Ukraine Crisis P2

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Disclaimer:

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While Independent Press takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. 

At least 229 children killed so far in Russian attacks: Ukraine

At least 229 children have been killed and 424 others injured so far in the war with Russia, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Office says.

Children in the eastern Donetsk, north-central Kiev, and northeastern Kharkiv regions have been the most affected in Ukraine, the office said in a statement.

Russia’s daily bombings and shelling have damaged 1,772 educational institutions, with 161 of them completely destroyed. Some 12,118 “crimes of aggression and war crimes,” as well as 5,750 “crimes against national security” have been recorded since the start of the war, read the statement.

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Kremlin says Ukraine ‘lacks will’ to continue peace talks

The Kremlin accuses Kiev authorities of not wanting to continue talks to end hostilities that started after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into pro-Western Ukraine.

“Talks are indeed not moving forward and we note the complete lack of will of Ukrainian negotiators to continue this process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

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Kremlin has ‘no information’ about Russian soldier on trial in Ukraine

The Kremlin says it has no information about a Russian soldier accused of killing an unarmed civilian in Ukraine, the first war crimes trial since Moscow sent troops into its pro-Western neighbour.

“We still have no information. And the ability to provide assistance due to the lack of our diplomatic mission there is also very limited,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

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Moscow says possible import tariffs on Russian oil will force buyers to pay more

A US proposal to levy tariffs on Russian oil means buyers will have to pay more or seek alternative suppliers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the European Union could combine import tariffs on Russian oil with the phased oil embargo it is trying to put in place to shrink Russia’s energy revenues.

The tariff concept will be presented at a G7 finance leaders meeting this week as an economically less costly way to siphon away oil revenues from Moscow while producing faster results, US Treasury officials told reporters.

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959 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered at Azovstal since Monday: Russia

Russia’s defence ministry says that 959 Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered this week at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol.

“Over the past 24 hours, 694 militants surrendered, including 29 wounded,” the ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict.

“In total since May 16, 959 militants surrendered, including 80 wounded.”

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Israel delivers helmets, vests to Ukraine

Israel’s defence ministry says it has delivered 2,000 helmets and 500 protective vests for emergency and civilian organisations in Ukraine following a request from Kyiv for the supplies.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz last month said he would authorise the delivery of helmets and vests, signaling a shift in Israel’s position on providing such equipment.

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Russia says 694 Ukrainian fighters from Azovstal surrendered over last 24 hours: Report

Russia’s defence ministry says that 694 Ukrainian fighters who had been holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks have surrendered over the past 24 hours, according to a report by the country’s RIA news agency.

Swiss company to cut 400 jobs in Ukraine

Swiss packaging group Vetropack has said it will axe roughly 400 jobs in Ukraine following severe damage to its Hostomel plant in a sign of the widening economic toll of the war.

The manufacturer of glass packaging, which has employed roughly 600 at the facility, situated northwest of Kyiv, said it had continued to pay full salaries while releasing employees them from their duties.

However, with the damage from military activity now rendering the plant inoperable for the near future and hostilities continuing in the region, the company said it would need to let go of roughly two-thirds of the workforce.

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Russia gymnast banned for one year over ‘Z’ display

Ivan Kuliak has been handed a one-year ban for displaying the letter “Z” on his outfit during an event in Qatar in March, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) says.

Russian forces have used the letter “Z” as an identifying symbol on their vehicles in Ukraine following the invasion. Some supporters of the invasion have also used the sign.

The 20-year-old, who won bronze in the parallel bars at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha, displayed the letter as he stood on the podium next to Ukrainian gold medallist Illia Kovtun.

“Mr Kuliak breached the FIG Statutes, the FIG Code of Discipline, the FIG Code of Ethics, the FIG Code of Conduct and the FIG Technical Regulations when he wore the letter ‘Z’ on his singlet,” the governing body said in a statement.

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Russia may strike Ukraine from rebel Transnistria: ex-lawmaker

Moscow may order its peacekeepers in the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria that borders southwestern Ukraine to start an offensive, a Moldovan politician claims.

“Orders are usually followed. I think that [the 1,300 servicemen of] Russia’s 14th army [stationed in Transdnistria] will follow the Kremlin’s demands without asking questions,” Kirill Motspan, a former lawmaker and security official, told Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency.

He said that the situation has been “tense” in recent weeks as cars with Russian license plates are spotted near border villages and trenches are being dug near the Dniester river that separates Transnistria from Ukraine.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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EU clarifies how companies can legally pay for Russian gas

The European Commission has explained how EU companies can pay for Russian gas without breaching the bloc’s sanctions against Russia, in an updated guidance on the issue seen by Reuters.

The Commission told countries last month that European companies may be able to pay for Russian gas but only if they followed certain conditions, after Russia demanded foreign buyers start paying for gas in roubles or risk losing their supply.

In updated guidance, shared with EU countries on Friday, the Commission confirmed its previous advice that EU sanctions do not prevent companies from opening an account at a designated bank, and companies can pay for Russian gas – so long as they do so in the currency agreed in their existing contracts and declare the transaction completed when that currency is paid.

Nearly all of the supply contracts EU companies have with Russian gas giant Gazprom are in euros or dollars.

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Zelensky calls evacuated soldiers ‘heroes’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the evacuation to separatist-controlled territory was done to save the lives of the fighters who endured weeks of Russian assaults in the maze of underground passages below the hulking Azovstal steelworks. He said the “heavily wounded” were getting medical help.

“Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes to be alive. It’s our principle,” he said. An unknown number of fighters stayed behind to await other rescue efforts.

The steel mill’s defenders got out as Moscow suffered another diplomatic setback in the war, with Sweden joining Finland in deciding to seek NATO membership. And Ukraine made a symbolic gain when its forces reportedly pushed Russian troops back to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region.

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Russian troops shell military facility in Ukraine’s Lviv region

Russian troops have shelled a military facility in Yavoriv district in western Ukraine’s Lviv region not far from the border with Poland.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Maxim Kozitsky, head of the Lviv regional administration, said that the region’s air defence was activated during the attack. Detailed information about the incident will be given later in the day.

The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, also called on citizens to be aware of air raid sirens and to protect themselves. 

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Russian governor: Border village draws Ukrainian fire; no injuries

A village in Russia’s western province of Kursk bordering Ukraine came under Ukrainian fire on Tuesday, regional governor Roman Starovoit said, but there were no injuries, although three houses and a school were hit.

Russian border guards returned fire to quell the shooting from large-calibre weapons on the border village of Alekseyevka, Starovoit wrote on messaging app Telegram.

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Rescue mission under way at Azovstal as hundreds evacuated

Ukrainian authorities said a rescue mission to extract the last defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol was under way, after hundreds of soldiers were evacuated in an earlier operation.

More than 260 fighters were evacuated through humanitarian corridors to areas under Russian and Moscow-backed separatists’ control, with Ukraine’s defence ministry saying a further “exchange procedure” would take place later.

“As for the defenders who still remain on the territory of Azovstal, all necessary rescue measures are being taken by our state,” the ministry said in a Telegram message. 

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More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from Azovstal: defence ministry

More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said Monday.

“53 heavily wounded (soldiers) were evacuated from Azovstal to the medical mortgage near Novoazovsk for medical aid,” Malyar said in a statement.

Another 211 were taken out through the humanitarian corridor, she added.

The Azovstal plant has become a symbol of resistance, with hundreds of troops continuing to fight on there even after the rest of the city had fallen to Russian forces.

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Ukraine says 20 civilians killed in shelling in Luhansk, Donetsk regions

Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said late on Monday that 20 civilians, including a child, were killed in Russian shelling in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The military task force said in a statement on its Facebook page that 25 communities in the regions were fired at, with 42 residential buildings and a school among locations hit.

FRANCE 24 was not able to independently verify the report.

There was no immediate response from Russia to the report.

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Finland, Sweden should integrate into NATO ‘as soon as possible’, says UK

Britain on Monday welcomed Sweden and Finland announcing they will apply for NATO membership, saying the Nordic countries should be integrated into the alliance “as soon as possible”.

“The UK strongly supports applications for NATO membership from Finland and Sweden,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement, adding “their accession will strengthen the collective security of Europe”.

I welcome the decisions by Finland and Sweden to apply to join @NATO. The two nations share our values of democracy and freedom and the UK believes they should join as soon as possible.

See statement here👇https://t.co/Ksa2zTVShG

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) May 16, 2022

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West will not allow Russia a ‘diktat peace’ in Ukraine, says Germany’s Scholz

Russia will not get away with trying to redraw Ukraine’s borders by creating facts on the ground and waiting out Kyiv and its allies, Olaf Scholz said, insisting that the West would not stand for a “diktat,” or dictated, peace forced on the country.

Ukraine’s President Voldomyr said  last week that Kyiv would not trade territory for peace with Russia, telling Italy’s RAI television that he had been asked by French President Emmanuel Macron to consider doing so.

The French government has denied that any such suggestion had been made. On Monday, Scholz said that such stealth border changes would not be accepted by the West if Ukraine objected to them.

“There is only one way out of this for Russia and that is reaching an agreement with Ukraine,” he told RTL television. “And that doesn’t mean a diktat peace, taking a bit of territory and then saying ‘sign here’.

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Russia: Agreement reached to evacuate wounded from Azovstal steel plant

Russia’s defence ministry has said that an agreement has been reached to evacuate injured soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian officials.

“An agreement was reached with representatives of the Ukrainian military blocked at Azovstal in Mariupol…,” the Russian ministry said. It added that a “regime of silence” was introduced for the duration of the evacuation and that the soldiers would be taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Novoazovsk.

Ukraine’s Azov battalion, which has led the defence of Mariupol, has posted desperate videos from the plant, saying soldiers are dying from their wounds there.

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Ukraine: Russian incursion in Sumy region repelled

Ukrainian border guards have repelled an incursion by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the northeastern region of Sumy, the governor of the Sumy has said.

Dmytro Zhyvytsky wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the Russian group entered Ukrainian territory under the cover of mortar shells, grenades and machine gun fire but retreated after the border guards fought back.

Russian forces crossed into the Sumy region shortly after Moscow attacked Ukraine on February 24. Ukrainian forces retook control of the region on April 8 and have been bracing for further attacks.

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About a dozen buses carrying Ukrainian Azovstal servicemen leave plant: Reuters

A Reuters witness says about dozen buses carrying Ukrainian servicemen who were holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s southeast left the structure.

The new agency said it was impossible to determine how many servicemen were aboard the buses. It was also unclear whether those on board were all among the 40 wounded fighters Ukrainian officers said to have been beneath the plant. Some 600 servicemen were said to have been inside.

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Sweden PM says country will apply for NATO membership

Sweden will apply for membership in NATO as a deterrent against Russian aggression, reversing two centuries of military non-alignment.

“The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to become a member of the alliance,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters a day after neighbouring Finland made a similar announcement. 

“We expect it shouldn’t take more than a year” for the alliance’s 30 members to unanimously ratify Sweden’s membership application, Andersson said.

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Renault hands Russian assets to Moscow in nationalisation first

French automaker Renault has handed over its Russian assets to the Russian government, marking the first major nationalisation since the onset of sanctions over Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

The same day American fast-food giant McDonald’s said it would exit the Russian market and sell its business after more than 30 years of operations in the country.

Renault controlled 68 percent of AvtoVAZ, the largest carmaker in Russia with the country’s top brand Lada. Renault has funnelled billions of dollars into the Soviet-era factory since the two automakers signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2008.

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Hungary puts over $16B dollar price on cutting off Russian oil

Hungary has said it would cost $16 to $19 billion to prepare its economy to drop Russian oil under a proposed new EU sanctions package against Moscow.

“It is legitimate for Hungarians to expect a proposal” from the European Commission to cushion that blow, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in comments broadcast on his Facebook page.

“A complete modernisation of the Hungarian energy infrastructure is needed to the scale of 15 to 18 billion euros” if Hungary were to halt Russian oil imports, said Szijjarto, who was attending an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

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US, EU to ramp up chip making and raise pressure on Russia

The United States and the European Union have announced a joint effort to boost microchip manufacturing and tackle Russian disinformation around the conflict in Ukraine.

The two sides met outside Paris as part of the Trade and Technology Council, a forum created last year aimed partially at countering China’s powerful position in the technology sector.

But EU and US officials focused much of their efforts instead on the difficulties created by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, particularly with disinformation.

In its final statement, the council accused Russia of an “all-out assault on the truth” in Ukraine and promised an “early response framework” to tackle disinformation in future crises.

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EU cuts eurozone growth forecast as Ukraine conflict bites

The European Commission has sharply cut its eurozone growth forecast for 2022 to 2.7 percent, blaming skyrocketing energy prices caused by Russia’s offensive against Ukraine.

The conflict also spurred the EU’s executive to revisit its eurozone inflation prediction for 2022, with consumer prices forecast to jump by 6.1 percent year-on-year, much higher than the earlier forecast of 3.5 percent.

“There is no doubt that the EU economy is going through a challenging period due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and we have downgraded our forecast accordingly,” EU executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said.

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Putin: New military infrastructure in Finland, Sweden would demand reaction

President Vladimir Putin says Russia has no issue with Finland and Sweden, but that the expansion of military infrastructure on their territory would demand a reaction from Moscow, as the Nordic countries move closer to joining NATO.

Putin, speaking in Moscow at a summit of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), said NATO’s expansion was a problem for Russia and that it must look closely at what he said were the US-led military alliance’s plans to increase its global influence.

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Lukashenko urges Russia-led CSTO military alliance to unite against West

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has urged other members of a Russian-dominated military alliance to stand united, and accused the West of hoping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine to try to weaken Russia as much as possible.

Lukashenko, speaking at a summit of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Moscow, said “hellish sanctions” against his country and Russia could have been avoided if the group had spoken with one voice.

“Without a united front, the collective West will build up pressure on the post-Soviet space,” Lukashenko said in televised opening remarks, addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

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Ukraine replaces head of Territorial Defence Forces

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has replaced the head of its Territorial Defence Forces without giving a reason.

The Defence Ministry said on Monday Zelenskyy had appointed Major General Ihor Tantsyura to take over from Yuriy Halushkin as commander of the forces that are helping the Ukrainian army defend the country.

