June 3, 2022 Russia-Ukraine war

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement renewed his call for an end to violence as Ukraine marked 100 days of Russia’s war.

He said the conflict has already killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others, and that the war has “resulted in unacceptable violations of human rights and is inflaming a three-dimensional global crisis – food, energy and finance – that is pummeling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies.”

Guterres said the United Nations is “committed to the humanitarian effort” but ultimately, negotiations and dialogue will be necessary to resolve the conflict.

“The sooner the parties engage in good-faith diplomatic efforts to end this war, the better for the sake of Ukraine, Russia and the world,” he said.

Residents line up to evacuate the city of Sloviansk, Ukraine on June 2.

The Ukrainian military says fighting continues in the east of the country, specifically in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Officials said Russian forces are intensifying their attacks as they try to advance from several directions and take more of the area.

Ukraine’s military says that Russian units are being reinforced on the approaches to Sloviansk, and have had “partial success” in the ongoing combat in the eastern city in the Donetsk region.

The General Staff said Friday that Russian forces are preparing to resume an offensive towards Sloviansk. It said that the Russians are concentrating a force of up to 20 battalion tactical groups in the area. The Russians had tried to launch an attack on two towns north and northwest of Sloviansk — Barvinkove and Sviatohirsk — but had been unsuccessful, the General Staff said.

In the south, Ukrainian forces say they have made significant progress during an offensive against Russian positions in the region of Kherson.

Here’s what else to know:

Here’s a look at the areas Russians control in Ukraine:

Staring down the prospect of an extended stalemate in Ukraine, the US and its allies are placing a renewed emphasis on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war as the conflict grinds into its 100th day with no clear victory in sight for either side.

US officials have in recent weeks been meeting regularly with their British and European counterparts to discuss potential frameworks for a ceasefire and for ending the war through a negotiated settlement, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. Among the topics has been a four-point framework proposed by Italy late last month. That framework involves Ukraine committing to neutrality with regard to NATO in exchange for some security guarantees, and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on the future of Crimea and the Donbas region.

Ukraine is not directly involved in those discussions, despite the US commitment to “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” US and Ukrainian officials said the US has not been pressuring Ukraine to commit to a certain plan or directly pushing them to sit down with the Russians.

Still, there is some confusion about what kind of framework the US would consider appropriate to bring to the Ukrainians for further discussion.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters earlier this week that the Italian framework is “one of those initiatives that we certainly would love to see bring a conclusion to this horrific war and the horrific attacks on the Ukrainian people.” But two US officials told CNN that the US actually does not support the Italian proposal.

In any case, US and western officials tell CNN that there is a growing concern that if the Russians and Ukrainians don’t get back to the table and work out a deal, the war will drag on – potentially for years.

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Smoke and dirt rise in the city of Severodonetsk during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops at the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 2, 2022.

Related article Western allies meet regularly to game out potential framework for Ukraine ceasefire as war hits 100th day

Russia is not standing in the way of Ukrainian grain exports, President Vladimir Putin said, calling such accusations a “bluff” in an interview with the state TV channel “Russia-1.”

“This is a bluff. And I will explain why. The world produces about 800 million tons of wheat per year. We are told that Ukraine is ready to export 20 million tons. It’s only 2.5%,” Putin said in an interview. 

Some background: Leaders around the world have been sounding the alarm as Russia’s months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports is increasing the risk of a global food crisis and famine in some parts of the world.

Two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the prices of key agricultural products produced in the region have skyrocketed. The biggest problem is wheat, a pantry staple. Supplies from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for almost 30% of global wheat trade, are now at risk. Global wheat prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

At the same time, Russia also appears to be ramping up its efforts to steal large quantities of Ukrainian grain, as CNN has previously reported. Russian forces are also stealing farm equipment and thousands of tons of grain from Ukrainian farmers in areas they have occupied, as well as targeting food storage sites with artillery, multiple sources have told CNN.

Russian units have tightened their grip on parts of the rich agricultural regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, the sources said. Sowing operations in many areas have since been disrupted or abandoned.

“We do not prevent the export of Ukrainian grain. It can be exported through ports that are under the control of Ukraine,” Putin said. 

