Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations discussed on Thursday U.N. The war worsened a global food crisis - Ukraine and Russia are major agricultural exporters - and while an agreement last July safely reopened some Black Sea grain shipment channels, negotiations to extend the deal were difficult. The pope has given no further information on such an initiative. Zelenskiy is expected to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday, diplomatic sources said, days after the pope said the Vatican was involved in a peace mission. There are no signs of peace talks between the two countries to end the war, which began in February 2022 with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. Moscow's main target for months has been Bakhmut, which it has yet to fully capture despite the bloodiest ground combat in Europe since World War Two. The war in Ukraine is at a turning point, with Kyiv poised to unleash its counteroffensive after six months of keeping its forces on the defensive, while Russia mounted a huge winter offensive that failed to capture significant territory. "Foreign flags will never reign on our land, and our people will never be enslaved," he said. In an evening address on Thursday, Zelenskiy said he would soon be able to report very important defence-related news. The Kremlin earlier said if Britain provided these missiles it would require "an adequate response from our military". Wallace said Britain had weighed the risk. had previously held back from providing long range weapons for fear of provoking Russian retaliation. The missiles "are now going into, or are in, the country itself," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told parliament in London, adding the missiles were being supplied so they could be used within Ukraine. In a major step up in Western military support for Ukraine, Britain said it was sending Storm Shadow cruise missiles that would give Kyiv the ability to strike deep behind Russian lines.
EUROPEAN WAR 2 ONLINE FULL
Ukrainian forces had already received enough equipment from Western allies for their campaign but were waiting for the full complement of armoured vehicles to arrive, Zelenskiy said. BRITAIN TO SEND CRUISE MISSILES TO UKRAINE He called Zelenskiy's assertion that the counteroffensive had not yet begun "deceptive". Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia's Wagner private army which has led the fight in Bakhmut, on Thursday said Ukrainian operations were "unfortunately, partially successful". We can't guarantee how the counter-offensive will develop." "It all depends on how the battles develop. "We have to be ready for the war to continue into next year - or it could end this year," Musiyenko told Ukrainian NV Radio. Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musiyenko said Kyiv's backers understand that a counteroffensive "may not result in the complete eviction of Russian troops and the definitive defeat of Russia in all occupied areas." Reuters was not able to verify the reports and it was unclear whether Ukrainian forces were attacking in force or just mounting armed reconnaissance raids.
"We still need a bit more time," Zelenskiy said in an interview with European broadcasters. Ukraine says it has pushed Russian forces back over the past several days near Bakhmut, while a full-blown counteroffensive involving tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of Western tanks is still being prepared. The fact the Russian ministry felt obliged to release the statement reflects what Moscow acknowledges is a "very difficult" military operation. "The overall situation in the area of the special military operation is under control," it said in a statement, using the Kremlin's description of the war in Ukraine. "Statements circulated by individual Telegram channels about 'defence breakthroughs' that took place in different areas along the line of military contact do not correspond to reality," the Russian defence ministry said in a Telegram post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier said the offensive had yet to start. Moscow reacted after Russian military bloggers, writing on the Telegram messaging app, reported what they said were Ukrainian advances north and south of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, with some suggesting a long-awaited counteroffensive by pro-Kyiv forces had started. May 11 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry on Thursday denied reports that Ukrainian forces had broken through in various places along the front lines and said the military situation was under control.
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