In today's summary:
- The Kadyrovites are dissatisfied with Yevgeny Prigozhin's statement and "hit him with an arrow";
- For the first time in the public field, Dmitry Utkin (aka Wagner) spoke about the conflict with Kadyrov;
- The advance of Ukrainian troops on the flanks near Bakhmut has been suspended;
- "Russian Volunteer Corps" and "Legion Freedom of Russia" announced a new raid in the Belgorod region;
- The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that it "correctly" repulsed the attack, and the saboteurs "scattered" after oncoming fire;
- Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak volunteered to help evacuate the residents of Shebekino;
- Strike missile complexes "Iskander" in Kyiv: three people were killed, 14 were injured;
- The US Department of Defense announced a new $300 million military aid package to Ukraine.
The situation at the front
While there is relative calm on the front line, a (so far verbal) conflict flares up between the Kadyrovites and one of the founders and the main public representative of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Chairman of the Chechen Parliament Magomed Daudov (aka Lord) said that Prigogine was creating "panic" among Russians:
Our fighters also had problems, but this does not mean that a warrior should shout about it. Do not forget, Zhenya, thanks to whom you have a private military company, planes, helicopters, SZO.
On the same day, a State Duma deputy from Chechnya, Adam Delimkhanov, published a video on his channel in which he also turned to Prigozhin with a proposal to meet and explain what tasks the Chechen division Akhmat performs:
If something is not clear to you, you can contact us at any time, indicate the time and place. We will explain to you what you don't understand. This time. Secondly, you have already become a blogger and shout to the whole world that we only have problems. We all know how many people you put on the direction of Bakhmut in 7-8 months. <…> Say the place: where, what, when – see you. We will solve any issue face to face with you. Enough already, otherwise the people and our society do not already understand many issues.
At the same time, it is not entirely clear to which particular statement of Prigozhin the Chechen security forces are reacting so sharply. The wording circulated in the media “that he does not understand what the Akhmat unit is doing” is not found in the Telegram channel of the press service of the “Kremlin cook”. The day before, a rather restrained comment appeared there in response to a journalist’s question whether Akhmat could “liberate” the self-proclaimed DPR:
I can’t comment on where the “Akhmatovites” will be in any way, I am not immersed in these details, all units keep them a secret. This is a normal situation during the war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin added that the “Akhmatovtsy” do not have the task of freeing the entire “DPR”:
And Kadyrov, as far as I understand, did not talk about it. They will be engaged in certain areas in which they will act. I don't see any tricks here.
Judging by the statement of another Kadyrov commander, Apti Alaudinov, it was the phrase that the Chechen units would not be able to “liberate” the entire “DPR” that caused indignation:
I will answer this as follows: we did not have tanks, planes, helicopters, an army of fifty thousand like Prigozhin had. But as the commander of the AKHMAT special forces, I can say that, led by me, the AKHMAT special forces, together with the second army corps of the RF Armed Forces, liberated 36 settlements in the Luhansk People's Republic. Of which 4 are the largest cities of the LPR. Special Forces "AHMAT" is able to perform any assigned task. If we were transferred to the Donetsk direction, then I guarantee that the Akhmat special forces will do everything so that the Donetsk People's Republic is liberated.
Prigozhin responded to Delimkhanov, saying that he did not see anything reprehensible in his words about the Akhmat special forces unit, and that his phone numbers were known to all participants in the discussion.
Prigozhin himself, meanwhile, appeared in footage filmed at the Wagner PMC base in the rear, where another batch of mercenaries from Bakhmut was brought. In the video , Prigogine helps to equip the camp and carries a log himself, after which the "commander" Alexander Simonov compares him with Lenin. And then he shows what gifts were given to Prigogine on his birthday. Among them are three axes with the names: “Wagner kid”, “Wagner” and “Wagner master”.
Various pro-Wagner bloggers are joining the conflict: the GRAY ZONE Telegram channel has collected (mostly unflattering) reviews of Wagnerites and military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces about the Kadyrovites, with the exception of Alaudinov.
In a published post, marines from the 810th brigade say that in Mariupol the Chechens almost did not go on assaults, “and if they did, they were reluctant, they chose areas convenient for themselves, where they tried to take something, some separate building on video". It is also noted that representatives of the Chechen Republic were interested in taking control of profitable enterprises, such as the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant.
According to GRAY ZONE, soldiers from Wagner's 10th Assault Detachment said that they had to expel Chechens from Kadievka and Alchevsk by force because of "moral outrages against local girls."
