In response to the ongoing debate whether the US should lift restrictions on US weapons being used inside Russia, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that "Ukraine should be allowed to prosecute the war in a way they see fit. They need to be able to fight back and us trying to micro manage that effort is not a good policy."
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs warned that any unilateral attempt by Russia to alter Baltic Sea borders would provoke a reaction. This follows Russia's announcement of plans to redefine its maritime borders with Lithuania and Finland, claiming new internal waters in the Gulf of Finland and near key coastal areas. The proposed changes involve adjusting geographical coordinates in these regions.
⚡️The European Union has approved the transfer to Ukraine of the proceeds from Russia's frozen assets, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský reports.
"Up to €3B only this year, 90% goes for Ukraine's military. Russia must pay for its war damages."
Nato allies should not fear that sending troops to Ukraine to train its soldiers would risk dragging the military alliance into war with Russia, Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kalas said.
"There are countries who are training soldiers on the ground already, and they did so at their own risk. If training personnel were attacked by Russian forces it would not automatically trigger Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause," she added.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but comparing Biden’s mental health with Trump’s mental health is like comparing an iPhone with 2 styrofoam cups and some string.
In German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party, voices began to be heard for Western troops to take part in the defense against Russian airstrikes in Ukraine.
"In the current military situation, I consider it necessary and responsible to deploy German anti-aircraft missile forces on NATO territory on the border with Ukraine in order to protect the airspace over Western Ukraine - for example, with the help of Patriot systems," SPD defense expert Joe Weingarten said.
Russian channels confirmed the death of Lt. Col. Oleksandr Kulakov. Commander of a secret air defense base, located near Mount Ai-Petri in occupied Crimea, which was struck on May 13.
Last week, I have seen and received lots of these images. Russian assault squads, usually between 5-20 men, trying to walk towards new forward positions without any backup. After they are noticed by drones, they are taken out one by one. It explains the high number of casualties in the General Staff's daily figures.
Against the background of the offensive of Russian troops in the north of the Kharkiv region, the commander of the Operational grouping of troops "Kharkiv" was replaced. Brigadier General Mykhailo Drapaty was appointed instead of Yuriy Galushkin. Drapaty was Deputy Chief of the General Staff and former commander of the Operational grouping of troops "Kherson".
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi asserted that the Ukrainian army is aware of the Russians’ plans and responds flexibly to all their operations, but described the situation in the Kharkiv Oblast as "significantly aggravated".
"We are aware of the enemy's plans and can respond flexibly to all of his actions. To reinforce the defence, all required measures are implemented, and decisions, including personnel ones, are made quickly," he said.
Not a great image, because I was shooting around the clouds but I had to capture the source of our Aurora fun. That big chunk on the right side has been blasting us with solar mass to light up the sky!