Russia's military invasion of Ukraine continues.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting in various parts of Ukraine, and many civilians have fled the country. We will update the situation in Ukraine on the 4th (Japan time), including the status of the battle and the diplomacy of the countries concerned.
(There is a 6-hour time difference between Japan and Ukraine and Moscow, Russia)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to meet with President Putin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is acting as an intermediary for the resumption of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products, is scheduled to visit Russia on June 4 and hold a summit meeting with President Putin. On the other hand, Russia attacked the southern part of Ukraine, where the agricultural product shipping base is located, on the 3rd of the previous day, and it is unpredictable whether the summit meeting will lead to a breakthrough in the situation.
In July, Russia suspended the implementation of agreements brokered by Turkey and the United Nations on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products, raising concerns about a food crisis worldwide. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Sochi in southern Russia on June 7 and hold a summit meeting with President Putin, and is expected to directly urge him to resume exports.
Against this backdrop, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 4rd that it had carried out a drone attack on a fuel storage facility at a port in the southern Odessa region. According to the Ukrainian military and others, 3 Iranian-made drones were used in the attack, and 25 of them were shot down, but some of them hit a civilian port facility on the Danube River south of Odessa Odesa, causing a fire and injuring two people. Following Russia's suspension of implementation of the agreement, the Ukrainian side has made the export of agricultural products using the Danube River as its main alternative route without passing through the Black Sea, where there is a risk of attack.
The Ukrainian side accuses Russia of continuing to attack port facilities in an attempt to cause a food crisis, and it is uncertain whether the summit will lead to a breakthrough.
Zaporozhye Oblast Commander "Consolidating the recaptured territories"
The British newspaper "Observer" reported on the situation in the south as Ukraine continues its reversal offensive on the 3rd, reporting the story of the commander of the offensive unit in Zaporozhye Oblast. In it, the commander said that the Ukrainian army had breached the first line of defense, and that "we are now consolidating the territory we have recaptured."
He then expressed the view that Russia was redeploying troops from other regions, and emphasized that "sooner or later the Russian army will exhaust all its excellent soldiers, which will be the impetus for us to attack faster and more." In addition, the commander expressed hope for a reversal offensive in the south, saying that Russia had not sufficiently developed a second line of defense and would be able to advance in less time than the first line of defense, which required infantry units to clear mines at night.