We are now closing this blog but you can read all our Ukraine coverage here.
Summary of the day
In an interview with the Guardian, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said American president Joe Biden’s delay in sanctioning the use of western weapons against targets in Russia has left the Kremlin’s forces laughing at Ukraine and able to “hunt” its people.
Zelenskiy said that the White House’s equivocation had cost lives and he urged the US president to overcome his perennial worries about possible nuclear “escalation” with Moscow.
The Kremlin has said Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons against targets in Russia demonstrates Washington’s deep involvement in the conflict, as some of Vladimir Putin’s allies increased their nuclear threats against the west.
The German government announced that it will give Ukraine permission to use weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia.
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment building in Kharkiv city overnight, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least five people.
Today, Zelenskiy met with Nordic leaders in Sweden and said that “the key to positive changes for us on the front and in the war overall is air defence.”
Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, noted that “all five Nordic countries have now entered into bilateral agreements on security cooperation with Ukraine. This sends an important signal to the Ukrainian people that our engagement is firm and lasting.”
Speaking after a meeting of Nato ministers in Prague, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said “self-defence is not escalation.”
Stoltenberg also said that “as this war has evolved, Nato support has evolved. And I welcome that allies are easing restrictions on the use of weapons.”
The Polish press agency has probably been the target of a Russian cyberattack, Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson of the minister coordinating special services, said.
Polish press agency probably hit by Russian cyberattack: official
The Polish press agency has probably been the target of a Russian cyberattack, said Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson of the minister coordinating special services.
The announcement came after a false story on military mobilisation appeared on PAP’s news feed.
W związku z prawdopodobnie rosyjskim cyberatakiem na Polską Agencję Prasową i podaniem dezinformujących wiadomości o rzekomej mobilizacji w Polsce, Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego we współpracy z Ministerstwem Cyfryzacji @CYFRA_GOV_PL podjęła natychmiastowe działania pic.twitter.com/T3XqajAYIr
— Jacek Dobrzyński (@JacekDobrzynski) May 31, 2024
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were advancing in several directions and confirmed that they have captured two villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Berestove and Ivanivka, Reuters reported citing the Interfax news agency.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Norway will provide around €1.2 billion in military assistance this year.
“Norway, along with our other allies, will assist us in developing our modern air force capabilities, and has already expressed a clear willingness to provide F-16 fighter jets,” he said, adding: “Norway will also contribute significantly to the development of maritime capabilities in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as continue to provide NASAMS systems and related equipment and specialist training. We will also work to enhance defense-industrial cooperation.”
The security agreement between Ukraine and Norway, which Prime Minister @jonasgahrstore and I signed in Stockholm today, became the 15th in total for our country.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 31, 2024
Norway will provide around €1.2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine this year. Norway, along with our other… pic.twitter.com/zJmTuKzWxB
Updated
Russian strike kills five in Kharkiv
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment building in Kharkiv city overnight, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least five people. It is only 20km from the Russian border.
Both Germany and the US have specifically authorised the use of weapons to defend the city and the wider region of the same name.
The Kremlin has said Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons against targets in Russia demonstrates Washington’s deep involvement in the conflict, as some of Vladimir Putin’s allies increased their nuclear threats against the west.
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday that Moscow was already aware of attempts by Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with weapons provided by the US.
Biden’s decision on Thursday to allow Kyiv to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes inside Russia near the border with the Kharkiv region marked an important shift, after warnings from Moscow that the move could trigger a global conflict.
The approval came after days of growing pressure on Biden from western allies and the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, who argued that the delay in the use of western weapons had cost lives.
Read the full story here
“All five Nordic countries have now entered into bilateral agreements on security cooperation with Ukraine. This sends an important signal to the Ukrainian people that our engagement is firm and lasting,” Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said.
“Ukraine’s cause is our cause,” he added.
All five Nordic countries have now entered into bilateral agreements on security cooperation with Ukraine. This sends an important signal to the Ukrainian people that our engagement is firm and lasting. Ukraine will now have better conditions for long-term planning of its defence… pic.twitter.com/cKbdFCEbkN
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) May 31, 2024
'Self-defence is not escalation', Nato chief says, welcoming 'easing restrictions' on weapons use
Speaking in Prague following a meeting of foreign ministers, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said “Russia must understand that it cannot wait us out.”
No final decisions were made at today’s session but ministers made “significant progress” on three issues, Stoltenberg said: Nato’s plans to play a greater coordinating role in aid to Ukraine, a proposal on a multiyear financial pledge for Ukraine and Ukraine’s path to Nato membership.
He also stressed:
Self-defence is not escalation. Self-defence is a fundamental right. It is enshrined in the UN Charter. Ukraine has the right and the responsibility to protect its people, and we have the right to help Ukraine uphold its right to self-defence.
Stoltenberg also said:
As this war has evolved, Nato support has evolved. And I welcome that allies are easing restrictions on the use of weapons.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said relative safety in Kyiv was thanks to “the wall of warriors” on the front line.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Zelenskiy said he understood the humanity of men who did not want to fight in the war against Russia and conceded that the energy amongst Ukrainians had slightly changed after two and a half years
Updated
Asked whether he expects restrictions on the use of F-16s, the Ukrainian president said: “really for today I don’t know the details how we can use our future jets, F-16, the good that we will have, and some of them we will have this year – is it enough? Not.”
