Russia-Ukraine war live: Kiev fires US Himars weapons in Russia for the first time

Russian forces injured five residents in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk on Sunday, June 2.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the region’s military administration, announced on Facebook: “Russia is killing civilians!

“On June 2, the Russians injured five residents of the Donetsk region: two each in Biloserske and Zalisne and one in Vovche,” he said.

He added that the total number of casualties of the Russian army in the Donetsk region (1,985 dead and 4,974 wounded) does not include losses in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war that Moscow started against their smaller neighbor in 2022 and whose end is not in sight.

Bomb disposal experts have defused two powerful guided aerial bombs that fell but failed to explode in a field near Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.

The Directorate of the Ukrainian State Emergency Situations in the Donetsk region announced the update on Facebook.

Russia has dropped hundreds, probably thousands, of these weapons in recent weeks. At the end of March, Moscow dropped 700 glide bombs in six days, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Ukraine also uses guided bombs similar to FABs, the so-called Joint Direct Attack Munition System (JDAM), but American-made weapons are far scarcer.

According to official sources, Ukraine’s Western allies will provide increased military assistance as the country withstands attacks from Russia.

More than two years after Russia’s invasion, Kyiv is facing renewed attacks on its territory, particularly in the region around the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Increased supplies of artillery ammunition have strengthened the defense there, but more is needed – especially surface-to-air missiles, said German Defense Minister General Carsten Breuer.

“We see that Ukraine needs air defense … and of course artillery ammunition and weapons systems to fight against Russia and this current attack,” Breuer said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

“It has always been a priority requirement for many different reasons,” said Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian Army. “First, to protect critical infrastructure; second, to protect civilians who have been targeted throughout the war; third, to protect critical military capabilities; and fourth, to allow Ukraine to use its air capabilities to attack Russian systems.”

European governments claim that Russia is spreading misinformation ahead of the European elections from 6 to 9 June.

In their view, the actions of Moscow and pro-Kremlin actors are part of a broader interference campaign aimed at discrediting European governments and destabilising the EU.

Moscow denies the allegations. They include:

• Disinformation involving alleged manipulation of the truth, ranging from amplifying pre-existing conspiracy theories to deepfake videos to publishing falsehoods on so-called doppelgänger websites designed to look like real websites.

• The Czech Republic said the news website voiceofeurope.com ran a pro-Russian influence operation in Europe. Pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk secretly funded Voice of Europe’s influence operations, it said.

• Belgium said Russian officials had paid members of the European Parliament to spread Russian propaganda in Europe.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russian forces had lost 1,270 soldiers, 14 tanks, 22 armored combat vehicles and 47 artillery systems over the past 24 hours.

Last night, military officials said there had been 55 clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces during the day. Russian forces carried out an unsuccessful attack near the village of Starytsia in Kharkiv Oblast and launched ten airstrikes on the Kharkiv Front.

A false report by the Polish news agency saying Prime Minister Donald Tusk would mobilise 200,000 troops from July 1 was likely the work of Russian-sponsored hackers and was intended to influence the upcoming European Parliament elections, authorities said.

“Everything indicates that we are dealing with a cyber attack from the Russian side,” said Krzysztof Gawkowski, deputy prime minister and head of the digital affairs department. “The aim is disinformation in the run-up to the European Parliament elections and a paralysis of society.”

At least one person was killed and two others injured in a nighttime Russian attack on Kharkiv, the governor of the eastern Ukrainian region said today.

The civilian was killed and the other two people were injured when a recreation complex in Zmiiv district was hit, Oleh Synehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Telegram.

The Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, and the city of Kharkiv, the region’s administrative center, are under attack almost daily. In recent weeks, attacks have intensified after Russian forces launched a new offensive in the region.

Donald Trump could become a “loser president” if he imposes a bad peace treaty on Ukraine and sides with the ceasefire plans of his ally Vladimir Putin, said Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Zelensky said the former US president could impose a crushing military defeat on Ukraine and end the “support, weapons and money” that Kiev receives to fend off the Russian invasion. Trump could also “make deals” with Kiev’s partners to stop the supply of vital weapons, he said. The guard.

“Ukraine will not be able to fight against a million-strong (Russian) army without weapons and with its bare hands,” he said.

“Does he want to become a president of losers? Do you understand what can happen?” said the Ukrainian president.

He called the ceasefire a “trap,” adding that the Russian president would violate any peace agreement brokered by Trump.

He added that the Russian president would “go even further” to humiliate Trump and make him appear “very weak” on the world stage.

Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed 24 of the 25 attack drones launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said this morning.

Russia also fired an Iskander-K cruise missile and an anti-aircraft guided missile at the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, the Air Force said via the messaging app Telegram.

It was not said what happened to the missiles.

Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Philippine President for his support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity upon his arrival in Manila for a bilateral visit.

“I am grateful to the Philippines for its support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, for its clear stance on Russian aggression against our country, and for its support of important UN resolutions,” he said on X, sharing photos from his visit.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine intends to open an embassy in Manila this year “to strengthen bilateral cooperation.” “We discussed the first World Peace Summit and the importance of representing Southeast Asian countries there,” he said.

“I am pleased that the Philippines will participate in the summit. We also discussed bilateral cooperation, in particular Ukrainian agricultural exports to the Philippines,” Zelensky said.