June 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukraine's army has carried a series of counterattacks in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, but Russian forces still control "most" of the city, a regional Ukrainian military official said.

Severodonetsk is one of the last remaining strongholds held by Ukraine in the eastern region of Luhansk.

The head of the Luhansk Military Administration, Serhiy Hayday, said that the Kremlin's forces did not make any headway Wednesday night in their attempt to capture Severodonetsk, despite Russian claims that the they have taken the whole city.

Hayday has previously said that 10,000 Russian-controlled troops are fighting to take the city.

The counteroffensives by Ukrainian troops managed to move enemy forces away from some streets and allowed them to capture some prisoners of war, according to Hayday.

"They don’t control the whole city, fighting is going on,” Hayday said.

On Wednesday, Hayday said that Russians control 80% of the city.

Why Severodonetsk matters: Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk together make up Ukraine's Donbas region, an industrial heartland dotted with factories and coal fields that has been home to sporadic fighting since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists seized control of two territories there -- the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.

Severodonetsk and sister city Lysychansk are two of the last cities in Luhansk housing Ukrainian troops. Russian forces have spent days attempting to encircle Severodonetsk, advancing in several directions and pushing Ukrainian forces out of the city.

Capturing the region would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a symbolic victory. A key goal of Russia's so-called "special military operation" -- the Kremlin's official euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine -- was to take control of the Donbas region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of pursuing a “consistent criminal policy of deporting our people” into mostly remote areas of Russia.

During his daily address on Wednesday, Zelensky said more than 200,000 children have been deported so far.

He also said that so far, at least 243 children have died during the war, 446 have been injured, and another 139 are missing.

CNN cannot independently verify the numbers of deportations or casualties.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has publicly thanked US President Joe Biden and the US military for including HIMARS rocket systems in the next round of security assistance to Ukraine.

“I was pleased to see in the 11th package of military aid to Ukraine the six letters for which the whole country has been waiting: HIMARS," Reznikov said in a Twitter post on Thursday.

"Our cooperation is stronger than ever! Thank you."

In a statement on Wednesday, Biden formally announced the inclusion of the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) as part of the package to Ukraine.

The systems will have a range of about 70 kilometers (44 miles), a US defense official told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday, which is further than anything Ukraine has been sent to date. Ukraine had sought longer range weapons, but the US resisted due to concerns they would be capable of striking Russian territory, thereby potentially escalating the war.

Conceding territory to Russia would be “conceding a freedom” and would not end President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska said.

She reiterated her husband’s position that the Donbas region — where Russia has now concentrated its offensive — will be Ukrainian again.

Located in Ukraine’s southeast, the Donbas region’s proximity to Russia has dictated much of its turbulent history.

Russia’s failures to take Kyiv and other central Ukrainian regions in the early months of its invasion has seen Donbas become the centerpiece of Putin’s military ambitions. 

The UK will send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine in a step "coordinated closely" with the US' decision to provide Kyiv with more advanced weaponry — a move Russia said was "adding fuel to the fire."

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

The United Kingdom will send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.

Britain will send M270 launchers able to strike targets up to 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) away, offering “a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” according to a statement from the British Foreign Office.

The move has been “coordinated closely” with the United States' decision to provide Ukraine with its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) — a variant of the multiple-launch rocket systems that will be gifted by the UK, the statement added.  

The British government also said that Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so the effectiveness of the launchers can be maximized.

Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk's regional military administration, says street fighting continues in the eastern city of Severodonetsk but Russian forces now occupy about 80% of the city.

"On some streets, our defenders are successful," Hayday said. Six Russian soldiers have been captured, he said.

Hayday said the remaining parts of Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control were under constant shelling but local volunteers had gotten trucks with humanitarian cargoes to many settlements and also evacuated people.

Hayday said heavy fighting continued in settlements to the south and west of Severodonetsk as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian defenses.

"Despite the simply constant, daily shelling, it is still possible to bring humanitarian supplies both to the Hirske community and to Lysychansk," Hayday said.

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.

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine "more advanced rocket systems and munitions" as its war with Russia grinds on.

Writing in a New York Times op-ed, Biden said the US goal is "to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression."

He said the new shipment of arms would "enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine."

In a statement a day later, Biden said the US would "keep providing Ukraine with more of the weapons that they are using so effectively to repel Russian attacks."

He said the new package would include "new capabilities and advanced weaponry," including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems with battlefield munitions.

Senior administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the US will send Ukraine US-made rocket systems as part of the US' 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.

The officials said the systems that the US is sending Ukraine will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 49 miles. That is far less than the systems' maximum range, but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.

Read more:

RELATED

Biden announces new rockets and munitions to Ukraine in op-ed