Here is the situation as it stands on Monday, May 15, 2023.
Fighting
- Russia’s Defence Ministry said two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut.
- A Russian aerial ‘raiding party’ consisting of a Su-34 fighter-bomber, a Su-35 fighter, and two Mi-8 helicopters were reported shot down before entering Ukraine territory.
Diplomacy
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would support Ukraine as long as needed. “I have said it many times, and I repeat it here today: We will support you for as long as it is necessary,” Scholz said during a joint news conference with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Kyiv and its Western supporters could make a Russian defeat in the war in Ukraine “irreversible” as early as this year.
- Leaders of the G7 plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan this week, with steps aimed at energy and exports aiding Moscow’s war effort, said officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Aid
- Germany announced additional military aid for Ukraine worth almost $3bn, including tanks, antiaircraft systems and ammunition.
- France said it will send dozens of armoured vehicles and light tanks, including the AMX-10RCs fighting vehicles, to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
- The European Union must speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine as the country’s forces need 1,000 artillery shells every day in the Bakhmut area alone, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
