Ukraine

Ukrainian drones attacked energy and military sites in St. Petersburg ahead of a major economic forum in the city and a day after Moscow killed 23 people across Ukraine in devastating air attacks. … The attack comes as Ukraine has stepped up strikes on energy and military targets deep inside Russia, hampering the country's ability to profit from sharp increases in oil prices resulting from the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Overnight attacks in three key cities in Ukraine have left several civilians dead, scores more injured, and homes, hospitals and shops destroyed or damaged, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Tuesday. Matthias Schmale condemned the large-scale Russian assault on the capital Kyiv, as well as Dnipro and Kharkiv, which marked the third time they have been struck in as many weeks.

[…] A ceasefire that is rushed or poorly defined could provide Russian forces with an opportunity to regroup and rearm, while enabling the Kremlin to continue exerting pressure through other means – including cyberattacks, sabotage and election interference. This paper outlines how Ukraine and its partners can best mitigate risks associated with a ceasefire and strengthen long-term European security.

Almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since it launched its fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the UK's largest spy agency.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has deplored a Russian attack on a warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine that destroyed “a significant quantity” of food aid destined for thousands in frontline areas.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday warned Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a key Russian ally, against an involvement in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, a source close to Macron said. … Earlier in May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered troops to reinforce the border with Belarus in the north, claiming Moscow was preparing a new offensive from there. The Kremlin denied that.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed granting Ukraine “associate member” status in the European Union without voting rights while it pursues full membership, according to a letter seen by AFP on Thursday.

The war in Ukraine, now well into its fifth year, “is becoming deadlier by the day”, a senior UN official warned in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. “In the last week alone, we witnessed one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in February 2022,” said Director Kayoko Gotoh of the Political and Peacebuilding Affairs department.  

Russia on Wednesday renewed its hardline demands for ending the Ukraine war, ruling out a ceasefire or comprehensive negotiations with Ukraine unless it withdrew from the eastern Donbas region. The comments come less than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the more than four-year conflict was “heading to an end,” without elaborating.

The Council decided today to add new tasks for the European Union Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) in line with the strategic review of the mission. The mission will now support Ukraine in building capacities to counter hybrid threats and in reintegrating veterans in the civilian security and civil protection sectors.