- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for a seventh package of sanctions
- President Biden said that the US will send Ukraine “advanced rocket systems”
- UK says Russian troops now occupy “over half” of embattled Luhansk city
This article was last updated at 07:46 UTC/GMT
Germany’s Scholz outlines military upgrade plans
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke in parliament on Wednesday, outlining his government’s spending priorities — with a particular emphasis on how Berlin is approaching the war in Ukraine.
Scholz emphasized the impact that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine is having on rising prices, with the chancellor vowing to do what he can to ease the burden.
He is set to share details on how a €100 billion ($107 billion) fund would be used to revamp and update the German military’s weapons and equipment.
Follow our coverage here.
Russian troops now occupy ‘over half’ of Severodonetsk — UK intelligence
Fighting intensified in the streets of Severodonetsk in recent days, as Russian troops push to take control of more of the strategic city, the UK Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
“Over half of the town is likely now occupied by Russian forces, including Chechen fighters,” the ministry said in an intelligence update.
Fighting in Severodonetsk, the regional capital of the eastern Luhansk region, intensified on May 30 and 31, the ministry said. The city is one of the last areas in the Luhansk region that is under control by Ukrainian forces.
Heavy casualties have been reported on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces are targeting key infrastructure — particularly bride links that have been critical to ensuring the flow of some Ukrainian exports after Russian forces blockaded the country’s Black Sea ports.
Russia’s nuclear forces holding maneuver drills
Russia’s nuclear forces are holding drills in the Ivanovo region northeast of Moscow, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian defense ministry as saying.
Some 1,000 servicemen are exercising in maneuvers using over 1,000 vehicles, the ministry said.
Five million Ukrainian children dependent on humanitarian aid — UNICEF
More than 5 million Ukrainian children are dependent on humanitarian aid, according to the UN’s children’s fund (UNICEF).
Within Ukraine, about 3 million children are in need of support and 2.2 million that have fled Ukraine require assistance.
At least 262 children have been killed since the war began and hundreds of schools have been damaged, UNICEF said.
“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,” UNICEF Director Catherine Russell said, referring to the Children’s Day commemorations observed in Ukraine, Russia and other countries on June 1.
“Without an urgent ceasefire and negotiated peace, children will continue to suffer — and fallout from the war will impact vulnerable children around the world.”
Ukraine: Zelenskyy thanks EU for sanctions, calls for more
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the EU for its sixth package of sanctions imposed on Russia.
Zelenskyy said that a seventh package would be needed once the terms of the sixth round of sanctions had been implemented.
“At the end of the day, there should be no significant economic ties at all between the free world and the terrorist state,” Zelenskyy said.
“We will work on new restrictions against Russia for this war.”
Ukraine’s president said that Russia was losing “tens of billions of euros” due to the EU’s partial oil embargo. He argued that a full embargo would assist EU countries in their transition to renewable energies.
US to send Ukraine ‘advanced rocket systems’ — Biden
US President Joe Biden said that Washington will send Ukraine “advanced rocket systems” to hit “key targets.”
The advanced rocket systems are part of a $700 million (€653 million) weapons package expected to be unveiled on Wednesday.
Officials said that the package will also include ammunition, counterfire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-armor weapons.
Ukrainian officials hope long-range missiles will help turn the tide of the war
Washington is providing Ukraine with high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) after Kyiv gave “assurances” they would not use the missiles to strike inside Russia.
Earlier, the US government said it was weighing up sending multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre added that the delivery of US-produced multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and HIMARS was being considered.
On Monday, Biden said that no missile systems that could strike Russian territory would be sent to Ukraine. Jean-Pierre said Biden meant no systems would be sent “for use beyond the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Tuesday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of “madness” after Russian forces hit a chemical plant in the eastern city of Severodonetsk.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a UN resolution to lift Russia’s blockade of Odesa.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said it had uncovered a “few thousand” cases of war crimes in the eastern Donbas region.
Oil prices spiked following the EU’s announcement it would ban most Russian imports of the commodity.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its forces found “152 bodies of dead militants and servicemen of Ukraine’s armed forces” underneath the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to 11 years and six months in jail for shelling Ukrainian villages by a court in central Ukraine.
You can revisit our live updates from May 31 here.
rs, sdi/jsi, sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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