President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the BBC that Ukraine needs more time to prepare for its anticipated counteroffensive against Russian occupying forces.

Zelenskiy earlier said that Kyiv was conducting intensive work with partners on new defense packages and decisions are expected shortly.

A two-day meeting on the Black Sea grain deal between United Nations officials and deputy defense ministers from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine is underway in Istanbul.

Key Developments

• Ukraine Needs More Than a $30 Billion Arsenal for Counterstrike
• Ukraine Crop Shipments Slow to a Crawl as Key Talks Kick Off
• German Lawmakers Approve €1.5 Billion Puma Combat-Vehicle Order
• Poland Blasts Hungary’s Army Chief for WWII ‘Appeasement’ Remark

(All times CET)

UK Supplied Ukraine With Long-Range Cruise Missiles: CNN (11:38 a.m.)

The UK supplied Ukraine with multiple long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that have stealth capabilities, CNN reported, citing multiple unidentified senior Western officials.

The missile, jointly developed by UK and France, has a range of more than 155 miles, just shy of the US-made surface-to-surface ATACMS that Ukraine has asked for.

Ukraine gave the UK assurances that the missiles, usually launched from the air, would only be used within its sovereign territory and not inside Russia, CNN said, citing one unidentified official.

EU’s Borrell Urges More Aid for Ukraine (11 a.m.)

The European Union has already provided Ukraine with more than 1,000 missiles since February, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said, as he urged states to provide more arms for Zelenskiy’s counteroffensive.

“I know that’s not enough,” Josep Borrell said of the delivered missiles, speaking to Bloomberg TV at a defense conference. “Zelenskiy has said he’s going to delay the counteroffensive — certainly they need more preparation, they need more arms, they need to have more capacity and it is us that has to provide it,” Borrell said.

The EU agreed earlier this year to various measures to boost ammunition support to Ukraine by delivering shells and missiles from existing stocks and increasing production.

Zelenskiy Says Launching Offensive Now Would Cost Too Many Lives (10 a.m.)

Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military needs more time to prepare its anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces in occupied territory.

It would be “unacceptable” to launch the actions now because it would cost too many lives, Ukraine’s president told the BBC and other Eurovision News members in an interview published on Thursday. Equipment promised by allies, including armored vehicles, is still “arriving in batches,” he said.

Ukraine could be successful if it went ahead now, according to Zelenskiy. “But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time.” His comments come days after Ukraine’s defense minister said the prospects for Ukraine’s pending counteroffensive were being overestimated by some.

Ukraine Needs More Arsenal for Counterstrike (5 a.m.)

Armed with well over $30 billion in weapons freshly supplied by its allies, Ukraine is gearing up for a counteroffensive that may push Russia closer to ending its war, or show neither side has enough firepower to seize the advantage.

Kyiv’s troops will leverage that hardware — shipments delivered since December that cost more than any NATO member except the US buys in a year — to try to overrun dug-in Russian positions and retake occupied territory. The question is whether it’s enough.

Blinken, EU’s Michel Reaffirm Support for Ukraine (3:28 a.m.)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Council President Charles Michel reaffirmed US and EU support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, according to a readout of their call from the State Department.

Zelenskiy Says New Defense Aid Expected Soon (9:08 p.m.)

“More protection for skies, more capabilities for our defense on the ground,” Zelenskiy said in his regular nightly address.

Ukraine expects the move from partners “in the near future.”