Russian forces ARE making small offensive gains outside Bakhumut again…
Biden Ukraine authorisation to shot US missiles into close, in Russian territory, is under pressure by those who want the Ukraine to be able to strike deeper into Russian….
Zelensky is back home from his travels…..
Is Russia getting ready for a push towards Kharkiv?….
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Ukraine’s forces have hit an advanced Su-57 warplane on an airbase in Russia nearly 600km from the frontlines, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. The GUR shared satellite photos appearing to show an aircraft among scorch marks and craters. “The pictures show that on June 7th, the Su-57 was standing intact, and on the eighth, there were ruptures from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it,” the GUR said.
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The strike took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, the GUR said. The plane, capable of carrying stealth missiles, was among “a countable few” of its type in service. Russia’s Su-57 fleet has been largely absent from the skies over Ukraine, and has instead been used to fire long-range missiles from across the border.
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The UK Ministry of Defence has said Russia is likely trying to avoid “reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology” that would come from losing any Su-57 jets in enemy territory. For its part, the Russian defence ministry said its forces downed three Ukrainian drones in the Astrakhan region, home to the Akhtubinsk airstrip. Russian officials routinely say all enemy threats were shot down, regardless of the actual outcome.
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Russian forces appeared to be making headway in their assault on the strategic Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, according to reports on Sunday from both sides.
Chasiv Yar stands on high ground about 20km (12 miles) to the west of Bakhmut, a town Russian forces seized a year ago, and is seen as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. -
Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda quoted a military source and a blogger as saying that Russian forces had begun occupying a district of Chasiv Yar alongside a canal. The source said Russian troops were using guided aerial bombs to clear areas along a major road and had begun to move forward and build up their forces.
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address on Sunday made no mention of Chasiv Yar, but said the area around the town of Pokrovsk, to the south-west, remained the most difficult sector and “the one where pressure from the occupiers is the greatest”.
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Ukraine’s electricity grid operator, Ukrenergo, said it would impose hour-long cuts on Monday from 4pm to 10pm. The restrictions would not apply to “critical infrastructure” sites providing vital services. Ukraine’s government ordered all ministries and regional authorities last Friday to stop using air conditioning and switch off external lighting……
The Biden Administration’s limited policy reversal permitting Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike Russian military targets within Russian territory has removed at maximum only 16 percent of Russia’s ground sanctuary – a small area along the Russian-Ukrainian international border. The US policy change, while a step in the right direction, is by itself inadequate and unable to disrupt Russian operations at scale. ISW assesses that the West maintains the ability to substantially disrupt Russian operations at scale by allowing Ukraine to use Western-provided weapons to strike Russia’s operational rear and deep rear areas in Russian territory.
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Jun 8, 2024 – ISW Press
The Russian military command is reportedly transferring an unspecified number of forces to the Ukrainian-Russian border area near Kharkiv Oblast, but it is unclear if the Russian military command plans to immediately commit these redeployed forces to combat or use them to reinforce the Northern Grouping of Forces to bring it closer to its reported planned end strength. Chechen Akhmat Spetsnaz Commander Apty Alaudinov claimed in an interview with Russian state media outlet RT on June 8 that Russian authorities decided to transfer elements of the Akhmat Spetsnaz to the Kharkiv direction from unspecified areas at the end of May 2024. Alaudinov claimed that the “Kashtan” detachment, formerly known as Akhmat “Kamerton” detachment and renamed after its new commander, is operating in the Kharkiv direction.