June 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Finland's accession to NATO highlights that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been a "strategic failure," according to US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski.

"What's changed in the last week is that NATO has expanded in a way that just emphasizes the strategic failure of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's decision to invade Ukraine," he said in an interview with CNN's Michael Smerconish on Saturday.  

His remarks echo those of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Finland on Friday. Blinken also called Russia’s war a "strategic failure," saying it has diminished the country's influence and interests "for years to come."

Finland officially became the 31st NATO member in early April. The Russian invasion drove traditionally non-aligned Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutrality and seek to join the alliance.

When asked if any possible peace negotiations are ongoing, Brzezinski said:

"We're committed to a path of making sure a lasting peace includes a complete reconstruction of Ukraine and a drawing into it — as it wants — into the Western institutional orbit. And that's the opportunity here: to have a renaissance, emerge out of this crime of a war in central and eastern Europe," he said.

Brzezinski also said he believes the majority of US lawmakers remain committed to providing assistance to and showing solidarity with Ukraine. He noted that he's hosted over 150 members of Congress from both parties, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

At least two people were killed and six others were injured by shelling in Russia’s Belgorod region Friday, according to the regional governor, marking the latest report of violence spilling over the Ukrainian border into Russian territory.

Belgorod is a common site of the attacks, and local authorities say they have started evacuating residents due to incoming fire. But it is not the only region where officials have reported recent drone attacks or shelling in western Russia.

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the Kursk region Friday damaged several buildings, Gov. Roman Starovoyt claimed, while officials in the neighboring Bryansk region reported shelling. In Smolensk — which is located further north, near the border with Belarus — two drones attacked energy and fuel facilities Friday, according to the regional governor.

This all comes after Russian fighters aligned with Ukraine crossed the border into Belgorod last week and seized a checkpoint, sowing confusion and anger in Moscow.

Ukraine's silence: Ukraine has not commented on claims by Russian officials that it has sent any troops, fired artillery or flown drones into its neighbor’s territory.

While Kyiv remains coy, the attacks could be aimed more at destabilizing Russia than seizing any significant tactical advantage, CNN's Sam Kiley writes. Read his full analysis here.

The map below shows some of the key regions that have faced recent attacks:

At least two people were killed and six others were injured in shelling in Russia’s Belgorod region on Friday, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor.

The Belgorod region, which is located near the border with Ukraine, has seen intensified violence in the last several days.

Gladkov said in a Telegram post that the people killed were in the yards of their homes during the attack.

Two children hurt by shrapnel were among those hurt, Gladkov said — a 13-year-old boy who fractured his left shoulder and an 11-year-old girl who sustained shrapnel wounds to her left eye.

Ukraine has opened a new front in its battle to drive out the Russian invader — in Russia. But it is oddly coy about admitting that it has sent troops, fired artillery and flown drones into its neighbor’s territory.

The operations of Russian citizens, carrying Ukrainian military ID, wearing Ukrainian uniforms and attacking from Ukraine, remain officially opaque. It is Kyiv’s contribution to what’s become known as “hybrid warfare” in the “gray zone” of contemporary conflict.

The two terms provoked books and a tsunami of excited opinion from an army of pundits when Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014.

Back then, so-called “Little Green Men” — donned in peculiar two-tone sport-hunting uniforms and Russian military fatigues – appeared in Crimea.

When it was suggested that maybe, just maybe, these men were actually Russian troops, Vladimir Putin quipped, “You can go to a store and buy any kind of uniform."

Moscow’s official line was that the men who raised the Russian flag over Simferopol and stormed Crimea’s local parliament were “self defense units” of pro-Russian Ukrainians anxious to bring their territory under Moscow’s rule.

By the time Moscow admitted that its troops were actually in Ukraine, a large chunk of the former Soviet 14-year-old nation was under Putin’s control.

Now, on a small scale, Ukraine is adapting those same tactics to try to secure strategic effect.

The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom for Russia Legion – which fall under Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence structure – have been conducting short cross-border raids into Russia.

