again fired on Azot factory and “hit one of the administrative buildings and a warehouse where methanol was stored,” although it’s unclear how much methanol remained there.

The Ukrainians still maintain control of the Severodonetsk industrial zone, the statement said, one of the remaining parts of the city Russia has not taken.

“Most” of Severodonetsk, one of the last cities to hold out in Luhansk, has been taken by Russia,?Hayday said earlier.

Hayday said?a Russian airstrike hit a tank of?nitric?acid?at the Azot factory on Tuesday.?Images that day showed a thick orange-colored cloud of smoke rising from the area. But Hayday said the people sheltering under the factory were not in danger.

Hayday said the factory is privately-owned, and the owners say there are only small amounts of chemicals left at the plant.

Hayday added the factory is not significant from a military point of view, therefore “Azot is definitely not Azovstal” — referring to the steel plant?in Mariupol which Russia took after a weeks-long siege.