Who led Donetsk's Russian-backed administration on 9 June 2022?
A look back at a day when the occupation-backed leadership in Donetsk changed hands, as Ukraine's leaders projected resolve after 100 days of war.
Who was running the Russian-backed administration in Donetsk on 9 June 2022? The answer had changed the day before. On 8 June 2022, Vitaliy Khotsenko was sworn in as prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, following the dismissal of Alexander Ananchenko.
A change of leadership in Donetsk
The swearing-in was the most recent political development in the days leading up to 9 June. It replaced the head of the self-proclaimed government at a time when the war, in its fourth month, was being fought hard along the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Kyiv's message after 100 days
The political tone from Kyiv in the preceding days was one of determination. On 3 June, the 100th day of the war, President Zelensky appeared in a sombre but resolute video address together with Prime Minister Shmyhal and his adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. Zelensky said Ukraine had been defending its country for 100 days and that victory would be Ukraine's.
On 4 June, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov spoke at the GLOBSEC-2022 forum in Bratislava. He said it was hard to predict when the war would end, but that his optimistic forecast was that it could end by the end of the year.
On 5 June, Zelensky visited troops on the front line on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, including in Lysychansk and Soledar, as he said in his evening address. He said he was proud of everyone he had met, whose hands he had shaken and whom he had supported.
Fighting and the grain question
The military picture remained contested. Also on 5 June, Russian forces attacked Bila Krynytsia, which Ukrainian forces had recently retaken. Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the military administration, reported that Russian units had returned to positions they had previously held.
The war's wider effects were also on the diplomatic agenda. On 3 June, according to the Kremlin, Russian President Putin and Senegal's president Macky Sall discussed the food and grain crisis, which was caused by Russia's blockade of Ukrainian grain, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation, at a meeting in Sochi.
Taken together, these reports show 9 June 2022 as a point between a reshuffle in occupied Donetsk, a public message of resolve from Ukraine's leadership, and continuing fighting in the east.
