Russia launched yet another airstrike on Kiev early Thursday, killing at least three people, including a child, another night of terror for the residents of the Ukrainian capital, which has been targeted relentlessly for a month.
For its part, Russia seems unable to stem the attacks on its soil. On Wednesday evening, at least two people were injured in the Russian town of Shebekino following a bombardment by the Ukrainian army, said the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
An “Attempted Invasion” of Russia
The Russian army said on Thursday that it had repelled with its air force and artillery a Ukrainian attempt to “invasion” of a Russian border region involving several dozen soldiers and tanks.
“After intense shelling of civilian settlements in the Belgorod region, Ukrainian terrorist groups numbering up to two companies of motorized infantry reinforced with tanks attempted to invade Russian territory,” the Russian Ministry of Security said. Defense on Telegram.
Attacks on Russian soil
This town in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, has been targeted for several hours by “uninterrupted strikes” which left eight injured, local governor Viatcheslav Gladkov said on Thursday June 1. “It’s a bad morning in the Belgorod region,” Vyacheslav Gladkov tweeted.
“Shebekino is facing uninterrupted strikes” with rocket launchers, he continued, accusing Ukrainian forces of bombarding “the center and the outskirts” of the city. “Eight people were injured. There were no fatalities,” he said. The initial toll revealed by the governor reported five injuries, including a policeman.
More than a year after the start of its military operation in Ukraine, Russia has seen an increase in attacks on its soil, with an unprecedented incursion last week in the southern region of Belgorod and a drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday. “The issue of child safety in these two districts is very important,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said. “All of us adults are very worried,” he added.
Russian drones deployed in Ukraine
© / afp.com/Gal ROMA, Valentina BRESCHI
Zelensky arrives at the summit of the CPE, in Moldova
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived this Thursday morning at the summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which brings together around fifty European leaders in Moldova, a country bordering Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky, whose attendance had not been confirmed in advance, was the first leader to be welcomed on the red carpet by Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Heads of state and government from 47 states were invited from 7:30 a.m. GMT to Mimi Castle, a winery in the village of Bulboaca, 35 km from the capital Chisinau.
A much broader gathering than the European Union (20 invited countries in addition to the 27 members of the bloc), the CPE, an informal body imagined by French President Emmanuel Macron, brings together countries with very different profiles and backgrounds: Armenia, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Serbia, Azerbaijan…
Three dead in kyiv in an air attack
An airstrike on the Ukrainian capital early on Thursday, June 1, killed three people, including at least one child, announced the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko and the military authorities. “Three people died and four people were injured in the Desnyansky district,” the Kyiv military administration wrote on Telegram.
Several Russian missiles had been fired in the direction of the Ukrainian capital this week. On Monday, an unusual daytime attack on kyiv had led residents to take cover.
US grants new tranche of military aid to Kyiv
The United States released Wednesday, May 31 a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine, including missiles for anti-aircraft defense systems.
However, they warned that American weapons should not be used to strike Russia. “We’ve been very clear with the Ukrainians privately – and we’ve been publicly: we don’t condone the attacks in Russia,” the White House National Security Council spokesman told reporters. , John Kirby. “We do not allow attacks in Russia and we do not encourage them,” he added.
At a time when Russia is stepping up the bombing of major Ukrainian cities, the Pentagon announced in a press release that it would immediately provide, from its stocks, additional ammunition for the Patriots already in possession of Kiev, as well as for the systems Himar artillery.
Kiev, which has announced that it is preparing a counter-offensive, will also receive in the short term Avenger and Stinger short-range anti-aircraft systems, shells for its artillery and tanks as well as millions of bullets and various ammunition for its soldiers, specifies the US Department of Defense in the document. The new tranche brings US military aid to kyiv to $37.6 billion since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Emmanuel Macron demands security guarantees for Ukraine from NATO
Emmanuel Macron called on Wednesday for the granting of “tangible and credible” security guarantees to Ukraine, pending its accession to NATO, and pleaded for a more powerful Europe of defense within the Alliance, despite the reserves of many Central and Eastern European countries.
During a speech at the Globsec regional security forum in Bratislava, the French president also invited the European Union to “rethink” its governance and “invent” other “formats” in order to be able to integrate the candidates more quickly. accession, from the Balkans to Ukraine and Moldova.
“If we want […] weigh against Russia, if we want to be credible vis-à-vis the Ukrainians, we must give Ukraine the means to prevent any new (Russian) aggression and include it in (a) credible security architecture” , hammered the Head of State. “This is why I am in favor, and this will be the subject of collective discussions in the coming weeks, between now and the Vilnius summit, to give tangible and credible security guarantees to Ukraine,” he insisted.
On July 11 and 12, NATO Heads of State and Government must reaffirm their political and military support for Ukraine, which has been plagued for fifteen months by a Russian offensive which also worries neighboring countries from the Soviet glacis. .