The ministry described Tantsyura as an experienced officer who was previously chief of staff of Ukraine’s ground forces. It said the Territorial Defence Forces had grown rapidly since being established shortly before Russia’s incursion. 

Russia calls Finland, Sweden joining NATO a mistake with ‘far-reaching consequences’

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday said Finland and Sweden should have no illusions that Moscow will simply put up with their joining the NATO military alliance, calling it a mistake that would have far-reaching consequences.

The move from two historically neutral powers would be one of the biggest changes to Europe’s security architecture for decades, reflecting a sweeping shift in perceptions in the Nordic region since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

“The situation is, of course, changing radically in light of what is happening,” the Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. “The fact that the security of Sweden and Finland will not be strengthened as a result of this decision is very clear to us.

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Ukrainian troops defending Kharkiv reach Russian border, governor says

Ukrainian troops defending the city of Kharkiv have reached the state border with Russia, the regional governor said on Monday.

Reuters could not independently verify the comments made by Kharkiv region governor Oleh Sinegubov on the Telegram messaging service. It was not immediately clear how many troops had reached the Russian border and where.

Ukraine has been retaking territory in its northeast, driving Russian forces away from Kharkiv, the second-largest Ukrainian city.

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Sweden, Finland NATO membership would increase Baltic security, Estonia says

Sweden and Finland joining NATO would increase the security of the Baltic region, Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said.

“When we see that in our neighbourhood also other democratic countries belong to NATO, it would mean that we could have broader joint exercises and also … more defence cooperation,” Liimets told Reuters in Berlin where she joined a meeting with other NATO counterparts on Saturday.

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Russian assets of France’s Renault now state property

Russian assets of French car maker Renault have become state property, the industry and trade ministry said on Monday, as foreign companies leave the country amid Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

“Agreements were signed on the transfer of Russian assets of the Renault Group to the Russian Federation and the government of Moscow,” the ministry said in a statement.

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Ukraine restarts gas distribution stations, supplies in Kharkiv

Ukraine’s gas transit system operator said over the weekend that it had resumed operations at two distribution stations in the Kharkiv region and restarted gas supply to more than 3,000 consumers.

Ukraine has scored a series of successes since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, forcing Moscow’s commanders to abandon an advance on the capital Kyiv before making rapid gains to drive them from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city. 

“Both stations were shut down due to damage to the main gas pipeline in the Kharkiv region as a result of hostilities,” the operator said in a statement, adding that the damages have now been repaired.

Some 54 gas distribution stations in seven regions of Ukraine remain shut down, the operator added.

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NATO pledges open-ended military support for Ukraine

NATO on Sunday pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine, as Finland hailed its “historic” bid to join the alliance and Sweden’s ruling party said it backed a joint membership application. The promise came after Finland jettisoned decades of military non-alignment, redrawing the balance of power in Europe and angering the Kremlin.

On the ground in Ukraine, Russia announced air strikes in the east and in Lviv in the west as Western intelligence predicted its campaign in eastern Ukraine would stall amid heavy losses and fierce resistance.

At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock said it would provide military assistance “for as long as Ukraine needs this support for the self-defence of its country”

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Sweden’s ruling party backs joining NATO

Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats said on Sunday they backed the country joining NATO, abandoning decades of opposition in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and creating a large parliament majority in favour of membership.

With neighboring Finland already set to hand in its application, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is now all but certain to launch a formal application within days.

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Blinken confident of reaching consensus on Sweden, Finland

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart on Ankara’s concerns regarding Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO and that after Sunday’s meeting of foreign ministers he was confident a consensus could be reached.

“I don’t want to characterise the specific conversation that we had either with the foreign minister or within the NATO sessions themselves, but I can say this much: I heard almost across the board, very strong support (for Sweden, Finland) joining the alliance,” he told reporters after a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin.

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Turkey not blocking Sweden, Finland bids: NATO chief

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that Turkey was not blocking membership bids by Sweden and Finland and voiced confidence at resolving Ankara’s stated concerns.

“Turkey made it clear that its intention is not to block membership,” Stoltenberg told reporters virtually after alliance foreign ministers met in Berlin. He said he was in touch with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after Ankara alleged that the Nordic nations were home to “terrorists’, a reference to Kurdish separatists.

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Ukrainian foreign minister praises Germany for weapons delivery

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Germany on Sunday for setting a “precedent” and overcoming a “psychological barrier” by delivering heavy weapons to Kyiv.

“A precedent has been set. The first psychological barrier (on handing weapons to Ukraine) has been overcome,” Kuleba said in a video on Facebook while on a visit to Berlin. After previously limiting deliveries to defensive weapons, Berlin is ramping up shipments of heavy arms to Ukraine, sending German self-propelled howitzers to Kyiv.   

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Turkey lays out demands for Finland and Sweden

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Sweden and Finland must stop supporting terrorists in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans on Turkey as they seek membership in NATO.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking with Turkish reporters after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, said Turkey was not threatening anybody or seeking leverage but speaking out especially about Sweden’s support for the PKK Kurdish militant group. Ankara views the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

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Finland makes historic post-war policy shift from neutrality

At the Santahamina military base near Helsinki, the training programme for Finnish army reservists has taken on a new sense of urgency following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland on Sunday made a dramatic shift from its post-war neutrality policy by formally announcing its bid to apply for NATO membership. But not all Finnish citizens support the move.

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Germany warns Ukraine war stoking global food crisis

At a G7 foreign ministers meeting in the northern German town of Weissenhaus, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was stoking a global food crisis. Here’s a closer look at how supply and transportation chokes due to the war can affect food prices and hit particularly vulnerable countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia and many sub-Saharan African nations.

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Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto confirms his country will apply to join NATO

Finland’s president and government announced Sunday that the Nordic country intends apply for membership in NATO, paving the way for the 30-member Western military alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki.

The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days, but it is considered a formality.

A formal membership application will then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels, most likely at the some point next week.

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Germany ‘prepared’ for quick ratification of Finnish, Swedish NATO bids

Germany has taken all preparations for a quick ratification process should Finland and Sweden decide to apply for NATO membership, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has told reporters on a second day of talks with her NATO counterparts in Berlin.

“Germany has prepared everything to do a quick ratification process,” she said, adding that ministers had agreed at a dinner on Saturday that there should not be grey zone between the time they apply and the time they join.

“If they decide to join they can join quickly…We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear,” she said.

She was referring to the ratification period that can take as long as a year, during which the Nordic countries will not yet be protected by NATO’s Article 5 which guarantees that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.

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Sweden’s ruling party poised to back NATO bid

Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats are poised on Sunday to come out in favour of the country joining NATO, paving the way for an application soon after abandoning decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats, the biggest party in every election for the past century, has held internal debates over the past week over dropping a long-standing opposition to NATO membership.

With party leadership having said it will decide on Sunday, and widely expected to drop its opposition, support for joining the alliance would command a broad majority in Sweden’s Riksdag with much of the opposition already in favour. A formal application by Andersson’s minority government is very likely to follow.

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More weapons on the way to Ukraine: Kuleba

More weapons and support is coming to Ukraine, the country’s top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba has said following a meeting in the German capital, Berlin, with his American counterpart Antony Blinken.

“More weapons and other aid is on the way to Ukraine,” Kuleba said on Twitter.

The two countries also committed to work closely together to ensure “Ukrainian food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia,” he added.

Met @SecBlinken in Berlin. More weapons and other aid is on the way to Ukraine. We agreed to work closely together to ensure that Ukrainian food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia. Grateful to Secretary Blinken and the U.S. for their leadership and unwavering support. pic.twitter.com/E3oru9jfIJ

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 15, 2022

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Germany says all ready for quick ratification of Finnish, Swedish NATO membership

Germany has taken all preparations for a quick ratification process should Finland and Sweden decide to apply for NATO membership, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, while underlining both countries’ need for security guarantees.

“If they decide to join they can join quickly…We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear,” she told reporters in Berlin.

She was referring to the ratification period that can take as long as a year, during which the two countries will not yet be protected by NATO’s article 5 which guarantees that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.

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NATO deputy chief confident consensus can be found on Finland, Sweden membership

NATO’s Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoana said he was confident Turkey’s concerns over Finland and Sweden joining the defensive military alliance could be addressed.

“Turkey is an important ally and expressed concerns that are addressed between friends and allies,” Geoana said, adding he was confident allies will find “all conditions for consensus to be met” if the two countries decide to apply for membership.

His comments came as Sweden and Finland are poised to come out in favour of entering NATO – a move that Turkey, a member of the alliance, was opposed to. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Scandinavian countries of being “guesthouses for terrorist organisations”.

[LIVE] 🎥 Watch Deputy Secretary General @Mircea_Geoana‘s doorstep ahead of the informal meeting of #NATO Foreign Ministers in Berlin 🇩🇪. https://t.co/n6F63VQ5mH

— Oana Lungescu (@NATOpress) May 15, 2022

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Moscow-administered Kherson to ask to be included in Russia: UK 

The Russian-imposed military-civilian administration in Ukraine’s Kherson region said it will ask Russia to include it in the Russian federation, according to the British defence ministry. 

If Russia carries out an accession referendum in Kherson, it will almost certainly manipulate the results to show a clear majority in favour of leaving Ukraine, Britain said in a regular Twitter bulletin.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 14 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/tAa8K8A12w

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Ya1mzfvjY4

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 14, 2022

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Duma deputy head visits Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson: reports

Senior Russian lawmaker Anna Kuznetsova visited the Russian-occupied region of Kherson in Ukraine to discuss social and healthcare needs of the local population, the state RIA news agency reported on Saturday.

The report could not be independently confirmed.

Kherson is the first region set to be annexed after Moscow said in April it had gained full control of the region, which has seen sporadic anti-Russian protests.

Kuznetsova, deputy head of Russia’s Duma or lower house of parliament, discussed the supply of foodstuffs as well as medical and other products needed for children, RIA reported.

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Heavy fighting in Donbas region

Intense fighting is raging in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, according to a local officials.

“There is heavy fighting on the border with the Donetsk region, near Popasna,” said Lugansk regional governor Sergei Gaidai in a Facebook post late Friday. There were heavy losses in personnel and equipment on the Russian side, he added.

The British ministry of defence on Friday said Ukrainian forces had “successfully” repelled a Russian attempt to cross the Siverskyi Donets river west of Severodonetsk.

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US, Russian defense chiefs speak for 1st time since invasion

Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday after months of refusing direct contact with his American counterpart.

However, officials said the call didn’t appear to signal any change in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

A senior Defense Department official said that while Austin believes the hour-long conversation was important in the effort to keep lines of communication open, it didn’t resolve any “acute issues” or lead to any change in what the Russian are doing or saying as the war enters week 12.

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No change in Putin since war started: German chancellor

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not detected any change of heart on the part of Russian leader Vladimir Putin since the war began.

In an interview with news outlet t-online published, the chancellor said it was clear Russia had not achieved any of its stated war aims, one of which was to secure the territory of Ukraine as a buffer between Moscow and NATO expansion.

“For Putin’s insane idea of wanting to expand the Russian empire, Russia and the whole world are paying a very high price right now,”
Scholz said.

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Ruling party in Finland set to announce NATO decision

Finland’s ruling Social Democratic Party was expected to announce their support for joining the NATO defence alliance.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinist and Prime Minister Sanna Marin endorsed joining NATO “without delay” earlier this week, saying it would strengthen the Nordic country’s security.

An endorsement by Marin’s Social Democrats would mean that a broad majority in the Finnish parliament are in favour of joining, paving
the way for a membership application in the coming days.

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Hungary holds up EU plan to ban Russian oil

The European Union’s hopes to quickly impose a ban on Russian oil imports could be dashed after Hungary demanded expensive guarantees for its own fuel supplies, diplomats say.

“I am sure we will have an agreement, we need this agreement, and we will have it,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Friday in Germany as G7 ministers met.

But he added if EU diplomats could not overcome resistance among certain member states, then foreign ministers meeting Monday in Brussels would need to “provide the political impetus”.

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More than 700,000 Ukrainian war refugees in Germany: Report

Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper says more than 700,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have been recorded in Germany so far.

Since the start of the war on February 24 until May 11, 727,205 people have registered in Germany’s Central Register of Foreigners (AZR), 93 percent of them with Ukrainian citizenship, the newspaper said.

About 40 percent of the war refugees were below the age of 18, while women make up 81 percent of all the adult refugees registered, Welt added.

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Mariupol defenders will hold out ‘as long as they can’

The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment has said his soldiers – holed up in the Azovstal steelworks – will hold out “as long as they can” despite shortages of ammunition, food, water and medicine.

Speaking during an online session of the Kyiv Security Forum, Sviatoslav Palamar said Russian forces continued to attack the plant, the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the southern city.

“We continue to resist and follow the order of our senior political leaders to hold the defence. We are holding the defence and continue fighting despite everything,” he said, according to The Associated Press news agency.

Speaking to a panel that included a number of senior US generals, Palamar appealed for the United States to help evacuate about 600 wounded soldiers from the plant.

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Ukraine appears to have ‘won the Battle of Kharkiv’: IOW

The Institute for the Study of War (IOW) says it appears that Ukraine has “won the Battle of Kharkiv”, with evidence suggesting Russia has “likely decided” to withdraw fully from its positions around the city because of the strength of Ukrainian counterattacks and a lack of reinforcements.

In its latest assessment of the position on the ground, IOW says Russia looks to be “conducting an orderly withdrawal and prioritizing getting Russians back home”.

In other areas, it says:

• Russian troops tried to advance from Izyum but made little progress
• Russian military appears focused on encircling Severodonetsk and Lysychansk from the north and south
• Ukrainian forces trying to regain control of Snake Island

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India bans all wheat exports with immediate effect

India has banned all wheat exports with immediate effect.

India is the world’s second-biggest wheat exporter after Ukraine and many had been banking on it to fill the gap caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The government announced its decision late on Friday and said shipments of wheat for letters of credit that had already been issued would be allowed to proceed.

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Ukraine leads table in Olympics for the deaf

The Ukrainian team is raking in the medals at the Olympics for the deaf, which are currently under way in Brazil according to the AFP news agency.

The so-called Deaflympics opened on May 1 and with two days left to go Ukraine is leading the medal table with a total of 116 medals, more than double the tally of the US which is in second place.

“In this event, we show the world we exist: we are Ukraine, a real powerful, independent and democratic country,” Valeriy Sushkevych, president of the Ukraine Paralympic Committee, told AFP.

“One soldier called us and said: in between battles, we support you on TV. Your fighting spirit in sports is very important for us.”

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US, ASEAN leaders pledge respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty

The US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have affirmed their “respect for sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity” in relation to Ukraine.

The statement followed a key summit at the White House – the first in 45 years.

Singapore is the only country in the 10-member grouping to have joined US-led sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, although most – with the exceptions of Laos and Vietnam – voted to condemn the invasion at the United Nations General Assembly.

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Risk to EU ‘unity’ if ban on Russian imports blocked: Kuleba

In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says European Union’s “unity” on Russia will be broken if Hungary blocks a proposed EU ban on Russian oil imports.

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Russian air forces hit arms depot in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region

Russian air forces have attacked an arms depot in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, state news agency RIA quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Friday.

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Ukraine to import 420,000 T of fuel in May as Russia strikes depots

Ukraine has signed contracts to import 300,000 tonnes of diesel and 120,000 tonnes of petrol to cover consumption in May as Russia targets Ukrainian fuel infrastructure, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Friday.

Russia has destroyed 27 fuel depots and the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine since it launched its Feb. 24 invasion, the government official said at a government meeting.

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Italy fully backs Finland, Sweden joining NATO, says foreign minister

Italy will fully support NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Friday. “We as Italy will be very happy to welcome these two countries in this great alliance that defends its member countries and… which has guaranteed peace for decades,” Di Maio told reporters in Berlin.

Finland said on Thursday it would seek to join the US-led military alliance without delay and Sweden is expected to follow its neighbour’s lead as early as Monday.

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Russian inflation jumps to 17.83% in April, highest since early 2002

Consumer inflation in Russia accelerated in April to 17.83% in year-on-year terms, its highest level since January 2002, data showed on Friday, as it got a boost from the volatile rouble and unprecedented western sanctions that disrupted logistics chains.

But monthly inflation slowed to 1.56% in April from 7.61% in March when it staged the biggest month-on-month increase since January 1999, data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed.

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Two journalists for Russia’s RT injured in Ukraine

Two journalists for Kremlin-backed television channel RT were injured Friday during a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine the channel blamed on Ukrainian forces.  A TV crew of RT’s correspondent Valentin Gorshenin came under Ukrainian troops’ rocket fire near the town of Dokuchaevsk in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, the channel said in a statement on messaging app Telegram.

“Cameramen Vladimir Batalin and Viktor Miroshnikov received shrapnel wounds to their legs and back,” the statement said. “They are being taken to the hospital now.” The correspondent himself was not injured. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.

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US defence chief urges immediate Ukraine ceasefire in call with Russian counterpart

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin held a call with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday in which he called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and stressed the importance of maintaining lines of communication, the Pentagon said.

It was the first time Austin had spoken with Shoigu since February 18, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

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World ‘paying price’ of food crisis in Russia’s war, says Ukraine minister

The impact of the Russian invasion on food exports from Ukraine, a traditional arable farming powerhouse, would be felt across the world, its agriculture minister said Friday.

“People across the world are paying the price for this war,” Mykola Solsky said in a press conference during a meeting of G7 agriculture ministers in Stuttgart.

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Russia to halt power exports to Finland due to lack of payment

Russian utility Inter RAO will stop exporting electricity to Finland from Saturday at 0100 local-time (Friday at 2200 GMT), the Finnish grid company said on Friday. The trade in electricity imported from Russia will be suspended for the time being due to difficulties in receiving payments for electricity sold on the market, Fingrid said in a statement, citing Inter RAO.

“There is no threat to the adequacy of electricity in Finland,” the grid said, adding that power from Russia accounted for some 10% of Finland’s total power consumption.

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US says working to clarify Turkey’s position on Sweden, Finland NATO bid

The United States is working to clarify Turkey’s position on Sweden and Finland’s potential membership to NATO, the top US diplomat for Europe at the State Department said on Friday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is not supportive of the two countries’ bid to join the alliance.

In a call with reporters, Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, said the topic will be discussed at the NATO ministerial meeting over the weekend in Berlin.

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UK, US defence ministers discuss support for Ukraine

Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his US  counterpart discussed next steps to help Ukraine, including military aid, in talks held in the United States this week, a statement published by the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

“We will continue to work with unity and resolve to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion,” Wallace said in the statement, issued on Friday after a meeting with Lloyd Austin on Wednesday. “We discussed the next steps to provide defensive support for Ukraine, as well as AUKUS (a defence pact between Australia, the United States and Britain), the future of NATO, and other aspects of our shared security.”

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Russia expels 10 Romanian diplomats

Russia is expelling 10 Romanian diplomats, both sides said Friday, in a tit-for-tat move following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “The Russian federation declared 10 employees of the Romanian embassy in Moscow persona non grata,” the Romanian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The news was confirmed by Moscow and follows the April 5 expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats “whose activities breached the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” according to the Romanian foreign ministry. The Russian foreign ministry also said Friday it “firmly rejects the groundless attempts by the Romanian side to blame Russia for war crimes in Ukraine.”

It slammed “Bucharest’s policy of whitewashing the atrocities committed by (Ukraine’s) national guard against civilians as well as the supply of weapons, equipment and other assistance to the regime in Kyiv”.

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Helsinki urges patience after Turkey says not supportive of Finland joining NATO

Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto urged patience on Friday and called for a step-by-step approach in response to Turkish resistance to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier said NATO member Turkey could not support Finnish and Swedish plans to join the alliance, erecting a potential stumbling block as membership requires unanimous backing from all 30 member states.

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Access to abortions needed for Ukrainian refugees in Poland, says UNHCR

Women who have fled to Poland to escape war must have access to reproductive rights that meet international standards, including abortions, a top UNHCR official said on Friday, amid reports of rape and sexual violence in Ukraine.

Poland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, and human rights activists have raised concerns about the difficulties victims of rape from Ukraine fleeing to the country may face if they need to terminate a pregnancy. “There are particular policies (regarding reproductive services in Poland) that we believe do not meet international standards,” assistant high commissioner for protection Gillian Triggs told a news briefing. “(Victims of sexual violence) need counselling and they need assistance. In some cases they will need abortions. We will raise this … with the government,” she said.

She said that the UNHCR would work with those who needed an abortion to make sure that they got them in Poland or elsewhere.

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Russian court fines Radio Liberty nearly $200,000 over ‘fakes’, says Interfax

A Moscow court has fined US backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 12.8 million roubles ($196,621) for not deleting what Russia calls “fake” content about its operation in Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

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Zelensky says Macron talking to Putin ‘in vain’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that French leader Emmanuel Macron is trying “in vain” to have a constructive dialogue with Russian President Putin, according to an interview transcript released by Kyiv Friday. “We must not look for a way out for Russia, and Macron is doing it in vain,” Zelensky told Italian television Rai 1, according the Ukrainian president’s Telegram channel.

“I know he wanted to get results from mediation between Russia and Ukraine, but he didn’t get any,” Zelensky said. Moscow, he said, would not seek any end to the fighting “until Russia itself wants and understands that it needs” this. The Elysee told AFP on Friday that Marcon had “never discussed anything with Vladimir Putin without the agreement of President Zelensky”.

“He has always said that it is up to the Ukrainians to decide the terms of their negotiation with the Russians.” The French leader said earlier this week that Russia and Ukraine would have to come to a negotiated truce and that peace efforts would not be served by Russia’s “humiliation”. Zelensky said that “some European leaders think we need to find a way of talking with Putin”. “We have been looking for them for years. And today, these routes are littered with bodies, bodies of our people,” the Ukrainian leader added. Zelensky however repeated his offer to speak with Putin directly but described talks with Russian as “no longer possible”. “Today, the stage when we could sit down with Russia has passed.”

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Germany considering whether to supply IRIS-T air defence system to Ukraine

Germany is considering supplying IRIS-T SLM medium range surface-to-air defence systems to Ukraine, a security source said on Friday. German daily Bild had reported earlier that the German cabinet’s security council was discussing the matter, and that IRIS-T SLM systems, made by privately held German weapons maker Diehl Defense, could be deployed in Ukraine from November.

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Zelensky reiterates readiness to talk to Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated an offer to hold direct talks with President Putin, and said Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine should be the starting point for any discussions.

“As president, I am ready to talk to Putin, but only to him. Without any of his intermediaries. And in the framework of dialogue, not ultimatums,” he told Italy’s RAI 1 television in an interview broadcast in Ukraine on Friday.

In his most detailed public comments for weeks on the prospects of peace talks, Zelensky said Ukraine would not compromise over its territorial integrity.

He ruled out suggestions – which he attributed to France – that Ukraine should make concessions for the sake of securing a peace agreement that would allow Putin to save face.

“Get out of this territory that you have occupied since February 24,” he said. “This is the first clear step to talking about anything.”

Ukraine and Russia have not held face-to-face peace talks since March 29. Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky was quoted by Interfax news agency on Monday as saying peace talks were being held remotely.

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Russia bears ‘responsibility’ for global food supply crunch: Scholz to Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that Moscow bore a “responsibility” for disruptions in the global food supply due to its invasion of Ukraine, Berlin said.

“The chancellor and the Russian president also spoke about the global food situation which is particularly strained due to Russia’s war of aggression,” Scholz’s office said in a statement after a call between the leaders. “The chancellor reminded him that Russia bears a particular responsibility here.” 

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Finland prepared in case Russia cuts off gas, emergency committee says

Finland is ready to cope in the event that Russia cuts off its supply of natural gas, the government’s emergency preparedness committee said after a meeting on Friday. Key Finnish politicians had been warned of a possible halt

to gas exports by Russia on Friday, Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported on Thursday. Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen told reporters he could not confirm the report while the Kremlin said the newspaper report was “most likely a hoax” and reiterated that state-owned gas company Gazprom remained a reliable gas supplier.

Gazprom did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment. State-owned Gasgrid Finland had no indication of any disruption to gas flows on Friday, a spokesperson told Reuters. “Finland is prepared for a suspension of Russian natural gas imports,” the committee said in a statement. The country imports most of its gas from neighbouring Russia but gas accounts for only about 5% of its annual energy consumption.

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Germany’s Scholz pushes for Ukraine ceasefire in call with Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible during a telephone call on Friday, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

A truce was needed to improve the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and allow progress in finding a diplomatic solution for the conflict, the spokesperson said. During the 75-minute call, Scholz reminded Putin of Russia’s responsibility for the global food situation, the spokesperson added.

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German gas supply is stable, says energy regulator

Gas supply in Germany is stable overall, with storage levels at 39.3%, the national energy regulator said in a daily report on Friday as it closely monitors possible effects of gas transit sanctions imposed by Russia.

The Kremlin on Thursday said it had imposed sanctions on companies including Gazprom Germania, a former unit of Russian state company Gazprom, and its gas trading subsidiary Wingas. Energy wholesale prices were down on Friday after the government and Wingas said gas could be sourced elsewhere.

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Russia advises citizens against travelling to Britain

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it is recommending its citizens refrain from travelling to the United Kingdom, citing difficulties Russians face when trying to obtain a visa there.

“Taking into account the extremely unfriendly course of the UK towards our country, in order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from travelling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas”, it said.

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G7 finmins eyeing 30 billion euros in Ukraine aid but opposition remains, says Spiegel magazine

The finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised nations (G7) aim to agree on providing close to 30 billion euros ($31.15 billion) in financial support to Ukraine at their meeting in Germany next week, Spiegel magazine reported.

The aid, which is intended to cover the war-torn country’s financial needs up to the end of the year, would be provided in the form of loans and grants, meaning that Kyiv would not have to repay the entire sum, Spiegel reported on Friday, citing sources involved in the negotiations.

There is still opposition to the plan, the report said, adding that one European country has reportedly not yet agreed to participate.

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Putin discusses Finland and Sweden’s NATO plans with Security Council 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday discussed Finland’s and Sweden’s potential NATO membership with his Security Council, the RIA news agency reported.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Finland’s indications that it planned to join the U.S.-led military bloc were a hostile move that posed a threat to Russia’s security, and pledged to respond.

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Putin, Scholz discuss Ukraine situation in phone call

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed the situation in Ukraine in a telephone call on Friday, according to the offices of the two leaders.

Scholz told Putin that Russia ‘bears responsibility’ for the global food situation, according to a German government spokesperson.

During the 75-minute call, Scholz said a truce was needed to improve the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and enable progress in finding a diplomatic solution for the conflict, according to the spokesperson.

The Kremlin readout said Putin insisted that Russia was fighting “Nazi ideology” in Ukraine.

“Attention has been drawn to the continued violations of international humanitarian law by militants advocating Nazi ideology and using terrorist methods,” said the Kremlin readout.

Putin reiterated that Moscow’s military operation was aimed at protecting the Russian-speaking population of eastern Ukraine.

Scholz has come under fire for arms deliveries to Ukraine deemed insufficient and Germany’s reliance on Russian energy imports.

Germany’s economy is now racing to wean itself off Russian energy and has already almost completely phased out Russian coal.

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Ukraine asks G7 to seize Russia assets to rebuild country

Ukraine asked the G7 countries on Friday to seize Russia’s assets and hand them to Kyiv to help rebuild the country, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, adding that he hoped Hungary would agree with EU partners an oil embargo on Moscow.

“Canada has already done this and I have a feeling that others will reach that point sooner rather than later. We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. Russia must pay,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in northern Germany.

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Kremlin dismisses Polish PM’s criticism of Putin as ‘shocking’ 

The Kremlin hit back on Friday at calls by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to “root out” Russia’s “monstrous ideology”. “This is the quintessence of that hatred towards Russians that has regrettably, like a metastasis, infected the entire Polish leadership and, in many ways, Polish society,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in briefing.

Morawiecki had said Russian President Vladimir Putin was more dangerous than either Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin because of the advanced weapons at his disposal, in a column for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday. “This shocking statement, unfortunately, is hysterical and unacceptable,” Peskov said.

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Kremlin says possible gas cuts for Finland ‘most likely a hoax’

A report in a Finnish newspaper that Russia may cut gas supplies to Finland as soon as Friday seems to be fake, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Most likely, this is another newspaper hoax,” he told a conference call, adding that Gazprom remained a reliable gas supplier.

Newspaper Iltalehti reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources, that Finnish politicians had been warned that Russia could halt gas supplies to its neighbour on Friday.

