Russian forces are closing in on the eastern city of Severodonetsk, with a regional military administration official saying troops have now taken control of most of the city.
US President Joe Biden said the United States is providing Ukraine “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on. The new systems will enable Ukraine to hit targets 50 miles away — its greatest range yet, US administration officials say.
Villagers north of Kyiv say they're still finding bodies more than a month after Russian troops left
From CNN's Elise Hammond
(CNN)
More than a month after Russian soldiers were pushed from the area, people in villages north of Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv say they are still finding their neighbors buried in shallow graves.
“Sometimes, I have nightmares and can’t sleep at night,” village resident Serhiy Yudenko told CNN’s Matthew Chance. “And I pray they won’t ever come back.”
Yudenko said he was shot by Russian troops and left for dead. He now has scars from the bullets but says the emotional scars run deeper.
Officials say more than 300 people are still missing from that region.
Yevhen Yenin, Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, said he thinks of the families every time they find a new body.
“You cannot imagine the eyes of mothers whose children they lost. You cannot imagine the eyes of relatives whose beloved have been captured or have been killed on the front line,” Yenin said, standing next to a grave.
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Russian cruise missiles strike railway in western Ukraine, Ukrainian officials say
From CNN's Tim Lister and Kostan Nechyporenko
Russian missiles have hit a railway in western Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes occurred close to the Beskyd tunnel in the Carpathian mountains — not far from the border with Slovakia.
It’s the second time the route has been targeted by Russian cruise missiles.
Maksym Kozytskyi, the head of the Lviv region military administration, said two people had been injured.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister said the goal of the strikes was to “disrupt rail traffic and stop the supply of fuel and weapons from our allies.”
“We are checking out the level of infrastructure damage. There are no victims among the railway workers. Three passenger trains are delayed. They are in safe places, and passengers are safe,” Oleksandr Kamyshin, CEO of state-owned Ukrainian Railways, said.
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19 EU nations are speeding up their renewables transition
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová
The sun rises between wind turbines and high voltage power lines in the Hannover region of Germany on March 8.
(Julian Stratenschulte/picture-alliance/dpa/AP)
Despite concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine might mean a return to more fossil fuels, most countries in the European Union are laying out more ambitious plans to boost renewables.
Nineteen of the EU’s 27 member states have announced more ambitious medium-term plans in response to the war and soaring fossil fuel prices, according to a new report from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, an independent research group based in Finland, and Ember, a UK energy think tank.
The report, published Thursday, said that compared to their plans in 2019, EU countries have slashed the total amount of power they are aiming to source from fossil fuels by 2030 by almost a third.
Instead of sourcing 55% of electricity from renewables, as previously planned, EU countries are now aiming to achieve a 63% share by 2030, the report said. As of January 2022, the EU was sourcing 22% of its energy from renewables.
The report said that Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark are on a path to source almost all of their electricity from renewables by 2030.
Germany, the largest importer of oil and gas from Russia, is now planning to source 80% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, up from 62% it has previously announced. Italy, Ireland and Greece are all coming for up to a 70% share of renewables in electricity production, the report added.
The EU has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, and become carbon neutral by 2050. Being carbon neutral means emissions are dramatically reduced and any that remain are offset, whether using natural methods like tree planting or technology to “capture” emissions.
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, the three countries with the lowest planned shared of renewables, have not updated their plans since 2019, the report said.
The report comes just days after Hungary negotiated an exemption from the EU’s ban on Russian oil imports. The oil embargo, which is a part of a new EU sanction package against Russia over its war on Ukraine, includes around 90% of Russian oil imports, but not the roughly 10% that flows to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline.
Poland has agreed to the embargo and will stop importing Russian oil, but it is still planning to source 67% of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2030, because of its large reliance on coal.
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UK will give Ukraine rocket systems capable of hitting targets about 50 miles away, defense secretary says
From CNN’s Oren Liebermann and Arnaud Siad
An M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System of the Finnish military is tested during exercises near Rovaniemi, Finland on May 23.
(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The United Kingdom will send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.
Britain will send M270 launchers able to strike targets up to 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) away, offering “a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” according to a statement from the British Foreign Office.
The move has been “coordinated closely” with the United States decision to provide Ukraine with its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) – a variant of the multiple-launch rocket systems that will be gifted by the UK, the statement added.
“The UK stands with Ukraine and has taken a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country,” Wallace said.
“As Russian’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine. These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against Russia’s brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities,” he added.
The British government also said that Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so the effectiveness of the launchers can be maximized.
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Biden will meet NATO secretary general at the White House on Thursday
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg answers a reporter's question on Wednesday, June 1, during a news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the State Department in Washington, DC.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
US President Joe Biden will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Thursday as the alliance considers the next steps of the war in Ukraine.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would join a meeting between Stoltenberg and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in part to discuss NATO’s next meeting in Spain.
They will “discuss preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid and the strength of the transatlantic alliance,” Jean-Pierre said. The Madrid summit is scheduled for the very end of June.
Biden has endorsed applications by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
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NATO doesn't foresee Russia retaliating against US decision to send Ukraine advanced weapons, chief says
From CNN’s Arnaud Siad
NATO does not foresee any Russian retaliation to the decision by the United States to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN on Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on.
Writing in a New York Times op-ed, Biden said the US goal is “to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.”
He said the new shipment of arms would “enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg held a news conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, on Wednesday and is set to meet with Biden at the White House on Thursday.
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Ukraine is now one win away from men's FIFA World Cup after emotional 3-1 victory over Scotland
From CNN’s Matt Foster
Ukraine fans celebrate after Andriy Yarmolenko of Ukraine scored their first goal during the FIFA World Cup playoff semifinal against Scotland at Hampden Park on June 1.
(Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Ukraine beat Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, in the World Cup playoff semifinal on Wednesday. The result leaves them one win away from officially qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Ukraine enjoyed the better of the first half, creating good chances and forcing Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon into action on multiple occasions in the opening 20 minutes. The visitors made that pressure tell after West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko expertly controlled a pass from Ruslan Malinovskyi and chipped Gordon to score in the 33rd minute.
Ukraine's Andriy Yarmolenko scores the first goal against Scotland.
(Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters)
Ukraine’s aggressive play was rewarded once again within five minutes of the second half starting, as striker Roman Yaremchuk doubled their lead with a cushioned header and provoked wild scenes of celebration amongst the supporters.
Ukraine's Roman Yaremchuk celebrates after scoring their second goal with fans.
(Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters)
Scotland worked hard to get back into the game, with manager Steve Clarke making a number of substitutions to try and inspire a comeback. That intent paid off when Callum McGregor’s bouncing shot crept over the goal line to set up a nail-biting final 10 minutes.
