Key developments on June 7: * Biden announces $225 million aid package for Ukraine * Macron: France to finalize coalition to send military instructors to Ukraine * Producer of Caesar howitzers to set up branch in Ukraine * Netherlands to invest $436 million to make armored vehicles for Ukraine * Russia hit 2 oil depots
Germany has not yet made a final decision on the delivery of the fourth battery, according to Bloomberg's sources.
The U.S. is preparing to announce a military aid package for Ukraine worth $225 million, the Associated Press reported on June 6, citing unnamed American officials.
"Secondly, we think that if somebody considers supplying such weapons to a combat zone to strike our territory... then why don't we have the right to supply comparable weapons to regions where they could be used to strike sensitive targets of countries that do this to Russia?" Vladimir Putin said.
The IT Coalition for Ukraine, comprising 12 European nations, has raised a combined 58 million euros ($62.9 million) for Ukraine's IT and cybersecurity defense capabilities, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced on May 31.
Ukraine's President Volodoymyr Zelensky and Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson signed a long-term bilateral agreement between the two countries in Stockholm on May 31.
Ukraine can use German-supplied weapons to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia, Deutsche Welle reported on May 31, citing a German government spokesperson.
"Our top priorities are to ensure more air defense systems for Ukraine, joint defense industry projects, and weapons for our warriors, as well as global efforts to force Russia to make peace," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said bilateral agreements exist "not to be discussed publicly, to draw some 'red lines' as to what is tolerated and what is not."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will ask NATO allies to provide a minimum of 40 billion euros ($43.3 billion) in annual military funding for Ukraine, a source within NATO told Reuters on May 30.
Key developments on May 30: * Ukraine hit 4 Russian patrol boats in occupied Crimea overnight, military intelligence says * Ukraine hits Russian ferry crossing with ATACMS in Crimea, General Staff says * Politico: Biden quietly allows Ukraine to strike Russia with US arms but 'solely near Kharkiv' * Ukraine can use Danish-supplied F-16s
The new package will reportedly include ammunition for Iris-T air defense systems and shorter-range SLS missiles, as well as reconnaissance drones, 1 million rounds of small arms ammunition, Leopard 1 battle tanks, and Marder armored vehicles.
Vilnius will provide Kyiv with mobile air surveillance radars, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on June 8 during Biden's first state visit to France, the White House announced on May 30.
To provide Ukraine with 1.5 million of shells this year, 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) will be needed, said Tomas Kopecny, the Czech envoy for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The new factory in Mesquite will produce 30,000 each month once it reaches its full capacity, according to the New York Times.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it dramatically changed the continent. The largest conventional war in Europe since World War II demanded Western leaders move away from their peacetime thinking and step in decisively to
Key developments on May 29: * Sweden announces $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine in largest package ever * Finland, Canada, Poland don't prohibit Ukraine from striking targets in Russia with their weapons * Pressed on strikes inside Russia, Blinken says US stance will 'adapt and adjust as necessary' * 19 killed,
Representatives of Finland, Canada, and Poland issued separate statements on May 29 saying Ukraine can use their weapons to strike targets on Russian territory.
The announcement came a day after Sweden said it was providing Ukraine with a new package of energy aid worth 615 million Swedish krona ($58.2 million).
Russia has 500,000 troops in Ukraine and near its borders and is preparing to involve another 200,000-300,000, aiming to "open a new front in the north to start using all their manpower, firing power," Umerov said.
Key updates on May 28: * Belgium signs security deal with Ukraine, pledges $1 billion in aid this year * Zelensky arrives in Portugal, signs bilateral security deal * Sending troops to Ukraine 'shouldn't be ruled out,' Polish FM says * WSJ: Russia aims to produce 6,000 Shahed-type drones a year in
"As a country under attack, Ukraine certainly has every right to use all means of defense," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
The parties will discuss how to improve the coordination of aid to Ukraine, including ammunition supply, air defense, and cooperation in the defense industry.
"We have been urged by the other countries in the coalition to wait with the Gripen system," Defense Minister Pal Jonson told TT in Brussels, adding: "This has to do with the fact that the focus is now on introducing the F-16 system."
The package consists of two parts: 500 million Swedish krona (around $45 million) under the Energy Community's Ukraine Energy Support Fund and another 150 million Swedish krona (around $15 million) through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
"Everything which is covered by this agreement... is for the utilization by the Ukrainian defense forces on Ukrainian territory," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo responded to a journalist's question about whether Ukraine will be able to use Belgian F-16 jets to down Russian jets in Russian airspace.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed a long-term bilateral security agreement in Brussels on May 28, the Presidential Office announced.
The Netherlands has identified which partners could contribute parts and ammunition from their own stocks and called on them to contribute.
The announcement accompanies news that President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Belgium on May 28 to sign a bilateral security agreement.
The Latvian government will invest around 20 million euros ($22 million) in the drone coalition for Ukraine this year, the public broadcaster LSM reported on May 27, citing the country's defense minister, Andris Spruds.
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.
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