Zelenskyy meets American philanthropist Howard Buffet to discuss rebuilding efforts.

American businessman and philanthropist Howard Buffett says he wants to help rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure, remove landmines and improve nutrition at schools.

He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv earlier on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy said that one project discussed would restore the water distribution system in the Black Sea city of Odesa. Another would support Ukrainians who have been displaced from their homes.

Buffett, the son of billionaire Warren Buffett, serves on several corporate boards and is active in many foundations and charities.

In 2017, he was also sworn in as interim sheriff of Macon County, Illinois. Buffett recalled that role as he gave the president a gift Wednesday.

“You are the top law man here in Ukraine, so I’m giving you my old sheriff badge from when I was sheriff,” Buffett said. “That’s for you. So, no one can question, you’re number one, you’re always number one.”

(AP)

Russia suffering major losses in Severodonetsk, says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says defenders in the city of Sievierodonetsk were inflicting major losses on Russian troops during what he called a very fierce and very difficult battle.

"In many respects, the fate of the Donbas is being decided there," he said in an online address.

(Reuters)

Russia economy to shrink by 15 per cent, finance body says

Russia’s economy will shrink by 15 per cent this year and another 3 per cent in 2023 due to Western sanctions, according to the Institute of International Finance, a global banking trade group.

Propping up Russia's currency are strong oil and natural gas sales and the Russian central bank, which has raised interest rates and imposed capital controls to keep money from fleeing the country.

President Vladimir Putin said this week that unemployment and inflation are decreasing, backing up his frequent claims that Russia is succeeding despite Western sanctions.

Still, the finance institute argued that the sanctions, partly by encouraging foreign companies to abandon Russia, “are unraveling its economy, wiping out more than a decade of economic growth, and some of the most meaningful consequences have yet to be felt.’’

(AP)

United Nation seeks deal to export food and fertilizers

The United Nations has been working on a package that would export millions of tons of grain and other commodities from Ukraine and Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has asked Rebeca Grynspan, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development and UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, to coordinate a deal that would allow Ukrainian produced food to be exported and for unimpeded access to global markets for Russian food and fertilizers.

Earlier at the at presentation of a UN report into the repercussions of the conflict he warned:

"The World Food Program estimates the ripple effects of the war could increase the number of people facing severe food insecurity by 47 million in 2022."

"This year's food crisis is about lack of access, next year's could be about lack of food" Guterres said.

(AP)

Germany pledges to equip Ukraine with heavy weaponry

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his country will support Ukraine by delivering heavy weaponry to the country as its war with Russia continues.

Ukraine has long desired advanced weapons for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery.

"We have also now decided that we will deliver the IRIS-T system, which can protect the airspace of a city like Odesa or Kyiv. Something very special that is, of course, highly sought after," said Scholz.

Germany has faced criticism for a perceived reluctance to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, which the government rejects.

Meanwhile, the German government says it wants to temporarily keep additional coal-fired power plants on standby for almost two years to stave off a possible electricity shortage in case natural gas supplies from Russia are suddenly reduced.

Germany is trying to wean itself off Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine and expects to finish doing so in 2024.

But the government fears that Moscow might cut off supplies suddenly in response to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations, including Germany.

A draft law agreed by Cabinet would ensure that coal-fired plants previously scheduled for closure remain in functional condition.

(AP)

Severodonetsk 'largely' under Russian control says Lugansk governor

Sievierodonetsk is "largely" under Moscow's control, while its twin city of Lyssytchansk is experiencing "enormous destruction," the governor of the Lugansk region said in an update on the situation in the key eastern city.

In an online post, Serhiy Haidai said that Moscow forces "control a large part of Severodonetsk.

"The industrial area is still ours, there are no Russians there...the fighting is only on the streets inside the city."

He said there was no chance of Ukrainian troops in the Luhansk region being encircled.

Russian forces temporarily control 90 per cent of the region, he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Haïdaï admitted that the Ukrainian forces “may have to withdraw” soon from Severodonetsk in view of the Russian assaults, for better-fortified positions.

(AFP Reuters)

1.6 billion people affected by war in Ukraine, warns UN

The negative consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are worsening, affecting 1.6 billion people, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has warned.

"The impact of war on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and accelerating," he said.

"For people around the world, war threatens to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and misery, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake."

According to Guterres, if "this year's food crisis is linked to a lack of access" to food, "next year could be a question of a lack of food".

The UN chief insisted that the only way to "stop the storm that is brewing," is "the Russian invasion of Ukraine must stop," referring to the ongoing negotiations on unblocking Ukrainian grain stuck in the Black Sea and unhindered access to world markets for Russian food and fertilizers.

According to a UN report, "94 countries, home to approximately 1.6 billion people, are seriously exposed to at least one dimension of the crisis - finance, food or energy - and unable to cope with it".

"Of these 1.6 billion, 1.2 billion or three-quarters live in countries that are severely exposed and vulnerable simultaneously in all three dimensions". Going forward, “no country or community will be spared from this cost of living crisis,” the document states.

The report continues that “the war could increase the number of food-insecure people by 47 million people in 2022, bringing it to 323 million by the end of the year”.

To alleviate the crisis, "concrete efforts must be made to ensure that essential supplies of food and energy reach the most vulnerable", the report argues.

(AFP)

UN registers more than 7 million border crossings from Ukraine

More than 7 million people have crossed the border from Ukraine since war broke out there, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

A total of 7,023,559 border crossings have been recorded since the Russian invasion began on February 24, according to the agency's latest tally.

The number of individual refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe stood at 4,712,076, with Poland, Russia and Moldova among the top host countries, it said.

Ukraine pushed back to outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, governor says

Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city of Sievierodonetsk are on the cusp of retreat, though the regional governor insists they are still fighting “for every centimetre” of the city.

Ukrainian special forces launched a counteroffensive days ago and cleared almost half of the city, but it made no sense for them to stay when Russia started levelling the area with shelling and air strikes, Serhiy Haidai, was quoted as saying to the RBC-Ukraine media outlet.

"Our forces now again control only the outskirts of the city. But the fighting is still going on, our forces are defending Sievierodonetsk, it is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city," he said.

Haidai added that "everything the Russian army has — artillery, mortars, tanks, aviation — all of that, they’re using in Sievierodonetsk in order to wipe the city off the face of the Earth and capture it completely,” he said.

Earlier, on the Telegram messaging app, he said Ukrainian forces were still fighting “for every centimetre of the city.”

Haidai indicated they could pull back to positions that are easier to defend. The city across the river, Lysychansk, sits on higher ground. He has previously suggested forces could have to pull back in order to avoid being surrounded.

(AP Reuters)

Turkey lacks power to guard grain exports: Ukraine official

Turkey’s effort to negotiate a deal with Russia over Ukrainian grain exports has also been dismissed by the head of the Ukrainian grain traders group.   

Ukrainian Grain Union head Serhiy Ivashchenko said “Turkey doesn’t have enough power in the Black Sea to guarantee security of cargo and Ukrainian ports.”

Ivashchenko said Ukraine would prefer if NATO ships entered the Black Sea and served as guarantors. He also said it was the Russians who have planted sea mines in the area, and it would take three to four months to remove them.

But according to Matthew Bryza, Jamestown Foundation board member and former White House official “Turkey is the one NATO ally that has shown it is willing to use force if necessary to push Russia back. So, I think Turkish President Erdogan doesn’t want a confrontation with Russia. But he is not afraid to be forceful if need be," he told Euronews.

(AP)

Turkey struggles to push grain deal to avert food crisis

Turkish efforts to ease a global food crisis by negotiating safe passage for grain stuck in Black Sea ports are being met with resistance from Ukraine which says Russia is imposing unreasonable conditions and the Kremlin which says free shipment depended on an end to sanctions.

Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey stated that no agreement is possible without Kyiv's involvement and accused Russia of putting forward unrealistic proposals such as checking vessels.

The ambassador, Vasyl Bodnar, told an online briefing it was important for Kyiv that Turkey continue mediating on the matter and for it to keep talking to both Kyiv and Moscow.

Following talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said discussions in Ankara were fruitful and restarting Ukrainian grain exports along a sea corridor was reasonable.

Lavrov said the onus was on Ukraine to de-mine its ports as a precondition for safe shipment.

Ukraine is worried this could make it more vulnerable to attacks from the sea.

“What those preconditions attempt to do is blame Ukraine and the west for the potential famine that is really due to the blockade by Russia on Ukraine’s ports.” Matthew Bryza, Jamestown foundation board member and former White House official told Euronews.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, tweeted "Military equipment is required to protect the coastline and a navy mission to patrol the export routes in the Black Sea".

He warned: "Russia cannot be allowed to use grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian grain volumes could only be delivered to international markets if sanctions were lifted. He said there were "no substantive talks about this yet."

(Reuters)

Ukraine says 'Russian aggression' not Western sanctions is fuelling grain crisis

The spike in grain prices due to blocked exports, posing a risk of food crises in the world, is caused by "Russian aggression" in Ukraine and not by sanctions against Moscow, according to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy.

"The real cause of this crisis: it is Russian aggression, not sanctions," said Dmytro Kouleba, who added he wanted to "ruin" the Russian narrative that "the cause of the world food crisis would be the sanctions".

On Sunday, Kuleba hit out at comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron, who stated on Saturday that Russia should not be humiliated over its invasion of Ukraine.


(AFP)

Kyiv not convinced by Angela Merkel's justifications for Germany's handling of Putin

Kyiv says it is unconvinced by the explanations of Angela Merkel, who on Tuesday defended her approach to Ukraine and Russia during her 16 years as Germany's leader.

In her first substantial comments since leaving office six months ago, the former German Chancellor she said had "nothing to apologise for" for having relied on diplomacy and trade to try to avoid a war in Ukraine.

She also strongly defended a decision in 2008 not to put Ukraine directly on track to join NATO, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early April blasted as a “miscalculation.”

She suggested a stronger NATO green light for Ukraine in 2008 would have led to faster Russian aggression, with Ukraine less able to resist.

Merkel also said there was “no excuse” for Russia's “brutal” attack on Ukraine and it was “a big mistake on Russia's part.”

Adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhaïlo Podoliak, criticised the former chancellor for having supported the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, intended to transport Russian gas to Europe via Germany in particular.

"If Chancellor Merkel always knew that Russia was planning a war and Putin's goal is to destroy the EU, then why build Nord Stream 2," he wrote on Twitter.

He accused Merkel of fostering European dependence on Russian gas and oil.

In her remarks on Tuesday, Merkel said she had been aware for several years of the threat posed by Putin to European security but that it was in Germany's interest to "find a modus vivendi with Russia".

Germany has long practised a policy of reaching out to Russia, following the idea that trade would induce a gradual democratization of the country.

(AFP AP)

Zelenskyy: 'We have to achieve a full de-occupation'

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said victory can only be achieved if Russia is fully out of Ukraine.

 “We have to achieve a full de-occupation of our entire territory,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Finacial Times on Wednesday. 

Victory means restoring "all" of Ukraine, he said. This includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and separatist-held areas in the east of the country. 

On the prospect of peace, Ukraine's leader said he “simply cannot see the preconditions for ending the war.”

(Reuters)

Ukraine: blocking ports could kill millions says Italy

Rome has issued a warning Wednesday that Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports, which is preventing wheat exports, could lead to the death of millions. 

"The next few weeks will be crucial for unblocking the situation, said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

"We expect clear and concrete signals from Russia because blocking wheat exports means holding hostage and condemning to death millions of children, women and men," he added. 

The head of Italy's diplomatic service was speaking at the end of a conference on food security in Mediterranean countries.

Participants at the ministerial conference were the UN Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) and Germany, the current president of the G7.

Ukraine, a major player in the world grain market, cannot export its crops currently blocked in its ports following the Russian invasion.

Alongside Russia, it is considered a bread basket of the world, proving one-fifth of the planet's wheat supply. 

(AFP)

Russia FM hopes Ukraine grain situation can be resolved 

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said that he hopes the situation with exporting grain from Ukraine can be resolved, during a press conference in Turkey. 

However, he added Kyiv must first de-mine the waters around Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea. 

Speaking in Ankara, where he was visiting his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Lavrov said no action was needed by Russia because it had already made the necessary commitments.

“We state daily that we’re ready to guarantee the safety of vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and heading for the Bosphorus gulf," he said. "We’re ready to do that in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues.

“To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by demining them or by marking out safe corridors, nothing more is required,” Lavrov added. 

According to Reuters, Cavusoglu said a UN proposal to open a grain-export corridor was reasonable and requires more talks with all sides to ensure ships would be safe.

The inability of Ukraine to export grain, amid its on-going war with Russia and a Russian blockade, is aggravating global food prices, which is worsening food security for millions around the world. 

Ukraine has accused Russia of the theft of its grain, which it has begun exporting out of ports that have fallen under occupation since Russia started its latest invasion of Ukraine in February.

(Reuters)

Ukrainian forces 'holding Sievierodonetsk' 

Russia is attacking Sievierodonetsk from three sides but Ukrainian forces are holding out, according to the UK Ministry of Defence's latest briefing. 

Sievierodonetsk has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks. It is among a few cities and towns in the Luhansk region still holding out against the Russian invasion, which is being helped by local pro-Kremlin forces.

There have been conflicting reports about who has the upper hand. Moscow said it had "liberated" the eastern city, which is key to controlling Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, although this was soon rebuked by Kyiv who maintained they were still in control. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his overnight address, praised the "heroic defence" of Sievierodonetsk.

