June 3, 2022 Russia-Ukraine war

By Rhea Mogul, Hannah Strange, Ivana Kottasová, Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, June 4, 2022
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5:33 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

EU adopts sixth package of sanctions against Russia

From CNN's Claudia Rebaza and Radina Gigova in London

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy arrives at the extraordinary special EU summit about Ukraine, Energy and Defence, in Brussels, Belgium, on May 31.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy arrives at the extraordinary special EU summit about Ukraine, Energy and Defence, in Brussels, Belgium, on May 31. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

The European Council has formally adopted the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine, it said in a press release Friday. 

The European Council is the top political body of the European Union, bringing together the heads of states or governments of the 27 EU member states.

Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the sanctions package increased "limitations to the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war by imposing further economic sanctions."

He added:

"We are banning the import of Russian oil into the EU and with this cutting a massive source of revenue for Russia. We are cutting off more of the key Russian banks from the international payment system SWIFT. We are also sanctioning those responsible for the atrocities that took place in Bucha and Mariupol and banning more disinformation actors actively contributing to President Putin’s war propaganda."

The Council has listed the different areas impacted by the sanctions as:

  • Oil embargo
  • De-SWIFTing of additional Russian and Belarusian banks
  • Broadcasting
  • Export restrictions
  • Consulting services
  • Individual listings

The announcement followed an extraordinary European Council summit attended by EU leaders in Brussels on Monday.

Read more about the sanctions here.

5:09 p.m. ET, June 3, 2022

It's 12 noon in Kyiv, here's what you need to know

After 100 days of war, Russian forces now control about 20% of Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian military said it managed to push back Russian assaults in multiple areas of eastern Ukraine, but added that fighting continues as Russian forces try to advance from several directions in their bid to take more of the Donbas area. 

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

  • Fighting in the east: The Ukrainian military said Friday that it has repelled at least five Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
  • Severodonetsk under assault: Russia now controls roughly 80% of the city, but according to the Ukrainian military, fighting continued in the city center on Friday. Zelensky said Thursday that while Ukrainian forces were withstanding the Russian onslaught in and around the city in the Luhansk region, it was “too early to tell.”
  • Hundreds in hiding: About 800 people, including children, are hiding in several bomb shelters underneath a chemical factory in Severodonetsk, which has been targeted by Russian missile attacks, the head of Luhansk region military administration said. Those hiding are locals who were asked to leave the city, but refused, according to the official.
  • Kharkiv attack: The Ukrainian military said Friday that Russian forces "continued to prepare for an offensive" in Kharkiv.
  • Ukrainian gains in the south: Ukrainian forces say they have made significant progress during an offensive against Russian positions in the occupied southern region of Kherson. The Territorial Defence AZOV Dnipro unit said armed forces liberated 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) of “occupied territory.”

5:10 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

Ukraine military says it has pushed back Russian assaults in multiple areas of eastern Ukraine

From Oleksandra Ochman, Olga Voitovych and Bex Wright

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Friday that at least five Russian attacks have been “repulsed” over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine.

The military said that Russian forces “tried to engage in clashes and storm operations” with the “help of separate units and sabotage and reconnaissance groups” in two areas around Donetsk. It added the attack was unsuccessful, and the Russians troops “retreated to [their] previous positions.”

Ukraine’s military said some units of Russia’s 150th Motorized Rifle Division “suffered significant losses [of] at least 50% of the personnel, weapons and equipment” in the area around Popasna, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Severodonetsk.

It said that it believed “the personnel of the enemy is demoralized" due to the "constant postponement of their rotation.”

In the Sloviansk area to the west of Severodonetsk, Russia was “unsuccessful” in carrying assault operations in two areas and “withdrew after losses,” the military said.

Russia also “conducted unsuccessful assault operations” in the Bakhmut area.

But despite the losses highlighted by the Ukrainian military, Russia continued with heavy shelling across the east.

A separate update from Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force on Friday said Russian forces were attacking 28 areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day.

At least seven civilians were killed and eight others injured, the task force said. Further 1,472 people have been evacuated from the areas of hostilities in the past day, the statement added.

Around 80 buildings were destroyed or damaged, including factories, three fire stations, and residential properties. Five large fires were caused by Russian shelling in the region, and “in a number of cases, fire and rescue units came under fire and were forced to return to their locations,” the task force said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces said fighting continued in the center of Severodonetsk. Around 80% of the city is now under the control of Russian forces.

