Ukraine Latest: US Readies Sanctions on Iranian Drones to Russia

(Bloomberg) — The US will impose new sanctions against those involved in the transfer of drones from Iran to Russia that are being used in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, the White House said Monday.

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The US believes Iran and Russia are readying a deal for additional drone sales, after many of the more than 400 pilotless aircraft already sent to the Russian military have been used to target infrastructure in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he backed the idea of a coalition to provide Ukraine with Western-made fighter jets, but didn’t promise any UK planes. The UK will provide hundreds of air defense missiles and further unmanned aerial systems, including new long-range attack drones, according to a UK government statement.

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(All times CET)

US Seeks to Restrict Western Components Used in Iran’s Drones (7:03 p.m.)

In addition to sanctions aimed at curbing Iran’s supply of drones to Russia, the US plans steps to help governments and businesses better understand how Iran is obtaining components for its drone program, Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said.

The US has also joined the European Union and the UK in imposing new restrictions to prevent Western components that have been found in Iran’s Orion drones from making their way into the country.

Story continues

Russian Premier, Sanctioned Tycoons to Visit China Forum (4 p.m.)

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will lead a government delegation to China next week to attend a business forum along with sanctioned tycoons as Moscow leans on Beijing to help it withstand economic pressure over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

Billionaire Oleg Deripaska has been invited to the Russia-China Business Forum in Shanghai on May 23, while fertilizer tycoons Andrey Guryev and Andrey Melnichenko, pipe maker Dmitry Pumpyansky and Alexey Mordashov of steel and mining giant Severstal, have also been asked to attend, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Deripaska won’t be attending the forum, his spokesman said after publication of the original story.

UK Backs Coalition to Send Fighter Jets (3 p.m.)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged support for a coalition to help provide Ukraine with a fleet of Western-made fighter jets, although he stopped short of promising actual aircraft during Zelenskiy’s visit.

Zelenskiy says his recent trip to Italy, Germany, France and Great Britain brought important agreements regarding military support, according to an emailed statement from his office.

“Really important, powerful defense packages,” Zelenskiy said.

Russia Hosts Belarus Official With Lukashenko Out of View (2:45 p.m.)

The foreign minister of Belarus begins a three-day visit to Moscow on Monday amid speculation about the whereabouts of the country’s long-serving President Alexander Lukashenko.

G-7 to Strengthen Russia Sanctions Enforcement (1 p.m.)

Group of Seven leaders plan to bolster their coordination in combating the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia when they meet in Hiroshima, Japan, later this week.

“The impact of sanctions is highly linked to the quality of the coordination with our partners, be they in the G-7 or beyond,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a news conference on Monday.

The European Union is working on a new package of sanctions that would close loopholes and hit companies and countries that are helping Russia to obtain sanctioned goods. The bloc could ban goods from going to a certain country if there’s clear evidence of them ending up in Russian territory, von der Leyen said.

NATO Needs to Devise Framework for Ukraine: Stoltenberg (12:52 p.m.)

NATO allies need to devise “some kind of framework” to prevent Russia from continuing to chip away at European security and re-invading Ukraine after the war ends, the alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg said, declining to provide more details on what that should look like.

“What I can say is that if NATO allies, and especially the big ones, start to issue security guarantees bilaterally to Ukraine, we are very close to Article 5,” Stoltenberg told his predecessor Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a live interview at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. Article 5 refers to the collective defense commitments allies enjoy once they are full members of NATO.

Stoltenberg said he would push allies to agree to a stronger defense investment pledge and said the goal to spend at least 2% of gross domestic production on defense is “something that should be reached as soon as possible, immediately, without waiting as much as is necessary — the message should be that there’s not another decade.”

Asked about another potential extension to his role, Stoltenberg said he has made it clear he has no other plans than to leave this fall.

Germany to Send More Air Defense Systems to Ukraine (12:20 p.m.)

Germany will provide Ukraine with a total of eight IRIS-T air defense systems, a spokeswoman for the defense ministry in Berlin said at the regular government news conference.

Germany has already supplied two such systems and delivery of the rest will depend on a number of issues including production capacities at manufacturer Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG, the spokeswoman added.

Ukraine Says Defense of Bakhmut Continues (10 a.m.)

Russia is pressing Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, which remains an epicenter of fighting along with the town of Maryinka in the Donetsk region, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.

However, the army managed to advance in the direction of Bakhmut, which is the “first success of offensive actions during the defense of the city,” the Ukrainian military media center said, citing Commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi.

“Still, it is only a partial success and should be treated as such,” he said, adding that the operation to defend Bakhmut is ongoing.

UK to Announce More Military Aid to Ukraine (8:49 a.m.)

Prime Minister Sunak will also discuss what support Ukraine needs from the international community, both immediate military equipment and long-term defenses, according to a UK government statement.

France to Provide More Support to Ukraine (3:39 a.m.)

France will continue providing political, financial, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine for as long as necessary, the presidential office said, adding the two nations will support efforts to curtail the circumvention of sanctions against Russia.

Macron met with Zelenskiy in Paris on Sunday where the leaders discussed the support required to help end the war. They agreed on the need to increase collective pressure on Russia through new sanctions in order to weaken the country’s ability to wage its illegal war of aggression, the French presidency said in a statement.