The Kremlin said Friday that Russia had achieved some results from its military campaign in Ukraine, 100 days after Moscow sent troops into its pro-Western neighbour.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday his country's military would fend off the Russian invasion in a video marking 100 days of Moscow's all-out assault on its pro-democracy neighbour.
The United Nations said on June 3 there would be no victor from Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine as the conflict entered its 100th day and Moscow’s forces pressed deeper into the eastern Donbas region.
Britain’s Defence Ministry said that on the 100th day of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine that Moscow failed to achieve its initial objectives to seize Kyiv and Ukrainian centres of government but was achieving tactical success in the Donbas.
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Another ship sent to take metal to Russia arrives in Mariupol: TASS
A ship sent to load metal and ship it to Russia has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, TASS news agency reported on Saturday, the second vessel to arrive in the southeastern city since Russia completed its capture last month.
"The ship has arrived and is in the port," TASS cited a port authority representative as saying, adding that it was to be loaded with metal. - Reuters
NATO chief speaks with Erdogan about Finland, Sweden joining
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland's prime minister and spoken to Turkey's president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
Mr. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address Turkey's concerns and move forward” with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications.
Russia's war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists. - AP
Russian air activity remains high over Donbas: UK military intelligence
Britain's defence ministry said on Saturday that Russian air activity remains high over Ukraine's Donbas region with Russian aircraft carrying out strikes using both guided and unguided munitions.
"The increased use of unguided munitions has led to the widespread destruction of built-up areas in the Donbas and has almost certainly caused substantial collateral damage and civilian casualties," the ministry said in a tweet.
It said Russia increased its use of tactical air to support its creeping advance, combining air strikes and massed artillery attacks to bring its firepower to bear as its operational focus has switched to the Donbas. - Reuters
In eastern Ukraine, keeping the lights on is a dangerous job
As the fighting in eastern Ukraine inches forward, Russian attacks are knocking out power, water and gas to entire towns and cities — and the utility crews sent to repair the smashed transmission lines and pipes are finding themselves in the middle of the shelling.
Crews sometimes arrive at a location only to be forced to retreat because of the fighting, officials say. Some villages are impossible to reach.
“It is dangerous, because we can hear the shells whistling above us,” said Sergii Marokhin, a water systems engineer in the town of Bakhmut, which has come under increased shelling recently as Russian forces press their offensive in the Donetsk region of the Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. - AP
African Union chair aims to shake up African relations with the West; Meets with Russian president
On Friday, Senegalese President and African Union Chair Macky Sall strode into a meeting and shook a smiling Vladimir Putin's hand before taking a seat next to him to discuss the war in Ukraine.
In a notable reversal of typical roles, Mr. Sall led an African delegation to Russia to hold talks with the Russian president over the European war.
The apparently cosy scene - which took place in the southwestern city Sochi on the 100th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - marked a significant step forward in Mr. Sall's efforts to boost Africa's global political standing. - AFP
Ukraine's intelligence in communication with captured Azovstal fighters: Minister
Ukraine's intelligence services are in communication with the captured Azovstal steelworks fighters and Kyiv is doing all it can to ensure their release, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said late on Friday.
Uncertainty has surrounded the fate of hundreds of fighters taken into Russian custody in mid-May after being ordered to stand down.
"It is through them (intelligence services) that we are learning about the conditions of the detention, nutrition and the possibility of their release," Mr. Monastyrskiy said on Ukrainian television. - Reuters
Japan's Kishida may join NATO summit to discuss Ukraine crisis: Japanese media
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is leaning toward attending a summit of leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in late June to spur coordination with the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed government sources.
The move would mark an unusually aggressive stance for a Japanese leader although Mr. Kishida has repeatedly condemned Russia over what he has described as a "war crime" against Ukraine. - Reuters
Russia may be in Ukraine to stay after 100 days of war
When Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in late February, the Russian president vowed his forces would not occupy the country. But as the invasion reached its 100th day Friday, Moscow seemed increasingly unwilling to relinquish the territory it has taken in the war.
The ruble is now an official currency in the southern Kherson region, alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia. Residents there and in Russia-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhia region are being offered expedited Russian passports. The Kremlin-installed administrations in both regions have talked about plans to become part of Russia.
