President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his clearest indication yet that Ukraine’s long-awaited push to recapture land from Russia’s forces is underway, saying Saturday that “relevant counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place” in the country.
More than 3,000 people have been rescued from areas flooded after the collapse of a major dam earlier this week, according to Zelensky. Water levels are receding, but Ukraine says threats from Russian shelling and environmental concerns remain.
Three people were killed after Russia attacked the southern Odesa region in the early hours of Saturday with missiles and drones, according to local officials.
The Ukrainian military says its forces have advanced nearly a mile in the eastern city of Bakhmut over the past day as Russia was rotating units.
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Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.
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Zelensky gives strongest indication yet that Ukraine's counteroffensive is underway
From CNN's Andrew Carey, Yulia Kesaieva and Uliana Pavlova
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 10.
STR/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his clearest indication yet that his military’s long-awaited push to liberate territory held by Russia’s occupying forces is underway, saying “relevant counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine.”
Speaking in Kyiv Saturday, the Ukrainian leader was asked to respond to comments by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who claimed Friday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has certainly begun — and was not finding success.
Zelensky shrugged off Putin’s suggestions that Ukraine’s armed forces were struggling and sought to apply some psychological pressure of his own.
Zelensky said “relevant counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine,” but said he “will not give any details about the stage it is at.”
Key context: After spending most of the winter embroiled in fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, as well as training its soldiers and waiting for the arrival of Western military aid, like tanks and longer-range strike weapons, the last few weeks have seen Ukraine clearly step up military activities.
These have included shaping operations – strikes on targets far behind front lines, like fuel depots and soldiers’ barracks. And more recently, Ukraine’s military has conducted probing operations, designed to test the enemy’s weak spots as well as its combat readiness.
However, it is still far from clear that Ukraine has begun moving large numbers of ground forces forward in an attempt to recapture the swathes of territory held by Russian occupying forces.
Moscow’s battlefield reports: Russia’s Ministry of Defense is reporting further Ukrainian offensive operations along the front line to the south and east of Zaporizhzhia, at a level of intensity consistent with that seen since the start of the week.
Troops from the Vostok brigade immediately to the southeast of the frontline town of Orikhiv had repelled two attempted advances by Ukrainian tank units, according to a Telegram post from the defense ministry. One was near the village of Novopokrovka, the post stated.
In addition, it said two Ukrainian armored columns had been repelled near the villages of Novodanilovka and Mala Tamkachka. In the same area, Russian military bloggers said Russian troops in positions close to the road south of Orikhiv toward Tokmak were continuing to report extremely heavy Ukrainian artillery fire.
Further east along the front line, to the southwest of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces had made three further attempted advances, which it said had all been defeated.
CNN is unable to verify the Russian claims, and the picture is no clearer from the Ukrainian side. Officials in Kyiv have disclosed little information since they stepped up activities along the front between Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk roughly six days ago.
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Canada says it will give seized Russian aircraft to Ukraine
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday promised to hand over a seized An-124 Russian cargo jet to Ukraine.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, the transport aircraft belonging to a Russian airline, arrived in Toronto on February 27 of last year carrying a shipment of Covid tests from China. The aircraft, which was chartered by the Canadian government, arrived two hours before authorities of the North American country closed the sky to Russian flights because of the situation in Ukraine.
The plane has remained in Canada, and will now go to the country where Moscow has been waging a war for over a year since.
Oleg Stepanov, the Russian ambassador to Canada, called the country’s decision to hand the seized plane over to Ukraine “illegal” and “common theft” in an interview with TASS Saturday.
New sanctions: During his visit, Trudeau also announced new sanctions against several individuals and companies that are contributing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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NATO prepares for biggest air defense exercise in its history
Starting Monday, NATO will be holding an unprecedented air defense exercise over Europe in what is seen as a show of force to Russia.
About 10,000 air service members are gathering in Germany to simulate a NATO response to an attack on an alliance member country.
CNN’s Nic Robertson looks at how NATO is preparing:
Deep inside a makeshift bunker, residents of Orikhiv await an aid delivery while artillery shakes the ground above.
“It’s comfortable here,” 72-year-old Olga Shumska says, unfazed by the commotion outside. The town in the southern Zaporizhzhia region sits just 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) away from a front line where Ukrainian forces have been making a recent push.
But this is far from normal. Months of shelling have destroyed most of the town’s infrastructure, leaving Orikhiv without electricity, gas or water.
“It is very dangerous. We had people killed and wounded and there is a lot of destruction,” Shumska explains. “In August last year, my house was also destroyed.”
Most of the town’s 1,400 remaining residents, down from a pre-war population of 14,000, now live in basements, and these bunkers — so-called “invisibility centers” — are the only place they are able to shower, do laundry, charge their phones or eat a warm meal.
An unfathomable existence for most, but not for Sokol.
“What is there to be afraid of?” the 71-year-old asks. “There are no two deaths. There is only one death.”
The trick, she says, is to try and delay it, an increasingly difficult task for the residents of Orikhiv, who rely on deliveries from aid agencies to survive.
Today they’re getting a box of food with a long shelf life that should last them for a week or two. But deliveries like these are not easy.
Zelensky calls for international support to rescue dam collapse victims in Russian-occupied areas
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on other countries and international organizations to help rescue Nova Kakhovka dam collapse victims in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
In his nightly address on Saturday, Zelensky claimed “Russia does not provide any real help to the people in the flooded areas” that are under its control.
“In the occupied territory, it is only possible to help people in some areas – Russian terrorists are doing everything to make the victims of the disaster as many as possible. Russian shelling continues – even at evacuation points,” Zelensky said.
“We are pressing and encouraging so that international organizations and international support come to the part of Kherson region where the occupiers are now,” Zelensky added.
Remember: Ukraine controls the west bank of the Dnipro River and the city of Kherson after its counteroffensive last year, while Russian troops remain on the east bank in the larger Kherson region.
Over 3,000 people have now been evacuated in Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, according to Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president also criticized some countries and international organizations for failing to react swiftly and provide support.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry again blamed the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the dam’s collapse, saying in a statement that “regular attacks” on the dam led to the collapse and subsequent flooding.
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Canada’s Trudeau announces his country will join efforts to train Ukrainian fighter pilots
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, June 10.
During a joint news conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trudeau said the country will help “maintain and support Ukraine’s fighter jet program, leveraging Canadian expertise in these areas.”
Trudeau also announced that Canada will contribute to an initiative for the maintenance of Leopard battle tanks that Ukraine’s allies have provided to Kyiv.
“We will provide an additional 287 AIM-7 missiles, which will support Ukraine in its efforts to defend Ukrainian skies,” he added, referring to a type of medium-range air-to-air missile. “And from existing funds, we will provide 10,000 rounds of 105-millimeter ammunition to the Ukraine security forces.”
Trudeau said an additional $500 million is being allocated as military funding.
On the dam collapse: The Canadian prime minister also commented on the disastrous flooding following a break in southern Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam.
As CNN has previously reported, it’s not currently possible to say whether the dam collapsed because it was deliberately targeted or if the breach could have been caused by structural failure. Kyiv and Moscow have each accused the other of causing the collapse.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has devastated infrastructure, has destroyed families and taken lives, and is causing economic, food, energy shortages around the world. Russia is responsible and will be held to account,” Trudeau said.
He also announced the provision of $10 million Canadian (around $7.46 million USD) to help flooding victims.
On NATO: During their meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, the two leaders also adopted a declaration in which Canada supports Ukraine’s accession to NATO as soon as circumstances allow.
“Canada supports Ukraine to become a NATO member as soon as conditions allow for it. Ukraine and Canada look forward to addressing these issues at the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023,” according to the text of the declaration.
Zelensky has previously said he understands his country cannot become a member of NATO while it is still at war.
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Ukrainian forces advance nearly a mile in Bakhmut in past day, Ukraine's military says
From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko in Kyiv and Sugam Pokharel in London
Ukrainian service members ride an armored personnel carrier near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on June 9.
Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters
Ukrainian forces have advanced nearly a mile in the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region in the past day, Ukraine’s military said.
Russian forces are “actively defending and trying to hit our units,” he added.
Ukrainian soldiers stand in position, with Bakhmut in the background, on June 5.
Iryna Rybakova/AP
Some background: The front line in eastern Ukraine is still the “epicenter” of the fighting, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said on Friday, adding that Ukrainian troops were “engaged in active combat” around Bakhmut.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, claimed on May 20 to have captured the city after a prolonged battle, adding that he would hand Bakhmut over to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated “the completion of the operation.”
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied the claims the following day, stating that his troops are still there and insisting, “We are keeping on, we are fighting.”
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Ukrainian veterinarians rescue animals from Kherson flood zone
From CNN’s Gabriel Kinder
Valentina and Leonid Stoyanov — Ukrainian veterinarians known to their millions of social media followers as the “Vet Crew” — immediately traveled to the southern region of Kherson after this week’s devastating dam collapse.
The pair specialize in treating exotic animals, but they have been rescuing pets left behind by Ukrainian refugees when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, treating animals by the hundreds in their Odesa clinic. They also travel to the front lines to feed and vaccinate dogs and cats close to the fighting.
It didn’t take long to find a group of cats who needed their help upon arriving in Kherson this week, Valentina told CNN.
After saving those kittens, the Stoyanovs heard the cry of another cat. Leo, nearly shoulder-deep in floodwater, followed the cries. Valentina described the rescue: “He saw how this red kitten was clinging to the fence with all her might. When we pulled them all out, we saw that their stomachs were filled with water and they were very cold. But we did everything we could to save them, and now they are completely safe.”
The water rescues are all the more daring due to Leonid’s health. He jumped into the water despite recently spending a week in the hospital after suffering his second heart attack since the start of the war.
The Stoyanovs shared video of the recent rescues on social media. After treating the cats, they will work on finding them new homes, they said.
In addition to the felines, Valentina says they rescued several dogs and two young owls with fractured bones.
Russia transfers Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva
Russia transferred Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary on Thursday, through the mediation of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to a statement from the church.
The statement added that Hungary had requested the prisoners’ transfer and said they are of Transcarpathian origin, referring to a region in southwestern Ukraine that borders Hungary and is home to a population of ethnic Hungarians.
Key context: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government have always been by far the closest ally of the Kremlin within the European bloc, leading to thorny diplomatic relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, Hungary has been providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees who have fled to the country.
Hungary and Ukraine have been in a long-standing dispute over the treatment of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Ukraine says it was kept in the dark: Ukrainian foreign minister spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said in a statement Friday that while Ukraine welcomes news about prisoners of war being released, it was not informed about the negotiations between Russian and Hungarian officials, and found out through the media and public statements by Hungarian officials.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry official said the Hungarian Charge d’Affaires was invited to the Ukrainian foreign ministry for a “substantive conversation.”
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German chancellor says he intends to speak to Putin soon
From CNN's Sarah Diab in London
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a meeting in Berlin, Germany, on June 9.
Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that he is planning on speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the near future.”
“I have continuously spoken with the Russian president now and again, and not just pre-war, but since the war started and sometimes at great length. And since we have not spoken for quite a while, I intend to speak with him again at some point in the near future.” Scholz said during an event at the German Protestant Church Congress in Nuremberg.
During the talk, Scholz also said, “People are always saying, ‘Mr. Scholz, you must negotiate! Negotiate, negotiate.’ And I want to say something about this. Negotiating is OK, but the question is who is negotiating with whom and about what. And what is not reasonable is to force Ukraine to accept that the land grab by Putin is sanctioned and accepted.”
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5 dead and over 2,600 rescued from flooding in Ukrainian-controlled areas of Kherson, officials say
From CNN’s Kostan Nechyporenko in Kyiv and Sugam Pokharel in London
Volunteers help evacuate residents from flooded areas in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 9.
Roman Pilipey/Getty Images
Five people have died and more than 2,600 people — including 160 children — have been evacuated from Ukrainian-controlled flooded areas after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, according to Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry.
In the hardest-hit southern Kherson region, a total of 2,588 people have been rescued from Ukrainian-controlled areas, head of Kherson region military administration Oleksandr Prokudin said earlier on Saturday.
Water levels are receding, dropping 31 centimeters (12.2 inches) since Friday evening, according to Prokudin.
In the Kherson region, 47 settlements were flooded, while in the Mykolaiv region, 31 settlements were flooded, the minister said. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, more than 89,000 customers in 26 settlements have no drinking water supply, Klymenko added.
Environmental concerns: The water level at the Nova Kakhovka reservoir “continues to decline,” Ukrainian Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets said on Saturday.
