KYIV ON FIRE WHILE UKRAINE TRIES TO REACH RUSSIAN BORDER AREAS

While the battlefields in the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhie regions are inflamed by heavy positional battles and do not experience any significant changes, the warring sides are engaged in drone battles. Russian precision strikes on military facilities throughout Ukraine do not stop, while Kiev continues attempts to reach any strategic targets on Russian territory. The month of May was sleepless for residents of the Ukrainian capital. The city was targeted more than 20 times. Throughout June, the intensity of Russian strikes is likely to remain. On June 1, military facilities in Desnyansky, Dneprovsky and Darnitsky districts of the capital reportedly came under fire. On the night of June 2, Russian missiles and kamikaze UAVs again targeted Kiev. Russian forces destroyed several targets. As usual, the city’s authorities do not reveal their losses. However, footage confirmed that another air defense system was destroyed. Cameras installed throughout the city filmed failed attempts of what was likely a foreign air defense system, either German IRIS-T or US-made Patriot, to shot down the targets. Within seconds, the area of its deployment was struck by Russian missile; smoke is seen rising from the blast. The air defense systems was damaged and it is seen firing the final missile into the residential quarter. Explosions also reportedly thundered in the Cherkassy, Zhitomir and Kirovograd regions. During the day, on June 1, Russian missiles struck at a military industrial facility in Kharkiv, where the Ukrainian military has reportedly been conducting repairs. The precision strike was likely a response for Kiev’s attempts to cross the Russian border and attack civilian settlements in the Belgorod region on the same day. Two Ukrainian attacks were thwarted. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, in total, up to 135 Ukrainian fighters were involved. As a result of the failed operations, more than 30 of them were killed on the Ukrainian border territory, as well as four armored combat vehicles, a Grad multiple launch rocket system and one pickup truck. At the same time, Ukrainian forces heavily shelled the settlements of the Belgorod region. At least 14 civilians were wounded. While the ground operations led to no results, Kiev targeted Russian territory with drones. On June 1, Russian air defenses intercepted six Ukrainian UAVs in the Kaluga region. On the night of June 2, an explosion thundered in the same region after an “unidentified object”, which was likely another UAV, fell in the forest area. This morning, two other drones attacked fuel and energy facilities in the Russian Smolensk region. While eight more UAVs were intercepted over the city of Kursk by Russian Pantsir-S1 system. None of the UAVs reached their targets and all of the attacks led to no significant destructions on the Russian territory.