- EU offers €9 billion financial aid to Kyiv
- Zelenskyy says Russia is increasing pressure in Donbass
This article was last updated at 02:45 UTC/GMT
Ukrainian Zelenskyy says Russia enjoys ‘maximum combat power’ in Donbass
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces now enjoy “maximum combat power” in Ukraine’s Donbass region.
Zelenskyy said Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Kurakhove and Slovyansk were key Russian targets in the region.
He added that there had also been shelling in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and in the northeast region of Sumy.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff warned of further Russian offensives in the region. The General Staff’s daily situation report indicated that a Russian attack on the eastern city of Sloviansk was being prepared.
The European Council will commit 9 billion euros in aid to Ukraine
European Council President Charles Michel announced that the EU was ready to give Ukraine 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion).
He added that the European Council will help Kyiv with its “immediate liquidity needs” alongside the G7 countries.
Michel tweeted that this was “strong and concrete support for the reconstruction of Ukraine”.
Summary of the events of the Ukraine-Russia crisis on Sunday
Russian forces launched an assault on the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk after unsuccessfully trying to encircle it, Ukrainian officials said.
Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia has announced that it has abandoned plans to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
EU Council President Charles Michel said the bloc had agreed to remove Sberbank from the SWIFT international payment system. He also agreed to a partial embargo on Russian oil equivalent to more than two-thirds of all imports.
Partially state-owned Dutch gas company GasTerra said it would no longer receive gas from Russian state energy company Gazprom.
US President Joe Biden has said Washington will not send Ukrainian rocket systems capable of hitting targets on Russian territory.
Russia began importing grain from the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine.
The German government has agreed to new simplified rules to allow Russians to enter the country who are considered particularly at risk in their own country.
At least two people have been injured in a bomb attack in the Russian town of Melitopol in southern Ukraine.
You can rewatch our May 30 live updates here.
sdi/jsi (TAUT, TAUT, dpa, Reuters)
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