War in Ukraine, year 2, day 92. Russia hit a clinic in Ukraine with missiles / Missiles fired at Kiev during the night. Japan announces new sanctions against Moscow. German chancellor plans to speak with Putin “at the right time”

UPDATE 22:30 Japan applies new sanctions against Russia

Japan has announced additional sanctions against Russia after the Group of Seven (G7) summit it hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

In coordination with other G7 members, Japan will freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including military officers from Russia, and ban exports to 80 Russian entities, such as military-affiliated research laboratories, according to a ministry statement. of Foreign Affairs published on Friday.

UPDATE 20:45 Sergey Lavrov thanks China for its “balanced position”

Russia’s Sergei Lavrov expressed his gratitude for China’s “balanced position” and willingness to play a positive role during a meeting with the Chinese envoy to Ukraine, the foreign ministry announced.

China’s Li Hui, who spent 10 years as ambassador in Moscow, has been on a tour of European capitals and last week visited Kiev.

After these talks, China said it wants to “form the greatest common denominator to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and make its own efforts to stop the fighting and establish a ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible.”

However, Kiev has told Li that it will not accept any proposal involving the loss of territory by Ukraine.

Earlier this year, China published a 12-point peace plan that involves declaring a ceasefire but does not stipulate that Russia should withdraw from any of the territories it has occupied.

UPDATE 19:15 Lula da Silva spoke with Putin about the war

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he has spoken with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, and reiterated his country’s willingness to talk with both sides.

Also, Lula thanked Putin on Twitter for inviting him to the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg and said: “I thanked him for the invitation to participate in the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg and I replied that I cannot go to Russia at the moment, but I reiterated Brazil’s readiness, along with India, Indonesia and China, to talk to both sides of the conflict in search of peace.”

UPDATE 18:30 Lavrov and the Chinese emissary discuss the war in Ukraine

Sergei Lavrov and China’s special envoy discussed the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine during a meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.

Li Hui said at a meeting with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday that Beijing has always maintained an objective and fair position on the Ukraine conflict and actively promoted peace negotiations.

Li previously visited Ukraine, Germany, Poland and France as part of a European tour to resolve the war.

“Senior diplomats from the US Diplomatic Mission in Moscow were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 26. Russian officials vehemently protested the unacceptable claims by US Presidential National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that he actually approved attacks Ukrainians on Russian territory, including Crimea and the Belgorod region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoted by the Tass agency.

“The time has come for Washington to learn that any form of aggression against Russia will continue to be followed by the strongest possible reaction,” warned the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, according to Reuters.

It is not clear what Jake Sullivan’s statements the Russian Foreign Ministry is referring to. Sullivan was asked on Sunday, in an interview with CNN, if Ukraine can receive weapons to hit targets in Crimea. “Yes. We have not imposed limits on Ukraine’s ability to launch attacks on territory within its internationally recognized borders. What we have said is that we will not provide Ukraine with American or Western systems to attack Russia. We believe that the Crimea region is of Ukraine,” Sullivan said.

UPDATE 17:00 The IAEA will inform the UN about the proposal to protect the Zaporizhia power plant

Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, will inform the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday about a proposal to protect the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, according to a statement consulted by the AFP news agency.

The safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been a cause for concern since Russian forces took it over last year.

Kiev and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of attacking the plant after frequent bombings caused several power outages.

In a press release last week, Grossi said: “It’s very simple: don’t shoot at the plant and don’t use the plant as a military base.”

“It should be in everyone’s interest to agree on a set of principles to protect the plant during conflict,” he said.

UPDATE 16:00 The Russian Ministry of Defense states that the attacks targeted ammunition depots

The Russian Ministry of Defense states that it carried out an attack during the night on some Ukrainian ammunition depots, the RIA news agency reports.

“The target of the attack has been reached. All designated installations have been hit,” the Ministry of Defense said.

UPDATE 15:00 Canada has announced that it will donate 43 AIM-9 missiles to Ukraine to help the country “secure its skies”, according to a press release from the National Defense.

