As the war enters its 823rd day, these are the main events.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Struggle
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Three people were killed and six injured in a Russian missile attack on the town of Snihurivka in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine, according to emergency services and the local governor.
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The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office said at least one woman was killed and 11 wounded in a Russian-guided bomb attack that hit a candy factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces had dropped about 3,200 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine this month and that kyiv did not have enough air defense missiles to stop attacks on such a scale.
- Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces captured two villages: Ivanivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and Netailove in eastern Donetsk. There was no comment from Ukraine on the claims.
- Ukraine launched two attacks on the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in the east, causing a fire, according to Russian-appointed officials. Ukraine made no official comment on any of the incidents. Ukrainian media said the target of the second attack was an airfield.
- Russia and Belarus will hold joint air force and Air Defense Ministry exercises from May 27 to 31, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
Politics and diplomacy
- Zelenskyy ruled out Russia's participation in next month's peace summit in Switzerland. “We don't see Russia there, because Russia will block everything. “It is clear,” he said, adding that Moscow “does not benefit from peace.” She wants to destroy Ukraine and move on.”
- The European Union imposed sanctions on the Voice of Europe media outlet, its financier Viktor Medvedchuk and “undercover boss” Artem Marchevskyi, expanding sanctions imposed by the Czech Republic, which says the Prague-based platform is an influence operation. Russian “to undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine.” Medvedchuk is a pro-Kremlin oligarch and former Ukrainian legislator who was sent to Russia in 2022 in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war and stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship.
- A German court jailed Thomas H, a former army captain who was stationed at a military procurement office in Koblenz, for three and a half years after finding him guilty of spying for Russia. Judges found that the 54-year-old had handed over internal documents to the Russian consulate in Bonn last May and had offered to provide more material in the future.
Weapons
- Spain pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid, including Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks, to Ukraine as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Zelenskyy signed a security agreement in Madrid. Sanchez said the deal would boost Ukraine's capabilities, including much-needed air defense.
- Zelenskyy will visit Belgium on Tuesday and sign a security pact with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, the Belgian government said. The agreements, signed with several European allies, promise long-term security assistance in the form of weapons supplies and training for kyiv's forces.
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Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, said he had signed documents that would allow French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centers soon, and said he hoped others would join what he described as an “ambitious project.” Ukraine's Defense Ministry later said talks were continuing with France and other countries over the use of foreign instructors.
