According to Ukrainian President Selenskyj, the “maximum fighting power of the Russian army” is concentrated in eastern Ukraine and the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievjerodonetsk is apparently entering the decisive phase. All news about the attack on Ukraine can be found here in the ticker.
7.38 a.m .: In eastern Ukraine, the fighting for the former city of Sievjerodonetsk is entering the decisive phase. The enemy is carrying out “assault activities in the area of the villages of Sieverodonetsk and Toshkivka in the area of Syeverodonetsk, and hostilities continue,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Tuesday.
Further Russian ground attacks are reported from the Bakhmut area a little further to the west. There the Russians attacked the villages of Solote, Komyschuvahka, Berestowe, Pokrowske and Dolomitne. The situation report states that the attacks were unsuccessful, but at the same time that they would be continued. The attacks around Bakhmut apparently aim to cut off the last metropolitan area in the Luhansk region held by Ukraine, Sievjerodonetsk – Lysychansk, and thus to wipe out the troops stationed there.
On other front sections, the night was quieter. For example, the Ukrainian general staff reports only isolated skirmishes in the Sloviansk area, which is considered the center of troops loyal to Kiev in the Donbass. The Russian attack on the village of Dowgenke was repelled. The enemy also suffered losses and withdrew when attempting to explore new attack routes from the small town of Lyman, which was recently captured by the Russian military. The information cannot be verified independently.
12:12 a.m .: 22 million tons of grain already stored in Ukraine for export cannot leave the country due to the Russian blockade of the ports. He warned that this would mean starvation in countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, which in turn could trigger migration.
Selenskyj sees this as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention to destabilize the West. Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world. Western politicians also accuse Russia of speculating on a hunger crisis and using it as a means of pressure so that the West weakens sanctions. Moscow denies these allegations.
Tuesday, May 31, 00:08: According to the Ukrainian President, the situation in eastern Ukraine remains extremely difficult. The “maximum combat capability of the Russian army” is now gathered there, said Volodymyr Zelenskyj in a video message on Tuesday night. She is trying to put more and more pressure on Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass. Selenskyj named the cities and towns of Sievjerodonetsk, Lysychansk, Bakhmut, Slovjansk and Avdiivka as important targets of the Russian army. There was also shelling on Monday in Kharkiv and in the Sumy region in north-eastern Ukraine.
Russia launched a war of aggression against its neighbor on February 24. Ukraine is currently expecting a major attack on the center of its defense forces in Donbass in the east of the country. The Sloviansk-Kramatorsk region is the largest metropolitan area still under Kyiv’s control. The high command of the armed forces in the east of the country is also stationed here.
22.07: According to Ukrainian information, Russian troops have advanced into the heavily contested city of Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. There is a street fight, the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, wrote on his Telegram channel on Monday evening. He recommended residents of the city to stay in temporary shelters.
Sievjerodonetsk has been the target of Russian attacks for months. The city is considered the last point that the Ukrainian military still controls in the Luhansk region. According to the General Staff, Russian troops were still fighting on the outskirts of the city and in the outskirts on Monday morning.
5:18 p.m .: A French journalist was killed in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was on a bus with civilians. “I share the suffering of his family, relatives and colleagues,” emphasized Macron. He expressed France’s support to everyone who was deployed in crisis areas to report on what was happening there.
The circumstances of his death were initially unclear. Leclerc-Imhoff, who worked for the broadcaster BFM-TV, was traveling with civilians who wanted to flee the war. Macron wrote that he was “deadly hit”.
1:06 p.m .: In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops are advancing towards the center of the embattled city of Severodonetsk. “The Russians are advancing towards the center of Severodonetsk,” Governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Monday. Separated by a river, the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last cities in the Luhansk region still controlled by Ukraine. According to the governor, there had already been violent street fighting in Severodonetsk on Sunday.
The situation in the city is now “very difficult”. “The important infrastructure of Severodonetsk has been destroyed, 60 percent of the apartments cannot be rebuilt,” said the governor of Luhansk. The road connecting Severodonetsk with Lysychansk and Bakhmut further south is too “dangerous” to bring civilians to safety and relief supplies to the city.
11:55 a.m .: According to the Russian military, it fired on a shipyard in the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. “An artillery strike on a hangar on the territory of the shipbuilding factory “Ocean” in the city of Mykolayiv destroyed more than 15 Ukrainian main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and 5 large artillery systems,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Monday.
In the past 24 hours, air, rocket and artillery attacks have also destroyed dozens of command posts and command posts in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, as well as telecommunications centers and numerous troop concentrations. Konashenkov spoke of more than 320 Ukrainian soldiers killed and 47 military vehicles disabled. This information could not be verified independently.
10.07 a.m .: At least three people were injured in a bomb attack in the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops. “Today at 7.40 a.m. there was a powerful explosion right in the city center,” wrote the head of the Russian military administration Vladimir Rogov in his Telegram channel. Rogow spoke of a terrorist attack.
According to reports, a bomb planted under a parked vehicle detonated in Victory Square. The administration building occupied by the Russians is also on the square. The explosive device injured volunteers who had unloaded Russian aid supplies to the population, Russian media reports.
Melitopol belongs to the Zaporizhia region in southern Ukraine and serves as an administrative center for the Russians, since the regional capital itself is still under Kiev control. Increased partisan activities by Ukrainians have already been reported in the region in recent weeks – with attacks on infrastructure, Russian soldiers, but also collaborators who work with the Russian occupiers.
9:09 a.m .: According to British findings, Russia suffered “devastating losses” in its officer corps in its war against Ukraine. Brigade and battalion commanders are active on the front line, the Ministry of Defense said in London on Monday, citing intelligence findings. On the one hand, this is because they are held personally responsible for the success of their units. In addition, the Russian army lacked qualified non-commissioned officers who fulfilled this role in Western armed forces.
But these heavy losses would have several consequences for the Russian armed forces, the ministry stressed. For example, newly formed battalions are probably less effective due to the lack of junior leaders. In addition, there is a danger that existing problems such as a lack of discipline and weak morals will be exacerbated. There are credible reports of isolated mutinies. Finally, the modernization of the army will be made more difficult, the ministry said.
You can read more reports on the Ukraine conflict on the following pages.
