(Reuters) – The Ukrainian general in charge of ground forces said his troops would not give up the eastern city of Bakhmut as they prepare to begin a counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces.
FIGHTING/MILITARY
* The United States plans to announce as soon as Wednesday a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that will for the first time include a short-range air-launched rocket, two U.S. officials said.
* Ukrainian President Zelenskiy told the Washington Post in an interview that he was not informed by the White House about a leak this year of U.S. classified military documents. The materials posted online offered a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine.
* The European Union plans to boost ammunition production to aid Ukraine and replenish the stocks of EU member countries.
* An explosion caused a second freight train to derail in the Russia region of Bryansk bordering Ukraine. One also derailed on Monday following a blast.
* The Kremlin rejected as “plucked from thin air” a U.S. assessment of 100,000 Russian military casualties in Ukraine in the last five months, including more than 20,000 deaths.
ECONOMY
* Turkey’s trade data has started to reflect that Ankara has stopped allowing the re-exportation of Western goods under sanctions to Russia after repeated warnings from Washington, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official said.
* The European Commission said it set restrictions until June 5 on imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to ease the excess supply of these grains in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
* Ukraine’s grain exports could fall to around 26 million tonnes in the 2023/24 season, largely due to Russia’s invasion.
QUOTES
* “We will continue, despite all the forecasts and advice, to hold Bakhmut, destroying Wagner and other most combat-capable units of the Russian army” – General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian ground forces.
RECENT IN-DEPTH STORIES
* INSIGHT-Russia digs in as Ukraine prepares to attack
* ANALYSIS-Russia crosses new lines in crackdown on Putin’s enemies
* EXCLUSIVE-The Russian military commandant who oversaw reign of fear in Ukraine town
* EXCLUSIVE-Kazakhstan has ramped up oil exports bypassing Russia -sources
* Liberated villages offer glimpse of precarious Ukrainian health system.
(Compiled by Reuters editors)