However, Ukraine sealed the result with a third goal of Artem Dovbyk in the closing moments to end Scotland’s hopes of reaching the tournament in Qatar.
The Ukraine team took to the field before the start of the match with every player draped in their country’s flag. Fans in the stadium, some of them refugees, could be seen holding signs reading “Stop War” as the team and supporters alike passionately sang the national anthem.
The Ukraine team lines up prior to the FIFA World Cup playoff semifinal match at Hampden Park on June 1.
(Malcolm Mackenzie/PA Images/Getty Images)
The last competitive match played by Oleksandr Petrakov’s team was a 2-0 win away against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Nov. 16, 2021. The match was originally due to take place on March 24, but was postponed in the wake in of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine now face Wales in Cardiff on June 5 to determine which team will compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to begin on Nov. 21 and run through Dec. 18 in Qatar.
Ukraine players celebrate with fans after their win against Scotland at Hampden Park on June 1.
(Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
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Ukrainian official says about 80% of Severodonetsk is occupied by Russian forces
From CNN's Tim Lister and Kostan Nechyporenko
Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk’s regional military administration, says street fighting continues in the eastern city of Severodonetsk but Russian forces now occupy about 80% of the city.
“On some streets, our defenders are successful,” Hayday said. Six Russian soldiers have been captured, he said.
Hayday said the remaining parts of Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control were under constant shelling but local volunteers had gotten trucks with humanitarian cargoes to many settlements and also evacuated people.
The Ukrainian official said the neighboring city of Lysychansk “is under Ukrainian control. This is a militarily advantageous position. The location of the city on a hill gives many opportunities. The city’s defense is strong.”
Hayday said that heavy fighting continued in settlements to the south and west of Severodonetsk as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian defenses.
“Despite the simply constant, daily shelling, it is still possible to bring humanitarian supplies both to the Hirske community and to Lysychansk,” Hayday said.
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It's late Wednesday night in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
From CNN Staff
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during a live-fire training mission in Florida on May 10.
(Senior Airman Joseph P. LeVeille/U.S. Air Force)
As he previewed in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced today a new package of aid to Ukraine.
He continued, “This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances. We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom.”
Senior administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the US will send Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the United States’ 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.
The officials said the systems that the US is sending Ukraine will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 49 miles. That is far less than the systems’ maximum range but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.
Today also marked Children’s Day in Ukraine. More than 240 children have died in the war, Ukrainian officials say.
Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine war:
Ukrainians say Russians control eastern districts of Severodonetsk but have been repelled elsewhere: According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces have tried without success to advance on several fronts Wednesday but have met resistance and fallen back. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the Russians “continue to storm Severodonetsk and establish control over the city’s eastern part.” Ukrainian forces still appear to control western sections of the city. Social media video showed Russian soldiers around the city’s Square of Peace, which is in the northern part of the city. Several bodies, apparently of civilians, could be seen lying in the square. Earlier Wednesday, Serhiy Hayday, the head of the regional military administration, said that some Ukrainian units had fallen back to more defensible positions but others remained in the city. Russian artillery was used against Ukrainian defenses in the towns of Ridne and Sviatohirsk, which is north of Sloviansk, the military said. Russian troops had tried to take two villages in the area but withdrew.
Russian foreign minister says Ukraine’s demand for US advanced rockets is a “direct provocation”: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Ukraine’s demands to the West regarding the supply of advanced rocket launchers go beyond “all limits and decency” and is a “direct provocation.” He continued: “Such risks [of involving third countries in the Ukrainian conflict], of course, exist, what the Kyiv regime demands so categorically, in a business-like way, I would say, from its Western patrons, firstly, goes beyond all the limits of decency and diplomatic communication, and secondly, this is a direct provocation aimed at drawing the West into hostilities. Of course, sane Western politicians understand these risks. Not all.”
Ukraine says it won’t use US weapons to strike in Russia: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine has assured the US that they will not use weapons systems provided by the US “against targets on Russian territory.” Appearing at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Blinken said, “There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners.” Blinken also said that regarding concerns about Russia interpreting the US sending these new weapon systems to Ukraine as escalatory, that President Biden had been clear with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the consequences of the Russian invasion, including sending security assistance to Ukraine.`
Ukraine defense ministry reports a “very difficult” situation in Severodonetsk: The Ukrainian Defense Ministry says fighting continues in the city of Severodonetsk, where Russian forces and their allies are edging forwards. “The enemy reached central Severodonetsk and is trying to establish positions. The situation is very difficult,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said at a briefing Wednesday. “I don’t want to estimate or give any percentage ratios of what we control and don’t control,” Motuzyanyk added. “We know the enemy’s goals and we are doing everything to stop them from achieving them.” One officer involved in the defense of Severodonetsk has spoken more optimistically about the situation.
Russian officials talk up integration of occupied Ukrainian areas into Russian Federation: More Russian officials have been talking about integrating Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine into the Russian Federation. Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti quotes Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council, as saying that referendums may be held this year in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russian forces occupy much of Kherson, where fighting is continuing, and a part of Zaporizhzhia region. “I think that all the territories controlled by Russia have a very good chance of being reunited with the Russian Federation. These are originally Russian territories, ” Tsekov said. Kherson was annexed by Tsarist Russia in the late 18th century but has been part of Ukraine since independence in 1991.
Ukrainian military: At least 7 killed and 16 injured by Russian attacks in last 24 hours: At least seven people have been killed and 16 others injured in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday. In eastern Ukraine, where the heaviest fighting is taking place, four people were killed and at least 10 others injured after Russian troops targeted air strikes, missiles and artillery shelling on several cities including Severodonetsk and Sloviansk, a statement from Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said. In Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian troops shelled 21 areas on Tuesday, and destroyed 46 “civil objects,” the statement said.
It’s now over 30% higher to fill up your gas tank in the US than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine: Pump prices just took another big step in the wrong direction. The US national average for regular gasoline climbed by five cents on Wednesday to a fresh record of $4.67 a gallon, according to AAA. That leaves gas prices up by 48 cents in the past month alone. It is now 32% higher to fill up your tank than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine. Seven states now average $5 or higher, with Illinois becoming the latest to join that unpopular club, according to AAA. New York and Arizona are just pennies away from the $5 threshold. The average in California now stands at $6.19 a gallon. No states have an average of $4.15 or lower, with George coming in at the lowest with $4.16.
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US and allies are looking for solutions to free up millions of tons of grain stuck in Ukraine
By CNN's Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, Alex Marquardt and Jeremy Herb
The Biden administration is working to get temporary storage containers for Ukrainian grain into the country, a stopgap measure as it seeks to mitigate a growing food crisis caused by Russia’s months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports, administration officials told CNN.
