Latest Developments in Ukraine: May 26

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT:

5:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that at least 431 civilians have been killed and 1,168 more wounded in the Donetsk region since the Russian invasion began.

4:20 a.m.: Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called Ukraine the “key for freedom in the world” and urged for more support Thursday as his country faces what he called “this senseless war” with Russia.

Klitschko said Ukraine is a peaceful country that was not aggressive toward anyone, and that Ukrainians want to be “part of the European family” with a priority on human rights, press freedom and “democratic standards of life.”

Russia on the other hand, he said, wants to rebuild the Soviet Union and would not stop with a takeover of Ukraine. “We’re defending not just our family and our children, we’re defending you because we have the same values,” Klitschko said, adding that Russia will go as far as it is allowed to go. He thanked those who have supported Ukraine politically, economically and by sending weapons, and those who have taken in Ukrainians refugees. Noting that it has been more than 90 days since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Klitschko said it feels to him like “one long, long day.”

4 a.m.: Fighting in recent weeks has been focused in the eastern Donbas region where Russia has been trying to seize control after failing to topple Zelenskyy or capture Kyiv.

The Ukrainian governor of the eastern region of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, described the situation around the industrial hub of Severodonetsk as “very difficult” and said there was “already fighting on the outskirts.”

“Russian troops have advanced far enough that they can already fire mortars” on the city, he said.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin issued an order that would fast-track Russian citizenship to people living in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. There is already a program to fast-track citizenship for people living in the Donbas.

3:59 a.m.: ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan spoke to CNN about his war crimes inquiry in Ukraine, saying, “We need to not lose hope, even in these desperately uncertain times.”

3:45 a.m.: A proposal to condemn the regional health emergency triggered by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine will come before a World Health Organization (WHO) assembly on Thursday, prompting a rival resolution from Moscow that makes no mention of its own role in the crisis, Reuters reported.

The original proposal, backed by the United States and more than 40 other countries, condemns Russia’s actions but stops short of immediately suspending its voting rights at the U.N. health agency. The Russian document backed by Syria, which echoes the language of the first text, will also be decided on, the report said.

3:02 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry says Russia’s air forces, the 45,000-member VDV, has been “heavily involved in several notable tactical failures” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign,” the update says. “Its mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority.”

It goes on to say that the VDV’s “misemployment” demonstrates that Russia has “an unbalanced overall force” and says that Russian complacency has led to significant losses in Russia’s elite units.

2:15 a.m.: Reuters reported that the leader of Russian-backed separatists in the breakaway Donetsk region called on Thursday for the military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to be accelerated, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said Kyiv had blocked water supplies to key cities in the north of the region and called for military action to be stepped up.

2:03 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, says that Russian forces are dealing with an increasing scarcity of high-precision weapons. “The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) noted that up to 60% of Russia’s high-precision stockpile has already been exhausted,” the Institute said in a recent update. Additionally, it said, Russia is trying to force Ukrainians in occupied areas to cooperate with “occupation organs” and is trying to get Ukrainians into the Russian army.

1:30 a.m.: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to give a speech Thursday in which she plans to call on allies to continue support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.

In a speech to Bosnia and Herzegovina armed forces at Sarajevo’s Army Hall, The Guardian shared excerpts from prepared remarks. “Russia’s aggression cannot be appeased. It must be met with strength. We must not allow a prolonged and increasingly painful conflict to develop in Ukraine,” the newspaper reported.

Earlier, Truss announced plans for $100 million of U.K.-backed investment in the Western Balkans by 2025 to counter Russian efforts in the region, VOA’s national security correspondent Jeff Seldin reported.

1 a.m.: Russian troops continue to attack eastern Ukraine, reports The Guardian. Ukrainian military, says the report, say 40 towns in the Donbas region are under fire.

12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Russia has promised to allow foreign ships to leave ports in the Black Sea. A defense ministry official says 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries are currently in six ports in the Black Sea.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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