What did 100 days of war look like on 3 June 2022?
A look back at the 100th day of Russia's invasion, when Kyiv's pledge of victory met humanitarian warnings and a widening flow of Western weapons.
What did a hundred days of full-scale war amount to? On 3 June 2022, the 100th day of Russia's invasion, the answer came from several directions at once: Ukraine's leadership, humanitarian officials, foreign capitals and the front line itself.
A message of resolve
President Zelensky, together with Prime Minister Shmyhal and his adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, marked the day with a sombre but determined video address. The president said Ukraine had been defending its country for 100 days and that victory would be Ukraine's. The message was one of continuity: the same commitment, restated at a symbolic milestone.
The human toll
The Red Cross offered a starker measure. It said the scale of destruction after only 100 days was beyond comprehension. Robert Mardini, Director-General of the ICRC, noted that a third of the population had been forced to flee in that short period.
The danger was also visible in the east. On 3 June, two Reuters journalists were injured and their driver was killed when their vehicle was attacked on the way to Sievierodonetsk; the perpetrators were not identified. Fighting for the city continued, and Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, was reported as saying that Russian forces already controlled 80% of its territory. Earlier, on 1 June, three civilians had been killed when Russian forces shelled the Sviatohirsk Lavra monastery.
Weapons and warnings
The days before the milestone were marked by decisions on military aid. On 1 June, Germany said it would send the IRIS-T air defence missile system following a Ukrainian request for heavy weapons. The same day, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the United Kingdom had agreed to send more M270 multiple launch rocket systems and to train Ukrainian troops to use them; on 2 June the UK announced it would send them. Sweden announced additional aid, including anti-ship missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and rifles.
Moscow's response was already on record. On 1 June, Russia said the US decision to supply advanced long-range rocket systems and munitions could widen the conflict and risked direct confrontation, accusing Washington of adding fuel to the fire.
Fronts and food
Not all the news came from the east. On 2 June, Ukrainian officials said the Armed Forces had recaptured 20 settlements in Kherson Oblast.
The war's reach also extended beyond the battlefield. In Sochi on 3 June, according to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin and Senegal's president, Macky Sall, discussed the food and grain crisis, which stemmed from Russia's blockade of Ukrainian grain, alongside economic and humanitarian cooperation.
Taken together, the reporting of 3 June 2022 showed a war at a turning point in its scale: heavy human cost, contested ground in Donbas, deepening foreign military support and global consequences for food supplies.