In the northeast, a missile strike was launched on civilian infrastructure in Sumy, and shelling hit three residential areas, the military said.

The military also said that Russian forces "continue to prepare for an offensive" in Kharkiv, firing artillery and multiple rocket launchers in five areas.

5:19 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

Ukraine “does not plan to use” US multiple-launch rocket systems to attack Russia, Zelensky's aide says

From CNN’s Hannah Ritchie in Hong Kong

Ukraine is “waging a defensive war” and “does not plan to attack facilities in Russia” with weapons provided by the US, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.

“Our partners know where their weapons are used. Any allegations of such intentions [to attack Russia are] Psychological operations of Russian special services,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter, adding that "Russia's number one task today [is] to undermine trust between Ukraine and America."

In a statement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that the US would send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System which has munitions capable of launching rockets roughly 49 miles -- a range far greater than anything Kyiv has been sent to date.

President Joe Biden announced that the US would send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, pictured here in a file photo dated September 30, of U.S. Marine Corps training in Okinawa, Japan. 
President Joe Biden announced that the US would send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, pictured here in a file photo dated September 30, of U.S. Marine Corps training in Okinawa, Japan.  (Lance Cpl. Ujian Gosun/ABACA/Reuters)

Acknowledging the Kremlin would view the shipment as a provocation -- due to the long range of the missiles and their potential to reach Russian territory -- Biden has explicitly warned that the weapons should only be used by Ukrainian forces defensively and within their borders. 

“We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia...We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia," Biden wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed on Tuesday, ahead of the announcement. 

The UK has also agreed to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine in close coordination with the US, as Ukrainian forces continue to fend off Russia’s offensive.

5:11 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

Russia will likely control all of Luhansk within two weeks, UK intelligence says

From CNN's Dan Wright and Bex Wright

Pro-Russian troops rides on top of an armoured personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine, on June 2.
Pro-Russian troops rides on top of an armoured personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine, on June 2. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

The UK Ministry of Defence expects Russia to take control of the whole of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine within the next two weeks, according to its latest intelligence assessment.

In the report, the ministry said that after failing to take Kyiv, Moscow has changed its strategy in Ukraine to focus on the Donbas, the part of eastern Ukraine that is formed of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Two parts of the Donbas have been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. They have become known as the Luhansk and the Donetsk People's Republics and comprise roughly a third of the total area of the Donbas.

The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserts the two regions are, in effect, temporarily Russian-occupied. The self-declared republics have not recognized by any governments, other than Russia and its close ally Syria, and the Ukrainian government has steadfastly refused to talk directly with the leaders of either.

The British assessment said: "Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and currently appear to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition."

It added:

"Russia controls over 90% of Luhansk Oblast and is likely to complete control in the next two weeks. Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at significant resource cost, and by concentrating force and fires on a single part of the overall campaign."

But the report said that Russia is failing to gain momentum in other areas, where it has been forced into defensive mode.

“Measured against Russia’s original plan, none of the strategic objectives have been achieved. In order for Russia to achieve any form of success will require continued huge investment of manpower and equipment, and is likely to take considerable further time,” it added.

3:35 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

Ukrainian officials say Russia is suffering "systematic counterattacks" in the south

From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Bex Wright

Russia is suffering from “systematic counterattacks” by Ukrainian troops in Kherson in the south of Ukraine, a statement from Operational Command South said on Friday.

“The enemy suffers from systematic counterattacks of our units,” the statement said, adding that Russia brought in 27 infantry fighting vehicles by rail, and unloaded 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Kherson to support their operation.

Two civilians were also injured as a result of the “massive shelling” of the area of Novovorontsovka in the north of the Kherson region.

Russian troops “continue to try to hold the ground” in Kherson, a separate update from the Kherson Regional Military Civil Administration said, and at the border with the neighboring Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, “hostilities are taking place.”

Residents of Kherson and some local communities have been without any internet or phone connection “for the fourth day in a row,” the Regional Military Civil Administration said.

There is also information that ”the occupiers in Kherson have seized passport services” and are now issuing Russian passports to residents, the update said.

In nearby Mykolaiv, Operational Command South said two people were killed and two others injured on Thursday after heavy shelling in the morning, afternoon and evening hit two high-rise buildings and four homes.

