June 1, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

NATO will continue to support Ukraine to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself once the war is over, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

The secretary-general said that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake by underestimating Ukraine and NATO – and the alliance continues to be committed to supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

“It will be a big tragedy for Ukrainians if President Putin wins but it will also be dangerous for us because our message to him and all the alternative leaders including in Beijing, is that when they use force, they get what they want and that will make also us, NATO allies, United States, Europe, more vulnerable,” he said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Thursday to continue to support Kyiv's government and make sure it has what it needs for a successful counteroffensive, adding that Ukraine's "rightful place" is in NATO.

Sunak pointed to the UK's move to provide longer-range weapons to the country. Speaking at the European Political Summit in Moldova, he said the UK was "also the first country to provide battle tanks — I'm proud of that record."

The prime minister said he wanted to put in place security for Ukraine for the long term so that a “very strong signal” is sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some background: In May, the United Kingdom delivered multiple “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles to Ukraine, giving Kyiv a new long-range strike capability in advance of a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking world leaders to provide more Patriot systems until fighter jets are delivered to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president, who is at the European Political Community Summit in Moldova, previously said he has heard "powerful support" from allies on providing fighter jets to Ukraine, as well as training Ukrainian pilots. But in the meantime, Zelensky called for a "patriot coalition" and more of the defense systems.

“We have a variety of different systems and I’m grateful to all the partners, but Patriots are Patriots," he said.

In May, one of the two Patriot systems in Ukraine sustained minor damage, according to United States officials, during a Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

The United Nations expressed concern Thursday about a "continuous slowdown" in shipping traffic carrying grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports during April and May, despite the recent renewal of the grain initiative agreed upon by Ukraine and Russia.

Dujarric said that in the last week the number of inspection teams at the Joint Coordination Center, which clears ships for passage, has been reduced from three to two.

"The limited registrations and reduced inspection teams contributed to the drop of the average daily inspection rate to three."

He called it a "serious situation," and said that "global hunger hotspots are increasing and the spectre of food inflation and market volatility lurks in all countries."

Ukrainian officials say Russia has blocked inbound traffic to the Black Sea and the Joint Coordination Centre was not able to formulate an inspection plan for Thursday. 

Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said 50 ships were waiting to be cleared through the Bosphorus to be loaded with 2.4 million tons of food.

Ukraine said it “does not have any responsibility” over the Russian dissident groups that have claimed to be fighting inside Russian territory. 

Those groups are "acting on their own and that’s why it’s difficult to reply," Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk said.

Melnyk comments follow Thursday's claims from The Russian Volunteer Corps, a military group of anti-Putin Russian nationals, that it had begun its “second phase” of fighting inside Russian territory. The Freedom for Russia Legion — a similar but separate group — also claimed Thursday to be "near the border" with Russia.

Although both groups are aligned with the Ukrainian defense forces, Kyiv has previously stated they act as “independent entities” when operating in Russia.

Melnyk said Ukraine “has a legitimate right to attack goals inside Russia,” but caveated they must “proceed with cautiousness.” 

“We do not want to create any chance of Russia to accuse us of attacking them,” he said.

The attacks on Russia’s border region of Belgorod comprised largely of artillery and mortar, and they damaged roads, property and vehicles, the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in an extensive update on the strikes on his Telegram channel.

Here are the other details he shared:

The Dutch and Polish prime ministers announced their countries' intent to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

“We set up the schedule for those training. Poland will help Ukraine train the pilots of F-16 jets,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at the European Political Community Summit in Moldova. 

Poland also has "few" Patriot systems, Morawiecki continued, urging other countries who do have them to share them with Ukraine "as soon as possible." In March, Poland became the first NATO member to pledge MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in a move to assist Kyiv’s battle against Russia. 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who also attended the summit, said Thursday the Netherlands would also start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets "as soon as possible."

Countries at the summit are "part of the fighter jet coalition for Ukraine. I have called on other countries present to join the coalition," he said on Twitter.

“This is an essential step in ensuring Ukraine can defend itself,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has heard “powerful support” from allies at the European Political Community Summit in Moldova on countries supplying fighter jets to Kyiv to help repel Russian forces.

“That's why we do need to have a coalition of patriot [systems],” he said.

He said the leaders also discussed training Ukrainian pilots on those F-16 jets and other aircraft. In an official readout from Zelensky, the Ukrainian president said the parties with whom he discussed the training with “agreed to start this process in the near future.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he signed an agreement with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, reinforcing Bucharest's support "for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration."

"This is an important step on the eve of the July NATO Summit in Vilnius," Zelensky said.

The leaders met at the European Political Community Summit in Moldova and "also discussed further steps in Romania's assistance to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression," Zelensky said on Telegram.

He thanked Romania for its help in strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities.