Germany said Ukrainian forces could simply use weapons sent through Germany in opposition to army targets in Russia, following a U. S. resolution.
Meanwhile, several Russian missiles hit civilian buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killing at least three other people and wounding more than a dozen, according to local authorities.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg rejected Russian threats that the use of U. S. weapons in Russia would lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine on Friday, May 31.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) first agreed to grant Ukraine a disbursement of $2. 2 billion (about 2 billion euros), after Kiev effectively met the conditions of an existing loan program.
The budget is still pending approval by the IMF Executive Board. They are part of a $122 billion external package for Ukraine’s economy amid the ongoing war against Russia.
“The functionality of the program has remained strong despite the demanding situations of the war, with all quantitative functionality criteria met, one structural benchmark met, and others implemented with a short delay,” said Gavin Gray, IMF project leader in Ukraine. he said in a statement.
The Russian government on Friday placed a journalist banned from running in this year’s elections, opposed to President Vladimir Putin, on a list of “foreign agents. “
Pacifist journalist Ekaterina Duntsova joins the list for spreading “false information aimed at giving a negative symbol of Russia” and denouncing the “special operation of the army”, as the Kremlin refers to its invasion of Russia 27 months ago in Ukraine.
The Justice Department also added human rights activist Marina Litvinovich and independent media outlet SOTA to the list submitted in 2012 after large anti-government protests that the government says were driven by foreign influence.
This designation requires indexed individuals to identify themselves as foreign agents in social media and other publications. It also subjects them to greater government scrutiny.
The United States has imposed sanctions on entities it accuses of enabling Iran’s drone program.
Washington is going to halt production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by Russia in its war in Ukraine.
“Today’s action reinforces our commitment to disrupt Iranian production and proliferation of lethal drones that continue to be used through Russia in opposition to Ukraine and through orderly regional terrorists opposing our troops,” said Brian Nelson, U. S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. . a statement.
“Treasury will continue to impose prices on those who purchase the parts Iran wants for its drone systems and allow those weapons to be sent to destabilizing actors around the world. “
The U. S. Treasury Department said it had imposed sanctions on four entities that purchased critical parts for the drone program and on an executive of Iran’s Aviation Industries Organization, which is a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s logistics department.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on the drone program.
Those affected by the EU sanctions were Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Asthiani and the country’s Revolutionary Guards.
Iran has Russia with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones.
China will not participate in the peace convention on Ukraine to be held next month in Switzerland, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced.
“The arrangements for the assembly still arise from China’s demands and the general expectations of the foreign community, which makes it difficult for China to participate,” spokesman Mao Ning said.
“China has insisted that a foreign peace convention deserves to be approved through Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all parties, and that all peace proposals deserve to be discussed in a fair and equal manner,” he said.
Beijing insisted on Friday that any summit would require Russia’s participation, which Ukraine rejected.
Russia has rejected the idea of a peace summit with Russian participation, calling it “absurd. “
While Beijing insists on maintaining an impartial stance on the war in Ukraine, it has also strengthened ties with Moscow since February 2022.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war for the first time in three months, officials said. Each side returned 75 POWs in the exchange.
The two also exchanged the bodies of the dead soldiers. Russia has gained 212 bodies and Ukraine 45.
The Ukrainian prisoners of war, four civilians, were returned on buses to the northern region of Sumy.
This is the fourth such exchange this year and the 52nd since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Including Friday’s exchange, a total of 3,210 Ukrainian military members and civilians have returned to Ukraine since the start of the war, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
In an exclusive interview, FDP MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the Bundestag’s defense committee, told DW that she thanks Chancellor Olaf Scholz for allowing Kyiv to use German weapons to strike military targets in Russia.
While Strack-Zimmermann would have liked the resolution “to be taken much earlier,” the resolution is “good news for Ukraine. “
Strack-Zimmermann said the Russian threats made in reaction to the announcement were a calculated move through the Kremlin to cripple German decision-making.
“We allow this to happen. Otherwise, Ukraine will lose the war,” he said.
“We allow Putin to move on and assume that he will prevent it at some point. It won’t,” he said.
“That is why it is smart that there is now the possibility of attacking valid military means,” he added.
Fearing that the West will be dragged into war, DW asks about the consequences if Ukraine were to shoot down, for example, a Russian plane with German weapons. “Then they will shoot him,” he said. “So it’s one less plane on its way to Ukraine to fire missiles and kill Ukrainians. “
While expressing empathy for those who fear greater German or European involvement, Strack-Zimmermann said doing nothing is simply not an option.
