As the war enters its 833rd day, here are the main developments.
Here is the situation as of Friday June 7, 2024.
Struggle
- Vadym Filashkin, governor of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said a woman was killed and three people injured in Chasiv Yar, which is under attack by Russian forces. Filashkin also ordered the evacuation of children and their guardians from several towns and villages in the region due to the “steady deterioration” of the security situation.
- The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 17 of 18 Shahed-type drones in a Russian attack targeting four regions of the country. A downed drone sparked a fire at infrastructure in the Khmelnytskyi region, but no casualties or other damage was reported.
- Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the military said. No damage was reported.
- Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR said it destroyed a Russian tugboat off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea.
- Russian news agency TASS, citing the Defense Ministry, said Russian forces had captured a Colombian national who was fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers. He posted a video of the man in which he urges other Colombians not to join the war.
- Sergiy Zhadan, one of Ukraine’s most famous writers and poets, announced that he had joined the country’s army. The 49-year-old said he was undergoing training.
Politics and diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden made a passionate call to defend freedom and democracy as he joined European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Biden said it was “simply unthinkable” to surrender to Russian aggression, and he vowed not to let up on his support for Ukraine.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the ceremonies in Normandy, from where tens of thousands of Allied troops launched an offensive in 1944 to defeat Nazi Germany. He also drew parallels with the current situation in Europe and with Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The Allies defended the freedom of Europe then, and the Ukrainians do so today. Unity prevailed then, and true unity can prevail today,” he wrote on social media platform X.
- Separately, Zelensky said he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his electoral victory and urged India to participate in the Ukraine peace conference on June 15-16 in Switzerland.
- Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary would participate in the peace summit, which aims to strengthen support for Zelensky’s peace proposals, which include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Hungary has maintained close ties with Russia even as other European Union members sought to distance themselves since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- Visiting Beijing, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga urged the Chinese state and private companies to “take a more active part in helping Ukraine” and boost trade and investments.
- Ukrainian hydropower company Ukrhydroenergo said it had initiated international arbitration to seek damages over Russia’s alleged destruction of the site. Kakhovka Dam and Power Plant one year ago. The state-owned company said the damage was estimated at 2.5 billion euros ($2.72 billion).
- Ukrainian prosecutors in northeastern Kharkiv said a former Ukrainian soldier who sent the location of sensitive military targets to Russia has been jailed for five years. They did not name the man.
Weapons
- President Macron said France would transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train its Ukrainian pilots as part of new military cooperation with kyiv. Macron did not specify how many planes or when they would be sent, but said pilot training would likely take place in the coming weeks.
- The French president also indicated that Ukraine had asked its Western allies to send military instructors to train its forces on its soil. Macron said France and Ukraine’s other partners would decide the next steps together.
- The United States will send approximately $225 million in military aid to Ukraine, including ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as well as mortar systems and various artillery shells, several officials told the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. .