“But we did not mine the approaches to the ports! Ukraine did. I have already said many times: let them clear the mines and let ships with grain go out,” he said. “We guarantee their passage without any problems.”

Ukraine has accused the Russians of placing mines in the Black Sea.

Putin also suggested that the Ukrainian grain should be exported through Belarus, Romania, Hungary, and Poland, but any traffic through Belarus would involve the West lifting sanctions against its government, which is Russia’s closest ally. 

Putin also said that Russia has almost completed demining of the Ukranian ports under its occupation.

“There is another possibility (for the export of grain). These are through the ports of the Sea of Azov - Berdyansk, Mariupol which are under our control. We are ready to ensure the smooth export, including Ukrainian grain, through all these ports,” Putin told “Russia-1” state TV channel. 

“We are already completing mine clearance that Ukrainian troops have mined there. The work is being completed, we will create the necessary logistics,” Putin said.

This week, for the first time since the Russian invasion, a merchant ship left Mariupol for the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don.

Putin also said that Russia is ready to increase its own grain exports to 50 million tons in 2022-2023. 

“In the current agricultural year 2021-2022, we will export 37 million tons of grain, and for 2022-2023, I think we will raise this export to 50 million tons,” he said in an interview with a state TV channel. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attends a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, on June 1.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone conversation Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg regarding the request of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. 

President Erdoğan stated that Turkey’s security concerns regarding Sweden and Finland’s membership requests are based on “legitimate grounds,” according to the statement from the Presidency’s Communications Directorate,

He also emphasized that both countries should make it clear that they have stopped supporting “terrorism,” that they have lifted the sanctions against Turkey, and that they are ready to show alliance solidarity, the statement added.

Stoltenberg also drew attention to the need to meet the expectations of Turkey, an important ally, it said.

Turkey, which joined the alliance three years after it was established in 1949 and has the group’s second-largest army, has said it won’t support the membership bids unless its demands are met.

Erdoğan accused the two countries of harboring members of the separatist militant Kurdistan’s Workers Party, also known as PKK.

The PKK, which seeks an independent state in Turkey, has been in an armed struggle with that country for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.

A French man has died during fighting in Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

The statement offered condolences to the man’s family.

The foreign ministry didn’t specify details on why the man was in Ukraine or when and where exactly he was killed.

He is the second French citizen killed in the war in Ukraine in less than one week. French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, who is also chair of the African Union, discussed the ongoing food and grain crisis, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation, during a meeting in the Russian city of Sochi on Friday, according to the Kremlin. 

During the meeting, which took place at Putin’s Sochi residence of Bocharov Ruchei, Putin told the AU chair that “Africa’s political role in the international arena, in general, is growing” and “we believe that Africa as a whole and its individual states, with which we traditionally have very good, without any exaggeration, friendly relations, have great prospects.”

“On this basis we intend to further develop our relations with Africa as a whole and with its individual states,” Putin said, according to a transcript by the Kremlin. 

Sall told Putin “we have high hopes for our cooperation, including bilateral cooperation between Russia and the African continent, but we are also here today to talk about the crisis and its consequences,” according to a transcript by the Kremlin. 

“As you know, a number of countries voted in favor of resolutions within the United Nations, and it should be noted that the position of the African continent is very diverse and, despite great pressure, many countries still did not condemn Russia’s position,” Sall said. 

Sall also said that sanctions against Russia have further exacerbated the situation, as they have halted access to grains, and especially wheat, from Russia.

Sall said he hopes the AU and Russia can work together on resolving those issues, as they have “consequences for food security in Africa.”

A woman walks amongst the destruction in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on June 1.

The Ukrainian military says Russian units are being reinforced on the approaches to Sloviansk as they prepare to resume an offensive toward the eastern city.

Neighboring Kramatorsk is the largest urban area in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. 

The General Staff said Friday the Russians are concentrating a force of up to 20 battalion tactical groups in the area. The Russians had tried to launch an attack on two towns north and northwest of Sloviansk — Barvinkove and Sviatohirsk — but had been unsuccessful, the General Staff said.

It’s unclear whether the Russians have taken further territory to the east of Sloviansk after winning control of the town of Lyman late last month. The Ukrainian side says Russian forces have used artillery in two areas closer to Sloviansk — Shchurove and Brusivka.

