This week, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote an open letter to Putin, the Russians struck a nuclear storage facility at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant with a “Geran-2” drone, and another 185 military personnel and one civilian returned to Ukraine from captivity.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
Letter to Putin from Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote an open letter to Putin on June 4, offering to meet to end the war. The Ukrainian president said Ukraine was ready for a prisoner exchange on an “all for all” basis and was ready to cease fire completely while negotiations continued. He said the United States could provide this.
In response, Putin said that he had read the letter, but “didn’t see the point” in a meeting between the leaders. According to the Russian dictator, the war must first be ended before a meeting can be held. Putin also noted that Zelensky’s letter was “with elements of rudeness”.
Russian attack on the Chornobyl nuclear power plant
The attack on the spent nuclear fuel storage facility occurred on the night of June 7. The drone hit the storage site and partially destroyed the container reception building (it did not store spent nuclear fuel). A fire broke out, which was extinguished, and there were no injuries.
Subsequently, SBU declared that it had opened a case of war crime due to the Russian strike, and IAEA representatives promised to visit the Central Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in the Cornobyl Exclusion Zone.
Exchange
Another 185 military personnel and one civilian returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity on June 5. Among those released were soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine — soldiers, sergeants, and officers.
These are servicemen who operated in Mariupol and “Azovstal”, in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv and Kursk directions. We also managed to return those servicemen who were captured in 2022.
Attack on St. Petersburg
Ukrainian drones attacked St. Petersburg on the night of June 6, hitting the arsenals of the Russian Navy and the base in the port of Kronstadt. This is about a thousand kilometers from Ukraine.
This base houses warships, submarines, training centers, repair docks, and shipbuilding facilities. A fire broke out after the strike. On the night of June 3, ships and other facilities in the port of Kronstadt were also hit by Ukrainian drones.
A court in Sweden allowed the transfer of the Russian ship Caffa to Ukraine
A Swedish court has ruled that the seizure of the cargo ship Caffa in the Baltic Sea was lawful and allowed it to be transferred to Ukraine. The ship is suspected of illegally transporting grain from territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
Swedish police and coastguards detained the Caffa off the countryʼs southern coast in March. According to investigators, the vessel was flying a false flag and violating maritime law and safety regulations due to its poor technical condition.
Ukraine apologizes to Greece over naval drone
Ukraine apologized to Greece over the incident with a sea drone. On May 8, Greek fishermen spotted a drone near the island of Lefkada. At first, the country claimed that it was a Ukrainian “Magura V5” drone, then that it was a “Mamai” drone carrying approximately 100 kg of explosives.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry initially did not confirm that the drone found was Ukrainian, but stated that they were ready to investigate the incident.
Greece demanded an apology from Ukraine over the incident with a naval drone. The Defense Ministry said the drone threatened civilian shipping and could have caused casualties. Greece later sent a formal diplomatic protest to Ukraine.
The US has passed a bill on aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill on financial aid to Ukraine and sanctions against the Russian economy. The bill was introduced by Democrat Gregor Mixom.
The aid includes more than $1 billion in security assistance and recovery funds, as well as $8 billion in defense loans. The House voted 226 to 195. The bill now heads to the US Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass.
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