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6:42 PM

Media: European Commission to ease restrictions on agricultural imports from Ukraine.

The European Commission is set to extend the ban on agricultural imports from Ukraine, but the restrictions will apply to a smaller number of products, European Pravda reported on June 5 with reference to its sources.

6:09 PM

Defense Ministry: Ukrainian forces on offensive in Bakhmut direction, other areas.

Ukraine's forces are successfully advancing in the Bakhmut direction along a "fairly wide front," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram on June 5. Small-scale fighting is taking place in the south, she added.

5:38 PM

Pistorius: Germany will not send Taurus missiles but reconsidering fighter jets for Ukraine.

Germany does not plan to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles but "may reconsider its position" on providing modern Western fighter jets, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Deutsche Welle on June 5.

4:40 PM

Over 30% of checked bomb shelters in Ukraine not ready to receive people.

Out of 50,195 bomb shelters checked by the authorities by June 5, up to one-third are closed or unsuitable for use, the Interior Ministry announced. The National Police, the State Emergency Service, and the local authorities have already examined 79% of all shelters in Ukraine.

4:27 PM

Ukraine's military intelligence responds to reports on pro-Ukrainian militia using Western-made weapons in Russia.

In a comment for Suspilne news outlet, Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov responded to reports on the alleged use of Western-made weapons by Russian anti-Kremlin militia fighting on Ukraine's side. He said such questions should be addressed to the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion as they "operate autonomously" on Russian territory.

3:55 PM

Russian forces launch guided bombs at Toretsk city center, injuring 6 people.

Six people were injured on June 5 after Russia launched guided bombs at the city center of Toretsk, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported.

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3:43 PM

Prosecutor General: Russia has killed 485 Ukrainian children since start of all-out war.

Four hundred eighty-five Ukrainian children have been killed since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on June 5.

3:43 PM

Counteroffensive

Russia reports Ukrainian ground attacks in Donetsk Oblast in possible launch of counteroffensive

3:02 PM

Mayor: Russia brings spy squads into occupied Melitopol.

Spy squads from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) have arrived in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast to search for pro-Ukrainian residents, exiled Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported on June 5.

2:56 PM

GLOBSEC: 90% of Hungarians support aiding Ukrainian refugees.

A study published by the NGO GLOBSEC in late May shows that despite the Hungarian government's history of repeated anti-Ukrainian statements, 90% of Hungarians believe that it is necessary to continue supporting Ukrainian refugees amid Russia's full-scale war.

2:40 PM

Opinion

Burkovskyi, Tarasiuk: Do Russian anti-Kremlin insurgents pose a real threat to Putin’s regime?

2:09 PM

Authorities: Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast kill 1, injure 3.

Russian troops hit an enterprise in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on June 5, killing a 55-year-old security guard, reported Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. A 47-year-old woman was injured earlier as a result of an overnight Russian attack on Kherson, and two more civilians were wounded in a Russian air strike on Beryslav.

1:59 PM

Opinion

Olena Pavlenko: The EU must step up sanctions against Russia's nuclear sector

1:57 PM

CNN: Network of sabotage agents backed by Ukraine likely responsible for drone attacks in Russia.

Ukraine has likely established a network of pro-Ukrainian sabotage agents within Russian territory to carry out strategic drone attacks, CNN reported on June 5.

1:04 PM

PM: Belgium investigating alleged use of its weapons in Russia.

Belgium will ask Kyiv for clarifications on reports that Russian anti-Kremlin militias had allegedly used Belgian-made weapons provided to Ukraine during the Belgorod incursion, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, as reported by Reuters on June 5.

12:14 PM

SBU: 3 members of Russian spy network apprehended in Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Odesa oblasts.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) reported on June 5 that it apprehended three members of a Russian spy network operating in Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, and Odesa oblasts.

11:28 AM

Governor: Russian attacks on Donetsk Oblast injure 3 people.

Three people were injured by Russian shelling and air strikes in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on June 5.

11:05 AM

Sky News: Alleged arms contract shows $1 million arms deal between Russia, Iran.

Excerpts from an alleged arms contract obtained by Sky News through an unnamed informed source claim that Iran supplied Russia with $1 million worth of artillery, tank shells, and rockets. Sky News said it could not independently verify the information.

10:42 AM

UK Defense Ministry: Increased drone attacks likely an attempt to exhaust Ukraine's air defense.

Russia has likely increased its drone attacks against Ukraine in an attempt to exhaust Ukraine's air defense missile stocks, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on June 5.

10:03 AM

Governor: 2 drones crash on highway in Russia's Kaluga Oblast.

Two drones crashed on a highway in Russia's Kaluga Oblast, Governor Vladislav Shapsha reported on June 5.

9:35 AM

Polish PM: Ukraine deserves 'very quick path' to NATO membership.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on June 4 that Ukraine "deserves" a quick path to NATO membership given that it "fights in the interests of NATO."

8:30 AM

Media: Russia to reduce oil output in 2024.

Russia will reduce its oil output by 650,000 barrels per day in 2024, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported following an OPEC+ meeting in Vienna on June 4.

8:25 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 210,350 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on June 5 that Russia has lost 210,350 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 410 casualties on June 4.

6:43 AM

Russian governor reports fire at Belgorod energy facility.

Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported a fire at an energy facility in the Belgorod district in a June 5 post on Telegram.

5:43 AM

Russia claims to block Ukrainian offensive in south Donetsk direction.

Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in the Donetsk region on the morning of June 4, according to a Telegram update cited by the BBC.

MORE NEWS

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Media: South Africa considers withdrawing from ICC

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 25, 2023 7:14 PM 2 min read

South-Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) attend the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2019. (Photo by Sergei Chirikov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his country's governing political party decided that it would be "prudent" to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to its "unfair treatment" of other countries, Al Jazeera reported on April 25.

"We would like this matter of unfair treatment to be properly discussed, but in the meantime, the governing party has decided once again that there should be a pull-out," Ramaphosa said, as cited by Al Jazeera.

The report comes after the ICC issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russia is not party to the ICC treaty, having withdrawn in 2016 following its criticism of the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. This means that Putin can only be arrested in one of the 123 countries that follow it.

According to Al Jazeera, Ramaphosa did not provide a definitive answer when asked if Putin would be arrested should he set foot in South Africa.

South Africa attempted to withdraw from the ICC in 2016 after the country refused to arrest then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a visit to the African Union Summit, Al Jazeera wrote. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant to al-Bashir in 2009 for alleged war crimes.

However, according to Al Jazeera, a South African court ruled that withdrawing from the ICC would be unconstitutional.

South Africa launched joint naval drills with Russia and China leading up to the one-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor defended the move in late January, saying that hosting such exercises with "friends" was the "natural course of relations," according to Reuters.

The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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