In Severodonetsk, the General Staff said battles continue: “Under cover of artillery fire, the [Russians] stormed residential areas in the eastern part of the city. [The enemy] has partial success.” 

But the Russians had made no headway in their efforts to advance on other settlements in the pocket of territory that Ukrainian forces continue to defend — that includes Bakhmut, Soledar and Lysychansk. Once again, the General Staff said, the Russians had tried to cross the Siverskiy Donets River and “to create conditions for its crossing by the main forces of the force.”

The river has proven to be a major barrier to Russian forces.

Russian action included an airstrike by Mi-8 helicopters at the positions of Ukrainian troops in the areas of the settlements of Slatyne and Dementiivka, rural settlements north of Kharkiv.

This post has been updated.

Two Reuters journalists were injured when they came under fire near the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters spokesperson confirmed to CNN in a statement Friday. 

The driver of the vehicle they were traveling in was killed, the spokesperson said. 

“Reuters extends its deepest sympathies to the family of the driver for their loss,” the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson didn’t provide additional details about the incident.

The city of Severodonetsk, in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, has seen some of the heaviest shelling in recent days. The Ukrainian military said Friday shelling of defensive positions continues and has reported Russian airstrikes in the area. 

People shovel soil into an open grave in Buch on April 20 after Russian forces had retreated from the city.

Forty-five member states in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have once again called for a fact-finding mission into human rights abuses, war crimes and potential crimes against humanity being committed in Ukraine.

This is the second time the Moscow Mechanism — the OSCE’s procedure to investigate human rights abuses — has been invoked since Russia’s war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

In a statement Thursday, French OSCE Permanent Representative Christine Fages said, the 45 member states “request that the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) inquire of Ukraine whether it would invite a new mission of experts to consider, follow up and build upon the findings of the Moscow Mechanism report received by OSCE participating States on 12 April.”

The April 12 report found “clear patterns” of violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine and detailed numerous incidents that it says could constitute war crimes.

The report says it found “credible evidence” suggesting violations of “even the most fundamental human rights (right to life, prohibition of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment) have been committed, mostly in the areas under the effective control of Russia or entities under overall control of Russia.”

In a statement at the OSCE at the time, US Ambassador Michael Carpenter said that “taken as a whole, the report documents the catalog of inhumanity perpetrated by Russia’s forces in Ukraine.” 

The 110-page report was the result of a three-week-long fact-finding mission by the three OSCE experts, and covered the time period from the start of the war on February 24 to April 1. 

President Joe Biden speaks on Friday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

US President Joe Biden said it was up to Ukraine when asked whether the nation needs to cede part of its territory to achieve peace and end the Russian invasion, telling reporters Friday that “I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.”

Biden did add that it “appears” at some point there will need to be a “settlement” between the two countries, adding “what that entails, I don’t know.”

Biden said that in the meantime, the United States will continue to put Ukrainians in a position where they can defend themselves.

Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, told CNN that the war in Ukraine is not only a fight for freedom, but also a battle to prevent hunger around the globe.

“Ukraine will have food to feed its people. The big question is if we don’t have Ukraine to win this war and to make sure that ports like Odesa are open again, what we’re going to have is a big food shortage around the world,” he said from Kyiv.

Russia has implemented a blockade of Ukrainian ports, and there are more than 20 million tons of grain that are currently stuck inside Ukraine.

Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the US State Department, and the United Nations’ program to fight food insecurity buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year.

Andrés said a potential food crisis has already been compounded by issues from hurricanes and drought around the world over the past year.

“If we don’t think about food in the same way we think about people, the economy, fuel, we are going to be up for a big problem in the year 2023,” he said.

He said he and his team were able to bring food through the Danube River, but there is not enough capacity to have multiple grain ships there. He called on democracies around the world to help open all the Ukrainian ports to ship grain.

Smoke rises from Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on June 2.

On the 100th day of war, Russian forces appear to have made little headway in the last 24 hours as they try to break Ukrainian resistance along the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. In the south, a Ukrainian counteroffensive is making progress, according to Ukrainian officials.

In Luhansk, shelling of defensive positions around Severodonetsk continues, according to the Ukrainian military’s Friday update. The military reported Russian air strikes in the area as well. But the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that “the enemy tried to carry out assault operations, suffered losses, and retreated to previous positions.”

