Breaking News & Live Updates on 02-06-2024

In its latest innovation, Ukraine’s Diia government portal will allow citizens to get married remotely via video, a function that could be especially useful for deployed troops.

Ukraine plans to expand the functionality of the Diia government portal to allow couples to get married remotely through video calls.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, called the planned feature “unique to the whole world” and said it could benefit soldiers in the military, who might not be able to physically be with their partner due to military obligations.

According to a US Army official, the eventual aim is to raise production to 100,000 shells per month by October 2025, but the results ultimately hinge upon the stalled Congress funding.

The US is planning to double the production of 155mm shells for Ukraine by October this year and up to 100,000 next year, according to US Army acquisition chief Doug Bush.

The goal is to raise production from 28,000 last October to approximately 60,000 by October 2024, then from just under 75,000 in April 2025 to 100,000 by October. The plan was reported by Defense One, citing a slide presented at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank event.

Washington considers Kremlin statements on the Russian IL-76 allegedly packed with Ukrainian prisoners of war and the recent rocket attack in Lysychansk to be not credible.

The deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, Vedant Patel, cast doubt on the Russian accounts of the two incidents in a Jan. 5 statement as reported by Ukrinform.

When asked by a Russian journalist to comment on the Kremlin's statements regarding the IL-76, Patel replied:

Akunin, who has lived abroad since 2014, will be immediately held in custody for two months if he is extradited or ever sets foot in Russia, Moscow's Basmanny District Court ruled.

A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered the arrest in absentia of bestselling Russian language writer Boris Akunin for allegedly spreading "disinformation" about the Russian army.

The 67-year-old was charged in December last year after he expressed support for Kyiv in a phone call with Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Going to Moscow to interview Putin in 2024 is like visiting Berlin in 1940 to speak with Hitler. But pro-Russia Republicans think that’s just “journalism” because they want to hear “both sides.”

While Russia threatens American journalists with prison and House Pro-Russian Republicans deny aid to Ukraine, former Fox News TV personality Tucker Carlson is cozying up to Putin during his current trip to Moscow.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently completed his speaking tour of Canada. Apparently, he wants to “liberate” us from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Carlson is now visiting Moscow to convene with the paragon of freedom and democracy himself: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Portuguese government has agreed to take the lead in reconstruction in the Zhytomyr region and to help develop the education system.

In an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post, Portugal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, has said it’s important not only to rebuild walls, but also to build the future of Ukraine through its education system.

Cravinho sees Ukraine as becoming a part of the European Union and NATO, and believes in the country's victory in the war with Russia.

Belarus president amends law to stipulate that the military “is not liable for damages” resulting from the use of firearms carried out “in accordance with joint military statutes.”

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has made changes to the laws that govern the country's armed forces, to grant servicemen the authority to use “firearms, special equipment, combat, and other equipment” when performing their duties, as reported by the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty.

According to the document, the use of weapons against citizens is permitted even in cases that only involve administrative offenses.

According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they have disabled 24 Russian ships and one submarine, which is approximately 33% of the Black Sea Fleet.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian forces have reportedly rendered about one-third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet inoperable, according to the Strategic Communications Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) via Telegram.

“The Ukrainian military has disabled approximately 33% of the warships belonging to the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation during the ongoing large-scale invasion,” Tuesday’s statement declared.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer and began treatment on Monday, Buckingham Palace says. The Palace says the cancer was identified during the King's recent hospital treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. "A separate issue of concern was noted," the Palace says, and "subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.” The Palace has not said what type of cancer the King has been diagnosed with. Charles, 75, has been advised to postpone public duties, but will "undertake state duties" and continue to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak weekly. He is being treated as an out-patient, and is at home in London on Monday night, the Palace says - BBC

The Dutch government on Monday said it would send Ukraine six additional F-16 fighter jets after cancelling the planned sale of the aircraft to a private contractor, said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. "The Netherlands Ministry of Defence is readying six additional F-16 fighter aircraft for delivery to Ukraine," Ollongren said on social media, adding that those will come in addition to the 18 already pledged. "Ukraine's 's aerial superiority is essential for countering Russian aggression," the minister said. In a statement, the ministry said that the planned sale of the six jets to private military aircraft operator Draken International had been cancelled, allowing the government to make the extra pledge to Kyiv - Politico

Exclusive Interview with Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for Kyiv Post with its Chief Editor, Bohdan Nahaylo, Kyiv, 2 February, 2024

Mr. Secretary, what is the purpose of your visit to Ukraine on this occasion?