“If we do nothing, the Russian army will continue to advance until it reaches the western border of the EU, the border of Poland. These troops will then be on NATO’s border and we will have to do that too. “
Strack-Zimmermann also said he was sure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would keep his word and only attack Russian army assets, because “he has respectable rules. ”
He explained the tough relationship between Ukraine and “Moscow or Putin, who attack civilian targets: shops, kindergartens, infrastructure, water, electricity”.
He went on to say: “The Russian war is not limited to military targets, but aims to destroy Ukraine completely. If you take a look at the photographs of eastern Ukraine, you can see that he didn’t leave a single stone unharmed, and just to give you an idea. On the same scale, eastern Ukraine is the longitude of Portugal. ”
The G7 on Friday issued an appeal to North Korea to prevent arms supplies to Russia as part of its ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine.
“We call on the DPRK (North Korea) and Russia to prevent illegal arms transfers,” the document reads through this year’s G7 chair, Italy. The document was also issued on behalf of the foreign ministers of South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union. Union.
“We are very concerned about the deepening of cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, in flagrant violation of several UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.
“Our governments resolutely oppose such continued arms transfers, which Russia has used to target Ukraine’s infrastructure, prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people. “
The UN prevents North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests. However, Moscow recently used its veto in the UN Security Council to end surveillance, for which Pyongyang thanked Moscow.
“By employing its veto, Russia has tried to deprive all UN member states of the objective and independent data and guidance they want to implement the binding Security Council resolutions on the DPRK, which remain in force,” the G7 minister said. .
The European Union, reacting to analyses that appear to be evidence of North Korea’s use of firearms in Ukraine, also announced sanctions against nine North Korean entities accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons from Pyongyang to Moscow.
Following an earlier announcement that Germany would allow Ukraine to use German weapons to strike targets in Russia, following a similar move in the United States, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the resolution was based on a consensus among allies that Ukraine would be allowed to protect itself. .
Western countries that send weapons to Ukraine have so far insisted that they not be used to hit targets in Russia, fearing an escalation of the conflict.
Ukraine, however, has argued that Russia is exploiting this cautious attitude by sending troops and weapons to the border, while intensifying its attacks.
“In recent weeks, Russia has been preparing, coordinating and wearing down attacks from positions in the Kharkiv region, especially from the adjacent Russian border region,” Hebestreit said.
Speaking about what the new policy means, Hebestreit said: “Ukraine can also use the weapons provided for this [self-defense] goal in accordance with its legal obligations abroad, adding those that we provide to it. “
Hebestreit specified what kind of German weapons systems can be used under the new authorization.
The “Panzerhaubitze 2000” artillery systems are already deployed in Ukraine. They use a tracked vehicle equipped with a cannon capable of firing projectiles at a distance of up to 40 kilometers, according to the German army.
This week’s policy adjustments adjust high-level discussions between the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany over Ukraine’s use of Western weapons.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Stockholm on Friday to meet with the leaders of Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway.
“Today I am in Stockholm for the Third Ukraine-Northern Europe Summit,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post, adding: “Our top priorities are securing more air defense systems for Ukraine, joint defense industry projects and weapons for our warriors. . , as well as global efforts to force Russia to make peace. “
“Ukraine will be more powerful thanks to our consistent and principled allies, as well as new security arrangements,” Zelensky wrote on Friday.
In February and April, Denmark and Finland signed 10-year security agreements with Kyiv, respectively. Norway has negotiated bilateral security agreements.
On Wednesday, Sweden announced its 16th military aid package for Ukraine, pledging to supply 13. 3 billion kronor ($1. 25 billion, €1. 36 billion) for air defense and ammunition, as well as reconstruction.
“The cause of Ukraine is our cause,” said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who promised that Stockholm would take “important steps for greater cooperation between our countries. “
“It’s worth repeating over and over again: you’re literally fighting only for your own freedom, but also for our freedom and security,” he added.
Ukraine suffers from a lack of ammunition to protect itself against Russian invaders. A main facet of Friday’s assembly will be tactics to increase ammunition production in the Nordic countries and Kiev will do the same at home.
A German government spokesman said Friday that Berlin would criticize the United States for allowing Ukraine to use its weapons to strike valid military targets in Russia.
Germany is reluctant to allow its weapons to be used to hit military targets in Russia, fearing an escalation of the war. However, Berlin now claims that Ukraine can achieve valid military objectives in Russia, in accordance with its foreign obligations.