“As of the morning of June 10, 62% of its volume, or 12.24 cubic kilometers of water, has leaked out of the Kakhovka reservoir,” he said.
He said the water level in Kherson region’s national parks is “critical” and that 30% of the nature reserve and wildlife sanctuaries in the region is “under the threat of extinction.”
Ukraine’s main hydropower generating company Ukrhydroenergo said in a statement Saturday that the water level dropped by 24 centimeters (more than 9 inches) in four hours.
Nuclear plant: The water level in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s cooling pool is “stable,” Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom said on Saturday.
The plant sits in Russian-occupied territory along the Dnipro River.
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Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau meets with Ukraine's Zelensky in unannounced visit to Kyiv
From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko, Vasco Cotovio and Sugam Pokharel
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, June 10.
Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/AP
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Saturday.
“I welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and representatives of his team to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $8 billion in “wide-ranging” assistance to Ukraine, it said.
“Canada is providing unprecedented military support, including tanks, air-defence systems and artillery, and continues to develop new assistance measures based on Ukraine’s needs,” according to the joint declaration.
Trudeau visits an exhibition of destroyed vehicles in Kyiv on Saturday.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
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Russian strikes kill 3 and injure 26 in Odesa, according to Ukrainian officials
From CNN’s Kostan Nechyporenko
Russia attacked the Odesa region in southern Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday with missiles and drones, according to the Odesa region military administration.
Three people were killed and 26 others, including three children, were injured, according to the Odesa region military administration, adding that three remain in serious condition.
In addition, the coast of the Odesa region was hit by a missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, the Southern Command’s spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said, speaking on national TV Saturday.
Russia also attacked the Poltava region with drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, causing “damage to the airfield infrastructure and equipment” at the Myrhorod military airfield, said Dmytro Lunin, head of Poltava region military administration.
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Russian-installed official accuses Ukraine of shelling holiday resorts in Russian-occupied Kherson
From CNN’s Niamh Kennedy in London and Kostan Nechyporenko and Denis Lapin in Kyiv
Vladimir Saldo attends a meeting in Moscow in 2022.
Contributor/Getty Images
A Russian-installed official in the occupied Kherson region has accused Ukraine of shelling holiday resorts along the south coast.
In a post on his official Telegram page, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the Kherson regional administration, accused Ukraine of striking “temporary accommodation sites on the Arabit Spit” since Saturday morning local time.
Saldo accompanied the post with a photo of a yellow building on fire, which CNN has geolocated to be the Chalet Thermal, a coastal resort on the shore of the Sea of Azov.
According to Saldo, Ukraine also shelled the village of Zalizny. He posted a picture of the “destroyed” Positive Hotel which CNN has also geolocated.
Saldo accused Ukraine of “targeting Kherson’s top officials.” Saldo said one woman has been killed by the shelling. CNN has not independently confirmed this claim.
Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of the city of Melitopol, also posted a video of the Chalet Thermal on fire on his Telegram account, claiming that Russian officials have fled the area following the shelling.
“For some reason, the invaders did not like the company, so now convoys of cars with Russians and local collaborators are urgently leaving for the still-occupied Crimea,” Fedorov remarked.
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UK government pledges 150 million pounds to help Ukrainian refugees into their own homes
From CNN's Sophie Tanno
The UK Government has pledged 150 million pounds ($188 million) to help Ukrainian refugees rent their own homes.
The new funding will go to local councils to help Ukrainian families rent private accommodation and find work, a UK government press statement released Saturday said.
The Homes for Ukraine program saw Ukrainians find a “sponsor” in the UK through friends, charities or even social media, and jointly apply for a visa.
However, issues have arisen for some refugees once they arrived on British soil. The British Red Cross charity warned in March that many Ukrainians are staying in “inappropriate” accommodation.
In June last year, CNN spoke to half a dozen newly-arrived refugees who became homeless in the UK after their relationships with British hosts deteriorated.
The bigger picture: Over 124,000 people fleeing war in Ukraine have found refuge in the UK since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Others fled to neighboring countries, including Russia.
Poland has seen the largest influx of refugees since the start of the war, with data from Statista showing 1.6 million Ukrainians had fled to Poland as of May 9.
As of April 2023, over one million refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Germany.