These storage containers – such as bags or boxes – could help salvage some of the more than 20 million tons of grain that are currently stuck inside Ukraine. They could also help Ukraine load the grain onto trains or trucks out of the country once overland routes are established, a senior administration official explained.
Still, as these efforts are underway the US and its international partners are no closer to finding a quick and absolute solution to lifting the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports that’s raised global food prices and threatened to cause a catastrophic food shortage in parts of the world.
The work that the US is doing to open up overland routes for the grain to get into neighboring countries, get containers into the country, and implement long-term changes meant to drive down global reliance on Ukrainian grain could collectively have an impact on the crisis. But many view the efforts as marginal fixes to a much larger problem that can’t be completely resolved until Russia eases its blockade, particularly of Ukraine’s biggest port in Odesa, which has been surrounded by Russian warships for months.
“If Russians don’t allow it, we need to, as a global community, we need to find a solution how to do it without Russian agreement,” Landsbergis said.
UN and Turkish officials are preparing for separate rounds of diplomatic talks with Moscow coalescing around a new plan to try to open up sea routes for Ukrainian grains, sources say.
Meanwhile, millions of tons of grain remain stuck in Ukraine, stored in silos and at the port in Odesa, leading to a dramatic spike in global food prices that’s likely to worsen as the war continues. Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the State Department, and the UN’s program to fight food insecurity buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year.
As CNN reported last week, Russia also appears to be ramping up its efforts to steal large quantities of Ukrainian grain.
The US is mindful of escalation risk in providing Ukraine with weapons systems, top defense official says
From CNN's Barbara Starr and Ellie Kaufman
The US is “mindful of the escalation risk in everything we’re doing associated with” the conflict in Ukraine, including the latest decision to provide Ukraine with four HIMARS systems, but ultimately “Russia doesn’t get a veto over what” the US sends to Ukrainians, Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Dr. Colin Khal told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave US President Joe Biden assurances Ukraine would not escalate the conflict if the US did provide HIMARS systems to Ukraine, Kahl added.
“The assurances have been given at multiple levels of Ukrainian government. Secretary Austin has raised these issues with Minister Reznikov in their numerous calls. They’re talking to each other once or twice a week, that has been true since the beginning of the conflict, but this particular assurance goes all the way to the top of the Ukrainian government to include President Zelensky,” Kahl said.
The United States decided to send Ukraine four HIMARS systems, or high mobility artillery rocket systems, with about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) range instead of a target with a longer range as Ukrainians had requested, Kahl told reporters at a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday.
“As we looked at the targets that they were looking to be able to go after on Ukrainian territory and have some additional standoff, we thought the HIMARS with the GMLRS rounds — these guided long-range rounds with about 70km range could service any target that they needed precisely — so we settled on the HIMARS with the GMLRS round as the appropriate round at this time,” Kahl said.
Ukraine had sought longer range weapons, but the US clearly had resisted due to concerns Ukraine would strike inside Russia thereby potentially escalating the war.
The US agreed to provide Ukraine with these weapons as long as Ukraine assured the US they would not target locations inside Russian territory with the US weapons systems.
“We don’t assess that they need systems that range out hundreds and hundreds of kilometers for the current fight, and so that’s how we settled on it,” Kahl added.
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US secretary of state announces new $700 million drawdown of military assistance for Ukraine
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler, Ellie Kaufman and Michael Conte
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, attend a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 1.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced a $700 million drawdown in arms and equipment to Ukraine.
This drawdown, the 11th, is part of the $40 billion supplemental appropriations.
“The Kremlin has succeeded only in devastating communities, brutalizing civilians, disrupting Ukraine’s agriculture, and threatening global food security by blocking Ukrainian ports. The will of Ukraine’s courageous forces to defend their country is admirable, and Ukraine has shown it will never be subjugated to Russia,” Blinken added.
Blinken ended his statement by vowing that the US and its allies “will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The latest package of security assistance for Ukraine from the Biden administration includes HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, as well as 1,000 more Javelin missiles and launch pads for those missiles, according to the Department of Defense states.
These weapons will give Ukraine “critical capabilities to help Ukrainians repel the Russians,” Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Colin Kahl said at a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday.
The Defense Department also announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Tuesday “to discuss Ukraine’s military requirements.”
“Secretary Austin highlighted the success of the Ukraine Contact Group held on May 23 and noted the unity of the international community in supporting Ukraine as it repels the Russian invasion,” Kahl said.
This is the first presidential drawdown authority security assistance package announced by the Biden administration since Congress passed the $40 billion supplemental funding bill for Ukraine aid in May.
Overall, the US has now committed “approximately $5.3 billion dollars in security assistance to Ukraine” since the beginning of the Biden administration and $4.6 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, Kahl added.
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Biden officially announces new Ukraine aid package he previewed in op-ed
From CNN's Betsy Klein
President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday, May 31.
(Evan Vucci/AP)
As he previewed in a New York Times op-ed last night, US President Joe Biden has announced a new package of aid to Ukraine.
He continued, “This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances. We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom.”
More context: Senior administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the US will send Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the United States’ 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.
The officials said the systems that the US is sending Ukraine will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 49 miles. That is far less than the systems’ maximum range, but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.
The new security assistance package will also include air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank weapons, anti-armor weapons, artillery rounds, helicopters, tactical vehicles and spare parts to help the Ukrainians continue maintaining the equipment, the officials said.
Still, Biden sought to spell out clearly in the op-ed what the US aims in Ukraine were and was careful to note the US is not looking to directly engage Russia.
“We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow,” Biden said, roughly two months after declaring in Warsaw, Poland, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”
In response to Biden’s announcement, the Kremlin said earlier Wednesday the US was “adding fuel to the fire” by supplying weapons to Kyiv.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.
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Ukrainian military says Russians control eastern districts of Severodonetsk but have been repelled elsewhere
From CNN's Tim Lister and Kostan Nechyporenko
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces have tried without success to advance on several fronts Wednesday but have met resistance and fallen back.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the Russians “continue to storm Severodonetsk and establish control over the city’s eastern part.”
Ukrainian forces still appear to control western sections of the city. Social media video showed Russian soldiers around the city’s Square of Peace, which is in the northern part of the city. Several bodies, apparently of civilians, could be seen lying in the square. Earlier Wednesday, Serhiy Hayday, the head of the regional military administration, said that some Ukrainian units had fallen back to more defensible positions but others remained in the city.
