Russia said on Friday that it had exchanged 75 prisoners of war from each side with Ukraine.
Follow the latest information live.
Follow the full coverage
War in Ukraine: attacks in Russia are increasing
AMERICAN WEAPONS
The Kremlin claimed that American weapons were already being used by Ukraine to target Russian soil, the day after the American green light on the use of Western weapons by kyiv against targets in Russia, under certain conditions. “We know (…) that American-made weapons are already being used to try to strike Russian territory,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This testifies quite eloquently to the degree of involvement of the United States in this conflict” in Ukraine, he added.
EXCHANGES OF PRISONERS OF WAR
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had exchanged 75 prisoners of war from each side with Ukraine, one of the last areas where the two countries have cooperated since the start of the conflict in February 2022. “Following a negotiation process, 75 Russian servicemen who were in danger of death in captivity were repatriated from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In exchange, 75 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian army were handed over,” the ministry said in. a statement.
ZELENSKY TALKS OF FUTURE RUSSIAN “PROVOCATIONS”
Russia is “preparing provocations” on the borders of the Baltic region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday during a summit of the Nordic countries in Sweden. “It is also obvious that Russia is preparing provocations in the Baltic region against the borders,” he said, a week after Estonia announced that the Russian coast guard had removed buoys placed on the Narva River which separates the two countries.
kyiv WILL BE ABLE TO USE GERMAN WEAPONS IN RUSSIA
Berlin authorizes Ukraine to use German weapons against military targets in Russia, announces Chancellor’s spokesperson Olaf Scholz, who notably mentions the attacks launched by Moscow in the Kharkiv region. “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 that we have delivered,” Steffen said Hebestreit in a press release.
ZELENSKY IN SWEDEN TO REQUEST WEAPONS
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 global efforts to force Russia to make peace,” the head of state said on social media.
ZELENSKY WANTS MORE “POWERFUL” WEAPONS
Questioned by the British newspaper The Guardian, Volodymyr Zelensky calls on the Americans to “believe more in themselves” and to provide them with more “powerful” weapons. He believes that the American position influences other Western allies. “Believe us, we have to react. They don’t understand anything other than force. We are not the first nor the last target”he said of Russia.
“I think it is absolutely illogical to have (Western) weapons and to see the murderers, the terrorists, who are killing us on the Russian side. I think they sometimes make fun of this situation,” he said. he adds. “It’s like we’re looking for them. Hunting people. They understand that we can see them, but we can’t reach them,” he said.
MOSCOW PRAISES ITS “PROGRESS” ON THE GROUND
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Friday that his soldiers had conquered “880 km2” since the start of the year in Ukraine. “Progress is being made in all tactical directions,” he said. The Ukrainian army, lacking ammunition and men, has been struggling for several months, with Russia having launched a new offensive at the beginning of May on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
BEIJING TAKES ITS DISTANCES
China said on Friday that it would be “difficult”, under current conditions, to participate in the Ukraine Peace Summit scheduled for June in Switzerland. “There is an obvious mismatch 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,” Mao said. Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
AMERICAN WEAPONS: NATO DELAYS
NATO Secretary General dismissed Russian threats of escalation after the US decision to authorize Ukraine to strike Russia with its weapons. “There is nothing new (…) This is part of President (Russian Vladimir) Putin’s efforts to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine,” declared Jens Stoltenberg, before the start of a NATO meeting in Prague on Friday.
AMERICAN WEAPONS
Joe Biden, who has refused to do so until now, has given the green light for Ukraine to strike targets on Russian soil, in the Kharkiv region, under certain conditions, an American official said yesterday. “The president has tasked his team to ensure 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.
NORTH KOREAN MISSILES
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.
THREE DEAD
Three people were killed and 23 injured in Russian strikes in Kharkiv (north-east), regional authorities announced this morning after Joe Biden authorized kyiv, according to an American official, to strike targets on Russian soil to defend this city. 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, while doctors, rescuers and law enforcement were already there,” Oleg Sinegoubov told a local newspaper, asserting that among the injured there is an emergency doctor.
Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine. Find the latest information here.
The German Defense Minister promised this Thursday a new package of military aid worth 500 million euros to Ukraine, in difficulty on the battlefield against the troops of the Russian invader, indicated a spokesperson for the ministry to AFP. The announcement was made by Boris Pistorius during an unannounced visit to Odessa, a port city in southern Ukraine, where he met with his counterpart Roustem Umerov, the spokesperson added.
The package includes deliveries in “artillery, air defense, drones, and protection (…)“, he added.
-
Read also
Ukraine: Joe Biden (finally) authorizes kyiv to strike targets in Russia to defend Kharkiv
According to statements by Boris Pistorius reported by German media, this package of weapons, some of which are ready for delivery, includes a large number of missiles for medium-range Iris-T SLM air defense systems. Also included are drones for reconnaissance and combat in the Black Sea as well as spare parts.
After the Russian invasion in February 2022, Germany abandoned its traditionally pacifist stance to become the second largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in absolute terms, behind the United States. Berlin supplied a wide range of weaponry, from artillery to armored fighting vehicles.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has, however, been criticized in recent months for refusing to authorize the supply of long-range Taurus missiles, with Germany saying it fears the missiles could be used to hit targets inside Russia. The debate on the use or not on Russian territory of some of the weapons supplied to kyiv by the West, in this case long-range missiles, is now agitating the capitals of the Alliance countries.