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Japan says Russia should be held accountable for atrocities

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday Russian atrocities in Ukraine were totally unacceptable and Moscow should be held accountable for its action, a Japanese government official told a media briefing.

Hayashi held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Germany. Russia has denied carrying out abuses.

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Moscow says EU becoming ‘aggressive, militant’

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said he doubted the motives of Ukraine’s intention of joining the European Union, while accusing Brussels of ambitions beyond the European continent. Ukraine, where Russia launched a military campaign on February 24, “is ready to declare a neutral, non-aligned status,” Lavrov told reporters following a meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe.

“At the same time, they are trying in every possible way to emphasise their desire to become an EU member,” Lavrov added. “There are serious doubts about how harmless such a desire is from Kyiv,” he said. Russia has insisted at stalled peace talks that Ukraine drop its ambition to enter US-led military alliance NATO and declare itself “neutral”.

Kyiv has admitted it is unlikely to become a NATO member – but has forged ahead with an application to join the 27-nation EU since the start of the conflict. Lavrov accused the EU of transforming from a “constructive, economic platform” into an “aggressive, militant player, declaring its ambitions far beyond the European continent”, pointing to moves in the Indo-Pacific region. “They are rushing to follow in the tracks already laid by NATO, thereby confirming the trend that they are merging with the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and will in fact serve as its appendage,” he said. 

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Russian grain theft in Ukraine ‘repugnant’, says German minister

Germany’s agriculture minister on Friday said grain theft by Russia in eastern Ukraine was “repugnant”, as G7 countries met to discuss the impact of the war on global food supply.

“This is an especially repugnant form of war that Russia is leading, in that it is stealing, robbing, taking for itself grain from eastern Ukraine,” Cem Oezdemir said at the start of a meeting with colleagues from G7 countries and Ukraine.

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EU to provide new $520 million military aid to Ukraine – Borrell

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the bloc will provide another $520 million (500 million euros) worth of military support to Ukraine and that he is confident a deal could be reached in the coming days to agree an embargo on Russian oil.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in northern Germany, Borrell said the military support would be for heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery and take the bloc’s aid to about $2.08 billion (2 billion euros).

Borrell said he was also optimistic an EU embargo on Russian oil could also be agreed in the coming days. “I am sure we will have an agreement. We need it and we will have it. We have to get rid of the oil dependency from Russia,” he said.

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Russia struck oil refinery in central Ukraine, defence ministry says

Russia’s defence ministry has said that its forces have struck the Kremenchug oil refinery in central Ukraine, destroying its production capacity and fuel tanks.

The ministry also said its forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft in Kharkiv region.

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Russian forces hit targets in eastern Ukraine: Kiev

Ukraine’s military says that Russian forces have staged assaults on multiple villages in eastern Ukraine as they try to expand control there, but not all have been successful.

In its daily operational note, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia’s military continued to launch artillery and air strikes on the embattled port of Mariupol, focusing on blocking Ukrainian fighters at their last holdout at the Azovstal steelworks.

In the Russian campaign in the east, villages were targeted near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, the Ukrainian military said. It said Russian forces also fired artillery on Ukrainian troops in the direction of Novopavlovsk and Zaporizhzhia, a major industrial city that has become a haven for refugees fleeing Mariupol.

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Ukrainian forces prevented attempted Russian river crossing in the Donbass, Britain says

Ukrainian forces have successfully prevented an attempted Russian river crossing in the Donbass, the British defence ministry has said in a regular Twitter bulletin.

Images suggest that Russia has lost armoured manoeuvre elements of at least one battalion tactical group and the deployed pontoon bridging equipment while crossing the Siverskyi Donets river west of Severodonetsk, Britain said in its intelligence update.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 13 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/7SVSQChAFe

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/vqt5MS4LR5

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 13, 2022

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US: Russia has forcibly taken ‘thousands’ of Ukrainians

The United States has accused Russia of forcibly taking onto territory under its control tens of thousands of Ukrainians, often singled out for their resistance to Moscow’s assault.

The remarks support allegations by the Ukrainian government which estimates nearly 1.2 million people have been deported into Russia or Russian-controlled territory and has denounced so-called “filtration camps” in which Moscow interrogates detained people.

“The United States assesses that Russia’s forces have relocated at least several thousand Ukrainians for processing in these ‘filtration camps,’ and evacuated at least tens of thousands more to Russia or Russia-controlled territory, sometimes without telling evacuees of their final destination,” said Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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Zelenskyy accuses Russia of ‘barbarity’

Zelenskyy has said Russian forces hit schools in attacks in the Chernihiv region.

“Of course, the Russian state is in such a state that any education only gets in its way. But what can be achieved by destroying Ukrainian schools? All Russian commanders who give such orders are simply sick, and incurable,” he said.

Zelenskyy added that since the invasion began, the Russian military had damaged 570 medical facilities, fully destroying 101 hospitals.

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Zelenskyy says he is ready for talks with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that “we must find an agreement”, but with no ultimatum as a condition.

Zelenskyy told Italian RAI state TV in an interview scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday night that Ukraine will never recognise Crimea as part of Russia.

“Crimea has always had its autonomy, it has its parliament, but on the inside of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in excerpts of the interview that RAI released.

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Rocket attacks intensify on central Poltava region: Governor

Rocket attacks on Ukraine’s central Poltava region have been “perhaps the most intense for the duration of the war”, the regional governor has said.

“[Thursday’s] shelling of the Poltava region is perhaps the largest during the course of this full-scale war,” Dmitry Lunin wrote in a Telegram post. “12 Russian missiles hit the infrastructure in [the city of] Kremenchuk; most of them hit an oil refinery that was not operational anyway.”

Lunin added: “Rescuers are putting out a fire at the refinery. Luckily, no one was hurt.”

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Ukraine warns against involvement in sale of ‘stolen’ grain

Ukraine’s foreign minister has said that everyone involved in the transportation and sales of grain seized by Russia in occupied areas of the country will face legal consequences.

“I want to remind the participants in this deal: what is stolen has never brought happiness to anyone. Everyone involved in the sale, transportation or purchase of stolen grain is an accomplice to the crime,” ministry’s press service quoted Dmytro Kuleba as saying.

Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that a Russian ship carrying seized Ukrainian grain had reached the Mediterranean Sea with Syria as it likely destination.

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White House backs any move by Finland and Sweden to join NATO

The White House has said it would support any move by Finland and Sweden to join NATO in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We would support a NATO application by Finland and/or Sweden should they apply. We would respect any decision they make,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

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Ukraine says its forces damaged Russian navy ship in Black Sea

Ukrainian forces have damaged a modern Russian navy logistics ship in the Black Sea, setting it on fire, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration in southern Ukraine has said.

Spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said in an online post that the Vsevolod Bobrov had been struck near Snake Island, the scene of renewed fighting in recent days, but did not give details.

The tiny island is located near Ukraine’s sea border with Romania.

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Canada to deploy military general, officers to new NATO unit in Latvia

Canada will deploy a general and six staff officers to a new NATO unit in Latvia that will help plan, coordinate and integrate regional military activities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said.

The general and staff officers will “be part of a first of its kind unit”, Trudeau told reporters at a joint news conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. “It’ll serve as a continued important part of our enhancements to NATO’s defense and deterrence capabilities.”

Canada has almost 700 members of its armed forces deployed in Latvia, a small Baltic state that shares a border with Russia. Karins welcomed Canada’s participation in a new “multi-divisional headquarters” there.

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Ukraine wants spot ‘reserved’ in EU

Ukraine wants a spot reserved in the European Union, even if obtaining full membership could take time, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said on a visit to Berlin. 

“It is not about the fastest possible membership for Ukraine in the EU. But what is very important for us is for this spot to be reserved for Ukraine,” Kuleba told German broadcaster ARD.

“We hear often that Ukraine belongs in Europe, belongs in the European family, and now it’s about reserving this place,” he added. 

French President Emmanuel Macron warned early this week that it would take “decades” for a candidate like Ukraine to join the EU. 

Macron suggested instead that a broader European political community could be created to include members like Ukraine or post-Brexit Britain.

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Finland’s leaders back NATO membership in major policy shift

Finland should submit an application to join the NATO military alliance, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have said in a joint statement, signalling a major policy shift triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” Niinisto and Marin said in the joint statement.

Finland, which shares a 1,300 km (810 mile) border and a difficult past with Russia, has previously remained outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to maintain friendly relations with its eastern neighbour.

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Ukraine keeps up counter-attack north of Kharkiv, UK says

Ukrainian forces are keeping up a counter-attack to the north of the second largest city of Kharkiv and recapturing several towns and villages toward the Russian border, according to Britain’s defence ministry.

Russia has reportedly withdrawn units from the area and the forces are likely to redeploy after replenishing the losses to the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, the ministry said in its regular Twitter bulletin.

On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had pushed back Russian forces in the east to recapture Pytomnyk, a village on the main highway north of Kharkiv, about halfway to the Russian border.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 12 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/uVTQA0NbhY

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/8ArBHMQinJ

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 12, 2022

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Ukraine to hold first war crimes trial

Ukraine, which has repeatedly accused Russian troops of committing atrocities, has announced it will hold its first war crimes trial over the Russian invasion.

The prosecutor general’s office said Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian service member, is accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian as he fled with four other soldiers in a stolen car.

“The man died on the spot just a few dozen metres from his home,” said a statement from prosecutor Iryna Venediktova’s office. Shishimarin faces possible life imprisonment if found guilty.

Venediktova’s office has said it has received reports of more than 10,000 alleged war crimes, with 622 suspects identified.

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NATO to welcome Nordic members as Ukraine pushes back Russian forces

Finland is expected to announce on Thursday its intention to join NATO with Sweden likely to follow soon after, diplomats and officials said, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reshapes European security and the Atlantic military alliance.

NATO allies expect Finland and Sweden to be granted membership quickly, five diplomats and officials told Reuters, paving the way for increased troop presence in the Nordic region during the one-year ratification period. 

In the wider Nordic region, Norway, Denmark and the three Baltic states are already NATO members, and the addition of Finland and Sweden would likely anger Moscow, which says NATO enlargement is a direct threat to its own security.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited the issue as a reason for his actions in Ukraine, which has also expressed a desire to eventually join the alliance.

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Nearly a third of jobs lost in Ukraine since conflict began: UN

Thirty percent of jobs in Ukraine — 4.8 million in total — have been lost since the beginning of the Russian military campaign in February-end, the United Nations has said, with the outlook even worse if the conflict drags on.

“Economic disruptions, combined with heavy internal displacement and flows of refugees, are causing large-scale losses in terms of employment and incomes,” the UN’s International Labour Organization said.

In its first report on the consequences of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, not only for those countries but for central Asia and the rest of the world, the ILO laid out several scenarios, depending on how the conflict develops.

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Russia summons Poland’s ambassador after Warsaw protest

The Polish ambassador to Russia has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, the state-run news agency PAP quoted Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as saying, after a Warsaw protest targeting Russia’s envoy to Poland.

The Russian ambassador to Poland was doused in a red substance on Monday by people protesting against the conflict in Ukraine. But Russia is not considering closing its embassy in Warsaw, embassy representatives have told Reuters. 

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Russian-backed separatist regions block Facebook, Instagram

The Russian-backed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) in eastern Ukraine say they have blocked access to Facebook and Instagram, aligning themselves with Russia’s policy on the US-based social networks.

“Access to the information resources of the American company Meta, which allows calls for violence against Russian-speaking users on its social networks, has already been blocked,” the DNR’s communications ministry said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the LNR communications ministry said it had also blocked access to the social networks. Moscow recognised the two separatist regions as independent on February 21.

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Kremlin says it’s up to people of Ukraine region to decide whether to join Russia

The Kremlin has said it is up to residents living in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson in southern Ukraine to decide whether they want to join Russia, but any such decision must have a clear legal basis.

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Russia says hundreds of military targets hit in Ukraine

Russia has said its forces have hit hundreds of military targets in Ukraine overnight.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the air force hit 93 objects of Ukraine’s military infrastructure, including three ammunition depots, and 69 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment.

He added that Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces and artillery struck 407 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment, 13 command points, four positions of the Osa-AKM air defence missile systems, and 14 ammunition depots, while the Russian air defence systems destroyed nine unmanned aerial vehicles.

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Guterres does not see Ukraine peace negotiations any time soon

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the time will come when there are peace negotiations over Ukraine, but he does not see that time in the immediate future.

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Ukraine proposes swapping injured Azovstal fighters for Russian prisoners

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says Ukraine has proposed to swap badly injured fighters in the Azovstal plant in the port of Mariupol for Russian prisoners of war.

Vereshchuk said the remaining Ukrainian soldiers would be evacuated through humanitarian corridors while the Russians would be released following standard procedures for the exchange of prisoners of war.

She added the government was working around different options to find an actionable one. “There is no agreement yet. Negotiations are continuing,” she said on Telegram.

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Pro-Russian hackers target Italy defence ministry, senate websites: Reports

Pro-Russian hackers have attacked the websites of several Italian institution, including the defence ministry and the senate, ANSA news agency has reported.

The hacker group “Killnet” claimed the attack, which also involved the National Health Institute (ISS) and the Automobile Club d’Italia, a national drivers’ association.

The websites were offline at 7pm (1700 GMT). The defence ministry website displayed a message saying it was under maintenance. Police said an investigation was ongoing, but made no further comment.

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Wives of Ukrainian soldiers in Azovstal ask Pope Francis for help

The wives of the Ukrainian soldiers trapped at Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant have met Pope Francis at the Vatican to ask him to intervene to “save the lives” of their loved ones.

“We asked him to come to Ukraine, to talk to Putin, to tell him ‘Let them go’. He just said he would pray for us,” Kateryna Prokopenko told reporters after the brief encounter.

Her husband, Denis Prokopenko, is one of the leaders of the Azov regiment. Ukraine’s military leadership has played down hopes of rescuing its fighters by launching an offensive against the Russian troops surrounding them.

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Russia sanctions Gazprom Germania and owner of Polish part of Yamal-Europe

Russia has imposed sanctions against units of Gazprom Germania, in which its gas producer Gazprom ceded ownership, and against EuRoPol GAZ SA, owner of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.

The list of sanctioned entities published by the Russian government on its website  includes 31 companies. It did not specify the nature of the sanctions to be imposed.