Russian artillery was used against Ukrainian defenses in the towns of Ridne and Sviatohirsk, which is north of Sloviansk, the military said. Russian troops had tried to take two villages in the area but withdrew.
Similarly, the military said, attempts by the Russians to break through from the south toward Bakhmut had been repelled.
In southern Ukraine, according to the military, “the Russians also continue to fire on civilian infrastructure and residential areas” in Mykolaiv, a city that is regularly shelled.
Vitalii Kim, the head of Mykolaiv regional military administration, said one person had been killed in the latest shelling.
“Two weeks ago, around 60% of all Mykolaiv population remained in the city. But now people tend to come back, regardless of the recommendation to wait for another two to three weeks. As the intensity of the shelling has grown, people still come back,” Kim added.
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NATO chief says he is "confident" progress will be made with Finland and Sweden membership bids
From CNN’s Gabby Gretener in London
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
(Leah Millis/Reuters)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that he will be meeting with senior officials of Turkey, Finland and Sweden in the coming days and is “confident we will find a way forward” with intentions to make progress on Finland and Sweden’s application status before the next NATO Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Madrid at the end of June.
Speaking at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, Stoltenberg went on to explain his confidence in the decision “because all allies agree NATO enlargement has been a great success.”
The NATO chief touched on the significance of the bids of the two Nordic countries, calling it “historic” and that their membership “will only strengthen our alliance.”
Stoltenberg also addressed the “nuclear saber rattling rhetoric” used by Russia, saying it only increases tensions, but that they “have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture.”
The secretary general went on to remind Russia they agreed on a UN statement in January that clearly stated “nuclear war cannot be won and should not be fought,” indicating Moscow “knows that any use of nuclear weapons would totally change the nature of a conflict” and reiterated “nuclear weapons should not be used.”
When discussing the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said Putin made a strategic mistake by launching the war, and underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people and unity of NATO. “President Putin wanted less NATO, he is getting more NATO, more troops and more NATO members,” he said.
He also pointed to the unity of allies and partners implementing the EU’s sanctions packages.
Stoltenberg also touched on NATO’s security strategy to “prepare for an age of increased strategic competition with authoritarian powers like Russia and China.” Stoltenberg further referred to why Ukraine must continue to receive support. If Putin wins the war, then “the price we have to pay would be higher than to now invest in support for Ukraine.”
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Russian foreign minister says Ukraine's demand for US advanced rockets is a "direct provocation"
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Ukraine’s demands to the West regarding the supply of advanced rocket launchers go beyond “all limits and decency” and is a “direct provocation.”
He continued: “In the European Union, especially in its northern part. There are politicians who are ready to go into this madness in order to satisfy their ambitions. But serious countries in the European Union, of course, are well aware of the unacceptability of such scenarios, and we recently heard signs of reasonable assessments from Washington.”
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Blinken: Russia risks "what’s left of its reputation" blockading Ukrainian food
From CNN's Kylie Atwood, Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler
Secretary of State Antony Blinken answers a reporter's question on Wednesday.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia risks “what’s left of its reputation” by not allowing food to get out of Ukrainian ports.
“It seeks relationships with countries around the world, including many countries that are now the victim of Russian aggression because of growing food insecurity resulting from that aggression,” said Blinken at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Blinken said that an additional 40 million people are estimated to be food insecure as a result of the Russian invasion.
“I think there’s a growing recognition of countries around the world that the challenges that they’re facing now, compounded by conflict, compounded by Russia’s aggression, are due to what Russia is doing,” said Blinken.
Blinken said that after the food security summit held at the UN, UN Secretary General António Guterres has been working “to see if he can find a way forward on this to allow the ships out to end this blockade.”
He also referred to exceptions in sanctions imposed on Russia to allow it to export food.
“We’ve had one of our senior officials go around the world to make that very clear to other countries and to help them with any questions they may have,” said Blinken. “This is on Russia.”
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Blinken: Ukraine says it won't use US weapons to strike in Russia
From CNN's Michael Conte
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hold a joint press conference in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
(Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine has assured the US that they will not use weapons systems provided by the US “against targets on Russian territory.”
“There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners,” said Blinken at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The Biden administration has announced it will be sending Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, with munitions with a range that fall shorter than what Ukraine had requested.
Blinken also said that regarding concerns about Russia interpreting the US sending these new weapon systems to Ukraine as escalatory, that President Biden had been clear with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the consequences of the Russian invasion, including sending security assistance to Ukraine.`
“There was no hiding the ball. We’ve been extremely clear about this from day one with President Biden communicating that directly to President Putin. So we have done exactly what we said we would do,” said Blinken.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that “it’s not so much a question of deterring Russia at this point,” but rather making sure that Ukraine has the equipment to push back Russian aggression and therefore have the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.
Blinken noted that Russia has “committed the aggression and they’re pursuing it.”
“What we’re working to do, and the Secretary General said this very eloquently, is to make sure that the Ukrainians have in hand what they need to defend against this aggression, to repel it, to push it back. And as well, and as a result of that, make sure that they have the strongest possible hand at any negotiating table,” he said.
He reiterated that the US will continue to provide defensive capabilities to Ukraine.
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Ukraine defense ministry reports a "very difficult" situation in Severodonetsk
From Tim Lister and Anastasia Graham-Yooll
Smoke rises from Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on May 30.
(Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry says fighting continues in the city of Severodonetsk, where Russian forces and their allies are edging forwards.
“The enemy reached central Severodonetsk and is trying to establish positions. The situation is very difficult,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said at a briefing Wednesday.
“I don’t want to estimate or give any percentage ratios of what we control and don’t control,” Motuzyanyk added. “We know the enemy’s goals and we are doing everything to stop them from achieving them.”
One officer involved in the defense of Severodonetsk has spoken more optimistically about the situation.
“We maneuver, we try to destroy the occupier as much as possible. The night went more or less well. Our units took prisoners,” Petro Kuzyk, commander of the Svoboda battalion and a captain of the National Guard, told Radio Liberty.
Kuzyk said that his unit did not plan to retreat from Severodonetsk, but was trying to push the Russian military as far as possible outside the city.
Russian forces “minimized contact with us. They have an advantage in artillery, in tanks in this direction, so they use it,” he added.
The Russian army used infantry only to determine the positions of the Ukrainian military are. “Then the work of artillery is turned on for hours, tanks and aircraft are used,” he said. “They are fighting like a Russian war machine – they are trying to grind our positions, as they fought in Syria, Rubizhne [a town near Severodonetsk.]
“They completely destroyed the city of Rubizhne. They are trying to do the same with Severodonetsk, but our counter-artillery is already working here, although at a much slower pace than I would like,” he continued.
Elsewhere on the front lines, the defense ministry said Russian attacks around Lyman — supported by assault helicopters — had been beaten back. And Ukrainian units had also resisted efforts by the Russians to dislodge them from Bilhorivka, Motuzyanyk said.
However, he acknowledged that along frontlines south of the town of Bakhmut, “as a result of assaults near Vozdvizhenka, the enemy had partial success, which allowed him to capture the southwestern part of this settlement.”
Russian forces have made incremental gains in the last week in rural parts of Donetsk bordering Luhansk and are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces that have been defending the region’s border in three directions — north, east and south.
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White House says new security assistance to Ukraine meets the country's needs
From CNN's Betsy Klein
The White House defended its decision to send Ukraine new rocket systems that fall short of the 200-mile range Ukrainians requested, saying the US assessed that the 49-mile-range systems were what the country needs at this time in a new phase of battle.
“We have tried to get the Ukrainians exactly what we think they needed to be able to fend off this Russian assault on their country. That worked in the early days, the Ukrainians were able to win the battle for Kyiv and drive the Russians away from their capital, now the conflict has shifted to a different phase in the south and east of the country,” deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told CNN’s John Berman.
The new weapons will add to Ukraine’s capability, Finer said, and it “will give them the ability to strike with precision Russian targets on the battlefield.”
As CNN has reported, the Biden administration will be sending Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS. The HIMARS will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 80 kilometers, or 49 miles. That is far less than the maximum range of the systems, which is around 300 kilometers, but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.
The US, he added, has asked Ukraine “for assurances that they will not use these systems to strike inside Russia” and instead to defend Ukrainian territory.
Finer also reacted to reaction from Russia Wednesday morning that the US action is “adding fuel to the fire.”
The US, he said, does not negotiate its security systems packages to Ukraine.
He declined to comment on Russian gains in the eastern Donetsk region, calling this a “very difficult phase of fighting.” This phase, Finer predicted, will play out “over a period of weeks and months and perhaps even longer.”
The Russians have made “incremental gains,” he said, but declined to “handicap the play-by-play.”
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Russian officials talk up integration of occupied Ukrainian areas into Russian Federation
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova and Tim Lister
A replica of the Soviet Banner of Victory flies by a WWII memorial in Kherson, Ukraine, on May 20.
(Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images)
More Russian officials have been talking about integrating Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine into the Russian Federation.
Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti quotes Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council, as saying that referendums may be held this year in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Russian forces occupy much of Kherson, where fighting is continuing, and a part of Zaporizhzhia region.
Kherson was annexed by Tsarist Russia in the late 18th century but has been part of Ukraine since independence in 1991.
Another member of the Federation Council, Andriy Turchak, said that the Kherson region and the liberated territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics would become part of Russia. But at the same time, he said the decision would be made by the residents of these regions themselves.
“A referendum should be organized as soon as the situation is ready for this, as soon as the shelling stops and a security zone appears,” said Turchak, a senior member of the governing United Russia party. “I’m sure the residents of Zaporizhzhia will also express their opinion in support of such a decision.”
In April, CNN reported that fear of the impending vote and its implications — a possible strengthening of Russia’s control — has led many residents to flee fast.
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Sweden's prime minister says dialogue with Turkey over NATO membership will continue
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrive for a news conference in Stockholm on June 1.
(Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)
Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Wednesday that dialogue with Turkey regarding Sweden’s NATO membership will continue, and Sweden will respond directly to Turkey to “sort out” any possible “misunderstandings.”
“Our responses to demands and also questions from Turkey, we will take directly with Turkey and also of course sort out any issues or misunderstandings that there might be,” she added.
During their meeting, Andersson and Guterres discussed “Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” the security situation in Europe and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, she said.
“Sweden will continue to pressure on Russia and to be a strong supporter of Ukraine,” Andersson said, as the world is “witnessing shocking brutality and attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
“Russia must be held accountable for its action and I’m grateful for the secretary-general’s clear stance on this,” she said.
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It's now over 30% higher to fill up your gas tank in the US than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine
From CNN’s Matt Egan
A customer refuels a vehicle at a Wawa gas station in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 28.
(Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Pump prices just took another big step in the wrong direction.
The US national average for regular gasoline climbed by five cents on Wednesday to a fresh record of $4.67 a gallon, according to AAA.
That leaves gas prices up by 48 cents in the past month alone.
It is now 32% higher to fill up your tank than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine.
No states have an average of $4.15 or lower, with George coming in at the lowest with $4.16.
Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told CNN he expects the national average to hit $4.75 in the next 10 days.
Oil prices, the biggest component of pump prices, continue to move higher.
Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 1% on Tuesday to close at the highest level in nearly three months. Brent is up another 1.2% Wednesday morning. The gains come after Europe agreed to phase out 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
The national average for regular gas is now 44 cents higher than on the day US President Joe Biden announced the largest-ever release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in late March.
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Serbia's gas deal with Putin has created a fresh headache for Europe
Analysis from CNN's Luke McGee
On Sunday, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic announced that his country had agreed to a new three-year gas supply deal with Russia’s state energy provider Gazprom.
The news came at an awkward time, and in doing so, Vucic created a fresh headache for the Western anti-Putin alliance and, notably, for the European Union.
On the other side of the continent, EU heads of state were mired in in grueling negotiations over a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow. The final deal, announced late Monday, includes a partial ban on Russian oil imports to the bloc.
But Brussels was forced to make an exemption for oil that is imported to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic via a pipeline, in order to get everyone on board. This was seen by some EU members as a major concession.
Of these Balkan states, Serbia in particular is seen as crucial for numerous reasons.
Its size, population and geographical location all make it a major stakeholder in the geopolitics of the region. If you want to have a conversation about the future of Bosnia or Kosovo, you are going to need the Serbian government in the room.
Ukraine simplifies child adoption procedures with a digital portal
From CNN's Anastasia Graham-Yooll
A new “simplified procedure” for the adoption of Ukrainian children was introduced Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Social Policy and the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
There are 17,000 children in Ukraine waiting for adoption, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Social Policy Kostiantyn Koshelenko told reporters in Kyiv.
“However, there are several times as few potential adoptive parents. One of the reasons is that the adoption procedure is very complicated,” said Koshelenko.
“We are changing it to implement a rapid digital process. One needs only five minutes to submit a request for the initial consultation.”
An initial adoption request can be submitted via Diia portal from Wednesday, with adoption applications available online from August, Koshelenko added.
Some 6,506 children from orphanages have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict, including 4,228 that have been relocated abroad, according to a statement from the Ministry of Social Policy.
Less than half of the country’s orphanages have moved children abroad or elsewhere in Ukraine. Some 1,750 foster families have been displaced.
The war has had a devastating impact on Ukraine’s children.
On Wednesday, which marks Children’s Day in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general’s office said that at least 243 children have died and 446 others have been injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Meanwhile, UNICEF said millions of young lives had been “shattered” by the conflict. Three million Ukrainian children need humanitarian assistance inside the country, as do more than 2.2 million in refugee-hosting countries, the UN children’s agency said.
Nearly two-thirds of children have been displaced by the conflict, said UNICEF.
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Kremlin says US "adds fuel to fire" by supplying weapons to Kyiv
From CNN's Anna Chernova
The US is “adding fuel to the fire” by supplying weapons to Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to provide more advanced missile systems to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities have long asked the United States to supply high-tech, medium-range rocket systems. Biden said Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on.
Peskov also added the Kremlin does not trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s words that Kyiv would not use multiple launch rocket systems to attack the Russian territory if they receive them from the US.
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"The whole country is watching": Ukraine looks to secure World Cup qualification
From CNN's Ben Church
Ukraine team warms up during a training session on May 31, in Glasgow, Scotland.
(Steve Welsh/DeFodi Images/Getty Images)
It’s more than 1,800 miles from Severodonetsk to Glasgow.
As Russian pressure increases in the strategically key eastern Ukraine city where two-thirds of properties have been reported as destroyed, an international football match in the Scottish city would seem somewhat irrelevant.
Ukrainian Taras Berezovets, who worked as a political analyst before the Russian invasion started on February 24 but has since joined Ukraine’s special forces, would disagree.
Like many other of his “brothers in arms” – given football has always been the number one sport in Ukraine – Berezovets will be doing his best to keep across developments in his country’s World Cup playoff against Scotland on Wednesday.
If Ukraine does get past Scotland at Hampden Park and then beats Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will have remarkably secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
According to Berezovets, work is underway to find a broadcast of the match. But even if that’s impossible for those on the front line, he says those fighting will still gather together and listen on the radio if they can.
“When the football team is playing, the whole country is watching. Football is the number one sport in Ukraine, it’s extremely popular,” Berezovets told CNN Sportover the phone from the country’s embattled south.
At least 7 killed and 16 injured by Russian attacks in last 24 hours, says Ukrainian military
From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Bex Wright
At least seven people have been killed and 16 others injured in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday.
In eastern Ukraine, where the heaviest fighting is taking place, four people were killed and at least 10 others injured after Russian troops targeted air strikes, missiles and artillery shelling on several cities including Severodonetsk and Sloviansk, a statement from Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said.
In Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian troops shelled 21 areas on Tuesday, and destroyed 46 “civil objects,” the statement said.
A separate update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russia is “focusing their efforts on conducting offensive operations” in the Donetsk area, with the support of the air force, and is firing “along the line of contact from mortars, artillery and multiple rocket launchers” in order to “inflict losses and deplete the personnel of our troops.”
In Lyman, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Severodonetsk, “the fighting continues.” Further south in Bakhmut, Russia is “trying to oust units of our troops from their positions,” the military said.
The regional military-civilian administration also said that shelling continued all night on positions around Avdiivka, north of Donetsk city, and on Wednesday morning there was shelling of the old part of the city, and the area of the Avdiivka Coke Plant.
In the past 24 hours, nine Russian attacks have also been repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk, the regional officials added.
Two people were killed and five injured in the northeast after Russia “fired en masse” on Kharkiv, Izium, Bohodukhiv and Chuhuiv on Tuesday, regional officials said.
In the south, one person died after shelling in the Bereznehuvate area, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Kherson. One person was also injured in shelling on Wednesday in Ochakiv, south of Mykolaiv city, regional officials said.
In Kherson, telephone and internet connections are still cut off, and the Russians have increased the number of places selling Russian SIM cards in the city. The situation in the occupied villages around Kherson “is critical, and heavy fighting continues there,” regional officials said.
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It's 2 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
Children in Bucha wear traditional dress as they take part in events to mark Children's Day on June 1, in Bucha, Ukraine.
(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Russian forces now control most of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, while new statistics have revealed the horrifying impact the war has had on Ukrainian children.
Here are the latest developments on Russia’s war in Ukraine:
Russians control 70% of Severodonetsk: Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Russian troops are now in control of most of Severodonetsk. “Part of the Ukrainian troops” have now “retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions,” said Hayday, while other troops continue “fighting inside the city.” If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control.
Scale of suffering among children revealed: At least 243 children have died and 446 others have been injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said on Wednesday, which marks Children’s Day in Ukraine. Meanwhile, UNICEF said the lives of millions of children had been “shattered,” with 3 million Ukrainian children needing humanitarian assistance inside the country, plus more than 2.2 million in refugee-hosting countries.
Pope calls for wheat supplies to resume: Pope Francis has called for the lifting of a blockade on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the staple food should not be used “as a weapon of war.” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that 22 million tons of grain cannot be exported due to the Russian blockade, but the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has blocked grain supplies.
Russian senator dismisses EU oil embargo: The Russian economy will not suffer due to the EU’s partial ban on its oil, due to new markets and rising fuel prices, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council said on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. “We can easily redirect this oil, for which there is a huge demand, to other markets,” Valentina Matviyenko told reporters. “The world market has only a certain volume of production, a certain volume of oil sales. No one’s getting it from the moon.”
Germany to ship “most modern air defense system”: Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Germany will send more weapons to Ukraine, including the IRIS-T air defense system. “This will enable Ukraine to protect an entire city from Russian air attacks,” he said.
Ukraine prepares for World Cup playoff: National team football players will play against Scotland in Glasgow on Wednesday night. If they win and then beat Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will secure qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
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Russia won’t suffer from EU’s partial ban of oil imports, says senator
From CNN's Josh Pennington, Yong Xiong and Robert North
Russia’s economy will not suffer from the European Union’s partial ban on its oil due to new markets and rising fuel prices, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council said on Wednesday, according to state news agency TASS.
“We can easily redirect this oil, for which there is a huge demand, to other markets,” Valentina Matviyenko told reporters on Wednesday following a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, TASS reported.
Matviyenko added that profits Russia might lose from its halting of its oil supply to Europe will be compensated by an increase in the price of fuel, adding that the “Europeans are hurting themselves.”
On Monday, the EU agreed on a partial ban on Russian oil imports and agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Russian gas exports fell 27.6% in the first five months of this year, according to figures from Gazprom Wednesday.
The state-owned energy giant said exports to countries outside of its Commonwealth of Independent States organization amounted to 61 billion cubic meters between January and May 2022. That is 23.2 billion cubic meters less than the same period in 2021.
Gazprom said it produced a total of 211.4 billion cubic meters of gas in the period, down 4.8% from 2021.
The company added that gas exports to China were growing due to a long term contract between Gazprom and Chinese energy firm CNPC, but it did not give any figures.
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Germany will send IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine, chancellor says
From CNN's Chris Stern in Berlin
Germany will send its “most modern air defense system,” the IRIS-T, to Ukraine, the country’s chancellor said Wednesday.
“In the coming weeks, we will supply further weapons, for example, the German government has recently decided that we will supply the IRIS-T system, the most modern air defense system that Germany has,” Olaf Scholz said during a speech in the German Parliament.
The development comes as senior US administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the United States will be sending US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as part of the country’s 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.
Some context: Germany initially resisted calls to provide weaponry to Kyiv, agreeing only to provide humanitarian help and medical equipment. That approach was in line with Germany’s decades-long policy of not supplying lethal weapons to crisis zone.
There was a major U-turn in late April when Germany agreed to deliver anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.
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Pope Francis says wheat should not be used as a "weapon of war," urges lifting of blockade on exports
From CNN's Hada Messia and Sharon Braithwaite
Pope Francis arrives to lead his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 1.
(Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis has called for the lifting of a blockade on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the staple food should not be used “as a weapon of war.”
Speaking at the end of his weekly audience on Wednesday, the Pontiff said that he is following “with great concern” the situation at Ukrainian ports.
The lives of millions of people depend on the export of wheat, “especially among the poorest countries,” he said.
Some context: Ukraine is working on a “UN-led naval operation” with navies of partnering countries to ensure a safe trade route for exporting its agricultural products, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that 22 million tons of grain, accounting for nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply, is being held up by Russia’s blockade of the main export routes.
The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has blocked grain supplies from Ukraine, and has accused the West of actions that have led to this crisis.
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Russians now control 70% of Severodonetsk, says Ukrainian official
From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Bex Wright
Russian forces now control 70% of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration said Wednesday.
Serhiy Hayday said “part of the Ukrainian troops” have now “retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions” while other troops continue “fighting inside the city.”
Evacuation is still suspended from Severodonetsk, and it is “not possible to import humanitarian aid,” he said.
Neighboring Lysychansk is “completely under Ukrainian control,” but all “free settlements” of the Luhansk region are “constantly under fire,” he said.
If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control.
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Danes vote on joining EU shared defense policy
From CNN's Susanne Gargiulo in Copenhagen
Danish voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Viborg, Denmark, on June 1.
(Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images)
Polling stations are now open across Denmark, as the Scandinavian country votes on whether to join the European Union shared defense policy.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a significant reason for calling a referendum, saying it is an important value-based decision and a way to signal support for a stronger EU.
The referendum will determine whether Denmark maintains its nearly three-decade old opt-out from EU defense policy. The opt-out keeps the Scandinavian nation of nearly 6 million from taking an active part in EU defense policy and missions.
Saying ‘yes’ to cancel the opt-out would be a significant shift in Denmark’s EU policy on Europe,but Frederiksen emphasized the importance of the vote on Wednesday morning.
The government has spent several weeks campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote.
Polling stations close at 8 p.m. local time, and results are expected after midnight local time.
Some context: Denmark has been a member of the EU since January 1973 but it has four derogations – or “opt-outs” – from EU cooperation. These, which include the Common Security and Defense Policy, were agreed among the then-12 member states after the Danish population initially rejected the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.
The Danish defense opt-out means the country cannot participate in EU military operations or provide military support for EU-led efforts in conflict areas. It is the only member of the 27-nation bloc to be exempt from the policy.
War has killed more than 240 children and "shattered" the lives of millions
From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Bex Wright
People attend a funeral ceremony of 3-month-old girl, her mother and grandmother, who were died during missile attack by Russia, at a cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 27.
(Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
At least 243 children have died and 446 others have been injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said on Wednesday, which marks Children’s Day in Ukraine.
In addition to the deaths and casualties, at least 1,937 educational institutions in Ukraine have been damaged, with 181 of them completely destroyed, the prosecutor’s statement said.
The figures are “not final” as they do not include casualties in places where “active hostilities” are ongoing and in those occupied by Russian forces.
Meanwhile, UNICEF said 3 million Ukrainian children need humanitarian assistance inside the country, as do more than 2.2 million in refugee-hosting countries.
Nearly two-thirds of children have been displaced by the conflict, added UNICEF.
“June 1st is International Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine and across the region,” said UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell in the statement.
“Instead of celebrating the occasion, we are solemnly approaching June 3 – the 100th day of a war that has shattered the lives of millions of children,” she added.
The conflict has caused an acute child protection crisis, said UNICEF, with those displaced “at significant risk of family separation, violence, abuse, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.”
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Russian troops have "consolidated in the city center" of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian official says
From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Bex Wright
Smoke rises in the city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine during heavy fighting on May 30.
(Aris Messings/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian troops are “storming” the eastern city of Severodonetsk and have “consolidated in the city center,” said Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration on Wednesday.
Russia carried out assaults on Tuesday in the “northern, southern and eastern districts of Severodonetsk,” Hayday said.
And Russians now control “most” of the city, he said.
Hayday said a Russian air strike hit a tank of nitric acid at a chemical plant in Severodonetsk at 6:55 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The militia of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic has blamed Ukrainian forces for the explosion.
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Ukraine pins hopes on national team playing on "football’s front line" in World Cup quest to lift spirits
From CNN's Ben Church
It’s approximately 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) from Severodonetsk to Glasgow.
As Russian pressure increases in the strategic eastern Ukraine city, an international football match in the Scottish city would seem somewhat irrelevant.
Ukrainian Taras Berezovets, who worked as a political analyst before the Russian invasion started on Feb. 24 but has since joined Ukraine’s special forces, would disagree.
Like many other of his “brothers in arms” – given football has always been the number one sport in Ukraine – Berezovets will be doing his best to keep across developments in his country’s World Cup playoff against Scotland on Wednesday.
If Ukraine does get past Scotland at Hampden Park and then beats Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, the country will have remarkably secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Berezovets says fighters are keen to find a broadcast of the match. But even if watching is impossible for those on the front line, he says those fighting will still gather together and listen on the radio if they can.
US President Joe Biden has pledged more advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine that would “enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield,” Biden wrote in a New York Times op-ed.
Here are the latest developments on Russia’s war in Ukraine:
New US rocket systems: Following Biden’s op-ed, senior US administration officials confirmed the US will send Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as part of the country’s 11th package of security assistance. The officials said the HIMARS will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 80 kilometers (49 miles). That is far less than the maximum range of the systems but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.