However Russia’s “desperate attempt” to retake their lost positions around Mykolaiv “didn’t succeed,” Operational Command South said, adding that two Russian airstrikes also hit their positions, with no losses.

Northeast of Mykolaiv in the Kryvyi Rih area, Russian troops “intensified air reconnaissance and attempted assault operations,” but the attempt was thwarted and they retreated to their former positions.

12:49 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

Russia's Pacific Fleet starts naval exercises involving more than 40 warships, state media says 

From CNN’s Hannah Ritchie and Josh Pennington 

Russia’s Pacific Fleet has begun a series of week-long exercises involving more than 40 warships and 20 aircraft, state-run news agency TASS reported Friday, citing the Defense Ministry.

The exercises, set to run until June 10, will involve ships searching for "submarines of a mock enemy" and "working out the organization of air defense for tactical groups of ships [to] perform combat training exercises on surface and air targets," the Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to TASS. 

Russia’s command ship the Marshal Krylov, the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, and a group of large anti-submarine ships and corvettes, small anti-submarine ships, minesweepers, missile boats and support vessels will all be operating in designated areas of the Pacific Ocean during the exercises, the ministry's statement said. 

The exercises come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached the 100-day mark on Friday. 

The Ukrainian military has claimed that Russian units have "suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment" since the war began in late February.  

12:01 a.m. ET, June 3, 2022

It's 7 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

After 100 days of war, Russian forces now control about 20% of Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian military says fighting continues in multiple parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, with Russian forces trying to advance from several directions as they seek to take more of the area. 

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

  • Fighting in the east: Zelensky said Thursday that Ukrainian forces are withstanding the Russian onslaught around the city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region. "We have some success in the battles in Severodonetsk,” Zelensky said. “But it's too early to tell.” Reports from Thursday said street fighting continued in the city, which is mostly controlled by Russian forces. 
  • Hundreds in hiding: About 800 people, including children, are hiding in several bomb shelters underneath a chemical factory in Severodonetsk, which has been targeted by Russian missile attacks, the head of Luhansk region military administration said. Those hiding are locals who were asked to leave the city, but refused, according to the official.
  • Ukrainian gains in the south: Ukrainian forces say they have made significant progress during an offensive against Russian positions in the occupied southern region of Kherson. The Territorial Defence AZOV Dnipro unit said armed forces liberated 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) of “occupied territory.”

  • US cyber operation: Cyber Command, the US military's hacking unit, has conducted offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's invasion, the head of the command said. The disclosure underscores how important projecting power in cyberspace has been to the Biden administration as it continues to avoid directly engaging Russia in a shooting war. 
  • NATO chief meets with Biden: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday he had a “great meeting” with US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. “President Putin wanted less NATO and therefore he invaded Ukraine, but he’s getting more,” Stoltenberg told reporters after the meeting. 
8:54 p.m. ET, June 2, 2022

Analysis: After 100 days of war, Putin is counting on the world's indifference

Analysis from CNN's Nathan Hodge

Rewind the clock to February 23, the day before Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine, and one might be tempted to guess that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's days in office were numbered.

After all, Russia's military outspent that of Ukraine by roughly 10 to one. Moscow enjoyed a twofold advantage over Kyiv in land forces; and the nuclear-armed power had 10 times the aircraft and five times the armored fighting vehicles of its neighbor.

A visibly angry Russian President Vladimir Putin had appeared on television just days before, delivering a rambling historical monologue that made clear he expected nothing less than regime change in Kyiv.

The Kremlin leader seemed to be gambling that Zelensky would flee his capital, much as the US-backed president of Afghanistan had left Kabul just a few months earlier, and that Western outrage would subside, albeit with the temporary pain of new sanctions.

100 days later, whatever plans Putin may have had for a victory parade in Kyiv are on indefinite hold. Ukrainian morale did not collapse. Ukrainian troops, equipped with modern anti-tank weaponry delivered by the US and its allies, devastated Russian armored columns; Ukrainian missiles sank the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the pride of Russia's Black Sea Fleet; and Ukrainian aircraft stayed in the air, against the odds.

In late March, Russia's military began withdrawing its battered troops from around the Ukrainian capital, claiming they had shifted focus to capturing the country's eastern Donbas region. Three months after its invasion, Russia no longer appears to be aiming for a short, victorious war in Ukraine — nor does it seem to be capable of achieving one.

Read the full analysis: