LIVE – War in Ukraine: Zelensky calls on his allies to force Russia into peace “by all means”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called on the West to force Russia into peace “by all means”, at a time when kyiv is demanding the ability to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory.

“Our soldiers are defending themselves against the Russian offensive, which is why we must intensify our joint work with our partners to achieve more: security and tangible coercion of Russia for peace by all means,” he said. he declared, during a press conference in Spain alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The security agreement signed by Spain and Ukraine on Monday during Volodymyr Zelensky’s official visit to Madrid includes military aid from Madrid worth one billion euros, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro announced Sanchez.

This agreement “includes a commitment of military aid for 2024 of one billion euros which will allow Ukraine to strengthen its defense capabilities” in the face of the Russian offensive, declared Mr. Sánchez during a conference joint press release with the Ukrainian president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Madrid on Monday to sign a security agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez intended to increase Madrid’s so far limited military aid to kyiv. “I arrived in Spain to sign a bilateral security agreement and meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez,” Mr. Zelensky said in a message published on the social network Telegram.

“We will talk about continuing defense cooperation, preparing new military aid and training the Ukrainian army,” added the Ukrainian president, who is urging his allies to step up their aid for counter the Russian offensive.

Russia claimed Monday the capture of two new localities in the regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, continuing its push in these two sectors of the front where it is on the offensive against a Ukrainian army in difficulty.

The Russian army “liberated the village” of Netailové, in the Donetsk region, as well as the town of Ivanivka, in the Kharkiv region, further north, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Madrid on Monday for an official visit which is to be marked by the signing of an agreement intended to increase Madrid’s military aid to kyiv.

According to images broadcast by Spanish public television, Mr. Zelensky was welcomed on the tarmac of Madrid airport by King Felipe VI. This visit is the first official visit of the Ukrainian president to Spain.

Ukraine’s hands are tied due to restrictions on the use of weapons supplied by its Western allies on Russian territory, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg lamented on Monday in Sofia.

“This ties the hands of the Ukrainians and makes it very difficult for them to defend themselves,” Stoltenberg said at the opening of a NATO meeting in the Bulgarian capital.

German justice on Monday sentenced a former army officer to three and a half years in prison for transmitting confidential military information to Russia, after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow’s troops.

According to the prosecution, Thomas H., on his own initiative, transmitted information to the Russian secret services, an act that the defendant had justified during his trial in Düsseldorf (west) by his desire to avoid a nuclear escalation in the war in Ukraine.

As the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine continues, thousands of people have been forced to flee the fighting. One of our teams went to the site, around Vovchansk, where many residents live in hiding for fear of continuous bombardments while others seek to be urgently evacuated.

One person was killed and three others were injured Monday in a Ukrainian drone attack on a gas station in Russia’s Oriol region, about 160 km from the border with Ukraine, the local governor said. “A drone fell this morning on the territory of a gas station in the town of Livny” damaging the facade of an administrative building, wrote Andrei Klychkov, the governor of the Oriol region, on Telegram.

After the arrival of emergency services on the scene, a new drone attack occurred, according to the same source.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is urging his allies to step up their aid to counter the Russian offensive, will be in Madrid on Monday where he will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish government announced on Sunday. “The President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, will receive the President of Ukraine” at noon (10:00 GMT), then the two leaders will hold a press conference, the Prime Minister’s services announced in a press release.

King Felipe VI will also receive the Ukrainian leader, the palace said in a statement. This is President Zelensky’s first official visit to Spain since he came to power in 2019, more than two years after the Russian invasion of his country began.

Here is the key information from the last 24 hours:

– The death toll from the Russian strike on a DIY hypermarket in Kharkiv continued to climb, reaching 16 dead this Sunday, the day after this attack described as “despicable” by the Ukrainian president.

– The Ukrainian Sports Minister asked the national team to keep “a cool head” during the Paris Olympics, in which Russian and Belarusian athletes will participate. At the Guardian, the interim minister therefore calls on Ukrainian athletes not to pay any attention to possible provocations from their Russian counterparts.

– In its daily estimate of losses inflicted on Moscow, the Ukrainian General Staff indicated on Sunday that 501,190 Russian soldiers have died in combat since February 24, 2022.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its consequences around the world. There you will find all the latest information from this Monday, May 27.