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STORY: Zelenskiy spoke from a school basement in the northern Ukrainian village of Yahidne where nearly 400 residents were held under Russian occupation for 27 days in 2022. For Russia, May 9 is one of its most important national events - a remembrance of sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany. Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine sustained appalling loss of life in the war. Ukraine marks the anniversary on May 8. Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender came into force at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, which was on May 9 in Moscow. Russian missiles and drones struck nearly a dozen Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities in a major airstrike early on Wednesday (May 8).

STORY: This hulking German-supplied howitzer rumbles out of its forest hideout. It only has a few minutes to fire before slipping back under cover, to evade Russian surveillance in the skies above. Ukrainian artillery units are playing a cat-and-mouse game to avoid Russian drones hunting high-value weapons like this self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000. Crews, including the 43rd Artillery Brigade Reuters recently visited, say they face increasing harassment from enemy drones, now a staple of Russia's arsenal. This battery commander, who goes by his call sign "Lyova" says his unit had been directly hit four times by Russian high-tech attack drones. "They use a lot more strike drones, like "Privet-82". They have different variations of "Lancet" drones which were upgraded. They have cumulative, high-explosive warheads. There were attacks before, but not the same amount. Now it's really scary." Western-supplied artillery, like the German howitzer, is a priority target for Moscow. It has pledged to focus its strikes on these types of weapons. Senior battery officer Andriy Stavnychyi. "The situation has become more difficult because they have a lot of electronically warfare equipment. They don't allow our "birds" to fly over their territory, thus it's harder to detect targets and hit them. The other reason are their kamikaze strike drones. They have an abundance of ZALA and Orlan drones. Sometimes it happens that there's lots of work for the day, but we can't move because something is always flying above. If these "birds" could be shot down or jammed, we'd then be more effective and could work more." Like other Ukrainian artillery units, the 43rd Brigade faces a critical shell shortage that limits the howitzer's potential - forcing it to fire far fewer shells per day. Ukrainian troops across the sprawling front are anxiously awaiting shipments from a long-delayed $61-billion U.S. military aid package. Repairing the vehicle is also a challenge. The availability of spare parts is limited and the navigation system frequently malfunctions and is difficult to fix on the battlefield. Stavnychyi, like many others, is calling for more electronic warfare systems to jam the Russian drones. "The main problem here is spare parts and shells. But even if there were parts and shells, you'd have the problem of enemy 'birds.' So everything needs to work together in a system: electronic warfare and surveillance, artillery. Then our hit percentage would be much higher. Here is what I think."

Russia's defence ministry on Friday invited foreign military attaches to an exhibition in Moscow of Western armoured vehicles captured in Ukraine. (3 May 2024)

An extraordinary new church is bringing spiritual comfort to war-weary residents of the Ukrainian village of Lypivka. The building, which was damaged in recent fighting, features vibrant works by famed 77-year-old artist Anatoliy Kryvolap. (AP video by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Alex Babenko)

STORY: Long queues of people formed on what was a sunny May Day public holiday at the entrance to the exhibition, entitled "Trophies of the Russian Army," which is being held outside a museum celebrating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. On Thursday (May 2), a working day in Russia, the exhibition was still attended by a large number of visitors. "History is repeating itself," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the Soviet Union had in 1943 also put on a display of captured tanks and hardware, in this case from the German army. The Moscow display, which includes U.S., German and French tanks supplied to Ukraine, came days after the U.S. approved a $61 billion aid package for Kyiv and after Russia made some swift but incremental territorial gains in eastern Ukraine at a time when Kyiv's forces say they lack ammo and manpower.

Fourteen people were injured after a Russian ballistic missile slammed into the Ukrainian city of Odesa late Wednesday, the State Emergency Service reported. Videos shared by the Emergency Service showed huge plumes of smoke rising skywards at the site.

Britain's Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, made an unannounced visit to Ukraine, the first British royal to travel to the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion. (April 30, 2024)

Two lions have been successfully transferred from the Netherlands to South Africa after both were found roaming the streets as cubs.

NATO countries haven’t delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, the head of NATO said on Monday, allowing Russia to press its battlefield advantage while Kyiv’s depleted forces wait for Western military supplies to arrive. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Stoltenberg said that “serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine. (AP video Vasilisa Stepanenko)

STORY: Speaking at a news conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Marles said the contribution to Ukraine's military, including short-range air defences and drones, is one of many packages to come. "We understand that this will be an enduring conflict and we will be contributing more in the future because we are determined to stand side by side with Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to prevail," Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, told reporters.

The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package.

The $6 billion aid package is the largest ever sent to Ukraine.

STORY: The Ukrainian leader said in a statement on the Telegram app that he was grateful to close ally Britain for unveiling this week a new 500 million pound ($625 million) uplift in a defense support package for Ukraine. "Particular attention was paid to sanctions policy. It is important to expand restrictive measures against Russia and exclude the possibility of circumventing sanctions," Zelenskiy said. He said Hunt would meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other ministers later on Thursday.

The U.S. secretly gave Ukraine ATACMS, long range missiles that can reach deep into Russian-held areas, and U.S. officials say Ukraine used them over the last week