KYIV, May 31 - Ukraine is completing consultations with the European Commission on its involvement in the international environmental program LIFE, launched in 1992, with a budget of more than EUR 5.5 billion for 2021-2027, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets said.

Kyiv, May 30 - S&P Global Ratings lowered its foreign currency long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Ukraine to 'CCC+/C' from 'B-/B', the rating agency said.

At the same time, we affirmed the 'B-/B' local currency long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Ukraine. The outlook is negative. We also affirmed the national scale rating at 'uaBBB-'," it said.

NEW YORK, May 31 - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday said the Biden administration supports the shipment of Russian grain and fertilizer to address increasing global food insecurity sparked by the war in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON, May 31 - President Joe Biden said in a guest essay Tuesday evening in The New York Times that he’s decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield.

KYIV, June 1 – Ukraine expects to join the common customs area with the European Union within a month, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

We are grateful for the provision by Slovakia of extremely needed military assistance and for humanitarian assistance, which covers almost all areas," Shmyhal was quoted by the government's press service following a meeting in Kyiv with President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Caputova on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, May 31 - The Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia, Reuters reported citing three people familiar with the situation.

LONDON, May 31 - The United Kingdom is asking the U.S. to sign off on a plan to send advanced, medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine within a few weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter and a document outlining the proposal, a move that follows President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s sending similar weapons, Politico reported.

WASHINGTON, June 1 - U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a new $700 million weapons package for Ukraine that will include high mobility artillery rocket systems, which can accurately hit targets as far away as 80 km, Reuters reported.

KYIV, June 1 – An expert mission sent by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is visiting the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine this week to carry out nuclear safety, security and safeguards activities, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said.

KYIV, June 1 – S&P Global Ratings has lowered its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Ukraine to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. The outlook is negative.