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9:42 PM

US to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems, ammunition following upsurge in Russian attacks.

U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby announced during a White House press briefing on May 31 that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with more air defense in response to Russia's upsurge of attacks over the past month.

9:25 PM

EU Council sanctions 7 individuals accused of attempting to destabilize Moldova, Ukraine.

The EU Council announced on May 30 that it had imposed sanctions on seven individuals for attempting to undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova and Ukraine.

9:17 PM

Two Russian ships spotted loading Ukrainian grain, metal at port in occupied Berdiansk.

Two Russian ships were spotted at the Port of Berdiansk on May 31 loading Ukrainian grain and metal, according to the exiled Berdiansk City Administration.

8:51 PM

EU Parliament President: Drone attacks on Moscow don't change EU support for Ukraine.

Drone attacks on Moscow shouldn't have any impact on the EU's support for Ukraine, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told Deutsche Welle on May 31.

8:04 PM

Court seizes $13.6 million of assets from former Kherson Oblast official suspected of treason.

A Ukrainian court has seized Hr 500 million ($13.6 million) of assets of a former Kherson Oblast Council deputy who is suspected of treason and collaboration with Russia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 31.

7:42 PM

Zelensky visits Odesa Oblast to meet military, law enforcement heads.

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Odesa Oblast on May 31, meeting with the regional military and law enforcement heads to discuss the situation in the southern region.

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7:10 PM

Russian forces shell Kharkiv Oblast, killing 1 person, injuring another.

Russian forces shelled the city of Vovchansk on May 31, killing one man and injuring another, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 31.

6:48 PM

Zelensky appoints controversial official as governor of Odesa Oblast.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree appointing a controversial official, Kyiv's Chief Prosecutor Oleh Kiper as the new governor of Odesa Oblast on May 30.

6:28 PM

Ombudsman: Ukrainian POWs, abducted children transferred through Belarus.

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed during a press briefing that some Ukrainian prisoners of war and abducted children were transferred through the territory of Belarus, Ukrinform reported on May 31.

6:11 PM

Germany says Ukraine has right to strike Russian territory when it's self-defense.

Ukraine is within its right to launch strikes on Russian territory when it qualifies as self-defense, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told Deutsche Welle on May 31.

6:04 PM

Russia sentences 4 Crimean Tatars to lengthy prison terms.

A Russian military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced four Crimean Tatars to lengthy prison terms on "terrorism" charges, the human rights group Crimean Solidarity announced on May 31.

5:24 PM

Russian forces shell Kherson Oblast, injuring 3 people, including 2 children.

Three people, including one child, were injured by Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast on May 31, according to reports from local officials.

5:09 PM

Military intelligence: Russia building new facilities for sorting, storing bodies of its dead soldiers.

Russia is building facilities for sorting and storing corpses of its soldiers killed during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) claimed on May 31.

4:24 PM

Germany orders closure of 4 out of 5 Russian consulates after Moscow expels German staff.

The German government told Russia to close four out of its five consulates in Germany in retaliation for Moscow’s expulsion of German staff in Russia, the Associated Press reported on May 31.

3:58 PM

Border Guard Service: Russian forces blow up road linking Ukraine's Chernihiv and Russia's Bryansk.

According to the State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko, cited by Ukrainska Pravda news outlet, the explosion occurred on May 30 on the road linking Ukraine's northern city of Chernihiv and Russia's Bryansk.

3:57 PM

Medvedev: UK leading ‘undeclared war’ against Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and a former Russian president, claimed that the U.K. is leading an “undeclared war against Russia” by supplying Ukraine with weapons, making British officials “legitimate military targets.”

2:52 PM

Ukraine receives $1.25 billion in budget support from US.

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with another $1.25 billion in budget support under the World Bank’s PEACE project, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on May 31.

2:00 PM

UK Defense Ministry: Russia increasingly losing initiative in war against Ukraine.

Since the start of May, Russia has increasingly ceded the initiative in its war against Ukraine, reacting to Kyiv's actions rather than actively advancing towards its own military goals, reported the U.K. Defense Ministry.

12:55 PM

Opinion

Oleksii Vitchenko: A call to invest in Ukraine’s tech sector

12:10 PM

IAEA chief presents deal to protect Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi presented an updated agreement to protect the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant at a May 30 meeting of the UN Security Council.

11:00 AM

1 killed, 13 injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over past day.

Russian attacks killed one civilian in Donetsk Oblast's Chasiv Yar and injured six in other regional settlements, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on May 31. Seven more people, including a child, were reportedly wounded in Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Kharkiv oblasts over the past 24 hours.

9:46 AM

General Staff: Russian forces in Luhansk Oblast threaten to withhold wages of workers who refuse to accept Russian passports.

Ukrainian employees of a public institution in Russian-occupied Stanytsia Luhanska, Luhansk Oblast, were told by Russian forces that only those who have registered at a Russian bank would be able to receive their salary in June, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on May 31.

8:18 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 207,910 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

Ukraine's General Staff reported on May 25 that Russia had also lost 3,802 tanks, 7,472 armored fighting vehicles, 6,230 vehicles and fuel tanks, 3,460 artillery systems, 575 multiple launch rocket systems, 333 air defense systems, 313 airplanes, 298 helicopters, 3,124 drones, and 18 boats.

7:32 AM

ISW: Putin downplayed Moscow drone attack due to limited options to retaliate.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attempted to downplay the recent drone attack on Moscow in order to "avoid exposing the limited options he has to retaliate against Ukraine," the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update on Russia's war in Ukraine.

6:43 AM

Fire at oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar likely caused by drone strike, officials say.

A fire broke out at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar Krai region following what was likely a drone strike, the regional governor said overnight on May 31.

MORE NEWS

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Wagner boss claims over 5,000 Russian prisoners freed after fighting in Ukraine

by The Kyiv Independent news desk March 25, 2023 11:51 PM 1 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

Head of Russian state-backed Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on March 25 that more than 5,000 Russian prisoners who fought in Ukraine were offered amnesty.

Prigozhin's claim comes half a year after a video of an unnamed man resembling the Wagner leader circulated online, capturing how he offered prisoners to fight in Ukraine would be pardoned.

Reuters said in its January investigation that Prigozhin motivated prisoners, including contract killers, murderers, career criminals, and people with alcohol issues, by promising they would be free if they survived half a year on the Ukraine front. Ukraine and international observers have reported extremely heavy casualties among the Russian forces, including the Wagner members in Donetsk Oblast.

While Wagner appears to have led Russia's brutal offensive on the salt-mining town of Soledar, which led to its capture in January, tensions continue to build up between the infamous mercenary group and the Russian Defense Ministry.

For reasons unknown, Prigozhin claimed on Feb. 9 that the Wagner had “completely stopped” recruiting prisoners to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The current intensity of Wagner's prisoner recruitment remains unclear.

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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