US President Joe Biden advised G7 leaders that Washington will help offering superior warplanes together with F-16s to Ukraine and can again efforts to coach Kyiv’s pilots, senior White House officers stated on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is ready to attend the G7 summit in Japan, hailed the transfer as a “historic decision”. Read our dwell weblog for all the most recent developments on the struggle in Ukraine. All instances are Paris time (GMT+2).
6:45pm: US imposes contemporary sanctions on a whole lot of Russian targets
The US on Friday introduced sanctions on greater than 300 targets as G7 leaders met in Japan, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of many harshest sanctions efforts ever applied.
The transfer, which targets Russia’s sanctions evasion, future vitality revenues and military-industrial provide chains, marks the most recent sanctions and export controls concentrating on Moscow, which have already hit hundreds of targets and imposed steep curbs on
Russia.
“Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions,” US Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen stated in an announcement.
5:40pm: Biden helps coaching Ukraine pilots on F-16s, W.House supply says
US President Joe Biden advised G7 leaders that Washington will help coaching Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets that may very well be provided to Kyiv, a senior White House official advised AFP on Friday.
Biden stated the US “will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force”, the official stated.
“As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” they added.
5:11pm: China says keen to speak to Poland about political settlement for Ukraine disaster
China attaches significance to Poland’s key function in regional affairs, and is keen to proceed to speak with Warsaw on the political settlement of the Ukraine disaster, China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, stated on Friday.
China will help the institution of a balanced, efficient and sustainable European safety structure, Li stated at a gathering with Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wojciech Gerwel in Warsaw, in response to a overseas ministry assertion.
5:01pm: Ex-president Medvedev says Russia recruited over 100,000 troops in 2023
More than 100,000 individuals have enlisted within the Russian military this yr, former president Dmitry Medvedev stated on Friday, as Moscow seeks to recruit volunteers for its offensive in Ukraine.
Moscow has carried out an aggressive navy recruitment marketing campaign in latest months as Kyiv gears up for an offensive after months of stalemate in japanese Ukraine.
“Between January 1 and May 19, 117,400 people have been accepted into the ranks of the armed forces on a contractual basis and as part of our voluntary formations,” Medvedev stated.
Mededev, who’s now deputy chairman of the Kremlin’s Security Council, stated Russian officers have been persevering with to recruit troopers on contract.
4:27pm: Ukraine says repelled Russian assaults close to Bakhmut
Ukraine stated on Friday it had repelled assaults by Russian forces attempting to recapture land they’d misplaced across the devastated japanese metropolis of Bakhmut, the place Kyiv says it has inflicted heavy Russian casualties.
A Ukrainian mortar unit close to the town advised Reuters it had superior this week, however was dealing with heavy hearth from Russian forces who appeared to have important power in manpower and shares of ammunition.
“The fire was intensive this week. Our forces pushed forward a little, stopped near the canal. It’s hard to push them (the Russians) out of there,” stated a soldier with the decision signal Medvid, which implies “bear” in Ukrainian.
4:14pm: Russia bans Greenpeace for propaganda, attempting to ‘change energy’
Russia on Friday labelled Greenpeace an undesirable organisation, accusing it of anti-Moscow propaganda and attempting to “change power in the country”.
The designation criminalises the work of organisations carrying the model and places workers prone to prosecution.
The Office of the General Prosecutor stated the local weather advocacy group posed “a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security” of the nation.
Since the beginning of Russia’s navy offensive in Ukraine, Greenpeace activists have been engaged in “anti-Russian propaganda” and known as for Russia’s financial isolation, the assertion stated.
4:05pm: Russia-Georgia flights resume regardless of protests, strained ties
Direct flights resumed on Friday between Russia and Georgia amid protests and sharp criticism from the South Caucasus nation’s president, simply over every week after the Kremlin unexpectedly lifted a four-year-old ban regardless of rocky relations.
Georgian police on Friday afternoon dispersed protesters who had gathered at Tbilisi airport to satisfy an Azimuth Airlines flight from Moscow, the primary to reach from Russia since July 2019, with indicators and slogans criticising the Kremlin and what they described as the present Georgian authorities’s pro-Russia course.
Georgia’s pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has beforehand clashed with the federal government over mending ties with Moscow, additionally voiced her opposition in a tweet posted on Friday. “Despite the opposition of the Georgian people, Russia has landed its unwelcome flight in Tbilisi. No to flights to Russia!,” Zourabichvili stated.
4:05pm: Russian ex-mayor fined for discrediting military however avoids jail
The dissident former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest metropolis has prevented jail regardless of being discovered responsible on Friday in a trial over his criticism of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Roizman, 60, a pointy critic of the Kremlin, is among the most seen and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. He loved broad reputation whereas serving as mayor of Yekaterinburg, a metropolis of 1.5 million individuals within the Ural Mountains.
