Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 11 June 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Serhiy Zhadan, Ukrainian poet and writer, speaks during an interview with Kyiv Independent at the Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theater on May 11, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

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Zelensky: ‘Russia wants to destroy every city in Donbas.’ In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia wants to destroy every city in the region and “that’s not an exaggeration.” “Like Volnovakha, like Mariupol. All of these ruins of once-happy cities, the black traces of fires, the craters from explosions – this is all that Russia can give to its neighbours, to Europe, to the world,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine’s ability to hold off Russian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts depends on the supply of Western weapons.

Guardian: Ukraine says ‘it’s an artillery war now, everything depends on what West gives us.’ Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, told the Guardian that Ukraine is losing in terms of artillery, with one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian ones, and is now almost solely reliant on weapons from the West. Skibitsky stressed the need for long-range rocket systems to destroy Russian artillery pieces from afar.

Ukraine’s anti-aircraft missile forces hit 500 Russian air targets since Feb. 24. On June 10, anti-aircraft missile units of the Ukraine’s Air Force destroyed their 500th air target. According to Yuri Ignat, Air Force spokesman, it was another Russian Orlan-10 UAV.

Ukrainian military pushes Russians back from Zaporizhzhia by 5-7 kilometers. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said that this was the result of two weeks of fighting. “There will be a liberation of Melitopol and other cities,” he said.

General Staff: Russian forces build fortified checkpoints in Kherson Oblast. Ukraine’s Armed Forces report on June 11 that Russian forces are focusing on strengthening their positions by improving fortification equipment of the second and third lines of defense in the southern regions of Ukraine. A number of fortified checkpoints made of reinforced concrete have been located near the bridges across a 400-kilometer-long North Crimean Canal, linking occupied Crimea with the Dnipro River.

Defense Ministry says Russian troops are stationed in 10 settlements in Belarus. Without naming the exact number of Russian troops, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said “the main goal is to prevent the regrouping of our (armed) forces in other directions.” He added that Belarus itself declares an intention to increase the number of military personnel to 80,000 people.

Truck hits Russian landmine in Kyiv Oblast. On the morning of June 10, police were notified that a truck hit a landmine near the village of Pochepyn, 40 kilometers west of Kyiv. According to the State Emergency Service, the driver survived and was spared serious injury.

Video shows Russians stealing Ukrainian grain from occupied city. Kremlin-controlled media outlet RIA Novosti posted a video of Russia-backed militants stealing Ukrainian grain from the elevators in Starobilsk, a newly-occupied city in Luhansk Oblast. In the video, they load grain into railway cars to ship it to Russia. The video says that “the first 650 tons of grain” was shipped to Russia.

Zelensky: 71% of Europeans think Ukraine is ‘part of European family,’ but politicians hesitant to allow Ukraine into EU. Speaking at the annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European leaders to grant Ukraine the EU candidate status, especially considering the public’s support.

Official reportedly promises Russian passports to citizens of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia region. Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the region, announced on air that residents of the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast can receive Russian passports as soon as June 11. Earlier Rogov told Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti that he is calling on international observers to visit occupied territories before the so-called referendum on joining Russia.

US diplomat: Kremlin waits for ‘right’ moment to annex Kherson Oblast. According to Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, Russia may use the illegal referendum as a tool to do so. So far, at least 600 people have reportedly been tortured in the region, including local officials, journalists, and activists. “Kherson has become what I would call a laboratory of horrors,” said Carpenter during a press conference in Vienna.

Finance Minister: Ukraine urgently needs new IMF loan program. Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told Bloomberg Radio that as Russia’s war stretches Ukraine’s finances to the limit, the country needs more foreign aid but that discussions on a new assistance package from the International Monetary Fund are ongoing. Ukraine has so far received $1.4 billion in emergency financing from the IMF this year.

Ukraine’s military: Russia ready to fire 40 cruise missiles from Black Sea. Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” said on June 10 that another Russian submarine has moored in the Black Sea. A total of 40 cruise missiles are ready for use now, as well as a large landing ship. The command also said Russia continues to blockade the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

Luhansk Oblast governor says Ukrainian military destroyed Wagner Group base. According to Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine’s Armed Forces destroyed a local base of Russian private mercenary Wagner group in occupied Kadiivka, Luhansk oblast. Haidai also said only one Russian service member survived the attack without specifying the number of those killed. U.S. intelligence reported in March that over 1,000 Wagner group troops had been sent to Ukraine amid Russia’s heavy losses.

Institute for the Study of War: Ukraine worries about Russian artillery superiority. The U.S. think tank said in its latest assessment that Ukrainian officials are increasing the urgency of their requests for more-sophisticated Western-provided weapons systems amid reports of growing Russian artillery superiority. Several Western media outlets reported in the last 48 hours that Ukrainian military and government officials are highlighting the fact that Ukrainian troops are trapped in an “artillery war” on critical frontlines and are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of artillery systems. Experts say that effective artillery will be increasingly decisive in the largely static fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Health Minister: Effects of Russia’s war ‘aged’ Ukrainians by 10-15 years. Viktor Liashko said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that due to both psychological distress and worsened access to healthcare, the diseases that people usually suffer from at the age of 60 could get them at 45-50 years old.

Defense Ministry: Russia looking for weak spots in Ukrainian defense near Siverskyi Donets River. Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on national TV that Russian forces had not abandoned attempts to break the front line near the strategic river in Donbas. He also reiterated that “Russia’s strategic goal is the complete destruction of Ukraine.”

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Ukrainian poet and writer Serhiy Zhadan has remained in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, doing humanitarian work and conducting numerous interviews in the city he couldn’t leave behind. Born in now Russian-occupied Starobilsk, near Luhansk, Zhadan spent most of his life in Kharkiv, which stands on the edge of two worlds by its proximity to Russia. Read our story about Ukrainian poet here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian forces attack three settlements in Sumy Oblast, killing one. Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky reported on June 10 that Russian troops shelled the Krasnopillia community at around 1 p.m. local time, using heavy artillery. One person was killed in the attack. Two other communities – Esmanska and Velykopysarivska were hit with mortars. No casualties have been reported there.

Russia’s war has wounded 491 Ukrainian children since Feb. 24. According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, 263 children have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The figures are expected to be higher since they do not include casualties in areas where hostilities are ongoing nor in Russian-occupied areas, the office said.

Governor: Russian shelling kills two, injures 15 in Kharkiv Oblast. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said that as a result of Russian shelling of residential buildings in the oblast over the past 24 hours, two people were killed and another 15 injured, including a 12-year-old child.

Russian attacks kill 3 civilians in Donetsk Oblast. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Telegram that two people were killed in Avdiivka and one person was killed in Novoukrainka as a result of Russian shelling. The National Police added that Russia shelled the oblast 10 times over the past 24 hours and 10 residential buildings were damaged, as well as school, farm, and railway infrastructure.

International response

UN: Death sentence for Ukraine foreign fighters is a war crime. The UN human rights office on June 10 condemned the death sentence handed down to three foreign fighters in Ukraine by a court in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast. “Such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime,” said UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Ambassador: Germany increased imports from Russia by 60% in first four months of 2022. According to Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Russia’s imports to Germany reached 6 billion euros. Ukraine’s bilateral trade with Germany during this period fell by 11% amid the war. “This is madness,” said Melnyk.

UK Defense Secretary meets Zelensky, Reznikov in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the U.K. for its continued support and said that the country is “showing its leadership in supporting Ukraine” when it comes to weapons, finances and sanctions. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that the U.K. and Ukraine have a lot in common, and compared Ukraine’s fight against the fascist regime today with the U.K. fight during the World War II.

Czech RegioJet to launch trains between Kyiv, Lviv and Prague from June 11. The trains of a private rail company will pass Poland through the eastern city of Przemysl. For Ukrainian nationals, the ticket from Prague to Lviv will cost 9 euros, and 25 euros for the ticket from Prague to Kyiv. With this move, the carrier responded to a “strong demand from Ukrainian families who want to return to relatives and friends,” according to Tereza Ptackova, the company’s representative.

Japan PM: Russia’s war in Ukraine will affect every country in the world. Fumio Kishida said during Asia’s top security summit Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the ongoing war in Ukraine could provoke a war in East Asia. According to him, as dictatorships may try to establish a new world order, Japan will have to reconsider its long-standing policy of arms reduction.

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