Liveblog: ++ Modi pledges help for end of war ++

Indian Prime Minister Modi has offered to help Ukraine to end the war. Russia has warned the West against delivering F-16 jets to Ukraine. All developments in the live blog.

At his first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the Russian invasion began, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his help to end the war. “India and I will do everything we can to end the war,” Modi said at the meeting on the sidelines of the Great Industrialized Nations (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, according to the Indian news agency ANI.

Zelenskyy thanked him for Indian support for his country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. As the Ukrainian President further announced on Telegram, he also described to Modi his country’s need for demining and mobile hospitals. Zelenskyj invited the Indian head of government to participate in the implementation of the Ukrainian peace plan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held bilateral meetings with several heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. This is announced by the governments of the countries involved.

The body of a US war veteran killed in Ukraine has been brought back to the United States. A Turkish Airlines machine brought the coffin of the marines from Istanbul to New York. From there, a private plane took us to Wilmington, North Carolina, on Friday evening.

The 50-year-old Iraq War veteran volunteered in February 2022 to help evacuate the Ukrainian population. He later fought in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, according to the Weatherman Foundation, which located his remains and brought them home.

According to a media report, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to give a speech in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday – the last day of the G7 summit. The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Saturday, citing informed circles. Japan is also preparing for a visit by Zelenskyy to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, which displays evidence of the horrifying aftermath of the US atomic bombing of the city in 1945.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the G7 summit for his support in forming a coalition to supply western fighter jets. Selenskyj met Sunak on the fringes of the summit meeting of the leading democracies in Hiroshima, Japan. “I thanked the UK for leading the international fighter jet coalition,” Zelenskyy later wrote on his Telegram account.

Russia has warned Western countries against delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. In this context, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko accused the western states of sticking to an escalation scenario. “This entails colossal risks for them,” Grushko said, according to the state news agency TASS. Ukraine has not yet received a commitment to the desired delivery of “F-16” jets. According to government circles, however, US President Joe Biden has advocated training Ukrainian pilots on these jets.

On May 20, 2022, the battle for the Azovstal plant in Mariupol ended. The last Ukrainian soldiers laid down their arms and surrendered. Many of them are still in Russian captivity today. Those who have made it back home report inhuman conditions and torture. The relatives hope to continue – and use a lot of energy for the release of the prisoners.

The G7 countries have called on China to urge its partner Russia to end the war of aggression against Ukraine. The seven leading democracies said in Japan that they want to encourage Beijing to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and goals of the UN Charter, “including in direct talks with Ukraine”.

The G7 leaders stressed that they do not want to harm China and seek constructive and stable relations with Beijing. An open dialogue with China is of great importance. Cooperation with China is necessary given its global role and economic size, the joint statement said. The G7 called for cooperation on challenges such as climate change, health and economic stability.

In the battle for the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russia has increased its troops in the area, according to British intelligence. “In the past four days, Russia has very likely deployed several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut front,” the Defense Ministry said in London. This was a reaction to tactical gains by the Ukrainian defenders on the flanks of the embattled city and to public threats by the Wagner group of mercenaries to stop fighting there, it said.

Presumably only a few Russian units are available in Ukraine. Therefore, the transfer to the Bakhmut area represents a remarkable commitment by the Russian command, the British ministry emphasized. “The Russian leadership is likely to continue to regard the capture of Bakhmut as the most important immediate war objective that would allow them to achieve some degree of success in the conflict.”

In the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, anti-aircraft defenses once again shot down numerous combat drones in what is now the eleventh Russian attack this month. Falling debris damaged two houses, cars and road surfaces, authorities in Kiev said. In a statement, the Ukrainian air force spoke of a total of 18 Iranian-type Shahed-136/131 so-called kamikaze drones that had been shot down in the Kiev region. A total of 20 drones were destroyed in Ukraine.

“This night the aggressor again flew a massive attack with drones,” said the head of the Kiev military administration, Serhiy Popko. All were rendered harmless. “Strikes against Kiev were not allowed.” There are no injuries. A fire broke out in a house due to the falling debris and was then extinguished. In another house, the window panes were shattered, it said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Japan for the G7 meeting. He arrived at Hiroshima airport on Saturday on a French government plane that was taking him from Saudi Arabia to Japan. Zelenskyi attended the Arab League summit there to campaign for his country’s support against Russia’s war of aggression. He wants to take part in the deliberations of the G7 countries on Sunday.

The Ukrainian capital Kiev was once again the target of Russian airstrikes during the night. According to authorities, debris crashed over three boroughs. A fire broke out on the roof of a nine-story residential building in the Dniprovskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Information about possible victims is not yet available. The fire was caused by falling debris, added the head of the civil and military administration in Kiev, Serhiy Popko. He called on the population to stay in the shelters.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil continues to reject Germany’s participation in the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. “Everyone has different military skills. The fighter jets are not one of them for us,” said Klingbeil of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. The statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) “applies here,” he emphasized. Germany is concentrating “on training, tanks and missile defense,” added the SPD politician. In addition, Germany is the second largest donor to Ukraine after the USA. And the new 2.7 billion package for Ukraine has “another impact in the long term”.

US President Joe Biden wants to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyj for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. This was confirmed by Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in Hiroshima on Saturday. Sullivan has not yet given a date for this. Biden looks forward to sitting down face-to-face with Zelenskyy. Sullivan did not comment on the logistics of Zelenskyj’s arrival. He leaves that to the Ukrainian side. However, he emphasized that the United States is not the country that flies the Ukrainian president to Japan.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for bilateral talks at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima on Sunday. In addition, Zelenskyy will attend an event on peace and security together with the heads of state and government of the seven leading democratic industrialized nations.

Japan has officially confirmed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attendance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima. The government announced on Saturday that he would take part in the consultations of the leading democratic economic powers on site on Sunday.

Zelenskyi will arrive at Hiroshima Airport on Saturday afternoon (local time), the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on informed sources. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office had previously confirmed Zelenskyy’s participation in the summit meeting in Hiroshima, which lasted until Sunday.

US President Biden will announce new military aid to Ukraine on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, according to a person familiar with the matter. The $375 million in support included ammunition, guns and Himars rocket launchers, according to the insider, who asked to remain anonymous.

In response to new sanctions, Russia has banned 500 more US citizens from entering the country. Among them is ex-President Obama. The White House allows Ukrainian pilots to be trained on F-16 fighter jets.