Liveblog: ++ Ukraine confirms Zelenskyj’s trip to G7 summit ++

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will personally attend the G7 summit. Air alert has been declared again in many cities of Ukraine. Explosions are said to have occurred in some areas. All developments in the live blog.

Ukraine has confirmed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will personally attend the summit of heads of state and government of the seven leading western industrialized countries (G7) in Hiroshima, Japan. Zelenskyy will travel to the meeting, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov told state television. “Very important things will be decided there and therefore the presence of our President is absolutely necessary to defend our interests,” he added.

In the Ukraine, the capital Kiev and other cities have again become the target of Russian attacks during the night. “The tenth airstrike in 19 days in May,” the Kiev military administration said on Telegram. There were several waves of drone attacks during the night. All targets discovered in the air that were flying in the direction of Kiev were destroyed, it said. According to military officials and media reports, there were also explosions in the cities of Lviv and Rivne in the west of the country, and in Kherson and Kryvyi Rih in the south.

According to EU Council President Charles Michel, the possible delivery of “F-16” fighter jets to Ukraine will be an issue at the G7 summit of the leading Western industrial nations in Japan. They are closely coordinated to pursue a common approach to military support, the Belgian said.

This Friday there will be an opportunity to discuss the issue with US President Joe Biden and the other summit participants and to jointly examine what additional support is needed. “It is very clear that Ukraine needs more military equipment,” he said.

According to media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will personally attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The “Financial Times” cites insiders who are familiar with the preparations for the trip. Accordingly, Zelenskyj should also be present at discussions at the summit meeting on Sunday.

In the early hours of the morning, air raid warnings were issued across Ukraine. Explosions are said to have occurred in some areas. According to official information from Kiev, it is said that anti-aircraft systems are deployed in several regions.

According to the Ukrainian military via the Telegram news service, Russian planes are apparently in the air and there is a risk that all regions of Ukraine could be shelled with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The military went on to say that drone strikes could also occur in the central regions of the country.

The EU wants as part of the sanctions because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine “limit” trade in Russian diamonds. This was announced by EU Council President Charles Michel at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Britain had previously announced a ban on trading in Russian diamonds. The USA also announced a new package of sanctions. The Russian diamond trade is estimated to be worth $4-5 billion a year and generates important tax revenue for the Kremlin.

After reports of success from Bakhmut, President Selenskyj praised his soldiers in particular. Norway, in cooperation with Great Britain, supplies Ukraine with further weapon systems.