The fighters, who did not want to give the number of their assault detachment, say that the Chechens were allocated a site – Disputed (population 80 people) and Belogorovka (population 850 people), which they have been storming for a year now. In addition, they retreated from Disputed once at all under the threat of encirclement in the second half of September 2022, after which the “Wagnerites” came there to ask for help, allegedly out of respect for Alaudinov.
GRAY ZONE also published an "official commentary" by PMC commander Dmitry "Wagner" Utkin, who usually does not make public statements. In it, the mercenary accuses Daudov of being familiar with Prigozhin, expresses his readiness to talk "like a man to a man" and recalls the Chechen wars, when many of today's Wagnerites and Kadyrovites fought against each other.
Returning to the situation directly at the front, reports are coming from the Vuglodar direction about the advance of Ukrainian forces towards the settlement of Vladimirovka . If the Armed Forces of Ukraine are successful in this area, they could cut the important supply line of Pavlovka , occupied by Russian forces, south of Vuhledar.
The commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, said that the advance on the flanks near Bakhmut was suspended. According to him, now the Ukrainian command is focused on restoring the combat capability of the units and on preventing the Russians from going on the offensive. In addition, Syrsky said that Russian forces have changed the format of the operation in the Bakhmut direction , so there is a temporary lull.
Mutual shelling and sabotage
It is reported about a new attempt to break through the armed formations fighting on the side of Ukraine, staffed by Russian citizens, into the territory of the Belgorod region .
The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) announced on its Telegram channel a new raid on Russian territory. “Very soon the outskirts of Shebekino will appear,” says one of the armed men captured in the video published on the morning of June 1. He also advises residents to stay in their homes and notes that the RDK is not at war with civilians.
The Legion of Freedom of Russia also announced its participation in the operation. “We are going to liberate all of Russia, from Belgorod to Vladivostok , so that the white-blue-white flag of freedom can be raised in Moscow ,” says the fighter in the video.
Baza reports that a sabotage group on tanks attacked the Shebekino automobile checkpoint and entered into battle with Russian border guards and military personnel.
The Russian Defense Ministry tells its version of today's attack in the Belgorod region . According to the military department, at about 3 am, a group of 30 people, three armored combat vehicles and four pickup trucks attacked the Shebekino checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border and residential areas of the Tavolzhanka settlement.
The department said that the attack was thwarted "as a result of competent and selfless actions of units of the Western Group of Forces", up to ten people were killed during the fighting. After the shelling, the rest withdrew in the direction of Pletnevka from the Ukrainian side of the border.
After that, according to the Ministry of Defense, another group of up to 70 people, five tanks, four armored vehicles, seven pickup trucks and one Kamaz tried to break into Russian territory from Pletnevka and neighboring Volchansk . As a result of the fighting, the Ukrainian side lost 12 people, two armored vehicles and a pickup truck. In addition, two more groups advanced to Novaya Tavolzhanka on both sides of the Seversky Donets River. One of them, numbering 15 people, is said to have blown up in a minefield, the other scattered after oncoming fire. In total, according to the Ministry of Defense, more than 50 people were killed in the border area from Ukraine, and the Grad multiple launch rocket system was also destroyed.
The Ministry of Defense published a video of strikes on Ukrainian forces trying to attack in the Shebekino area.
The shelling of Shebekino led to a spontaneous evacuation from the city, since the authorities did not establish a mass organized removal. Seemingly such different figures as Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak volunteered to help.
Simonyan wrote that she was ready to pay for the removal and rent of temporary housing for five to ten families, and for the rest who want to leave, she would announce a fundraiser.
Sobchak called on residents of the border areas of the Belgorod region , whose houses were destroyed as a result of shelling, to write to her editorial office. After verifying the data, she is ready to rent several apartments for these people in Belgorod or Moscow and the surrounding area.
After that, Sobchak complained that "Ukrainian people staged monstrous spam attacks in the bot with traditional death wishes for me, my family, my editorial office, and so on."
According to Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin constantly receives reports on the situation in Shebekino .
Meanwhile, in Belgorod itself, a drone fell and exploded. According to the governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov, the drone "exploded not far from the ground." According to him, no explosive devices were found.
In local public pages on VKontakte they write that there are two victims. One man with a suspected concussion was taken to the city hospital, the second man refused hospitalization with minor bruises. One car damaged.
Baza reports that the drone was shot down in the Kaluga region. A crater formed at the scene. There were no casualties.
It is also reported that the drone fell and exploded in the village of Naytopovichi in the Bryansk region , 70 kilometers from the border on the night of June 1. No one was injured in the explosion.
