June 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The US is "adding fuel to the fire" by supplying weapons to Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to provide more advanced missile systems to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian authorities have long asked the United States to supply high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Biden said Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine "more advanced rocket systems and munitions" as its war with Russia grinds on.

Peskov also added the Kremlin does not trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's words that Kyiv would not use multiple launch rocket systems to attack the Russian territory if they receive them from the US.

It’s more than 1,800 miles from Severodonetsk to Glasgow.

As Russian pressure increases in the strategically key eastern Ukraine city where two-thirds of properties have been reported as destroyed, an international football match in the Scottish city would seem somewhat irrelevant.

Ukrainian Taras Berezovets, who worked as a political analyst before the Russian invasion started on February 24 but has since joined Ukraine’s special forces, would disagree.

Like many other of his "brothers in arms" – given football has always been the number one sport in Ukraine – Berezovets will be doing his best to keep across developments in his country’s World Cup playoff against Scotland on Wednesday.

If Ukraine does get past Scotland at Hampden Park and then beats Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will have remarkably secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

According to Berezovets, work is underway to find a broadcast of the match. But even if that’s impossible for those on the front line, he says those fighting will still gather together and listen on the radio if they can.

"When the football team is playing, the whole country is watching. Football is the number one sport in Ukraine, it’s extremely popular," Berezovets told CNN Sport over the phone from the country’s embattled south.

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At least seven people have been killed and 16 others injured in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday.

In eastern Ukraine, where the heaviest fighting is taking place, four people were killed and at least 10 others injured after Russian troops targeted air strikes, missiles and artillery shelling on several cities including Severodonetsk and Sloviansk, a statement from Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said.

In Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian troops shelled 21 areas on Tuesday, and destroyed 46 "civil objects," the statement said.

A separate update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russia is "focusing their efforts on conducting offensive operations" in the Donetsk area, with the support of the air force, and is firing "along the line of contact from mortars, artillery and multiple rocket launchers" in order to "inflict losses and deplete the personnel of our troops."

In Lyman, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Severodonetsk, "the fighting continues." Further south in Bakhmut, Russia is "trying to oust units of our troops from their positions," the military said.

The regional military-civilian administration also said that shelling continued all night on positions around Avdiivka, north of Donetsk city, and on Wednesday morning there was shelling of the old part of the city, and the area of ​​the Avdiivka Coke Plant.

In the past 24 hours, nine Russian attacks have also been repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk, the regional officials added.

Two people were killed and five injured in the northeast after Russia "fired en masse" on Kharkiv, Izium, Bohodukhiv and Chuhuiv on Tuesday, regional officials said.

In the south, one person died after shelling in the Bereznehuvate area, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Kherson. One person was also injured in shelling on Wednesday in Ochakiv, south of Mykolaiv city, regional officials said.

In Kherson, telephone and internet connections are still cut off, and the Russians have increased the number of places selling Russian SIM cards in the city. The situation in the occupied villages around Kherson "is critical, and heavy fighting continues there," regional officials said.

Russian forces now control most of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, while new statistics have revealed the horrifying impact the war has had on Ukrainian children.

Here are the latest developments on Russia's war in Ukraine:

Russians control 70% of Severodonetsk: Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Russian troops are now in control of most of Severodonetsk. "Part of the Ukrainian troops" have now "retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions," said Hayday, while other troops continue "fighting inside the city." If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control.

Scale of suffering among children revealed: At least 243 children have died and 446 others have been injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said on Wednesday, which marks Children's Day in Ukraine. Meanwhile, UNICEF said the lives of millions of children had been "shattered," with 3 million Ukrainian children needing humanitarian assistance inside the country, plus more than 2.2 million in refugee-hosting countries.

Pope calls for wheat supplies to resume: Pope Francis has called for the lifting of a blockade on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the staple food should not be used "as a weapon of war." Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that 22 million tons of grain cannot be exported due to the Russian blockade, but the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has blocked grain supplies.

Russian senator dismisses EU oil embargo: The Russian economy will not suffer due to the EU’s partial ban on its oil, due to new markets and rising fuel prices, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council said on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. "We can easily redirect this oil, for which there is a huge demand, to other markets," Valentina Matviyenko told reporters. "The world market has only a certain volume of production, a certain volume of oil sales. No one's getting it from the moon."

