Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 462

By William On May 31, 2023

As the war enters its 462nd day, here are the key developments.

This is the state of affairs on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

To fight

The Russian government accused Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” on the city of Moscow after at least eight attack drones were shot down over the capital. Kiev denied involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attack was aimed at “civilian targets” with the aim of scaring Russians.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow “reserves the right to take the harshest measures possible” following the drone strike.
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin unleashed another diatribe against the Russian elite, blaming the drone attack on senior military officials who lived in the exclusive Moscow suburb of Rublyovka.

An investigator checks a building after it was hit by a suspected Ukrainian drone [AP Photo]

Russia launched a wave of air strikes on Kiev, killing at least one civilian and forcing the evacuation of a high-rise apartment building after the building caught fire.
Belgorod regional governor said one person was killed and two others injured after an alleged Ukrainian attack on a center for displaced persons in the Russian border area.
The Russian Interior Ministry has placed Ukraine’s top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, on a “wanted list”, the Russian news agency RIA reported.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Organization, asked Ukraine and Russia to respect five core principles to protect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s leading opposition party, says it has taken legal action to force the government to arrest Putin if he attends the BRICS summit in August. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March over allegations that Russia has unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will be “duly represented” at the summit, expecting its BRICS partners to “not be guided” by “illegitimate decisions” such as the ICC order.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna discussed the July NATO summit and “agreed that we need to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure that NATO adapts to an increasingly contentious and unstable security environment”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Turkey to approve Sweden’s entry into NATO, saying “the time is now”.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow is monitoring the supply of equipment and weapons to Ukraine and will attack the supply routes if they are discovered.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) defense package during a phone call between the two leaders.