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Putin claims Ukraine's counteroffensive has begun, but without success
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova and Andrew Carey
President Vladimir Putin is seen in July 2022, at the Navy Day Parade in Saint Petersburg.
Stringer/Getty Images/FILE
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Friday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun, but without success.
“It can be stated that all counteroffensive attempts made so far have failed. But the offensive potential of the Kyiv troops regime still remains,” Putin said in video shared on Telegram.
“The Ukrainian troops have not achieved the tasks assigned to them in any of the main sectors. This is an absolutely obvious thing,” he added. Putin also said that the last two days have been “very intense.”
The Russian leader’s comments are the latest in a series of upbeat Russian characterizations of events along the front line between Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have stepped up activities since the start of the week.
Not all Russian reports emerging from the battlefields of Zaporizhzhia region are positive, however.
On Friday morning, Semyon Pegov, who is among the most widely read of Russia’s “military bloggers,” reported that Ukraine’s armed forces had made gains south of Orikhiv towards the town of Tokmak in Russian-held territory.
The Ukrainian view: Ukrainian officials have not described their activities as a counteroffensive. Earlier in the week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described “very tough battles.”
CNN cannot independently verify claims from either side about fighting on the ground, but a Ukrainian commander rejected the suggestion Ukraine had begun its big attempt to recapture territory.
Instead, the commander characterized the pushes as “reconnaissance in force” – operations designed to probe the enemy’s defenses for weak spots and to test its combat readiness.
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Irrigation issues for southern Ukraine’s agriculture could last for years after dam collapse, minister says
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva
A view shows a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached in Kherson on Thursday.
Yan Dobronosov/Reuters
Following the collapse of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam earlier this week, irrigation will become one of the largest problems for agriculture in southern Ukraine, according to a government minister.
The Kakhovka Canal provided water to more than half a million hectares (over 1.2 million acres) of land, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi said.
The minister said that without irrigation, up to 1.5 million hectares (over 3.7 million acres) of land will not be fully utilized, and it could take up to seven years to restore irrigation.
At a media briefing on Friday, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council Denys Marchuk said Ukraine could see a loss of more than $1.5 billion in grain and oilseeds alone because of the destruction.
The dairy sector could face severe impacts, Marchuk said, also adding there would be issues growing vegetables as they require a sufficient amount of water.
“Since the occupation, we have already lost a large supply of products from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. When we get these territories back, it will be very difficult to return to growing this crop. In fact, farmers say that if a new hydroelectric power plant is not built and there is no place to take water from, they will not continue this business,” he said.
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UN delegation visits areas of Ukrainian-controlled Kherson region to provide flood assistance
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva, Richard Roth and Amy Cassidy
A man moors a boat at a flooded street during an evacuation in Kherson on Friday.
Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters
A United Nations convoy met with Ukrainian authorities in Kherson to discuss the provision of further humanitarian assistance, officials said Friday, as the southern region reels from devastating floods caused by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam earlier this week.
“Drinking water, food packages, materials for housing repairs and medicines are being sent to the Bilozerka community and Kherson city,” the Kherson region military administration posted on Telegram.
Speaking in Bilozerka, on the Ukrainian-controlled west bank of the Dnipro River and one of the worst-affected areas, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown warned the number of people suffering will continue to rise past the initial estimates of 17,000 in Ukrainian-controlled areas alone, according to a UN news release.
“The disaster has also impacted people in areas under Russian control, but the UN currently has no access to this part of the country,” the release added.
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Zelensky says there are “a lot of problems” as rescue operation continues after dam collapse
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv
President Zelensky delivers his nightly address on Friday.
The Presidential Office of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday “there are a lot of problems” as rescue operations in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions continue following the collapse of a major dam.
Amid reports of intensified fighting in the south of the country, Zelensky said, “for our soldiers, for all those who are in particularly tough battles these days, we see your heroism, and we are grateful to you for every minute of your life.”
The president also thanked the United States for a new security assistance package of support worth more than $2 billion. He said the package will ensure “missiles for the Patriots and other air defense systems, strengthening our defense on the ground, strengthening the strength of all our soldiers.”
The Kakhovka Canal provided water to more than half a million hectares (over 1.2 million acres) of land, and it could take up to seven years to restore irrigation, according to Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi.
