May 27, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation in Donbas is “very difficult” as Russia ramps up firepower and manpower, and makes incremental gains in the southeastern region. But he vowed Donbas would be “Ukrainian again.”

Here’s the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine:

• Fighting in Severodonetsk: Ukrainian officials have denied claims the city in the embattled Luhansk region is surrounded by Russian forces, but acknowledged Russia holds one part of the city and further enemy gains were possible. About 90% of Severodonetsk’s housing had been damaged amid a “fierce defense” of the city, a local military official said Friday.
• Supply lines: Ukraine’s military said the Russians are mobilizing railway brigades with special machinery to repair damaged railway lines inside northern Ukraine to sustain supply routes. The railway from Russia into the Kharkiv region and south to Izium is a critical supply line for the Russian offensive.
• Weapons aid: US defense officials said they were “mindful and aware” of Ukraine’s request for advanced, multiple-launch rocket systems, but decisions were yet to be made. CNN reported Thursday that the Biden administration is preparing to send MLRS systems as part of a larger package of military and security assistance to Ukraine, which could be announced as soon as next week.
• Food security: Zelensky said nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply, some 22 million tons, is currently held up as Russia continues to block the country’s main export routes through the Black Sea and Azov Sea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed efforts to resolve the global food security crisis in a call Friday.
• Prisoner exchange: Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer that an exchange of prisoners will take place between Russia and Ukraine, according to a statement from the Austrian Chancellery following a 45-minute call between the two leaders. Putin also told Nehammer that the International Committee of the Red Cross will “have free access to prisoners of war,” and asked for the same to be granted to Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. 
• NATO membership: Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed optimism that “sooner or later, Finland and Sweden will be members of NATO” and said discussions with the Turkish government would continue as Ankara threatens to block the two nations from joining the defensive alliance. Both formally applied for NATO membership last week.

The US Defense Department awarded a top defense contractor a $624 million contract to replenish Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, one of the key systems the US has provided to Ukraine as Russia’s war continues.

The department announced the contract to Raytheon on Friday afternoon, though it was officially awarded on Wednesday. The contract is “for the procurement of Stinger missiles and associated equipment.” There is no timeline listed for completion of the work. 

The US has sent more than 1,400 Stinger systems, including missiles and launchers, to Ukraine to help them challenge Russia’s attempt to control the skies. Stingers are short-range anti-aircraft missiles with a range of about 3 miles (nearly 5 kilometers).  

Though their range is too short to allow them to target high-flying aircraft, they can effectively shoot down drones and low-flying aircraft and helicopters. The US has little use for Stingers, but they have been in high demand in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.

The aftermath of a Russian air strike at a factory in Bakhmut, in the Donbas region of Ukraine on Friday May 27.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised that Donbas will be “Ukrainian again,” as Russian forces continue to make incremental gains in the southeastern region. 

Speaking during his nightly address Friday, Zelensky called the current situation in Donbas “very difficult,” referencing Russia’s ramping up of firepower and manpower in the region. 

“That’s why we have to increase our defense, increase our resistance, and Donbas will be Ukrainian again. Even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas, we will rebuild every town, every community. There’s no real alternative,” Zelensky stressed. 

The US Defense Department maintained during a press briefing Friday that Russia is continuing to make “incremental gains” in Donbas. 

Ukraine continues to call on international partners, including the UK, to provide it with multiple launch rocket systems to counter the Russian offensive. 

While acknowledging Ukraine’s request, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby stressed during Friday’s briefing that “decisions… haven’t been made yet.” 

The US Defense Department said it is “mindful and aware” of Ukraine’s request for multiple-launch rocket systems, but that “decisions … haven’t been made yet.”

“Our goal from the very beginning has been to try to help them in the fight that they’re in today,” said outgoing Pentagon press secretary John Kirby at a briefing with reporters.

“I won’t go so far as to say it’s too late to provide the Ukrainians with any system or capability that they might need because they are very active in the fight and they have pushed back the Russians up near Kharkiv,” Kirby said.