Under a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin, no Russian entity is allowed to make deals with the entities under sanctions or fulfil its obligations under existing deals.

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UK says NATO does not pose a threat to anyone

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said NATO is a defensive alliance that does not pose a threat to any other country, as Sweden and Finland consider joining the organisation.

“NATO is a defensive alliance. NATO poses no threat to anyone. It is there for the purposes of mutual defence,” Johnson said in a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki.

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Putin does not want to take on NATO: Pentagon

The United States does not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to militarily take on the NATO alliance, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.

“As you look at Putin’s calculus, my view – and I’m sure the chairman has his own view – but my view is that Russia doesn’t want to take on the NATO alliance,” Austin said during a congressional hearing.

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Ukraine shuts off Russian pipeline to Western Europe

Ukraine has shut down a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to homes and industries in Western Europe.

Ukraine’s natural gas pipeline operator said it moved to stop the flow of Russian gas through a compressor station in part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists because enemy forces were interfering with the station’s operation and siphoning off gas.

The immediate effect of the energy cutoff is likely to be limited as Russia can divert the gas to another pipeline. However, it marked the first time since the start of the war that Ukraine disrupted the flow westward of one of Moscow’s most lucrative exports.

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Italy’s Draghi says rouble payments for Russian gas ‘a grey zone’

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said there was a lack of clarity on whether Moscow’s demand that European buyers pay for Russian gas in roubles breaches EU sanctions.

“There is no official pronouncement of what it means to breach sanctions, nobody has ever said anything about whether roubles payments breach sanctions or not, how these payments are organised, so it’s such a grey zone here,” he said during a visit to the United States.

“As a matter of fact most of the gas importers have already opened their accounts in roubles with Gazprom,” he said, adding that he believed the largest gas importer in Germany had already paid in roubles. He did not name the company was referring to.

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Top EU official backs multi-trillion plan to rebuild Ukraine

Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, has backed a multi-trillion-euro ‘Marshall’-style plan to rebuild Ukraine, saying Europe must not be left alone to foot the vast bill that he predicted could run into the trillions.

“What will it cost to rebuild, reconstruct Ukraine? Figures were flying around the room … but one thing is quite clear to me: We are not talking about millions but trillions” said Hoyer, a former German foreign office minister, told Reuters.

Under the post-World War Two US scheme known as the Marshall Plan, the United States granted Europe the present-day equivalent of some $200 billion over four years in economic and technical assistance.

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First Russian soldier to face trial in Ukraine for alleged war crime

Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said a Russian soldier will stand trial for committing an alleged war crime in Ukraine for the first time since the war began.

Iryna Venediktova said in a post on Facebook that the man, identified as Vadim Shysimarin, is accused of killing an unarmed civilian in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on February 28, four days after Moscow launched its offensive.

The 21-year-old is currently being held in custody. If convicted, he faces between 10 years to life in prison, Venediktova said.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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US House approves $40 billion Ukraine aid

US lawmakers voted Tuesday to send a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, as Washington warned that Russia was likely girding for a long conflict with its neighbor.

The defense, humanitarian and economic funding passed the House of Representatives by 368 votes to 57, with the two parties’ leaders having already reached an agreement on the details. It will likely pass the Senate by the end of the week or next week.

All the dissenting votes came from the Republican ranks.

“With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues ahead of the vote.

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Ukrainian gas line supplying a third of Europe’s gas from Russia to be turned off 

Ukraine says it has been forced to cut off gas supply at the Novopskov compressor station in eastern Ukraine as it can no longer ensure safety at the facility. Throughout the war in Ukraine the station has continued to run as normal, providing Europe with almost a third of its gas supply from Russia.

The gas flow will stop at 17:00 local time on Wednesday, Ukraine’s national gas supplier said.

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US says no end in sight for war in Ukraine as Zelensky warns against ‘excessive emotions’

The US has warned that there is no end in sight for the conflict in Ukraine, even as Russian forces have been pushed back from the city of Kharkiv. 

“The next few months could see us moving along a more unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory,” said US Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the Ukrainian success in Kharkiv but also warned against “excessive emotions” in a video address on Tuesday evening.

“We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected weekly and even daily,” Zelensky said.

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Russian gas transit to Europe via key Ukraine route falls to zero

Nominations for Russian gas transit via Ukraine at the Sokhranovka entry point for May 11 declined to zero, data from Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator showed on Wednesday, following Kyiv’s warning of shutting down supplies through the route.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it would suspend the flow of gas through the transit point which it said delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine, blaming Moscow for the move and saying it would move the flows elsewhere.

The data also showed that requests for Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine at the Sudzha entry point stood at almost 72 million cubic metres for Wednesday.

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Russian troops pushed away from Kharkiv, says Zelensky

Russian troops are being pushed away from Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday.

The president said he had “good news” from the northeastern Kharkiv region.

“The occupiers are gradually being pushed away,” he said. “I am grateful to all our defenders who are holding the line and demonstrating truly superhuman strength to drive out the army of invaders.”

The head of the Kharkiv regional state administration Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram that “fierce battles” were ongoing in the region, and that the city itself was under heavy fire.

“Due to successful offensive operations, our defenders liberated Cherkasy Tyshky, Rusky Tyshky, Rubizhne and Bayrak from the invaders,” he said.

“Thus, the enemy was driven even further from Kharkiv, and the occupiers had even less opportunity to fire on the regional centre.”

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War in Ukraine revives France-Spain gas pipeline project

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Madrid has revived calls to build a huge gas pipeline between Spain and France dubbed MidCat that would boost Europe’s energy independence from Russia.

Initially launched in 2003, the 190-kilometre (120-mile) Midi-Catalonia (MidCat) pipeline would pump gas across the Pyrenees from Hostalric just north of Barcelona to Barbaira in southern France.

Its aim was to transport gas from Algeria through Spain to the rest of the European Union. There are currently only two small gas pipelines linking Spain and France.

But following several years of work, the project was abandoned in 2019 after energy regulators from both countries rejected it amid questions over its environmental impact and profitability.

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Human, material cost of conflict piling up for Russia – Ukraine

Russia continues to suffer massive human and material losses in Ukraine, with hundreds of its soldiers killed and more equipment destroyed over the past day, the Ukrainian military said.

Since conflict began, about 26,000 Russian troops, including 350 in the past day, have been killed in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian General Staff’s latest update.

Ukrainian forces have also destroyed 1,170 tanks, 2,808 armored vehicles, 519 artillery systems, 380 drones, 199 aircraft, 185 multiple rocket launcher systems, and 158 helicopters, it said. 

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Over 1,000 Ukraine fighters still in Azovstal plant – Kiev

Kiev said that more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops, many of them injured, remained in the sprawling Azovstal steelworks in the Russian-controlled port city of Mariupol.

“More than a thousand” Ukrainian soldiers remain in the plant, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, told AFP.

“Hundreds are injured. There are people with serious injuries who require urgent evacuation. The situation is deteriorating every day.”

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RUSSIA’S FROZEN ASSETS SHOULD BE USED TO REBUILD UKRAINE: TOP EU OFFICIALS

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UK says Russia was behind February 24 Viasat cyber attack

Britain said it believed Russia was behind an operation targeting commercial communications company Viasat in Ukraine on February  24, citing new British and American intelligence. 

“This is clear and shocking evidence of a deliberate and malicious attack by Russia against Ukraine which had significant consequences on ordinary people and businesses in Ukraine and across Europe,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. 

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German FM pledges accountability for killings in Bucha

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged that the international community would hold to account those responsible for the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha during Russia’s war.

Speaking during a visit to the town on the outskirts of Kiev, Baerbock said that “the worst crimes imaginable” had been perpetrated in Bucha during the Russian occupation.

Witnesses have told how Russian soldiers targeted civilians seemingly at random, leaving their bodies lying on the street after their withdrawal on March 31. 

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Russia lost 26,000 servicemen: Ukraine

Moscow’s losses amounted to 26,000 soldiers, including some 350 in the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military said.

Since the invasion began on February 24, Russian forces have also lost 1,170 tanks, 2,808 armored vehicles, 199 planes and 158 helicopters, the General Staff of Armed Forces said on Facebook on Tuesday.

It said that the figures are “being updated” because of ongoing hostilities.

Russia’s most recent death toll in late March was more than 1,300 servicemen.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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EU deal on Russian oil ban could be reached soon: French minister

French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said European Union members could reach a deal this week on the EU Commission’s proposal to ban all oil imports from Russia.

“I think we could strike a deal this week,” Beaune told LCI television, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron was due to talk to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban later in the day.

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Russia underestimated Ukraine’s resistance: UK

Russia’s underestimation of Ukraine’s resistance prevented Putin from announcing any military successes on Victory Day, the UK’s defence ministry has said.

“Russia’s invasion plan is highly likely to have been based on the mistaken assumption that it would encounter limited resistance and would be able to encircle and bypass population centres rapidly,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing.

This “assumption” is why Russian forces used a “light, precise approach” in the invasion’s opening phase to try “to achieve a rapid victory with minimal cost”.

“This miscalculation led to unsustainable losses and a subsequent reduction in Russia’s operational focus,” the ministry said.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 10 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/l07FXELmoB

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/1c0D5OtBGX

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 10, 2022

 

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Ukraine repelled 15 Russian attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk: Army

Ukraine’s army has said it repelled 15 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the past day.

The latest report from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Moscow’s forces are preparing for offensives in the towns of Lyman and Severodonetsk. Fights continue for the settlements of Voevodovka and Toshkovka in the Severodonetsk district of the Luhansk region, as well as Kamenka in the Donetsk region, it added in a post on Facebook.

Russian forces are continuing to secure a section of the Ukrainian-Russian border near the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk, the army said. Multiple areas of the Sumy region were shelled, including the villages of Belopolye, Bolshaya Pisarevka, Krasnopolye and Yunakivka.

The post also said that Ukraine’s forces destroyed one Russian anti-aircraft missile system, nine tanks, three artillery systems, 25 units of armoured combat vehicles, three units of special engineering equipment and three other vehicles.

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Fighters in Azovstal still battling for Mariupol

One of the Ukrainian fighters holding out in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has said they were still defending the city.

Valeri Paditel, who heads the border guards in the Donetsk region, said the fighters were “doing everything to make those who defend the city in the future proud.”

In a video address, released by the national border guard service, Paditel said the fighters include border guards, soldiers, national police and members of the national guard.

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Japan announces new Moscow sanctions

Japan has announced new sanctions on Russia, Reuters reports.

The sanctions include freezing the assets of more individuals and banning exports of cutting-edge goods to some Russian groups, including scientific research institutions.

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Putin’s speech shows he won’t use nuclear weapons: Ukraine official

An adviser to Zelenskyy has interpreted Putin’s Victory Day speech as indicating that Russia has no interest in escalating the war through the use of nuclear weapons or direct engagement with NATO, the Associated Press reports.

Oleksiy Arestovych pointed to Putin’s statement that Russia would honour the memory of those who fought in World War II by doing “everything so that the horror of a global war does not happen again”.

Translating from “Kremlin speak into Russian,” Arestovych said this means: “There will be no nuclear war. There will be no war with NATO. What will there be? There will be a sluggish attempt to solve three main problems,” which he identified as taking control of the entire Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions.

Arestovych said in an online interview that Russia would drag out the war while bleeding the Ukrainian economy with the aim of getting Ukraine to agree to give up these territories.

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Russia not planning to close Europe embassies: RIA

Russia is not planning to proactively close its embassies in Europe in response to sanctions and other unfriendly measures by the West, state news agency RIA has reported, citing Russia’s deputy foreign minister.

“This is not in our tradition,” Alexander Grushko told RIA.

“Therefore, we believe that the work of diplomatic representative offices is important.”

On Monday, Russia’s ambassador to Poland was doused in a red substance by people protesting against the war in Ukraine as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

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Russia urgently needs more troops in Donbas: Think-tank

Members of the Kremlin-linked private military company, the Wagner Group, have reportedly requested hundreds of thousands of additional troops to reinforce Russian efforts in Donbas, the Institute for the Study of War has said.

In its latest campaign assessment, the institute cited intelligence reports that untrained Russian conscripts were still being sent into active combat despite the Kremlin denying this practice. It mentioned a prisoner of war from the Wagner Group saying that a “covert mobilisation” was under way in Russia to send conscripts to clean damage caused by combat in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics.

The institute also said US officials had reported that Russian forces deployed to the Zaporizhzhia area were experiencing “very low morale and psychological conditions”. They “complain about the ineffectiveness of operations in the area, frequently abuse alcohol, and shoot at their own vehicles in order to avoid going to the frontline”, the institute added.

Read today’s campaign assessment from @TheStudyofWar & @criticalthreats: #Russian troops in #Ukraine continue to display low morale and poor discipline as fighting in many areas has stalled out against #Ukrainian resistance.

Full update: https://t.co/FPSZMN6QMl pic.twitter.com/Kg4L2fxVfR

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 10, 2022

 

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Biden signs measure speeding up US weapons deliveries to Ukraine

President Joe Biden has eased the acceleration of US weapons shipments to Ukraine through a law based on a World War 2 measure helping US allies to defeat Nazi Germany.

Biden signed the Lend-lease Act in the Oval Office, saying the United States supports Ukrainians’ “fight to defend their country and their democracy against Putin’s brutal war.”

Acknowledging the billions of dollars already spent by the United States, Biden said “caving to aggression is even more costly.” The Lend-lease Act, streamlining the flow of military equipment, “is based on a WW2-era programme to help Europe resist Hitler,” the White House said.

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US: Putin’s claim of Ukraine defensive action patently absurd

The United States has said President Vladimir Putin was “absurd” and insulting history by casting Russia’s attacks on Ukraine as a defensive operation on the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.

“To call this a defensive action is patently absurd,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. “It is an insult to those who have lost their lives and those who have fallen victim to this senseless oppression.”

Earlier, Putin defended Russia’s “special military operation” as necessary to protect the “Motherland” as Moscow flexed its military muscle at a huge parade marking the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.

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US temporarily suspends tariffs on Ukraine steel imports

The US has suspended for one year tariffs imposed on Ukrainian steel imports, a move designed to help the nation’s economy. The 25 percent tariff was imposed in March 2018 to protect domestic industry, although a handful of countries were exempted.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo hailed the importance of the industry that continues to operate and employ one in every 13 Ukrainians, providing them with an “economic lifeline”.

