Ukraine-Russia News – Live: Putin’s troops ‘gather on Ukrainian border’ and ‘prepare for new offensive’

During a visit to Madrid, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was firing around 3,000 bombs at Ukraine each month and pledged to provide additional air defense missiles from Spain to counter it.

Zelenskyy was quoted as saying Ukraine urgently needs seven more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russia from attacking military targets as well as power grids and civilian areas with destructive glide bombs that could cause widespread destruction.

“If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) aircraft would not be able to get close enough to drop (glide) bombs on civilians or troops,” he told a news conference in the Spanish capital.

Glide bombs are large Soviet-era bombs with precision guidance systems that are launched from aircraft flying outside the range of air defenses. They weigh more than a tonne and can blast their targets to bits, leaving huge craters in their wake.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Colonel-General Oleksandr Shirsky said he had signed a document allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centers.

General Shirsky said he and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a video call with their French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu.

The French government has not said when it will send French military instructors to Ukraine.

The French Defense Ministry said it had been discussing sending French military instructors to Ukraine since President Emmanuel Macron met with European leaders in February to discuss European support for Ukraine, but did not explicitly confirm that France would send military instructors to Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces attacked businesses producing confectionery and agricultural machinery in the besieged Kharkiv region, killing one woman, 46.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the attack targeted the Khorodnohirsky and Shevchenkovsky districts of Kharkiv, hitting both companies with two multipurpose airborne gliding bombs.

“Two companies were affected: one is a confectionery manufacturer and the other is a company specializing in making agricultural machinery,” the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

It added that 11 other people were injured in the attack.

The Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which is now under Russian control, was attacked for the second time in a week early today, according to authorities in Moscow.

Russia’s special envoy for the foreign ministry, Rodion Miroshnik, said at least two loud explosions were heard.

“We cannot rule out a repeat attack at the site while rescue teams are still dealing with the aftermath of the previous missile attack,” Miroshnik said.

Artyom Risohor, the Ukrainian government-appointed governor of Luhansk region, said the fire broke out near infrastructure facilities of the former Luhansk Higher Military Aviation School and a nearby aircraft repair factory.

He said the attack came just a week after Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian military base in Yubilein, outside Luhansk.

Russia says its forces have captured two villages in Ukraine, including in the Kharkiv region where fighting continues.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the settlements were in Ivanivka in Kharkiv Oblast and Netaylobe in Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that the Russian offensive was “partially successful” in Kharkiv but have not confirmed Moscow’s claims.

The Ukrainian General Staff announced last night that it had repelled seven Russian advances in the Kupyansk region.

He added that Russian forces have recorded “partial success” in one of the areas of the Kupyansk region and that Ukrainian forces are “taking measures to stabilize the situation and halt the enemy’s advance.”

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank that monitors the war, said Russian forces continued heavy glide bomb attacks on the city of Kharkiv and other parts of northern Kharkiv province yesterday.

“The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Russian forces fired 25 guided glide bombs into the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast during daylight hours on May 27, two of which were aimed at the city of Kharkiv. Ukrainian authorities reported that the Russian glide bombs struck an industrial facility and a residential area of ​​Kharkiv, killing one person and wounding 11,” the ministry said.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday urged Hungary to stop blocking measures to provide billions of euros in military aid after long-simmering tensions with Ukraine exploded.

Even before the meeting of EU 27 foreign ministers began, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielis Landsbergis accused Hungary of systematically blocking EU foreign policy.

“Almost all of our discussions and all the necessary solutions and decisions by the EU are being blocked by just one country,” he told reporters upon arriving at the meeting in Brussels.

“We have to start seeing this as a systemic approach to any endeavour for the EU to play a meaningful role in foreign affairs.”

Estonia and Italy also expressed frustration ahead of the talks over what they called Budapest’s obstructionist tactics, with diplomats saying Hungary’s stance often aligns with Russian interests, while Budapest insists it is advocating peace.

Russian forces have fired around 3,200 guided bombs at Ukraine this month, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Madrid, he added that the Ukrainian military does not have enough air defence missiles to stop Russia from dropping thousands of bombs every month.

Poland will introduce restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats on Polish territory due to Russia’s involvement in what it sees as a hybrid war against the European Union, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday.

Relations between Poland and Russia have deteriorated sharply since February 2022, when Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to neighboring Ukraine.

Warsaw also accuses Moscow of espionage and sabotage.

“These are state decisions, but there is evidence that the Russian government is involved in authorising subversive activities in our country too. We expect the Russian Federation to treat this as a very serious warning,” Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorski told reporters in Brussels.

The Russian Embassy in Warsaw said it had not received any official information about the measure and could not immediately comment.

Spain has pledged to provide Ukraine with military aid worth 1 billion euros this year under an agreement signed on Monday in Madrid between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

“Now more than ever it is important that we redouble our support,” Sanchez told a news conference.

The agreement, which covers the next decade, calls for the supply of modern military equipment for ground, air, naval and other uses “prioritizing Ukraine’s key capability needs,” with an emphasis on maritime measures to protect Ukraine’s food export routes, but did not provide specifics.

Russian forces attacked the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine on Monday, killing three people and wounding six, the Ukrainian emergency response service and local authorities said.

“As a result of a missile attack on Snihliivka (town) this afternoon, fires broke out at a coffee shop, a car shop and a tire service, and the blast damaged a self-service car wash,” the car wash service said in the Telegram messaging app.

“Two bodies were discovered during debris removal operations,” he added.

Governor Mikolajv later said the death toll had risen to three.