Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to stop playing around with Russia and impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to end its "senseless war" in Ukraine, adding his country would remain independent, the only question was at what price.
Mr. Zelensky's criticism of the West has mounted in recent days as the European Union moves slowly towards a possible Russian oil embargo and as thousands of Russian forces try to encircle two key eastern cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
Meanwhile, United States officials say the Biden administration is aiming to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
More than 5,000 Ukrainian prisoners held in breakaway region, says separatist leader
A pro-Russian separatist leader in East Ukraine said that more than 5,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, TASS reported on Friday.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. - Reuters
Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses Russia of genocide in Donbas onslaught
Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of carrying out a “genocide” in the eastern region of Donbas, where the city of Severodonetsk is suffering an onslaught of Russian shelling.
In his daily televised address, Mr. Zelensky condemned Moscow’s brutal assault on the Donbas - where it has redirected its forces after having failed to capture Kyiv - adding that its bombardment could leave the entire region “uninhabited”.
Around 1,500 killed in Sievierodonetsk, says Mayor
The Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk is the centre of fierce fighting in the east. Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk says it’s holding out even though a Russian reconnaissance and sabotage group went into a city hotel.
Mr. Stryuk said at least 1,500 people have been killed in Sievierodonetsk and about 12,000 to 13,000 remain in the city, where he said 60% of residential buildings have been destroyed.
Sievierodonetsk is the only part of the Luhansk region in the Donbas under Ukrainian government control, and Russian forces have been trying to cut it off from the rest of Ukrainian-controlled territory. - AP
Russia slams sanctions, seeks to blame West for food crisis
Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products while under attack.
Britain immediately accused Russia of “trying to hold the world to ransom,” insisting there would be no sanctions relief, and a top U.S. diplomat blasted the “sheer barbarity, sadistic cruelty and lawlessness” of the invasion. - AP
Russia commits all its forces to take Ukraine’s Lugansk, Kyiv says
Russia on May 26 made an all-out effort to capture the rest of the industrial region of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking to commit “genocide” across the eastern Donbas.
As the fighting intensified, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba aired Kyiv’s increasing frustration with the West, accusing allies of dragging their feet on arms deliveries and telling his German counterpart that Ukraine needs heavy weapons “as soon as possible.” - AFP
Zelensky wants more launch rocket systems
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the West on Thursday to send multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to give it a chance against the Russian offensive in the eastern Donbas.
“We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently toward the expulsion of the occupiers,” Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation. - AP
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