Russia-Ukraine War on May 31: Russia controls most of the strategic city of Severodonetsk; Zelensky sent a message that he was ready to meet Putin

Battle in eastern Ukraine: Russian forces are “focused on establishing control over the city of Severodonetsk,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a May 31 update as fierce fighting continued. in the area.

Ukraine still controls some parts of the city of Sievierodonetsk, but the evacuation of civilians is currently not possible, the head of the city government said. The Russians now control “about half” according to reports on Ukrainian national television.

“The situation is extremely complicated – part of Sievierodonetsk is controlled by the Russians, we cannot move freely through the city,” said Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk.

The key city in eastern Luhansk is under constant shelling as Russian forces attempt to surround Ukrainian defenders and enter the city. About 60 kilometers west of Severodonetsk, in the Lyman region, Russia is regrouping and “preparing for attack”. The General Staff said that Russian troops had to withdraw after suffering losses following a reconnaissance operation.

Civilians caught in the fire: Up to 12,000 civilians are still trapped and in need of aid in Severodonetsk, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on May 31. The refugee agency called on “the parties to the conflict to immediately allow all humanitarian organizations to access Severodonetsk for relief and allow the evacuation of civilians who wish to leave the city safely”.

EU moves on Russian oil: The European Union has agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, leaders of the European Council announced on Monday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Russian oil transported by tankers would be banned, while an exemption would be made for the southern section of the Druzhba pipeline, which accounts for 10% of the volume. Russian oil imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on May 30 after the summit in Brussels.

EU oil ban will cut Russian resources: The EU’s oil ban would cut off the funding that Russia could spend on the war in Ukraine, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said: “Certainly we cannot. prevent Russia from selling its oil to others. We are not so powerful, but we are the most important customer for Russia.” “The aim is for the Russians to have less resources, less money to sustain the war, and this is bound to happen,” Borrell added.

Gazprom cuts supply: Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, has confirmed that it will cut natural gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra starting today, May 31. Earlier in the day, Danish energy company Ørsted and Dutch gas trader GasTerra warned Russia could shut down production early because they had refused to pay in rubles. Weeks earlier, Moscow had done the same to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Turkey with a military delegation on June 8 to discuss the creation of a potential maritime corridor for Ukraine’s agricultural exports, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to 11.5 years in prison by a Ukrainian court for “violating the law of war”. Oleksandr Bobykin and Oleksandr Ivanov pleaded guilty at an earlier trial.

“The court found no evidence of coercion. The defendants pleaded guilty. The court ruled that their guilt was fully substantiated,” the court said in a live stream of the court hearing. Kotelevsky district in the Poltava region on May 31.

Soldiers allegedly fired Grad missiles from Russia’s Belgorod region towards Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on February 24.

He Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin:

In a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said he wanted to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. “Just yesterday, during a phone conversation, Mr. Zelensky expressed his desire to meet Putin. Turkey continues to try to participate in the de-confliction,” Foreign Minister Cavusoglu said in response to a question from the editor of the Anadolu news agency on May 31.