Ukraine updates: Kyiv says 26 Russian drones downed

Despite the ongoing Russian invasion that has laid waste to large parts of the country, the Ukrainian economy grew by 5.3% in 2023, according to preliminary figures from the national statistics office that were made public on Thursday.

Nominal GDP stood at 6,537.8 billion hryvnia ($166.7 billion, €154.5 billion).

The Ukrainian economy collapsed by 29% in 2022 following the full-scale Russian invasion.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine was already the poorest country in Europe, based on per capita income, even before the onset of the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with the US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Thursday to talk about the $60 billion (€55.6 billion) aid package that has been held up in the House of Representatives for several months.

"Quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. We recognize that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor," Zelenskyy said on X, formerly Twitter.

The Ukrainian president said he had also discussed "the dramatic increase in Russia's air terror" with the Republican speaker.

Ukrainian forces have complained of serious shortfalls in ammunition as Russia appears to be increasing the intensity of its attacks and preparing for a summer offensive.

Johnson has refused to allow a discussion on the aid package bill due to opposition from the hard right of the Republican party on whose support he depends.

Polish security services said on Thursday that they raided a Russian spy network.

"The Internal Security Agency is conducting activities as part of an investigation into espionage activities for Russia directed against European Union countries and institutions," agency spokesman Jacek Dobrzynski said on social media.

The raid was conducted in cooperation with Czech intelligence.

On Wednesday, the Czech government sanctioned two people including pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and
the news website Voice of Europe, for what it said was leading a pro-Russian influence operation in Europe.

The group is believed to have used the Prague-based news website to spread information with the aim of dissuading the European Union from sending aid to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied his country is planning to attack any NATO member, including Poland, the Czech Republic or any of the Baltic states, but stressed Russian forces would shoot any F-16 fighters supplied to Ukraine.

Putin was addressing air force pilots late on Wednesday, in statements shared by the Kremlin and Russian media on Thursday.

"The idea that we will attack some other country — Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared — is complete nonsense. It's just drivel," Putin said, stressing Moscow had "no aggressive intentions toward these states."

Putin, nevertheless, warned that Russia would destroy F-16 jets if the West delivers on its promise to supply them to Ukraine.

"If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield," Putin said. "And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple  rocket launchers."

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the aircraft should arrive in Ukraine in the coming months.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit meant to boost bilateral ties and cooperation with India.

Kuleba is due to meet Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, in addition to the deputy national security advisor, India's Foreign Ministry said.

The top diplomat will pay his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site on Thursday.

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone. New Delhi has stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue in order to end the conflict, steering clear of criticizing Russia.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is meeting his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Thursday, amid the ongoing tensions between the two countries over grain.

Shmyhal's visit to Poland comes one day after European Union members reached a revised deal to extend tariff-free food imports from Ukraine. The agreement will need to go to the European Parliament.

Polish roads have served as an export lifeline to Ukrainian grain and produce since Russia's 2022 invasion disrupted major trading routes through the Black Sea.

However, Polish farmers have complained that Ukrainian goods are produced more cheaply as they don't have to follow conditions imposed by the EU, of which Poland is a member.

The German Bundeswehr (armed forces) will hand over 10,000 artillery shells from its own stocks to Ukraine in the coming days, Major General Christian Freuding told DW. 

Speaking to DW on Wednesday, Freuding said the handover is the first part of a German three-stage plan for ammunition deliveries.

The Czech Republic has pushed through the purchase of up to 800,000 pieces of artillery ammunition for Ukraine.

The initiative began at the end of February. Since then, 20 EU and NATO states have joined the campaign, including Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada.

Freuding told DW that the Bundeswehr's second stage of supplying Ukraine with ammunition involves also supporting the Czech initiative first with over 180,000 rounds due to be delivered "from early summer until the end of the year." 

The final stage would involve the delivery of a further 100,000 artillery shells from the fourth quarter of this year.

Germany also plans to continue training Ukrainian soldiers on its soil. Last year, 10,000 military personnel from Ukraine's armed forces were trained at German military training grounds, and a further 3,000 to 4,000 in the first few months of 2024. 

In 2024, the German Ministry of Defense is ready to offer such an opportunity to even more soldiers from Ukraine.

"The focus is always on training on the weapons systems that we provide to the Ukrainian armed forces, both tactical training, operator training and also training technicians to maintain and repair them," says Freuding. 

He added that Germany is constantly surprised by the Ukrainian soldiers' ability to learn and the speed with which they "make friends with completely new weapon systems."

Ukrainian forces downed 26 drones launched by Russia over parts of eastern, southern and southeastern Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said on Thursday.

Russia launched 28 Iranian-made drones over Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions overnight, the air force said.

The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region said two women were wounded when debris struck a residential neighborhood in the capital of the region.

The Russian attacks also included missile strikes, Ukrainian authorities said.

"On the night of March 28, 2024, the enemy launched a missile air strike against Ukraine using three Kh-22 cruise missiles and an Kh-31P anti-radar missile (from the Black Sea), an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile [Donetsk] and 28 attack UAVs of the 'Shahed-136/131' type", Mykola Oleshchuk, the head of Ukraine's air force, wrote on Telegram.

Oleshchuk did not provide any details on the aftermath of the missile attacks.