WORLD BRIEFING: May 27, 2024

Russian President Vladimir’s Putin’s use of tactical or other nuclear weapons would represent a red line which no western countries or even China would tolerate, Ukraine’s top diplomat at the UN said. In a wide-ranging interview before a live audience at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York City, Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told Global Impact show co-hosts Michael Bociurkiw and Melissa Ricci that if the Russian leader were to use such weapons it would cause his annihilation “in less than half a day.” Commenting on the current situation, Amb. Kyslytsya said no one expected the Russian economy to endure to the degree it has this long into the war and that Mr. Putin's appointment of economist Andrei Belousov as the new minister of defense will likely curb corrupt practices in that ministry. In the interview, Amb. Kyslytsya - a former deputy foreign minister and one of Kyiv’s most experienced foreign envoys - also comments on a wide range of other topics, including what’s needed immediately from the West to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Watch the full episode here:

https://knekt.tv/knekttv/series/knekttvarchive/83820-global-impact-show/84542-season-5/157189-s5-ep2-ukraine-war-exclusive-with-top-un-diplomathttps://knekt.tv/knekttv/series/knekttvarchive/83820-global-impact-show/84542-season-5/157189-s5-ep2-ukraine-war-exclusive-with-top-un-diplomat

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the battle-scarred northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on May 26 and issued a fresh plea for additional aid. His comments came as rescuers searched the charred wreckage of a shopping center in the city for the bodies of people killed in a Russian missile attack the previous day, which has so far claimed at least 16 lives. Nearly four dozen people were wounded in the May 25 attack, which hit the store as scores of shoppers were visiting the Epicentr hardware supply store. Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said the toll stood at 16 as of the late afternoon on May 26 amid fears it would climb higher as emergency workers used heavy equipment to pick through the debris. At least 43 people were wounded, said Ihor Terekhov, Kharkiv’s mayor. “The attack targeted the shopping center, where there were many people," Terekhov said in a post to Telegram. This is clearly terrorism." - REF/RL

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said dozens of people were killed or injured in a blast at a refugee camp in the Rafah area. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had carried out an air strike targeting a Hamas compound in the area. It says it is reviewing the incident. Earlier in the day Hamas fired eight rockets from Rafah towards Tel Aviv, the first long-range attacks on the city since January. Videos from the southern Gaza Strip show a large explosion and intense fires burning. Hamas said an Israeli air strike had hit a camp for displaced Palestinians north-west of Rafah, away from recent military operations in a designated humanitarian safe zone. It says women and children are among the dead. The IDF said it had targeted Hamas militants in the area and said it was aware of reports the strike had ignited a fire which harmed civilians. - BBC

Waves have swept away vessels supporting the United States-built pier installed to transfer aid to Gaza, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said. In a statement on Saturday, CENTCOM noted that during the transportation of humanitarian aid, the US floating dock was disconnected from the small boat tugging it and the vessels broke free from their moorings with two of them now anchored on the beach near the pier. Part of the dock later drifted towards Israel’s Ashdod shore, while the third and fourth vessels have beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon, CENTCOM added. - Al Jazeera

A tugboat that has not been seen since an oil spill that caused damages totalling a reported $23 million in waters off Trinidad and Tobago in February has been detained by the Angolan Navy. Bellingcat and the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian used satellite imagery to identify the ship and show that it is currently docked in the Angolan capital, Luanda.