Russo-Ukrainian war, day 833: Russia amasses troops near Ukrainian border and in occupied territories

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Military

AP: US officials confirm Ukraine’s June strikes inside Russia with American weapons. These attacks were permitted by the White House to defend Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The Telegraph: Hitting military bases inside Russia is fair, say Ukrainian soldiers. The defenders emphasize that these strikes would target military objectives, not civilians, and support President Biden’s decision to allow the use of US-supplied HIMARS for such operations, aiming to disrupt Russian advances in the Kharkiv region.

Intelligence: Russia concentrates massive military build-up near Ukraine. Russia has amassed around 550,000 troops in occupied territories of Ukraine and near its border, according to a source from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate.

Russian military hit industrial facility in Poltava Oblast overnight with drone. Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 22 of 27 Russian drones overnight. One struck an industrial site in Poltava Oblast.

As of 5 June 2024, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the invasion to the present day:

Personnel: 513700 (+1280)
Tanks: 7806 (+12)
APV: 15036 (+16)
Artillery systems: 13385 (+40)
MLRS: 1092
Anti-aircraft systems: 830 (+3)
Aircraft: 357
Helicopters: 326
UAV: 10805 (+39)
Cruise missiles: 2270 (+2)
Warships/boats: 27
Submarines: 1
Vehicles and fuel tanks: 18297 (+69)

Intelligence and technology

Canadian armored vehicle manufacturer Roshel to invest millions of dollars in plant in Ukraine. The company’s CEO, Roman Shimonov, believes the future plant will not only compete with local manufacturers in the Ukrainian market but also sell armored vehicles to Europe, thereby bringing foreign currency into Ukraine.

Russian hackers claim responsibility for attack on Spanish defense contractor that refurbishes Leopard tanks for Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military intelligence conducts large-scale DDoS attacks on state institutions and large companies – media. In a sweeping cyberattack, Ukrainian military hackers paralyzed numerous Russian state agencies and companies, media reported.

Drone Coalition seeks high-tech, low-cost FPV drones for Ukraine. A coalition led by Britain and Latvia, as well as nine other states, is sourcing suppliers which can deliver high-tech, affordable FPV drones at scale, offering a global opportunity to support Ukraine’s defense needs.

International

12 EU countries call to speed up accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. Twelve EU member states are calling for concrete steps toward integrating Ukraine and Moldova through an expedited accession process.

Two British tourists arrested in Latvia for vandalizing Ukrainian flag. Two British men were taken into custody by Riga Municipal Police on 2 June after CCTV footage showed them breaking a Ukrainian flag off an Old Riga building and discarding it over a fence.

Latvia wants to ban Russian and Belarusian citizens from teaching in schools. The National Alliance faction in Latvia’s parliament has initiated a move to ban Russian and Belarusian citizens from teaching in the country’s schools.

Russia threatens to target French military instructors in Ukraine if they are sent. As France is preparing to announce the deployment of military instructors to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any French military personnel sent to Ukraine, whether official or mercenary, would be considered “absolutely legitimate target” for Russian forces.

Biden to meet with Zelenskyy in France and Italy this week. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy and US President Biden will meet this Thursday in France during ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. The second meeting will occur next week in Italy at the G7 summit.

Germans divided over permitting Ukraine to strike targets in Russia, poll finds. A recent survey reveals that 49 % of German citizens support a decision to allow Ukraine target Russian bases with Western weapons, however opinions divide between West Germans and East Germans.

Iceland to contribute additional $ 725K to Energy Support Fund for Ukraine. Iceland has pledged an additional $725,000 to Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund, bringing its total contribution to $2,96 mn.

Kremlin uses church to erase identities of deported Ukrainian kids. A joint investigation found the Russian Orthodox Church actively engaged in destroying the ukrainian identities of children deported from occupied areas.

Ombudsman calls on Moscow to persecute its military for war crimes after Russian troops threaten Ukrainian POWs with execution in recent video. Dmytro Lubinets has formally urged Russian Ombudsman Moskalkova to demand that Russian law enforcement open a criminal case against their soldiers who tortured Ukrainian POWs in the Kharkiv region.

FT: Ukrainians may spend much of day without power in coming months. Ukrainians may have to endure long stretches without electricity in the coming months due to Russian attacks on power infrastructure.

Political and legal developments

Espionage exposed: Moldova’s former top general covert ties with Russian intelligence unveiled in new investigation. Former Moldovan military leader Igor Gorgan spied for Russia for months, found the investogation.

Ukraine’s Economy Ministry chooses Prozorro Market for timber procurement to construct fortifications on front. n a bid to swiftly secure timber for essential construction, the Ministry has announced its decision to utilize the transparent and efficient platform.

Half of Ukrainians believe Zelenskyy fulfilled few or none of his promises, survey says. According to a recent survey by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), 50% of respondents believe that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fulfilled few or none of his promises during his five years in office, with half of them attributing this to the presence of dishonest and corrupt individuals within his team.

Bundestag defense chair backs Germany’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian military targets. In light of Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv Oblast and intensified attacks on civilians, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chair of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, welcomed Germany’s policy shift allowing Ukraine to use German-supplied weapons against Russian military targets but emphasized that this decision “should have happened much earlier”.

Ukraine revokes exception for dual citizens to leave. Ukraine’s government has barred all male of military age with dual US-Ukraine nationals citizenship from traveling out.

Reuters: US eyes profits from frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine urgent aid. The US and its G7 allies are advancing discussions on tapping into profits from frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with urgently needed funds, a senior US Treasury official said.

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