Roizman, who was mayor from 2013 to 2018, was arrested final August on prices of discrediting the Russian navy, beneath a brand new regulation adopted after Moscow despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022. State prosecutors on the time singled out a video broadcast Roizman made in July 2022 through which he criticised Russia’s intervention.
2:46pm: Zelensky thanks Saudi Arabia for supporting Kyiv
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and thanked him for backing Ukraine’s sovereignty, an announcement from the presidency stated.
“The President thanked the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia for supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” Zelensky’s workplace stated, including that he had invited Mohammed bin Salman to go to Ukraine.
2:29pm: Zelensky says ‘some’ Arab leaders flip ‘blind eye’ to Russian invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused some Arab leaders of ignoring the horrors of Russia’s invasion of his nation throughout a speech Friday at an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.
>> Read extra: Ukraine struggle exposes splits between Global North and South
“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here, among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations,” Zelensky advised summit attendees, urging them to “take an honest look” on the struggle.
2:16pm: Zelensky asks for help at Arab league summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged international locations at an Arab League summit on Friday to help his peace initiative to finish Russia’s struggle in Ukraine.
Zelensky, who’s making his first journey to Saudi Arabia, stated in an deal with that delegates would every obtain the textual content of the 10-point peace plan and requested them to work with Ukraine instantly with out intermediaries.
2:14pm: Poland says China ought to put stress on Russia to finish struggle
Poland known as on China to exert stress on Russia to finish its struggle in Ukraine throughout a gathering between two high officers in Warsaw, the Polish overseas ministry stated on Friday.
China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui is on a tour of European capitals and was in Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday, the place he mentioned methods to finish the Ukraine-Russia battle via a political settlement.
In an announcement issued following talks between Li and Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wojciech Gerwel, the Polish overseas ministry stated that Gerwal had known as on Beijing to make use of its affect to make Russia finish the struggle.
1:49pm: Zelensky’s presence at Arab League summit an ‘extraordinary’ shock
“There had been rumours Zelensky was going to come but what the Ukrainian president is essentially doing here is gatecrashing what was meant to be the ‘welcome back’ party at the Summit for [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad,” says FRANCE 24’s Douglas Herbert reporting from Jeddah.
12:51am: NATO is boosting capability on Russia’s borders, Russia’s Patrushev says
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev stated on Friday that NATO was rising its navy capability on Russia’s borders, the TASS news company reported.
11:50am: ‘Last remnants’ of US-Russia arms management are disappearing, Kremlin says
The Kremlin stated on Friday that the “last remnants” of arms management agreements between Russia and the United States have been disappearing, after a bunch of U.S. Republican lawmakers on Thursday launched a invoice to scrap the New START settlement on nuclear arms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in New START earlier this yr.
11:49am: Former Russian mayor fined $3,245 for ‘discrediting’ military
Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was fined 260,000 roubles ($3,245) on Friday after a court docket discovered him responsible of “discrediting” the Russian military, Russian news companies reported.
Roizman, a former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest metropolis of Yekaterinburg, was detained final August and banned from the web after he referred to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine as a “war” in a YouTube video.
Russia calls the battle a “special military operation” and other people threat prosecution in the event that they use the phrases “war” or “invasion”.
Popular and charismatic, Roizman is an outspoken supporter of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and has usually criticised the Kremlin in generally crude language on social media.
11:40am: Zelensky lands in Saudi Arabia to attend Arab League summit
President Volodymyr Zelensky landed on Friday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend an Arab League summit, additionally attended by lengthy remoted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a detailed Russian ally.
The beforehand unannounced go to is Zelensky’s first to the Middle East since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, giving the Ukrainian chief a possibility to handle leaders within the area that has been far much less united in its help of Kyiv than staunch Western allies.
“Arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit,” Zelensky stated on Twitter, including he plans to satisfy with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and different leaders.
An Arab League official advised AFP Zelenky’s invitation got here from Saudi Arabia, not the bloc.
11:12am: Russia says defence minister inspected troops in occupied Ukraine
Russia stated on Friday that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited a command put up in Ukraine’s southern area of Zaporizhzhia and inspected troops there.
“Sergei Shoigu inspected the forward command post of one of the formations of the Vostok group of troops in the Zaporizhzhia direction,” the Russian defence ministry stated in an announcement.
10:41am: G7 agrees new sanctions to ‘starve Russia’s struggle machine’
Leaders from the Group of Seven nations agreed to new sanctions on Friday that they stated would “starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine”.
The measures, introduced on the summit in Hiroshima, embrace restrictions on exports of things “critical to Russia on the battlefield”, in addition to ones concentrating on entities accused of transferring materials to the entrance for Moscow.
