Germany

Germany's initiative to provide Ukraine with air defense systems, including an appeal to allies to provide Patriot anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries, has not received much support from partner countries due to the high cost and unwillingness to part with much-needed systems.

The US is actively discussing easing the ban on Ukraine using US weapons to strike targets in Russia, which would allow Ukraine to hit the facilities that made Russia's recent occupation of Ukrainian territory possible.

Germany does not yet recognize an independent Palestinian state, despite the fact that Norway, Spain and Ireland have done so, as it remains committed to the goal of achieving a two-state solution through negotiations within the political process.

Lego has released sets of Ukraine's architectural landmarks to raise funds to rebuild a gymnasium in the Dnipro region that was damaged by a Russian missile strike, with the sets being given away as prizes for donations of $24 or more.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to attend D-Day celebrations in France and the G7 summit in Italy next month to appeal to the West for military support, demanding the confiscation of Russian assets to finance Ukraine's defense.

Due to heavy rains that flooded streets and basements in some parts of Germany, cars floated through the streets, and people were locked in their homes. There were no reports of injuries.

The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court filed a lawsuit to recover the assets of six enterprises, including two pipe plants, in connection with the fact that their Russian co-owners were sanctioned for the supply of polymers to the Russian military-industrial complex.

EU countries Belgium, Germany and France have asked the European Commission to assess the potential economic damage caused by restricting Russian gas imports amid discussions on a new package of sanctions against Russia.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with young scientists, congratulated them on their professional holiday, presented state awards and discussed the government's strategy to encourage young scientists to stay in Ukraine and work for its development and recovery after the war.

Annalena Berbock was awarded the Order of Yaroslav the wise, third class, which the president of Ukraine awarded her at the end of last year by decree.

During the meeting, Zelensky and Berbok separately discussed Ukraine's movement towards EU membership and the organization of the International Conference on the restoration of Ukraine (URC 2024), which will be held in Berlin in June, and coordinated steps to fill it with specific projects.

Deliveries of IRIS-t, Skynex, and Gepard air defense systems from Germany to Ukraine continue, and Germany is working with other countries to ensure that they also transfer their air defense systems to Ukraine.

More than 1 million Ukrainians have successfully logged in and updated their military data using the Reserve+ Program, and users from abroad, including Poland, Germany and Canada, are among the leading markets.

Western partners are providing technical assistance, equipment components, and spare parts from decommissioned power plants to help Ukraine repair and rebuild the electricity sector that has been affected by Russian attacks.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock arrives in Kyiv on an unannounced visit to assure Ukraine of Germany's continued support despite the escalation of hostilities and to prepare for the Berlin conference on Ukraine's recovery.

Germany agrees to support a U. S. plan to use frozen Russian assets, mostly in Europe, to provide $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Ten people were injured, four of them seriously, when lightning struck a group on the banks of the Elbe River in Dresden, Germany, during a severe thunderstorm, with two men suffering cardiac arrest.

NATO partners support Germany's initiative to provide Ukraine with air defense systems through financial and technical contributions.

The G7 allies are set on a US plan to freeze Russian assets for Ukraine even before a potential Trump presidency, the FT reports.

Almost 300 foreign-made microelectronics components were found in North Korean missiles by KFI specialists, said Oleksandr Ruvin.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas claims that the training of NATO soldiers in Ukraine will not automatically escalate the war with Russia and will not trigger Article 5 of the NATO Mutual Defense Treaty.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented a coup attempt by arresting those responsible for the failed attempt to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius demands that his government provide an additional €3. 8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the current fiscal year, in addition to the €7.1 billion already provided.

On May 18, Ukraine commemorates the victims of the genocide of Crimean Tatars through forced deportation in 1944, when up to 425,000 people were deported and up to 42% of them died.

Lithuania will provide Ukraine with 6 Amber-1800 radars to strengthen its air defense as part of Germany's initiative to strengthen Ukraine's air defense.

On the 80th anniversary of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people, Ukraine honored its victims by raising the Crimean Tatar flag with a mourning ribbon on the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended by government officials and Crimean Tatar leaders who condemned the ongoing repression and forced deportation of Crimean Tatars by Russia.

The chairmen of the foreign affairs committees of the US, EU, Ukraine and other countries have condemned Georgia's controversial "foreign agents" law, saying it undermines democracy and contradicts Georgia's goal of Western integration.

An armed man is shot dead by French police after attempting to set fire to a synagogue in Rouen.

A 48-year-old Ukrainian man was brutally murdered, his body dismembered and burned in an outbuilding of an agricultural enterprise in the Polish town of Rokiciny, and three suspects were arrested.

Russia has declared the British Defense Attaché in Moscow "persona non grata" in response to the UK's expulsion of the Russian Defense Attaché from London.