Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 463.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation.

Regional

Kyiv. Russia fired 10 ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine's capital last night. Air defense systems shot down all the missiles. Debris from the missiles, however, fell onto two buildings in the Desnyanskyi district, killing three people, including a nine-year-old child, and injuring 14 other persons.

Kherson. The Dnipro district of Kherson city came under Russian fire early this morning, authorities say. Missiles wounded two civilians and caused damage to several apartments and cars. The day before, a Russian attack on the village of Odradokamianka destroyed a music school.

Kharkiv region. The town of Vovchansk remains under intense Russian fire: over the past 24 hours, attacks on private homes, a library and other places have killed a 60-year-old man and wounded a woman. In Kharkiv, Russian attacks today wounded a 63-year-old woman.

National.

More than 20 embassies in Ukraine issued a joint statement today, the International Day for the Protection of Children, calling on the Russian Federation to return Ukrainian children. According to publicly available data, Russia has abducted more than 19,000 children during the invasion. The statement notes that a United Nations Commission of Inquiry found that none of the cases that it examined was justified by safety or medical reasons or met the requirements set forth by international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ombudsman for human rights recently revealed that his office has further confirmed that Belarusian authorities have assisted Moscow in forcibly transferring Ukrainian children and prisoners of war.

As of June 1, due to Russian military aggression, 484 Ukrainian children have been killed, and 992 children have been injured. Most victims among children are from the Donetsk region. 393 Ukrainian children were reported missing, and 19,505 were deported. At the same time, 13,083 Ukrainian children were found, and 371 returned home, reports press service of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Norway is committed to supplying Ukraine with $7 billion worth of military, humanitarian and civilian aid over the next five years through the Nansen Support Program for Ukraine. “In the current phase of the war, weapons support will be of critical importance in enabling Ukraine to regain control of its territory,” acting Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said. “In 2023, half of the assistance provided will be in the form of military support.”

In a recent video, the Russian Volunteer Corps announced that its members are now conducting the second stage of a military operation in Russia’s Belhorod region. Near the border town of Shebekino, the Corps is fighting regular units of the Russian army. The town’s civilian population is currently undergoing an emergency evacuation. Meanwhile, another armed group made up of Russian volunteers, the Freedom of Russia Legion, has announced a new raid into Russian territory.

On The Culture Front

American actor Misha Collins arrived in Kyiv yesterday, accompanied by former Ukrainian football player Andriy Shevchenko. Collins, best known for his role in the Supernatural series, has officially become an ambassador of the United24 initiative, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s fundraising network. The actor plans to raise funds in support of mine clearing in Ukraine. “This demining effort will save the lives of thousands of innocent Ukrainians,” Collins wrote on Twitter. “Every dollar will go to the effort with zero administrative costs. This is something you can do to really help Ukrainian families.”

In New York, Ukrainian Art Week, which started yesterday at the 17 Frost Gallery in Williamsburg, will continue through June 5th. About 30 artworks - paintings, photographs, illustrations and street art, highlighting Ukraine’s cultural heritage and artistic talent - have been brought from Ukraine by Oleksandr Prokopenko and the New Dream Foundation, with the help of Nova Poshta. Besides art tours, events include a Ukrainian food festival, art-making and music - all with the goal of raising funds for the reconstruction and restoration of damaged playgrounds in liberated territories and developing public spaces for families. The gallery also features a collage of drawings by children who survived the occupation of Yahidne in the Kyiv region in 2022, when more than 300 villagers lived for weeks in basements until Ukraine regained the territory.

By Daria Dzysiuk, Alan Sacks