I came here to support the workforce at Kyivstar. As a relatively new member of Kyivstar. I wanted to get out and meet the team. We’ve had a board meeting. I'll also interact with the national police here to encourage them. And then I'll meet with a couple of government officials, too.

Ochamchira is a seaside town located near Georgia’s key maritime location of Anaklia on the Black Sea and has been a base for Russian patrol vessels in the Black Sea since 2009.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Tuesday denounced a reported Russian plan to set up a navy base in the breakaway Abkhazia region as a threat to security in the Black Sea.

Last October, as Ukraine stepped up attacks on Moscow’s Black Sea fleet, Abkhazia’s separatist leader Aslan Bzhania said he has signed an agreement with Russia to establish a Russian naval base at the Black Sea town of Ochamchira “in the near future.”

Ukrainian intelligence said it “neutralized” a Russian spy network in Ukraine consisting of former and serving intelligence officers in different branches working under the same Russian agent.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it “neutralized” an espionage network and detained five former and serving Ukrainian intelligence officers spying for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

According to an SBU press release, all five officers were tasked by the Kremlin with transferring information on Ukrainian forces and energy facilities to Russia and worked with an FSB curator based in occupied Crimea.

Borrell admitted last week that the bloc would supply Ukraine with just over half of the one million artillery shells it promised to send by March.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning.

In a post on social media, he said: "Back in Kyiv for my fourth visit since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion.

In Washington, a senior White House official said there would be “no pressure campaign” for Scholz to “deliver any particular message.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will try to build on the momentum from Europe’s success in agreeing new aid for war-torn Ukraine when he heads to Washington this week, where President Joe Biden is struggling to overcome opposition to a US package.

The leaders’ talks Friday will also focus on escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Israel is fighting a war against Hamas and where the US has launched strikes on Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria following a drone attack that killed three American soldiers at a Jordanian base.

Another intercepted call casts light on how desperate Russian forces in some areas have become to field sufficient troops to meet commanders’ demands to maintain offensive action.

A Russian soldier from the Moscow’s 5th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade has described how troops in his unit, many suffering from serious illnesses such as tuberculosis and HIV, were thrown into fighting on the front lines and used as “cannon fodder.”

In an intercepted call released by Ukraine's Defense Military Intelligence (HUR), the man accuses his military commanders of pointlessly causing the deaths of their men with their orders.

Cafes, a market, pharmacies and a hotel, were among around 30 buildings damaged in the attack, local police said.

A two-month-old baby was killed and three people were injured Tuesday in a Russian strike on northeastern Ukraine, officials said.

“Around 2:30 am, a three-storey hotel was destroyed in Zolochiv... following two S-300 missile strikes,” Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said.

Tucker Carlson claims that he just wants dialogue with Russia. What we get instead is a pro-Russian propagandist with a huge platform seen as a tool by the Kremlin to advance its imperialist agenda.

Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson is in Moscow. Rumors are swirling that he could interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Carlson was spotted attending a performance of Spartacus at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater. Evidently a smart propaganda move to appeal to millions of ignorant and intellectually impaired Westerners who romanticize Russia, yet don’t speak a word of Russian. Goebbels would have been proud, Mr. Carlson. No wonder you are being wined and dined by the Russian government.

According to Boris Nadezhdin, the idea of returning Crimea to Ukraine would not be accepted by any president of Russia and that it’s more important to ensure "people don't kill each other."

