Ukraine Reports Airstrike Near Kiev as Fighting Continues on Several Fronts

The military administration in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, said on the Telegram app that air defense systems were involved in repelling an airstrike near Kiev in the early hours of Sunday, as fighting continued on several fronts inside Ukraine and along the Russian border.

Sirens sounded across Ukraine warning of air strikes. News agencies reported that several explosions were heard in the Kiev area, apparently caused by air defense systems bombing targets.

Meanwhile, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukrainian troops continued to shell villages and border towns in the region.

Gladkov pointed to the material damage to residential buildings and infrastructure in the town of Maslovo, located between the city of Belgorod and the Ukrainian border, and said the bombing also caused partial power outages in four Russian towns in the region.

Belgorod province, located in southwestern Russia and bordering northern Ukraine, has been a target since the first month of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The frequency and quality of attacks have increased over the past few weeks, with the region serving as a major supply route for Russian forces inside Ukraine.

targeting civilians

In Bakhmut, Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Aleksandr Sersky confirmed that Russian troops are suffering heavy losses on the Bakhmut front every day.

Sirski said on his Telegram page after visiting the Bakhmut front in the east of the country that he would continue to work with soldiers on the front and plan further operations with ground force commanders.

Meanwhile, at least 13 people were injured and others were trapped when an explosion near the city center damaged a two-story building on Saturday, June 3, Ukraine’s Dnieper region governor Sergey Resak and other officials said under the ruins.

Resak wrote on Telegram that three children were among the injured, and emergency services rushed to the scene of the accident in the city north of the Dnieper River and rescued a man from under the rubble.

Reports on social media also said the explosion was caused by a Russian missile and that the city’s emergency services building was also damaged.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that the attack took place between two houses.

“Unfortunately, there are still people under the rubble. Russia proves once again that it is a terrorist state,” Zelensky wrote.

Moscow denies its military targets civilians. Meanwhile, photos posted on social media showed rescue teams working in a destroyed and burning building, surrounded by piles of destroyed building materials.

Mediation in Paris

Meanwhile, Moscow announced its rejection of Paris as a mediator in any peace talks with Kiev.

Commenting on a peace summit on Ukraine in Paris, the Kremlin said France was not a neutral country and could not be a mediator in resolving the conflict because of its involvement on the Ukrainian side.

The Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was and is open to any engagement to achieve Russia’s goals in other ways than through special military operations.

The Kremlin added that, as it said, the West left Russia with no other options.

The Wall Street Journal, citing European diplomats, said Ukraine’s allies planned to hold a global summit without Russia in order to mobilize support and endorse Kiev’s terms to end the war.

According to the newspaper, European leaders are pushing for the participation of countries that support Russia or take a neutral stance.

Diplomats said they hoped to hold a summit shortly before the July 2024 summit, with U.S. President Joe Biden and NATO leaders in attendance.