Ukraine thwarts a ‘record’ drone attack on Kiev
Ukraine on Sunday claimed to have foiled the largest nighttime drone attack on Kiev “since the beginning of the Russian invasion”. Military authorities said they destroyed 52 of the 54 demolition drones launched by Moscow in the country, including “more than 40”. over the capital.
“All in all, a record number of explosive drones fired was registered: 54!” The Ukrainian Air Force declared on Telegram that it had “destroyed 52”. According to the authorities, two people were killed and three injured in the attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Zelenskyy announces new sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced new sanctions against 220 Russia-affiliated companies and 51 people on Saturday.
In a video address, he claimed that the sanctions “work for terror” and described them as “Russian military-industrial companies and related companies. Companies that serve the war”.
“Not all of them are operating on the territory of the terrorist state,” said Zelenskyy in his nightly video address, “but all will be subject to worldwide pressure.”
He also thanked Japan, Germany, Finland, Canada and Iceland for sanctions and defense packages.
Russia claims to intercept long-range missiles
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday claimed its air defense forces had managed to intercept two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Drone fighting near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine continues as the extent of the destruction from the Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities becomes ever clearer.
Officers from Ukraine’s 59th Motorized Brigade use improvised combat drones to try to stop the Russian advance.
One officer said that if the Russians fail to take a city, they simply destroy it with artillery.
The Russian war tactics, dubbed “scorched land,” were used in Bakhmut, Maryinka and many other Ukrainian towns and villages, the officer said.
Germany receives request for cruise missiles
Ukraine has submitted an official request to the German government for the delivery of Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of at least 500 km, the German Defense Ministry told the AFP news agency on Saturday.
“In the last few days we have received an inquiry from the Ukrainian side,” said the spokeswoman, without giving any information on the quantities.
It now remains to be seen whether Berlin will grant the request, which is likely to spark a heated internal debate.
The federal government has significantly increased its arms deliveries to Kiev in recent months, but has so far been reluctant to provide cruise missiles or support the Ukrainian air force, for example with the delivery of F-16 fighter jets.
The Taurus is a fighter-borne air-to-surface cruise missile developed by the German-Swedish company of the same name. Due to its range, it would be able to hit targets far behind the current front line in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine claims Russia is planning an attack on a nuclear power plant
Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed, without providing any evidence, that Russia is planning a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power plant it occupies in the south-east of the country to thwart a looming Ukrainian counter-offensive.
A statement released on Friday by the Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces would attack the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, and then report a radioactive leak to trigger an international investigation, disrupting hostilities and escalating the situation would give Russian forces the breathing space they need to regroup ahead of the counteroffensive.
In order to achieve this, Russia has “interrupted the rotation of the staff of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency’s permanent monitoring mission planned for Saturday,” the statement said. No evidence was presented to support the claims.
The IAEA told the AP in an email reply that it had not made any immediate comment on the allegations and Russian officials did not immediately comment on Ukraine’s claims.
Drone attack on buildings on Russian territory
Two drones damaged an oil pipeline administration building in the Pskov region of western Russia, the regional governor said on Saturday.
According to unconfirmed reports published by Baza, a Russian media outlet on Telegram with sources in the intelligence community, the drones were targeting the Transneft oil pumping station in Pskov.
The blast was the latest in a string of airstrikes across Russia in recent weeks.
“Early in the morning an explosion damaged the administration building of the oil pipeline near Litvinovo in the Nevelsky district, about 10 km from the border with Belarus, Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said.
He added that the building was “damaged by an attack by two unmanned aerial vehicles” shortly afterwards, according to initial information.
No injuries were reported and an investigation is ongoing.
The fight for the top title in Ukrainian football continues
Two football teams forced out of towns in war-torn eastern Ukraine will meet in the country’s safer west on Sunday for the championship title.
The showdown between leaders Shakhtar Donetsk and runners-up Dnipro-1 at the Arena Lviv will be crucial in a football season that ends according to plan in remarkable circumstances.
The stadium was one of four in Ukraine, including Shakhtar’s home ground in Donetsk, that was sufficiently protected from Russian aggression in 2012 to co-host that year’s European Championship with Poland.
Shakhtar lead by five points and need just a draw this weekend to secure the title ahead of the final scheduled round on June 4.
“I think it might be one of our best games ever,” Ukrainian league executive director Ievgen Dykyi told The Associated Press in a call from Kyiv this week. “Because the situation is really difficult now and all players understand it.”
Russia fails to block Ukraine at the World Health Organization
Russia suffered a setback on Friday when Ukraine failed to block entry to the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board.
The ten countries that have joined the Executive Board for three-year terms – including both Ukraine and North Korea – are usually elected by acclamation during the World Health Assembly, the 76th session of which is currently being held in Geneva.
However, Moscow’s attempt to prevent Ukraine from joining this 34-member forum, which plays a key role in WHO governance, made it necessary to hold a vote for the first time since 1977.
The result was clear: the candidates nominated by each of the six WHO regions were elected with 123 votes in favour, with 13 abstentions.
“Today’s vote was a clear defeat for Russia, which has failed in its ruthless attempts to undermine the authority of WHO regional committees and disrupt the work of the World Health Assembly and its Executive Board,” said Yevheniia Filipenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to the WHO UNO in Geneva.