Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Kharkiv publishing house KSD destroyed 30 thousand copies of the book "The Cruel Prince" by the US writer Sophie Lark, because they saw "romanticization of Russia" in the novel. This was reported on May 31 by the Ukrainian publication "Strana.ua".
"We have decided to destroy the print run of 30,000 copies and terminate the contract for all six books in the series. We acknowledge our mistake in concluding the contract with the author," the statement said.
The publisher reported that Lark had referred to Crimea as Russian and had also claimed that Grigori Rasputin "gave most of Ukraine to the Germans." The writer was also accused of describing Ukraine in a negative light.
The scandal surrounding Lark's works began with a series of publications on social networks. In one of the books, Elena Zelenskaya, who lives in Lviv, dreams of leaving the country and marrying a foreigner. She calls Ukrainian men rude and is outraged that Ukrainian cities "smell like diesel and are generally a complete horror," the publication says.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, an anti-Russian campaign unfolded in Ukraine after the 2014 coup d'état, which also affected books. In 2019, the country banned the circulation of Mikhail Bulgakov's book "The Master and Margarita" because the preface to the novel mentioned Russian cultural figures Yuri Karu, Nikolai Burlyaev, and Valentin Gaft.
That same year, Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick's book "The Untold History of the United States" was banned in the country. The reason was that the authors presented a point of view on Ukrainian collaborators that did not coincide with the position of the Kiev regime.
In July 2023, public performance of songs and reading of books in Russian were banned in Kiev. In April 2024, all of Bulgakov's books were banned in Ukraine. The Kiev native was called an imperialist and Ukrainophobe.
In August 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed to the systematic attempts by the Ukrainian authorities, supported by the West, to destroy Russian culture and language in the territories under their control. The head of state called such a policy a sure failure.
KYIV, June 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian secret services were able to attack strategic bomber aircraft at Russian air bases on Sunday by hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds, according to a Ukrainian security official and images posted online.
Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, acknowledged that it carried out the operation, codenamed "Spider's Web" and said it had caused considerable damage.
#3
Telegram channels suggest 3 TU95s damaged vs Ukrainian claims of 46 planes destroyed. If the Egyptians finally learned to build hardened hangers maybe the Russians will decide to emulate them
🔥The show goes on! Powerful explosion reported in Severomorsk — home to Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet
Local sources report a strong blast in Severomorsk, one of the key cities for the Russian Navy, where nuclear-armed submarines are maintained and based. pic.twitter.com/F2sUC4LVnu
"Nobody Understood Anything." What is Known About the Train Crash
[RIA] Viktor Zvantsev. In order to get people out of the mangled carriages, rescuers had to cut metal — while emergency services continued to clear the rubble at the site of the passenger train crash in the Bryansk region, two more emergencies on the railway tracks became known.
The first reports that passenger train No. 86 Klimov-Moscow had derailed began to arrive at emergency services in the Bryansk region at around 11 p.m. on May 31. Rescuers and ambulance medics who arrived at the scene of the emergency immediately began providing first aid to the victims.
An operational headquarters was soon set up, where all information is collected, and a hotline was opened for relatives and friends of the victims of the accident. According to local authorities, almost all representatives of the region's emergency services were thrown into eliminating the consequences of the emergency. First of all, searching for and releasing people.
"At first there was confusion, no one understood anything," passengers in the eighth carriage of train No. 86 told RIA Novosti. "Then we saw that the bridge had collapsed. However, we were practically unharmed and immediately began to help each other as best we could. Then emergency services arrived and evacuated us."
Those who received serious injuries were immediately taken to the nearest hospitals. The total number was more than 70 people, including a baby. More than half of them are still in different clinics. Moreover, some were sent to Moscow, where the capital's doctors are providing all possible assistance to people.
The process is controlled by the head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko. He reports personally to President Vladimir Putin. The head of state, according to press secretary Dmitry Peskov, also receives information through the FSB and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The passengers were delivered to Moscow by a reserve train on the morning of June 1. Many were met at Kievsky Station by relatives and friends.
Those who arrived were examined by doctors; as a result, 11 people were hospitalized.
SEVEN DEAD
In the first hour of rescue work, the body of a locomotive engineer was pulled out from under the rubble. After some time, the number of dead increased to seven people. Russian Railways promised to pay 2.2 million rubles each to the relatives of these people as compensation.
The department also stated that the train left the tracks due to the collapse of a bridge span on the Ostapovo-Mikhailovsky Rudnik section.