A former deputy of the Russian State Duma, Boris Nadezhdin, whom the Russian opposition calls “the only anti-war candidate” for the presidency, has stated in an interview with Deutsche Welle that returning Crimea to Ukraine is “absolutely impossible.”

The Russian politician made the statement while discussing his proposed first steps in the initial days and weeks as president of the Russian Federation.

Ivanna Volochii said it was a “great honour,” adding: “I’m thrilled because in Latvia the people can understand us, without the need to explain to them what we are going through.”

A Ukrainian selected to run in EU elections on the ballot in Latvia told AFP on Monday she was “thrilled” to be chosen to represent a country that stands so closely by Kyiv.

“This is really an honour,” Ivanna Volochii, 42, said after Latvia’s centrist Movement For! party selected her to lead its list vying for the nine seats Latvia will have in the next European Parliament.

Spanish authorities have reached a provisional agreement with the EU to finance new infrastructure set to extend the current TEN-T rail network to Lviv in western Ukraine.

Spanish authorities have reached a provisional agreement with the EU to finance network infrastructure that would see the European rail network connect to Lviv in western Ukraine.

It would form the longest corridor in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the only one to completely pass through Europe from west to east.

The critical test for the bill will be its first procedural vote, expected on Wednesday, which will require support from 60 senators in a 100-member chamber that is almost evenly divided.

It is a full nine months until the presidential election but Donald Trump is already wielding extraordinary influence as he seeks to bend US foreign policy to his ambitions of a return to the White House.

The Republican has been a private citizen since leaving office in 2021 but is running for reelection and urging his party to reject a bill tying the toughest border security measures in a generation to $60 billion in Ukraine aid.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• US Senate negotiators unveiled their proposed supplemental appropriations bill on February 4 that — if passed — would provide roughly $60 billion of security assistance for Ukraine, the overwhelming majority of which would go to American companies and US and allied militaries.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on February 4 that Ukraine needs to replace a “series of state leaders” across the Ukrainian government who are “not just in a single sector” such as the Ukrainian military.
• The Kremlin is intensifying rhetoric pushing for the hypothetical partition of Ukraine by seizing on innocuous and unrelated topics, likely in an attempt to normalize the partition narrative in Western discussions about Ukraine.
• Delays in Western security assistance continue to exacerbate Ukraine’s shell shortage and undermine Ukraine’s ability to use high-value Western counterbattery systems.
• The Kremlin may not allow Boris Nadezhdin, the only anti-war Russian presidential candidate, to run in the March 2024 presidential election due to Nadezhdin’s larger-than-anticipated popularity.
• The Kremlin is reportedly nationalizing private enterprises in Russia quietly.
• Russian forces made confirmed gains near Kupyansk, Kreminna, Avdiivka, and northeast of Bakhmut amid continued positional fighting along the entire frontline.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) may expand the list of courses available to women at the FSB Academy.
• Russian occupation administrations continue efforts to indoctrinate Ukrainian children into Russian culture and nationalism through patronage networks with Russian federal subjects (regions).

Numerous investigative outlets operate in Ukraine, which for years has enjoyed a far more vibrant media landscape than in Russia.

A senior official with Ukraine’s intelligence agency has been fired after revelations that investigative journalists had been wiretapped, a source at the agency told AFP on Monday.

The move comes after several instances of intimidation of Ukrainian investigative journalists surfaced in January, leading Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to call on authorities to investigate the alleged infractions.

Moscow says its troops are definitely winning in Avdiivka, and Kyiv says its forces are killing the Kremlin’s soldiers left and right. The reality seems to be the battle could still go either way.

Two leading independent Ukrainian military journalists on Sunday sounded warning bells over intense Russian attacks against the embattled city Adviivka. Kremlin information platforms said the assaults were proceeding well, whereas official Kyiv sources reported defenses were strong and holding.

Avdiivka, a coal-mining center in the Donbas region and frontline city since Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, has been the target of intense and bloody Russian ground and air attacks since October. In recent months the Kremlin appeared to shift tactics away from frontal assaults to attempts to encircle the city from the north.