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STORY: Ukraine and its allies drummed up support to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles at an event in Berlin on Tuesday (June 11). Urging international businesses to put their faith, and billions of dollars, into post-war reconstruction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had already wiped out enough energy infrastructure to power the cities of Berlin and Munich combined. He was hoping to come away from the conference with pledges of billions of euros for defense and agreements on building a new and more modern energy system. "This meeting (in itself) is already a result. Because it is very difficult not to lose allies and partner countries. And uniting countries who are partners and non-partners is a difficult mission in itself for Ukraine, when the war has been going on for months.” ::Kharkiv, Ukraine Since March, Russia's campaign of aerial bombardment has inflicted heavy damage to generating capacity. And blackouts are having to be scheduled across Ukraine. Kyiv hopes the Recovery Conference will cement its credentials as a future member of the European Union. It is trying to prove it's worthy of huge injections of reconstruction financing, even as Russian forces continue to make slow advances in Ukraine's east. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cited World Bank estimates that Ukraine could need $500 billion over a decade. He added companies had to be offered a business case for investing. He also talked up Ukraine's potential in sectors including renewables, IT and pharmaceuticals. "The reconstruction of the country will require massive investment. This will not be possible without private capital. As a reminder, we are talking about the reconstruction of a future member state of the European Union." ::Kharkiv, Ukraine Scholz added that Germany was sending more air defense systems, missiles and munitions to bolster the capital Kyiv's defenses against a barrage of Russian attacks on cities. The mayor of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, said Western weapons and the permission to use them to strike targets just inside Russia had helped to restore calm. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced agreements with banks worth $1.5 billion to help attract private investment for Ukraine. Zelenskiy also addressed the German parliament during his visit, where his speech was boycotted by two parties including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose support surged in European elections last weekend.

STORY: ::Zelenskiy and Scholz share a smile as leaders arrive in Berlin for the Ukraine Recovery Conference ::June 11, 2024 ::Berlin, Germany ::Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister "Today is an important day, not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe. Here at the Recovery Conference today we are making clear that we are not only united against the Russian attack on Ukraine but that we are paving the way together for Ukraine's entry into the EU. Putin wants to destroy the lifeblood of Ukraine with his brutal war." :: Robert Habeck, German Economic Minister "A lot of defense industry is also here gathering to support Ukraine and we have production hubs also from Germany companies in Ukraine. Money is given and guarantees are given and as we are speaking energy consortiums are going through the power plants in Germany looking at how we can do more to provide Ukraine with a stable energy system. So this is hands on the ground and doing something: a very hands on conference and I hope the support will reach Ukraine soon." Kyiv hopes the recovery conference will cement its credentials as a future member of the European Union that is worthy of huge injections of reconstruction financing even as Russian forces continue to make slow advances in Ukraine's east. It comes days before Switzerland hosts an international conference to find a path to peace in Ukraine but which has been shunned by China and dismissed as a waste of time by Russia, which was not invited to attend. Kyiv says its energy system particularly is in urgent need of support as a Russian airstrike campaign that began in March has inflicted heavy damage to power generating capacity, causing scheduled blackouts in the capital and across the country.

President Biden traveled to France this week, where he marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion — while also issuing a stark warning about Ukraine. "We're living in a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than at any point since the end of World War II — since these beaches were stormed in 1944," he said.

President Biden paid tribute Friday to the Army rangers who stormed the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago this week, drawing parallels between Nazi Germany's invasion of Western Europe to Russia's current invasion of Ukraine. Ed O'Keefe reports on the president's plea to the world to defend democracy.

While on his trip to France, President Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Biden has pledged to continue to support Ukraine as he expressed concern about the future of global democracy. Biden is scheduled to speak on Friday at Pointe Du Hoc in France.

President Biden makes the case for democracy at a time it's under threat as he tries to rally more global support for Ukraine. Also, a brutal heatwave blankets millions in the Southwest with record-breaking temperatures. All that and all that matters in today's Eye Opener.

Anti-terrorism authorities are investigating after the arrest of a 26-year-old man of Ukrainian and Russian descent who was hurt in an explosion at a hotel near Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with his Filipino counterpart, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, on Monday. Zelenskyy was in the Philippines in a rare Asian trip to urge regional leaders to attend a Swiss-organized global peace summit on the war in Ukraine that he accuses Russia, with China’s help, of trying to undermine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Saturday at a gathering of top security officials in Singapore. (AP video by Syawalludin Zain )

Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war (POWs) on Friday, each sending back 75 in the first such swap in the past three months, officials said. The warring sides only meet when they swap their dead and POWs, which requires considerable preparation and diplomacy. (AP video shot by Vasilisa Stepanenko)

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 Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia near the area of Kharkiv using American-provided weapons, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.

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.

The Associated Press has obtained rare drone footage of the destroyed ruins of the embattled town of Vovchansk in northeast Ukraine. The footage captures the scene in the town in the Kharkiv region from sunrise to nightfall on 28-29 May. The images in Vovchansk is a haunting repetition of other towns and cities incinerated by Russian forces in their quest to capture the Ukrainian region known as the Donbas.