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• Defence and armed forces

PM extends Ukraine military training to pilots and marines as President Zelenskyy makes first visit to the UK since Russian invasion

• President Zelenskyy arrives in the UK today to meet the Prime Minister and visit Ukrainian troops.

• Comes as the Prime Minister announces plans to expand training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to sea and air, including fighter jet pilots and marines, as part of long-term investment in their military.
• UK also accelerates military equipment to Ukraine in a bid to give Ukrainian forces the upper hand on the battlefield and limit Russia’s ability to target civilian infrastructure.

President Zelenskyy will visit the UK today to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and address parliament as the UK steps up its delivery of lethal aid into the country, and prepares to train fighter jet pilots and marines.                                                                                 

The leaders will discuss a two-pronged approach to UK support for Ukraine, starting with an immediate surge of military equipment to the country to help counter Russia’s spring offensive, and reinforced by long-term support.

The Prime Minister will also offer the UK’s backing to President Zelenskyy’s plans to work towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

As part of today’s talks, the Prime Minister will offer to bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future.

The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. As part of that long-term capability investment, the UK will work with Ukraine and international allies to coordinate collective support to meet Ukraine’s defensive needs.

He will also offer to begin an immediate training programme for marines.

That training will be in addition to the recruit training programme already running in the UK, which has seen 10,000 Ukrainian troops brought to battle readiness in the last six months, and which will upskill a further 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year. The UK will continue to work with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and international community to scale the programme up in 2023.

Just last week, Ukrainian troops arrived in the UK to learn how to command Challenger 2 tanks, following the Prime Minister’s decision to send the main battle tanks to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister will also offer to provide Ukraine with longer range capabilities. This will disrupt Russia’s ability to continually target Ukraine’s civilian and critical national infrastructure and help relieve pressure on Ukraine’s frontlines.

The President and his team will also meet defence and security chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of the Air Staff, to discuss the details of the training programme.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

President Zelenskyy’s visit to the UK is a testament to his country’s courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries. Since 2014, the UK has provided vital training to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to defend their country, protect their sovereignty and fight for their territory. I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future. It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come.

The UK will also announce further sanctions today in response to Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine, including the targeting of those who have helped Putin build his personal wealth, and companies who are profiting from the Kremlin’s war machine.

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'Wings for freedom': Zelenskyy visits UK, lobbies for fighter jets, and Britain is receptive. Ukraine live updates.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.K. on Wednesday for the first time since Russia's invasion, a rare trip out of his war-torn country.

Zelenskyy met U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and addressed Parliament in a bid for more military aid in the form of advanced weapons and "wings for freedom" fighter jets as Ukraine prepares for expected spring offensives by Russian forces.

For the first time, Sunak said he's open to the idea of providing fighter jets. “Nothing is off the table,” he said at a joint news conference at a British army base. “We must arm Ukraine in the short term, but we must bolster Ukraine for the long term.”

It is Zelenskyy's second known trip outside Ukraine since Russia's invasion nearly a year ago, after his December visit to the U.S. 

On Wednesday night, Zelenskyy arrived in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Zelenskyy will also visit Brussels, where leaders from the 27-nation bloc are holding a summit Thursday, Macron's office confirmed.

Developments:

►Zelensky visited Buckingham Palace and met with King Charles. The royal family posted a photo of the men shaking hands on Twitter .

►French President Emmanuel Macron was to meet with Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris later Wednesday, the Élysée Palace said. Zelenskyy also is expected to visit Brussels, where leaders from the 27-nation bloc are holding a summit Thursday, but no announcement had been made.

►British Foreign Minister James Cleverly announced new sanctions against Russian President Vladimir "Putin’s inner circle and producers of Russia's warfare equipment," adding that, "Putin is desperate. He will not succeed."

GRAPHICS: Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

RUSSIA, OLYMPICS: Russia's path to 2024 Olympics takes shape, Ukraine objects

UK moves closer to providing Ukraine with fighter jets

Zelenskyy, wearing his trademark olive sweatshirt, presented the speaker of the House of Commons with a Ukrainian air force helmet inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

The U.S., U.K and other allies have been reluctant to provide advanced fighter jets, citing the complexity of the aircraft and concerns over escalating the war. But in a shift, the British government said Wednesday that it was “actively looking” at whether Ukraine could be sent Western jets and was “in discussion with our allies” about it.

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government was exploring what jets might be provided over the coming years but had not made a decision on whether to send its F-35 or Typhoon jets.

“We think it is right to provide both short-term equipment … that can help win the war now but also look to the medium-to-long term to make sure Ukraine has every possibility it requires,” he said.

Zelenskyy addresses UK Parliament, asks for jets

Zelenskyy asked allies to send "combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom" as hundreds of lawmakers and staff packed into Westminster Hall for his address.

Zelenskyy also urged stronger sanctions against Russia and thanked Britain for its aid.

"London has stood with Kyiv since Day One," he said, handing over a combat helmet as a thank-you to Britain. The helmet was inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot with the words, “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

UK announces pilot, marine training program for Ukraine

Zelenskyy's visit coincides with Sunak announcing that Britain will expand training for Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and marines "as part of long-term investment in their military," according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

Britain pledged to train Ukrainian pilots on "NATO standard fight jets," but the U.K. has been reluctant to meet Ukraine's request for allies to send warplanes .

"I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future," Sunak said in a statement. "It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come."

US MILITARY AID: As Biden seeks to avoid wider war, M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine escalates conflict

The U.K. is one of Ukraine's biggest military supporters and has sent the country more than $2.5 billion in aid. More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have trained at U.K. bases, and Britain said 20,000 more will do so this year. Last week, a group of Ukrainians arrived in the U.K. to learn to operate Challenger 2 tanks Britain is supplying.

The U.K. also announced a series of sanctions Wednesday against six entities it said provided equipment to the Russian military.

Zelenskyy keeps busy itinerary in UK

Zelenskyy arrived at London Stansted airport on a Royal Air Force plane as Sunak greeted him. Sunak tweeted a photo of the two embracing on the tarmac.

"The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support," Zelenskyy said on Instagram.

Zelenskyy and Sunak traveled to Downing Street amid a large convoy of vehicles before briefly posing for photos in front of the famous black door that leads into the U.K. prime minister's residence.

Zelenskyy started the meeting by thanking Britain for its "big support from the first days of full-scale invasion." He also met with King Charles, U.K. military chiefs and Ukrainian troops training in Britain.

IOC resists pressure to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes from Paris Games

As the push against allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in next year's Summer Games in Paris gains support, the International Olympic Committee continues to resist.

On Wednesday, Olympic leaders said they don't intend to have Russian and Belarusian delegations at the event. Instead, the IOC plans for those countries' qualifying competitors who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine to participate as “neutral athletes” without a national identity such as team uniforms, flags and anthems.

Zelenskyy and many political and sports figures have advocated for extending to the Paris Games the ban initially applied in most Olympic sports to participants from Russia and Belarus, imposed shortly after the war began last February.

“It is not possible to parade as if nothing had happened, to have a delegation that comes to Paris while the bombs continue to rain down on Ukraine,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Tuesday, drawing the IOC response.

US MILITARY AID: Ukraine to get 45 top battle tanks from US, Germany. How they will aid in war with Russia

Contributing: The Associated Press

Russia-Ukraine War Zelensky Visits U.K. for Talks on Military Aid

• Share full article
• Chequers, Aylesbury, England President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain. UK Pool, International Pool via Associated Press
• Kramatorsk, Ukraine A civilian house that was destroyed by a Russian bombing overnight. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
• Synyak, Ukraine The funeral for Dmytro Konobas, who was killed while fighting in the Luhansk region this month. Nicole Tung for The New York Times
• Donetsk region, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers resting after rotating out of fighting in Bakhmut. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
• Donetsk region, Ukraine An armored vehicle driving through a village. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
• Irpin, Ukraine Demolishing buildings that were damaged in strikes last year. Roman Pilipey/Getty Images
• Kyiv region, Ukraine A training session at a drone school. Nicole Tung for The New York Times
• Hostomel, Ukraine Garages destroyed by shelling last year. Nicole Tung for The New York Times

The U.K. promises more missiles and drones for Ukraine.

LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain pledged on Monday to provide a large package of missiles and attack drones to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who over the weekend secured promises of billions of dollars in additional military aid from European allies .

Mr. Zelensky, who has been on a whirlwind tour of Europe to shore up support ahead of a counteroffensive against Russia, hugged Mr. Sunak when he landed at the British leader’s country residence outside London, Chequers, on Monday morning. The Ukrainian president — who referred to Mr. Sunak in a tweet as “my friend Rishi” — later said he was “very pleased” by the results of his European tour.

Welcome back, @ZelenskyyUa 🇬🇧🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ph57ZoUHpC — Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 15, 2023

The prime minister’s office said that in addition to the cruise missiles it announced last week, Britain would deliver “hundreds of air defense missiles and further unmanned aerial systems,” including long-range drones to support Ukraine in its anticipated counteroffensive.

“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,” Mr. Sunak said in a statement on Monday. “They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.”

