Summary
It is now approaching 6pm in Kyiv. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits, a minister said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Finland’s parliament should reject a proposed laws that would prevent migrants arriving across the long, forested border with Russia from seeking asylum, the Nordic country’s non-discrimination ombudsman said on Thursday.
Speaking in Prague, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said: “When leaders meet in July, we will take further steps to invest in our security, strengthen ties with partners, and bolster our support to Ukraine.”
Jan Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, has called for a strategic approach to Russia’s meddling. “Constant hybrid warfare. Cyber attacks. Lie-poisoned propaganda. Espionage under diplomatic cover. Russia is sowing seeds of chaos globally,” he said.
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said she welcomes “the important decision of the 77th World Health Assembly to adopt a resolution on mental health in times of war and disasters, initiated by Ukraine and the Netherlands.”
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was finalising a proposal for “retaliatory measures” against the EU over the bloc’s ban on the broadcast of four Russian media outlets on its territory.
France could soon send military trainers to Ukraine despite the concerns of some allies and criticism by Russia, and may announce its decision next week during a visit by the Ukrainian president, three diplomatic sources said.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the US, Nato and some European countries were encouraging Ukraine to continue what it called Kyiv’s “senseless war” with Russia and accused them of escalating tensions in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s grain exports are forecast to fall to around 38-40 million metric tons in the 2024/25 season compared with about 50 million tons in 2023/24, the acting farm minister said on Thursday.
Natalia Komarova, the governor of Siberia’s oil-rich Khanty-Mansiisk region who was last year criticised for remarks she made about the war in Ukraine, announced on Thursday that she was resigning from her post.
Russia is building up forces near the northern part of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where it launched an offensive this month, but it still lacks the troop numbers to stage a major push in the area, Ukraine’s top commander said on Thursday.
Russia may take steps in the area of nuclear deterrence if the US deploys intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe and Asia, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Italy will never send any troops to Ukraine and any weapons it has supplied to Kyiv should not be used on Russian territory, the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Thursday.
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Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, told the press conference on Thursday his embassy would cooperate with the efforts to stop Sri Lankans travelling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment offers.
Under the new controls, men will have to produce a “no-objection” document from the Sri Lankan defence ministry when they apply for a tourist visa to Russia, state minister for foreign affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, told reporters.
He said:
I get about ten calls a day from people about this issue. We have reports of people being promised pay but it’s not credited to their accounts.
Some people have taken loans to go and aren’t able to pay them back. They are facing many hardships and we want to find a way to bring them back.
Campaigns on social media platform WhatsApp have targeted former members of Sri Lanka’s military, according to the Sri Lanka’s defence ministry.
Families of Sri Lankans who have travelled to Russia have lodged 455 complaints with the Colombo government, and the actual number of people involved could be higher, Balasuriya said.
At least 37 Sri Lankans have been wounded in Ukraine and 16 others are missing, according to foreign ministry data.
Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits, a minister said on Thursday.
Colombo will also send a delegation to Moscow in June to bring back dozens of Sri Lankans already fighting in the frontline who want to come home, some of them wounded, state minister for foreign affairs Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.
Countries across the region, including India and Nepal, have raised the alarm about their men being persuaded to travel to fight for Russia in Ukraine with offers of salaries, visas and sometimes university places.
Meanwhile, Finland’s parliament should reject a proposed laws that would prevent migrants arriving across the long, forested border with Russia from seeking asylum, the Nordic country’s non-discrimination ombudsman said on Thursday.
The government last week proposed emergency legislation allowing border guards to push back migrants trying to cross the 1,340-km (830-mile) frontier.
According to Reuters, Finland believes Moscow is promoting the crossings in retaliation for Helsinki joining Nato, which backs Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. The Kremlin denies the allegation.
Finland’s government has itself said the proposed legislation would be in breach of the country’s asylum commitments, but that the situation requires tough measures.
It remains uncertain whether the law will obtain the required five-sixths majority in a plenary vote of parliament, a high bar reflecting the fundamental principles at stake.
In a note to parliament, the non-discrimination ombudsman wrote:
There are alternatives to the unconstitutional border security law … The commissioner does not support the adoption of the bill.
In practice, the proposed law would make it possible for people to be forced out of Finland in uncertain and dangerous situations, the ombudsman said.
The Finnish prime minister’s office and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Speaking in Prague, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said:
When leaders meet in July, we will take further steps to invest in our security, strengthen ties with partners, and bolster our support to Ukraine.
Ukraine continues to fight bravely, but the challenges they face are greater and growing. Ukraine can still prevail – but only with continued, robust support from Nato Allies.
So at the Nato summit in July, we plan to put our support on a firmer footing.
Including with a greater Nato role in coordinating security assistance and training, as well as a multi-year financial commitment.
We also plan to work even more closely with our Indo-Pacific partners: Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Including on technology, cyber, and countering hybrid threats.
At our ministerial, the Foreign Ministerial Meeting tomorrow, we will also discuss how to address instability in our southern neighbourhood, including the continuing threat of terrorism.
Updated
Jan Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, has called for a strategic approach to Russia’s meddling.
