On Wednesday, June 1, the US placed At least three U.S. warships in the Baltic Sea, two weeks ahead of international drills in the region, according to U.S. 6th Fleet. The ships include the, big deck amphibious warship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), amphib USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44), guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) and command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) which have been operating in the Baltic Sea ahead of the BALTOPS 22 exercise series. The exercise will include “amphibious operations, gunnery, anti-submarine, and air defense exercises, as well as mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, unmanned underwater vehicles, and medical response" according to a NATO release.
On Thursday, June 2, the US announced the decision to send Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Staying in line with President Biden's pledge not to send weapons Ukraine could use to strike targets hundreds of kilometers away inside Russia. Longer range systems such as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) would not be apart of the arms shipments. Biden said giving Ukraine weapons capable of striking Russia could escalate the conflict and potentially drag NATO into the war.
Also on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany will provide Ukraine with the German-made IRIS-T air defense missile system. The IRIS-T SLM air defense system is designed to engage and destroy a wide range of aerial threats including modern fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, and tactical attack missiles as well as short-range ballistic missiles. Even helicopters and aircraft featuring small radar cross-sections and extreme maneuverability can be hit directly. At the end of April 2022, Germany had promised to boost its aid to Ukraine with an increase of military support for foreign countries to €2 billion, of which a large share will go to Ukraine to help it purchase weapons, said the German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
On Sunday, June 5, A barrage of Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital hitting unspecified “infrastructure” targets, according to Kyiv’s mayor. No one was reported killed, except for one person hospitalized with injuries. But the attack shattered a sense of calm in Kyiv, which hadn’t seen similar strikes since the April 28 visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Elsewhere, Russian forces continued their push to take ground in eastern Ukraine, with missile and airstrikes carried out on cities and villages of the Luhansk region, with the war now past the 100-day mark.
Also on Sunday, North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) into the waters off its east coast in a move that Japan has called "unprecedented." They were launched from four sites in North Korea: The Sunan area in the capital Pyongyang, Kaechon in South Pyongan province, Tongchang-ri in North Pyongan province and Hamhung in South Hamgyong province.
On Monday, June 6, South Korea and the United States responded to North Korea's launch of eight missiles Sunday by firing eight more missiles into waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula. Seven were fired by South Korea and one by the US, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, which said they demonstrated that "even if North Korea provokes with missiles from multiple locations, (South Korea and the US have) the ability and readiness to immediately strike with precision." The missile exchange comes as North Korea intensifies its provocations in the region, amid heightened concerns that Pyongyang is preparing a nuclear test.