Germany to ship "most modern air defense system": Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Germany will send more weapons to Ukraine, including the IRIS-T air defense system. "This will enable Ukraine to protect an entire city from Russian air attacks," he said.

Ukraine prepares for World Cup playoff: National team football players will play against Scotland in Glasgow on Wednesday night. If they win and then beat Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will secure qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Russia’s economy will not suffer from the European Union's partial ban on its oil due to new markets and rising fuel prices, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council said on Wednesday, according to state news agency TASS.

"We can easily redirect this oil, for which there is a huge demand, to other markets," Valentina Matviyenko told reporters on Wednesday following a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, TASS reported.

Matviyenko added that profits Russia might lose from its halting of its oil supply to Europe will be compensated by an increase in the price of fuel, adding that the "Europeans are hurting themselves."

On Monday, the EU agreed on a partial ban on Russian oil imports and agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Russian gas exports fell 27.6% in the first five months of this year, according to figures from Gazprom Wednesday.

The state-owned energy giant said exports to countries outside of its Commonwealth of Independent States organization amounted to 61 billion cubic meters between January and May 2022. That is 23.2 billion cubic meters less than the same period in 2021.

Gazprom said it produced a total of 211.4 billion cubic meters of gas in the period, down 4.8% from 2021.

The company added that gas exports to China were growing due to a long term contract between Gazprom and Chinese energy firm CNPC, but it did not give any figures.

Germany will send its "most modern air defense system," the IRIS-T, to Ukraine, the country's chancellor said Wednesday.

"In the coming weeks, we will supply further weapons, for example, the German government has recently decided that we will supply the IRIS-T system, the most modern air defense system that Germany has," Olaf Scholz said during a speech in the German Parliament. 

The development comes as senior US administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the United States will be sending US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as part of the country's 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine. 

Some context: Germany initially resisted calls to provide weaponry to Kyiv, agreeing only to provide humanitarian help and medical equipment. That approach was in line with Germany's decades-long policy of not supplying lethal weapons to crisis zone.

There was a major U-turn in late April when Germany agreed to deliver anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.

Pope Francis has called for the lifting of a blockade on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the staple food should not be used "as a weapon of war."

Speaking at the end of his weekly audience on Wednesday, the Pontiff said that he is following "with great concern" the situation at Ukrainian ports.

The lives of millions of people depend on the export of wheat, "especially among the poorest countries," he said.

Some context: Ukraine is working on a "UN-led naval operation" with navies of partnering countries to ensure a safe trade route for exporting its agricultural products, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that 22 million tons of grain, accounting for nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply, is being held up by Russia's blockade of the main export routes.

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has blocked grain supplies from Ukraine, and has accused the West of actions that have led to this crisis.  

Russian forces now control 70% of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration said Wednesday.

Serhiy Hayday said "part of the Ukrainian troops" have now "retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions" while other troops continue "fighting inside the city."

Evacuation is still suspended from Severodonetsk, and it is "not possible to import humanitarian aid," he said.

Neighboring Lysychansk is "completely under Ukrainian control," but all "free settlements" of the Luhansk region are "constantly under fire," he said.

If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control. 

Polling stations are now open across Denmark, as the Scandinavian country votes on whether to join the European Union shared defense policy.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a significant reason for calling a referendum, saying it is an important value-based decision and a way to signal support for a stronger EU.

The referendum will determine whether Denmark maintains its nearly three-decade old opt-out from EU defense policy. The opt-out keeps the Scandinavian nation of nearly 6 million from taking an active part in EU defense policy and missions.

Saying 'yes' to cancel the opt-out would be a significant shift in Denmark’s EU policy on Europe, but Frederiksen emphasized the importance of the vote on Wednesday morning.

The government has spent several weeks campaigning for a 'yes' vote.

Polling stations close at 8 p.m. local time, and results are expected after midnight local time.

Some context: Denmark has been a member of the EU since January 1973 but it has four derogations -- or "opt-outs" -- from EU cooperation. These, which include the Common Security and Defense Policy, were agreed among the then-12 member states after the Danish population initially rejected the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

The Danish defense opt-out means the country cannot participate in EU military operations or provide military support for EU-led efforts in conflict areas. It is the only member of the 27-nation bloc to be exempt from the policy.

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