Three dead in Russian strikes on several regions
Russian bombings left three people dead during the night of Thursday to Friday June 5 in several Ukrainian regions, local authorities said, while President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
The Ukrainian army reported a total of two missiles and 216 long-range drones fired by Russia overnight, specifying that it had shot down 198 drones. According to authorities’ reports, deadly Russian strikes occurred Thursday evening in the regions of Zaporizhia (east), where drones killed a woman, and Kherson (south), where a drone killed a 75-year-old man.
Putin expected on flagging economy in St. Petersburg
President Vladimir Putin is due to speak in St. Petersburg at a major investment forum bringing together Russian and foreign officials, at a time when fears are growing about stagnation in the Russian economy.
On Wednesday, as the event opened in former Soviet Leningrad, Mr. Putin’s hometown, Ukrainian drones struck a nearby oil installation and military site. Guests arriving at the forum were greeted with a plume of black smoke in the background.
On the eve of his speech, the high point of the annual meeting, Vladimir Putin was challenged by Volodymyr Zelensky who reiterated his proposal for a “complete” ceasefire and offered him a face-to-face meeting.
Moscow says Russia must ‘improve’ its air defense
Russia must “improve” and “strengthen” its anti-aircraft defense, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, the day after Ukrainian drone strikes against an oil complex and a naval base in Saint Petersburg (northwest). “Russia has an air defense system. Yes, we need to improve it. Yes, we must strengthen it, and we will do it,” declared Vladimir Putin during a meeting with international media officials on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
Ukraine regularly targets Russia and the territories occupied by Moscow in retaliation for the daily Russian bombings to which it has been subject since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive in February 2022. Vladimir Putin also said he was considering expanding the use of the Orechnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) to target Ukrainian cities.
