The USA announces billions more in aid. Russian attacks are feared in Kyiv. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Drone attack on Russian city: explosion in oil refinery
5.10 a.m.: According to the governor of the Russian city of Krasnodar, Russia’s anti-aircraft defense repelled a Ukrainian drone attack over southern Russian territory on Saturday night. According to preliminary information, more than ten drones were intercepted in different districts, Veniamin Kondratiev said in his Telegram channel.
The drones therefore targeted oil refineries and infrastructure facilities. There were no injuries or serious damage, the governor continued. Emergency services are in the process of extinguishing fires that were started by falling debris. Images of a fire have been shared on X and Telegram, but they cannot be independently verified.
US Institute: Ukraine must prepare for summer offensive
3:10 a.m.: With the US arms deliveries now promised, Ukraine will first have to stabilize the front lines and stop further Russian advances before it can go on the offensive itself, estimates the American Institute for War Studies (ISW). Its daily assessment on Friday said: “Ukrainian forces must repel the Russian summer offensive and prevent Russian forces from making operationally significant progress in the summer months before Ukrainian forces will be in a position to contest the larger initiative and later to conduct a counteroffensive in 2024 or 2025.” Russia is already preparing for American arms deliveries and is adapting its strategy accordingly.
Another challenge for Ukraine is the difficult situation with personnel. New recruits must first be trained and existing troops must be rebuilt. According to the ISW’s assessment, the decisive factor for possible counter-offensives in Ukraine is how further aid from the West will turn out. “Whether Ukraine can regain all of its territory in the long term depends on numerous future decisions in the West, in the Kremlin and in Kiev,” says the American think tank’s analysis.
Lawyers for the Russian deputy defense minister want to appeal
11:10 p.m.: According to a report by the Russian news agency Tass, lawyers for Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov are appealing against a pre-trial detention order against him. A Russian court ruled on Wednesday that Ivanov must be remanded in custody for two months because he is suspected of accepting bribes. According to Russian media reports, 48-year-old Ivanov faces up to 15 years in prison. Ivanov worked in fuel and energy companies and in the Moscow regional government before moving to the Defense Ministry in 2010. In 2016 he was appointed deputy minister.
USA announces new military aid worth billions
7:05 p.m.: The US government has promised Ukraine a new billion-dollar military aid package for the long-term supply of weapons. The USA wants to provide Kiev with additional weapons and support worth six billion US dollars (5.6 billion euros) to defend against Russia’s war of aggression, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday.
Lithuania’s president calls for increased military spending by NATO countries
3:51 p.m.: After Poland, Lithuania has now also demanded higher military spending from NATO member states. “We must work together to convince our NATO partners to increase defense spending,” said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. The two presidents attended a joint military exercise between the two countries’ armed forces in the so-called “Suwalki Gap”, a strategically important area on NATO’s eastern flank.
Duda recently suggested that NATO should require its members to spend at least three percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense annually. Nauseda said he agreed with Duda that the current target of two percent of GDP is not enough in these “dynamic and complicated times.” Lithuania admires its neighbor Poland, which spends more than four percent of its economic output on defense, and is currently looking for ways to achieve this goal as well.
