On 29 May, Sweden announced $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine in its largest package ever. The package included two ASC 890 reconnaissance and control aircraft, the entire Swedish stock of decommissioned Pansarbandvagn 302 infantry fighting vehicles, 155 mm artillery shells, and AIM-120 AMRAAM air defence missiles.

The Foreign Minister of Finland, Elina Valtonen, stated that Finland would not restrict Ukraine from using Finnish-supplied weapons against Russia. Similarly, Poland’s Deputy Defence Minister, Cezary Tomczyk, affirmed Ukraine’s right to defend itself, adding that Poland had not imposed limitations on the use of its weapons. Also Canada had not set restrictions on the use of transferred weapons, as reaffirmed by Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Foreign Minister. Altogether, 11 allied nations, including France, Lithuania, Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom, had approved Ukraine’s use of supplied weapons to strike Russian targets.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, noted that the United States may adjust its policy on the use of weapons supplied by the US to attack Russia, if necessary.

Meanwhile, due to the large number of detainees, Ukraine had to open a third camp for Russian prisoners of war. Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, blamed the Ukrainian authorities for constantly making new demands, which resulted in suspending prisoners of war exchange for several months.

On 30 May, the UK’s Ministry of Defence estimated that Russian casualties (killed and wounded) in the war likely tallied up to 500,000 in 2024. Russian casualties were high throughout the year, and the average daily death toll in May exceeded 1,200. The high number of casualties was the result of attrition-based offensive along the front line. The majority of Russian forces consisted of soldiers with minimal training; consequently, the army had to rely on waves of small yet costly assaults designed to exhaust Ukrainian defences. Although Russia continued to recruit additional personnel, the constant need to replenish its ranks limited its ability to form more capable and cohesive units. 

During an unannounced visit to Odessa, the Defence Minister of Germany, Boris Pistorius, announced a new military aid package worth €500 million to support Ukraine. The package included ammunition for IRIS-T air defence systems, reconnaissance drones, 1 million rounds of ammunition for small arms, Leopard 1 tanks, Marder 1 armoured vehicles, and spare parts for artillery systems and Leopard tanks. At a press conference, Pistorius added that Germany may consider allowing Ukraine to use German weapons to attack military targets in Russia.

Meanwhile, the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, signed a law allowing the use of frozen Russian assets to pay compensation for war damage in Ukraine. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide approved the use of weapons supplied by their countries, including F-16 fighter jets, for strikes on military targets in Russia, deeming it consistent with the laws of war.

President Joe Biden also permitted limited use of U.S.-supplied weapons on Russian territory, restricting their use to border areas adjacent to the Kharkiv region. The use of long-range weapons for strikes deep within Russian territory, however, remained prohibited.

On 31 May, during his visit to Sweden, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a security agreement with Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, providing $9.95 billion in military and civilian support for Ukraine over the period 2022–2026. Moreover, Zelensky signed similar agreements with Prime Ministers of Iceland and Norway. Both countries pledged long-term economic, humanitarian, and defence support for Ukraine, with Norway announcing an additional €1.2 billion in military aid for 2024.

The United States and Germany agreed to permit Ukraine to use weapons supplied by their countries against military targets in Russia, but only in regions bordering Ukraine, in order to avoid escalation of the conflict. However, Germany imposed restrictions on the operational range of its weapons, limiting strikes to a depth of 40 kilometres into Russian territory.

In response to Russia’s escalating aggression, Lithuania declared that it was prepared to send its troops to Ukraine, while Poland put forward a proposal to form military units consisting of Ukrainians mobilized in Poland. At the same time, Poland was struggling with a cyberattack carried out by hackers linked to Russian services, who tried to spread disinformation by suggesting Poland was mobilizing men for war.

Illustrative photo. Generated by AI