“Constant hybrid warfare. Cyber attacks. Lie-poisoned propaganda. Espionage under diplomatic cover. Russia is sowing seeds of chaos globally,” he said.
“ I propose we come up with a credible strategic approach towards Russia. Because only a strong NATO can be the antidote to this chaos,” he added.
Constant hybrid warfare. Cyber attacks. Lie-poisoned propaganda. Espionage under diplomatic cover. Russia is sowing seeds of chaos globally. I propose we come up with a credible strategic approach towards Russia. Because only a strong NATO can be the antidote to this chaos.
— Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) May 30, 2024
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said she welcomes “the important decision of the 77th World Health Assembly to adopt a resolution on mental health in times of war and disasters, initiated by Ukraine and the Netherlands.”
“Mental consequences of war are felt even thousands of kilometers away from the frontline. Grateful to member states of the Assembly and WHO for increasing attention to mental health,” she said, adding that “this is a step towards our goal of ensuring that everyone has proper support anywhere, anytime.”
Mental consequences of war are felt even thousands of kilometers away from the frontline. Grateful to member states of the Assembly and @WHO for increasing attention to mental health. This is a step towards our goal of ensuring that everyone has proper support anywhere, anytime.
— Olena Zelenska / Олена Зеленська (@ZelenskaUA) May 30, 2024
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was finalising a proposal for “retaliatory measures” against the EU over the bloc’s ban on the broadcast of four Russian media outlets on its territory.
The EU said earlier this month it was suspending the distribution of the Voice of Europe, the RIA Novosti news agency and the Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspapers.
The European Council said in a statement it was acting because the outlets “have been essential and instrumental in bringing forward and supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had earlier warned of an extremely painful response to the ban.
On Thursday, she told a news briefing that response was in its final stages of preparation and would be submitted for approval in the coming days, Reuters reports.
French military trainers 'could soon be sent to Ukraine'
France could soon send military trainers to Ukraine despite the concerns of some allies and criticism by Russia, and may announce its decision next week during a visit by the Ukrainian president, three diplomatic sources said.
The diplomats said Paris hoped to forge and lead a coalition of countries offering such assistance to Kyiv’s war effort even though some of its EU partners fear it could make a direct conflict with Russia more likely.
According to Reuters, France would initially send a limited number of personnel to assess the modalities of a mission before dispatching several hundred trainers, two of the diplomats said.
Training would centre around de-mining, keeping equipment operational and technical expertise for warplanes to be provided by the west, they said. Paris would also finance, arm, and train a Ukrainian motorised brigade.
“The arrangements are very advanced and we could expect something next week,” said one of the sources.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is due in France on 6 June, the 80th anniversary of D-day, when Allied soldiers landed in Normandy to drive out Nazi German forces during the second world war. He will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris the next day.
Ukraine’s top commander said on Monday he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres soon.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, in a “clarification”, said Kyiv had been expressing interest in a project involving receiving foreign instructors since February.
Russian president Vladimir Putin portrayed the presence of regular French military in Ukraine as a step towards global conflict.
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Kremlin accuses west of encouraging Ukraine in 'senseless war'
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the US, Nato and some European countries were encouraging Ukraine to continue what it called Kyiv’s “senseless war” with Russia and accused them of escalating tensions in recent weeks.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what it called a special military operation, and Kyiv says it is defending itself – with western help – in an effort to expel all Russian forces from its territory.
It says Russia is working hard to try to undermine its morale and will to fight.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, on Thursday accused some western countries of raising tensions in recent weeks by allowing Ukraine to use weapons they had supplied against targets inside Russia, something the US has not publicly agreed to do yet.
Peskov told reporters:
The member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance – the United States in particular, other European capitals – have in recent days and weeks embarked on a new round of escalation.
They are doing this deliberately. We hear a lot of bellicose statements. … They are encouraging Ukraine in every possible way to continue this senseless war.
This will all, of course, inevitably have consequences and will ultimately be very damaging to the interests of those countries that have taken the path of escalation.
Updated
Ukraine’s grain exports are forecast to fall to around 38-40 million metric tons in the 2024/25 season compared with about 50 million tons in 2023/24, the acting farm minister said on Thursday.
Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters lower exports were expected due to a smaller harvest.
Natalia Komarova, the governor of Siberia’s oil-rich Khanty-Mansiisk region who was last year criticised for remarks she made about the war in Ukraine, announced on Thursday that she was resigning from her post.
In a video posted on her official Telegram channel, Komarova, who oversaw a region which accounts for more than 40% of Russia’s total oil output, said she was moving to another undisclosed job even though her term in office does not expire until next year, Reuters reports.
Komarova, who did not explain what had prompted her decision, was criticised by an anti-war activist last year who called for her to be prosecuted for discrediting the Russian army after she appeared to suggest that Moscow had not needed or been ready for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Aides said her remarks had been taken out of context and that Komarova supported the military.
In her resignation video, she thanked President Vladimir Putin for his trust and spoke of the efforts being made by Russian forces on the frontline.
Komarova, 68, was the only serving female governor and had been at the helm of the regional administration since 2010.
