Pres. Seeks To Bolster Air Defences; Russia Says No Info On Grain Talks

Wires reporting comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating that his administration would seek further steps to bolster the country's air defences following two deadly missile barrages from Russian forces in recent days. The Ukrainian gov't has also re-committed to driving Russian forces out of the town of Bakhmut in the Donbas, which has been the centre of some of the war's most intense fighting. There remains an expectation that Ukraine will launch a significant military counteroffensive in the coming weeks as the ground dries and supplies of Western-supplied main battle tanks increase.

• Separately, the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that it has no info regarding Reuters reports of a meeting of the Black Sea Grain Initiative parties (Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN) this week. TASS: "The Russian side has not received any information about any meeting," the diplomatic department informed." The continuation of the grain deal beyond 18 May (the current cutoff) remains crucial for providing support to the Ukrainian economy.