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STORY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concluded long-term security agreements with Sweden and Norway in Stockholm on Friday (May 31). It comes as Western nations discuss whether to let Kyiv use weapons provided by them to strike targets inside Russia. Moscow began its full-scale invasion over two years ago is now attacking Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. "I think that using any weapon, Western kind of weapon, on the territory of Russia, it's a question of time." Under the latest deal, Sweden will transfer two surveillance aircrafts as well as its entire stock of armored tracked personnel carriers. Ukraine's new 10-year security deal with Norway will focus on maritime and air defense needs. Olso will also be ''open" to the Norwegian defense industry localizing production in Ukraine, seen as a way to speed up delivery of defense supplies. The security deals with Sweden and Norway bring the number of agreements Kyiv has signed with Western nations to 15. The Nordics are all now NATO countries and have all been staunch supporters of Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would continue to adapt and adjust to the military situation in Ukraine, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use American munitions to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv. "Over the past few weeks, Ukraine came to us and asked for the authorisation to use weapons that we provided to defend against this aggression, including against Russian forces that are massing on the Russian side of the border and then attacking into Ukraine," Blinken told journalists in Prague where he was attending a NATO summit. AP video shot by Stanislav Hodina

President Joe Biden has given Ukrainian forces permission to strike inside Russia with American weapons. This only applies to the border region near Kharkiv, and not for long-range strikes.

STORY: :: Ukrainian prisoners of war are released in the first exchange with Russia in months :: May 31, 2024 :: Undisclosed location, Ukraine :: Nataliia Manuilova, released female soldier :: “I am glad to be back in my land, in my beloved Ukraine. Thank you!” :: “I used to live in my beloved Ukraine. I love Ukraine. They took everything I had. Thank God I have my son and my sister. Thank you very much! I cannot believe it.” :: “How come you are so tall now?” :: "I don’t have any emotions yet. But I am certain that I am already home.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 75 Ukrainian prisoners had been returned from Russia. They included four civilians while the rest were members of the military. Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine handed over 75 people, RIA news agency reported. Ukrainian officials said they brought back 19 defenders of Snake Island, a tiny rocky outcrop in the Black Sea that became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance in the first days of the war when Ukrainian guards refused to surrender to Russian forces. Ukraine's Coordinating Committee on Dealing with Prisoners of War said that as a part of the swap, the bodies of 212 Ukrainians were handed over by Russia.

STORY: REFILING TO REMOVE ON SCREEN GRAPHIC DETAILING LOCATION OF PRISON. Ukraine is turning to its prison population to fill the ranks of its waning infantry in the fight against Russia. Under a deal offered by the government, prisoners will have their sentences cleared if they serve in the army until the end of the war. The justice ministry says more than four thousand have applied so far including Mykola Rybalka, who is behind bars for theft. "You know, five years behind these walls leave their mark. You've seen a lot and understood a lot. You're not scared of anything anymore." Ukraine is struggling to recruit soldiers, particularly to fight in frontline positions that suffer heavy losses. Private Russian mercenary group Wagner recruited tens of thousands of Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, offering them a full pardon if they survived six months at the front. Prisoners in Ukraine convicted of certain offences, like multiple murders or treason, are barred from serving. Successful applicants need to pass medical checks and be approved by a court. Reuters was given access to a hearing chaired by Judge Dmytro Tkachenko. "The main issue is to make sure the prisoner freely agrees to join the military service and that his health makes him fit for it." More than 1,700 already have the green light. Over 780 prisoners have already been freed from prison and handed over to the armed forces but it will likely take months for significant numbers of new troops to be ready. The justice minister has previously said he expects between 10,000 and 20,000 inmates to sign up in total.

STORY: :: 'We have the right to help Ukraine uphold the right to self-defense,' says NATO's Stoltenberg :: May 31, 2024 :: Prague, Czech Republic :: Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General :: "Ukraine has the right for self-defense, we have the right to help Ukraine uphold the right to self-defense, and that does not make NATO allies party to the conflict. That was the case back in February 2022, that was the case last year and that remains the case. And escalation - well, Russia has escalated by invading another country, and Russia has escalated just last weeks by opening a new front, where they are hitting Ukraine from inside Russia. And of course, to assume that Ukraine should not hit back is in no way reasonable, because Ukraine must be able to defend their territory, also by hitting the artillery, the missiles, which are launched against them." The talks in Prague will focus on hammering out the details of a Ukraine support package, meant to be agreed at NATO's Washington summit July 9-11, that will also include changes to the way weapons and ammunition supplies are organised. NATO ministers are also expected to address what is seen as the latest shift in Western support for Ukraine, with several allies lifting restrictions that banned Kyiv from using donated weapons to strike targets inside Russia - a move that Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against.

President Biden has given Ukraine permission to conduct limited strikes inside Russia using U.S.-provided weapons.

President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to utilize U.S.-provided munitions against military targets in only a limited area of Russia to avoid sparking a wider conflict with the West.

The U.S. sought to build support for squeezing more money for Ukraine out of frozen Russian assets and for uniting against China’s trade practices as finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich democracies opened a two-day meeting on Friday on the shores of northern Italy’s scenic Lago Maggiore.

Col. Oleksandr Bakulin sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC News' foreign correspondent James Longman.

At least seven people were injured in another Russian strike on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday. The overnight drone attack hit transport infrastructure, damaging over 25 trucks, buses, and other vehicles, according to the regional governor.

STORY: "We are very grateful to our partners, that they are helping, but this is happening so slow." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an exclusive interview on Monday that his Western allies are taking too long to make key decisions on sending military support to Ukraine. "Every decision takes ages. We arrive at this decision later on, but it's like one year too late." Zelenskiy also said he was pushing Western partners to get more directly involved in the war by helping to intercept Russian missiles and to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons against enemy military equipment at the border and further inside Russian territory. "I'm sure we can have a proper dialogue and we can reach the consensus [regarding] the long-range missiles to hit the weapons of Russians located alongside the Ukrainian border. I believe we will reach this decision. Because the same happened with giving us tanks and armored vehicles, Patriots, right?" The United States has resisted Ukrainian calls to use its missiles against internationally recognized Russian territory, reflecting concerns in the West about the risk of escalation. "Everybody is afraid of escalation. So Ukrainians are dying. Well, everybody got used to that. That's not escalation." Zelenskiy's remarks come at a perilous time for his forces. They are outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's army, which recently crossed the border into the city of Kharkiv. Zelenskiy acknowledged Ukraine was losing territory in the northeast but he said the situation on the battlefield had improved. "Today the situation is controlled. A week ago it was more difficult." The United States finally passed a bill to provide military aid to Ukraine in late April, but it had been held up for months by opposition from some Republicans in Congress. Zelenskiy said he didn't see big risks to future aid if Republican Donald Trump, a Ukraine aid skeptic, wins the November election, but that didn't mean there were no concerns. "Both parties supported this package, which is why I wouldn't say that as of today I don't see some maximal risks. I don't believe that Republicans are against support for Ukraine, but some messages we can hear from them, well, they are causing concerns, in any case."

Moscow has been pushing ahead with an offensive in the region - at least 11 people were killed in recent attacks, according to reports.

ABC News’ James Longman reports on the latest in Ukraine on “This Week.”