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Latest in Ukraine: Russia Targets Kyiv with Drones, Missiles

by VOA News

   New developments:
     * South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will investigate U.S.
       allegations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval
       base near Cape Town last year, his office said Sunday in a
       statement. South Africa denies the allegations which have caused a
       diplomatic spat among the U.S., South Africa and Russia and called
       into question South Africa's non-aligned position on the conflict
       in Ukraine.
     * Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed Sunday that senior Kremlin
       officials banned reporting about him on state media. The leader of
       the Wagner mercenary forces cautioned that such a ban would lead to
       a backlash from the Russian people within months. The Kremlin did
       not respond to his comments.
     * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the promise by some
       Western countries to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is an
       "unacceptable escalation," and accused the West of what he called
       an attempt to "weaken Russia," Russian state-controlled media
       reports. "It's playing with fire," Lavrov said, as quoted by
       Russia's foreign ministry.

   Ukrainian officials Monday reported fresh Russian airstrikes on Kyiv
   after two nights of intense aerial assaults on the capital city.

   Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram there were explosions in
   the central part of the city and told people to stay in shelters.

   The attacks Monday followed what Klitschko called "another difficult
   night for the capital."

   Serhiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, said Russian
   forces used a combination of cruise missiles and Shahed drones in the
   overnight attack, targeting Kyiv for the 15th time in May.

   The consistent aerial attacks have come ahead of an expected Ukrainian
   counteroffensive that Ukrainian leaders have said will seek to reclaim
   territory Russia seized since it launched a full-scale invasion of
   Ukraine early last year.

   Ukraine's air force said in total, air defenses shot down 29 of 35
   drones and 37 of 40 missiles Russia launched overnight.

   Authorities in western Ukraine said Russian strikes hit a military
   facility in Khmelnytskiy, knocking five aircraft out of service.

   "Russia's drone and missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities can
   not be seen as usual, no matter how frequent they grow," Foreign
   Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. "They are all war crimes and must be
   stopped by further strengthening Ukraine's air defense, including with
   F-16s, and defeating Russian aggression as such."

   Iran sanctions

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced a bill Sunday
   proposing 50 years of additional sanctions against Iran.

   Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the bill was a response
   to what Kyiv says is Tehran's weapons supplies to Moscow. The draft
   includes a complete ban on trade with Iran, on investments, and
   transferring technologies. If the bill becomes law, Ukraine will forbid
   Iranian transit across the Ukrainian territory as well as use of its
   airspace and freeze Iranian assets.

   Kyiv and its allies say Iran has been supplying Russia with arms,
   including hundreds of drones, since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.
   Tehran rejects the allegations.

   Initially, Iran denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia but later said
   it had provided a small number before the conflict began.

   Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press,
   Reuters and Agence France-Presse.