Russia Ukraine war: Western nations vow to send more, bett​er arms to Ukraine

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow will find ways to supply markets with Russian grain and fertilizers despite Western sanctions, RIA news agency reported on Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was willing to facilitate Ukrainian wheat exports through the Black Sea, as well as shipments of Russian fertilizer, if sanctions were eased, according to a Kremlin readout of talks with the president of Turkey.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that his country will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Germany isn't doing enough to help Kyiv fend off Russia.Scholz told lawmakers that the government has decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations.

Russian forces pushed closer to the centre of Ukraine's Sieverodonetsk as the fighting intensified over May 30-31, Britain's defence ministry said on Wednesday."Over half of the town is likely now occupied by Russian forces, including Chechen fighters," the ministry said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter.

In a small orthopaedic clinic in Kyiv, Daviti Suleimanishvili listens as doctors describe various prostheses that could replace his left leg, torn off during the battle for Mariupol.Born in Georgia but with Ukrainian citizenship, Suleimanishvili -- whose nom-de-guerre is "Scorpion" -- is one of countless people who have lost arms or legs in the war and now impatiently awaiting a replacement limb.

The European Union's groundbreaking decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine is a blow to Moscow's economy, but its effects may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the petroleum, industry experts say.European Union leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90 per cent over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the weapons package that will be formally unveiled on Wednesday.

A critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region.

The M142 Himars system (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a modernized, lighter and more agile wheel-mounted version of the track-mounted M270 MLRS developed in the 1970s for US and allied forces. They have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers), a US official told reporters. Himars carry one preloaded pod of six 227 mm guided missiles (the M270 carries two pods), or one large pod loaded with an ATACMS tactical missile. With a small crew, the Himars can remove a spent pod and load a fresh one in minutes, without other vehicles helping. The crews will require some training.

US President Joe Biden said the United States will provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions so it can "more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield." In an opinion piece in the New York Times on Tuesday, Biden said: "We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table."

Russian forces in a “frenzied push” have seized half of Sievierodonetsk, the eastern Ukrainian city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete the capture of the industrial Donbas region, the mayor said Tuesday. “The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block,” Oleksandr Striuk said. He said heavy street fighting continued and artillery barrages threatened the lives of the estimated 13,000 civilians still sheltering in the ruined city that once was home to more than 100,000.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of "madness" Tuesday after Russian troops hit a chemical plant in their bid to complete the capture of a key eastern city. The battle for control of Severodonetsk has been intensifying this week, with heavy casualties on both sides, as EU leaders haggle over banning Russian gas to punish the Kremlin for its three-month-old invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

In underground vaults near Ukraine's battlefields, the genetic code for nearly 2,000 crops is in danger of being permanently destroyed. The risk came into sharp focus earlier this month when a research facility near Ukraine's national seed bank was damaged, according to Crop Trust, a non profit organisation set up by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.