The principal aim? Destabilization.

Read more about Ukraine's destabilization efforts:

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Ukraine's cross-border tactics are aimed at destabilizing Russia. Judging by the response, they're working | CNN

Under the scorching summer sun at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, an almost invisible drone approaches in the distance. Difficult to spot, the remote-controlled aircraft is also nearly impossible to hear.

“It’s very stealthy,” drone maker Valeriy Borovyk says. “We call this one Vidsyich (Ukrainian word for ‘repel’).”

The Vidsyich is what Borovyk calls a combat drone, designed to attack Russian positions.

Borovyk is one of dozens of drone developers that have sprung up all over Ukraine. A first wave appeared when Russia first occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014, and another eight years later when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were first deployed to help artillery locate Russian targets and now, many believe they are being used to hit targets well inside Russian territory.

Borovyk says his company is in the process of upscaling its production after signing a deal with a factory in Ukraine, which would increase production from 50 drones per month to over 1,000. And they have several models, of all shapes and sizes.

His operation is just one small part of an industry built on Ukrainian ingenuity and survival instinct, which the country’s government and military are keen to support.

Read the full story:

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Exclusive: Inside Ukraine's secretive drone program | CNN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he understands that his country cannot become a member of NATO while it is still at war.

The alliance's treaty includes Article 5, a collective defense provision that pledges members to come to the assistance of any state that is under attack.

"Give me an example of one NATO country which is in a state of war with Russia right now; or which NATO country has Russian troops on its territory," Zelensky said.

Ukraine will be inspecting civilian bomb shelters across the country after three people, including a child, died in Kyiv earlier this week when they were unable to access a shelter during a Russian missile barrage.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deaths have caused an "obviously strong reaction" and orders are in place to check shelters in the capital and elsewhere.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said he'd been instructed to commence nationwide inspections and that the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Police are already working.

"Any violations found must be properly recorded, and those responsible must be brought to justice," he said on Facebook.

The numbers: After a month of regular night-time Russian attacks on Kyiv, the city's authorities have disclosed that 92,000 people used the city's metro stations as shelters in May. They said that 46 underground stations operate as shelters around the clock. 

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent after winning a match Friday, saying she did so out of respect for the men and women defending Ukraine from Moscow's invasion.

After Friday's victory, Svitolina avoided Blinkova while the two took turns shaking the hand of the chair umpire.

The Ukrainian said she would continue to snub any opponents from Russia or Belarus, the close Moscow ally.

"What the Russian government and Russian soldiers are doing on our land is really, really terrible," the 28-year-old Svitolina said. "It touches many different areas. It touches sport. It touches acting. It touches all different areas. So, we are all united Ukrainians and this is our position.”

Svitolina said she would like to see Russian and Belarusian players speak out and call for their countries to end the war.

Belarusian bows out of media appearance: World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, did not participate in a customary post-match news conference Friday.

In her last media appearance Wednesday, the Belarusian had been repeatedly asked to comment on the war in Ukraine and Belarus’ role, but she repeatedly declined to do so. This continued until the moderator halted the line of questioning.

Sabalenka said she had not felt safe during the Wednesday news conference.

"For my own mental health and well-being, I have decided to take myself out of this situation today, and the tournament has supported me in this decision," she said in an interview released by tournament organizers.

Top Russian player weighs in: Last month, Daria Kasatkina, Russia’s top-ranked women's tennis player, expressed her sympathy for Ukrainian players who refuse to shake her hand after matches.

“Well, the saddest part is the war still going on,” Kasatkina said. “So, of course, players from Ukraine have got a lot of reasons to not shake our hands. I accept it and it is how it is. It’s a very sad situation and I understand."

Ninth seed Kasatkina will face the unseeded Svitolina in the fourth round Sunday.

It's morning in Kyiv, if you're just catching up on the day's news, here's the latest from the war in Ukraine:

This map shows the latest state of control in Ukraine: