Russia says Ukrainian forces have retreated to 9 km in the main area of Kharkiv
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had retreated to 9 km (5.6 miles) in a key area of the northeastern Kharkiv region, Reuters reported, citing the Interfax news agency.
Belousov reportedly claimed that Russian forces had captured more than 28 settlements in Ukraine this month and controlled a total area of 880 square kilometers (equal to an area slightly larger than New York City) so far this year.
CNBC cannot independently verify developments on the ground.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
– Sam Meredith
The EU’s 14th package of sanctions should target deviations, energy exports, Zelenskyy’s adviser said
Accompanied by a tugboat, the LNG tanker “Rias Baixas Knutsen” (r) transports LNG cargo to the “Deutsche Ostsee” energy terminal.
Stefan Sauer Image Alliance | Getty Images
The upcoming 14th EU sanctions package against Russia should do more to speed up energy exports and avoid circumvention by third parties, the adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNBC.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk said it was also important to tighten export controls on critical technology used in Moscow’s military equipment. However, he noted that the countries of the European Union must work more cohesively for the sanctions to be passed by the end of next month as planned.
“The most critical aspect of the 14th sanctions package is its adoption by the end of June, but some member states are now challenging for this,” Vlasiuk said via email Thursday.
The EU’s special envoy for sanctions implementation, David O’Sullivan, was in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss the latest sanctions package amid ongoing pushback from member states such as Hungary. Among the proposed measures are a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and sanctions violations over countries including Kremlin ally Belarus.
Nataliia Shapoval, a member of the Yermak-McFaul International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, a think tank that advises on EU sanctions, said the LNG proposal is an attempt to limit Russia’s current and future energy profits.
“LNG is an influence that Russia still has,” Shapoval said by phone.
Russia said on Wednesday that the ban would hurt the EU more than Russia, and that some LNG supplies have been diverted to China and India. Shapoval notes that gas supply is more difficult to manage without European infrastructure than, for example, oil.
He added that the EU is currently playing a “cat and mouse game” to determine the critical components that underpin Moscow’s military might and should therefore be banned.
—Karen Gilchrist
Ukraine says Russian missiles hit multiple sites in Kharkiv, killing five
A man looks at the Chemical Building of the Kharkiv State University of Biotechnology destroyed by a Russian missile attack on May 30, 2024 in Mala Danylivka Village, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
Global Image of Ukraine | Global Image of Ukraine | Getty Images
Russian missiles hit several locations in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region overnight, killing five people, according to the head of the Kharkiv region.
Oleh Syniehubov said via Telegram that Russian rocket attacks took place in several locations, hitting residential and administrative buildings and destroying emergency vehicles.
Syniehubov said one person was killed in what he described as “a difficult night for Kharkiv.”
CNBC cannot independently verify developments on the ground.
– Sam Meredith
Two people were injured in Russia’s Krasnodar region after a Ukrainian attack on an oil depot, local officials said
A Ukrainian airstrike on Friday hit an oil depot in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, setting the facility on fire and injuring two employees, Russian officials said.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said via the Telegram messaging app that three of the depot’s petroleum tanks were on fire after the attack.
CNBC cannot independently verify developments on the ground.
Fedor Babenkov, head of the Temryuk district in the Krasnodar region, said in a Google-translated post via Telegram that the fire had been extinguished.
“As a result of the emergency, two employees of the oil depot were injured. Doctors recorded minor injuries on the man; his health is not in danger,” said Babenkov.
– Sam Meredith
China has reportedly declined an invitation to join Ukraine’s peace talks
China has declined an invitation to attend a Ukraine peace conference to be held in Switzerland next month, Reuters reported on Friday, citing four unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Beijing rejected the offer to attend because the conditions required to participate were not met, Reuters said, citing three sources.
The Chinese Embassy in London did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
At the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Switzerland is set to hold peace talks on June 15 and 16. The purpose of the conference is to bring together the heads of state to determine the path to lasting peace in Ukraine, even if the Kremlin has not yet done so. invited to attend.
– Sam Meredith
A Russian missile attack sparked a fire in Kyiv, Ukraine’s military said
A Russian missile attack early Friday caused a fire in a non-residential building in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, according to the head of the city’s military administration.
In a post published through the Telegram messaging application, Serhiy Popko said that a fire broke out in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district as a result of falling debris. No injuries were reported, according to preliminary information.
CNBC cannot independently verify developments on the ground.
– Sam Meredith
NATO chief says ‘time has come’ to reconsider arms embargo sent to Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 29, 2024.
Thomas Peter Reuters
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that it was time for members of the military alliance to reconsider the ban on arms being sent to Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Allies are sending various types of limited support to Ukraine, and any ban on that support is a national decision, he said before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
“But I think that in the light of how this war has evolved … the time has come to consider some of these restrictions, to enable Ukrainians to really defend themselves.”
Opinions on the embargo on arms and military supplies are divided among Ukraine’s allies. Some including the UK said Ukraine could use the weapons it provided for attacks on Russian soil, while Italy said the weapons it provided should only be used in Ukraine.
– Sophie Kidderlin
Sri Lanka tightens controls to stop people tricked into Ukraine war
Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to prevent them being sent to Russia to fight in Ukraine on false promises of salaries and allowances, a minister said on Thursday.
Colombo will also send a delegation to Moscow in June to bring dozens of Sri Lankans who have fought on the front lines who want to return home, some of them wounded, Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.
Countries in the region, including India and Nepal, have raised concerns that the men are being lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine with offers of salaries, visas and sometimes university places.
The Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, told a press conference on Thursday that his embassy would cooperate with efforts to prevent Sri Lankans from traveling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment bid.
Under the new controls, people must produce a “no objection” document from Sri Lanka’s defense ministry when applying for a tourist visa to Russia, Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.
— Reuters