10:35am: G7 leaders says Ukraine has price range help for 2023 and early 2024
G7 leaders on Friday stated they’d ensured that Ukraine had the price range help it wants for this yr and early 2024 as they renewed their dedication to offer monetary and navy help in its struggle towards Russia.
“Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russia’s illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law,” they stated in an announcement on the G7 summit, which kicked off within the Japanese metropolis of Hiroshima on Friday.
10:00am: Ukraine says Russia attempting to recapture land round Bakhmut
Russian forces are attempting to recapture land they’ve misplaced across the japanese Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut however Kyiv’s forces are repelling the assaults, Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated on Friday.
Russian forces have gained some floor inside the town itself, however they don’t management it and preventing rages on, Maliar stated in televised feedback.
9:49am: Russian forces dig in at Ukrainian nuclear plant, witnesses say
Russian navy forces have been enhancing defensive positions in and across the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant in southern Ukraine in latest weeks, 4 witnesses stated, forward of an anticipated counteroffensive within the area.
The new measures, described by two Ukrainians who work on the energy plant and two different residents within the metropolis of Enerhodar, embrace laying extra mines and digging new trenches across the metropolis.
The Russians have had firing positions arrange atop a number of the plant’s buildings for a number of months. Nets have been erected in a potential deterrent to drones.
There is concern within the worldwide group that the six-reactor nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, may very well be caught up in preventing, notably as navy analysts anticipate Ukraine to attempt to push Russian forces again within the Zaporizhzhia area.
9:41am: Zelensky on option to Arab League assembly
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on his option to the Arab League assembly in Saudi Arabia, a supply aware of the assembly advised Reuters.
Zelensky will then journey on to the G7 assembly in Hiroshima in Japan from the Saudi metropolis of Jeddah on a French authorities aircraft, the supply advised Reuters.
>> Read extra: Syria’s Assad arrives in Saudi Arabia for Arab League summit in normalisation of ties
9:09am: Russia’s Prigozhin says Bakhmut is not going to fall in subsequent two days
Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin stated on Friday that the town of Bakhmut was unlikely to fall to his mercenary forces within the subsequent two days as preventing raged round Ukrainian troopers holed up in a makeshift “fortress” within the south of the town.
“Bakhmut has still not been taken,” Prigozhin stated in a voice message posted on Telegram. “Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. … There is a quarter known as the ‘Airplane’ – it is like an impregnable fortress from a bed of multi-storey buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, where incredibly heavy battles are going on.”
Russia has been attempting to seize Bakhmut since final summer time within the longest and bloodiest battle of the struggle, however Ukrainian defenders have held out. If Russia took the town, it will present a stepping stone to advance on two greater cities it has lengthy coveted within the Donetsk area: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
8:06am: UK points new Russian sanctions, concentrating on grain theft
Britain introduced a brand new wave of sanctions towards Russia on Friday, together with towards firms linked to the theft of Ukrainian grain and people concerned within the cargo of Russian vitality.
7:37am: Ukraine says repels newest drone and missile assault
Ukrainian air defence repelled one other Russian air assault early on Friday morning, destroying 19 drones and missiles out of 28 launched, Ukrainian navy stated.
“Three calibre missiles launched from the Black Sea and 16 drones were shot down. Shelling continues on an almost daily basis,” Ukrainian air drive spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat advised Ukrainian tv. “Not all targets were hit.”
Russia has elevated the variety of missile and drone assaults this month, which Kyiv attributes to Moscow’s worry of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
5:53am: Zelensky to affix G7 leaders in Japan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will journey to Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday to affix the G7 leaders summit in particular person, a European Union supply advised Reuters.
2:30am: No reported casualties after air raid alerts
Air raid alerts remained in drive into the early morning all through western Ukraine, however solely in two areas within the east and Russian-annexed Crimea within the south.
The head of Kyiv’s navy administration stated Russian forces had despatched successive waves of drones in direction of the capital, the tenth assault this month and the second in lower than 24 hours.
“This Kremlin tactic is an attempt to overwhelm our anti-aircraft forces and put psychological pressure on civilians. It won’t happen!” Serhiy Popko wrote on Telegram. “All air targets sent toward Kyiv were destroyed by our anti-aircraft defences.”
Several areas reported anti-aircraft items in operation.
1:30am: UK to ban Russian diamonds at G7 in contemporary spherical of sanctions
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia together with copper, aluminium and nickel in help for Ukraine, his authorities stated in an announcement.
Britain can be concentrating on a further 86 individuals and corporations from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s navy industrial advanced, as well as these concerned in vitality, metals and transport industries.
They embrace these supporting the Kremlin to actively undermine the influence of present sanctions, as Britain continues to work with G7 companions to sort out all types of sanctions circumvention, the federal government stated.
Read yesterday’s dwell weblog to see how the day’s occasions unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
Originally printed on France24