Russian forces are now in full control of the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry has claimed.
Yesterday, Ukraine reported Russia had captured most of Lyman but that its forces were blocking an advance to Sloviansk, a city a half-hour drive further southwest.
Ukrainian and Russian forces had been fighting for Lyman for several days.
Earlier, the UK warned that control of the town would give Russia “an advantage in the potential next phase of the Donbas offensive, when it will likely seek to advance on key Ukrainian-held cities deeper in Donetsk Oblast, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk”.
It’s almost 2am in Kyiv, Ukraine, and here’s where things stand on what is now the 95th day of Russia’s invasion:
Russia continues to bombard areas of Donbas with shelling and seize more territory in Ukraine’s east. Russia’s defence ministry claims troops have captured the strategically important city of Lyman andseveral other smaller towns and encircled Sievierodonetsk,which Ukraine denies.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Saturday night television address that conditions in Donbas are “indescribably difficult”. He thanked Ukrainian defenders holding out in the face of the onslaught.
Zelenskiy also conceded that, while he is certain his country will take back all the land Russia has seized since its 24 February invasion, other territory, such as Crimea, which Russia took in 2014, cannot be recovered by force. “I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.
Russia’s Tass news agency says president Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a measure scrapping the upper age limit for military recruits in the face of mounting losses in Ukraine. UK intelligence estimated this month Russia had lost about a third of its ground forces.
Officials in the south eastern port city of Mykolaiv said at least one person was killed, and at least six injured, in Russian shelling. Two rounds landed in courtyards of high-rise buildings, and one shell fell close to a kindergarten, CNN reported.
Spain is sending a battery of surface-to-air missiles and around 100 troops to the Nato forward presence mission in Latvia, joining around 500 compatriots already present in the Baltic state, El País reported.
Zelenskiy: no military solution in Crimea, other lost territory
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has expanded - a little - on his earlier assertion that Donbas would remain in the country’s hands, despite the furious onslaught by Russia’s military forces in the region.
Tonight, he said that he didn’t believe all the land seized by Russia since 2014, which includes Crimea, could be recaptured militarily.
In a television address late Saturday, Reuters reported, Zelenskiy thanked Ukraine’s forces for holding out in Donbas, and repeated his belief that Moscow would come to the negotiating table if his country seized back all the land taken by Russia since its 24 February invasion.
But he ruled out going further and attempting to retake Crimea and other territory lost since the Russian invasion there in 2014 by force:
I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people.
Zelenskiy acknowledged that the situation in Donbas, where Russia has claimed to have taken control of the strategically important town of Lyman and encircled Sievierodonetsk, was challenging:
It’s indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstood this onslaught.
The Ukraine president added that he expected “good news” on weapons supplies next week, but did not give further details.
Quick update to an earlier post, in which we reported that hundreds of Lithuanians were raising funds to buy an advanced military drone for Ukraine.
The Lithuanian internet broadcaster Laisves TV, which launched the telethon-style fundraising drive several days ago to show solidarity for another country once under the rule of Moscow, says the 5m euros (£4.25m, $5.4m) target was reached this afternoon.
Here’s some video from the fundraiser (portions in English), with the total passing 5m euros just before the 59-minute mark:
A consignment of Russian crude oil that has waited off Sri Lanka’s coast for more than a month was finally unloaded in Colombo on Saturday in a move beneficial to both countries.
That the cash-strapped Sri Lanka was finally able to come up with $75m (£59m) to pay for it could prove a timely boost to Russia, which faces European sanctions on its oil from Monday when EU leaders meet to discuss new measures to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine.
The US already has an embargo on Russian oil, and has put pressure on Europe to follow suit.
Moscow, meanwhile, has been negotiating further exports to Sri Lanka, of crude, coal, diesel and petrol as the island nation suffers an economic downturn and severe fuel shortages.
The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) refinery was shuttered in March, AFP reports, because of a foreign exchange crunch that left the government unable to finance crude imports.