In Berdyansk, occupied by Russian forces, several powerful explosions occurred on May 25. Probably, the strike was carried out with the help of the British Storm Shadow cruise missile, since Berdyansk is located more than 90 km from the front line, which means it is inaccessible to the HIMARS MLRS missiles at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian city military administration believes that as a result of the hit, missiles for the S-300 air defense system were destroyed.
Independent OSINT analyst Oliver Alexander, after examining satellite images, suggested that the attack was directed at the Berdyansk Cable Plant .
On the night of June 1, Kiev was once again subjected to a rocket attack. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as a result of the strikes, according to the city military administration, three people were killed, including a child born in 2012, 14 people were injured. People died in the Desnyansky district , where the building of a children's clinic and a residential building were damaged by debris. Debris also fell on two schools and a police station. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that 10 missiles of the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, launched from the Bryansk region, were used in the attack on Kiev .
Also, Russian troops attacked Kharkov and the Kharkov region . The head of the Kharkiv regional administration, Oleg Sinegubov, said that "2 hits" were recorded in the Industrial District of the city. The mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, specified that the blows "hit an industrial facility."
In total, 185 missiles and 381 UAVs were fired in Ukraine in May. The Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed almost 90% of the targets: 154 missiles and 342 drones.
Losses
A video with the successful destruction of the Lancet kamikaze drone from small arms has been posted on the Telegram channel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, Russian drones continue to reach their targets – for example, a video of the Lancet destroying a self-propelled firing system of the Ukrainian Buk anti-aircraft missile system was published .
Armaments and military equipment
On May 31, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the provision of a new package of US military assistance to Ukraine totaling $300 million, US News & World Report reported . Thus, the total amount of US military aid officially allocated to Kyiv since the start of the full-scale military invasion now stands at more than $37.6 billion.
The new aid package is to be provided from the availability of the US Department of Defense:
– additional ammunition <anti-aircraft guided missiles and anti-missiles> for the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system;
– AIM-7 Sparrow guided missiles for use as anti-aircraft;
– short-range anti-aircraft missile systems Avenger;
– portable anti-aircraft missile systems Stinger;
– an additional number of GMLRS high-precision guided missiles for HIMARS missile systems;
– 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds;
– 105 mm tank shots;
– high-precision aviation ammunition <apparently, JDAM guided aerial bombs>;
– 127 mm unguided Zuni rockets;
– ammunition for unmanned aerial systems <for the first time>;
– disposable hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers AT4;
– about 30 million cartridges for small arms;
– anti-mine equipment and property;
– subversive charges for making passages;
– night-vision devices;
– spare parts, generators and other field property.
Journalist Tyler Rogoway recalls that plans to integrate AIM-7 missiles (in their naval version) with the Soviet Buk were discussed back in January . Earlier leaked Pentagon documents said Ukraine could run out of air defense missiles by the end of May. In the same documents, the FrankenSAM project was mentioned as one of the solutions to the problem, which, apparently, just consisted in the work on "crossing" American missiles with Soviet systems.
In addition, the US Department of Defense announced on May 31 that the American company Global Military Products Inc. received a contract worth $ 118.375 million for the purchase of German 35-mm Gepard anti-aircraft guns in Jordan for their subsequent delivery to Ukraine. Funding is provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program. The contract must be implemented by May 30, 2024.
According to the channel of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Jordan acquired in 2013 60 German-made Gepard ZSU, decommissioned by the Dutch army.
The German company Quantum-Systems announced that it has received a contract to supply Kiev with another 300 Vector reconnaissance UAVs, the contract is funded by the German government. Previously, Quantum-Systems received and implemented two similar contracts for the supply of Vector UAV APUs – 33 in August 2022 and 105 in January this year, delivery under the second contract began in May.
Rostec, meanwhile, reports that the Russian Aerospace Forces received the first batch of new-built Su-34s in 2023. The bombers were manufactured at the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant. V.P. Chkalov. The report of the corporation notes that the updated Su-34 has expanded combat capabilities, allowing the use of advanced aviation weapons, which will increase the range of destruction of ground and surface targets, expand the conditions and accuracy of bombing. The number of delivered aircraft is not known. It is worth noting that according to the current data of the Oryx project, Russia lost at least 20 Su-34s and one Su-34M in the war with Ukraine.
About the main events of the war on May 31 – in the previous report: “Kadyrov is advancing on Maryinka,“ hit ”in the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Volochkova“ works as a gunner. What is happening on the front line.