“We can’t just admire the fortitude and spirit of the Ukrainian people—we need to have their backs and support one of the most important industries to Ukraine’s economic well-being,” Raimondo said in a statement. 

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Pentagon: Ukrainians being sent to Russia against their will

The United States has seen indications that some Ukrainians are being moved to Russia against their will, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby has said, calling the actions “unconscionable.”

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EU’s von der Leyen sees progress in talks with Hungary on Russian oil ban

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she has made progress in talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on a possible EU-wide ban on Russian fossil fuels.

“This evening’s discussion with PM Viktor Orban was helpful to clarify issues related to sanctions and energy security”, von der Leyen said in a tweet. “We made progress, but further work is needed”, she added.

Von der Leyen said she would convene a video conference with other countries in the region to strengthen regional cooperation on oil infrastructure.

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EU’s Michel forced to take cover during Odessa strike

European Council President Charles Michel, who made a surprise visit to Odessa, was forced to break off a meeting and take cover when missiles again struck the southern Ukrainian city.

The strike took place as he held talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“During the meeting with the PM, the participants needed to interrupt the meeting to take shelter as missiles struck again the region of Odessa,” an EU official said.

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US: Asia’s reaction to Ukraine conflict sends signal to Russia and China

The reaction of Asian countries to the Ukraine crisis helps show Russia and China that they cannot act with impunity when launching an offensive, the US ambassador to Japan has said.

Rahm Emanuel made the comment in an online event hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Japan’s ambassador to the United States Tomita Koji told the event that US President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Japan this month would send a signal that Washington was still focused on the Indo-Pacific.

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WHO delivers 20 all-terrain ambulances to Ukraine

The World Health Organization has given Ukraine’s Health Ministry 20 all-terrain ambulances able to work in damaged and inaccessible areas to support emergency health needs as Russia has continued bombarding its neighbour’s towns and cities.

“We bring not just supplies but support based on your needs. Today we are handing 20 ambulances, along with generators and blood refrigerators, to hospitals wherever they are needed,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“But the most important thing we want to see delivered is peace,” he said of the attacks started by Russian forces on February 24.

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Russia: Talks with Ukraine continue but not ready for in-person meeting

Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that peace talks with Ukraine had not stopped and were being held remotely, according to the Interfax news agency.

Moscow has accused Kiev of stalling the talks and using reports of atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine to undermine negotiations. Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls its “special military operation”.

Asked when-in person talks might be held with Ukrainian negotiators, Medinsky said: “We need more specifics on hand in order to meet in person.”

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Russia says it destroyed US-made radar system in Ukraine

The Russian defence ministry said that its forces had destroyed a US-made counter-battery radar station near the eastern Ukrainian town of Zolote.

The United States and other NATO allies have been supplying increasingly heavy weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian forces that entered in February.

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Russian ambassador to Poland hit with red paint

Russia’s ambassador to Poland was splattered by red paint thrown at him by protesters opposed to the offensive in Ukraine, preventing him from paying respects at a Warsaw cemetery to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II.

Ambassador Sergey Andreev arrived at the Soviet soldiers cemetery to lay flowers on Victory Day, which marks the the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies. The holiday was celebrated with pomp in a parade at Red Square in Moscow. 

As he arrived at the Soviet Soldiers Cemetery in the Polish capital, Andreev was met by hundreds of activists opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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Ukraine exported over 1 million tonnes of grain in April despite conflict

Ukraine has sown about 7 million hectares of spring crops so far this year, or 25-30 percent less than in the corresponding period of 2021, and exported 1.090 million tonnes of grain in April, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said.

He underlined the importance of exports of Ukrainian grain via Romania while Russia is blockading Ukrainian ports, but said those exports could be complicated in two months by exports of the new wheat crop in Romania and Bulgaria.

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Russia’s Putin makes ‘fairytale claims’ – UK defence secretary

Russian President Vladimir Putin has “made a number of fairytale claims for months and years now,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Wallace’s remarks came as a response to Putin’s claims that his country was under NATO threat he made at the Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow earlier in the day.

Wallace accused Russian generals of hijacking their “forebears’ proud history,” and said they must face war crimes trials.

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Russian satellite TV shows a Ukraine message: ‘blood on your hands’

Russian satellite television menus were altered to show viewers in Moscow messages about the war in Ukraine: “You have blood on your hands”, according to screenshots obtained by Reuters.

The photographs showed Moscow satellite television menus on Victory Day, when Russia celebrated the 77th anniversary of Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, with every channel showing anti-war slogans.

“You have the blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of dead children on your hands,” said one slogan.

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Ukraine won’t allow Russia to ‘appropriate’ World War II victory, says Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky has released a video statement saying Ukraine will not allow Russia to appropriate victory in World War II.

“Today we celebrate Victory Day over Nazism. We are proud of our ancestors who together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory. We will not allow it to be appropriated,” the Ukrainian leader said. 

Zelensky listed several Ukrainian towns and cities currently under control of invading Russian forces, saying that Ukrainians during World War II had ousted Nazi Germany’s forces from these regions.

“The names of these cities inspire us today. They give us faith that we will drive the occupiers from our land,” Zelensky said in the video address, listing Mariupol, Kherson, and the Crimean peninsula by name.

“We won then. We will win now,” the Ukrainian president added.

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‘Every soldier’s death is painful for us’, says Putin

Putin says Russian troops and volunteers deployed in Ukraine’s Donbas are fighting for their Motherland.

“You are fighting for your Motherland, its future,” he says in his Victory Day speech in Moscow.

“The death of every soldier and officer is painful for us,” he says. “The state will do everything to take care of these families.”

He finishes his speech with a rallying cry to the assembled soldiers: “For Russia, For Victory, Hurrah!”

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 NATO ‘an obvious threat’ to Russia, says Putin

Putin claims the Wests was preparing a punitive operation in Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, where Russia’s military operations are now focused.

He says Russia “urged Europe to find a fair compromise, but they didn’t want to hear us”.

“In Kyiv they were saying they might get nuclear weapons and NATO started exploring the lands close to us and that became an obvious threat to our country and to our borders,” Putin adds. “Everything was telling us that there is a need to fight.”

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Russian forces defending ‘Motherland’ in Ukraine, says Putin

The Russian president has begun his speech by telling Russian troops they are defending their country in Ukraine.

The West was “preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea,” he says.

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Opposing views of history’ come to fore as Moscow celebrates Victory Day

Victory Day has become “like a religion today”, says Oleg Kobtzeff, professor of international politics at the American University of Paris.

“What’s wiped out from memory is that among the 20 million killed [during World War II], it’s pretty much Belarussian and Ukrainian civilians that paid a high price,” he says.

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‘We will win,’ says Ukraine’s Zelensky

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a statement moments before Russia marks its Victory Day anniversary in Moscow. He says his country is fighting for a new victory, this time over Russian invaders.

“On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory. The road to it is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win,” he said in a written address.

Zelensky said Ukrainians were a free people who had fought to defend their land many times in history and had their “own path”.

“Today we are waging war on this path and we will not give anyone a single piece of our land (…) and we will not give anyone a single piece of our history,” he said.

“We are proud of our ancestors who, together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition, defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated.”

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UK slaps fresh sanctions on Russia, Belarus

The UK on Sunday said it was slapping fresh sanctions on Russia and Belarus over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including import tariffs on precious metals and export bans.

The import tariffs, including on platinum and palladium, target trade worth £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion or 1.6 billion euros), while export bans worth £250 million target Russia’s manufacturing and heavy industry, said a statement from the Department for International Trade.

“This far-reaching package of sanctions will inflict further damage on the Russian war machine,” said Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

“It is part of a wider coordinated effort by the many countries around the world who are horrified by Russia’s conduct and determined to bring to bear our economic might to persuade (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to change course.”

The UK’s new sanctions bring the total value of products subjected to full or partial import and export sanctions to more than £4 billion.

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Russia has ‘forgotten’ all that mattered to WWII victors, says Zelensky

Russia has forgotten everything that mattered to the victors of World War II, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, a day before Moscow commemorates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany.

Denouncing Russia’s heavy shelling in the east of the country including one strike on a school that he says killed 60 people, he added: “Russia has forgotten everything that was important to the victors of World War II.”

While normal people associated the anniversary with peace and the slogan “Never again!”, Russia was continuing its attacks, said Zelensky in his nightly address.

Russia will on Monday mark the 77th anniversary since victory in what Russia calls the Great Patriotic War.

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Bombing of school in Ukrainian town kills two

Two people have been killed in the Russian bombing of a school in the Ukrainian village of Bilohorivka and 60 who remained under debris are feared dead, Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said on Sunday.

Gaidai said Russia dropped a bomb on Saturday afternoon on the school where about 90 people were sheltering. Thirty people have been rescued.

“Seven of them were injured,” Gaidai wrote on wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app. “Sixty people were likely to have died under the rubble of buildings.”

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Mariupol defenders face final showdown with Russian invaders

President Volodymyr Zelensky is also set to hold talks with G7 leaders via video conference to discuss the situation in his country, which fears a renewed intensity to Moscow’s offensive after the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks.

The complex — the final pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the devastated port city — has taken on a symbolic value in the war, with the last soldiers holed up in its sprawling network of underground tunnels and bunkers.

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Dozens feared dead in school attack: Governor

The governor of Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai has said dozens of people stuck under the rubble after the school bombing in Belogorovka were likely dead.

“Probably all 60 people who are still under the rubble of the building are dead,” he posted on his Telegram account.

Emergency services were able to rescue 30 people, seven of whom were injured, the governor added.

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Bomb attack on Luhansk school, two reported dead

The bodies of two people have been pulled out of the rubble of a school building in the town of Belogorovka in the Luhansk region, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.

Authorities there said some 90 people had been sheltering in the school when the Russians dropped a bomb on Saturday.

Independent Press could not verify the reports independently.

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Russia says high-precision missiles hit airfields in Odesa region

Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday said high-precision missiles had destroyed Ukrainian aircraft at airfields in the Artsyz, Odesa and Voznesensk regions, and that its Iskander missiles had hit U.S. and European equipment near Kharkiv.

Ukraine earlier said four missiles had hit the Odesa region on Saturday, without causing casualties. Other missiles striking Odesa on Saturday had hit a furniture factory in a residential area, while the other two struck an already damaged runway strip, it said.

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Chechen leader says his soldiers control Ukraine’s Popasna

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s republic of Chechnya, says his soldiers have taken control of most of the eastern Ukrainian city of Popasna, in the Luhansk region.

Kadyrov, who has often described himself as Putin’s “foot soldier”, made his announcement on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine but Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said late on Saturday that heavy fighting for the town continues.

“Russian propagandists have joyfully reported that they have already taken it, but this is not quite how it is. This is their 117th ‘capture of Popasna’ claim only this week,” he said in a video on social media.

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G7 leaders to hold virtual talks with Zelenskyy

The leaders of the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States – are due to hold a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy.

The meeting will take place on Sunday afternoon, or morning in US time, according to the White House.

The talks, which will focus on the latest developments in the Ukraine war as well as sanctions against Russia, come a day before Moscow marks its Victory holiday.

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UK to provide 1.3 billion pounds of additional military aid to Ukraine

The UK says it will provide 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6bn) in military support and aid to Ukraine.

The new pledge almost doubles the UK’s previous spending commitments on Ukraine and the government said this is the highest rate of spending on a conflict since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although it did not give details.

“Putin’s brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine, it is also threatening peace and security across Europe,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.

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‘Hellish reality show’: Trapped Mariupol fighter pleads for help

The commander of a group of soldiers still trapped in Azovstal has called for help after the last civilians were evacuated from Azovstal.

“It feels like I’ve landed in a hellish reality show in which us soldiers fight for our lives and the whole world watches this interesting episode,” Serhiy Volinski, commander of the 36th marine infantry brigade said.

“Pain, suffering, hunger, misery, tears, fears, death. It’s all real,” he added, posting a picture of himself in which he is unshaven, bleary-eyed and seems to have an injured nose. He added that his troops could only hope for a miracle now.

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Zelenskyy vows to rescue fighters trapped in Azovstal

Zelenskyy has pledged to continue the “extremely difficult but essential” efforts to evacuate all those remaining in Azovstal.

“I want to thank the teams of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations for helping us carry out the first phase,” Zelenskyy said in his nighttime video address.

“We managed to save more than 300 people, women and children … we took all civilians out of the Azovstal plant and are now preparing for the second stage of the evacuation mission to evacuate those who are wounded and medics.

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Chinese calculations on Taiwan affected by Ukraine conflict, says CIA director

US CIA Director William Burns said on Saturday that Beijing is closely monitoring Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and that it is affecting China’s calculations over Taiwan.

Burns, who was speaking at a Financial Times event in Washington, said Chinese government leadership has been struck by Ukraine’s fierce resistance to Russia’s invasion and by the economic costs Russia is bearing. “These are things that they’re weighing very carefully,” Burns said.

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WHO says it stands with Ukraine, has documented 200 attacks on health facilities

World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Ukrainians from Kyiv on Saturday that the WHO stood by them in their conflict with Russia, and urged Moscow to stop waging war on its neighbour.

“My message to all the people of Ukraine is this,” he said, speaking from the government media centre in the capital. “WHO stands by you.” WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan told the same news conference that the WHO had already documented 200 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine, and would pass its findings on to those who could assess whether crimes had been committed.

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No ‘practical evidence’ Russia plans to use tactical nukes says CIA director

The US Central Intelligence Agency sees no indications that Russia is preparing to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, CIA director Bill Burns said Saturday.

“We don’t see, as an intelligence community, practical evidence at this point of Russian planning for the deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns said at a conference.

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Putin believes ‘doubling down’ will improve Ukraine war outcome says CIA director

US CIA Director William Burns said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes doubling down on the military conflict in Ukraine will improve his outcome in the war.

“He’s in a frame of mind in which he doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” said Burns, who was speaking at a Financial Times event in Washington. “I think he’s convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress.”

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All women, children and elderly civilians evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal, Ukraine says

All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from  the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday. “This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation is over,” Vereshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging service.

Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk region said earlier Saturday that 50 civilians had been evacuated from the plant. Reuters had not seen any evidence of their arrival at a nearby separatist-controlled reception point as of 1600 GMT.

