Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 100th day on Friday, June 3. This offensive has been focused for several weeks on the Donbass region, more particularly on Severodonetsk, a strategic city in the east of the country that Ukrainian troops are trying to defend. “We had some success in the battle for Severodonetsk. But it’s still too early. It’s the most difficult area right now.”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday evening, referring to a similar situation in the surrounding area, particularly in Lyssytchansk and Bakhmout. Follow our live.
• Fighting in the Luhansk region. “Today we fight and hold every meter of the Lugansk region“, said Friday morning Serguiï Gaïdaï, governor of this territory. “And, despite all the statements of the Russians, we celebrate his birthday under the Ukrainian flag”. “For 100 days they have been destroying everything that marked the Lugansk region”, he added, saying that more than 400 km of “European standard roads” had been destroyed along with 33 hospitals, 237 rural clinics, nearly 70 schools and 50 kindergartens.
• 20% of occupied Ukrainian territory. Russian forces currently control “around 20%” Ukrainian territory, nearly 125,000 square kilometres, according to the Ukrainian head of state. Before the invasion, Russian or pro-Russian forces controlled 43,000 km2 there, since the annexation of Crimea and the capture of a third of Donbass in 2014.
• New European sanctions against Moscow. On the diplomatic level, the EU countries approved on Thursday a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow including an embargo, with exemptions, on the purchases of oil but gave up blacklisting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church , Patriarch Kirill, under pressure from Hungary. The text must still receive the written agreement of each member state for its publication on Friday in the Official Journal to allow the entry into force of the measures, specified the French presidency of the Council of the EU.
• Moscow says it has stopped the influx of foreign fighters. Russia said on Thursday it had stopped the influx of “mercenaries” foreigners wanting to fight alongside the army of kyiv, by dint of inflicting heavy losses on them in recent weeks. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the number of foreign fighters has been “almost halved”dropping from 6,600 to 3,500, and a “large number” of them “prefer to leave” country, he says.