Washington on Thursday cited the fact that Moscow has particularly intense attacks in the Kharkiv region from liberation sites in Russia to justify Kiev’s use of U. S. weapons to attack facilities “that attack or are about to attack Ukraine. “
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Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Friday that Ukrainian forces in the besieged Kharkiv region had been pushed back 8 to 9 kilometers (5 to 5. 5 miles) after months of heavy fighting.
The defense minister added that Russian forces had taken more than 28 Ukrainian settlements and captured a total domain of 880 square kilometers (547 square miles) since the beginning of the year.
Ukraine did not respond to the Russian claims, which may not be independently verified either. However, Russia has made progress in the northern Kharkiv region in recent months.
Belousov, speaking to Russian news agencies, then leveled a series of accusations against the United States, claiming that Washington is prolonging the war by supplying weapons to Ukraine and undermining global security by provoking conflicts.
The Russian military announced on Friday that it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region overnight.
“Air defense systems in the Krasnodar region destroyed or intercepted 29 drones” and Neptune anti-ship missiles, the Defense Ministry said.
The local government said the Ukrainian attacks targeted an oil depot in Temyruk, as well as the port city of Novorossiysk. No injuries were reported in Novorossiysk, however, several at the Temyruk oil facility were injured when a fire burned there for several hours.
Reuters news firm also reported on Friday that airports in the cities of Kazan and Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan had been temporarily closed due to protective considerations raised through Russia’s aviation regulator after unverified videos on social media showed drones flying over the region.
Russian state news agencies reported that Kazan had been evacuated as a protective measure.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday rejected Russian threats that the use of Western weapons to attack Russian territory would lead to an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
“This is part of President [Vladimir] Putin’s and Moscow’s efforts to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine to protect themselves and, again, Ukraine has the right to protect itself and we have the right to do so,” the Norwegian spokesman said. . arriving at an assembly of NATO foreign ministers in Prague.
Stoltenberg said Washington’s resolve to allow Ukraine to use U. S. weapons to strike targets in Russia is entirely legitimate, especially given the fact that Russia had expanded its attacks on the Kharkiv region from liberation sites located in Russia.
“Ukraine has the right to protect itself. It is the right to attack valid military targets in Russia,” he said.
The United States said on Thursday that it had given Kiev permission to use its weapons to “attack targets that are attacking or that are about to attack Ukraine,” but not others.
In response to the Kremlin’s threats that using NATO weapons to attack sites in Russia would provoke an escalation of the confrontation, Stoltenberg said: “Russia itself has intensified the confrontation through the invading country. “
A report published through Amnesty International indicates that the Russian government is targeting young people and their families, specifically those who oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as part of a crackdown on dissent.
The report describes how Russia has “instrumentalized” young people to pressure adults who oppose the war by separating families, threatening to take away parental rights and even beating young people in institutions.
“For all the Kremlin’s rhetoric about the price of family, it is the very bond between young people and their parents that is being shamelessly exploited to stifle dissent,” said Oleg Kozlovsky, Amnesty International’s Russia researcher.
The report offers 4 testimonies, as examples, of families who have faced the repercussions of their public for their stance on the war in Ukraine. Among them was a 10-year-old woman who was questioned by Moscow police about her WhatsApp profile picture. which was an anime-style drawing supporting Ukraine.
Police threatened her mother and searched her home, forcing the family to flee Russia for fear of further persecution.
Russian missiles hit three sites in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least three other people and wounding 16 others, officials said Friday.
According to eyewitnesses to the attack, the missiles hit a five-story building, a store, a three-story building, and a sewing factory around local time.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said S-300 missiles were used. He added that the attacks were of the recently observed “double tap” type, in which a second attack is introduced shortly after the first in the same place.
“All movements are aimed at civilian infrastructure,” he added.
Syniehubov warned that more people could end up under the rubble. He said at least two young men and an emergency room doctor were among those injured in the attack.
Moscow intentionally denies civilians.
“The third, fourth and fifth floors were destroyed, the stairs were destroyed, the facades were destroyed,” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told the state-run Suspilne channel, describing the building.
Kharkiv police leader Volodymyr Tymoshko told Suspilne that he expected the death toll to rise given the numerous injuries caused by shrapnel.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv, located just across the border from Belgorod, Russia, resisted Russian advances in the first weeks of the invasion. However, it has been attacked with missiles and drones in recent weeks.
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