Asked about the US decision on the use of weapons, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a press conference in Sweden that “we got a message from American side, early in the morning today, I got this message from my military guys – I can’t tell you the details about it, I want to see in practice what will be, but I think anyway this is some step forward to that goal which we discussed before, to make possibility to defend our people who live in villages through the borderline.”
A US official said yesterday that Joe Biden “recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them.”
Zelenskiy said “I think that using any weapon, Western kind of weapon, on the territory of Russia is a question of time. Otherwise, it is not about just peace.”
Updated
Zelenskiy thanks Nordics for support as he calls for more air defence
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking alongside Nordic leaders, said that he is grateful to the northern countries for their support.
Ukraine is doing everything to establish a just peace as soon as possible, he said.
Vladimir Putin can still expand terror against Ukrainian cities and villages, and is preparing more military force near Ukraine’s borders, he said.
Zelenskiy said:
The key to positive changes for us on the front and in the war overall is air defence, of course.
He added:
We must do everything to destroy Russian combat aircraft, just as we are already destroying Russian warships in the Black Sea region.
For this, we need patriot air defence systems. And today we talked about how to speed up delivery of patriot systems to Ukraine. And I thank my colleagues for their understanding.
He also said “we have established a new security architecture” with five security agreements signed.
The agreements outline the scope of military support, he said. The leaders also discussed in detail the need to start talks on Ukraine’s EU membership, he noted.
The Ukrainian president spoke about Ukraine’s hopes for the upcoming Nato summit.
The summit must be productive, and Ukraine believes that this cannot be achieved without addressing the issue of Ukraine’s invitation to Nato.
Updated
Speaking alongside Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Nordic leaders, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, stressed the region’s commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
Sweden’s latest package will focus on air defence, he said, adding that it also includes artillery ammunition and armed vehicles.
Ukraine can count on continued strong Nordic support, Kristersson said.
“We stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.
Updated
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, will speak soon at a joint press conference.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he is “grateful to Sweden for its solidarity with our country and people, as well as for its vital defense assistance.”
In Stockholm, @SwedishPM Ulf Kristersson and I signed a security cooperation agreement, which is a strong document for our shared security.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 31, 2024
Sweden's military assistance to Ukraine in 2024-2026 will total around €6.5 billion. The amount of assistance will increase over the… pic.twitter.com/WGDf72M9om
The Kremlin said today that it was already aware of attempts by Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with weapons provided by the United States, Reuters reported.
Sweden and Ukraine seal security cooperation agreement
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement.
“This cooperation includes Swedish support amounting to more than EUR 9 billion from 2022 to 2026. My message is clear: Sweden will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the Swedish leader said.
.@ZelenskyyUa and I have just signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation. This cooperation includes Swedish support amounting to more than EUR 9 billion from 2022 to 2026. My message is clear: Sweden will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/jlsK0BtWRQ
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) May 31, 2024
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasised: “I don’t think Putin is crazy. He’s dangerous. It’s much scarier. You see, he will not stop”.
German weapons can be used across border into Russia
The German government has announced that it will give Ukraine permission to use weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin this morning.
The government gives its blessing to Ukraine to use German weapons across the border into Russian territory bordering the Kharkiv region, after days of debate in Berlin as to whether it was willing to risk being labelled a party to war if it did so.
It follows weeks in which Ukraine has been attacked “particularly in the Kharkiv area by positions from the immediately adjacent Russian border area”, Hebestreit told journalists.
The position is controversial, with outspoken opponents in Germany, who fear an escalation of the conflict or Germany’s direct involvement in it.
Updated
Germany is to send a new tranche of arms to Ukraine, worth 500 million Euros, the defence minister Boris Pistorius has announced. This brings Germany’s contributions to around 28 billion euros so far.
Speaking in Odessa at a meeting on Thursday evening with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov, Pistorius said Germany would continue to back Ukraine. “We will continue to support you in this defensive battle,” he said.
Some of the items included in the arms package are on the verge of being delivered.
They include a “large number” of medium-range Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missiles as well as a number of shorter range SLS missiles, Pistorius said.
Drones for both reconnaissance and fighting on the Black Sea, urgently-needed spare parts for artillery systems already delivered by Germany as well as replacement engines for Leopard battle tanks are also part of the package, and around a million rounds of ammunition for small arms.
Pistorius also announced the planned delivery, from 2025 onwards, of 18 new Howitzers of “the most up-to-date design”.
Military training, interference-free satellite communication and the maintenance and repair of existing Leopard A1 and Leopard II A4 main battle tanks due to be delivered by Spain this year, were part of Germany’s package, he emphasised.
It is unusual for Pistorius to list Germany’s contribution in such an inventorial way, but he said he was doing so in order to “underline that we are not just currently delivering what is available,” but thinking very specifically and strategically about Ukraine’s needs.
