President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has marked 100 days since Russia's unprovoked invasion by vowing victory even as Moscow tightens its grip on the Donbas with the aid of fierce bombardment that has turned much of the region to rubble.
The Kremlin said Russian troops “liberated” many areas in Ukraine from the Ukrainian military, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov claiming on June 3 that “this work will continue until all the goals of the special military operation are achieved.”
But Zelenskiy, in a brief but defiant video message, said Ukrainians have been successfully defending their country for 100 days against Russian aggression and will continue to do so.
"The armed forces of Ukraine are also here...the people of our nation are here. We're defending Ukraine for 100 days already. Victory shall be ours," Zelenskiy said.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Live Briefing: Russian Missile Strikes On KyivThe video highlighted Ukrainian unity, with Zelenskiy flanked by some of his closest allies as they stood in front of the Ukrainian presidential office. Zelenskiy and his team appeared in a similar video in the same location on February 25 -- a day after Russia launched its invasion.
Back then, Zelenskiy had just declined offers by the West to be evacuated from Kyiv, saying, "I need ammunition, not a ride."
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have managed to stave off Russia's furious offensive in the key eastern city of Syevyerodonetsk, Zelenskiy said in a message late on June 2.
"We have some success in the battles in Syevyerodonetsk,” Zelenskiy said, adding, “But it's too early to tell.” He said that overall, the situation remains "very difficult."
Britain's Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin on June 3 that compared to Russia’s original plan, none of Moscow's strategic objectives have been reached.
"Russian forces failed to achieve their initial objectives to seize Kyiv and Ukrainian centers of government," the British intelligence bulletin said. "Staunch Ukrainian resistance and the failure to secure Hostomel airfield [near Kyiv] in the first 24 hours led to Russian offensive operations being repulsed."
In Photos: 100 Days Of War In Ukraine
House-to-house fighting continued in Syevyrodonetsk, which officials have said is controlled 80 percent by Russian forces, as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold off Russian troops while they await the arrival of the advanced weapons that Washington has pledged.
Ukrainian troops said on June 3 that they made significant progress during an offensive against Russian positions in the occupied southern region of Kherson. The Territorial Defense AZOV Dnipro unit said its forces liberated 8 kilometers of “occupied territory.”
British intelligence estimated in its bulletin that Russia now controls more than 90 percent of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine and is likely to complete control of the region in the next two weeks.
But the bulletin cautioned that Russia's recent tactical successes have come at significant cost in terms of resources and that trend will likely continue.
"In order for Russia to achieve any form of success will require continued huge investment of manpower and equipment, and is likely to take considerable further time," the British intelligence concluded.
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Time-Lapse: Russian Advances In Ukraine
In Washington, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the conflict has become “a war of attrition."
“Wars are by nature unpredictable and therefore we just have to be prepared for the long haul," Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House.
In Moscow, African Union head Macky Sall on June 3 urged President Vladimir Putin to take into account the suffering in African countries from food shortages caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Putin hosted Sall, who is the president of Senegal and currently chairs the African Union, at his Black Sea residence in Sochi, with global food shortages and grain supplies stuck in Ukrainian ports high on the agenda.
Sall asked Putin to "become aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theater (of action), are victims on an economic level" of the conflict.
Putin did not mention grain supplies but said Russia was "always on Africa's side" and was now keen to ramp up cooperation.
Putin has said Moscow is ready to look for ways to ship grain blocked in Ukrainian ports but has demanded the West lift sanctions.
Cereal prices in Africa, the world's poorest continent, have spiked because of the slump in exports from Ukraine.