“Death trap for Kremlin forces” – Ukraine at War update dated June 3

After Russia launched waves of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure over the weekend, the country’s grid operator announced daily power restrictions, with the country’s largest energy company limiting how much power each major municipality would need.

As of midnight on Monday, electricity consumption caps for industrial and domestic consumers will be implemented across the country, Ukrenergo said in a statement. He explained that energy supplies to critical infrastructure facilities will not be limited.

If the imposed limits are exceeded, regional distribution companies may reinstate hourly outage schedules as necessary, she said. DTEK, the country’s largest electricity company, tried to provide some estimates on how much reduction the average residence or business needs.

“The maximum limits allocated by Ukrenergo will be sufficient to cover 80% of the needs in the Ukrainian capital, 68% in the Kyiv region, 74% in the Odessa region, and 84% in the Donetsk region,” DTEK spokesmen posted on social media. Media.

Russian missiles hit energy facilities in the Zaporozhye, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, Energy Minister Herman Haloshenko said on Saturday, while Ukrainian state-owned hydroelectric power plant regulator Ukrahydroenergo reported that Russian strikes caused serious damage to equipment. At two unspecified HPPs. DTEK said Russian strikes caused severe damage to two unspecified thermal power plants.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that “Ukrainian officials also reported damage to critical infrastructure and energy facilities in Kharkiv, Lviv, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Kherson, and the city of Zaporizhia.” In addition to energy infrastructure, the attacks also hit civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage centres.

Reuters reported that such Russian air strikes caused more than $1 billion in damage to Ukraine’s energy sector, resulting in a loss of 8,000 megawatt hours of power generation capacity.

Haloshenko said in a parliamentary session that Ukraine is now holding talks with the European Union to increase the amount of energy that the country can import from them. At present, Ukraine can import no more than 1,700 MWh of electricity from the EU at a time.

Video shows Russian humiliation of Ukrainian prisoners

The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Ukrainian Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, warned the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross of new violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war, in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

“A video showing Russian soldiers abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war is going viral on the Internet,” Lobinets wrote. “Initial reports indicate that this happened on the Kharkiv front, where the Russians are trying to carry out offensive actions. The video shows beatings, insults, threats and imitation of shooting. It is unfortunate that such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception, but a usual tactic of the occupiers.

I have sent official letters to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations documenting the incidents of violations. “This will be another addition to the evidence base of the future court against criminals,” Lubinets added.

Successful strikes by Kiev on air defenses in Crimea may indicate F-16 missions are next, British analyst says

In an article published today, Sunday, entitled “In the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine outperforms Russia.” The Economist wrote The peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, has become a “death trap for the Kremlin forces.”

Ukraine has already demonstrated the ability of Britain-supplied and French-supplied Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles, and its cleverly designed, home-made naval drones, to hit Russian warships, especially larger vessels. Robocha Landing ships used as military transport, most of which have been destroyed. Ukrainian drones and missiles may have neutralized up to half of the previously massive Black Sea Fleet.

“But now, Ukraine is using a deadly combination of ATACMS and increasingly sophisticated drones to systematically weaken Russian air defenses in Crimea, strike air bases from which Russian interceptors fly, and strike vital logistical and economic targets. [British strategist] Sir Lawrence [Freedman] It says the focus on crippling Russia’s air defense network may also be part of preparing for the imminent arrival of the first batches of F-16 fighter jets from Europe.

The magazine quoted the generals as saying that Russian forces and assets on the peninsula “have nowhere to hide” because surveillance is tracking their every move, and that the Kerch Bridge is “doomed to failure” because Ukrainian forces will destroy it when the time is right.

Meanwhile, US online magazine Business Insider published a video story over the weekend describing how Ukraine’s successful attacks on the Black Sea Fleet “transformed modern warfare”:

While Belgium restricts Ukraine’s use of donated F-16s, the Netherlands gives it carte blanche.

One by one, Western allies, who had previously limited the use of missiles they donated to Kiev on targets inside Ukraine’s borders, have recently relaxed these restrictions; More recently, Germany and the United States.

Now the question becomes: What about the upcoming F-16 multi-role fighter jets? This question alone would create some complications in Kiev’s military planning.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo specified last week that military aid from his country could only be used by armed forces on Ukrainian territory, including the long-awaited F-16 aircraft.

De Croo said at a press conference: “Everything stipulated in the agreement, military equipment and military materials, must be used by the armed forces on Ukrainian territory. We have signed such an agreement.” Joint press conference Along with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

(ISW analysts noted over the weekend that “it is unclear from De Croo’s statement whether Belgium will allow Ukraine to use Belgian-supplied F-16s to launch strikes on Russian territory from Ukrainian airspace.”)

On the other hand, Dutch officials have not expressed such restrictions. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Friday that her country’s administration did not place any restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the supplied F-16 aircraft, and that Ukraine could use them “above or on Russian territory” as long as Ukraine follows Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and international law. Humanitarian law.

ISW noted: “Article 51 of the UN Charter specifically states that ‘nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence in the event of an armed attack against’ a UN Member State – a reminder that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory in the context of the Russian invasion constitutes part of Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defense.

“Continuing differences in Western governments’ F-16 policies will require Ukraine to track which aircraft Ukrainian forces can and cannot use to conduct certain strikes, complicating Ukraine’s ability to plan and conduct flight operations using F-16s.”