The two leaders met for around two hours at Chequers before emerging to take a few questions from journalists, with Mr. Zelensky expressing thanks to Britain, Germany and France for their new weapons pledges over the weekend.

“I am very pleased with our achievements and agreements,” Mr. Zelensky said, according to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian state-funded news outlet . “Powerful defense packages are really important.”

Recent Ukrainian military advances around the embattled city of Bakhmut prompted some Russian military bloggers to claim that Kyiv’s long-anticipated counteroffensive was already underway. But Mr. Zelensky said last week that Ukraine needed to wait for more hardware from the West to arrive, specifically armored vehicles, before it could launch the assault. When asked if that was still fair to say on Monday, Mr. Zelensky told journalists that “we really need some more time.”

“Not too much,” he said, according to the BBC. “We will be ready in some time.”

The Kremlin, though, dismissed the significance of Britain’s new military aid pledge.

“We take an extremely negative view of it,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told journalists, according to the Russian state news agency Tass , but he said the new weapons would “not have any significant impact” on the course of the war.

Britain provided about $2.8 billion in military assistance to Ukraine in 2022, making it one of Kyiv’s largest backers. Mr. Sunak also promised to start training Ukrainian fighter pilots this summer, though he has yet to commit to sending British fighter jets to Ukraine. Instead, Britain has said it will help other countries that supply combat aircraft by providing support systems.

Mr. Zelensky’s brief visit to Britain comes after he traveled over the weekend to Italy, Germany and France, meeting with Pope Francis and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, and President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. On Saturday, Germany announced an arms package of almost $3 billion, and on Sunday, France also pledged more weaponry for Ukraine.

The British government confirmed last week that it would begin supplying Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, continuing its policy of being in the vanguard in providing the Ukrainian Army heavier weapons to fight Russian forces.

The missiles, which are known as Storm Shadow and have a range of more than 155 miles, would “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based in Ukrainian sovereign territory,” according to Britain’s defense secretary, Ben Wallace.

Britain, with its aggressive approach, has often acted as a catalyst for other Western countries to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons. Its decision to send a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks foreshadowed decisions by Germany and the United States to send more sophisticated tanks.

The Ukrainian leader last visited Britain in February, delivering an emotional speech in which he pleaded for NATO countries to supply Ukraine with fighter jets. Mr. Sunak has said fighter jets are on the table, but he has not yet taken the step of committing them.

A spokesman for Mr. Sunak’s office affirmed that point on Monday, telling the BBC that Britain had “no plans” to supply jets to Ukraine.

— Mark Landler

Iran and Russia are discussing more drone sales, the White House says.

United States officials see continued indications that Iran and Russia are expanding their military partnership, with Russia having employed large numbers of Iranian drones against Ukraine and seeking to procure more, John Kirby, a White House spokesman, said at a press briefing on Monday.

Iran has provided Russia with more than 400 one-way attack drones since August, most of which have been used against Ukraine’s infrastructure as Russia presses its invasion, Mr. Kirby said, and discussions of buying more advanced weapons “are now continuing.”

By providing the drones, “Iran has been directly enabling Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” Mr. Kirby said.

Russia is also providing more “defense cooperation” to Iran, Mr. Kirby said, at a time when Iran is seeking to buy billions of dollars in Russian fighter jets, attack helicopters and Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft. Iran’s ability to carry out “destabilizing activities in the Middle East,” he said, has only been heightened.

The United States has tried to prevent the Iranian drone sales . It has choked off Iran’s ability to produce the craft, made it harder for Russia to launch them and helped Ukraine with its air defenses. Mr. Kirby said on Monday that the United States was “using the tools at our disposal to expose and disrupt these activities, and we are prepared to do more.”

The United States, the European Union and Britain have sanctioned Iran for supplying the drones. Iran has denied sending them for use against Ukraine; in November, Iran’s foreign minister acknowledged sending the drones to Russia but said the deliveries had all taken place before the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Western officials believe Russia and Iran have developed an alliance of convenience, one that flows both ways. Iran has bought billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment, including fighter jets, from Russia, Mr. Kirby said.

“The partnership between Russia and Iran is directly enabling Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East, posing a threat not just to Ukraine, of course, but also to Iran’s neighbors,” he said. “This is a full-scale defense partnership that is harmful to Ukraine, to the region in the Middle East and to the international community.”

Mr. Kirby also said the White House plans to help businesses and governments understand the Iranian drone program and related illicit practices, so they can avoid “inadvertently contributing to” Iran’s efforts.

— Daniel Victor

Advertisement

A former U.S. Embassy employee is being held in Moscow, according to Russia’s state news agency.

Robert Shonov, identified as a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia, was arrested in the Russian city of Vladivostok and charged with conspiracy, according to the Russian state news agency Tass . The report did not identify his nationality.

Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, told reporters at a briefing on Monday that he had seen the report but that “I don’t have anything additional to offer at this time.”

Tass, quoting an anonymous law enforcement official, said that Mr. Shonov was accused of “collaboration on a confidential basis with a foreign state or international or foreign organization.” He has been taken to Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, Tass reported, and no court date has been set.

Being held in isolation is commonplace at Lefortovo, a notorious high-security prison whose inmates currently include Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent who was accused of espionage in March, charges that his employer and American officials have strongly denied. It is also where Paul Whelan , a former U.S. Marine who is serving a 16-year sentence on what the United States has said are fabricated charges of espionage, was held for 20 months until his trial in 2020. He is now at a forced labor camp several hundred miles away.

In the Soviet era, the K.G.B. kept Soviet dissidents at the prison, and it has been used more recently to isolate opponents of the Kremlin.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed a nationality to the former U.S. embassy employee detained in Vladivostok. It is not known whether the person is an American; the Tass report did not identify the person’s citizenship.

An earlier version also incorrectly stated the whereabouts of Paul Whelan. He is not currently being held at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow; he is now at a forced labor camp in Mordovia, several hundred miles to the southeast of Moscow.

How we handle corrections

With a new tranche of weapons, Ukraine has much of what it needs for a counteroffensive, analysts say.

The new long-range missiles, attack drones and tanks and other armored vehicles that President Volodymyr Zelensky has secured from allies in recent days will fulfill many, but not all, of the demands for weapons that Ukraine said it needs for a counteroffensive against Russia.

Military analysts believe at least some of the latest tranche of Western weapons will be quickly sent to the front lines to cut off Russian supply routes and to strike at their artillery systems and command centers in Ukraine’s south and east. Others may be delivered later, including in the autumn or beyond, to help Mr. Zelensky plan for future operations should the war continue to drag on.

But the robust package — announced as Mr. Zelensky visited four European capitals over the last three days — may signal that Western officials now believe Ukraine could retake significant swaths of territory in the counteroffensive, said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a former Danish army intelligence officer.

“We wouldn’t be committing this amount of weapons to Ukraine at this point, if the thinking was that it was not likely that they would succeed,” said Mr. Kirkegaard, who is now a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund research group in Brussels.

Some Western officials hope that if the Ukrainians make substantial gains of territory, they would have more leverage in any peace negotiations.

Just last week, Mr. Zelensky had warned that the anticipated counteroffensive against Russia that was expected to begin this spring or early summer could be delayed unless Kyiv quickly received more weapons.

European allies responded in a matter of hours.

Perhaps the most significant commitment came from Germany, which on Saturday announced — just before Mr. Zelensky landed in Berlin — that it would send Ukraine 30 additional Leopard tanks and 20 armored fighting vehicles, 16 air defense systems, more than 200 drones and a slew of other arms and ammunition. The leaders of France and Italy also gave vaguer promises to send light tanks, ammunition and air defense systems.

The additional Leopards and infantry fighting vehicles that Germany is sending as part of its package worth 2.7 billion euros, or nearly $3 billion, will be most useful on Ukraine’s southern steppe, where the Russian-controlled terrain , Mr. Kirkegaard said, is well suited “for tank or maneuver warfare.”

But Max Bergmann, the director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, noted that it was not clear that all of the newly pledged German tanks would arrive soon. (Berlin has already delivered 18 Leopard tanks to Ukraine.)

However, he said, the commitment “helps give Ukraine a degree of confidence” as military planners prepare for a drawn-out battle.

As of early March, only 31 percent of tanks and 76 percent of other armored fighting vehicles had been delivered to Ukraine for the coming counteroffensive, according to classified U.S. military assessments that were recently leaked, although American officials have said far more have been delivered in the months since. The Biden administration has also pledged to send 31 American-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine, but they are not expected to arrive until fall at the earliest.

The new air defense systems that were promised may help ease American worries that Ukraine did not have enough to protect itself as the counteroffensive neared. Four of the 16 air defense systems that Germany has newly pledged are considered among the most sophisticated on the market.

The newly promised long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which Britain pledged on Thursday, help answer a longstanding request from Ukraine. The United States has so far resisted sending American long-range missiles to Ukraine, in part to avoid potentially escalating the war with weapons that Ukraine could use to reach into Russian territory.

Mr. Kirkegaard said the long-range drones that Britain pledged on Monday are of particular threat to the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol and other sites in and near Crimea, including the Kerch Strait Bridge that connects occupied Crimea to Russia.