However, Kirby said the Defense Department is “mindful of the clock” when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We are ever mindful as we have been since the beginning, mindful of the clock here, mindful of this sense of urgency, mindful that time is not our friend,” said Kirby, “which is why we have been continuing to move equipment literally every day for the last 90 plus days of this war.”

CNN reported Thursday that the Biden administration is preparing to send MLRS systems as part of a larger package of military and security assistance to Ukraine, which could be announced as soon as next week. The MLRS and its lighter-weight version, the HIMARS, can launch as far as 300 kilometers (186 miles), depending on the type of munition.

Ukrainian officials are denying that the city of Severodonetsk in Luhansk is surrounded, but have acknowledged that Russian forces hold one part of the city.

“The city is not cut off, and it is not surrounded. The fighting continues,” said Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, in a radio interview. The Russian army has “only entered the outskirts of the city,” he claimed.

“This is a war, a war against a very powerful enemy, and in theory anything is possible,” Hayday said when asked about the possibility of Russian troops gaining further ground in the city. “The higher military command sees this situation. But so far I can’t say that in a day, two, three they will completely take over the area. No, most likely they won’t.”

“We have enough strength,” he continued, while also cautioning that, “Maybe there will be a command to our troops even to retreat.”

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed optimism that “sooner or later, Finland and Sweden will be members of NATO” and said discussions with the Turkish government would continue as Ankara threatens to block the two nations from joining the defensive alliance.

In an interview with CNN in Washington, DC, Friday, Haavisto said he expected that the topic of Finland’s NATO membership and overcoming Turkey’s current opposition would come up in his conversations with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his meeting later in the day, adding he was “quite confident” that other NATO countries had spoken with Turkey as well.

Delegations from Finland and Sweden – which both formally applied for NATO membership last week – traveled to Turkey earlier this week for talks on NATO accession. All current NATO members must approve new members.

Haavisto, who did not attend the talks, called it a “good meeting,” and said it lasted for five hours. Haavisto indicated that there are European and Finnish laws and policies in place that guide Finland’s actions on Turkey’s main demands – the designation the PKK as a terrorist organization, lifting arms export controls, the extradition of Kurdish militants that Turkey sees as terrorists. However, Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said following the delegation’s visit that “if Turkey’s security concerns are not met with concrete steps, the process cannot progress.”

Haavisto said “there was an agreement to continue those discussions,” but a next round of talks has not yet been arranged.

“From our perspective, the time frame is essential, because we are, of course, looking forward to NATO Summit in Madrid,” which is at the end of June, “and we hope that during the NATO Summit, the new members would be welcomed, at least, and the NATO ‘Open Door Policy’ would be confirmed, but of course, this is up to each and every member state that they can also influence the process,” he said.

The decisions by Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO was a major shift prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Read more:

Finnish foreign minister optimistic that 'sooner or later' Finland and Sweden will be NATO members

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 26.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba “to discuss continued U.S. security assistance to Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. 

“The Secretary and Foreign Minister Kuleba shared updates on efforts to resolve the global food security crisis caused by President Putin’s invasion, noting that the Kremlin continues to weaponize food and spread false claims about US sanctions,” according to a statement from Price.

This was their second call this week after speaking on Tuesday. 

Kuleba said on Twitter that he and Blinken discussed Ukraine’s urgent need for supplies of heavy weaponry as well.

“I value his personal efforts to ensure a sustained U.S. and global support for Ukraine. Heavy weapons on top of our agenda, and more are coming our way. Ukraine and the U.S. work hand in hand to deliver our food exports despite Russia’s reckless blockade,” Kuleba tweeted.

Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer seen during a joint press conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer that an exchange of prisoners will take place between Russia and Ukraine. 

The two leaders discussed the possibilities for prisoner exchanges during a 45-minute phone call on Friday, according to a statement of the call from the Austrian Chancellery. 

