And the RDK “Russian Volunteer Corps” announced that the town of Novaya Tavolchanka had been captured. And the governor of Belgorod, Gladkov, had previously reported heavy shelling of the city and admitted that he could no longer control the situation there. The Russian government accuses Ukraine of supporting the RDK party; Russia was invading from Ukrainian lands. Kyiv denies this.

Today, the Ukrainian government confirmed offensive military moves against Russian positions. In the area around the eastern city of Bakhmut, progress is being made on a fairly broad front, Deputy Defense Minister Malyar told Telegram. At the same time, I made it clear that these were not large-scale attacks. But the Defense Ministry in Moscow said last night that the Russian military had stopped a major Ukrainian offensive in the Donetsk region. This sparked speculation about the start of the spring offensive in Ukraine, which had been expected for weeks.

This message was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on June 5th, 2023.