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Western weapons pledges pile up on 2 June 2022
Summary
A look back at a day when new pledges of rocket systems and missiles from London and Stockholm followed Washington's decision, while fighting continued in Sievierodonetsk and Kherson Oblast.
What did the West's arms pipeline look like on 2 June 2022? It was filling quickly, with fresh commitments arriving in rapid succession as the battle for Sievierodonetsk continued.
London and Stockholm add to the list
On 2 June 2022 the United Kingdom announced that it would send M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to Ukraine. The announcement followed a statement the day before, 1 June 2022, from the British defence minister, Ben Wallace, who said the UK had agreed to send more of the systems and to train Ukrainian troops to use them.
Sweden also announced further military aid on 2 June 2022. The package included anti-ship missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and rifles for the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
The decisions that came first
The pledges followed a busy 1 June 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to provide Ukraine with long-range rocket artillery systems, after Ukraine reportedly gave assurances that it would not use them to strike Russian cities. The systems were part of a new $700 million package that also included ammunition, counter-fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars and additional Javelin anti-tank missiles.
On the same day Germany said it would send the IRIS-T air defence missile system, following a Ukrainian request for heavy weapons.
Russia responded on 1 June 2022. It said the U.S. decision could widen the conflict and risked direct confrontation with Russia, and accused Washington of purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire.
Fighting on the ground
The front line told a different story in different places. Ukrainian officials said on 2 June 2022 that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had recaptured 20 settlements in Kherson Oblast.
In the east, the fighting for Sievierodonetsk was still under way. On 31 May 2022 Ukraine said Russian forces had taken control of most of the city after a full-scale assault, and the Luhansk governor, Serhiy Haidai, said 60% of structures had been destroyed. On 1 June 2022 he was reported as saying Russian forces controlled 80% of the territory, although fighting for control continued.
Elsewhere, three civilians were killed on 1 June 2022 when Russian forces shelled the Sviatohirsk Lavra monastery. Russian cruise missiles also struck a railway station near the Beskyd tunnel in the Carpathians for the second time, wounding two people. An adviser to the interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, said the strike was intended to halt rail traffic and stop deliveries of fuel and weapons from Ukraine's allies.
A wider squeeze on Russia
On 1 June 2022 Taiwan also imposed an export ban on all modern computer chips to Russia and Belarus, together with technology and equipment used to manufacture them.
Taken together, the reports from 1 and 2 June 2022 show allied governments announcing weapons and training while Russia warned of escalation and Ukrainian officials reported both losses in the east and gains in the south.