[With AP]

'Nobody is going to surrender Sievierodonetsk', says Ukrainian governor

Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, has said “nobody is going to surrender Sievierodonetsk” in a Telegram post. 

He wrote Wednesday that the regional centre of Luhansk, which forms part of the Donbas, was experiencing heavy fighting. 

“Fierce battles are taking place in Sievierodonetsk, our defenders are fighting for every inch of the city," he said. Both Russian and Ukraine have made competing claims about the situation on the ground in this strategic eastern city, which saw fierce fighting on Tuesday

Haidai dismissed claims that Russians are in control of the strategic Lysychansk-Bakhmut road, but said it was under heavy fire. "We do not use this road, it is too dangerous," he said. 

In reference to Russian forces, Haidai added that "the plans of the racists have not changed, they “want” to capture Sievierodonetsk and the “way of life” by 10 June.

"All the racist forces have been thrown into this," he continued. 

(Reuters) 

US putting 'weapons into the hands of terrorists and bandits', claims Russia

The Russian Embassy in the United States (US) claimed Tuesday that the country's transfer of weaponry to Ukraine carries the risk of arming 'bandits and terrorists', Russia TASS news agency reports. 

"Washington ignores the obvious threat of putting modern high-precision weapons into the hands of radical nationalists, terrorists and bandit formations not only on the territory of Ukraine, but also abroad," the state-owned media outlet reported. 

It continued: "The [Biden] administration is also demonstrating irresponsibility regarding the transfer of long-range artillery systems to Ukraine. The main risk is an escalation of the conflict if the armed forces of Ukraine use these systems to strike at the territory of the Russian Federation.

"This is fraught with unpredictable consequences," the TASS's report concluded. 

Russia has long criticised western arms transfers to Ukraine, saying they are aggravating the conflict, while Ukraine has repeatedly said they are necessary for it to defend itself.  

(Reuters) 

'Book of Executioners' to be released by Ukraine 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine will launch a ‘Book of Executioners’, to gather evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.  

Ukraine's prosecutors say they have registered more than 12,000 alleged war crimes, involving more than 600 suspects since Russia invaded on 24 February.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it's forces have perpetrated war crimes in Ukraine. 

"A special publication is to be launched - ‘The Book of Executioners’ - an information system to collect confirmation of data about war criminals, criminals from the Russian army,” Zelenskyy said his nightly video address. 

The release date is planned for next week. 

Zelenskyy said it would be a key element in bringing to account Russian servicemen who have committed what Ukrainian authorities have described as murders, rape and looting.

“These are concrete facts about concrete individuals guilty of concrete cruel crimes against Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said.

He cited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where investigators found what they said was evidence of mass executions.

(Reuters)

'We are alive': Woman evacuates 35 dogs from Mariupol hellscape

When Ukrainian shelter owner Irina Petrova was forced to flee Mariupol, she refused to leave her beloved dogs behind.

Read more about her story below. 

'We are alive': Woman evacuates 35 dogs from Mariupol hellscape

Russia returns hundreds of dead Mariupol defenders 

The bodies of over 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Maiurpol have been sent by Russia to Ukraine's authorities. 

Ukraine's military intelligence said most of the deceased were killed defending the Azovstal steelworks in the southeastern Ukrainian city.

The number of bodies still remaining under the rubble of the sprawling Soviet-era plant was not specified by the agency. 

Mariupol is now in Russian hands. They began returning bodies last week. 

Ukraine said Saturday that the two sides had exchanged 320 bodies, with each getting back 160.

It is unclear whether any more bodies have been given to Russia.

The Ukrainian fighters defended the steelworks for nearly three months before surrendering in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air.

(AP)

Zelenskyy praises 'heroic defence' of Sievierodonetsk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Tuesday that “the absolutely heroic defence of the Donbas continues.”

In his nightly video address, he claimed that Russian forces have made no significant advances in the eastern Donbas region over the past day.

This conflicts Russian claims that it has "completely liberated" areas around Sievierodonetsk, a key strategic city in the battle for the Donbas.

Zelenskyy says the Russians clearly did not expect to meet so much resistance and are now trying to bring in additional troops and equipment. This is also the case in the southern Kherson region, which Russian troops occupied early in the war, the Ukrainian leader claimed. 

In the video, Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine plans to release a special “Book of Executioners” next week with confirmed information about war crimes committed by the Russian army. Those named will include not only those who carried out war crimes but their commanders.

(AP) 

This is Joshua Askew, kicking off the Euronews live blog for today.