June 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Despite concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine might mean a return to more fossil fuels, most countries in the European Union are laying out more ambitious plans to boost renewables.

Nineteen of the EU’s 27 member states have announced more ambitious medium-term plans in response to the war and soaring fossil fuel prices, according to a new report from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, an independent research group based in Finland, and Ember, a UK energy think tank.

The report, published Thursday, said that compared to their plans in 2019, EU countries have slashed the total amount of power they are aiming to source from fossil fuels by 2030 by almost a third. 

Instead of sourcing 55% of electricity from renewables, as previously planned, EU countries are now aiming to achieve a 63% share by 2030, the report said. As of January 2022, the EU was sourcing 22% of its energy from renewables. 

The report said that Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark are on a path to source almost all of their electricity from renewables by 2030. 

Germany, the largest importer of oil and gas from Russia, is now planning to source 80% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, up from 62% it has previously announced. Italy, Ireland and Greece are all coming for up to a 70% share of renewables in electricity production, the report added.

The EU has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, and become carbon neutral by 2050. Being carbon neutral means emissions are dramatically reduced and any that remain are offset, whether using natural methods like tree planting or technology to "capture" emissions. 

Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, the three countries with the lowest planned shared of renewables, have not updated their plans since 2019, the report said. 

The report comes just days after Hungary negotiated an exemption from the EU’s ban on Russian oil imports. The oil embargo, which is a part of a new EU sanction package against Russia over its war on Ukraine, includes around 90% of Russian oil imports, but not the roughly 10% that flows to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline.

Poland has agreed to the embargo and will stop importing Russian oil, but it is still planning to source 67% of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2030, because of its large reliance on coal. 

The United Kingdom will send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.

Britain will send M270 launchers able to strike targets up to 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) away, offering “a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” according to a statement from the British Foreign Office.

The move has been “coordinated closely” with the United States decision to provide Ukraine with its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) – a variant of the multiple-launch rocket systems that will be gifted by the UK, the statement added.  

“The UK stands with Ukraine and has taken a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country,” Wallace said.

“As Russian’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine. These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against Russia’s brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities,” he added.

The British government also said that Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so the effectiveness of the launchers can be maximized.

US President Joe Biden will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Thursday as the alliance considers the next steps of the war in Ukraine.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would join a meeting between Stoltenberg and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in part to discuss NATO's next meeting in Spain. 

They will "discuss preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid and the strength of the transatlantic alliance," Jean-Pierre said. The Madrid summit is scheduled for the very end of June.

Biden has endorsed applications by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

NATO does not foresee any Russian retaliation to the decision by the United States to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN on Wednesday. 

US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the US is providing Ukraine “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on.

Writing in a New York Times op-ed, Biden said the US goal is “to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.” 

He said the new shipment of arms would “enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”

Stoltenberg held a news conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, on Wednesday and is set to meet with Biden at the White House on Thursday.

Ukraine beat Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, in the World Cup playoff semifinal on Wednesday. The result leaves them one win away from officially qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

Ukraine enjoyed the better of the first half, creating good chances and forcing Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon into action on multiple occasions in the opening 20 minutes. The visitors made that pressure tell after West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko expertly controlled a pass from Ruslan Malinovskyi and chipped Gordon to score in the 33rd minute.

Ukraine’s aggressive play was rewarded once again within five minutes of the second half starting, as striker Roman Yaremchuk doubled their lead with a cushioned header and provoked wild scenes of celebration amongst the supporters. 

Scotland worked hard to get back into the game, with manager Steve Clarke making a number of substitutions to try and inspire a comeback. That intent paid off when Callum McGregor’s bouncing shot crept over the goal line to set up a nail-biting final 10 minutes.

However, Ukraine sealed the result with a third goal of Artem Dovbyk in the closing moments to end Scotland’s hopes of reaching the tournament in Qatar.

The Ukraine team took to the field before the start of the match with every player draped in their country’s flag. Fans in the stadium, some of them refugees, could be seen holding signs reading "Stop War" as the team and supporters alike passionately sang the national anthem.

The last competitive match played by Oleksandr Petrakov’s team was a 2-0 win away against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Nov. 16, 2021. The match was originally due to take place on March 24, but was postponed in the wake in of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Ukraine now face Wales in Cardiff on June 5 to determine which team will compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to begin on Nov. 21 and run through Dec. 18 in Qatar.

Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk's regional military administration, says street fighting continues in the eastern city of Severodonetsk but Russian forces now occupy about 80% of the city.