According to the chancellery, Putin “assured” the Austrian leader “that the efforts towards a prisoner of war exchange will be intensified,” adding that he was “optimistic that such an exchange would be possible again soon.”

Putin also told Nehammer that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will “have free access to prisoners of war,” asking for this access to also be granted to Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. 

The Russian leader provided his Austrian counterpart with “an assessment of the situation the context of the ongoing special military operation to protect Donbas,” the Kremlin said in a readout of the call, using a standard euphemism to refer to the invasion of Ukraine. 

They also discussed efforts to “ensure the safety of navigation in the waters of the Azov and Black Seas,” the Kremlin said. 

“A thorough exchange of views was held on issues related to global food security. Vladimir Putin emphasized that attempts to make Russia responsible for the difficulties with the supply of agricultural products to world markets are groundless,” according to the Kremlin. 

The Austrian Chancellery added that Nehammer did receive “positive signals” from Putin that a solution will be found to allow the export of Ukrainian goods through the seaports of the Black Sea. 

During the call, Russia’s “commitment to comply with contractual obligations on natural gas supplies to Austria was reaffirmed,” the Kremlin said. 

Ukraine’s military said the Russians are trying to repair damaged railway lines inside northern Ukraine to sustain their supply routes.

In an update posted Friday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that “in order to improve the logistics of its troops, the enemy is trying to restore the damaged railway. 

“In particular, in the temporarily occupied territories of Kharkiv region, the occupiers are involving units of 29 separate railway brigades from Smolensk with special machinery and equipment for the repair of railway infrastructure,” the update said.

The railway from Russia into the Kharkiv region and south to Izium is a critical supply line for the Russian offensive.

Elsewhere, the General Staff reported further heavy fire by Russian forces as they try to develop an offensive on Sloviansk, a city in Donetsk region, the update said. Russian assault operations were underway in several settlements around the city of Severodonetsk, where Ukrainian defenses have been under constant bombardment.

The updated added that Russian forces were also trying to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines from Bakhmut that support front-line troops in the Severodonetsk area but that their assaults on three settlements had been unsuccessful.

The Ukrainian air force says one of its planes shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter over the southern region of Kherson on Friday.

It posted on Facebook that “at about 2 pm, a MiG-29 fighter of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter in the sky over Kherson region.”

While the Ukrainian air force contingent of Mig-29 fighters is aging, the arrival of spare parts from other countries allowed it to field more of the combat jets than it had before the Russian invasion, according to US officials. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense regularly claims that Ukrainian combat planes have been shot down, and the Ukrainian air force’s current combat capability is difficult to gauge.

The Su-35 is a more capable and modern aircraft but the Russian air force has suffered some attrition of its fleet since the invasion began. 

A grain silo in the town of Sivers'k in the eastern Donbas region was destroyed by Russian shelling on May 25. The region has been under heavy attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply is currently held up as Russia continues to block the country’s main export routes through the Black Sea and Azov Sea, calling the situation a potential “catastrophe” for global food security.

Addressing an Indonesian foreign policy think tank in an online forum Friday, Zelensky said, “22 million tons of grain are kept in silos today. We cannot supply them to international markets where they are needed at this very point in time.”

The Ukrainian president also said the UN estimates that famine might affect additional 50 million people this year were a “conservative” estimate, implying that the number of those affected will be greater. 

“Famine doesn’t come alone, it is always accompanied by political chaos that exacerbates the situation, ruins people’s lives, creating unsafe conditions for ordinary people,” he said. “In July, when many countries will exhaust their stock of last year’s harvest, it will become obvious the catastrophe is truly coming.”

The Ukrainian president also accepted an invitation to attend G20 Summit in Indonesia in November. He urged the hosts to include “only friendly nations,” implying Russia should be excluded from the summit in Bali.

Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk, during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, on May 26.

About 90% of the city’s housing stock had been damaged amid a “fierce defense” of the town, a local military official in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk said Friday.

