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12:15 PM

Missile strikes reported in Kyiv, 1 injured.

Missile strikes were reported in the capital at 11 a.m. local time by the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, leaving one person injured so far.

11:55 AM

Officials: Russian strikes injure 3, damage property in multiple oblasts over the past day.

Russian forces launched massive strikes using artillery, drones, and aircraft on multiple oblasts over the past day, leaving three injured civilians and causing property damage, officials reported on May 29.

11:26 AM

Prosecutor’s Office: 483 children dead, 986 injured due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As a result of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 483 children were killed and 986 were injured, the General Prosecutor’s Office reported on May 29. These numbers are not final as investigations continue, specifically in the areas where hostilities are taking place.

10:41 AM

Air Force: 30 drones, 37 cruise missiles shot down overnight in Ukraine.

Russia launched up to 40 cruise missiles and 35 attack drones in the overnight attack, Ukraine's Air Force reported on May 29. Ukraine's air defense successfully intercepted 29 Shahed kamikaze drones, one reconnaissance drone, and 37 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles.

9:32 AM

Exiled local authorities: Ukraine strikes Russian positions in occupied Berdiansk.

Ukraine launched an attack on Russian positions in Russian-occupied Berdiansk in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the exiled local authorities reported on May 29. At least five strikes were allegedly conducted on the evening of May 28, the authorities said, while local Telegram channels reported explosions near the airport.

9:08 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 207,030 troops in Ukraine.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,801 tanks, 7,467 armored fighting vehicles, 6,207 vehicles and fuel tanks, 3,435 artillery systems, 575 multiple launch rocket systems, 331 air defense systems, 313 airplanes, 298 helicopters, 3,054 drones, and 18 boats.

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7:30 AM

ISW: Prigozhin indicates possible delay of Russian relief operation in Bakhmut.

Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that the Russian relief operation in Bakhmut may not be completed by the initial deadline of June 1 and take until June 5.

5:49 AM

Russia's war

Russia launches 15th mass aerial assault against Ukraine this month, targeting Kyiv

4:17 AM

Several explosions reported in Kyiv, authorities say air defenses at work.

A number of explosions were heard in Kyiv just after 3 a.m. local time, as reported by a Kyiv Independent journalist. City Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Telegram that first responders were en route to the Holosiivskyi District located in the southwestern part of Kyiv.

2:38 AM

Russia shells 9 communities in Sumy Oblast.

Russian forces shelled nine communities in Sumy Oblast on May 28, firing close to 50 rounds from various types of weapons, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram.

12:19 AM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest drone attack on Kyiv; Ukraine to sanction Iran

11:25 PM

Zelensky congratulates Erdogan on victory in presidential election after run-off vote

With almost 99% of ballots counted in the second round of Turkey's presidential election, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 52% of the votes, according to unofficial data published the state-run Anadolu Agency.

10:36 PM

1 wounded in Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast.

The Russian military heavily shelled the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast on May 28, the State Emergency Service reported. As a result of the attack, a 74-year old woman suffered shrapnel wounds in the village of Kucherivka.

9:23 PM

General Staff: Over 100 Russian soldiers desert in occupied Lysychansk and near Bakhmut.

About 80 Russian soldiers in the occupied city of Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, as well as about 30 mercenaries of the Wagner Group near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast deserted from the battlefield, the General Staff reported on May 28.

9:10 PM

Official: Ukraine won't join NATO until war ends.

Fedir Venislavskyi, the Ukrainian president's representative in the Ukrainian parliament, said on May 28 that the NATO alliance is unlikely to accept Ukraine until the war with Russia ends.

8:32 PM

Reznikov reports 100% hit rate for new British-made cruise missiles used by Ukraine.

The air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, jointly developed by Great Britain and France and capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 250 kilometers, were delivered to Ukraine on May 12 from the UK, CNN reported.

6:50 PM

General Staff: Canadian sappers training Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.