UPDATE 14:00 The Belgorod region in southern Russia, which borders Ukraine, has been attacked by Ukrainian artillery fire in the last 24 hours, reports AFP.

The town of Graivoron in Belgorod, located approximately 7 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, was under fire for several hours, damaging four houses, a shop, a car, a gas pipeline and a power line, said the governor of Belgorod, Viaceslav Gladkov, on social networks.

UPDATE 13:30 Two children under the age of seven are among the injured in the attack on the medical unit in Dnipro

The governor of Dnipropetrovsk, Serhiy Lysak, posted again on Telegram to give more details about the wounded in Dnipro.

UPDATE 13:00 At least one dead and 15 injured in the attack on a hospital in Dnipro

Volodymyr Zelensky announced that one person was killed and 15 wounded in the attack committed this morning by Russia on a hospital in the city of Dnipro.

“A missile attack on a clinic in the city of Dnipro. So far, one person has been killed and 15 have been injured. The traces of the bombings are removed and the victims are rescued. All the necessary services are involved”.

UPDATE 12:00 The Deputy Vice-President of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Friday that negotiations with Ukraine are “impossible” as long as Volodymyr Zelensky is in power, the Tass news agency reports.

UPDATE 11:00 Ukraine hit two regions in southern Russia with a missile and a drone, although the missile was shot down by air defenses, according to Russian officials and media reports.

In the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, an explosion damaged a residential and office building, officials said. According to Reuters, they did not specify what was the cause of the explosion, although the Russian press said it was a drone attack. Unverified videos on social media showed a drone flying over the city.

UPDATE 10:00 Ukraine claims to have shot down ten Russian missiles and 25 drones overnight

Ukraine says it has shot down 10 missiles and 25 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on the capital Kiev, the city of Dnipro and eastern regions, Ukrainian officials said Friday.

UPDATE 09:00 Japan announces new sanctions against Moscow

Japan will impose additional sanctions on Russia after the Group of Seven (G7) summit it hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday.

UPDATE 08:00 Missiles launched over Kiev during the night

Russia launched missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Friday morning, in its 13th attack so far this May. There were no casualties, but the falling debris damaged the roof of a shopping center.

UPDATE 07:00 German Chancellor plans to speak with Putin “at the right time”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he intends to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “at the right time”, maintaining the prospect of resuming contacts after an almost total breakdown in relations since the war in Ukraine.

The US will announce a new military aid package for Ukraine

The United States is to announce military aid worth 300 million dollars for Ukraine, according to Reuters.

The package, which should contain surface-to-surface missile launchers and other general munitions, could be announced on Friday, the news agency reported, citing two official sources.

The US has pledged more than $35 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion to date.

Zelenski: Two Russian “SU-type” planes were shot down in the Zaporozhye region

Volodymyr Zelensky claims that the National Guard of Ukraine shot down two Russian “SU” type planes in the Zaporozhye region.

He gave no other details about the aircraft.

A SU callsign refers to aircraft produced by Sukhoi – the Russian military aircraft manufacturers.

“I am grateful to two of our most precise warriors,” he says.

“By the way, one of them has already received the title of Hero of Ukraine and shot down not only enemy planes, but also a cruise missile.”

Sweden will train Ukrainian pilots on JAS 39 Gripen aircraft

Stockholm will allow Ukrainian pilots to train on its JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets as part of a “familiarisation programme”.

The Swedish Minister of Defense, Pål Jonson, stated that Sweden needs these planes for its own defense needs and, therefore, will not provide them to Ukraine.

Jonson did not say when or where the training would take place.

Sweden rejected Ukraine’s request for Gripen jets in February, citing Sweden’s own defense needs. Kiev has repeatedly appealed to its partners for modern aircraft to help secure its airspace.

In May, a forming “fighter coalition” that includes, among others, Britain, the US and the Netherlands, pledged to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and supply the planes, while Slovakia and Poland have already supplied Soviet-made MiG-29 aircraft.