The military reported damage to properties in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Hirske, adding that one woman died.

Oleksandr Motuzianyk, the Ukrainian defense ministry’s spokesman, said the Russians persisted in efforts to surround Ukrainian troops near Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. But Ukrainian units had thwarted Russian efforts to seize the nearby towns of Metiolkine and Bilohorivka, he said. Russian forces continued assault operations in residential areas of Severodonetsk but suffered casualties.

The military said Ukrainian units inflicted heavy losses — “at least 50% of the personnel, weapons and equipment” — on the 150th Motorized Rifle Division. There is no way to independently verify that claim.

In Donetsk, fighting continued along much of the front line, with 14 towns and villages coming under fire, the general staff said. Russian forces are trying to degrade Ukrainian defenses around Bakhmut and Sloviansk. Motuzianyk later said that Russian attempts to take two villages about 20 kilometers (or about 12 miles) northwest of Sloviansk had failed.

Altogether, the Ukrainian military reported that at least seven civilians were killed and eight were injured in the past 24 hours in Luhansk and Donetsk, but as usual gave no casualty figures for the military. It said that over the past 24 hours,1,472 people had been evacuated from areas of hostilities.

In the southern region of Kherson, the Ukrainians say their offensive continues, and attempts by Russian forces to recover lost ground had failed. The Kherson regional military administration said fighting continued in the Beryslav district. 

Khlan also claimed that resistance inside Kherson was growing.

“Our people continue to resist in the occupied territories. Every day we see flags appear in the city of Kherson, slogans appear against the occupiers, as well as leaflets,” he said.

Ukrainian forces appear to have advanced several kilometers inside Kherson. The Operational Command South said Russia had shipped in nearly 30 infantry fighting vehicles to reinforce their units and were shelling villages far behind the front lines. It also said that Russian forces had resumed shelling of settlements south of Kryvih Rih and of the city of Mykolaiv, where two people had been killed.

In the northeast, Russian shelling around Kharkiv continued, killing one person, according to the regional military administration. About six settlements came under fire from artillery and rocket systems.

There was also renewed cross-border shelling of villages in the Sumy region. 

India’s foreign minister on Friday defended Indian oil imports from Russia at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, saying there is a need to be “even-handed.”

“Is buying Russian gas not funding the war? It’s only Indian money and oil coming to India which funds [the war] but it’s not gas coming to Europe which funds [the war]? Let’s be a little even-handed out here,” Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said during an annual meeting on Indian foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific.

India has repeatedly defended its oil imports from Russia and has justified its increase in oil imports for this year. Jaishankar confirmed that India’s oil imports had gone up at least nine times between 2021 and 2022. 

The comments come on the heels of the partial ban on Russian oil imports announced by the European Union on Monday. 

“We don’t send people out there saying, ‘go buy Russian oil.’ We send people out there saying, ‘go buy oil.’ Now, you buy the best oil you can in the market. I don’t think I would attach a political messaging to that,” Jaishankar said.

A Ukrainian flag flies amongst destruction in Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 17.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday the scale of the destruction in Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion “defies comprehension.” 

In a statement on the impact of 100 days of the war in Ukraine on civilians, ICRC’s Director-General Robert Mardini said that “it would be hard to exaggerate the toll that the international armed conflict in Ukraine has had on civilians over the last 100 days.”

“Thousands of them are living with the anguish of not knowing what happened to their loved ones, including relatives of prisoners of war,” Mardini said, urging those involved in the conflict to provide ICRC access to all prisoners of war.   

The UN Refugee Agency said on its official Twitter account Friday that “one third of the population of Ukraine has been forced to flee in 100 days,” adding that the agency is focused on protection and shelter for Ukrainians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a brief video message Friday that Ukrainians have been defending their country for 100 days against Russian aggression and that “victory shall be ours.”

“We have been defending Ukraine for 100 days. Victory shall be ours. Glory to Ukraine,” he added.

The message echoes a video from the president shortly after Russia’s invasion first began in February, with Zelensky flanked by his staff on a street in Kyiv, saying “we are all here.”

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.

A child looks out a steamy bus window with finger-drawn doodles as civilians are evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, in this March 9, 2022 file photo.

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.