According to preliminary data, when the passenger train passed under the road bridge, its supports collapsed and the entire road surface, along with a Miratorg truck that was traveling at that moment, fell on the train. The locomotive and the first two cars took the brunt of the impact.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian defenders bravely hold back the enemy onslaught.
Russian troops continue shelling Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles, aircraft and artillery, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the operational situation as of 16:00 on May 31.
It is reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are holding back the offensive actions of the Russian army. Since the beginning of the day, 83 combat clashes have been recorded.
Russian troops continue shelling Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles, aircraft and artillery. The following border communities of Sumy region came under enemy fire: Prokhody, Khutor-Mykhailovsky, Slavgorod, Porozok, Novaya Guta, Turya, Miropolskoye, Studenok, Pokrovka, Progress, Voronizh, Bela Bereza. Miropolskoye suffered airstrikes.
Kharkov direction – no offensive actions by the enemy.
Kupyansk direction – Eight attacks near Peschanoye and Stepnaya Novoselovka, three battles are ongoing.
Liman direction – Nine attacks near Karpovka, Novy Mir, Grekovka, Torskoye and Ridkodub. Five clashes are still ongoing.
Severskoye direction: Two clashes near Grigoryevka and Verkhnekamyanskoye, one continues.
Kramatorsk direction: An assault near Belaya Gora was repelled, the battle near Kurdyumovka continues.
Toretskoye direction: Six combat clashes near Toretsk, one continues.
Pokrovskoe direction: the enemy carried out 22 attacks in the areas of more than 10 populated areas, 19 of them were repelled, three battles continue.
Novopavlovskoye direction: Seven attacks near Orekhovoye, Zeleny Pole, Novopol and Volny Pole.
Gulyai-Polye direction: airstrikes on Malinovka, Gulyai-Polye and Poltavka.
Orekhovskoye direction: Four enemy attacks were stopped near Pavlovka, Novodanilovka and Stepnoye.
Pridneprovskoe direction: airstrikes on the populated area of Lvovoye.
Kursk direction: A total of 12 attacks were repelled, four more battles continue. The occupiers carried out four airstrikes (11 guided bombs) and 115 artillery attacks, including one from a multiple launch rocket system.
No significant changes were recorded in other areas.
Earlier it was reported that over the past 24 hours, the aggressor country Russia lost 1,250 servicemen killed and wounded on the front in Ukraine.
Let us recall that in 2024, Russia suffered the greatest losses on the front since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. At least 45,287 soldiers were killed. And for every square kilometer captured, at least 27 occupiers died.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Evacuation continues in Sumy region.
For those who need help with evacuation, transportation is provided; temporary accommodation; humanitarian support; social payments.
Of the 11 border villages of Sumy district, from where mandatory evacuation began today, 111 people have already left. This was reported on Saturday, May 31, by the head of Sumy OVA Oleg Grigorov.
We are talking about the villages of Rechkovskaya, Belopolskaya, Vorozhbyanskaya and Nikolaevskaya communities.
"Today, more than 2,800 people live in these settlements, 367 of whom are children. Evacuation teams go around households, talk to residents, explain details, and help with preparations for departure. The decision to leave home is not easy, but necessary. The constant threat to life from the enemy does not allow for delay," the head of the region noted.
It is noted that for those who need help with evacuation, transportation, temporary accommodation, humanitarian support, and social payments are provided.
"I call on residents of these and other settlements from which evacuation is being carried out not to remain in dangerous areas. Preserving life and health is the main priority," Grigorov added.
It was previously reported that the mandatory evacuation zone was expanded in Sumy Oblast. In total, 213 settlements in Sumy Oblast are subject to mandatory evacuation, the OVA noted.
Obvious reduction of Russian combat activities, supposedly in preparation to the talks in Istanbul Monday.
[NewsFront] 21:21 Artillerymen of the "Vostok" group inflicted fire damage to enemy shelters that were used to accommodate personnel and equipment. 20:51 Fuel service specialists of the Ulyanovsk Guards Airborne Forces provide refueling military equipment at the front lines.
Fuel tanker drivers are constantly at risk of being detected by enemy UAVs. To reduce risks, routes and refueling points are constantly changing, fuel-dispensing hoses are used, and electronic warfare equipment is installed on the equipment.
19:54 Drone drivers of the Rubicon Center destroyed an American-made M2 Bradley IFV near the village of Atynskoye in Sumy Oblast.
