Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested NATO members should give Ukraine security guarantees in the form of “deterrence by denial” as a way of helping it defend itself short of NATO membership.

That can be done by providing “military equipment that can fortify Ukraine against future Russian attacks,” she said during a security conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. She stressed that there needs to be certainty that “Ukraine’s friends would be there for the long term.”

Ukraine has long sought membership in NATO, which through Article 5 of its treaty guarantees retaliation by all member states if one member country is attacked by a state outside of the 31-country alliance. Having part of its territory occupied by Russia has virtually guaranteed Ukraine cannot enter the alliance.

Von der Leyen repeated her previous stance opposing a peace plan for Ukraine based on a frozen conflict with Russia, warning that the threat of a repeat Russian invasion will remain until all Russian troops and equipment are withdrawn from Ukrainian soil.

— Natasha Turak

Dmitry Medvedev, Russian security council deputy chair and former president, called the U.K. Moscow’s “eternal enemy” and suggested that any British official aiding Ukraine should be considered a legitimate military target.

Responding to U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s comment that Ukraine has the right to use force beyond its borders, the hawkish Medvedev lashed out at what he called the U.K.’s “goofy officials” and said in a Twitter post that “their state can also be qualified as being at war.”

“Today, the UK acts as Ukraine’s ally providing it with military aid in the form of equipment and specialists, i.e., de facto is leading an undeclared war against Russia. That being the case, any of its public officials (either military, or civil, who facilitate the war) can be considered as a legitimate military target,” he wrote.

Medvedev is known for his often incendiary and intensely anti-Western posts on social media.

— Natasha Turak

Drones attacked two oil refineries in Russia, roughly 50 miles from some of the country’s largest oil export terminals in the strategically important Black Sea region, the Krasnodar regional governor said.

One of the attacks caused a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery, which was put out, and the other attack caused no damage, local officials said.

The Afipsky refinery is about 50 miles east of Novorossisk, a Black Sea port that is home to a key Russian oil export terminal. The other drone attack hit the Ilsky refinery, Russia state media outlets reported, which is some 40 miles east of Novorossisk.

The drone strikes come just a day after a highly rare attack on Moscow which also used drones and damaged some residential buildings, causing two injuries but no deaths, according to Moscow officials. Russia’s government blames Kyiv for that attack, while a Ukrainian presidential advisor denied his government’s involvement but expressed joy at seeing such an occurrence.

— Natasha Turak

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it has the right to implement the most “severe measures” after Tuesday morning’s drone attack on Moscow that it blames on Kyiv.

“Assurances by NATO officials that the Kyiv regime will not launch strikes deep into Russian territory prove to be completely hypocritical,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Russia reserves the right to take the harshest possible measures in response to the terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime,” it added.

A Ukrainian presidential advisor denied the government’s involvement in the strikes, but said that “we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks.” The drone strikes caused “minor damage” and two injuries but no deaths, Moscow authorities said.

The drone attacks followed three heavy Russian missile and drone bombardments of Kyiv in a 24-hour period that began Sunday, which killed at least one person, according to the city’s officials.

— Natasha Turak

Russia will target and strike any Western weapons supply routes it detects ahead of Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying by state media outlet TASS.

Shoigu noted that Ukraine’s Western allies are boosting arms deliveries to Kyiv prior to what he described as an upcoming “large-scale” Ukrainian offensive.

The defense chief said Moscow was imposing “effective fire damage on the enemy” and that Ukraine’s Western-supplied arms would not change the result of his country’s “special military operation,” which is the term the Kremlin uses for its full-scale war in Ukraine that began in February 2022.

— Natasha Turak

Finland is hosting NATO exercises for the first time as an official member of the alliance, along with Norway and partner country Sweden.

It kicked off the event on Monday. NATO’s Arctic Challenge Exercise, which this year is planned and directed by the Finnish Air Force, runs from May 29 to June 9 and has taken place every other year since 2013.

“The Arctic Challenge Exercises is part of the NORDEFCO cooperation between Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Their Air Forces regularly carry out combined air combat-related Cross Border Training operated from their home bases,” a description of the event on NATO’s website read.

“The purpose was for the three Nordic nations to practice together and across their countries’ borders,” it continued. “Since then, the exercise has grown to include even more allied nations. It is a unique opportunity for nations to be practicing across larger training areas and with other aircraft.”