Russia-Ukraine live news: US readying new aid package for Kyiv | Russia-Ukraine war News
State Department says with the ‘significant’ funding approved by Congress, US will soon reveal new assistance.
- Ukrainian forces have seen some success near the southern city of Kherson and are advancing in parts of the Kharkiv region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
- Ukraine’s foreign minister calls on French President Emmanuel Macron to visit the country before the end of June.
- Ukraine says Russia has taken control of most of the eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk.
- Washington will not provide Kyiv with long-range rockets capable of reaching beyond the battlefield in Ukraine, the White House has said.
- The US hails a European Union decision to scale back Russian oil imports, urging more long-term efforts to reduce dependence on Moscow.
Here are all the latest updates:
US to announce new Ukraine aid package ‘before too long’
The US State Department has suggested that Washington is readying another aid package for Kyiv, after Congress approved an additional $40bn in military and humanitarian assistance earlier this month.
“Now that we have significant additional financial resources for security assistance, I imagine you’ll be hearing from us before too long about additional security assistance as those conversations with senior levels of the Ukrainian government have been ongoing,” spokesperson Ned Price said.
Russia captures most of Severodonetsk city in eastern Ukraine: Governor
Russia has taken control of most of the eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk, the regional governor has said.
Russia’s all-out assault on the city in Ukraine’s Luhansk province has been met by tough resistance from Ukrainian forces. Russian-backed separatists in Luhansk acknowledged that capturing the city was taking longer than hoped, despite one of the biggest ground attacks of the three-month-long war.
Luhansk’s regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said nearly all critical infrastructure in Severodonetsk had been destroyed and 60 percent of residential property has been damaged beyond repair.
“Most of Severodonetsk is under the control of the Russians. The town is not surrounded and the prerequisites for it to be are not in place,” Gaidai said, adding that Russian shelling had made it impossible to deliver aid or evacuate people.
Ukrainian forces having some success near Kherson, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian forces have had some success near the southern city of Kherson and are advancing in parts of the Kharkiv region to the east of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
“Our defenders are showing the utmost courage and remain masters of the situation at the front despite the fact the Russian army has a significant advantage in terms of equipment and numbers,” he said in a late-night address.
Ukraine FM calls for French president to visit before end of June
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on French President Emmanuel Macron to visit the country before the end of France’s EU presidency on June 30.
“It would be good that Macron came during the French EU presidency, and the best thing would be that he comes with more weapons deliveries for Ukraine,” Kuleba told French news channel LCI.
“That’s the most precious aid we can receive from France.”
US hails EU decision to scale back Russian oil imports
The US has hailed a European Union decision to scale back Russian oil imports and called for long-term efforts to further reduce dependence on Moscow.
“We applaud the steps by our European allies and partners to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and natural gas,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. He added that there was “broad support” among US allies for “cutting off the strength of Russia’s war machine, and that is Russia’s energy market”.
“The EU took an important step on that near-term path, but then there’s also a longer-term path that has less to do with the day to day and more to do with trends over time and the broader need to lessen our reliance on Russian energy,” Price told reporters.
US will not send long-range rockets for use beyond Ukraine: White House
The Biden administration is still considering sending rocket systems to Kyiv, the White House press secretary has said, but Washington will not send long-range rockets for use beyond the battlefield in Ukraine.
Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments echoed those of US President Joe Biden, who said earlier this week that his administration would not send Ukraine any rockets capable of reaching Russia.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Read all the updates from Tuesday, May 31 here.
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