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Jill Biden hails ‘amazingly strong’ Ukraine refugees in Romania

US first lady Jill Biden hailed the “amazingly strong” refugees from war-torn Ukraine as she visited neighbouring Romania on Saturday. “You are amazingly strong,” Biden said after listening to mothers and children recount how they fled Russia’s invasion of their country.

“We stand with you, I hope you know that,” she said in a visit to a school in Bucharest, accompanied by her Romanian counterpart Carmen Iohannis, according to images transmitted by TVR public television. 

More than 810,000 Ukrainians have entered Romania since the start of the war, according to UN figures released on April 29. Most have moved on to other countries, with an estimated 80,000 staying, half of them children, according to the World Vision foundation.

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Senior Russian lawmaker says US directly involved in Ukraine fighting

Russia’s most senior lawmaker on Saturday accused Washington of coordinating military operations in Ukraine, which he said amounted to direct US involvement in military action against Russia.

“Washington is essentially coordinating and developing military operations, thereby directly participating in military actions against our country,” Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.

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Ukraine says it sank a Russian landing craft near Snake Island in Black Sea

Ukraine’s defence ministry said in a statement an armed drone had destroyed a Serna-class landing craft and a missile defence system near the Black Sea’s Snake Island, where Ukrainian forces famously rebuffed Russian demands to surrender at the beginning of the war.

The ministry released grainy overhead footage on social media showing in black and white what appeared to be an explosion over a light craft with debris spilling outwards.

The military said in a separate statement on social media that the Bayraktar drone strike had also destroyed a Tor-M2 anti-aircraft system being delivered to the island. There was no immediate confirmation of the strike from the Russian defence ministry. 

The Snake Island outpost became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance after a radio exchange went viral at the start of the war, in which Ukrainian soldiers used an expletive in rebuffing a demand by the Russian warship Moskva to surrender.

The Moskva sank in the Black Sea in mid-April following what Moscow said was an explosion on board. Ukraine and the US said the warship was hit with missiles.

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Biden announces new security aid for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced on Friday a package of security assistance to Ukraine that will provide additional artillery munitions, radars and other equipment that a US official separately said was worth $150 million.

In a statement, Biden did not specify the amount. His administration has nearly exhausted funding from a drawdown authority and he urged Congress to pass his proposed $33 billion assistance package for Ukraine, he added.

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Shelling destroys museum dedicated to 18th-century poet in Kharkiv region

Russian shelling hit a museum dedicated to the philosopher and poet Hryhoriy Skovoroda in the Ukrainian village of Skovorodynivka, causing a fire that destroyed the building, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said on Saturday.

The overnight shelling hit the roof of the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Literary Memorial Museum, injuring a 35-year-old custodian, but the most valuable items had been moved earlier to a safer place, Sinegubov said in a post on social media.

“The premises were practically all destroyed,” he said.

Skovoroda, a famous 18th-century philosopher and poet of Ukraine Cossack origin, spent the last years of his life on an estate of the local landowners in the village of Ivanovka, which was later renamed in his honour.

“This year marks the 300th anniversary of the great philosopher’s birth,” Sinegubov said. “The occupiers can destroy the museum where Hryhoriy Skovoroda worked for the last years of his life and where he was buried. But they will not destroy our memory and our values.”

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Two Russian missiles hit border villages in northern Ukraine says governor

Air-launched Russian missiles hit two locations near the Russian border in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region on Saturday, local governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said.

A border guard was wounded by the strikes on the Myropilske and Khotin municipalities, Zhyvytskyi wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

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Missiles hit Ukraine’s Odesa, regional government says

Several missiles hit the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, the regional administration’s spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said in televised remarks.

Bratchuk said the strikes hit the city after targets in the surrounding Odesa region had been hit by four missiles earlier in the day.

He did not give further detail about the new strikes, saying that the facts were still being established.

Reuters was not able to immediately confirm details of the report.

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Pro-Russia forces say 50 more people evacuated from Mariupol plant

Pro-Russia forces said 50 more people were evacuated on Saturday from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, where scores of civilians have been trapped for weeks alongside Ukrainian fighters holed up in the Soviet-era plant.

The territorial defence headquarters of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Telegram that a total of 176 civilians had now been evacuated from the steelworks. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

About 50 civilians had been moved on Friday from the sprawling plant to a reception centre in nearby Bezimenne in the separatist republic, whose forces are fighting alongside Russian troops to expand their control of large parts of eastern Ukraine.

Dozens of civilians were also evacuated last weekend

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Jill Biden praises Romanian government, relief groups in Bucharest visit

US first lady Jill Biden on Saturday praised the Romanian government and relief organisations for humanitarian aid they are providing to Ukrainians who are fleeing the Russian invasion.

“It’s amazing. It’s solidarity here in Romania that you’re all working together,” Biden said. “I think this is really, unfortunately, just the beginning. Just the beginning.”

Biden delivered her sober assessment at the conclusion of a nearly hourlong briefing at the US embassy in Bucharest on the relief effort.

Biden was told that Romania had “welcomed” nearly 900,000 refugees from Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, but most have moved on to other countries.

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Ukrainian soldiers hunt for landmines Russian forces left behind

Ukrainian army soldiers need to meticulously check thousands of hectares of land while hunting for landmines left by retreating Russian forces. It isn’t long before they find something concealed in the grass. “It’s a mortar shell, 82 millimetres long,” says Mykhailo Konopelniuk, a de-mining supervisor for the Ukrainian defence ministry. “Using bombs like this, the Russians destroyed the bridge.”

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Fifty civilians evacuated from Azovstal plant in Mariupol

Fifty Ukrainians were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in the battered Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday, officials in Kyiv said.

“Today we were able to evacuate from Azovstal 50 women, children and elderly people,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

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UK’s Johnson urges caution over Russia in call to France’s Macron

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, agreeing to work together more closely on security while urging against any negotiations with Russia that played into its “false narrative”.

A British readout on the call said the two leaders, who have endured a strained relationship, had committed to reinvigorate the “Anglo-French relationship”.

On Ukraine the readout said Johnson “urged against any negotiations with Russia on terms that gave credence to the Kremlin’s false narrative for the invasion, but stressed that this was a decision for the Ukrainian government.”

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Unanimous UN Security Council declaration backs ‘peaceful’ Ukraine solution

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted its first declaration on Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, backing the Secretary-General’s efforts to find a “peaceful solution” to the war.

The declaration, drafted by Norway and Mexico and obtained by AFP, stopped short of supporting a mediation effort by Antonio Guterres, as was laid out in an earlier version of the text.

“The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine,” the text adopted Friday said.

The 15-member council also “recalls that all Member States have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”

The text ends by asking Guterres to submit a report to the council after the adoption of the declaration.

The declaration is the first show of unity from the Security Council since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Shortly after the text was adopted, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning the invasion and asking Moscow to move its army back to Russian soil.

Positive step for diplomacy? The #UNSC has agreed on first joint statement since war in #Ukraine started: “The SC expresses strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General in the search for a peaceful solution.” “good offices” was replaced by “efforts”

— Jessica Le Masurier (@lemasurierjess) May 6, 2022

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Biden expected to sign new $100 million weapons package for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden isexpected to sign a new weapons package for Ukraine in the coming days worth at least $100 million, three US officials told Reuters on Friday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the latest package would likely include more munitions for systems like the Howitzers.

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Russian foreign ministry summons UK ambassador over media sanctions

The Russian foreign ministry said on Friday it had summoned Deborah Bronnert, Britain’s ambassador to Russia, and strongly protested in relation to new UK sanctions on Russian media.

The ministry said in a statement Russia would continue react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by London.

Britain imposed sanctions on individual journalists and media organisations earlier in May in its latest wave of measures designed to increase pressure on Moscow to stop what it calls “a special military operation” in Ukraine.

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Bus with 12 civilians leaves besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol, reports RIA

A second bus, carrying 13 civilians including one child, on Friday left the Azovstal complex in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is besieged by Russian forces, the Russian state news agency RIA reported on Friday, citing its correspondent on site.

Earlier on Friday, 12 people including children were brought from Azovstal to the Russian-controlled town of Bezimenne, hours after Ukraine had accused Russia of violating a ceasefire aimed at evacuating civilians trapped underground in the bombed-out steelworks.

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New effort races to rescue civilians from Mariupol plant and city

A new international effort raced Friday to rescue more civilians from the tunnels under a besieged steel plant in Mariupol and the city at large, even as fighters holed up at the sprawling complex made their last stand to prevent Moscow’s complete takeover of the strategic port. Hundreds of civilians have made it out of Mariupol in the last week and they have been telling harrowing stories about the situation in the steel works. 

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Ukraine’s Zelensky: Russia thinks it can escape war crime prosecutions because of nuclear threat

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia thought it could escape prosecutions for war crimes because of the threat of a nuclear attack.

“They do not believe that they can be made responsible for the war crimes because they have the power of the nuclear state”, Zelensky, speaking through a translator, told Britain’s Chatham House think tank.

“This is the 72nd day of the fully-fledged war and we can see no end of it yet and we cannot feel any willingness of the Russian side to end it.”

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Ukraine finance minister calls for total embargo on Russian oil and gas

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko called on Friday for a complete international embargo on Russian oil and gas over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Marchenko told an online briefing that Ukraine was struggling to balance its budget after 10 weeks of war and said that, as finance minister, he could not be satisfied with the speed at which financial assistance was arriving from abroad.

Referring to what he called the “insufficiency of the sanctions that have been introduced”, he said the high price of oil and natural gas meant Moscow had a budget surplus and “they feel quite comfortable”.

“The main issue is a complete embargo on the purchase of gas and oil from the Russian Federation. This is something that needs to be worked on and that the Ukrainian authorities are actively working on,” he said. “This will make it possible to remove the possibility of financing the war.”

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Russian soldiers trying to storm Ukraine’s Severodonetsk

Russian forces have almost encircled Severodonetsk, the easternmost city in Ukraine held by Kyiv, and are trying to storm it, a local official said Friday.

“The city is almost surrounded by Russian and (separatist) Luhansk People’s Republic troops,” Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the Severodonetsk military administration said on Ukrainian television. “They are trying to storm the city through nearby villages,” he said, indicating moves for a multi-pronged attack.

Severodonetsk’s capture would be a major gain for the Russian army which has refocused its efforts on taking the whole of the eastern Donbas region.

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G7 leaders to hold video conference with Zelensky on Sunday

Leaders of the world’s top industrialised nations will hold video talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, a spokeswoman for the German government as the acting G7 chair said.

“The German chancellor (Olaf Scholz) will hold the third video conference since the start of the year with his G7 partners,” Christiane Hoffmann told reporters on Friday, noting that May 8 is a “historic date marking the end of World War II in Europe”.

“It will cover current issues, particularly the situation in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky will take part and report on the current situation in his country.”

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Ukraine asks medical charity MSF to help evacuate Azovstal fighters

Ukraine has appealed to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders or MSF) to help evacuate fighters holed up in the vast Azovstal steel works in Mariupol that is surrounded by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s ministry for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories posted details on its website on Friday of a letter to the medical charity in which Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk expressed concern about “deplorable conditions” at the plant.

It quoted Vereshchuk as saying the MSF charter provided assistance to people in need or victims of armed conflict.

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UK’s Johnson urges caution over Russia in call to France’s Macron

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, agreeing to work together more closely on security while urging against any negotiations with Russia that played into its “false narrative”.

A British readout on the call said the two leaders, who have endured a strained relationship, had committed to reinvigorate the “Anglo-French relationship”.

On Ukraine the readout said Johnson “urged against any negotiations with Russia on terms that gave credence to the Kremlin’s false narrative for the invasion, but stressed that this was a decision for the Ukrainian government.”

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Unanimous UN Security Council declaration backs ‘peaceful’ Ukraine solution

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted its first declaration on Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, backing the Secretary-General’s efforts to find a “peaceful solution” to the war.

The declaration, drafted by Norway and Mexico and obtained by AFP, stopped short of supporting a mediation effort by Antonio Guterres, as was laid out in an earlier version of the text.

“The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine,” the text adopted Friday said.

The 15-member council also “recalls that all Member States have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”

The text ends by asking Guterres to submit a report to the council after the adoption of the declaration.

The declaration is the first show of unity from the Security Council since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Shortly after the text was adopted, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning the invasion and asking Moscow to move its army back to Russian soil.

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Italy orders seizure of yacht linked by media to Russian president

The Italian government ordered on Friday the seizure of a yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked in the media to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The sleek, six-deck Scheherazade has been undergoing repairs in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara since September, but recent activity at the dockside has suggested the crew might be preparing to put to sea.

The Italian finance ministry said in a statement that investigations showed the owner of the boat had ties to “prominent elements of the Russian government” and with people targeted by European Union sanctions.

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Podcast: Ukraine attracts fighters from the Middle East

The war in Ukraine has attracted thousands of foreign fighters battling on both sides from around the world, including the Middle East. Some call them mercenaries, while others call them volunteers. So why are they joining the fight?

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Russia-Ukraine peace talks ‘stagnant’: Report

A Russian diplomat has reportedly claimed that peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are “stagnant”, saying Ukraine is to blame.

“It is the statements of Ukrainian politicians that speak volumes about their unwillingness to continue” the talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksey Zaitsev has been quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he “doesn’t believe” in the talks, because the negotiating teams only discuss the possibility of him meeting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

However, the Financial Times has reported that Putin decided a peace settlement was “at a dead end” after Ukrainian forces sank the Moskva, Russia’s flagship missile cruiser in the Black Sea, on April 13.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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Russia says it destroyed ammunition depot, shot down warplanes in Ukraine

Russia has said its missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, according to its defence ministry.

Moscow also said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an Su-25 and a MiG-29, in the eastern Luhansk region.

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Taiwan adds Belarus to export control list due to Ukraine war

Taiwan’s government has imposed controls on exports of technology to Belarus, saying Minsk was directly involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The restrictions – which the island also imposed on Russia last month – bar Taiwanese companies from exporting a long list of tech products there without special permission.

The move is largely symbolic given Taiwan’s minimal levels of direct trade with Belarus or Russia.

The export control list includes equipment for making semiconductors, an industry where Taiwan is a world leader, as well as lasers and navigation systems. It is meant to prevent technology from being using for military purposes.