Before that, she had headed the committee on natural resources at Russia’s State Duma lower house of parliament.
Local press has tipped the mayor of the city of Tyumen, Ruslan Kukharuk, as her successor as governor.
Russia troop build-up near Kharkiv 'still not enough for large-scale offensive'
Russia is building up forces near the northern part of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where it launched an offensive this month, but it still lacks the troop numbers to stage a major push in the area, Ukraine’s top commander said on Thursday.
According to Reuters, Ukraine says it has stabilised the front in the north-eastern Kharkiv region where Russian forces launched a cross-border assault on 10 May that opened a new front in the 27-month-old war and stretched Kyiv’s outnumbered troops.
Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia was continuing to send additional regiments and brigades from other areas and from training grounds to bulk up its troops on two main lines of attack in Kharkiv region’s north.
That includes the Strilecha-Lyptsi area between two small villages and the vicinity of the border town of Vovchansk where there has been street fighting.
In a statement on Telegram, Syrskyi said:
These forces are currently insufficient for a large-scale offensive and breakthrough of our defence.
He said Ukraine’s “creation of an ammunition reserve” had also reduced the offensive capabilities of Russian forces.
The remark suggested Kyiv’s acute shortages of artillery ammunition had eased since the United States finally approved a major aid package in April after months of delay.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Wednesday that American weapons being delivered were helping to stabilise the Ukrainian frontlines.
Russia has concentrated most of its offensive pressure in Ukraine’s east where its troops have been able to make slow incremental advances since capturing the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region in February.
Updated
Russia may take steps in the area of nuclear deterrence if the US deploys intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe and Asia, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Anton Gerashchenko, a popular blogger and adviser to the internal affairs ministry, posted this update from Ukrainian Defence Intelligence:
Update from Ukrainian Defense Intelligence:
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 30, 2024
On May 30, 2024, Group 13 special unit of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense with the help of Ukrainian Magura V5 marine attack drones successfully attacked
two Russian boats - according to preliminary… https://t.co/2PaVblLH78 pic.twitter.com/gFEOYTeHFU
Italy rules out letting Kyiv use its weapons on Russian territory
Italy will never send any troops to Ukraine and any weapons it has supplied to Kyiv should not be used on Russian territory, the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Thursday.
“All the weapons leaving from Italy [to Ukraine] should be used within Ukraine,” Tajani said in a TV interview with public broadcaster RAI.
Under prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, but Rome has never disclosed any details about its military aid, Reuters reports.
Tajani also dismissed the possibility that former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi could become the next EU Commission President.
“Draghi is not an [official] candidate and does not belong to any [European] political family … I see it as a complicated matter,” he said.
Updated
Opening summary
Nato foreign ministers will meet in Prague on Thursday in the face of growing calls for leading allies to lift restrictions stopping Kyiv from using western weapons to strike inside Russia.
The two-day gathering in the Czech capital is meant to focus on efforts to hammer out a package of support for Ukraine at Nato’s summit in Washington in July.
But the swirling debate over whether to let Kyiv use arms sent by western backers to strike inside Russia risks overshadowing the meeting.
Ukraine has been pressing its supporters – chiefly the United States – to allow it to use the longer-range weaponry they supply to hit targets inside Russia.
The US and Germany have so far refused to permit Kyiv to strike over the border out of fear that it could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.
Ahead of the Nato meeting – which starts with a dinner on Thursday – alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said repeatedly it was time for members to reconsider those limits as they hamper Kyiv’s ability to defend itself.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, appeared to shift the dial on Tuesday when he said Ukraine should be allowed to “neutralise” bases in Russia used to launch strikes.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has previously warned there would be “serious consequences” if western countries give approval to Ukraine.
Overnight, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, criticised the US for aiding Ukraine, saying Washington has become “an accomplice in the crimes of the Kyiv regime”. He said, in particular, that Russia regarded the planned supplies of nuclear-capable F-16 fighters to Ukraine as a “signal action” by Nato.
In other news:
Lavrov also reportedly told Russia’s RIA news agency that China could arrange a peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine would participate. Russia has repeatedly called for talks with a precondition that Kyiv and the West recognise its territorial gains in Ukraine. Kyiv has rejected those proposals.
Security services around Europe are on alert to a potential new weapon of Russia’s war – arson and sabotage – after a spate of mystery fires and attacks on infrastructure in the Baltics, Germany and the UK. Security services believe several incidents could be part of a systemic attempt by Moscow to destabilise the west, which has backed Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry on Thursday said it neutralised 13 Ukrainian aerial drones in the southern Krasnodar region and close to the annexed Crimean peninsula. On Thursday morning, “five Ukrainian aerial drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defence systems in the Krasnodar region,” the ministry said. Another eight drones were intercepted during the night “over the Black Sea, close to the Crimean coast”, the statement added.
Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed seven Russia-launched missiles and 32 drones overnight, its air force commander said on Thursday. On the Telegram messaging app the air force official said Russia had launched a total of 51 missiles and drones. The commander said Russian forces attacked “military facilities and critical infrastructure in Ukraine” but did not provide additional details.
Updated
