Ukrainian

May 28 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Germany Wednesday to discuss the state of German military support, which could include a delivery of powerful missiles to Ukraine for use against Russian targets.

Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation were welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shortly after their arrival in Berlin, and Zelensky is also expected to meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The visit takes place as speculation continues in regard to whether Germany will supply Ukraine with its Taurus cruise missiles, which can strike targets as far away as 300 miles. Merz had signaled before his ascension to chancellor that he would overturn a previous ban by his predecessor Olaf Scholz on the provision of such weaponry to Ukraine.

Zelensky spoke with reporters Tuesday, and said he would discuss the issue of long-range missiles.

The decision to provide the Taurus missiles remains officially unresolved as it has been a matter of contention between the conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union parties, and the Social Democratic Party, their coalition partners.

However, Merz announced Monday that Germany would “do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine,” and that “also means no longer having any range restrictions on the weapons we supply. Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia.”

Merz later explained the comment was in reference to actions taken months ago, and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has since confirmed that no new decision in regard to the Taurus missile issue.

Germany has previously provided Ukraine with two weapons systems capable of strikes within Russian borders, the Mars II rocket launchers and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery, and range restrictions on their usage were lifted in May 2024.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Monday that European countries who lift restrictions on the range of provided armaments for use against Russia on Russian territory would be making a “rather dangerous decision.”

Zelensky posted to social media Tuesday that in an “extended meeting” with Ukrainian military leadership, they had discussed “preparing new agreements with our European partners in the near future, to attract investment into Ukrainian production,” which “First and foremost,” means “the production of unmanned systems and long-range capabilities,” so that the military can “operate at significant distances.”

A former leading Ukrainian official has been shot dead outside an American school in the Spanish capital Madrid, reports say.

The 51-year-old man, named by Ukrainian and Spanish sources as Andriy Portnov, had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city, reports say.

At least one unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, Spanish reports said.

Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president ousted in 2014 after months of protests.

He had previously been an MP in Yulia Tymoshenko’s governing party.

He left Ukraine after the revolution only to return in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president.

He then left Ukraine again, and in 2021 was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been “widely known as a court fixer” who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts.

The European Union had earlier imposed sanctions on Portnov, but he challenged the move in court and won the case.

It was not clear who was behind the shooting that took place at about 09:15 local time (07:15 GMT) on Wednesday, reportedly as children were still entering the school.

Police drones and a helicopter searched the area for a gunman who, according to witnesses, was a thin man in a blue tracksuit. Spanish reports suggested the gunman may have had at least one accomplice riding on a motorbike.

A similar gun attack took place in 2018, when a Colombian drug trafficker was fatally shot outside a British Council school a few kilometres away.

But the motive behind Wednesday’s attack is not yet known. Emergency services at the scene could only confirm that that Portnov had suffered several bullet wounds in the back and the head.

Portnov’s black Mercedes car was cordoned off and the school wrote to parents to confirm that all the students inside were safe.

Although Ukraine’s intelligence services have been linked to several killings in Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine, a fatal attack in Spain in February last year was linked to Russian hitmen.

The victim, a Russian helicopter pilot, was shot dead near Alicante, months after defecting to Ukraine.

Authorities in Kyiv said they had offered to protect Maxim Kuzminov in Ukraine, but he is believed to have moved to Spain’s south-east coast under a false identity.

The tribunal will hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ministers to account for the invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv’s European allies have endorsed the creation of a special tribunal to hold top Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin, to account for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

European Union foreign ministers, who met in the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday, signed off on the tribunal, named the “Lviv statement”, to mark the conclusion of the technical work to draft the legal body.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told reporters there was no space for “impunity”.

“Russia’s aggression cannot go unpunished and therefore establishing this tribunal is extremely important,” Kallas said.

“This tribunal will ensure that those most responsible for the aggression against Ukraine are held accountable,” she added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said the tribunal was part of the continent’s moral duty to hold Russia accountable for the war.

“A strong tribunal for the crime of aggression can – and must – make any potential aggressor think twice,” he said in a video address to the meeting.

Meanwhile, Russia declined to respond to news of the tribunal. “We are not reacting to this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, according to the TASS state news agency.

An EU official told the Reuters news agency that the tribunal would have to respect Putin and his officials’ immunity while in office, but a prosecutor could investigate and propose an indictment ready for when the immunity is dropped.

Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel welcomed the move and told Reuters that the tribunal was a good step because it “fills a void that currently exists”.

“Which is how can you prosecute the leadership for the crime of aggression against another country,” he said.

While the tribunal could start operating this year, it is not the only legal instrument being used against Russia for its war on Ukraine.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and other Russian officials for the forced deportation of children and attacks on Ukrainian energy sites.

Frozen Russian assets

Elsewhere on Friday, France announced that it would begin tapping into income from frozen Russian assets to help maintain about 60 French-made Caesar howitzers delivered to Ukraine.

France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that using the funds will ensure the “continued maintenance of the Caesar cannons it has supplied to Ukraine to help resist Russian attacks”.

“We want peace, and today the only obstacle to peace is in Moscow, parading around under the name of Vladimir Putin,” said Barrot, adding that pressure must be put on the Russian leader to agree to a ceasefire.

In Lviv, the EU’s Kalas also pledged to disburse one billion euros ($1.1bn) from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to Ukrainian arms companies.

“We have just made available 1 billion euros for the Ukrainian defence industry so that Ukraine could better defend itself,” Kallas said. “This funding will directly support Ukrainian defence companies and secure additional military aid over the coming months, which are critical.”

The West has frozen around $300bn of Russian central bank assets – most of which are located in Europe – over Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

Friday’s developments came as Putin told a military parade in front of key allies, including China’s Xi Jinping, that Russia would be victorious in Europe.