after the United States and France, Germany authorizes kyiv to strike Russia on its territory

One by one, Westerners accept that Ukraine uses their weapons to strike targets in Russia. The latest to take the plunge this Friday: Germany, still very cautious recently on the subject. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky is in Sweden to ask for more weapons from his five allies in the Nordic countries. On the diplomatic side, China judges “difficult” to participate without Russia in the summit on Ukraine scheduled for June in Switzerland. Here is what you need to know this Friday, May 31 about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Berlin allows Ukraine to use German weapons against targets in Russia

Germany authorizes Ukraine to use German weapons against military targets in Russia to defend itself from attacks launched by Moscow, particularly in the Kharkiv region, Chancellor’s spokesperson Olaf Scholz announced on Friday. “Ukraine has the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against these attacks. To do this, it can also use the weapons provided for this purpose., “including those we have delivered”Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.

The day before, Joe Biden also gave the green light for Ukraine to strike targets on Russian soil, in the Kharkiv region, under certain conditions, an American official said. “The president has given his team the task of ensuring that Ukraine can use American weapons to counterattack in the Kharkiv region, so as to retaliate when Russian forces attack them or prepare to attack them », said this source. The official, who requested anonymity, added, however, that the United States continued to oppose Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory. “Our position on prohibiting the use of ATACMS or deep strikes inside Russia has not changed”he said.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron estimated that kyiv should be allowed to “neutralize” the military bases from which Russia fires its missiles against Ukrainian territory, in the midst of a debate on the use of Western weapons in Russia. “We must allow them to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are fired (…) the military sites from which Ukraine is attacked”declared the French head of state during a press conference alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Meseberg Castle, near Berlin. “If we tell them you do not have the right to reach the point from which the missiles are fired, in fact we tell them, we are giving you weapons but you cannot defend yourself”pointed out Macron, on the last day of a state visit to Germany. “But we must not allow other targets in Russia and obviously civilian capabilities to be hit”he clarified.

NATO rejects Russian threats of escalation

The NATO Secretary General dismissed Russian threats of escalation in Prague on Friday after Joe Biden authorized kyiv to attack targets in Russia to defend the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. “There’s nothing new”, “this is part of the effort” of Russian President Vladimir Putin “to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine”he declared before the start of a NATO meeting.

Jens Stoltenberg, who is pushing Western capitals to lift restrictions that “tie their hands behind the backs of Ukrainians”minimized the scope of the American decision on Friday, emphasizing that Western weapons had already been delivered without any restrictions on their use. “The United Kingdom, for example, has already been supplying Storm Shadow missiles for a long time without any restrictions”, he stressed. A position supported by several countries, including France. The Kremlin, for its part, criticized the Atlantic Alliance for launching “a new cycle of escalation”.

Volodymyr Zelensky in Sweden to demand more weapons from the Nordic countries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday that he was in Sweden to request more weapons from his five Nordic allies to face the Russian offensive. “Our main priorities are securing more air defense systems for Ukraine, joint projects in the field of defense industry and weapons for our warriors, as well as efforts at the global level to force Russia to make peace”said the president on social networks.

The Russian army says it has conquered 880 km2 since the start of the year

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Friday that his soldiers had conquered “880 km2” since the beginning of the year in Ukraine, where its army regularly claims advances without nevertheless achieving a real breakthrough at this stage. “Progress is being made in all tactical directions”assured the minister during a meeting in Almaty of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance made up of former Soviet Union countries headed by Russia.

“In total, 880 km2 of territory came under the control of the Russian army this year” in Ukraine, added Andreï Beloussov, specifying that his forces had seized “28 localities” in May. In the Kharkiv region, Russian troops forced Ukrainian soldiers to retreat “eight to nine kilometers”said Andrei Beloussov.

Russia uses North Korean ballistic missiles, Pentagon says

Russia is using North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine, says a new Pentagon report that used debris analysis to confirm long-standing accusations that Moscow is receiving weapons from Pyongyang. The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) used open source imagery to confirm that debris found in January in the Kharkiv region of northwestern Ukraine, came from a short-range ballistic missile produced in North Korea.

The DIA compared images broadcast by North Korean state media with photographs of these missile fragments discovered in Ukraine. “The analysis confirms that Russia uses ballistic missiles produced in North Korea in its war against Ukraine »indicated the American agency in a press release released Wednesday with the report in question. “North Korean missile debris found across Ukraine”according to the same source.

Moscow says it neutralized 29 Ukrainian drones in the south

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that it had neutralized 29 Ukrainian drones overnight in the Krasnodar region (south), rich in seaside resorts and a popular destination for Russians for summer vacations. “During the night, several attempts by the kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks against sites on Russian territory (…) were prevented”, the ministry said in a press release. In total, “air defense systems in the Krasnodar region destroyed or intercepted 29 drones”as well as five Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, he said.

The drone attacks notably targeted the port city of Novorossiysk and an oil depot in Temriouk where a major fire broke out before being contained a few hours later, according to local authorities. The strike in Temryuk left several employees of the oil depot injured, the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamine Kondratiev, said on Telegram. In Novorossiysk, the strike “did not cause any casualties or injuries, thanks to the lightning reaction” soldiers who have “repulsed the attack”according to the city’s mayor, Andrei Kravchenko.

Russian strikes on Kharkiv kill three

Three people were killed and 23 injured in Russian strikes in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, regional authorities announced Friday. It was a five-story building in which civilians were sleeping that was struck, in the Novobavarsky district, said the mayor of Ukraine’s second city, Igor Terekhov, affirming that other people could still be under the rubble. “The enemy once again resorted to the double strike tactic, even though doctors, rescuers and law enforcement were already there”Oleg Sinegoubov told a local newspaper, affirming that among the injured was an emergency doctor.

These are S-300 and S-400 missiles which were launched from the territory of the Belgorod region, in Russia, bordering Ukraine, according to the regional prosecutor’s office, which reports five strikes. “A rocket hit a five-story residential building, other rockets fell near this building”he clarified.

Furthermore, a massive missile attack on kyiv was launched during the night from Thursday to Friday but all were shot down, according to the military administration of the Ukrainian capital.

Beijing considers it “difficult” to participate in the summit on Ukraine without Russia

China estimated on Friday that it would be “difficult” to participate in the Summit for Peace in Ukraine scheduled for June in Switzerland if Russia is not invited. “There is a clear discrepancy between the arrangements made for the conference on the one hand and China’s demands and the general expectations of the international community on the other, which makes it difficult for China to participate”said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“China has always insisted that the International Peace Conference should be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, allow equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace plans”Mao Ning said Friday during a regular press briefing. “Otherwise, the conference will hardly be able to play a substantial role in the return of peace”she added.

But “we will continue to promote peace discussions in our own way, we will stay in communication with all parties and we will work together to achieve a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”, Mao Ning assured. China says it is officially neutral in this conflict but has never condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin on its soil several times since the start of the war.