Ukraine updates: Russia may try taking Kharkiv — Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy met with military leaders in Kharkiv city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russian forces might aim at capturing Kharkiv city, while Russia President Vladimir Putin said he was not currently seeking to do so. DW has the latest.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the situation in Kharkiv was under control but "not stabilized"

Zelenskyy said his country urgently needs more air defenses, saying they have "only 25% of what we need to defend Ukraine"

Here are the latest updates from Russia's war in Ukraine on May 18:

Ukraine steps up penalties for draft dodgers

Ukraine has increased fines for men of military age who are avoiding conscription into the army as Kyiv seeks to find more soldiers to fight off the Russian invasion.

Financial penalties have been increased to 25,500 hryvnias (€593; $650) for citizens and 51,000 hryvnias (€1,187; $1,300) for civil servants and legal entities who ignore draft notices or fail to update the draft board on their personal information.

Fines were previously 5,100 hryvnias for citizens and 8,500 hryvnias for civil servants and legal entities.

Under new rules, men evading conscription could also be prohibited from driving.

Zelenskyy says renewed Kharkiv assault a 'first wave' of a longer Russia campaign

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia's renewed offensive on the northeastern Kharkiv region could be the "first wave" of a longer Russian campaign aimed at capturing the region's capital city of Kharkiv.

Zelenksyy told the AFP news agency in an interview published Friday that the situation in the region was under control but "not stabilized."

Russian troops have been encircling villages close to the city and have captured several since launching an offensive on May 10. Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces have partially managed to stop Russian forces from advancing into the region.

Russia's offensive "could consist in several waves. There was the first wave" in the Kharkiv region, Zelenskyy told AFP.

"I won't say it's a great success" for Russia, he added.

Russia bombarded Kharkiv soon after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the autumn of that year pushed Russian forces out of the region.

rm/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP)

Zelenskyy urges China to come to Switzerland peace summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would like to see China and countries of the Global South at a peace conference in Switzerland next month.

Zelenskyy said China's attendance would allow it to come to terms with its fears that Russia losing in Ukraine would mean a victory for the West, which is undesirable to Beijing.

Talking to the AFP news agency on Friday Zelenskyy said the Chinese leaders "want to find a balance between the two ... That's why I would like to see China involved in the peace summit."

In the interview, Zelenskyy also called on other countries to send delegations to Switzerland for the summit, which will not be attended by Russia.

"If there is no representative of your state, this is a public response that when you say that we all want peace, no, you want Russia to win," he said.

So far, China's has been vague on whether or not it will send a delegation to Switzerland, with Beijing saying that "a lot of work" needed to be done before the conference.

Beijing claims to be a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, but has faced much criticism from the West for not condemning Russia's unprovoked assault on its neighbor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China this week on a trip that underlined the friendly ties between Moscow and Beijing.