June 3, 2022 Russia-Ukraine war

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov assessed the results of the first 100 days of the war in Ukraine on Friday, saying "certain results" have been achieved and work will continue until all goals are met.

“The operation has as its main goal the protection of people in the DPR and LPR. In terms of ensuring their protection, measures are being taken and certain results have been achieved,” Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call. 

Peskov said that many settlements “have been liberated from the pro-Nazi-minded armed forces of Ukraine, as well as directly from the nationalist elements,” repeating the Kremlin's baseless justification for the war.

The lives of countless people have been upended during the war, with thousands dead and millions displaced due to the invasion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have all issued comments to mark the 100th day of war in Ukraine.

Von der Leyen called Russia's invasion "unjustifiable," tweeting that "the bravery of Ukrainians commands our respect and our admiration." She said that the European Union stands with Ukraine and that she is meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron today to discuss support to the country.

Scholz said he met with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk on the 100th day of the war.

Borrell noted the "senseless destruction" that Russia's invasion has caused, including thousands of deaths, millions of refugees and tons of blocked grain.

Truss said that "Putin’s invasion has brought death and destruction on a scale not seen in Europe since WW2. This war has huge ramifications for global peace, prosperity and food security." She also commended Ukrainians' bravery and reaffirmed British support to the country.

Almost 12 million people have been displaced since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February, according to the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

In a speech to the Luxembourg parliament on Thursday, Zelensky said Russian troops have entered 3,620 settlements in Ukraine, of which 1,017 have been taken back by the Ukrainians while 2,603 are still held by Russia.

Zelensky said more than 5 million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine since the war started.

According to the latest update from the UN Refugee Agency, estimated 6.6 million refugees fled Ukraine since late February, with 2.1 million people coming back to Ukraine since February 28. Further 8 million have been displaced internally, meaning they fled their homes, but stayed elsewhere in Ukraine.

Russia's Foreign Ministry wants to "explain" the consequences of what is called "West's hostile actions" to the legal representatives of foreign media outlets that are in Moscow, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday as she invited them to a meeting. 

"If Russian media operators are not allowed to work normally in the US, Russia will take the harshest measures," Zakharova said at the Foreign Ministry's weekly briefing in Moscow.

Zakharova said the Foreign Ministry press center will explain the consequences of "their governments' hostile policy [...] their media and the entire media sector," jokingly adding that "we will provide tea and coffee." 

"So much has been tolerated by our journalists working in the West," she said, reiterating once again Moscow's claims that Western media are waging a disinformation campaign against Russia.

On Friday, the European Council said in a news release that the EU has introduced sanctions against some Russian broadcasters, suspending the broadcasting activities in the EU of three Russian state-owned outlets: Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24 / Russia 24 and TV Centre International. Several other Russian media outlets have been banned in previous rounds of sanctions.

Meanwhile, Russia introduced a censorship law in March making it impossible for news organizations to accurately report the news in or from Russia, forcing many foreign media outlets to scale back or shut down their operations in the country.

The law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, makes it a crime to disseminate "fake" information about the invasion of Ukraine, with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for anyone convicted. 

Injured and dead dolphins have been washing up on the coast of the Black Sea after being hurt or killed by powerful military sonars, according to the head researcher at the Tuzlivski lymany Nature Park in the Odesa region in southwestern Ukraine.

Ivan Rusev said that at least six dolphins have been found on the shore within the borders of the park.

“Since the beginning of the Black Sea war near Odesa, hundreds of dead dolphins have been found,” he said in a Facebook post. 

Atanas Rusev, the head of the Bulgarian campaign “Save the Dolphins” said on Facebook that there have been several instances of dolphins getting stranded in the delta of the Ropotamo River, which leads into the Black Sea. 

“Several dolphins were unable to navigate and were very weak. Some of the dolphins had burns from bomb blasts or mines. Imagine a dolphin with a protracted burn … according to experts who examined them, the dolphins were not able to eat for at least 10 days. Those who were not burned were severely injured,” he said, adding that injured and dead dolphins have been washing up on the coasts of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

Several studies in the past have confirmed that military sonars are harmful to marine life and many militaries have adopted mitigating measures to protect wildlife. 

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:

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

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

Read more about the sanctions here.

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:

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.

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.

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.