The Moscow-backed leaders of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, which is mostly Russian-speaking, have expressed similar intentions. Mr. Putin recognised the separatists' self-proclaimed republics as independent two days before launching the invasion, and fierce fighting has been underway in the east for weeks as Russia seeks to “liberate” all of the Donbas.
The Kremlin has largely kept mum about its plans for the cities, towns and villages it has bombarded, encircled and finally captured. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said it will be up to the people living in seized areas to decide their status. - PTI
Ukraine aims to complete World Cup dream in Wales
Ukraine's footballers made a war-torn nation proud by beating Scotland in their first competitive clash since Russia's invasion, but the job of getting to the World Cup is only half done ahead of Sunday's play-off final against Wales.
A place in Qatar later this year is the prize for the winners at the Cardiff City Stadium, where history also beckons for the home side.
Wales have not reached a World Cup since 1958 and manager Rob Page has described the Ukraine clash as "the biggest match in Welsh history".
The same could be said for different reasons for Ukraine as they aim to provide some solace and national pride to a country devastated by Russian aggression. - AFP
100 speeches in 100 days of war: Zelenskyy rallies Ukraine
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has led his country in mounting an unexpectedly fierce resistance. Every night, he rallies Ukrainians to the fight with a video address on social media. There have been 100 so far – one for each day of the war — in nightly reminders that he has not fled, that Ukraine has indeed survived.
A tireless and skilled communicator, Mr. Zelenskyy has spoken by video link to the United Nations, British Parliament, U.S. Congress and about two dozen other parliaments around the world, as well as to the Cannes Film Festival and America's Grammy Awards. Rarely if ever has a man without a tie addressed so many VIPs. He also has given interviews to journalists. He held a news conference in the safety of the Kyiv subway. - PTI
Ukraine expects India to participate actively in post-war construction
Ukraine has approached India to become one of the guarantees of post-war security of the country together with some other countries, diplomatic sources told The Hindu as Friday marks 100 days of the war in Ukraine. “We are also expecting that India will participate actively in post-war construction. We are also expecting more humanitarian aid, medicines, and some technical and financial assistance,” a diplomatic source said.
Till date, the total assistance from India both from government and private companies is approximately 230 tonnes. In addition, big volume was given by pharmaceutical companies which are headquartered in India but with offices in Ukraine and eastern Europe, the source said adding, “This is separate and worth about $7-8 mn.”
India is not a conduit for Russian oil sales: Jaishankar
India is not aconduit for Russian oil sales to other countries, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday, categorically denying international media reports that suggest Indian private refiners are “profiteering” by buying Russian crude at discounted rates and then selling it to other buyers at much higher prices.
“There’s an enormous shortage of oil...Getting access to oil is difficult. A country like India would be crazy to get oil from somebody and sell it to somebody else. This is nonsense,” he said when asked about the reports at the ‘GlobeSec Bratislava Forum’ conference in the Slovak Republic on Friday.
To a question whether India was allowing the “trans-shipment of oil”, Mr. Jaishankar said he had “not even heard about anybody in India thinking along the lines of [buying Russian oil and selling it to somebody else]”. He also criticised Europe for double standards in holding India to account for buying Russian oil, while making exceptions for its own countries that import Russian oil and gas.
Zelensky vows victory on day 100 of war
Ukraine will emerge victor in the war started by Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 3 as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour entered its 100th day with Russian troops pounding the Donbas region. - AFP
European Union formally approves embargo on Russia oil
The European Union (EU) on June 3 formally approved an embargo on Russian oil and other sanctions targeting major banks and broadcasters over Moscow's war on Ukraine. EU headquarters says Russian crude oil will be phased out over six months and other refined petroleum products over eight months.
It says that “a temporary exception is foreseen” for landlocked countries — such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – that “suffer from a specific dependence on Russian supplies and have no viable alternative options.” Bulgaria and Croatia will also get “temporary derogations” for certain kinds of oil. EU leaders say the move means that around 90% of Russia's oil exports to Europe will be blocked by year's end. The EU imports around 25% of its oil from Russia. - AP
Ukraine war ‘will have no winner,’ U.N. says on 100th day of fight
The United Nations said Friday there would be no victor from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the conflict entered its 100th day and Moscow’s forces pressed deeper into the eastern Donbas region.
“This war has and will have no winner. Rather, we have witnessed for 100 days what is lost: lives, homes, jobs and prospects,” Amin Awad, Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, said in a statement. - AFP
