May 25, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The Ukrainian presidential administration on Wednesday reported "fierce battles" around the industrial city of Severodonetsk in the eastern Luhansk region, with a top military official saying shelling of the town had increased "exponentially." 

A statement on Wednesday from the presidential administration reported "fierce battles for Severodonetsk," with constant mortar shelling, adding, "In the morning, with the support of artillery, the Russian occupiers are advancing on Severodonetsk."

According to the statement, six civilians have died and eight were wounded in the region amid the stepped-up fighting. 

Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region military administration, said the shelling of Severodonetsk had "increased exponentially" in recent hours. 

He added that "the next week is important; if they do not succeed by Saturday or Sunday, they will run out of steam, and the situation will at least stabilize for us."

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the Russian military acknowledged Wednesday that it had launched cruise missiles at targets in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. A statement by Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian defense ministry spokesperson, said the strikes on Zaporizhzhia had targeted production workshops of the Motor Sich plant, an aerospace facility. 

Ukrainian officials previously reported strikes in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk without giving extensive details on the facilities targeted. Officials in Zaporizhzhia subsequently posted video showing damage to a shopping mall. 

The World Economic Forum opens. Fighting rages in Ukraine's east. And a state of emergency is declared in Hungary.

Here's the latest on Russia's war in Ukraine:

The Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra, which recently won the Eurovision Song Contest, is auctioning off its trophy to raise funds for the Ukrainian army, the group announced on Instagram Wednesday. 

Oleh Psiuk, the group's frontman, also offered to sell his signature pink bucket hat.

The group recently announced it would tour Europe to raise funds for Ukraine and its armed forces. 

Kalush Orchestra won the competition on May 15 with the song "Stefania," written about the frontman's mother. The band beat competition from main rivals the United Kingdom and Spain.

The event marked the first major cultural event in which Ukrainians have taken part since Russia invaded in February, and many in the audience waved Ukraine's blue and yellow national flag during the evening.

Ahead of the final round, Kalush Orchestra were runaway favorites to win the campy, much-loved singing contest this year, in part because of all the obstacles it overcame due to the war.

The band was unveiled as the country's entry on February 22, two days before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

Hungary’s reelected Prime Minister Viktor Orban will continue to rule by decree after a state of emergency was declared at midnight due to the fact that one of the country's neighbors -- Ukraine -- is in a state of war. 

The Hungarian government argues that “the government needs to be able to make decisions and act swiftly. The state of emergency, similarly to that introduced during the pandemic, will make it possible for the government to react quickly."

Orban said the decree was reinstated to use “all methods at its disposal” to protect Hungary and Hungarians.

The current state of emergency, which allows Orban to disable some laws and push through emergency measures by decree, was set to expire at the end of May. It had been introduced in the spring of 2020 at the start of the coronavirus-pandemic.

Orban and his Fidesz party were reelected in April despite his historically pro-Kremlin positions and close relationship with Putin. The war there upended the contest, which had been focused mostly on domestic issues before the invasion began on February 24.

Orban's relationship with Kyiv has deteriorated over the years. He has impeded the country's attempts to form closer relations with NATO, and has clashed with successive governments in Kyiv.

The Slovakian Prime Minister issued a stark warning about the future of his country should Russia defeat Ukraine during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos Wednesday. 

Heger went on to criticize members of the European Union for relying too heavily on Russian energy. He urged leaders to “stop compromising” their principles when dealing with Russia.

Entry into the Union: Heger asked the bloc to work with Ukraine and the western Balkans to come up with "standardized rules so they can accede to the EU."

Ukraine has, in recent years, deepened its economic and political ties with the EU, and Kyiv has expressed a desire to join. Nations in the western Balkans have also sought accession for several years.

Joining the bloc usually takes several years, as nations must satisfy strict criteria for membership before engaging in negotiations.

However, some current EU leaders have rebuffed the idea that its membership could be fast-tracked due to the invasion.

“There’s no such thing as a fast-tracking of accession, such a thing doesn’t exist," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in March.

Lithuania will transfer a new shipment of aid to Ukraine "to further support its defence against Russia," the Lithuanian ministry of defense said Wednesday.

On Twitter, Arvydas Anusauskas said the Baltic nation will send 20 M113 armored vehicles, 10 military trucks and 10 SUVs for demining operations.

"Our support is crucial for Ukraine's victory and defence of its sovereignty," he said, adding that "Lithuania provided the first assistance before the war started and now we are constantly thinking about additional effective support that is critical to Ukraine going forward."

Some context:

Lithuania has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the start of the war in February, becoming the first European Union country to stop Russian gas imports. Earlier this month, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the Russian regime had to be removed to stop "warmongering."

Read more here:

RELATED

Lithuanian foreign minister says Putin and Russian regime must be removed to stop 'warmongering'

Correction: This article has been updated with a correct photo of Arvydas Anusauskas, who was incorrectly identified by Associated Press in a previously published photo.

Oleksandr Honcharenko, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, urged residents Wednesday not to return following a Russian airstrike overnight. 

"An anxious night in Kramatorsk," he wrote in a statement on Facebook. "An air strike on residential areas and the private sector. No casualties. Friends, I understand how hard it is for you outside your hometown. But the enemy is getting closer. The danger is not somewhere out there, but here - nearby! It's too early to go back, no matter how hard it is for you."

Kramatorsk saw a deadly missile strike on a railway station in early April, killing at least 50 civilians, including five children, who were evacuating the fighting in the country's east.

Read more here:

RELATED

Dozens killed in train station missile strike in eastern Ukraine as civilians try to flee Russian onslaught

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he can only talk with Vladimir Putin once the Russian President returns to the "real world."

This is not the first time world leaders have accused Putin of being out of touch with reality when it comes to his motives for the war in Ukraine.

Putin said the Kremlin's invasion began to protect Russian speakers from genocide at the hands of "neo-Nazis," despite the lack of any concrete evidence. While Ukraine does have a far-right battalion playing a role in the resistance, Putin has exploited the fighting forces' neo-Nazi ties as a pretext for the war. Shortly after the invasion began, he referred to the country's leaders in Kyiv as a "gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," despite the fact that Zelensky is Jewish.

US intelligence assessed in March that Putin's advisers were not properly informing him about the status of the war, including Russia's early failures on the battlefield.

Speaking to Zakaria on Wednesday, Zelensky said he could only talk with Putin directly, "with no intermediaries, no brokers.”

The Ukrainian President also said Russia should withdraw its troops and equipment as the first step in negotiations between the two countries and that Ukraine will fight until "it regains all its territory back."

The event was hosted by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, a Ukrainian charity founded in 2006, and the investment advisory group EastOne. 

British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced it will "fully exit" the Russian in light of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

Some context: M&S is the latest in a growing line of businesses that have abandoned or scaled back operations in Russia since it began its invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Starbucks said it had "made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the market" after having previously paused its operations and stopped shipments of its products to Russia.

Last week, McDonald's said it was selling its Russia business after operating for more than 30 years in the region.

The burger chain said the "humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald's values."