War updates between Russia and Ukraine from May 29, 2024

Russian attacks killed two civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol on Wednesday, according to regional governor Serhiy Lysak.

In a Google translated version after Lysak, published via messaging app Telegram, said a Russian kamikaze drone targeted an ambulance, killing the 54-year-old driver and injuring his 53-year-old wife.

A 52-year-old man died in hospital after being hit by artillery fire earlier in the day, Lysak said.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

-Sam Meredith

Sweden on Wednesday announced a new 13.3 billion kroner ($1.25 billion) military aid package to Ukraine – Stockholm’s 16th and largest aid measure since the start of the war.

The package includes Airborne Surveillance and Control aircraft (ASC 890), artillery ammunition and Stockholm’s entire stock of armored tracked vehicles (PBV 302), the government said in a statement. rack.

“Ukraine’s needs remain immense and Russia is currently applying pressure on several fronts, intensifying its air strikes against both military and civilian objects. The government will therefore offer Ukraine a new record military aid package. Sweden’s support will contribute to strengthening Ukraine’s joint military capacity,” it added.

Sweden says it has provided Ukraine with 43.5 billion crowns ($4.1 billion) in support since the start of the war.

-Karen Gilchrist

Police in Brussels have carried out searches at the home and office of a European Parliament employee over suspected Russian interference, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement. rack Wednesday.

A search was also carried out at the suspect’s office in Strasbourg, where the French headquarters of the EU Parliament is located, a statement said.

‘These searches are part of a case of interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organization, and concern indications of Russian interference, according to which Members of the European Parliament were allegedly approached and paid to promote Russian propaganda through the Voice of Europe’ news website,” it said.

“There are indications that the relevant European Parliament staff member played a significant role in this case,” it added.

-Karen Gilchrist

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Wednesday, the first stop of a short European tour aimed at boosting support for Ukraine.

Blinken will meet with Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu as US officials say her country, which shares a long border with Ukraine, is facing Russian “influence operations.”

The top US diplomat will later travel to Prague to take part in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers ahead of the alliance leaders’ summit in July.

-Karen Gilchrist

Russian naval forces destroyed two Ukrainian naval drones in the northwestern Black Sea as they headed toward the Crimean Peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Google-translated text. Telegram message.

Russia uses the Sevastopol naval base on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, for its Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian military has previously reported examples of naval drones attacking and sinking Black Sea Fleet ships off the Crimean Peninsula.

CNBC could not independently confirm the developments.

-€” Ruxandra Iordache

Russia could handle a European Union ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). RIA news agency An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this on Wednesday.

Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s economic cooperation department, said the proposed ban would further harm its implementers, resulting in higher prices for European consumers and EU companies.

“The ban on imports and transit is currently being discussed within the framework of EU structures, will lead to a new round of rising prices for raw materials, including for European consumers, financial costs for European companies, will create new risks for international energy security and will have a negative impact on the functioning of the transport and logistics corridors,” he said.

“Once again, the restrictions imposed will directly hit the promoters,” he continued, adding that Russia had already shifted supplies to new markets such as China and India.

The EU is considering a ban on Russian LNG transhipment as part of a fourteenth sanctions package.

-Karen Gilchrist

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 13 of 14 drones launched by Russia overnight, according to a Google drone translation. Wednesday update in the Telegram messaging app.

The attack took place over the Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions and involved Iranian-made Shahed drones, the Ukrainian Air Force added.

Falling debris in the Rivne area led to a power outage in some settlements as a result of the attack, regional governor Oleksandr Koval said in a separate document translated by Google. Telegram message.

He added that no injuries were reported and local power has been restored.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

-€” Ruxandra Iordache

French President Emmanuel Macron said late on Tuesday that Kiev could use Western weapons against Russian military sites used to target Ukraine.

‘How can we explain to Ukraine that they have to protect their cities… but they have no right to attack where the missiles come from? We told them that we give you weapons, but you cannot use them to defend yourself,” Macron said late Tuesday at a press conference in Meseberg, Germany.

Macron was joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who agreed that Ukraine could defend its territory as long as it respected the terms of arms suppliers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of serious consequences if Russia is hit by Western weapons.

-Karen Gilchrist

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the West had provoked the country’s offensive against Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

Putin said the West ignored Russia’s warnings to prevent Ukraine from attacking the Belgorod border area, according to Reuters. Such attacks using weapons supplied by Western countries require support from Western specialists, he added, saying this could have serious consequences.

Putin said it was Ukraine, not Russia, that had ended previous peace negotiations without reaching a solution, Reuters reported. Russia was ready to return to the talks, while Ukraine has withdrawn from them, he said.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

A peace summit will take place in Switzerland in June, attended by Ukraine and a number of allies. Russia has repeatedly said it would not attend such a meeting.

Putin spoke in Uzbekistan at the end of a multi-day state visit. Putin met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to discuss relations between the two countries. Russian state media agency Ria Novosti previously reported that Putin and Mirziyoyev also discussed the war in Ukraine.

-Sophie Kiderlin

The US and its allies could use further sanctions and export controls to halt trade between Russia and China as the war in Ukraine continues, a White House official said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Countries could take steps to raise Russia’s costs by using a so-called “shadow fleet” to avoid the G7’s oil price ceiling, said Daleep Singh, White House deputy national security adviser for international economics.

The ‘shadow fleet’ consists of oil tankers that often have opaque ownership structures, frequently change their national flag registrations and have very limited insurance. They aim to transport Russian oil in a way that circumvents restrictions such as the oil price ceiling imposed on Russian oil by other countries.

Singh said sanctions around financial retaliation could be expanded as Russia moves to put its economy on a war footing.

-Sophie Kiderlin