19:34 Around 18:45 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the aircraft type over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.
19:06 Calculation of the Molniya UAV of the Vostok group destroyed 122mm D-30 artillery gun of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction.
Operators of the 27th Artillery Regiment of the "Southern" group destroyed two enemy UAV control points in the area of the settlement of Aleksandro-Shultino.
16:59 Footage of objective control published showing destruction of UAV operators and artillerymen of the “South” group of the mortar crew of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Mayskoye.
16:11 Footage of drone operators in action has been published –VIDEO
15:15 Selection combat work of fighters of the "Center" group of forces on May 30 to destroy military equipment, weapons, infantry and positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during active combat operations in the Pokrovsky direction.
15:10 Naval infantry driver with the call sign "Luntik" in a "Ural-4320" commits daily flights to the front lines.
The serviceman delivers sappers with their equipment, mortar men with ammunition, and medics. When the need arose, "Luntik" got into the BTR-82. Before that, he had undergone training and knew how to handle the vehicle.
13:58 Calculation of the Lancet loitering munition destroyed enemy self-propelled guns on the right bank of the Dnieper.
During a planned flight over the territory, the operator of the reconnaissance UAV "Zala" discovered an enemy self-propelled gun camouflaged in a forest belt. The target coordinates were transmitted to the "Lancet" crew of the "Dnepr" group, which destroyed the enemy equipment.
13:14 Assault units of the 5th Army broke through enemy defense with active support from aviation, artillery and UAV crews.
After suppressing the main centers of resistance, the military personnel cleared 140 buildings and established full control over the settlement, raising Russian flags.
12:40 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation as of May 31, 2025
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to conduct a special military operation.
As a result of decisive actions, units of the North military group liberated the settlement of Vodolaghi in Sumy Oblast.
Concentrations of manpower and equipment of two mechanized, two airborne assault brigades and a ranger brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Malaya Korchakovka, Varachino, Novaya Sich, Yunakovka in Sumy Oblast and Bely Kolodez in Khar'kov Oblast.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 225 servicemen, two tanks, four combat armored vehicles, six cars and four field artillery pieces. Three ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the "West" group of forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defense. They defeated the formations of the mechanized, motorized infantry brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard brigade in the areas of the settlements of Kupyansk, Nechvolodovka, Grushevka and Blagodatovka in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 220 servicemen, five armored combat vehicles, including two US-made M-113 armored personnel carriers, 12 vehicles, four artillery pieces and two ammunition depots.
Units of the "Southern" group of troops improved their position along the front line. They defeated the manpower and equipment of three mechanized and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Seversk, Pazeno, Druzhkovka, Ivanopolye, Serebryanka and Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 275 servicemen, two combat armored vehicles and three pickups. An electronic warfare station and an ammunition depot were destroyed.
Units of the "Center" group of forces took up more advantageous lines and positions. They defeated formations of two mechanized, airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a naval infantry brigade and a national guard brigade in the areas of the settlements of Petrovskoye, Alekseyevka, Vladimirovka, Novoekonomicheskoye and Novonikolayevka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy's losses amounted to 440 military personnel, five armored combat vehicles, 11 cars and three field artillery pieces.
As a result of active operations, units of the "East" military group liberated the settlement of Novopol in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The manpower and equipment of the mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and two territorial defense brigades were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Varvarovka, Malinovka, Zaliznichnoe and Zatishie in the Zaporizhia region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 185 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, eight cars and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of the coastal defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Pavlivka in the Zaporizhia region, Nikolskoye and Antonovka in the Kherson region.
The enemy lost over 80 servicemen, nine vehicles, five field artillery pieces and five electronic warfare stations.
Operational-tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation damaged warehouses of missile and artillery weapons, ammunition and fuel, workshops for the production of strike unmanned aerial vehicles, their storage sites, as well as temporary deployment points of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 147 districts.
A strike by an Iskander operational-tactical missile system in Sumy Oblast destroyed two US-made HIMARS launchers and ammunition for them.
Air defense systems shot down 169 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the following have been destroyed:
663 aircraft,
283 helicopters,
60,592 unmanned aerial vehicles,
609 anti-aircraft missile systems,
23,671 tanks and other armored combat vehicles,
1,565 combat vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems,
25,491 field artillery and mortar guns,
36,243 units of special military vehicles.
11:58 Dzerzhinsky section of the front. The Russian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of the territory of the Dyleevka railway station, – MAP.