Crimea has been a key staging ground for the Russians operating in captured territory in southern Ukraine.

— Lara Jakes

Ukraine claims further advances around Bakhmut.

DONBAS REGION, Ukraine — Ukrainian soldiers made further advances around Bakhmut over the weekend, the country’s deputy defense minister said on Monday, putting pressure on Russian positions on the city’s flanks as Ukraine tries to retake momentum after months of being on the defensive.

While the battle inside the city continues to rage, the Ukrainian success around Bakhmut — while limited — presents Russian commanders with the difficult choice of whether to send reinforcements, which could weaken positions elsewhere in the face of Kyiv’s looming counteroffensive.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defense minister, said on Monday that “against all odds, our troops managed to advance for several days.” A day earlier, she reported that Kyiv’s forces had “captured more than 10 enemy positions” after punching through Russian lines north and south of Bakhmut last week.

It was not possible to independently verify her claims. While Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged on Friday that its forces had retreated in one segment around Bakhmut, it claimed on Sunday that “there has been no breakthrough” against Russian lines and that all Ukrainian attacks had been repelled. But in a rare acknowledgment of high-level casualties, it also said that two Russian colonels were killed in the fighting around the city.

Ukraine’s advances around Bakhmut have been the country’s first significant gains in the monthslong battle for the devastated city. At the same time, Russian forces control about 90 percent of Bahkmut, and have continued to pound the last remaining Ukrainian positions inside the city limits.

Both sides have suffered heavy casualties in the fight for Bakhmut. Since December alone, the United States estimates that more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, many around the city.

The Ukrainians are now seeking to take advantage of Russia’s losses by attacking positions around the city that they were forced from over the winter, and they could be trying to encircle Russian forces inside the ruins of Bakhmut.

Maj. Oleksandr Pantsyrny, 26, the commander of Ukraine’s 24th Separate Assault Battalion, or Aidar, said he led an operation that resulted in a breakthrough against Russian flanks in the area of Bakhmut last week. Over three days, his battalion recaptured several miles of territory, he said. His account of the fighting could not be independently confirmed.

Major Pantsyrny said the Ukrainian breakthrough came as units of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded the assault on Bakhmut, began withdrawing units from outlying suburbs early this month in order to regroup.

“We were watching,” he said in a telephone interview on Sunday. “They started step by step, handing over positions and moving troops for assaults inside Bakhmut.”

He said the Ukrainians spotted a weakness as the Wagner troops rotated out and hit Russian Army units as they arrived to take over. The next day, he said, his troops followed with a second assault against arriving Russian reinforcements.

“We guessed the right moment of the rotation,” Major Pantsyrny said, adding that the Russian defenders were unfamiliar with the terrain and “not used to such intensity of combat.”

Even as Ukrainian soldiers advanced along the rolling hills and open plains north and south of Bakhmut, the battle inside the ruined city was a different story. Russian forces have captured nearly all of the city over months of bitter fighting, with the remaining Ukrainian defenders confined to a small western section and facing relentless assault.

On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that assault units, supported by airborne troops, continued to battle for the western neighborhoods of Bakhmut.

“Things are difficult in Bakhmut and the surrounding area,” Ms. Maliar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said on Monday , adding that “heavy fighting continues.”

— Marc Santora ,  Carlotta Gall and Oleksandr Chubko

The Wagner leader disputes a report that he offered to betray Russia.

The head of the Wagner private military group on Monday rejected a report that he had offered to share with Ukraine the positioning of Russian Army troops around Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, in exchange for a withdrawal of Kyiv’s forces from the area.

The Wagner group has been a driving force behind Russia’s monthslong battle to take Bakhmut, which has cost thousands of lives on both sides and reduced much of the city to rubble. Its founder, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, has publicly clashed with Russia’s military leadership over the fight for the city, accusing them of starving his forces of ammunition.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that a U.S. intelligence document leaked on the messaging platform Discord said that Mr. Prigozhin told contacts in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate that he was willing to betray the Russian Army’s locations around Bakhmut if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from around the city. A Ukrainian official told The Post that Mr. Prigozhin’s offer — made “more than once” — had been rejected.

In an audio statement published on Monday by his press service, Mr. Prigozhin called the report “speculation” and a “hoax.” He suggested that Russia’s corrupt elites, who he said envied his fighters’ achievements on the front lines in Ukraine and were eager to tank his reputation, could be responsible.

Mr. Prigozhin’s mercenaries have taken lead in trying to capture Bakhmut, the site of the longest and one of the bloodiest battles of the war, while Russian troops have controlled the area around the city’s flanks. Over the last few weeks, Mr. Prigozhin has stepped up his accusations of incompetence against the Russian military leadership.

Despite openly feuding with top Russian officials, Mr. Prigozhin has been careful not to criticize President Vladimir V. Putin.

Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin, said that he wouldn’t comment on The Post’s report, but said that “it looks like another hoax.”

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence service, would not comment on The Post’s report, either, but said on national television on Monday that Ukraine should “discuss such things when it is necessary and in line with Ukraine’s national interests.”

— Ivan Nechepurenko

State news media release a photo of Belarus’s leader amid speculation about his health.

Amid swirling rumors about the health of President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, state news media on Monday released photographs of him, an apparent attempt to tamp down speculation that he was seriously ill.

Mr. Lukashenko, a key Kremlin ally who usually receives fawning daily coverage from state-controlled news media featuring photos and videos, had not been shown since last Tuesday, when he attended events in Moscow and the Belarusian capital, Minsk, celebrating the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945.

He skipped an annual ceremony on Sunday in Minsk for Belarus’s flag day, an event at which he usually speaks, leaving his prime minister to read a statement.

Europe’s longest serving leader and an avid sportsman, Mr. Lukashenko, 68, has since 1994 ruled Belarus, a former Soviet republic that depends on Moscow for financial aid and security assistance, with a firm grip. In the past he has relished showing off his robust good health in public by rollerblading, playing ice hockey, and giving long speeches outdoors, regardless of the weather.

But the official Belarusian news agency, Belta, and state television had for the past week recycled old photographs and film clips of him.

Ukrainian officials and media fed a swirl of gleeful rumors around the health of Mr. Lukashenko, who is widely reviled in Ukraine for allowing Russia to use Belarus, which borders both nations, as a staging ground for its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

An opposition news outlet, Euroradio, reported that Mr. Lukashenko had been taken by motorcade to a Minsk clinic on Saturday, but the country has not officially commented on his health.

In what could be the most conclusive sign that he was ill, though perhaps not gravely, Russia’s tightly controlled news media — which rarely comment on leaders’ health — have in recent days reported that Mr. Lukashenko is unwell, citing Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian legislator who works closely with Belarus and other former Soviet republics.

Mr. Zatulin was quoted as saying of Mr. Lukashenko that “he just got sick but it is not Covid.” He gave no details and downplayed the severity of Mr. Lukashenko’s condition.

On Monday, Belta said that Mr. Lukashenko visited an air force command post and published what it said were photos of the leader that day. It was not immediately possible to independently confirm whether the photos were taken on Monday.

The intense secrecy of closed countries like Belarus and Russia allows wild rumors about their leaders to take flight. For instance, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is regularly rumored to have multiple fatal diseases.

The secrecy also makes it difficult to explain the deaths of apparently healthy officials, like Vladimir Makei, the veteran Belarusian foreign minister whose sudden death in November set off feverish speculation of possible foul play.

Nataliia Novosolova and Riley Mellen contributed reporting.

— Andrew Higgins

A Chinese official will visit Ukraine and Russia with hopes of starting talks.

A Chinese government envoy was scheduled to begin a trip on Monday that included visits to Ukraine and Russia, in an attempt to help negotiate an end to the war.

China had announced its intention to send the official, Li Hui — the government’s special representative for Eurasian affairs — after a phone call last month between its top leader, Xi Jinping, and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Beijing said that Mr. Li would “conduct in-depth communication with all parties” to try to reach a “political settlement.” His trip was confirmed last week by a government spokesman .

Beijing has been trying to position itself as a potential peace broker in the war, especially as Mr. Xi casts himself as a global statesman and China as an alternative to the United States for global leadership. In February, China issued what it described as a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, though Western officials criticized it as lacking substance.

Mr. Li, the special representative, has his own long history in Russia. He served as China’s ambassador there for 10 years, and in 2019, Mr. Putin awarded him a Medal of Friendship.

Beijing has offered few details about what Mr. Li would do or whom he would meet with in Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Li will also be visiting France, Germany and Poland, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, said at a regularly scheduled briefing last week.

— Vivian Wang

Ukraine Diary: Under the threat of airstrikes, a film crew in Kyiv forged ahead to ‘tell a story.’

This is one in an occasional series of dispatches about life amid the war in Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine — Alice Biletska knew that it would be challenging to film in wartime Ukraine, where the threat of missile or drone strikes is constant, but when she was deciding how to tell the story of a Ukrainian singer torn between her career in the United States and her family in a war-torn country, she and her co-producer saw little choice.