Canadian military sappers have been training Ukrainian soldiers on mine safety in Poland, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on May 28. According to the General Staff, the courses are part of the Canadian UNIFIER training mission.

5:08 PM

Zelensky thanks air defense, first responders after overnight Russian attack.

“The Air Defense Forces of Ukraine. You heard the air raid alarm differently than most people,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the aftermath of Russia's overnight attack on Kyiv on May 28. “You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters, and drones. Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved.”

4:26 PM

Lukashenko claims Russia will give nukes to any state that joins 'Union State.'

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claimed Russia will give nuclear weapons to any state that joins the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Russian state-controlled media said.

2:54 PM

Lavrov calls move to supply Ukraine with Western fighter jets ‘unacceptable escalation.’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the pledged delivery of fighter jets by some Western states is an "unacceptable escalation," criticizing the West for what he called an attempt to "weaken Russia," according to Russian state-controlled media.

1:51 PM

Russia claims drones targeted oil refinery near Black Sea.

Russia’s Krasnodar regional authorities claimed an overnight attempted drone attack on the Ilsky Oil Refinery. According to the report, the attack caused a fire at the oil refinery.

1:35 PM

Zelensky asks parliament to sanction Iran for 50 years.

The bill includes a complete ban on trade with Iran, investments, and transferring technologies, as well as stopping Iranian transit across the Ukrainian territory, and preventing the withdrawal of Iranian assets from Ukraine.

12:22 PM

Russian attacks kill 1, injure 8 civilians across Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Russian attacks in Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblast have also damaged housing, infrastructure, and power grid, regional authorities reported on May 28.

11:43 AM

Death toll rises in Russian strike on Dnipro clinic after more body fragments identified.

Authorities identified fragments of the bodies found on the site, proving they belonged to the three people who had been recorded missing.

10:40 AM

Russian attacks kill 2 in Kharkiv Oblast, hit infrastructure in Zhytomyr Oblast.

Russian shelling and airstrike killed two civilians and injured three others in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 28.

MORE NEWS

Ukraine strikes back around Bakhmut as Wagner reaches last streets in the city

Where does Russia expect Ukraine’s counterattack? Overview of defensive lines

Russia’s Kinzhal missile is not hypersonic. Nor is it invincible

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Lithuanian parliament recognizes Wagner Group as terrorist organization

by The Kyiv Independent news desk March 14, 2023 3:01 PM 2 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

The Seimas of Lithuania approved a resolution recognizing the Russian state-backed mercenary group Wagner as a terrorist organization on March 14, the Baltic News Service reported.

The resolution states that Wagner is a terrorist organization, with their members posing a threat to the security of the Lithuanian state and society.

Some 117 members of the parliament voted in favor of the resolution.

“Since the beginning of the (full-scale) military invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, servicemen of the Russian Federation and mercenaries of the private military company Wagner, which takes an active part in hostilities on the side of the aggressor, have been committing serious systematic crimes of aggression — killing and torturing the civilian population of Ukraine, bombing residential buildings and other civilian objects, which equates to terrorism,” the document reads.

The Lithuanian parliament strongly condemned the use of any mercenary groups, such as Wagner, created with the support of the Russian authorities, to commit crimes of aggression in Ukraine.

The resolution also called on other countries to join them in recognizing Wagner as a terrorist organization.

Wagner Group forces have been fighting in the east of Ukraine alongside the Russian regular army. Russia's assault on Bakhmut relies heavily on Wagner members, which have taken control of most of the eastern part of Bakhmut, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry's daily intelligence update published on March 11.

Wagner has been accused of human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Mozambique, including torture and extrajudicial killings.

Earlier on Feb. 6, the Ukrainian parliament recognized Wagner as an international criminal organization and called on foreign governments to do the same.

The U.S. Treasury Department designated Wagner Group mercenaries as a “significant transnational criminal organization” and imposed sanctions on its support network worldwide on Jan. 26.

The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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