"On some streets, our defenders are successful," Hayday said. Six Russian soldiers have been captured, he said.

Hayday said the remaining parts of Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control were under constant shelling but local volunteers had gotten trucks with humanitarian cargoes to many settlements and also evacuated people.

The Ukrainian official said the neighboring city of Lysychansk "is under Ukrainian control. This is a militarily advantageous position. The location of the city on a hill gives many opportunities. The city's defense is strong."

Hayday said that heavy fighting continued in settlements to the south and west of Severodonetsk as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian defenses.

"Despite the simply constant, daily shelling, it is still possible to bring humanitarian supplies both to the Hirske community and to Lysychansk," Hayday said.

As he previewed in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced today a new package of aid to Ukraine.

He continued, “This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances. We will continue to lead the world in providing historic assistance to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom.”

Senior administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the US will send Ukraine US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the United States' 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.

The officials said the systems that the US is sending Ukraine will be equipped with munitions that will allow Ukraine to launch rockets about 49 miles. That is far less than the systems’ maximum range but far greater than anything Ukraine has been sent to date.

Today also marked Children's Day in Ukraine. More than 240 children have died in the war, Ukrainian officials say.

Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine war:

The Biden administration is working to get temporary storage containers for Ukrainian grain into the country, a stopgap measure as it seeks to mitigate a growing food crisis caused by Russia’s months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports, administration officials told CNN.

These storage containers – such as bags or boxes – could help salvage some of the more than 20 million tons of grain that are currently stuck inside Ukraine. They could also help Ukraine load the grain onto trains or trucks out of the country once overland routes are established, a senior administration official explained.

Still, as these efforts are underway the US and its international partners are no closer to finding a quick and absolute solution to lifting the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports that’s raised global food prices and threatened to cause a catastrophic food shortage in parts of the world.

The work that the US is doing to open up overland routes for the grain to get into neighboring countries, get containers into the country, and implement long-term changes meant to drive down global reliance on Ukrainian grain could collectively have an impact on the crisis. But many view the efforts as marginal fixes to a much larger problem that can’t be completely resolved until Russia eases its blockade, particularly of Ukraine’s biggest port in Odesa, which has been surrounded by Russian warships for months.

“If Russians don’t allow it, we need to, as a global community, we need to find a solution how to do it without Russian agreement,” Landsbergis said.

UN and Turkish officials are preparing for separate rounds of diplomatic talks with Moscow coalescing around a new plan to try to open up sea routes for Ukrainian grains, sources say.

Meanwhile, millions of tons of grain remain stuck in Ukraine, stored in silos and at the port in Odesa, leading to a dramatic spike in global food prices that’s likely to worsen as the war continues. Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the State Department, and the UN’s program to fight food insecurity buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year.

As CNN reported last week, Russia also appears to be ramping up its efforts to steal large quantities of Ukrainian grain.

Read the full story here:

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The US is “mindful of the escalation risk in everything we’re doing associated with” the conflict in Ukraine, including the latest decision to provide Ukraine with four HIMARS systems, but ultimately “Russia doesn’t get a veto over what” the US sends to Ukrainians, Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Dr. Colin Khal told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave US President Joe Biden assurances Ukraine would not escalate the conflict if the US did provide HIMARS systems to Ukraine, Kahl added.

“The assurances have been given at multiple levels of Ukrainian government. Secretary Austin has raised these issues with Minister Reznikov in their numerous calls. They’re talking to each other once or twice a week, that has been true since the beginning of the conflict, but this particular assurance goes all the way to the top of the Ukrainian government to include President Zelensky,” Kahl said.

The United States decided to send Ukraine four HIMARS systems, or high mobility artillery rocket systems, with about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) range instead of a target with a longer range as Ukrainians had requested, Kahl told reporters at a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday. 

“As we looked at the targets that they were looking to be able to go after on Ukrainian territory and have some additional standoff, we thought the HIMARS with the GMLRS rounds — these guided long-range rounds with about 70km range could service any target that they needed precisely — so we settled on the HIMARS with the GMLRS round as the appropriate round at this time,” Kahl said.

Ukraine had sought longer range weapons, but the US clearly had resisted due to concerns Ukraine would strike inside Russia thereby potentially escalating the war.

The US agreed to provide Ukraine with these weapons as long as Ukraine assured the US they would not target locations inside Russian territory with the US weapons systems.

“We don’t assess that they need systems that range out hundreds and hundreds of kilometers for the current fight, and so that’s how we settled on it,” Kahl added.