“There was never any question of where we would film,” Ms. Biletska said. “You have the soul of the people here. It’s very hard to fake that. Our Ukrainian crew all have their personal experiences of this war, and have gone through all of this, and everyone has a story.”

Ms. Bileska’s film, “Our House Is on Fire,” is wrapping up this week in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after a two-month shoot under the specter of Russian airstrikes that has been an extremely personal journey for everyone involved.

Filmed entirely in Ukraine, and mainly in the Kyiv region, the movie follows a young Ukrainian singer named Sofia — played by Anastasiya Pustovit — who is trying to make it in Los Angeles when she returns to Kyiv for her brother’s wedding.

While she’s home, the war breaks out, and she is forced to make an hard choice between career, and home and love. The film was co-written and directed by Ms. Biletska, who was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and the story is loosely based on her own experience of leaving her country and trying to make it in Hollywood. Her co-writer and producer is an American, Brian Perkins.

In one scene, Sofia is seen fleeing in a car on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, traveling through the forest near Hostomel, a Kyiv suburb where some of the heaviest fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces occurred in the early days of the war. The word “children” is seen taped to the car, but Russian soldiers open fire on the vehicle anyway, injuring a passenger.

Another scene offers an eerily realistic depiction of the panic at train stations across Ukraine at the time, with a crush of people shouting and pushing to board a train in Kyiv as a lone soldier tries to control the crowd.

Ms. Biletska, who studied at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and who spent weeks volunteering and helping with evacuations in the first few weeks of the war, said she asked herself what more could be done.

“I’ve always dreamed of making a film about Ukraine because I’m eternally in love with this country and the people, and home,” she said. “When you’re an immigrant, you really re-evaluate and understand what home is.

“And when this war happened, it was also another way of coping with the horrible feeling of uselessness: What can one person do when the entire country is facing evil? Well, I can tell a story.”

“We wanted to make this film now,” Ms. Biletska continued, “even while the war is still going on, because it’s really subjective. It’s a love story; it’s a story about home; it’s about all those choices we make — whether you leave or stay.”

Mr. Perkins recalled one instance in particular when the filming hit especially close to home for someone on the set.

“We shot one scene in the Kyiv Metro, and one of the extras had actually spent time sheltering in that exact Metro station with her kids,” he said.

Kyiv remained relatively calm until the last week of filming, when air-raid sirens rang out over the capital. On one night, a Ukrainian drone lost control and was shot down by an air defense system, sending its parts flying down close to where the film’s crew was. The next night, at least 30 drones targeted Kyiv .

For many in the film and theater industry in Ukraine, this is their first production since the war began. Viktor Shava, the film’s location manager, said he juggled his time between working on the set and being a part of an air defense unit that shoots down drones.

The filmmakers won’t have to wait long to share their work with the world. A preview of a scene from “Our House” is scheduled to be shown this month at the Cannes Film Festival, where the creators will be discussing the filmmaking process.

— Nicole Tung

To work around sanctions, cars, electronics and more get to Russia through Dubai.

On a dusty roadside on the outskirts of Dubai, Sohrab Fani is profiting from the West’s response to the war in Ukraine: His shop installs seat heaters into cars being re-exported to Russia.

Twelve thousand heating pads languished in his warehouse for years, he said, until Russia’s invasion and the resulting Western sanctions drove American, European and Japanese automakers out of the Russian market. Now, Russians import those cars via Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates — and because cars shipped to the Middle East tend to be made for warm climates, accessories shops like Mr. Fani’s are doing a brisk business outfitting them for winter weather.

“When the Russians came, I sold out,” Mr. Fani said, so he ordered several thousand more seat-heating pads. “In Russia, they have sanctions. Here, there is not. Here, there is business.”

More than a year into President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion, Western sanctions have damaged Russia’s economy but not crippled it. The web of global trade has adjusted, allowing the Russian leader to largely deliver on a key promise: that the war would not drastically disrupt the lifestyle of consumption for Russian elites.

Russia is still importing coveted Western goods, enabled by a global network of middlemen.

In Moscow, the latest iPhones are available for same-day delivery for less than the retail price in Europe. Department stores still stock Gucci, Prada and Burberry. Car-sales sites list new Land Rovers, Audis and BMWs.

Just about all of the West’s leading electronics, automobile and luxury brands announced last year that they were pulling out of Russia. Not all of their goods technically violate sanctions, but commerce with Russia became very difficult in the face of public outrage, pressure from employees and restrictions on semiconductor exports and financial transactions.

Still, Russian demand for luxury items remains strong, and traders in Dubai and elsewhere are meeting it.

“The wealthy people always stay wealthy,” said Ecaterina Condratiuc, the director of communications at a Dubai luxury car showroom who recently shipped a $300,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT to a Russian dealership. The war, she added, “did not affect them.”

Anton Troianovski reported from Dubai and Jack Ewing from New York. Reporting was contributed by Vivian Nereim from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Omran from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Oleg Matsnev from Berlin.

— Anton Troianovski and Jack Ewing

Ukraine Diary: A rebuilding effort brings together Ukrainians from across generations.

LUKASHIVKA, Ukraine — The young, mostly urban youth came to clear rubble and rebuild the destroyed homes of villagers, many of them in their 70s and 80s. In turn, the elders hosted the volunteers in their temporary shelters, and cooked them meals as they worked.

Repair Together, a volunteer organization, has been helping civilians rebuild since areas in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions were retaken from Russian forces last year. The group says that 120 houses in over a dozen villages have been cleared of debris over the past year, and with the weather warming, the pace has picked up.

The effort has brought together Ukrainians from different generations who, under normal circumstances, would rarely interact with each other. They said they have grown closer in their shared experiences during the war.

In addition to its core work, the organization also hosts DJs, as well as holding cultural events with local residents of the villages where they work.

As the sun beat down on Saturday in Lukashivka, the aroma of savory pastries and soup filled the area, near where cinder blocks were stacked up, ready to become walls for Olga Varenyk’s new home. She called over about a half-dozen volunteers to take a lunch break. Bowl after bowl of food came out of her temporary kitchen, and she busily ensured they all sat down and ate.

Tamara Kryvopala, 66, was watching over a pot of stew and washing dishes as she recalled how her daughter-in-law was so terrified by the shelling last year as they sheltered in the cellar that she was not able to breastfeed her 8-day-old son. Ms. Kryvopala said they had to sneak out to get cows’ milk, which they would mix with water, to keep the child alive. She said she was grateful that her new house was nearly completed, and for the company of the volunteers.

In Baklanova Muraviika, a village near Lukashivka, Zeena Mezin, 73, climbed up a rickety set of stairs into where she was living temporarily, and made a large bucketful of cherry compote — a sweet beverage made from cooked cherries, water, and sugar to give to the helpers clearing rubble from the lot where her house once stood.

Ms. Mezin had been sheltering in the basement with her husband last March when a shell hit their house, setting the roof on fire and destroying everything they had.

“I’m very thankful to all these children, it’s very hard work,” she said.

At a time of heightened scrutiny, Ukraine works to get the weapons to the battlefield, not the black market.

Rocket launchers, precision-guided missiles and billions of dollars’ worth of other advanced American weapons have given Ukraine a fighting chance against Russia ahead of a counteroffensive. But if even a few of the arms wind up on the black market instead of the battlefield, a Ukrainian lawmaker gloomily predicted, “We’re done.”

The lawmaker, Oleksandra Ustinova, a former anti-corruption activist who now monitors foreign arms transfers to Ukraine, does not believe there is widespread smuggling among the priciest and most sophisticated weapons donated by the United States over the past year.

“We’ve literally had people die because stuff was left behind, and they came back to get it, and were killed,” she said of Ukrainian troops’ efforts to make sure weapons were not stolen or lost.

But in Washington, against a looming government debt crisis and growing skepticism about financial support for Ukraine, an increasingly skeptical Congress is demanding tight accountability for “every weapon, every round of ammunition that we send to Ukraine,” as Representative Rob Wittman, Republican of Virginia, said last month.

By law, U.S. officials must monitor the use, transfer and security of American weapons and defense systems that are sold or otherwise given to foreign partners to make sure they are being deployed as intended. In December, for security reasons, the Biden administration largely shifted responsibility to Kyiv for monitoring the American weapons shipments at the front, despite Ukraine’s long history of corruption and arms smuggling .

Yet the sheer volume of arms delivered — including tens of thousands of shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles, portable launchers and rockets — creates a virtually insurmountable challenge to tracking each item, officials and experts caution.

All of which has heightened anxieties among Ukrainian officials responsible for ensuring weapons get to the battlefield.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed reporting.

• Nation & World

Zelenskyy seeks weaponry in surprise trips to London, Paris

PARIS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought Western support for his country in surprise visits to Britain and France on Wednesday, pushing for fighter jets to battle Russian invaders in a dramatic speech to the U.K. Parliament, and then flying to Paris to meet the French and German leaders over dinner at the Elysee Palace.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy will join EU leaders at a summit in Brussels, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a “signal of European solidarity and community.”

Zelenskyy’s European tour and pleas for more advanced weapons came as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land held by Moscow’s forces. Western support has been key to Kyiv’s surprisingly stiff defense, and the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.

Zelenskyy thanked the British people for their support since “Day One” of Moscow’s invasion nearly a year ago, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said fighter jets were “part of the conversation” about aid to Ukraine.

“Nothing is off the table,” he said at an evening news conference at a British army base. “We must arm Ukraine in the short term, but we must bolster Ukraine for the long term.”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs all kinds of supplies, not just planes, but also ammunition and long-range missiles

“Without this, there would be stagnation which will not bring to anything good,” he said, calling his visit to Britain “very fruitful.”

Then it was off to Paris for dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and Scholz, the German chancellor.

Zelenskyy was greeted Wednesday night on the steps of the Elysee Palace with a friendly embrace by Macron, and then all three leaders headed inside. The visit marks a turnaround in Zelenskyy’s relations toward France and Germany, which earlier in the war were viewed by many in Ukraine as not doing enough to help.

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“Ukraine can count on France, its European partners and allies to win the war. Russia cannot and must not win,” Macron said before their working dinner. Macron’s office put out a statement confirming that Zelenskyy would attend Thursday’s summit in Brussels, where EU leaders will pledge their support for the Ukrainian people.

Zelenskyy’s travel to European capitals on Wednesday was just his second foreign trip since Russia invaded on Feb, 24, 2022. In December, he traveled to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden and address the U.S. Congress.

His day began when he arrived on a Royal Air Force plane in London and was greeted on the tarmac with an embrace from Sunak. They held talks at the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence before Zelenskyy’s speech to lawmakers in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest — and, on a cold winter day, unheated — part of Parliament.

“London has stood with Kyiv since Day One,” he said, repeatedly thanking Britons for their aid. The U.K. has sent Ukraine more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in weapons and equipment,

Wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, he urged allies to deliver jets to Ukraine, saying combat aircraft would be “wings for freedom.”

In a dramatic gesture, Zelenskyy presented the speaker of the House of Commons with a Ukrainian air force helmet, inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

The president was trying to soften allies’ reluctance to send advanced fighter jets, both because they are complex to fly and for fear of escalating the war.

The U.K. has repeatedly said it’s not practical to provide Ukraine with British warplanes. But in a shift, the government said Wednesday it was “actively looking” at whether Ukraine could be sent Western jets, and was “in discussion with our allies” about it.

Britain also said it would train Ukrainian pilots in Britain on “NATO-standard fighter jets” within weeks.

Sunak spokesman Max Blain said the government was exploring “what jets we may be able to give” over the coming years, but had not made a decision on whether to send its F-35 or Typhoons.

“We think it is right to provide both short-term equipment … that can help win the war now, but also look to the medium to long term to make sure Ukraine has every possible capacity it requires,” he said.

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Ukraine has sought Western fighter jets since early in the war to bolster its force of Soviet-made MiG-29 and Su fighters. The success of its air force in defending its skies and territory despite Russia’s bigger numbers helped push back Moscow’s initial assault.

The Russian Embassy in London strongly warned the U.K. against supplying the warplanes, saying Britain would bear responsibility “for another twist of escalation and the ensuing military-political consequences for the European continent and the entire world.”

Macron has said France hasn’t ruled out sending fighter jets but set conditions, including not leading to an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft “to touch Russian soil,” and not resulting in weakening “the capacities of the French army.”

Sunak and Zelenskyy flew by helicopter to Lulworth Camp, a base in southwest England, where they met Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challenger 2 tanks the U.K. is sending as part of the hundreds that Kyiv says it needs. More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained in the U.K., and Britain says it will train 20,000 more in 2023.

“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future,” Sunak said.

Zelenskyy also went to Buckingham Palace, where he met with King Charles III, who greeted him with a broad smile and a warm handshake before they had tea. The king told the president that “we’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long.”

In his Parliament speech, Zelenskyy noted that Charles was a qualified military pilot.

“The king is an air force pilot,” Zekenskyy said, and “in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”

Zelenskyy was greeted with applause, cheers and cries of “Slava Ukraini” — “Glory to Ukraine” — as he arrived in Parliament, where his cause has wide support.

He had addressed the U.K. Parliament remotel y in March, two weeks after the start of the invasion. He echoed World War II leader Winston Churchill’s famous “never surrender” speech, vowing that Ukrainians “will fight till the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.”

On Wednesday, he recalled how on a prewar visit to London, he sat in Churchill’s chair in his subterranean wartime headquarters, and had a feeling that only now he understands: “It was the feeling of how bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory.”

In past wars, “evil lost,” he told U.K. lawmakers. “We know Russia will lose and we we know victory will change the world.″

He also urged stronger sanctions against Moscow until “Russia is deprived of any possibility to finance this war.”

Coinciding with the visit, the U.K. government announced new sanctions against six entities that Britain said supplied equipment to the Russian military. CST, a manufacturer of Russian drones and parts for helicopters used against Ukraine, were among them.

The London visit came as Russian forces shelled areas of eastern Ukraine in what Kyiv authorities believe is part of a thrust by the Kremlin’s forces before the invasion anniversary. Moscow, meanwhile, believes Ukraine is preparing its own battlefield push.

Lawless reported from London. Danica Kirka and Sylvia Hui in London and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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UK pledges attack drones, more missiles as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets prime minister on European tour

Zelenskyy meets Sunak during UK visit

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, receives Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

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Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, look out towards trees planted by Winston Churchill as they walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Britain’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, speaks during a press conference with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens during a press conference with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Britain’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, left, walks with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after greeting him on his arrival at Chequers, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leaves following his meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, shakes hands with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after his arrival at Chequers, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy was in Britain Monday on his whirlwind European tour, as the staunch ally of Kyiv promised to give Ukraine hundreds more missiles and attack drones in an effort to change the course of the war. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. Zelenskyy set off across Europe with a long shopping list. Ukraine’s president will head home with much of what he wanted – though not the Western fighter jets he seeks to defend against Russian air attacks. (Carl Court/Pool via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed the British government at the end of a whirlwind European tour Monday to join a “fighter jet coalition” that would help strengthen his country’s aerial capabilities, but instead secured a commitment for attack drones and hundreds more missiles.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted Zelenskyy with a handshake and hug after the president’s helicopter landed at Chequers, the British leader’s official country retreat. It was Zelenskyy’s second trip to the U.K. since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but the fifth European country he visited in three days..

He is seeking more military aid as Ukraine prepares a long-anticipated spring offensive to retake Russian-occupied territory. The Ukrainian leader also visited Italy, the Vatican , Germany and France .

Russia reacted to the U.K.'s new pledge “extremely negatively,” but also doubts the missiles and drones would drastically change the course of the war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

“Britain aspires to be at the forefront among countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine,” Peskov said. “We repeat once again: It cannot yield any drastic and fundamental influence on the way the special military operation (in Ukraine) is unfolding. But, definitely, it leads to further destruction. ... It makes this whole story for Ukraine much more complicated.”

Zelenskyy said one of the missions of his European travels that started Saturday was to build a “fighter jet coalition” to provide Ukraine with vital military power in the air. He said more work was needed on that front.

While the U.K. will not provide the planes, the prime minister said the country would join the coalition and begin a previously announced training program for Ukrainian fighter pilots as soon as this summer.

The U.K., one of Ukraine’s major military allies, has provided short-range missiles, Challenger tanks and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Last week, the government announced it had sent Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles , which have a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles). The British missiles were the first known shipment of longer-range weaponry that Kyiv has long sought from its allies.

Sunak’s office said it was giving Ukraine hundreds more air defense missiles, as well as “long-range attack drones” with a reach of more than 200 kilometers (120 miles).

“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,” Sunak said. “They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.

“We must not let them down,” the prime minister added.

Sunak plans to push allies at a meeting of Group of Seven leaders in Japan later this week to deliver more support to Ukraine, Downing Street said.

As Zelenskyy visited European capitals, Russia stepped up attacks across Ukraine with drones and missiles. Russia shelled two communities Sunday in the northern border province of Sumy, regional officials said on Telegram. They said 109 explosions were recorded.

Zelenskyy’s office said Monday that Russian attacks had killed nine civilians and injured 19 in the past day. Six of the deaths were in southern Ukraine’s Kherson province. Two civilians were killed in Chuhuiv in Kharkiv province, and one in Prymorsk, on the Azov Sea coast about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from Russian-occupied Berdyansk.

The presidential office also reported that Marhanets, which lies across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was shelled.

Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti reported that an acting regional interior minister appointed by Moscow, Igor Kornet, was injured in an explosion at a barbershop in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk. The leader of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, a separatist-held region of Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed, was quoted as saying a bomb caused the explosion.

Assassination attempts and sabotage attacks have increased in Russian-occupied territory as well as Russia proper. Russian authorities often blame Ukrainian forces, but Kyiv rarely acknowledges such attacks.

Zelenskyy traveled to Britain from Paris, where he met Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron and secured a pledge of light tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems.

About 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers would receive training in France this year and nearly 4,000 others in Poland, Macron’s office said.

