Russian forces continue to abuse Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in violation of the Geneva Convention on POWs.Russian forces continue to abuse Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in violation of the Geneva Convention on POWs. (1/4)
2/ Russian military and political leadership continues to pursue increased military, political, and economic cooperation with several African states.
3/ The Russian military is reportedly forcibly sending Russian servicemembers who refused to fight to the front in Ukraine from Russia instead of standing trial for their refusal to participate in combat.
4/ Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the Russian-style "foreign agents" bill into law on June 3 amid continued protests.
The family members of mobilized Russian personnel continue to protest for the demobilization of their relatives. isw.pub/UkrWar060324
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NEW: US officials continue to attempt to clarify US policy regarding Ukraine's ability to strike a limited subset of Russian military targets within Russia with US-provided weapons, but public communications about US policy remain unclear. 🧵(1/4)
2/ ISW still assesses that Ukraine's ability to defend itself against devastating Russian glide bomb strikes is heavily contingent on the ability to target Russian aircraft within Russian airspace using US-provided air defense systems before Russian aircraft launch their weapons.
3/ The current lack of clarity in US restrictions on Ukraine's use of US-provided weapons to strike Russian military assets within Russia is a missed opportunity to force Russia to self-deter against conducting such strikes on Ukrainian territory from Russian airspace.
NEW: Ukrainian forces struck a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery in Belgorod Oblast likely w/ HIMARS on June 1 or 2.
Ukrainian forces recently advanced within Vovchansk. Russian forces advanced near Lyptsi, Avdiivka, and Velyka Novoslika and in western Zaporizhia Obl..🧵
2/ Geolocated footage published on May 31 shows that Russian forces advanced to buildings along Studentska Street in northwestern Hlyboke (north of Lyptsi). Footage published on June 2 shows that Ukrainian forces regained a position along Dukhovna Street in central Vovchansk.
3/ Geolocated footage published on June 3 shows that Russian forces have advanced along the M-30 highway west of Netaylove (west of Avdiivka) approaching Karlivka, and Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced east of Karlivka.
2/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US and Singaporean officials and highlighted the upcoming Global Peace Summit during the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 2.
3/ Ukrainian field commanders are reportedly compensating for training difficulties that mobilization has exacerbated by training new personnel on the frontline.
Ukrainian field commanders' decisions to train newly-deployed personnel on the front before committing them to combat indicates that the overall quality of Ukrainian forces will likely remain higher than that of Russian forces in the near- to mid-term.
NEW: The current lack of clarity about US restrictions on Ukraine's use of US-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russian territory misses an opportunity to deter further Russian offensive efforts across the border into northern Ukraine. 🧵(1/8)
2/ Recent comments from US officials and media reports suggest there is ambiguity on what the US has explicitly authorized regarding these strikes amid signaling that the US is open to expanding these authorizations to other areas in Ukraine should Russian forces launch offensive operations elsewhere along the international border area. ⬇️
3/ Ukrainian officials have recently warned that Russian forces are also concentrating forces in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts across the border from Sumy Oblast, and ISW has previously assessed that even a limited grouping would achieve its desired effect of drawing and fixing Ukrainian forces to this area.
More Key Takeaways from the May 31, 2024 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment (🧵1/7):
Ukraine signed long-term bilateral security agreements with Sweden, Iceland, and Norway on May 31.
2/ Ukrainian forces conducted a series of drone and missile strikes against a Russian long-range radar system in occupied Crimea and an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai on May 31 following the May 30 Ukrainian strike against the Kerch Strait ferry crossing.
3/ Although Russian forces made significant tactical gains in northern Kharkiv Oblast in early May 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov heavily overestimated Russian advances in Ukraine since the start of 2024.
NEW: US and German officials confirmed that the United States and Germany have changed their policies to allow Ukraine to use their provided weapons to strike Russian territory with some restrictions but did not offer precise details. (🧵1/7)
2/ Western media reported that the Biden administration gave Ukraine permission to use US-provided weapons, including GMLRS rockets, for "counter-fire purposes" against the Russian forces conducting assaults in northern Kharkiv Oblast but has not changed its policy restricting Ukraine from using US-provided weapons to conduct long-range strikes elsewhere into Russia
3/ It is unclear if the United States will allow Ukraine to strike Russian forces that are massing across the border but have not yet attacked into Ukrainian territory.