Russia-Ukraine live updates | Russia takes steps to bolster army, tighten grip on Ukraine

Here are the latest developments from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order on May 25 to fast track Russian citizenship for residents of parts of southern Ukraine largely held by his forces, while lawmakers in Moscow passed a bill to strengthen the stretched Russian army.

Mr. Putin’s decree applying to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions could allow Russia to strengthen its hold on territory that lies between eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists occupy some areas, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

The Russian army is engaged in an intense battle for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.

Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.

Russian forces shelled more than 40 towns in Ukraine‘s eastern Donbas region, Ukraine‘s military said, threatening to shut off the last main escape route for civilians trapped in the path of their invasion, now in its fourth month.

After failing to seize Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv or its second city Kharkiv, Russia is trying to take full control of the Donbas, comprised of two eastern provinces Moscow claims on behalf of separatists. - Reuters

Oil prices rose on May 26, extending a cautious rally this week on signs of tight supply while the European Union (EU) wrangles with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia, the world’s second-largest crude exporter, after it invaded Ukraine.