Latest Developments in Ukraine: June 5

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.

3:21 a.m.: CNN reports that officials said a Russian cruise missile flew “critically low” over the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. In a statement, Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power station operator, called it “nuclear terrorism.”

2:18 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry details Ukrainian forces’ counterattack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sieverodonetsk. Ukraine has succeeded in “blunting” Russia’s “operational momentum,” the update says.

The update notes that Russia, rather than using its regular units, is relying instead of forces from the Luhansk People’s Republic, which ia aligned with Russia. “These troops are poorly equipped and trained, and lack heavy equipment in comparison to regular Russian units,” the update says, and their use probably indicates Russia is trying to avoid casualties among its regular troops.

1:08 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he’ll host of a group set up to coordinate aid to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

The group, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, will meet in Brussels on June 15.

12:02 a.m.: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian shelling has destroyed 113 churches in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, CNN reports.
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