Russians control “most of Severodonetsk”: Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Russian troops now control most of the city of Severodonetsk — but he has dismissed suggestions that Ukrainian troops in the area will be surrounded. If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control. Hayday earlier said aRussian air strike in Severodonetsk had hit a tank of nitric acid at a chemical plant and warned people in the city to stay in shelters.
Ukrainian progress: Ukrainian forces have made progress in the regions of Kherson and Kharkiv and are holding back Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. “Our defenders show extreme bravery, despite the fact that Russia has a substantial advantage in force and weapons,” Zelensky said.
NATO chief visit: Jens Stoltenberg is traveling to Washington, DC, on Tuesday for a working visit, the alliance said in a statement. Stoltenberg will be in the US capital until Friday and is expected to meet top US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
US welcomes Ukrainian refugees: More than 23,000 Ukrainians have been authorized to come to the US as part of the Biden administration’s streamlined process for Ukrainian refugees seeking to enter the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Biden administration has committed to accepting up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Playing “hunger games with the world”: Ukraine is working on an “UN-led naval operation” with navies of partnering countries to ensure a safe trade route for exporting its agricultural products, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Zelensky previously said 22 million tons of grain, accounting for nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply, is being held up by Russia’s blockade of the main export routes.
Moscow cuts more gas supplies: Danish energy firm Ørsted has confirmed that Russian state energy giant Gazprom will halt gas supplies starting on June 1 after Ørsted refused to pay for gas in rubles. Finland, Poland and Bulgaria have already been cut off from Russian gas supplies for the same reasons.
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Ukraine is losing up to 100 soldiers every day, Zelensky says
Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of the fallen during the funeral in Lviv, Ukraine on May 26.
(Adri Salido/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ukraine is losing 60 to 100 soldiers every day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Newsmax in an interview that aired on Tuesday.
The President also told Newsmax that shipments of grain are being blocked by Russia in the Black Sea.
Some context: Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced a new package of rocket systems to be sent to Ukraine. Senior administration officials said the rocket systems would have the capability to launch rockets as far as 80 kilometers, far less than the long range weaponry Zelensky has asked for, but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.
In the interview with Newsmax, Zelensky was adamant the rockets would be used in Ukraine – not on Russian soil.
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New US rocket systems will enable Ukraine to hit targets 50 miles away — its greatest range yet, US administration officials say
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during a live-fire training mission in Florida on May 10.
(Senior Airman Joseph P. LeVeille/U.S. Air Force)
Senior US administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the United States will be sending Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as part of the country’s 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.
The officials said the HIMARS will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 80 kilometers (49 miles).
Some context: That is far less than the maximum range of the systems, which is around 300 kilometers (186 miles), but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date. The M777 Howitzers the US sent to Ukraine last month, for example, marked a significant increase in range and power over previous systems, but even those top out at around 25 kilometers (18 miles) in range.
Further weapons: The new security assistance package, to be announced officially on Wednesday, will also include air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank weapons, anti-armor weapons, artillery rounds, helicopters, tactical vehicles, and spare parts to help the Ukrainians continue maintenance of the equipment, the officials said.
CNN previously reported that US officials were debating for weeks whether to send Ukraine the advanced rocket systems, because they can strike so much further than any weapons they already have. The weapons’ long range, technically capable of striking into Russian territory, raised concerns that Russia might view the shipments as provocative.
The officials said on Tuesday that the US is “not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” and is “not seeking to prolong the war.”
They also said they had received assurances from Ukraine that they would not use the systems to launch attacks inside Russia. But they emphasized that as the conflict evolves, the US will “continue to tailor” its assistance to Ukraine’s most urgent needs.
The officials also said the new rocket systems will help put Ukraine “in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table” with Russia, and reiterated that the US will “not pressure the Ukrainian government in public or in private to make any territorial concessions.”
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Biden announces new rockets and munitions to Ukraine in op-ed
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
US President Joe Biden said the United States is providing Ukraine “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on.
Writing in a New York Times op-ed, Biden said the US goal in Ukraine is “to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.”
He said the new shipment of arms would “enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Biden sought to spell out clearly what the US aims in Ukraine were, and was careful to note the US is not looking to directly engage Russia.
He went on to say that the US is “not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”
Biden said that US officials “currently see no indication that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, though Russia’s occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible.”
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Ukrainian forces are making progress in Kherson and Kharkiv, Zelensky says
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
A rescuer inspects a flat where the bodies of civilians were collected from a shelled residential building in Kharkiv on May 31.
(Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
Ukrainian forces have made progress in the regions of Kherson and Kharkiv and are holding back Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address on Tuesday night.
Zelensky also applauded the new sanctions package approved by the European Council, which would cut down on imports of Russian oil, as well as suspend Russia propaganda channels and remove Sberbank from SWIFT, the international bank messaging system.
“I am thankful for everyone to reach this agreement,” Zelensky said, “It will leave Russia at the outskirts of the world economy. Russia will not be able to adapt and this means it will be defeated.”
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Ukrainian official says Russians control "most of Severodonetsk"
From CNN's Tim Lister and Kostan Nechyporenko
Serhiy Hayday, the Head of Luhansk region military administration, says that Russian troops now control most of the city of Severodonetsk — but he has dismissed suggestions that Ukrainian troops in the area will be surrounded.
Hayday said: “Now there is no possibility to leave Severodonetsk. It’s very risky and the chances are very small to actually escape [unharmed]. Therefore, there is simply no point in risking people’s lives.”
Hayday added that the Russian goal was to surround all our troops. Of course, they would like to capture the entire Luhansk region much faster. Or just cut the route “Lysychansk - Bakhmut” or capture Severodonetsk as soon as possible. But they do not manage to capture the whole area.”
If Russian forces gain control of Severodonetsk, the neighboring city of Lysychansk will be the only urban area of any size in Luhansk to remain under Ukrainian control.
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Zelensky welcomes new EU sanctions against Russia but calls the delay "unacceptable"
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed the new European Union sanctions package against Moscow, but criticized the bloc for the gap of more than 50 days between the fifth and sixth round of sanctions.
More on the sanctions: The EU agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, the leaders of the European Council said Monday.
Russian oil delivered by tankers would be banned, while an exemption will be made for the southern segment of the Druzhba pipeline, said Ursula von der Leyen — president of the European Commission — in a news conference.
The northern segment of the pipeline serves Poland and Germany — who have agreed to the embargo. The southern part goes to Hungary, Slovakia and Czech republic.
Von der Leyen said an exemption will be made for the southern segment, which accounts for 10% of imports on Russian oil.