The city “held out through the night” under heavy Russian attack, Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the Severodonetsk military administration, said in a radio interview. But he acknowledged that Russian forces were continuing to press the offensive.

“Yesterday the fighting took place at the entrance to the city,” he said. “Our military managed to stop the vanguard of the Orcs [a pejorative Ukrainian term for Russian troops] who were trying to break into the city. Severodonetsk is in fierce defense. The enemy is located on two-thirds of the city’s perimeter, but the city is not surrounded.”

The city had seen widespread destruction, Striuk said. 

“The Azot (Nitrogen) chemical plant is being shelled,” he said. “There are dead among the civilian population and among employees of the enterprise. Ninety percent of the housing stock is damaged, 60% will have to be rebuilt.”

Striuk said a Russian force that entered a hotel on the north of the city was expelled by Ukrainian forces, a claim that could not be immediately verified. Ukrainian officials previously said the hotel was not under their control. 

Russian forces are intensifying attacks in eastern Ukraine as they try to break down stubborn Ukrainian defenses — which Ukrainian officials admit are outnumbered and outgunned. Meanwhile, in a new report, legal experts accuse Russia of inciting genocide and intending to “destroy” Ukrainian people.

Here’s the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine:

• Frozen negotiations: Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are currently frozen, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, as he accused Kyiv of making “contradictory” statements that Moscow does not understand.
• Report accuses Russia of genocide: Russia’s actions in Ukraine provide enough evidence to conclude that Moscow is inciting genocide and committing atrocities intended to destroy the Ukrainian people, according to an independent legal report, signed by more than 30 leading legal scholars and genocide experts.
• UK calls for more military support: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was making “slow” but “palpable” progress in the Donbas and urged more military support for Ukraine, such as the provision of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
• No agreement on maritime corridors: A Ukrainian official said that “maritime humanitarian corridors” announced earlier this week by the Russian military had not been agreed by Ukraine and accused Russia of trying to shift blame on Ukraine for a global food crisis in “another lie.”
• Heavy fighting in Luhansk: Ukrainian officials reported continued heavy fighting in the Luhansk region, with a local military chief describing “fierce battles” for the city of Severodonetsk. Officials also described heavy shelling around Severodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk, saying Russian forces had set the police station in Lysychansk on fire and damaged about 50 buildings in the area.
• Russian bombardment: Ukraine’s armed forces on Thursday acknowledged that Russian troops have made further advances in the eastern Donetsk region — capturing one district within 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) of the important town of Bakhmut. Ukrainian officials say that in recent days, the Russians have combined short-range ballistic missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, heavy artillery and tanks in a remorseless bombardment of towns and cities in Luhansk and Donetsk regions still under Ukrainian control. Several officials describe the situation as “very difficult” and admit Ukrainian units may have to fall back in some places.
• Deadly attacks: Nine people were killed and 19 others injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday amid “dense shelling” of residential areas, according to a Ukrainian military official. Ukrainian forces were “holding their positions firmly and there is no question about possible seizure of Kharkiv city,” the official said.
• Removed to Russia: Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been processed through a series of Russian “filtration camps” in eastern Ukraine and sent into Russia as part of a systemized program of forced removal, according to four sources familiar with the latest Western intelligence — an estimate far higher than US officials have publicly disclosed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his government is continuing to implement measures to tackle the sanctions imposed on Moscow by “unfriendly countries.”

“The government of Russia is taking prompt decisions to ensure stable functioning of the market and financial sector,” he told the Eurasian leaders during a virtual meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on Friday. “We’re working on increasing access to finance, to support working capital and liquidity.” 

Russia had begun asking countries to pay for oil and gas shipments in rubles, but Putin says that policy will be reversed for some partners.

“We are extending the practice of payments in the national currencies for those countries that have proven themselves as reliable partners for Russia,” he said. 

The Russian president went on to address the issue of food insecurity, which has come to the fore because Russia invaded Ukraine, one of the Europe’s largest grain producers. 