Speaking Monday on French television network TF1, Macron said training on French fighter jets such as the Mirage 2000 “can start now” but rejected the idea of France delivering warplanes to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday. It was his first visit to Berlin since the start of the invasion and came a day after the German government announced military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion).

Modern Western hardware is considered crucial if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counteroffensive. During his European trip, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would aim to liberate Russian-occupied areas within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and would not attack Russian territory.

Among areas Russia still occupies are the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with mainly Russian-speaking populations.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Sunak embraces Zelensky on Ukraine leader’s surprise UK trip - as PM pledges more missiles and drones

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Volodymyr Zelensky was greeted with a hug by Rishi Sunak after arriving in Britain to seek more support for his country’s war effort - as the UK vowed to provide Ukraine with air defence missiles and attack drones.

The Ukrainian president met his “friend”, the prime minister, as part of a trip around Europe pressing western allies for more military aid.

Mr Sunak welcomed Mr Zelensky to country retreat Chequers - the first time he has hosted a visiting leader at the Buckinghamshire mansion - before the two leaders held talks.

The two leaders had discussed western fighter jets, Mr Zelensky said, and he anticipated “very important decisions” to be made soon. It came as No 10 said Britain would send hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems to the war-torn country.

“Welcome back”, the prime minister said in a post on Twitter, which included a photo of the two leaders in a warm embrace. Mr Zelensky, who has also held meetings in Paris, Berlin and Rome, had also visited the UK three months ago.

During the visit, Mr Sunak praised the Ukrainian leader’s fortitude, drawing a comparison between Mr Zelensky and Sir Winston Churchill during World War Two.

He also said the UK would be “sustaining our support” for Ukraine .

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“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,” he said.

“They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.

“We must not let them down.”

Following the pair’s talks, Mr Sunak said the UK will be ready to help train Ukrainian pilots to use Western fighter jets "relatively soon".

He said the provision of warplanes was "not straightforward" but that Britain will play a "key part" in a coalition of countries giving that support to the war-torn nation.

"It is not a straightforward thing as Volodymyr and I have been discussing to build up that fighter combat aircraft capability,” he said.

"It's not just the provision of planes its also the training of pilots and all the logistics that go alongside that and the UK can play a big part in that.

"One thing we will be doing starting actually relatively soon is training of Ukrainian pilots and that's something we've discussed today and we're ready to implement those plans in relatively short order."

Mr Zelensky said on Twitter that the UK is ‘a leader’ when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air

Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, said the two countries were “real partners”, with Mr Sunak knowing details of developments on the battlefield.

“We want to create this jets coalition and I’m very positive with it,” he said.

“We spoke about it and I see that in the closest time you will hear some, I think very important decisions but we have to work a little bit more on it.”

Mr Sunak’s spokesman said there are "no plans" to supply Ukraine with the Typhoon or F-35 jets operated by the UK and said the Ukrainian government identified the more widely-used F-16 as its Western fighter plane of choice.

Mr Sunak confirmed the UK will provide hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aircraft including hundreds of new long-range attack drones. The government said they will be delivered in “the coming months” as Ukraine prepares to step up its resistance to the ongoing Russian invasion.

Last week the UK confirmed it will supply Ukraine with the long-range Storm Shadow missiles it requested for its fight against invading Russian forces.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and Volodymyr Zelensky during the Ukrainian President’s last visit to the UK (Peter Nicholls/PA)

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the weapons will give Ukraine the “best chance” of defending itself.

The Kremlin said Russia takes an "extremely negative" view of Britain's decision to supply long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles and other military hardware to Ukraine, but that it does not believe it will change the conflict's outcome.

The pair met in the Hawtrey Room, where Sir Winston made some of the radio addresses that helped keep up morale during the Second World War.

Mr Sunak said: “You are actually the first foreign leader I have had the privilege of welcoming here as Prime Minister and there’s a lot of great history here.

“In fact, this room that we are standing in, Winston Churchill made many of his famous speeches in World War Two from this room.

“And the same way today, your leadership, your country’s bravery and fortitude are an inspiration to us all.”

The visit comes days after Liverpool hosted Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine.

Zelensky and the Pope shook hands at the Vatican at the weekend

Mr Zelensky met Pope Francis in the Vatican last weekend, after Italy pledged its full support for Kyiv in its defence against the Russian invasion.

Earlier he met Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust aggression,” pledged Italy’s support for Ukraine for “as long as is necessary,” and urged Russia to immediately withdraw.

And Mr Zelensky made his first visit to Germany since Russia invaded Ukraine - where he was met with military honours by chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Berlin announced €2.7bn (£2.4bn) of military aid to Ukraine, its biggest such package yet, and pledged further support for Kyiv for as long as necessary.

The Ukrainian president and his team have been vigorously promoting Kyiv’s 10-point peace plan and urging world leaders to hold a Global Peace Summit based on the proposals.

It calls for restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of Ukraine’s state borders. Mr Zelensky has repeatedly said the plan is not open to negotiations.

Mr Zelensky on Monday lauded "important and powerful" military aid from Britain, France and Germany, and said he was pleased with agreements reached during a tour of Europe.

"The priority (during our talks) was our counteroffensive actions, I am very pleased with the achievements and agreements," he said while visiting Mr Sunak.

• Zelensky welcomed with military honours as he visits Germany for first time since Russian invasion
• Ukrainian President Zelensky’s five-word greeting for Pope Francis
• A single tank, fewer soldiers and no flypast: Putin gives angry speech at stripped-back Victory Day parade

After Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine’s battlefield city of Bakhmut, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russian troops had likely withdrawn “in bad order”.

The MoD said Russia’s 72nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, established last Autumn, was dogged with allegations of poor morale and limited combat effectiveness and its deployment to Bakhmut reflected a severe shortage of credible combat units on Moscow’s part.

Mr Zelensky’s visit comes after two of Vladimir Putin’s military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s military said, as it warned of a renewed effort by Kyiv’s forces to break through in the frontline city of Bakhmut.

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy Visits UK For First Time Since Russian Invasion

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for fighter jets to ensure his country’s victory over Russia in a dramatic speech before the U.K. Parliament, where he also thanked the British people for their support since “Day One” of Moscow’s invasion .

The embattled leader’s surprise visit to Britain in a bid for more advanced weapons comes as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land held by Moscow’s forces. Western support has been key to Kyiv’s surprisingly stiff defense, and the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.

It was only Zelenskyy’s second foreign trip since Russia invaded on Feb, 24, 2022, after a December visit to the U.S. President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the French leader will host Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris later in the day.

Before that, Sunak and Zelenskyy are due to visit Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challenger 2 tanks that Britain is sending as part of the hundreds that Kyiv says it needs.

Hundreds of lawmakers and parliamentary staff packed the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest — and, on a cold winter day, unheated — part of Parliament for Zelenskyy’s speech.

Zelenskyy, wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, urged allies to send his country jets, saying combat aircraft would be “wings for freedom.”

In a pointed and dramatic gesture, Zelenskyy presented the speaker of the House of Commons with a Ukrainian air force helmet, inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

The president is trying to soften allies’ reluctance to send advanced fighter jets, both because they are complex to fly and for fear of escalating the war.

The U.K. has repeatedly said it’s not practical to provide the Ukrainian military with British warplanes. But in a shift, the government said Wednesday it was “actively looking” at whether Ukraine could be sent Western jets, and was “in discussion with our allies” about it.

Britain announced it would train Ukrainian pilots in Britain on “NATO-standard fighter jets” starting within weeks.

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government was exploring “what jets we may be able to give” over the coming years, but had not made a decision on whether to send its F-35 or Typhoon jets.

“We think it is right to provide both short-term equipment … that can help win the war now, but also look to the medium to long term to make sure Ukraine has every possibility it requires,” he said.

Macron has said France doesn’t rule out sending fighter jets but set out conditions before such a step is taken, including not leading to an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft “to touch Russian soil,” and not resulting in weakening “the capacities of the French army.”

Zelenskyy, who also met at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday with King Charles III, noted that the British monarch was a qualified military pilot.

“The king is an air force pilot,” Zekenskyy said, and “in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”

Zelenskyy was greeted with applause, cheers and cries of “Slava Ukraini” — “Glory to Ukraine” — as he arrived in Parliament, where Ukraine’s cause has wide support from both the Conservative government and opposition parties.

Zelenskyy addressed the U.K. Parliament remotel y in March, two weeks after the start of the invasion. He echoed World War II leader Winston Churchill’s famous “never surrender” speech, vowing that Ukrainians “will fight till the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.”

He recalled how on a visit to London before the war, he sat on Churchill’s chair in his subterranean wartime headquarters, and had a feeling that he only now understood.

“It was the feeling of how bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory,” Zelenskyy said.

In past wars, “evil lost,” Zekenskyy told U.K. lawmakers. “We know Russia will lose and we we know victory will change the world.″

Zelenskyy thanked Sunak and his predecessor Boris Johnson, who was one of Ukraine’s most vocal backers while he was prime minister. Sunak took office in October and has pledged to maintain the U.K.’s support.

“Boris, you got others united when it seemed absolutely impossible,” Zelenskyy said.

He also called for stronger sanctions against Moscow, until “Russia is deprived of any possibility to finance this war.”

He said he was speaking on behalf of the brave people of his own country — and thanked Britons for their bravery.

“London has stood with Kyiv since Day One,” he said.

Zelenskyy has rallied support for his country repeatedly through such speeches — mostly given remotely — to Western lawmakers. Support from allies has helped Ukraine mount a surprisingly stiff defense — and now the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.

The Ukrainian leader arrived on a Royal Air Force plane in London on Wednesday. Sunak greeted him on the tarmac, tweeting a photo of the two men embracing.

The two leaders held talks inside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence before Zelenskyy headed to Parliament. Later he is due to hold an audience with the king at Buckingham Palace.

The U.K. is one of the biggest military backers of Ukraine and has sent the country more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in weapons and equipment.

Sunak and Zelenskyy also are due to visit Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challenger 2 tanks that Britain is sending as part of the hundreds that Kyiv says it needs.

More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have also been trained at bases in the U.K., and Britain says it will train 20,000 more in 2023.

“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future,” Sunak said.

Coinciding with the visit, the U.K. government announced a new round of sanctions against six entities that Britain said supplied equipment to the Russian military.

CST, a manufacturer of Russian drones and parts for helicopters used against Ukraine, were among those sanctioned. Others targeted included five individuals linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s luxury residences, including Boris Titov and Aerostart owner Viktor Myachin.

In Brussels, there were increasing expectations that the Ukrainian leader might also make his first visit to European Union institutions since the war began.

Leaders from 27-nation bloc will be gathering for a summit in Brussels on Thursday. That would enable Zelenskyy to meet with all major leaders of the bloc in one day. Zelenskyy has often addressed EU summits only through video calls from Ukraine.

The EU’s legislature has also slated a special plenary session in Brussels for Thursday.

The London visit came as Russian forces blasted areas of eastern Ukraine with more artillery bombardments, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, in what Kyiv authorities believe is part of a new thrust by the Kremlin’s forces before the invasion anniversary.

Moscow, meanwhile, believes Ukraine is preparing its own battlefield push.

Danica Kirka and Sylvia Hui in London and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Thursday, March 28, 2024 10:46 pm (Paris)

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• War in Ukraine

Zelensky makes surprise visit to UK

For his second trip outside Ukraine since the war with Russia began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is traveling to London.

Le Monde with AP

Time to 2 min.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a rare trip out of his country on Wednesday, February 8, daring to visit Britain in a bid to secure more advanced weapons as Kyiv braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land.

British media reported Zelensky's plane landed at London Stansted airport, north of London, on a Royal Air Force aircraft. It was his first trip to the United Kingdom since Russia's invasion began nearly a year ago and only his second confirmed journey outside Ukraine during the war after a visit to the United States in December last year.

Zelenskyy was to hold talks with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street. He was also expected to address Parliament and meet with King Charles III and UK military chiefs.

The UK is one of the biggest military backers of Ukraine and has sent the country more than $2.5 billion in weapons and equipment.

The visit comes as Sunak announced that Britain will train Ukrainian pilots on "NATO-standard fighter jets." Ukraine has urged its allies to send jets, though the UK has said it was not practical to provide the Ukrainian military with British warplanes.

More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have also been trained at bases in the UK, some on the Challenger 2 tanks that Britain is sending.

"I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future," Sunak said. "It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come."

Zelensky addressed the UK Parliament remotely in March 2022, two weeks after the start of the invasion. He echoed World War II leader Winston Churchill's famous "never surrender" speech, vowing that Ukrainians "will fight till the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost."

Counteroffensive

Before Sunak took office, Zelensky had formed a bond with Boris Johnson who was one of Ukraine’s most vocal backers while he was prime minister. Sunak took office in October and has pledged to maintain British support.

In Brussels, there were increasing expectations that the Ukrainian leader might also make his first visit to European Union institutions since the war began.

Leaders from the bloc will be gathering for a summit in Brussels on Thursday. That would enable Zelensky to meet with all major leaders of the bloc in one day. Zelensky has often addressed EU summits only through video calls from Ukraine.

The EU's legislature has also slated a special plenary session in Brussels for Thursday in the hopes that Zelensky will come following his trip to Britain.

Russian forces in Ukraine are focusing their efforts on "waging a counteroffensive" in the country’s industrial east, with the aim of taking full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

Ukrainian authorities say the Kremlin's goal is to complete full control of the Donbas, an expansive industrial area bordering Russia. That would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a major battlefield success after months of setbacks and help him rally public opinion behind the war.

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'Unbreakable friendship': Zelenskyy makes surprise visit to UK

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a surprise visit to the UK, British media has reported.

According to the BBC , a Royal Air Force plane carrying the Ukrainian leader touched down at Stansted Airport at 11:22 CET (10:22 local time) on Wednesday.

"President Zelenskyy's visit to the UK is a testament to his country's courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "Since 2014, the UK has provided vital training to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to defend their country, protect their sovereignty and fight for their territory."

During his visit, Zelenskyy is scheduled to make a formal address to the House of Commons, pay a visit to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, and oversee Ukrainian troops currently being trained by the British military.

Zelenskyy's trip — his first to the UK since 2020 — also comes just minutes after Downing Street announced a new military aid package to Ukraine, which includes longer-range weapons, the additional training of Ukrainian troops, and a new round of sanctions against Russia.

Related News

• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy rumoured to visit Brussels on Thursday

"The aid package underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come," said Sunak.

Zelenskyy's arrival in London marks his third foreign trip since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year, after journeys to the US and Poland shortly before Christmas.

The Ukrainian leader's visit also comes just before an expected trip to Brussels on Thursday, during which Zelenskyy is expected to address the European Parliament and attend a summit of EU leaders.

According to UK Government data, Britain committed £2.3bn in military aid to Ukraine 2022, making it the country's second largest military donor after the US.

Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.

Zelenskyy Says He Will Visit UK on European Tour Seeking Military Aid

By john leicester and jill lawless • published may 15, 2023 • updated on may 15, 2023 at 3:54 am.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Britain on Monday, as the staunch ally of Ukraine prepares to give more military aid in an effort to change the course of the war.

It will be the fourth European country Zelenskky has visited in the past few days. He made an unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, after trips to Germany and Italy, where he met those countries' leaders and Pope Francis.

A message posted Monday on Zelenskyy's official Telegram Channel said: "Today — London. The UK is leading the way when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.”

Sunak's office confirmed the two leaders would meet at Chequers. the prime minister's country retreat outside London.

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The U.K. has become one of Ukraine's major military allies. Last week Britain announced it was sending Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles) — the first known shipment of the weaponry that Kyiv has long sought from its allies.

Zelenskyy Arrives in Rome for Meetings With Pope Francis, Italian Officials

Zelenskyy Says Russia Intensifying Attacks Out of Frustration; Moscow Holds Victory Day Military Parade

Zelenskyy toured European capitals over the weekend to seek more aid as Ukraine prepares a long-anticipated spring offensive to retake territory seized by Russia.

Zelenskyy and Macron met for about three hours at the French presidential Elysee Palace — an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader’s arrival in Paris.

Macron’s office said France will supply dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles “in the weeks ahead,” without giving specific numbers. Also promised were more air defense systems, but again details weren’t made public.

More Ukrainians will also be made battle-ready, with France aiming to train about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France this year and nearly 4,000 others in Poland as part of a wider European effort, Macron’s office said.

France has supplied Ukraine with an array of weaponry, include air defense systems, light tanks, howitzers and other arms and equipment and fuel.

France had dispatched a plane to pick up Zelenskyy in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Sunday and discussed his country’s planned counteroffensive.

It was his first visit to Berlin since the start of the invasion and came a day after the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.

After initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks, and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Modern Western hardware is considered crucial if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counteroffensive.

In the western German city of Aachen, Zelenskyy also received the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize, awarded to him and the people of Ukraine.

On Saturday. he met Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

On the European trip, Zelenskyy said it will aim to liberate Russian-occupied areas within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, and not attack Russian territory.

The Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a trove of U.S. intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelenskyy has considered trying to capture areas in Russia proper for possible use as bargaining chips in peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. This would put him at odds with Western governments that have insisted that weapons they provide must not be used to attack targets in Russia.

Asked about the report, Zelenskyy said: “We don’t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”

“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),” he said, according to an official interpreter. “And we also don’t have weapons to spare with which we could do this.”

“We are preparing a counterattack for the illegally occupied areas based on our constitutionally defined legitimate borders, which are recognized internationally,” Zelenskyy said.

Among areas still occupied by Russia are the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with mainly Russian-speaking populations.

Lawless reported from London.

This article tagged under:

National security adviser Jake Sullivan meets with Zelenskyy as Ukraine aid stalls in Congress

National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday to reaffirm U.S. support for the beleaguered country as congressional aid efforts have repeatedly floundered .

During the meeting, Sullivan "stressed the urgent need for the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the national security supplemental to meet Ukraine’s critical battlefield needs," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Sullivan acknowledged the difficulty in passing supplemental aid for Ukraine, saying at a news conference Wednesday that he knew there were "questions here because of the back-and-forth in our Congress and the months that have gone by without the supplemental bill coming through."

"We are confident we will get this done," he said. "We will get this aid to Ukraine."

Later in the news conference, Sullivan said he was "confident" that the U.S. would "achieve plan A" and get an aid package passed in Congress.

"We will get that money out the door as we should," he said. "So I don’t think we need to speak today about plan B."

Zelenskyy called Wednesday’s meeting with Sullivan a “very meaningful, very specific conversation,” according to the English subtitles of a video in which he spoke in Ukrainian.

They talked about “defense cooperation and the joint political results we need to achieve,” he said in the video posted to X, expressing his gratitude to the U.S.

The pair discussed efforts to hold Russia accountable — including through sanctions and export controls — as well as “progress on anti-corruption and other key reforms needed to further” the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in an informal media briefing.

Sullivan also met with Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, as well as other senior Ukrainian officials, Watson said.

“It is vital that American leadership remains strong in protecting the international legal order,” Zelenskyy said, according to the English subtitles of his X video.

The trip to Ukraine comes against the backdrop of a bitterly divided Congress that shows no signs of moving closer to an aid package.

In February, the Senate passed a bipartisan national security package that included aid for Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan.

In the House, however, hard-line conservatives have pressured Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to spike aid efforts until some of their preferred provisions regarding the southern border are included.

Earlier in February, Republicans killed a border and immigration deal their own party negotiated with Democrats.

In March, NBC News reported that Johnson and the chairs of certain House committees were working on a Ukraine aid package and considering treating some nonmilitary aid as a loan.

Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskiy says Putin trying to falsely blame Kyiv for Moscow concert attack

Ukrainian president says Russian leader’s move is ‘predictable’ as Kyiv denies any involvement; Moscow claims capture of village near Bakhmut. What we know on day 760

• See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Vladimir Putin and others were seeking to divert the blame for the Moscow concert hall massacre on to Ukraine . The Russian president claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine had collaborated with the terrorist suspects who massacred at least 133 people on Friday night and that the four arrested gunmen planned to flee to Ukraine. Zelenskiy said on Saturday it was “absolutely predictable” that Putin had remained silent for 24 hours before trying to tie the rampage to Ukraine. Kyiv denies having any involvement in the attack, for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

Ukraine’s capital and the western region of Lviv came under a “massive” Russian air attack early on Sunday, officials said . Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said the missiles were fired at the capital “in groups” in the third pre-dawn attack in four days. Preliminary reports suggested there were no casualties or damage, he said, and the city’s air defences had hit “about a dozen” missiles.

In Lviv, the mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said about 20 missiles and seven Iranian-made Shahed drones were fired at the region . “They targeted critical infrastructure facilities.”

In Poland, which borders Lviv, the armed forces said the air force had been activated due to the “intensive long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation tonight” and the missile attacks in Ukraine . It later said a Russian missile had violated Polish air space.

Moscow claimed a new territorial victory over Ukraine’s forces in the country’s east while the two sides staged deadly aerial attacks on each other . Russia’s military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske – just west of Bakhmut, the devastated city seized 10 months ago – on Saturday. Russian forces have taken control of a string of frontline settlements in recent weeks as Ukrainian forces suffer troop and ammunition shortages .

Multiple Ukrainian air attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod adjoining Ukraine killed two people and injured at least seven , the regional governor said . Farther east, a drone attack on the Samara region caused a fire at a major oil refinery, the latest in a series of strikes against Russia’s energy industry. Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two regional districts as well as Belgorod city had been hit in drone and air attacks.

Russia said on Saturday it had repulsed a barrage of Ukrainian missiles fired at the annexed city of Sevastopol in Crimea . But Sevastopol’s governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, later said rocket fragments had killed a 65-year-old resident and four other people had been injured, calling it “the biggest attack in recent times”.

Energy workers in Ukraine were still restoring electricity supplies to some consumers a day after what Kyiv said was Moscow’s biggest attack of the war on the country’s power grid, authorities said on Saturday . Zelenskiy said on Telegram that the “technical possibility for electricity supply” had been restored in most affected regions, but that the situation in the eastern Kharkiv region remained difficult.

• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance

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Ukraine foreign minister arrives in New Delhi to boost ties with India, a historical ally of Russia

NEW DELHI — Ukraine’s foreign minister arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties and cooperation with India, which considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War-era.

Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, as well as the deputy national security advisor, according to India’s Foreign Ministry. On Thursday, Kuleba will pay his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site.

His visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladmir Putin , whom India has so far avoided criticizing over the war in Ukraine. Instead, New Delhi has stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue on ending the war and has expressed its willingness to contribute to peace efforts.

On March 20, Modi posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to say he had expressed to Zelenskyy “India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing in an early end to the ongoing conflict,” adding that the country will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.

This came after Modi spoke to Putin to congratulate him on his re-election as president . According to a statement from India’s Foreign Ministry, the two leaders agreed to further strengthen their relationship, while Modi reiterated that dialogue and peace was the best way forward for the Russia-Ukraine war.

Under Modi, India has promoted itself as a rising global player who can mediate between the West and Russia on the war in Ukraine.

In his phone call with Modi last week, Zelenskyy said he encouraged India to participate in the Peace Summit that Switzerland has offered to organize.

“Ukraine is interested in strengthening our trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade,” the Ukrainian president said in a post on X.

At the United Nations, New Delhi has refrained from voting against Moscow, and has ramped up its purchases of Russian oil at discounted prices following the invasion.

Meanwhile, India has stepped up its engagements with Western powers like the United States and the European Union. New Delhi has been trying to reduce its dependance on Moscow for arms and technology because of disruptions in supplies due to the war. India is also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad , along with the U.S., Australia and Japan.

On a visit last year, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova urged India to play a bigger role in helping end Russia’s invasion, saying Kyiv would “welcome any effort that is directed at resolving the war.”

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Zelenskyy responds to Moscow concert hall shooting, rips Putin for suggesting Ukraine behind terror attack

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin 's suggestion that Kyiv was linked to the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130 people.

In a video statement and written post on X, Zelenksyy responded to Putin's Saturday night address to the nation in which the Russian leader said his authorities arrested four suspects caught attempting to flee to Ukraine in the aftermath of Friday's assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk.

Zelenskyy argued Putin and his lieutenants were "scum" for attempting to shift the blame to Ukraine, while the "miserable" Russian leader was treating his own people as "expendables," the BBC reported.

"What happened in Moscow yesterday is obvious, and Putin and other scums are trying to shift the blame to someone else. Their methods are always the same. We have seen it all before," Zelenskyy wrote. "They came to Ukraine, burned down our cities, and then tried to blame Ukraine . They torture and rape people – and then blame them. They have brought hundreds of thousands of their terrorists to Ukrainian territory, and they are waging war against us, but they don’t care about what happens inside their own country."

KAMALA HARRIS REJECTS PUTIN LINKING MOSCOW CONCERT ATTACK TO UKRAINE, SAYS ISIS 'BY ALL ACCOUNTS RESPONSIBLE'

"All of this happened yesterday, and instead of taking care of his Russian citizens and addressing them, this duffer Putin remained silent for a day, thinking about how to link this to Ukraine," Zelenskyy continued, "Everything is entirely predictable. Those hundreds of thousands of Russians who are now killing on Ukrainian soil would certainly be enough to deter any terrorists. And if Russians are willing to die quietly in ‘crocuses’ and not question their special services, Putin will try to exploit more of these situations for personal power. Terrorists must always lose."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Kyiv strongly denied any involvement, and the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility. The U.S. government said its intelligence also supports that ISIS was behind the attack.

The U.S. shared information with Russia in early March about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said, adding, "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever."

US WARNING TO AMERICANS ABOUT IMMINENT ATTACK IN MOSCOW PROVES PROPHETIC 2 WEEKS LATER

Images shared by Russian state media showed emergency vehicles still gathered outside the ruins of the concert hall, which could hold more than 6,000 people and hosted many big events, including the 2013 Miss Universe beauty pageant that featured Donald Trump.

On Friday, crowds were at the venue for a concert by the Russian rock band Picnic.

Videos posted online showed gunmen in the venue shooting civilians at point-blank range, according to The Associated Press. Russian news reports cited authorities and witnesses as saying the attackers threw explosive devices that started the fire, which consumed the building and caused its roof to collapse.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the U.S. condemned the attack and noted that the Islamic State group is a "common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere."

ISIS, which lost much of its ground after Russia’s military action in Syria, has long targeted Russia. In a statement posted by the group's Aamaq news agency, ISIS's Afghanistan affiliate said it had attacked a large gathering of "Christians" in Krasnogorsk, according to the AP.

The group issued a new statement Saturday through Aamaq, saying the attack was carried out by four men who used automatic rifles, a pistol, knives and firebombs. It said the assailants fired at the crowd and used knives to kill some concertgoers, casting the raid as part of ISIS's ongoing war with countries that it says are fighting Islam.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original article source: Zelenskyy responds to Moscow concert hall shooting, rips Putin for suggesting Ukraine behind terror attack

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