► Zelensky says Russia is focusing attacks on eastern Donetsk region
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday June 4 that Russian forces were concentrating their attacks on the eastern region of Donetsk and not on Kharkiv in the northeast, the target of an offensive launched last month.
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“Most of the fighting and the most massive attacks are taking place in the Donetsk region. In fact, this is where Russian attacks are concentrated”, said Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily message on social networks. Russia claimed annexation of this region in 2022, even though it did not have total control over it.
► Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysée and the National Assembly on Friday
Emmanuel Macron will receive Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday at the Élysée, following the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, to discuss the “needs of Ukraine” against Russia, announced the French presidency.
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“As Russian strikes continue to intensify on the front and on energy infrastructure, the two presidents will discuss the situation on the ground as well as Ukraine’s needs”in the “extension of the Conference in support of Ukraine held at the Élysée on February 26”it is specified.
Volodymyr Zelensky will also deliver a speech in the National Assembly hemicycle, announced the Palais-Bourbon presidency. Yaël Braun-Pivet will welcome the Ukrainian leader at 9:30 a.m. at the Hôtel de Lassay, then Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a speech to the deputies around 9:50 a.m., before meeting with the President of the National Assembly, who will He visited Ukraine last March.
► Moscow does not rule out hitting French instructors in Ukraine
Russia has assured that it does not exclude that its forces could strike French instructors in Ukraine, the sending of which is currently under discussion between Paris and kyiv. “No instructor involved in training Ukrainian military personnel has immunity” face the strikes, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told the press.
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“Whatever their status: soldiers of the French army or mercenaries, they represent a completely legitimate target for our armed forces”insisted for his part the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, during a press conference in Oyo, in the Republic of Congo.
The head of Russian diplomacy, who is on an African tour, also affirmed that French instructors “already working in Ukraine”ensuring that their presence in the country “is confirmed by quite a few facts”.
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Last week, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, said that France would send ” shortly “ instructors to train the troops of this country which has been facing a Russian offensive since February 2022.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, however, clarified shortly after that the sending of instructors was “still under discussion” with France and other countries. Officially, France does not have any military personnel assisting or training Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.
► Bombings in the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions
Eight people, including two children, were injured in Russian bombings on the night of Monday to Tuesday in the regions of Kharkiv (Northeast), where Russia has been leading an offensive since May 10, and Dnipro (south center), according to the Ukrainian authorities.
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The governor of the southern Kherson region said separately that Russian artillery fire caused the death of an elderly woman in her garden in the village of Veletynské.
The national electricity company Ukrenergo also had to cut power on Tuesday in several regions, such as Donetsk (east) and Kharkiv on the front line, as well as in the capital kyiv. “ Forced power outages are the result of six combined targeted attacks by Russia on Ukraine’s energy system », Specified Ukrenergo in a message on the social network Telegram.
► Ceremony in memory of the killed children
Furthermore, Ukrainians gathered on Tuesday in memory of the hundreds of children killed since the start of the Russian invasion. According to the United Nations, more than 600 children died and 1,420 others were injured in the conflict. This figure only takes into account cases that the UN has been able to verify but is probably much higher, according to the organization.
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“Help us save our children”Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska pleaded at a ceremony in memory of the slain children held in front of the Second World War memorial in kyiv, urging allies to provide her country with more weapons to repel the Russian attacks. “We cannot measure the value of their lives by the cost of air defenses”she added.
► Italy sends a new anti-aircraft system
Ukraine has affirmed that Italy is preparing to provide it with a new anti-aircraft defense system, while kyiv is increasing its appeals to the West to help it strengthen its control of the skies in the face of Russian bombing.
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“Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that his country will provide Ukraine with a second SAMP/T air defense system”assured Andriï Iermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his country needs at least seven additional modern anti-aircraft systems, including two to defend the Kharkiv region. In particular, he calls for the powerful American Patriot systems.
