Ukraine applauds EU ban on most Russian oil imports; the fighting is raging in the strategic city of Donbas

Poland is on track to receive EU aid to support Ukrainian refugees, says Prime Minister

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the country is on a “good path” to receiving new EU funding to support Ukrainian refugees and offset the weapons Poland gave Ukraine.

More than 3 million refugees have entered Poland from Ukraine. Although some passed and others returned home, most are still in Poland and receiving government support.

Poland has also been supplying various weapons to Ukraine.

“Although slowly, but this (EU) support in Poland is coming … and we are well on our way to receiving new means to help refugees and gun-related people we have delivered to Ukraine.” said Morawiecki.

– Associated press

EU urges nations not to restrict trade in agricultural products as threat of food crisis grows

The European Union has urged its international partners to avoid placing trade barriers on agricultural products, as Russia’s war against Ukraine risks further fueling a possible global food crisis.

“We urge all partners not to restrict trade in agricultural products,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after an EU summit in Brussels.

Ukraine has said Russia is blocking exports of 22 million tonnes of its grain, some of it destined for Africa. African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020, according to the UN

Von der Leyen said the EU is trying to help get food out of the road and rail, but ground transportation assistance could only provide a fifth of Ukraine’s usual monthly exports.

“Of course, it’s more tedious and expensive, but you have to get that wheat out,” he said.

– Associated press

Ukraine’s bomb disposal team removes an unexploded rocket out of Kyiv

Bomb disposal experts from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine protect a Russian rocket BM-30 Smerch and remove it from a field in Borodyanka, Ukraine.

Removing mines and clearing unexploded ordnance in Ukraine after the Russian invasion could take five to seven years. In the Kyiv region alone, more than 36,000 dangerous artillery has already been withdrawn.

Bomb disposal experts from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine protect a Russian rocket BM-30 Smerch and remove it from a field on May 31, 2022 in Borodianka, Ukraine.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images

Bomb disposal experts from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine protect a Russian rocket BM-30 Smerch and remove it from a field on May 31, 2022 in Borodianka, Ukraine.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images

Bomb disposal experts from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine protect a Russian rocket BM-30 Smerch and remove it from a field on May 31, 2022 in Borodianka, Ukraine.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images

Bomb disposal experts from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine protect a Russian rocket BM-30 Smerch and remove it from a field on May 31, 2022 in Borodianka, Ukraine.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images

– Christopher Furlong | Getty Images

Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports runs the risk of a “catastrophic scenario”, says the president of the African Union

The President of the African Union, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, has told the leaders of the European Union that the blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia is paving the way for a “catastrophic scenario” of widespread scarcity. and price increases on their continent.

A farmer sows seeds on agricultural land while Russian attacks negatively affect the agricultural sector in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 30, 2022.

Dogukan Keskinkilic | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

In a speech to leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit focused on helping Ukraine, Sall said the halt in exports of cereals and fertilizers across the Black Sea is very worrying for a continent hosting 282 million malnourished people. He said the price of fertilizers across Africa has already tripled compared to 2021.

“According to some estimates, cereal yields in Africa will fall by 20 to 50 percent this year,” Sall said. “We would like every effort to be made to free up available grain stocks and ensure transportation and market access.”

Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, said that “the EU is not sparing efforts to free up Ukraine’s exports by land and by exploring alternative maritime routes”.

African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020, according to UN data. The African Development Bank has already reported a 45% increase in wheat prices on the continent.

– Associated press

Zelenskyy: Ukrainian classrooms “froze” after the Russian invasion

A classroom destroyed inside a school damaged by the Russian army bombing in the village of Kukhari, Ukraine, Kyiv area, Ukraine, April 16, 2022.

Maxym Marusenko | Nurfoto | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian invasion of his country had damaged “more than 1,800 educational institutions.”

“Broken windows, damaged desks. Life froze in school classrooms on Feb. 23,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post, according to a translation by NBC News.

“But no matter how difficult it is now, the Ukrainians cannot be broken. We will fight, we will develop, we will study. For the sake of freedom and our future victory,” Zelenskyy wrote.

– Kevin Breuninger

After Ukraine, the “whole world” is a customer of Turkish drones, says the manufacturer

A Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle is seen during a demonstration flight at the Teknofest aerospace and technology festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 27, 2022.

Aziz Karimov | Reuters

The destruction by Ukraine of Russian artillery systems and armored vehicles with Turkish air drones Bayraktar TB2 has made “everyone” a customer, according to its designer.

Selcuk Bayraktar, who runs the Istanbul Baykar company with his brother Haluk, said drones had shown how technology was revolutionizing modern warfare.

“Bayraktar TB2 is doing what it was supposed to do: removing some of the most advanced anti-aircraft and advanced artillery and armored vehicle systems,” he told Reuters in English alongside the new Akinci drone at an exhibition in Baku. “The whole world is a customer.”

– Reuters

Ukraine encourages new EU plan to ban most Russian oil imports

Ukraine has applauded European Union leaders for reaching an agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia that includes a embargo on most Russian oil imports.

The EU’s plan to ban 90% of Russian crude oil imports from the trading bloc by the end of the year “will accelerate the countdown to the collapse of the Russian economy and the military machine,” Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.

But Kyiv also expressed disappointment that the package had not been approved before and that it included an exception for the supply of pipes. Ukraine blamed these shortcomings on “Hungary’s resistance to the oil embargo.”

Talks over the weekend were halted by Hungary, a major Russian oil user whose leader Viktor Orban is on good terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, Ukraine’s foreign ministry applauded the new package of sanctions, saying it would deprive the Russian army of “tens of billions of dollars” for its invasion of Ukraine. “By deciding on an oil embargo, the EU will not only make it more difficult for the Kremlin to finance Russia’s aggression, but will also strengthen its energy security,” Kyiv said.

– Kevin Breuninger

The photos show the ghost town of Pripyat near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant

The photos show the ghost town of Pripyat in northern Ukraine near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

More than 100 employees who had shown up a few hours earlier for their night shift were now trapped as Russian forces crossed into Ukraine and seized land areas as they marched on Kyiv.

The capture of Chornobyl by Russian forces kicked off a few weeks’ trial that saw a brief power outage at the facility and employees carefully monitored the invaders as they struggled with new uncertainty. during the first days of the invasion.

A photograph shows dogs passing by a ferris wheel in the background in the ghost town of Pripyat, near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, on May 29, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.