As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 95th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Here are the key events so far on Sunday, May 29.
Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- Fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk rages with Russian forces conducting assault operations.
- Invading forces appear close to seizing all of the Luhansk region, one of the more modest war goals of the Kremlin.
- Russian artillery pounded the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road, which Russia must take to encircle Ukrainian forces.
- Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken full control of Lyman, west of Severodonetsk; however, Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said the battle for the town continued.
- Russia also said it had used missile attacks to destroy Ukrainian command posts in Bakhmut and Soledar.
- Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected good news this week on weapons supplies without giving details.
- Russia’s defence ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target 1,000km (600 miles) away.
Diplomacy
- In a sign of frustration over Western differences on the war, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna said NATO had shown itself incapable of mounting a united response.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the 2,500 Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steel plant detained by Russian forces during an 80-minute call, the Elysee Palace said.
- Putin warned Macron and Scholz that ramping up arms supplies to Ukraine would be “dangerous” and risk “further destabilisation”.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged his country’s continued support “including helping provide the equipment they need” in a call Saturday with Zelenskyy.
- A European Union summit on Monday and Tuesday could see divisions between members who want to take a hard line against Russia and those calling for a ceasefire.
Economy
- Putin told Macron and Scholz that Moscow was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain, the Kremlin said.
- Mariupol’s port reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea.
- Johnson told Zelenskyy that international partners were working intensively to find ways to resume the export of grain from Ukraine to avert a global food crisis.
- A ship entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city to load metal and ship it east to Russia.