Here’s the latest from the Observer’s Simon Tisdall and Mark Townsend on Ukraine’s plea to the west for more weapons, as the Russian invasion approaches its 100th day:
Ukraine is in a race against time to save the eastern Donbas region as relentless Russian artillery and air strikes threaten to turn the tide of the war, and support for Kyiv’s continued defiance among some west European allies appears to be slipping.
Ukrainian officials say they urgently need advanced US-made mobile multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to halt Russian advances in Luhansk and Donetsk. The rockets would be capable of striking Russian firing positions, military bases, air strips and supply lines at a range of up to 300km (185 miles).
“We are in great need of weapons that will make it possible to engage the enemy over a long distance,” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said. “The price of delay is measured by the lives of people who have protected the world from [Russian] fascism.”
Ongoing disagreements in Washington have held up MLRS deliveries. Some of President Joe Biden’s national security advisers are said to be fearful Ukraine may use the rockets to hit targets inside Russia, a development that could spark an escalation drawing in the US and Nato. Kyiv has previously launched attacks on Russian soil.
Moscow, keenly aware of the game-changing potential of the rocket systems, has already voiced strong objections. “If the Americans do this, they will clearly cross a red line,” said Olga Skabeeva, an influential Russian state TV host whose views reflect the Kremlin’s. Russia’s response could be “very harsh”, she warned.
US news outlets reported on Saturday that Biden had agreed to provide some rocket systems as part of a major new US arms package for Ukraine to be announced this week. The package may also include another advanced weapon, the high mobility artillery rocket system, known as Himars.
But doubts remain about which weapons systems will be provided, and the timing of the US move. The White House and the Pentagon have yet to confirm the reports.
Here’s a selection of images from Ukraine on the 94th day of Russia’s invasion.
A couple walks bicycles to receive humanitarian aid in Kramatorsk. Photograph: Andriy Andriyenko/AP
A Ukrainian serviceman sets up an anti-materiel rifle at a position in the town of Marinka, Donetsk region. Photograph: Reuters
A soldier inspects damage from a Russian military strike in Marinka. Photograph: Reuters
Ukrainian service members ride on military vehicle on the road between Kostiantynivka and Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
Local children sign a Ukraine flag in Odesa, which will be handed to their country’s service personnel as a gesture of support. Photograph: Stepan Franko/EPA
A Russian KA-52 helicopter gunship takes off for a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photograph: Russian defense ministry/AP
Russia’s Tass news agency says that the country’s president Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a measure scrapping the upper age limit for military recruits.
Russia has suffered stunning losses in its three-month-old invasion of Ukraine, with tens of thousands of soldiers killed or wounded, according to Brookings. UK intelligence estimated this month Russia had lost about a third of its ground forces.
Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP
Putin hopes the removal of the age limit for military recruits, which passed the Duma (Russian parliament) last Wednesday, will attract experienced veterans back into service and help mitigate the losses. Previously citizens were barred from signing up at 40, and foreigners at 30.
Other measures reportedly under consideration include extending conscription and reducing the time recruits spend training before being sent to the front line.
Here’s our story from earlier this month about Russia’s plan to recruit older professionals:
It’s Richard Luscombe in the US, taking over the Ukraine blog from my colleagues in the UK, and guiding you through the next few hours.
Officials in Mykolaiv now say at least one person was killed in Russian shelling of the south eastern port city earlier Saturday, according to CNN citing the regional state administration.
In an updated statement, officials said:
On Saturday morning, May 28, occupying troops of Russia once again fired at the city of Mykolaiv. And again the blow fell on residential areas. One person died on the spot. At least 6 civilians are also known to be injured.
CNN reported the administration said at least two rounds landed in courtyards of high-rise buildings, and one shell fell close to a kindergarten.
Mykolaiv, which is still under Ukrainian control, is about 35 miles north west of the Russian occupied city of Kherson.
