Zelensky arrives in Portugal, signs bilateral security deal
Under a 10-year bilateral security agreement, Portugal will allocate at least 126 million euros ($137 million) in military aid for Ukraine in 2024.
Team
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in international journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Under a 10-year bilateral security agreement, Portugal will allocate at least 126 million euros ($137 million) in military aid for Ukraine in 2024.
New mercenaries from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and Uganda are being recruited as assault troopers by a specially created unit of the Russian Defense Ministry, the agency said.
The attack on the village reportedly damaged around 100 houses, three of which were "almost completely destroyed," according to Filashkin.
The statement came after Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said that he had already signed documents "that will allow the first French instructors to visit training centers soon."
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.
Key developments on May 27: * Ukrainian drone strikes Russian early-warning radar 1,800 kilometers away * France to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers, Syrskyi says * NATO Parliamentary Assembly supports Ukraine's right to hit targets inside Russia using Western arms * Ukraine, Spain sign bilateral security agreement * Russia claims capture
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.
The industrial area of the Kholodnohirskyi district reportedly came under fire. Russia attacked a local civil enterprise, damaging production facilities, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to disrupt Ukraine's upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on May 24 in response to reports about Putin's alleged willing to halt the war at the current front lines.
Russian forces attacked the town of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on May 24, injuring three people, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.
Ukraine refused to accept some outdated Leopard 1A5 battle tanks from Denmark and Germany due to numerous defects, Danish broadcaster DR reported on May 24, citing Danish Defense Ministry documents.
Moscow deployed units from the Russian Defense Ministry's Africa Corps to fight alongside Russia's regular army and Storm-Z units comprised of convicts to attack the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast over the past week, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on May 24.
The Shevchenkivskyi district court in Kyiv ruled on May 24 that oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky must remain in custody until July 22 with an alternative of a Hr 1.96 billion ($49 million) bail, Unian news agency reported.
Ukrainian forces halted Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector and are conducting counteroffensive actions, Ihor Prokhorenko, a representative of the Main Operational Directorate of Ukraine's General Staff, said at a briefing in Kyiv on May 24.
Berlin has handed over 10 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, four Wisent 1 demining tanks, 1.8 million rounds of small arms ammunition, a Dachs armored engineer vehicle, and other aid in its latest delivery of military aid to Ukraine, the German government said on May 22.
The Russian military is waging "a serious and difficult war" against Ukraine, and its capabilities are "far exceeded" by NATO, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public radio on May 24, according to news portal Telex.
Russian troops are "completely bogged down" in street battles for the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, having suffered "very heavy losses," Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 23.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that it was behind a drone attack targeting Russian military facilities in Russia's Tatarstan Republic on May 23.
Ukraine's Air Force and rocket and artillery forces also hit two Russian artillery pieces, two drone control stations, two command posts, an electronic warfare station, and a Su-25 fighter jet, according to the report.
The Russian troops are trying to advance near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, but they have not entered the town, Kyrylo Sazonov, a soldier of the 41st separate mechanized brigade, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) on May 23.
Russian troops attacked the village of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on May 23, killing a 74-year-old man, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
There is a gap in Ukraine's state budget of $5 billion needed for military expenditures, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko told in an interview with Hromadske Radio on May 22.
Russian citizens arriving in Norway for tourism and "other non-essential travel" will be rejected upon entry across the external border from May 29, the Norwegian government said. Exceptions will be granted in certain cases.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to visit the D-Day commemoration in France and a G7 meeting in Italy in June to ask partners for more military aid, Politico reported on May 22, citing two undisclosed sources.
Yurii Bardash, a Ukraine-born producer and musician who fled to Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war, is suspected of spreading war propaganda and justifying Moscow's aggression, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on May 22.
Russia troops attacked the city of Kharkiv with guided munition on May 22, injuring at least 10 people, according to preliminary information by the local authorities.
Russian troops have been trying to storm the village of Bilohorivka in Luhansk region, for three days, but the situation is under Ukraine's control, Governor Artem Lysohor told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) on May 22.
It will take as long as two years for Sweden to reach the desired capacity to provide Ukraine with more ammunition and strengthen the Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview with Bloomberg published on May 21.
Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts — Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin may be seeking dominance over the Baltic Sea and has his sights on the island of Gotland, Micael Byden, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, said in an interview with RND published on May 21.
Ukraine intercepted all 24 Shahed-type attack drones over Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Sumy, and Odesa oblasts, Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.
"It (partnership) will allow to jointly address common security challenges, make our engagement more effective and explore new areas of cooperation," European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said.