He admitted that the attitude of planning ahead, and Germany’s attempt at a sustainable approach, meant that it expected the war to be a prolonged one. “And we want and will continue to provide support,” he said.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said it is continuing to target Russian infrastructure.
Overnight, 🇺🇦 Neptun missiles hit the ferry crossing and the oil terminal of the port "Kavkaz" in the Krasnodar region, russia — @GeneralStaffUA reports.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 31, 2024
This infrastructure was used by the enemy for logistics and supply of the army.
Also, attack UAVs hit another oil terminal in… pic.twitter.com/es00gbz1tA
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in Sweden today.
“Today I am in Stockholm for the third Ukraine-Northern Europe summit. 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,” he said.
Today, Ukraine will grow stronger as a result of the support of our principled and consistent allies, as well as new security agreements.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 31, 2024
Today I am in Stockholm for the third Ukraine-Northern Europe summit. Our top priorities are to ensure more air defense systems for Ukraine,…
Kyiv may use weapons from Germany to defend itself in accordance with international law, spokesperson says
Ukraine may use weapons delivered by western countries including Germany to defend itself against Russian attacks in the border region surrounding Kharkiv in accordance with international law, a German government spokesperson said today, Reuters reported.
Updated
Threat of using nuclear weapons is not a bluff, says Moscow
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said today his country was not bluffing when it spoke of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine and that its conflict with the West could escalate into an all-out war, Reuters reported.
Medvedev said Moscow’s conflict with the West was developing according to the worst case scenario and that “no one can rule out it escalating to the last stage”.
Updated
Zelenskiy: Russian troops are laughing at and ‘hunting’ Ukrainians
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has given a wide-ranging interview to the Guardian.
President Biden’s delay in sanctioning the use of western weapons against targets in Russia has left the Kremlin’s forces laughing at Ukraine and able to “hunt” its people, the Ukrainian president said.
In an interview in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said that the White House’s equivocation had cost lives and he urged the US president to overcome his perennial worries about possible nuclear “escalation” with Moscow.
On Thursday night it emerged that, after months of lobbying, the US had taken a small but symbolic step – and for the first time would permit some American made weapons to be used by Kyiv’s military to fire inside Russia in its defence of the city of Kharkiv.
But in his Guardian interview, Zelenskiy made clear he needs to be able to use “powerful” long range weapons that can hit targets inside deep Russian territory – a red line the White House has refused to lift.
The US, he said, needed to “believe in us more”.
Without this green light, Zelenskiy said other allies, such as the UK, may not allow Ukraine to use their long range weapons either. “Believe us, we have to respond. They don’t understand anything but force. We are not the first and not the last target,” he said of Russia.
“I think it is absolutely illogical to have [western] weapons and see the murderers, terrorists, who are killing us from the Russian side. I think sometimes they are just laughing at this situation,” he said. “It’s like going hunting for them. Hunting for people. They understand that we can see them, but we cannot reach them.”
Read the full interview, by Katharine Viner, Luke Harding , Shaun Walker and Nick Hopkins in Kyiv.
Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use some US-made weapons over one part of the Russian border, to allow Kyiv’s forces to defend against an offensive aimed at the city of Kharkiv, relaxing an important constraint on Ukraine’s able to defend itself.
“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them,” a US official said.
Limits on the use of US long-range weapons such as the army tactical missile system (Atacms) will remain, however.
“Our policy with respect to prohibiting the use of Atacms or long-range strikes inside of Russia has not changed,” the official said.
Read the full story here, by Julian Borger and Andrew Roth in Washington.
Missiles fired by the Ukrainian navy struck an oil terminal at the Russian port of Kavkaz today, Reuters reported citing a statement from the Ukrainian military.
Poland is currently organising its 45th package of aid for Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister said today, Reuters reported.
“Poland has sent 44 packages of aid to Ukraine, we are now organising our 45th... we think we’ve contributed in military assistance alone around 4 billion euros,” Radek Sikorski told reporters in Prague.
Nato ministers discuss stepping up support for Ukraine
Hello, we are restarting our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking as Nato ministers gather for talks in Prague, the alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said this morning that allies will address how to sustain and step up support for Kyiv.
Allies have provided unprecedented support to Ukraine. Just last week Belgium announced 30 more F-16s and Spain and Sweden announced new packages of more than one billion euros each for air defence, for artillery and for other important equipment for Ukraine. These and other announcements come on top of the US decision of 61 billion extra US dollars for Ukraine.
But we will address how to make sure we sustain and step up our support for Ukraine and I have proposed that NATO should play a bigger role in the coordination and supply of security assistance and training for Ukraine.
I also proposed a multi-air financial pledge to ensure more accountability and predictability in the support we provide to Ukraine because we need to make sure that Moscow understands that we are prepared for the long haul in our support for Ukraine.
4 killed in Russian missile attack on Kharkiv
Four people have been killed and 25 injured in Russian missile attacks overnight in Kharkiv, Ukrinform reports.
The regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said “unfortunately, another body was found in the destroyed building. At this time, there are four dead.”
