The head of the Lugansk regional state administration, Sergei Gaidai, said on the evening of May 31 that most of Severodonetsk was occupied by Russian troops. In terms of the level of destruction, he said, Severodonetsk "is approaching Rubizhne and Popasnaya." Critical infrastructure is almost completely damaged, the housing stock is 90% damaged, and more than half of the damaged buildings, according to Gaidai, cannot be restored.

Some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are exploring the possibility of excluding Russia from the oil deal. This was written by The Wall Street Journal, citing OPEC members. Sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, as well as a partial ban on Russian oil imports approved by the EU, "are starting to threaten Russia's ability to produce more," sources said.

The head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, said that Ukraine would not be granted the status of an EU candidate at a meeting of the Council of the European Union in June, ANSA reported. “Almost all major EU countries are against giving Ukraine the status of an EU candidate,” Draghi said at a press conference after the EU summit, stressing that Italy takes a different position on this issue.

Political scientist Kirill Rogov on why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just ‘Putin’s war’ Dmitry Azarov / Kommersant It will take a lot of time and research to answer the question of what led to Russia’s monstrous war against Ukraine. After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, the notion quickly spread around the world that this was “Putin’s war” and that he personally made the decision to invade.

The UK and the European Union have agreed on a ban on insuring Russian ships carrying oil, writes The Financial Times. The ban will deprive carriers of Russian oil of access to the British insurance market Lloyd's of London, the largest for maritime transport. Thus, the publication notes, Russia’s ability to export crude oil by sea will be reduced, and it will have to turn to less reliable insurers.

The prosecutor's office of the Kyiv region charged the leading design engineer of the Antonov aircraft concern with justifying Russia's aggression - article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the investigation, in March-April 2022, an Antonov employee distributed publications on social networks aimed at supporting the actions of the Russian Federation and justifying its armed aggression against Ukraine.

Roskomnadzor requires Google to remove Tor Browser from the app store. The Saratov District Court, according to the website of the supervisory authority, recognized the information contained in the Tor Browser as prohibited for distribution on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Alina Korenyuk, who, because of the war, was forced to flee from the city of Popasnaya in the Luhansk region, identified the things that she left at home, in the photo of the Russian tank, taking the loot. Korenyuk, who left the fascinated at the very beginning of the Russian invasion and later reached the UK, contacted BBC News and said that the photograph was taken on the street only five minutes walk from her house.

Gazprom announced the termination of gas supplies to the Danish companies Ørsted and Shell Energy Europe from June 1, which refused to pay in rubles, Interfax reports , citing a statement by the Russian gas monopoly. Ørsted announced on May 30 that it would not pay Gazprom in rubles, as required by the Russian side. The due date, the company said in a statement , is May 31.

Your Browser Does Not Support the Audio Element. In Kazakhstan, a referendum on a change in the Constitution will be about to take place in Kazakhstan. Is this the beginning of democratic transit or the formation of Tokayev dictatorship? On June 5, Kazakhstan will host a referendum on amendments to the Constitution. Of the main amendments - a decrease in the number of powers of the president.

Ethnic Kazakhs in China are sent to the same “re -education camps” as Uygurov. Here are ten stories Since 2014, the world began to learn about what was happening in the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous District of China. Since then, the media and human rights activists regularly tell how Uyghov is massively placed in the “vocational training centers” - and in fact, in concentration camps.

Politician Alexei Navalny announced that he had been charged in a criminal case on extremism. This post was published on his social networks. It turns out that I created an extremist group to incite hatred towards officials and oligarchs. And when I was jailed, I dared to be dissatisfied with this (really, that was me) and called for rallies. For this, I should get another 15 years.

BBC journalists identify more than 3,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine Ukrainian President’s Office / SIPA / Scanpix / LETA Using open sources, BBC News Russian has identified 3,052 Russian soldiers and officers killed in Ukraine since Moscow began its full-scale invasion on February 24. The Russian BBC’s tally only includes those soldiers whose full names could be confirmed based on reports from regional leaders and local media.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised that the European Union would cut Russian oil imports by 92% by the end of 2022. Such a statement, according to French media, including Ouest-France, Macron made at a briefing following the EU summit, at which the sixth package of sanctions against Russia was agreed.

The Bank of Russia does not plan to ease restrictions on the purchase of cash currency by individuals in the near future. This was reported by Interfax, said the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank Ksenia Yudaeva at a briefing. “I think we’ll wait until September and look at the situation. Nothing new yet,” she said. Restrictions on cash transactions were introduced in Russia in early March, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.