DGermany will supply Ukraine with 64 more Patriot-type guided missiles for air defense systems. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels that the decision was crucial to provide stable support to the Ukrainian armed forces at the current stage. The rockets are to be delivered immediately.
Pistorius said it was “a very important sign of continued support for the successful efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to ensure aviation security, especially now at this special stage of the war.”
The day before, the United States, Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands had already announced that they would provide hundreds of additional anti-aircraft missiles for the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia. Delivery has already started and will be completed within a few weeks.
Current developments in Live Ticker:
10:47 am – President of South Africa arrives in Ukraine on peacekeeping mission
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine as part of a multi-African joint peace effort. The South African president announced on Twitter that Ramaphosa had arrived at Nemitchayev railway station in the Kiev region. Representatives from six other African countries were expected in the Ukrainian capital. They wanted to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a group.
On Saturday, the African mission plans to travel to St. Petersburg for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ramaphosa announced in May that both Zelensky and Putin had agreed to take over the African peacekeeping mission.
10:01 am – Russian Defense Ministry: Heavy losses for Ukraine in Donetsk
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine continues to suffer heavy losses on the frontline in the Donetsk region. The counterattack was concentrated there, state news agency RIA reported, citing the ministry.
09:54 – Governor: Two killed in Russian attack in Kherson region
According to Ukrainian sources, a couple died in Russian bombing last night in the Cherson region. Local governor Oleksandr Prokhudin said a house had been hit. The woman died instantly and the man died on the way to the hospital.
09:40 – Russian soldiers get bonuses for destroying western tanks
Russian players get bonuses for destroying Western-style tanks. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, this is part of a larger reward program. By the end of May, more than 10,000 Russian soldiers had received bonuses for destroying 16,000 pieces of Ukrainian and Western military equipment. 50,000 rubles (about 545 euros) for an armored vehicle, twice as much for a tank. No receipts for payment yet.
09:37 – Ukraine announces F-16 jet training mission
According to Ukraine, several dozen pilots are to train for US F-16 fighter jets. A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force says that everything is being done to ensure that the training starts as soon as possible. Ukraine Demands Modern US-Made Fighter Jets; No decision has been made yet on whether she will get anything.
08:19 – Drone attack in the Kursk region of western Russia
In the western Russian region of Kursk, near the border with Ukraine, a drone strike caused a warehouse of a textile factory to burn, officials said. This was announced by the Regional Civil Defense Organization. According to media reports, an administrative building was hit first, from where the flames spread to the camp. People are not affected.
6:00 am – Experts expect to recover soil in the flood zone
After the destruction of the Khakovka dam in the war zone in southern Ukraine, the soil in the flooded Cherson region can also be restored, says expert Georg Kugenberger. “Soils are organisms that can heal themselves,” the head of the Institute of Soil Science at the University of Hannover told the German Press Agency. The prerequisite is that the water from the reservoir flowing into the Black Sea does not wash the earth. The soil is one of the most fertile in Europe, and the region is considered the granary of Ukraine.
11:36 pm – Zelenskyy sees Ukraine on path to EU and NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his delight at the European Parliament’s support for his country’s accession to NATO and the European Union. “The European Parliament has adopted a powerful resolution in support of the European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of our people,” he said in his daily video address on Thursday. EU leaders now have a clear call to pave the way for accession.
The EU Parliament had earlier called on NATO to pave the way for Ukraine to join the Western security alliance after the end of the war of aggression against Russia. The non-binding resolution passed in Strasbourg on Thursday said the process of integration should begin after the end of the war and be completed as soon as possible.
9:51 pm – Russia’s oil revenues fall according to US data
According to the US government, Russia’s revenue from the oil trade fell by almost half in the first five months of the year. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told an event in Washington hosted by the Center for a New American Security think tank that Russia now exports more crude oil than when it launched its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Despite higher exports, Russia is now making less money because its oil is now trading at a 25 percent discount to oil from other countries, Adeyemo added, noting the price range for Russian oil.
Because of the war in Ukraine, the West introduced a price ceiling for Russian crude oil at $60 a barrel in early December. Additionally, a price cap on Russian petroleum products has recently been in place. According to Adeyemo, sanctions and export restrictions imposed on Moscow make it difficult for Moscow to find replacements for equipment lost in the war.
20:33 – Kadyrov: Chechen fighters stopped in Belgorod
According to Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, his fighters are stationed in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine. Troops of the “Sapad-Akhmat” battalion took positions near the border village of Nekhotevka and a checkpoint in Graivoron district, Kadyrov told the Telegram messaging service. Its purpose is to prevent attacks by “Ukrainian subversive groups”. Belgorod Oblast recently reported a series of incursions by pro-Ukrainian partisan groups posing as opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the incident.
7:52pm – Kremlin: Schaalz may “throw blinkers” during phone call with Putin
The prospect of a phone call by Chancellor Olaf Scholes with Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely, but welcome, according to the Kremlin. “Perhaps this will prevent Berlin from blindly assessing the situation, at least for a second,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television. But, currently there is no movement in this regard. Scholes’ statement about a possible phone call was “probably about speculative motives”.
According to Pesco, such talks are necessary. It is perfectly normal for heads of state to talk to each other even in the most dire of times. “It would not be bad if such a discussion took place so that they could at least once learn our position directly,” said Peskov. Relations between Berlin and Moscow deteriorated massively after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Germany supports Ukraine in its defense and demands the withdrawal of Russian troops from the neighboring country.
In late May, Scholz said he wanted to resume talks with Putin. “It’s been a while since my last phone call. But I plan to talk to Putin again at the right time,” he said in a press interview. He did not give a date for the talks again, however.
6:00 pm – Ukraine receives hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles from NATO countries
Ukraine is receiving hundreds of additional anti-aircraft missiles from four NATO countries for its counterattack against Russia and for infrastructure protection. The United States, Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands said they did so after a meeting of the International Liaison Committee on Coordinating Military Assistance in Brussels. Delivery of short- and medium-range missiles has already begun and should be completed in a few weeks.
According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), Germany is not involved. “When it comes to air defense, Germany has already done a big deal in advance. I don’t think anyone like us,” Pistorius said in Brussels. The federal government recently announced further disbursements in a package of 2.7 billion euros. “If four more people join in with their own opinion, I can only welcome it.”
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