Tuesday, May 28

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Emergency services work at a building hit by rocket fire after a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 27, 2024. The attack killed one woman and injured at least 11 people. (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)

Ukrainian drone strikes Russian early-warning radar, traveling record-breaking 1,800 kilometers. For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine attacked facilities in Orsk, some 1,800 kilometers (around 1,200 miles) from the drone’s launch location, according to the source.

NATO Parliamentary Assembly supports Ukraine’s right to hit targets inside Russia using Western arms. NATO allies should lift restrictions that prohibit Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against military targets inside Russia, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly said in a declaration adopted on May 27.

Ukraine, Spain sign bilateral security agreement. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed a bilateral security agreement between the two countries on May 27.

France to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers, Syrskyi says. France is planning to send instructors to Ukraine to train the military, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 27 after a video meeting with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

Russian forces hit Zaporizhzhia airport terminal with Kh-59 missile. Ukrainian military officials confirmed that Russian forces attacked the Zaporizhzhia International Airport on May 26 with a Kh-59 cruise missile, destroying the terminal. No people were injured in the attack.

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NYT: Russia steps up sabotage operations in Europe to undermine Ukraine aid, intelligence officials say. U.S. and allied intelligence officials have noted a growing number of low-level sabotage operations in Europe that seem to be a part of Russia’s effort to undermine assistance for Ukraine, the New York Times (NYT) reported on May 26.

Russia claims capture of 2 villages in Kharkiv, Donetsk oblasts, Ukraine hasn’t confirmed. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on May 27 that its forces had captured the villages of Netailove in Donetsk Oblast and Ivanivka in eastern Kharkiv Oblast.

Unexploded aerial bomb found at site of Kharkiv hypermarket attack. Investigators found a third aerial bomb around 80 meters from the hypermarket as operations to recover bodies from the burned wreckage of the building continued. If the bomb had exploded, “there could have been many more victims,” the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said.

Explosions, fire reported near aircraft repair plant in occupied Luhansk. Explosions were reported near the infrastructure facilities of the former Luhansk Higher Military Aviation School and the nearby aircraft repair plant, Governor Artem Lysohor said.

Ukraine, IMF begin talks on new financial tranche within Extended Fund Facility. After the review, nearly $2.2 billion in funds may be allocated in June under the EFF.

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Ukraine war latest: Kyiv strikes early-warning radar system 1,800 kilometers deep inside Russia

A long-range drone operated by Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) attacked an early-warning Voronezh M radar system in Russia’s Orenburg Oblast on May 26.

Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

‘It’s not a pretty picture:’ What a second Trump presidency could mean for Ukraine

As the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump has barely mentioned Ukraine or articulated any policy positions regarding the country or Russia’s war against it.

Photo: JB Lacroix/GC Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Mykolaiv Oblast town kills 3, injures 6. The strike hit a self-service car wash, Governor Vitalli Kim added. Two of the injured are a girl and a boy aged 17, he said.

Russia attacks Kharkiv with guided aerial bomb, kills 1, injures at least 12. The industrial area of the Kholodnohirskyi district reportedly came under fire. Russia attacked a local civil enterprise, damaging production facilities, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Governor: Death toll in May 25 attack on Kharkiv rises to 18. Syniehubov said that the number of those who were killed had risen to 18 as of around 3:30 p.m. on May 27, while 48 people were confirmed injured.

General Staff: Russia has lost 502,340 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,150 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Bloomberg: EU wants to follow up peace summit with conference with Russia in autumn, sources say. The EU is discussing how to progress from Ukranie’s global peace summit in June to a possible meeting with Russian participation in Saudi Arabia in autumn, Bloomberg reported on May 27, citing undisclosed official sources.

EU sanctions Medvedchuk, Marchevskyi, Voice of Europe. At Czechia’s proposal, the EU has sanctioned former Ukrainian politician and pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on May 27.

EU announces new sanctions against Russia for Navalny’s death, human rights violations. The European Union has established a new sanctions regime against Russia in connection with the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the “accelerating and systematic repression in Russia,” the Council of the EU announced on May 27.

Russia making gains due to Western restrictions on where Ukraine can strike, Latvian president says. Russia’s recent gains in Kharkiv Oblast are a direct consequence of Kyiv’s partners not allowing strikes on military targets inside Russia with Western-supplied arms, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told CNN on May 27.

Poland to restrict movements of Russian diplomats, Moscow promises retaliation. “We hope that the Russian Federation will treat this as a very serious warning,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.

German FM announces additional $65 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The German government will provide Kyiv with an additional 60 million euros ($65 million) in humanitarian assistance, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on May 27.

Swedish minister on Kyiv striking Russian soil with Western arms: ‘Ukraine has right to defend itself.’ “Ukraine has the right to defend itself through military actions aimed at the enemy’s territory as long as the military actions comply with the laws of war,” Jonson said.

In other news

Lithuania’s incumbent president declares victory in runoff vote. Lithuania’s incumbent President Gitanas Nauseda on May 26 declared a landslide victory in the presidential runoff vote, securing his second term in office.

Russian government proposes removing Taliban from list of terrorist organizations. According to Russian state-controlled news agency TASS, the step would pave the way for Russia to officially recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which seized power in 2021 and has not received de jure recognition from any country in the world.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Hodunova, Elsa Court, Oleksiy Sorokin, Kateryna Denisova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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