Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 128

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 128th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Local residents walk past apartment buildings destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine June 30, 2022
A Ukrainian brigadier general estimated that Russia had hit 68 civilian sites in the second half of June [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Here are the key events so far on Friday, June 1.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

  • A Russian missile struck a multi-storey apartment building near the Black Sea port of Odesa early on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 30, Ukrainian officials have said. Ukraine said another missile hit two buildings in a recreational centre in the region, killing at least three people and wounding another.
  • Russia’s defence ministry announced its troops had withdrawn from Snake Island in the Black Sea. Russia said the move was a “gesture of goodwill” aimed at demonstrating Moscow’s support for restarting food exports from Ukraine’s ports, but Ukrainian officials said the country’s forces forced the withdrawal.
  • Moscow kept up its push to take control of Lysychansk on Thursday, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in eastern Luhansk province, with Russia’s separatist proxies claiming they had entered the city. Russian forces have captured part of the Lysychansk oil refinery, some 17km (10.5 miles) southwest of the city, the governor of Luhansk said.
  • A Ukrainian brigadier general estimated that Russia had hit 68 civilian sites in the second half of June.

Diplomacy

  • Plans by Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance send a clear signal to Russia that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategies are wrong and self-defeating, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
  • Indonesia will continue cooperation with Russia, President Joko Widodo told reporters after meeting Putin in Moscow.
  • Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said a new “iron curtain” was descending between Russia and the West.
  • Russia summoned the British ambassador to voice a strong protest against “offensive” and “false” British statements, “in particular about alleged Russian “threats to use nuclear weapons”.

Economy

  • President Joe Biden says the US will soon announce a new $800m military aid package for Ukraine, bringing the total since he took office to nearly $7bn.
  • Ukraine received a 446.8 million euros ($467.8m) loan from the World Bank, with 424.6 million euros ($444.6m) of it guaranteed by the United Kingdom, the finance ministry said.
  • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the launching of power transmissions to Romania was the start of a process that could help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
  • Greece is willing to provide ships to help export grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that have been blocked by Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies