Day 103 of the war. Russians attacked Kyiv’s railway infrastructure. Ukraine claims control of half of Severodonetsk

Russia fired rockets at the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as the attack appeared to be a change of strategy on the part of Russian forces. Ukrainian forces continue to repel attacks. In Severodonetsk (eastern part of the country), they have taken control of half of the city, Ukrainian officials say. Ukraine has recaptured half of Severodonetsk, a key city in Donbas, the governor of the Lugansk region said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on the front lines yesterday to cheer on his soldiers and decorate those who stood out.

In his message last night, the leader from Kyiv said that he visited the troops from Lysiceansk, a town right next to Severodonetsk. He also went to Zaporozhye, where, in addition to the regional authorities, he talked to people fleeing Mariupol.

On the other hand, Vladimir Putin took advantage of an interview with the main public television station in Moscow to threaten Ukraine again. Russia will attack Kyiv’s command centers if the West supplies long-range missiles, says the Kremlin leader.

Russians attacked the railway infrastructure in Kyiv with cruise missiles 

The British Ministry of Defense said that Russian air-to-ground cruise missiles hit the railway infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, Reuters reports. Intense clashes continue in the city of Severodonetsk, and Russian forces are advancing on Sloviansk, the ministry wrote in a post on Twitter.

The position of the Ukrainian forces fighting in Severodonetsk “has worsened a little”, the governor of the Lugansk region, Serhi Gaidai, said on Monday. “Our defenders managed to counterattack for a while; they liberated more than half of the city. But now the situation has gotten a little worse for us,” the official said on Ukrainian national television.

Institute for the Study of War: Ukrainian Army Counterattacks Weaken Russian Position 

In the analysis from Sunday night to Monday morning, the Institute for the Study of War in Washington (ISW) reports that Ukrainian forces have continued to carry out limited and successful counterattacks against Russian positions on the entire front in the last 24 hours, including recapturing areas, such as Severodonetsk, the city in the Lugansk region where the Kremlin concentrated most of its forces on capturing.

ISW says a Russian Telegram channel claimed that Ukrainian troops launched a counterattack north of the city of Kharkov, indicating that Ukrainian forces continue to put pressure on Russian defensive lines near the Russian border. Ukrainian forces are likely to seek to take advantage of Russia’s continued focus on the city of Severodonetsk to counterattack on other lines of advance, US analysts note. Although Russian forces continue to mobilize equipment and troops in the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk area, Ukrainian forces have successfully countered Severodonetsk in the past 48 hours and pushed Russian troops back to the eastern outskirts of the city and outside the southern settlements, ISW also points out.

#Ukrainian forces continued to conduct limited and localized but successful counterattacks against #Russian positions throughout Ukraine on June 5, including retaking large areas of #Severodonetsk.

Read the report from @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats: https://t.co/SOAVSJmj4a pic.twitter.com/KwyHZNF6k9

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) June 5, 2022

UK to supply Ukraine with 80-kilometer missile launchers

Great Britain will provide Ukraine with 80-kilometer missile launchers to deal with the Russian offensive, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday. These systems of multiple missile launchers (M270 MLRS) will allow “a significant increase in the capabilities of Ukrainian forces,” the ministry said in a statement.

The decision was made in “close coordination” with the United States, which last week announced the supply of Himars systems with a range of 80 kilometers, multiple rocket launchers mounted on light armored vehicles.

“If the international community maintains its support, Ukraine can win,” said British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. “Russia’s strategy is changing and our support must change,” he said, adding that the new weapons would allow Ukrainians to “better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used it indiscriminately to destroy cities.”

Britain’s military support for Ukraine has so far amounted to more than £ 750 million (€ 874 million).

Putin threatens to attack Kyiv

Vladimir Putin threatened that Russia will attack Kyiv’s command centers if the West supplies long-range missiles. Putin also claims that the drones used by the Ukrainians are far inferior to Russian weapons.

Vladimir Putin: “There is a third component, drones. As you know, there are several types. They are used from the beginning, but only where there are no high-performance anti-aircraft systems. We have Pantsir systems. No one should be upset, but our systems are breaking them like nuts. We’ve destroyed dozens, you have to understand, dozens of such devices. There are other types used for espionage. There are a lot of them. They flew from the beginning and still fly. They are sent to Ukraine from the beginning. All are of external production. And there is the third type, spy drones, which have a strategic character. They fly at altitudes between 8-11 kilometers. They have always been used. They were used before the operation started, they always flew over the Black Sea, they always flew over Ukraine, but, indeed, they did not enter our airspace. I could never understand why they should be given to Ukraine. Just because they land somewhere and see how they’re built, I just don’t see any other meaning. That is why it does not change anything and we do not understand why all this madness with arms deliveries, unless the goal is to prolong this armed conflict as much as possible. “

Ukrainians release photo of Russian general Roman Kutuzov’s body as evidence of killing him

Moscow has lost another general in Ukraine – the 11th in this war. Major General Roman Kutuzov, commander of the 5th Army, was killed in fighting in the east of the country. The Ukrainian army published the photo of his body as evidence.

The information was also published by the Russian press, which presents him as a hero. He states that his last battle was in the Popasna district of Lugansk, where he allegedly personally led a combat unit.

Russia lost a large number of high-ranking officers in Vladimir Putin’s invasion. In addition to the 11 generals, at least 49 colonists were killed in the war with Ukraine. The death toll is said to be over 30,000, according to Ukrainian forces.

Russia reacts after three Serbian neighbors prevented Lavrov from arriving in Belgrade

Moscow reacted after three European countries bordering Serbia have closed their airspace for the plane of the Russian Foreign Minister, which was expected on Monday in Belgrade. “Today, (…) the countries around Serbia have closed the communication channel, refusing to allow the overflight (of their territories) for Sergei Lavrov’s plane, which was expected in Serbia,” Maria Zaharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday evening.

Russian Foreign Ministry, for the Italian television channel La7, quoted by Russian news agencies. “The Russian delegation was to arrive in Belgrade for negotiations. But EU and NATO member states have closed their airspace,” she added.

So, Russia cancelled Lavrov’s visit.

The three states that refused to allow Lavrov’s plane to overfly their air spaces are Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Zelensky, again near the front line again, rewarded the boy from Mariupol who kept a famous diary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the Kyiv region on Sunday, for the second time since the beginning of the Russian invasion, and went close to the front line again, visiting Ukrainian positions near Zaporozhye, Lyskeansk and Bahmut, the last two cities in the Donbas region. , currently at the center of the Russian offensive.

Zelensky met with soldiers on the front line, but also with displaced Ukrainians, including those who managed to escape from Mariupol. Among them is a little boy, Iehor, who kept a war diary in which he recounted how his loved ones died, including his grandmother. The boy’s diary became famous on social media, and the president wanted to meet him in person and gave him a present.

The President’s departure was announced by the Ukrainian Presidency on Sunday evening, in several successive press releases accompanied by photographs.

First, Volodymyr Zelensky went on a “working trip” to the Zaporozhye region, where he visited the front positions of the Ukrainian army, “became acquainted with the operational situation on the front line,” talked to the military and he handed them state awards and prizes.

The president has learned that nearly 60 percent of the region’s territory is occupied by Russian troops, and fighting is taking place in some parts. Dozens of localities in the region have no electricity and thousands of infrastructure works have been destroyed. However, the region is an important refuge for Ukrainians fleeing Russian-occupied areas, especially Kherson and Mariupol.