WAR IN UKRAINE: June 5, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 467
Ukraine has cultivated a network of agents and sympathizers inside Russia working to carry out acts of sabotage against Russian targets and has begun providing them with drones to stage attacks, multiple people familiar with US intelligence on the matter told CNN. US officials believe these pro-Ukrainian agents inside Russia carried out a drone attack that targeted the Kremlin in early May by launching drones from within Russia rather than flying them from Ukraine into Moscow. US officials believe that Ukraine has developed sabotage cells inside Russia made up of a mix of pro-Ukrainian sympathizers and operatives well-trained in this kind of warfare. Ukraine is believed to have provided them with Ukrainian-made drones, and two US officials told CNN there is no evidence that any of the drone strikes have been conducted using US-provided drones - CNN
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo says his government will ask Ukraine for clarification on reports that rifles made in Belgium had been used by pro-Ukrainian forces to fight Russian troops inside Russia's western border. The Washington Post reported on June 3 that anti-Kremlin fighters who launched a cross-border attack from Ukraine into the Russian Belgorod region last month used tactical vehicles originally given to Ukraine by the United States and Poland and carried rifles made in Belgium and the Czech Republic. De Croo declined to comment on possible consequences if the reports were confirmed. (Reuters)
Russia's defence ministry says it has thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in Donetsk, claiming to have killed 250 troops and destroyed armoured vehicles. Video of what Russia says is the battle appears to show military vehicles coming under heavy fire in fields. But there has been no comment from Kyiv and Russia's claim has not been independently verified. A Ukrainian counter-offensive has been long awaited but Kyiv says it will not give advance warning of its start. It is too early to say whether this alleged offensive is the start of Kyiv's long-awaited counterpunch - BBC
In a growing scandal for the Kyiv city government, it’s been revealed that, after more than 15 months of Russia's war against Ukraine, just only half of the 1,078 bomb shelters in Kyiv checked by a government commission are ready for use. According to the results of the commission's first day of work, 359 bomb shelters were not suitable, and 122 bomb shelters simply could not be opened. "When we selectively checked shelters in (Kyiv's) Obolon district with our mayor yesterday, the vast majority of shelters were closed,” Kamyshin wrote in his Telegram channel. “And after they were opened, they were not ready to be used." On June 3, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reportedthat the city authorities had received about 1,000 complaints from Kyiv residents within just one day of initiating the feedback system. On June 1, a Russian strike on the city killed two women and a 9-year old girl. The civilians were killed by debris as they tried to enter a bomb shelter that turned out to be closed. The incident triggered a major scandal, with Kyiv residents criticizing the authorities for failing to ensure the proper functioning of bomb shelters - Kyiv Independent
Russia is unable to honor its arms delivery commitments to India because of the war in Ukraine, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said, placing a potential strain on New Delhi’s relationship with its largest defense supplier as Moscow attempts to ramp up weapons production. An IAF representative told an Indian parliamentary committee that due to the Ukraine war a “major delivery” from Moscow “is not going to take place.” The admission, published in a report by India’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday, is the first official confirmation by Indian authorities amid swirling rumors and reports in local media suggesting shortcomings in Russian capacity “They have given us in writing that they are not able to deliver it,” the representative said, according to the report.
The Russian anti-Kremlin militia said it plans to give Russian soldiers captured during a cross-border raid to the Ukrainian authorities in a video published on Telegram on June 4. A pro-Ukraine militia made up of primarily Russian citizens, the Russian Volunteer Corps, claimed responsibility for the latest incursion in Belgorod Oblast, where it allegedly captured the Russian soldiers. Earlier in the day, a video published on Telegram by the Russian Volunteer Corps addressed Governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast Vyacheslav Gladkov, saying the group was willing to give him the Russian soldiers "as a gesture of good will," in exchange "for the opportunity to talk with him to discuss the current situation in the region and the future of Russia." In the latest video, a Russian Volunteer Corps commander said that Gladkov failed to show up at the meeting place in Novaya Tavolzhanka, prompting the group's decision to give the soldiers to Ukrainian authorities instead. "We have already decided the fate of these guys. They will be transferred to the Ukrainian side for the exchange procedure," said the commander - Kyiv Independent