Russia says U.S. adding fuel to the fire by supplying rockets to Ukraine
Kremlin's spokesman Dmitriy Peskov attends an event during Russia's Victory Day commemorations in Moscow on May 9, 2022.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said the U.S. is adding fuel to the fire by supplying longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine.
"We believe that the U.S. is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian," Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.
His comments echo those made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov who had claimed President Joe Biden's administration increased the risk of direct clashes between Moscow and Washington by supplying rockets to Ukraine.
— Sam Meredith
Germany to send IRIS-T air defence system to Ukraine — Scholz
Scholz says Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system.
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Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv and German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries.
Scholz said Germany had been "delivering continuously since the beginning of the war", pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
"Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T," Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
A security source told Reuters last month that Germany was considering supplying IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defence systems to Ukraine.
— Reuters
Russia now controls 70% of Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine regional governor says
The eastern city of Sievierodonetsk has come under intense artillery and missile strikes from the Russian army.
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Russian forces have seized control of approximately 70% of Sievierodonetsk, according to Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai.
His comments come as Russian forces continue their offensive in the Donbas region. The Donbas refers to the two eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk — a major strategic, political and economic target for the Kremlin.
Haidai said via Telegram that the eastern city of Lysychansk remains "completely" under Ukrainian control.
However, all free settlements of the Luhansk region are constantly under fire and evacuation efforts have been suspended, Haidai said.
— Sam Meredith
Wheat can't be 'weapon of war', Pope says in urging lifting of Ukraine block
Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 1, 2022.
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Pope Francis on Wednesday appealed to authorities to lift the block on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the grain cannot be used as a "weapon of war".
Speaking at his general audience to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, he said the block should be lifted because many millions of people depend on wheat from Ukraine, particularly in the world's poorest countries.
— Reuters
Russia says Biden's arms supplies to Ukraine increase the risk of direct clashes with the U.S.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says the risk of direct clashes between Moscow and Washington have increased after the U.S. decision to supply more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine.
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
Russia has warned that U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to supply advanced rocket systems to Ukraine increases the risk of direct clashes between Moscow and Washington.
When asked whether the likelihood of an open clash between Russia and the U.S. would increase following the White House's decision to supply Ukraine with longer-range rocket systems, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "Any arms deliveries that continue, are on the rise, increase the risks of such a development."
Speaking to the RIA Novosti news agency, Ryabkov said of U.S. foreign policy that "the remnants of a responsible, sound approach to the situation have simply been scrapped."
— Sam Meredith
Oil group OPEC+ reportedly considering suspending Russia from supply deal
Then Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak (right) with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, during the Russian Energy Week 2019 International Forum in Moscow. OPEC delegates are reportedly concerned about the growing economic pressure on Russia and its ability to pump more crude to cool soaring prices.
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Some members of the energy alliance OPEC+ are considering whether to suspend Russia from an oil production deal, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing unnamed OPEC delegates.
This comes at a time when non-OPEC leader Russia, a major player in global energy markets, faces a barrage of Western sanctions and a partial oil ban from the European Union in the wake of the onslaught in Ukraine.
OPEC delegates are reportedly concerned about the growing economic pressure on Russia and its ability to pump more crude to cool soaring prices.
CNBC has contacted a spokesperson for Russia's energy ministry and OPEC for comment.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries are scheduled to discuss the next phase of production policy on Thursday.
— Sam Meredith
Zelenskyy says Russian bombing of chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk is 'insanity'
Sievierodonetsk is one of three towns that constitute one of Ukraine's largest chemical complexes. The area is now the frontline as Russian troops move closer to the city.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed that the situation in the eastern region of the Donbas is "very difficult," saying Russian air strikes in Sievierodonetsk are "insanity," given the presence of a large-scale chemical plant in the city.
His comments come after a Russian airstrike hit a nitric acid tank in the city. Residents of Sievierodonetsk have been warned not to leave bomb shelters due to the risk posed by toxic fumes.
Speaking in an evening address to the nation, Zelenskyy said the cities of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Kurakhove are now at the epicenter of the confrontation.
"Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Sievierodonetsk, the Russian army's strikes there, including blind air bombing, are insanity," he said.
"But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian military, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable."
— Sam Meredith
UNICEF says 5.2 million children require humanitarian aid
Children seen at an underground shelter. Nearly 100 days of war in Ukraine have rendered 3 million children inside Ukraine and over 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries in need of humanitarian aid, with nearly 2 out of every 3 children displaced by fighting.
Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
The war has rendered 3 million children inside Ukraine and over 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries in need of humanitarian aid, according to UNICEF, which estimated 2 in 3 children have been displaced by the fighting.
On average, more than 2 children are killed and more than 4 are injured every day in Ukraine due mostly to attacks using explosive weapons in populated areas, according to reports verified by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Civilian infrastructure critical for children, including 256 health facilities and hundreds of schools, have also been damaged or destroyed in the war.
— Chelsea Ong
Biden says U.S. will provide Ukraine with longer-range rocket systems
A Multiple Launch Rocket System shoots during an artillery live fire event on March 4, 2020. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a New York Times opinion piece that he will "provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine."
Christof Stache | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a New York Times opinion piece that he will "provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine."
The rocket systems refer to longer-range Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, NBC News reported, citing the White House Security Council.
U.S. officials have been hesitant to send MLRS to Ukraine over concerns that Russia may view it as an escalatory action because of the system's range, NBC News reported.
The MLRS can fire numerous rockets from an extensive distance away — much further than any of the systems Ukraine already has, CNN reported.
Russia said earlier this week that it would strike "decision making centers" including those "not in Kyiv," if the U.S. sent long-range rocket systems to Ukraine.
But a U.S. senior administration official said Ukraine has agreed not to use the MLRS to launch rockets into Russia, NBC News reported.
— Chelsea Ong
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