Ukraine chronicle: Kyiv regime expanded its strikes on Russian lands

Kiev’s attack on city of Shebekino in Belgorod Region.
Photo TASS

• Kyiv expands its attacks against civilians in Belgorod Region – the original Russian territory that has never been Ukrainian territory and has been historically controlled by the Russian Federation.
  On June 1, the Russian military repelled an attempted incursion by Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) into Belgorod Region. Kyiv was aiming to carry out a terrorist act against the civilian population of the town of Shebekino, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Two Ukrainian motorized infantry companies, reinforced by tanks, tried to cross into Russia, but suffered heavy losses and were pushed back, according to the ministry. Two fatalities amongst civilians were reported initially during this raid.
  Shebekino with the population of 40,000 citizens, is located 4 km from Russian-Ukrainian border.That is why it is heavy shelled by AFU. During last 24 hours the city was shelled by 519 projectiles. What was shelled? Local market, shops, kindergarten. It is usual Ukrainian practice. There are no electricity and water supplies. Novaya Tavolzhanka village was hit by 102 munitions, Murom village was shelled 59 times.
  Three civilians were killed and several others injured, including a child, in the other Ukrainian shelling of the village of Sobolevka, also in Russia’s Belgorod Region on June 2, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced.
  Between June 1-4 AFU has intensified howitzers and MLRS employment against several populated areas in Belgorod Region. The frequent attacks prompted Gladkov to announce the evacuation of several hundreds of children (600) and adults from the areas closest to the border with Ukraine to other cities located deep inside Russia.
• In Crimea, its Air defence shot down five Ukrainian drones overnight to June 4, while four more were jammed by electronic systems, region’s head Sergey Aksyonov announced. Nobody was injured or killed.
• Ukraine needs dozens of US-made Patriot air defense system batteries if it hopes to protect its infrastructure and troops on the battlefield against Russian air superiority, president Vladimir Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview published on June 3. He maintained that as many as 50 Patriot batteries would be needed to sufficiently protect Ukraine’s cities and its troops on the battlefield ahead of the much-touted counteroffensive. Each Patriot battery costs around $1.1 billion, according to estimates by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, cited by Forbes.
  The total cost of Zelensky’s demand thus translates to a military aid package worth $55 billion, which is more than the total amount of US military aid allocated to Kyiev thus far in 39 packages.
• Two of the three Patriot systems in Ukraine have already been destroyed by Russia – each by a single shot. Any quantity of this system to be delivered by the USA to Kyiv will be destroyed by Moscow, Russian military experts claimed.
• New arms supplies to Kyiv by the West will further escalate tensions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Rossiya-1 TV Channel on June 4. "Now we are already seeing that discussion begins about deliveries, for example, from France, Germany of missiles with a range of 500 or more kilometers. This is a qualitatively different weaponry, which will eventually, let's say, lead to another spiral of escalating tensions," the spokesman cautioned.
• Russia has intensified its massive air strikes with long-range precision weapons against enemy targets at military airfields, the Defense Ministry said on June 4, adding that all strikes were successful. Russian heavy strategic bombers equipped with a long-range missiles with a powerful conventional warheads capable to travel more than 5,000 km, have already fired them. "Last night, the Russian armed forces carried out a long-range high-precision air-launched group strike against enemy targets at military airfields. The purpose of the strike was achieved. Command and control posts, radar posts, Ukrainian aircraft, and storage facilities with weapons and ammunition were hit," the ministry said.
• Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s Defense Minister, presented a new peace initiative on June 3 aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine where he urged military officials from around the world to issue a declaration calling for a cessation of hostilities. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, Prabowo shared his multi-point plan, which would include a ceasefire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone, with both Russia and Ukraine withdrawing 15km (nearly 10 miles) from their respective forward positions.
• During the same panel discussion, Josep Borrell, the High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, acknowledged that ending military support for Ukraine would lead to a swift conclusion of the war – in several weeks. However, he cautioned against such a move, as it could result in the country’s sovereignty being compromised by external force.
• The United States has begun a training programme for the Ukrainian Air Force in the use of F-16 fighters. Several European NATO countries participate in this programme: Denmark, Holland, Poland, Norway, Belgium, and Portugal. Other countries have offered to help with the training, writes Italian observer Manlio Dinucci. The same countries will supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters. They are conventional dual-capable and nuclear fighters. An F-16 aircraft was used in the B61-12 nuclear bomb test firing, which the US is already deploying in Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Probably, the B61-12 bombs are also supplied by the USA to Poland: Polish F-16 fighters have been participating in NATO nuclear attack exercises since 2014.
• Vladimir Kozin – chief expert of the Moscow Political-Military Studies Centre – declares, in an interview on Grandangolo TV programme, that there is a deep suspicion based on facts, that US nuclear weapons have also been deployed in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, or could be rapidly sent to their territories and also to that of Poland. These countries participate in the "Baltic air patrol", close to Russian territory, with dual conventional and nuclear capability aircraft. In addition, US strategic bombers, certified to carry nuclear weapons, are engaged in "exercises" over the Baltic Sea and other areas adjacent to Russian territory,
  After having unsuccessfully proposed negotiations to the USA and NATO to reduce the risk of a nuclear conflict in Europe, Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in a position close to the US-NATO nuclear bases in Europe in agreement with Minsk. To Grandangolo’s question “Do the tactical nuclear weapons deployed by Russia in Belarus have a range beyond Poland and therefore constitute a deterrent to US nuclear weapons deployed in Italy and other European countries?”, Vladimir Kozin replies: “Yes, Russian tactical nuclear weapons that will be deployed in Belarus and possibly in the Kaliningrad region and the Crimean Peninsula can achieve various military objectives in Poland, Italy and many other European NATO member countries.”

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