Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine
Russia says U.S. adding fuel to the fire by supplying rockets to Ukraine
Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitriy Peskov attends an event during Russia’s Victory Day commemorations in Moscow on May 9, 2022.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said the U.S. is adding fuel to the fire by supplying longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine.
“We believe that the U.S. is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian,” Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.
His comments echo those made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov who had claimed President Joe Biden’s administration increased the risk of direct clashes between Moscow and Washington by supplying rockets to Ukraine.
— Sam Meredith
Germany to send IRIS-T air defence system to Ukraine — Scholz
Scholz says Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system.
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Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv and German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries.
Scholz said Germany had been “delivering continuously since the beginning of the war”, pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
“Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T,” Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
A security source told Reuters last month that Germany was considering supplying IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defence systems to Ukraine.
— Reuters
Russia now controls 70% of Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine regional governor says
The eastern city of Sievierodonetsk has come under intense artillery and missile strikes from the Russian army.
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Russian forces have seized control of approximately 70% of Sievierodonetsk, according to Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai.
His comments come as Russian forces continue their offensive in the Donbas region. The Donbas refers to the two eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk — a major strategic, political and economic target for the Kremlin.
Haidai said via Telegram that the eastern city of Lysychansk remains “completely” under Ukrainian control.
However, all free settlements of the Luhansk region are constantly under fire and evacuation efforts have been suspended, Haidai said.
— Sam Meredith
Wheat can’t be ‘weapon of war’, Pope says in urging lifting of Ukraine block
Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 1, 2022.
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Pope Francis on Wednesday appealed to authorities to lift the block on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the grain cannot be used as a “weapon of war”.
Speaking at his general audience to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, he said the block should be lifted because many millions of people depend on wheat from Ukraine, particularly in the world’s poorest…
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