“Russia and other members of our organization are behaving most responsibly,” he said, adding that Eurasian countries were fully self-sufficient when it came to these products. 

Putin went on to say that interest in the Eurasian Economic Union was on the rise “despite the complex international situation, unleashed by the so-called collective West, with its confrontation.”

“To Russia, deepening relations with all Eurasian partners is very important,” he said. 

The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting took place on the second day of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) forum held in Kyrgyzstan.

A Ukrainian official said Friday that “maritime humanitarian corridors” announced earlier this week by the Russian military had not been agreed by Ukraine and accused Russia of trying to shift blame on Ukraine for a global food crisis.

Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for the Operational Staff of the Odesa regional administration, said an announcement by the Russian Ministry of Defense of safe lanes for ships were “attempts to create an informational alibi for Russia.”

“So this is just another lie of Russia and an attempt to blame Ukraine in creating a food crisis,” he said.

Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports has contributed to global grain shortages. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi discussed the global food security issue in a phone call Thursday, according to readouts of the call from both governments.

A satellite image shows an overview of bulk carrier ship loading grain at the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, on May 19.

According to the Kremlin, Putin said Russia was ready to take steps to mitigate the crisis by allowing export of grain and fertilizers if the West lifts what Russia calls “politically motivated” sanctions.

Earlier this week, the Russian military claimed it would open two “maritime humanitarian corridors” – one from the direction of the Ukrainian ports of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Ochakiv, Odesa and Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) and another from the port of Mariupol on the Azov Sea. In his call with Draghi, Putin claimed the operation of those corridors was “hindered by the Ukrainian side,” the Kremlin said.

Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the nominee to be the next top US general overseeing the US military presence in Europe, told lawmakers Thursday that grain shortages were “being felt on the African continent.” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Thursday that Putin is “weaponizing hunger and lack of food amongst the poorest people around the world.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are currently frozen, the Kremlin said Friday, as it accused Kyiv of making “contradictory” statements that Moscow does not understand.

“The negotiations are frozen by the decision of the Ukrainian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call.

“In general, the leadership of Ukraine constantly makes statements that contradict each other. This does not allow us to fully understand what the Ukrainian side wants,” Peskov added.

On Thursday, Peskov said Moscow expects Kyiv to accept the status quo and meet its territorial demands, following remarks by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that appeared to suggest Ukraine has to agree to give up Crimea and much of the Donbas region to Russia.

In an interview last week with Reuters, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak ruled out agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia and said Kyiv would not accept any deal with Moscow that involved ceding territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has compared Kissinger’s statements to appeasement of Nazi Germany in 1938. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a press conference at Downing Street, London, England, on May 25.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was making “slow” but “palpable” progress in the Donbas and urged more military support for Ukraine, such as the provision of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.

“I think it’s very, very important that we do not get lulled because of the incredible heroism of the Ukrainians in pushing the Russians back from the gates of Kyiv,” Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“I’m afraid that Putin at great cost to himself and to (the) Russian military is continuing to chew through ground in Donbas, he’s continuing to make gradual, slow but I’m afraid palpable progress,” he added.

Johnson stressed that therefore “it is absolutely vital” to continue to support the Ukrainians militarily.

“What they need now is the type of rocketry, a Multiple Launch Rocket System, MLRS, that will enable them to defend themselves against this very brutal Russian artillery, and that’s where the world needs to go now,” he said.

Johnson also warned of the dangers of negotiating with Putin, and compared him to a crocodile.

“How can you deal with a crocodile when it’s in the middle of eating your left leg?” Johnson told Bloomberg TV. “[Putin] will try to freeze the conflict. He will try and call for a ceasefire while he remains in possession of substantial parts of Ukraine.”

Russian forces are intensifying attacks in eastern Ukraine as they try to break down stubborn Ukrainian defenses — which Ukrainian officials admit are outnumbered and outgunned.

Here’s the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine:

• Report accuses