On the 101st day of the conflict, Ukraine announced that it had managed to retake half of the city of Severodonetsk from Lugansk, where Russian efforts have been concentrated in recent days. It was the region’s governor who broke the news, adding that Russian forces are destroying bridges over the Seversky Donets River to prevent Ukrainian fighters from bringing humanitarian aid and military reinforcements to the city.

Russian forces announced that they had shot down a military plane carrying weapons and ammunition in Odessa, by the Black Sea. One missile also hit a “foreign mercenary” post and another a training center in the Sumy region, according to information from the country’s Defense Ministry.

Pope Francis has once again expressed his willingness to travel to Ukraine. Japan’s prime minister is considering attending the next NATO summit in what would be the first time a Japanese head of government has attended a Western alliance meeting. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio said on Saturday that “the world bread war” had begun.

Here is a status update, so that you are aware of everything that has happened in the last hours of the war in Ukraine. You can also read the Observer’s liveblog, where all the latest news on the conflict is updated up to the minute.

What happened during the afternoon and evening?

• The Russian military said Ukrainian military units had withdrawn from the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, which has been the scene of fierce fighting between kyiv and Moscow forces.
• However, the local mayor, Olexandre Striouk, assured this Saturday that the Ukrainian forces intend to “take full control” of Severodonetsk, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine.
• The Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi di Maio, said this Saturday that “the world bread war” has begun, with the blockade of cereals in Ukraine and the consequent “risk of new conflicts in Africa.”

Italy says ‘world bread war’ has started

• Russia extends restrictions on civil flights at 11 airports until June 12, the Russian Ministry of Transport announced today, quoted by the Tass news agency. The airspace of the southern and central regions of Russia has been closed to civil aircraft since February 24, 2022.
• The Russian Defense Ministry said it had hit an artillery training center in Ukraine’s Sumy region with high-precision missiles, where foreign instructors were working.
• Pope Francis on Saturday reiterated his willingness to visit Ukraine but said he was waiting for the “right time.” Next week he will meet with representatives of the Ukrainian government, with whom, among other things, he will discuss the possibility of a trip to the war-torn country.

Ukraine: Pope says he is waiting for the “right time” to visit kyiv

• Ukraine’s foreign minister did not like hearing Emmanuel Macron say that Russia should not be humiliated lest a diplomatic solution fall apart when conflicts end. Dmytro Kuleba reacted on Twitterdefending that these statements “only humiliate France” and “all the other countries” that agree with Macron.
• Ukraine’s international defense legion, a brigade of volunteers fighting with Ukrainian forces, announced that four soldiers from Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and France had been killed in Ukraine. Details about how and when the deaths occurred are unknown.
• The US government will sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle combat drones, which are capable of attacking southern Moscow with Hellfire missiles. The Spanish El Confidencial adds, however, that the purchase of these drones can be used by Vladimir Putin as a pretext to aggravate the conflict.
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering attending the next NATO summit in Madrid later this month, in what would be the first time a Japanese head of government has attended a Western alliance meeting. Japanese government sources hope the involvement will improve coordination with the United States of America and European countries in responding to Russia’s war in Ukraine and possible contingencies over the Taiwan Strait.

What happened during the morning?

• The governor of the Lugansk region announced that Ukrainian troops currently control about half of the city of Severodonetsk. Serhiy Haidai had even said that Ukraine had strategically abandoned the city, but quoted by the British newspaper The Guardian, he now said that part of the city has already been retaken and that the Ukrainian military managed to push back the Russians.
• Russia will also be destroy bridges over the Seversky Donets River to prevent Ukrainian fighters from bringing military reinforcements and humanitarian aid to civilians in the city. The information was released this Saturday by the governor of Lugansk, according to Reuters.
• The Estonian prime minister asked the country’s president to dismiss the seven ministers of the party with which her party (Reform) had a governing coalition, the Center (which even had ties to Vladimir Putin’s party in Russia). Kaja Kallas accused the now former partners of the Center of not defending the interests of Estonia and being “actively work” against the values ​​of the country.
• The Ukrainian intelligence services are in contact with prisoners azovstal and the Interior Minister assures that kyiv is doing everything possible to free them. Denys Monastyrskiy said on Friday that it is through the intelligence services that Ukraine is aware of the “conditions of detention, nutrition and the possibility of release” of the prisoners.
• Russian forces say they have shot down a ukrainian military plane transporting weapons and ammunition, near the Black Sea, specifically in Odessa. One missile also hit a “foreign mercenary” post and another a training center in the Sumy region, where Ukrainian forces were receiving training from foreign instructors.
• French President Emmanuel Macron maintains that Russia is not humiliated by the West so that, once the fighting is over, dialogue and a possible diplomatic solution are not put at risk.