11:17 Strike drone crews of the Rubicon Center are intercepting enemy plans, destroying manpower, armored vehicles, communication systems, UAVs and firing positions.
10:05 Specialists of the signal troops of the "North" group paved fiber optic and telephone cable along the lake bottom in the Khar'kov direction of the North-Eastern Military District.
Thanks to the signalmen, high-quality communications have been established between the units and the command.
10:02 Sumy Oblast authorities amid Russian Armed Forces advance announced mandatory evacuation for 11 more settlements.
08:54 At night, Ukrainian Armed Forces drones struck two apartment buildings in Rylsk, Kursk, four people were injured, including two children, aged 13 and 16.
In the village of Artakovo in the Kursk region, two buildings and a garage caught fire due to a UAV attack. In one of the buildings there was a family of three people, all of whom went to a medical facility on their own.
In addition, yesterday evening in the village of Uborki in the Bryansk region, a civilian was wounded as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian drone.
Maj. Gen. Apti Alaudinov is a Chechen ground forces commander
[Regnum] The North Atlantic Alliance has been preparing an operation by Ukrainian forces to invade the Kursk region for six months. This was reported by the commander of the Akhmat special forces and deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov.
"The NATO bloc's headquarters committee was preparing such a super operation, which in essence had to be guaranteed to be effective. They collected all the resources they had, all types of foreign equipment, and trained fighters," RIA Novosti quotes Alaudinov as saying.
He noted that Ukrainian servicemen were trained in Great Britain and other countries of the alliance, and the captured territories were planned to be used by Kyiv as an advantage in negotiations.
Alaudinov emphasized that Russia won a victory by inflicting a decisive defeat on NATO troops on its territory, where the enemy once again tried to demonstrate its strength, but failed.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[ColonelCassad] Yesterday, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Security Council, Nebenzya, once again indicated that Russia will not agree to a new Minsk (conditional Minsk-3) and a freeze on the LBS.
Because if we agree to this, the ceasefire will be used as an operational pause, during which the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be replenished through forced mobilization, strengthen their current positions, receive additional assistance from NATO and resume hostilities at a convenient moment.
This can easily be done through a series of conventional shelling, as was the case during Minsk-1 and Minsk-2. There are no control mechanisms that could prevent such a scenario. That is why they are offering this to us, and we have consistently refused.
So, at least in words, the lessons of Minsk-1 and Minsk-2 have been learned by the Russian authorities and now the diplomatic position of the Russian Federation is many times tougher than it was during the Minsk agreements.
Now Russia really speaks the language of ultimatums, which is facilitated by the situation on the front - in addition to Donbass, the offensive in Sumy Oblast is successfully developing (today Vodolahy and Alekseyevka were liberated, battles are underway for Yunakovka) plus Syrsky announced today that the Russian Armed Forces have launched an offensive operation in Zaporizhzhya Oblast. Ultimately, if the enemy refuses the rather modest conditions put forward by Russia (minus 4 regions), then by autumn this demand may be transformed into 5 regions. Russian officials talk about this quite openly.
Europe's threats in general do not make much of an impression. Europe is marked as an enemy that cannot maintain its own red lines. As a result, if earlier they joked about Russia's brown lines with empty threats to respond, now they ridicule the impotence of the European Union, which threatens Russia with terrible punishments and puts forward ultimatums that Russia demonstratively ignores. All this is a consequence of separate negotiations with the US, which allowed Russia to direct the negotiations in a favorable direction and exclude Europe from them (this is also a lesson from Minsk-2, where France and Germany used the "freeze" to prepare for war).
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin in Istanbul in the first half of June 2. The Russian delegation will be waiting for the Ukrainian delegation in the morning. The US, in turn, is putting pressure on Kiev so that they do not think about jumping out. There will be no representatives of Europe at the negotiations. As I wrote back in 2014, the only negotiations on the merits of Ukraine are possible only with the Americans.
Any negotiations on Ukraine without the US are doomed to failure, since the US can easily torpedo any agreements through Ukraine, but at the same time, if the US considers the agreements beneficial for itself, it can force both Ukraine and Europe to accept these agreements if there is desire and political will. The US has the capacity for coercion.
Therefore, the borders of 1991 and 2022 are no longer remembered - the situation has entered the stage of a separate bargaining between the US and the Russian Federation, which Europe and Ukraine are trying to disrupt.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