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Mariupol authorities say Russia violates ceasefire during evacuation

Local authorities in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol have accused Russian forces of opening fire on a car on its way to evacuate civilians from a vast steel works, killing a fighter and violating a ceasefire agreement.

Russia did not immediately comment on the Mariupol city council’s statement. Moscow has denied targeting civilians and had offered a ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel plant with Ukrainian fighters.

“During the ceasefire on the territory of the Azovstal plant a car was hit by Russians using an anti-tank guided weapon. This car was moving towards civilians in order to evacuate them from the plant,” Mariupol city council said in an online post.

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Zelenskyy accuses Russia of trying escape war crime prosecutions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia thought it could escape prosecutions for war crimes because of the threat of a nuclear attack.

“They do not believe that they can be made responsible for the war crimes because they have the power of the nuclear state”, Zelenskyy, speaking through a translator, told Britain’s Chatham House think tank.

“This is the 72nd day of the fully-fledged war and we can see no end of it yet and we cannot feel any willingness of the Russian side to end it.”

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German economy minister to visit Russian-owned Schwedt oil refinery

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck was expected to visit the PCK oil refinery in Brandenburg on Monday, where he is to hold talks with its management and staff as part of efforts to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, his ministry announced.

The refinery is controlled by state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft and is a key factor in Germany’s failure to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian oil supplies in the medium term.

In view of the planned EU embargo on Russian oil, Habeck has raised concerns about potential supply issues, especially in eastern Germany.

Habeck has announced his intention to tackle the issue several times, with some observers suggesting that he might use an amendment to the Energy Security Act currently making its way through the Bundestag, which would allow the federal government to place the refinery under state trusteeship or even to expropriate it.

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Zelenskyy calls on German chancellor to visit Ukraine on May 9

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to take a “powerful step” and visit Kyiv on May 9, the date when Russia commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory in World War Two.

Speaking via a translator to Britain’s Chatham House think tank, Zelenskyy offered the invitation to Scholz after the two countries’ relations were strained when the German president was stopped from visiting Kyiv last month.

“He’s invited, the invitation is open, it has been for some time now,” Zelenskiy said on a video call.

“He’s invited to come to Ukraine, he can make this very powerful political step to come here on the 9th of May, to Kyiv. I am not explaining the significance, I think you’re cultured enough to understand why.”

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Russia says Poland might be a ‘source of threat’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has slammed Poland for what he called its hostile rhetoric, saying that Warsaw could be “a source of threat”.

Poland has urged the European Union to tighten sanctions on Moscow and called for NATO to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces that have poured into its eastern parts.

Polish environment and climate minister, Anna Moskwa, said, “Poland is proud to be on Putin’s list of unfriendly countries.”

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Luhansk braces for more powerful Russian attacks

Russian forces will be intensifying their assault on the southeastern region of Luhansk, its governor said on Friday.

“We are getting ready for more powerful attacks in the nearest three or four days,” Serhiy Haidai said in televised remarks.

He added that Russians will “focus their efforts” to take the strategic towns of Severodonetsk and Popasna in order to encircle Ukrainian forces in the region that has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

He said Popasna “is razed to the ground” after weeks of indiscriminate Russian bombardment that destroyed most apartment buildings and houses.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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Zelenskyy: Russia not willing to end ‘war’ 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia thought it could escape prosecutions for “war crimes” because of the threat of a nuclear attack.  

“They do not believe that they can be made responsible for the war crimes because they have the power of the nuclear state”, Zelenskyy, speaking through a translator, told Britain’s Chatham House think tank.

“This is the 72nd day of the fully-fledged war and we can see no end of it yet and we cannot feel any willingness of the Russian side to end it,” he added.

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One Ukrainian fighter killed in Mariupol during evacuation

Authorities in Mariupol have accused Russian forces of violating a ceasefire at the city’s Azovstal steel works and firing at a car involved in evacuation efforts, killing one Ukrainian fighter and wounding six. 

Russia did not immediately comment on the city council’s online statement. It denies targeting civilians. 

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No plans for Victory Day events in Mariupol: Kremlin 

Kremlin has said there will be no Victory Day celebrations in Ukraine’s Mariupol, a strategic port city that Russian troops claimed control of last month. 

“A time will come and there will be a big celebration there,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that there were no plans for official visits on the day. 

“There will certainly be Russians there, and there will be many Russians on May 9, but I don’t know about any official delegation,” Peksov said.

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Hungary’s Orban rejects EU ban on Russian oil

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blasted European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for “attacking” EU unity with a plan to ban Russian oil, saying it crosses a red line and has been sent back.

“The European Commission president, intentionally or unintentionally, has attacked the European unity that had been worked out,” Orban said on state radio. “From the first moment we made clear that there will be a red line… they have crossed this red line.”

Von der Leyen said the bloc would “phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months, and refined products by the end of the year.” The embargo would amount to “a nuclear bomb dropped on the Hungarian economy,” Orban said

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Nearly 25M tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine: UN food agency

A UN food agency official has said that nearly 25 million tonnes of grains is stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country due to infrastructure challenges and blocked ports in the Black Sea.

“It’s an almost grotesque situation we see at the moment in Ukraine with nearly 25 million tonnes of grain that could be exported but that cannot leave the country simply because of lack of infrastructure, the blockade of the ports,” Josef Schmidhuber, FAO Deputy Director, Markets and Trade Division told a Geneva press briefing.

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Kremlin says Poland might be a source of threat

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that there is hostile rhetoric coming out of Poland, and that Warsaw could be “a source of threat.”

Poland has led calls for the EU to toughen sanctions and for the Western NATO alliance to arm Ukraine as it tries to resist Russian forces that have poured into its east.

Polish environment and climate minister Anna Moskwa has said that “Poland is proud to be on Putin’s list of unfriendly countries.”

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Russia denies possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Russia has no intentions to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the country’s Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman has said.

Asked about the allegations by the Western media about a possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Alexey Zaytsev recalled that such speculations come from the West, not for the first time, and called them a “deliberate lie.”

“We repeatedly had to refute insinuations about the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia in a special military operation. This is a deliberate lie. Russia firmly adheres to the principle that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should not be unleashed,” Zaytsev said.

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Russia continues ‘assault’ on Mariupol’s Azovstal plant: Kiev

Ukraine has said that Russia is pressing on with “assault operations” on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where Kiev’s remaining soldiers defending the battered port city and some civilians are holed up.

“The blockade of (Ukrainian) defence forces in the Azovstal area continues,” said a Kiev army spokesman in a video.

“In some areas, with aviation support, there are resumed assault operations to take control of the plant.”

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G7 leaders to hold video conference with Zelenskyy on Sunday: Berlin

Leaders of the world’s top industrialised nations will hold video talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, a spokeswoman for the German government as acting G7 chair has said.

“The German chancellor (Olaf Scholz) will hold the third video conference since the start of the year with his G7 partners,” Christiane Hoffmann told reporters, noting that May 8 is a “historic date marking the end of World War 2 in Europe”.

“It will cover current issues, particularly the situation in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will take part and report on the current situation in his country.”

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US intelligence helped Ukraine sink Moskva: NBC

US intelligence helped Ukraine sink the Russian warship Moskva, NBC News has reported, citing US officials.

The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet sank on April 14 after having been struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles, the US officials confirmed.

According to the officials, the attack happened after Ukrainian forces asked the Americans about a ship sailing in the Black Sea south of Odesa. The US identified it as the Moskva and helped confirm its location, after which the Ukrainians targeted the ship, the NBC report said.

The officials added that the US did not know in advance that Ukraine was going to target the Moskva.

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UK says Russia continued ground assault on Azovstal steel plant for second day

Russian forces in Ukraine’s Mariupol have continued their ground assault on the Azovstal steel plant for a second day, British military intelligence has said in a tweet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that Russian forces were still storming and shelling the Soviet-era Azovstal plant, where civilians and military forces are sheltering.

Meanwhile, a new UN convoy was expected in Mariupol to evacuate civilians from the besieged steel plant that has become the last pocket of resistance against Russian forces in the southern port city.

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Official: US gave intel before Ukraine sank Russian warship

The US says it has shared intelligence with Ukraine about the location of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva prior to the strike that sank the warship, an incident that was a high-profile failure for Russia’s military.

An American official said that Ukraine alone decided to target and sink the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet using its own anti-ship missiles. But given Russia’s attacks on the Ukrainian coastline from the sea, the US has provided “a range of intelligence” that includes locations of those ships, said the official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the US was not aware that Ukraine planned to strike the Moskva until after they conducted the operation. 

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Pentagon denies helping Ukraine ‘target’ Russian generals

The Pentagon has denied that it has provided intelligence on the locations of Russian generals on the battlefield so that Ukrainian forces could kill them.

Reacting to an explosive New York Times report on US support for Ukraine’s military, Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said it was true that the United States supplies Kiev’s forces with military intelligence “to help Ukrainians defend their country.”

“We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” Kirby said.

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US First Lady to meet Ukrainian refugees during border visit

US First Lady Jill Biden is on her way to Europe for a visit to Romania and Slovakia.

During her visit, the First Lady is scheduled to meet with US service members, US embassy personnel, displaced Ukrainian parents and children, humanitarian aid workers and educators.

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Russia’s invasion devastated 400 medical sites: Zelenskyy

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devastated 400 hospitals and other institutions and left doctors without drugs to tackle cancer or the ability to perform surgery, Zelenskyy has said.

In a video address to a medical charity group, he said in the areas occupied by Russian forces, the situation was catastrophic.

“This amounts to a complete lack of medication for cancer patients. It means extreme difficulties or a complete lack of insulin for diabetes. It is impossible to carry out surgery. It even means, quite simply, a lack of antibiotics.”

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UN chief says 500 Mariupol civilians rescued

The UN chief says that 500 people have now been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant, Mariupol and surrounding areas.

Antonio Guterres said in a tweet that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross operation involved two safe passage convoys.

Late on Thursday, Zelenskyy said in a video address that more than 150 people from Azovstal and more than 300 people from Mariupol and its suburbs had been evacuated this week. Evacuations are hoped to continue on Friday.

In a joint @UN–@ICRC operation, 2 safe passage convoys successfully evacuated nearly 500 people from the Azovstal plant, Mariupol & surrounding areas.

I hope that continued coordination with Moscow & Kyiv will lead to more humanitarian pauses to allow civilians safe passage.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 5, 2022

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Most Russian forces left Mariupol: Pentagon

The Pentagon says the majority of Russian forces that had been around the port city of Mariupol have left and headed north, leaving roughly the equivalent of two battalion tactical groups there, or about 2,000 troops.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that even as Russian airstrikes continue to bombard Mariupol, Moscow’s forces are still making only “plodding” and incremental progress as the main fight presses on in the eastern Donbas region.

He said he has seen no change in Russian behaviour or momentum as May 9 draws near.

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Zelenskyy decries ‘catastrophic’ lack of medical access

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described a “catastrophic” lack of access to medical services and medicine in areas of the country under Russian occupation.

In those areas, he said almost no treatment was available for those suffering from cancer, while insulin for people with diabetes was difficult to find or non-existent. He said antibiotics were in short supply, as well.

Zelenskyy also said that during the course of the war, the Russian military has already fired 2,014 missiles on Ukraine, while 2,682 flights of Russian warplanes have been recorded in Ukrainian skies. He said destroyed or damaged infrastructure includes nearly 400 hospitals and other medical facilities.

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White House welcomes Finland, Sweden discussions on NATO

The White House has welcomed deliberations by Finland and Sweden on potentially joining NATO, a development resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We obviously strongly support NATO’s open-door policy and the right of each country to decide its own future foreign policy and security arrangements,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

“And we are confident we’ll be able to work with them to address any concerns either country may have, but those are ongoing discussions.”

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UN reports 6,731 civilian casualties in Ukraine

The United Nations’ top human rights official has said the UN has recorded 6,731 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the war began. “It pains me to say that all our concerns remain valid and the situation keeps deteriorating,” Michelle Bachelet told the Security Council.

Bachelet said her office is documenting forced disappearances of representatives of local authorities, journalists and civil society activists. She said the office investigated 180 cases, with five of the individuals found dead.

“Grim evidence of torture, ill-treatment and summary executions of prisoners of war committed by both parties to the conflict is surfacing,” she said.

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Pentagon denies helping Ukraine ‘target’ Russian generals

The US defence department has denied that it provided intelligence on the locations of Russian generals on the battlefield so that Ukraine forces could kill them.

Reacting to a New York Times report on US support for the Ukraine military, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it was true that Washington supplies Kyiv’s forces with military intelligence “to help Ukrainians defend their country”.

“We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” Kirby said.

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Ukrainian official says people will be evacuated from Mariupol on Friday

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said that people would be evacuated from the besieged port city of Mariupol on Friday at 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

Vereshchuk made the announcement in a social media post. She said people would gather at the “Port City” shopping centre but gave no further details.

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Russia made failed attempts to advance in east, Ukraine says

The Ukrainian army has said Russian troops made “unsuccessful” attempts to advance in the eastern Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.

A Facebook post on the official profile of the Ukrainian General Staff said the Russians also continue to launch missile attacks on transport facilities in order to prevent the movement of humanitarian cargo and military-technical assistance.

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Russia says it destroyed 45 Ukrainian military facilities

The Russian military has said its air force destroyed 45 Ukrainian military facilities in the latest series of attacks.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the targets hit included Ukrainian troops and weapons concentrations and an ammunition depot in the eastern Luhansk region.

He said the Russian artillery hit 152 Ukrainian troops’ strongholds and 38 artillery firing positions.

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UN humanitarian chief hails ‘glimmer of hope’ in Mariupol evacuations

Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, has hailed the recent evacuations of hundreds of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol as a “glimmer of hope”, calling for more safe passages.

“We’re making some progress; we’re building relations and we’re building experience, which we hope we can then broaden to more such operations,” Griffiths told the Security Council.

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UN chief urges reintegrating food from Russia and Ukraine into global market

UN chief Antonio Guterres has again called for an end to the war in Ukraine, warning of “limitless” global harm, including to international food supplies.

“The war in Ukraine is senseless in its scope, ruthless in its dimensions and limitless in its potential for global harm. The cycle of destruction, dislocation and disruption must stop. It is time to unite and end this war,” he told the Security Council.

“A meaningful solution to global food insecurity requires reintegrating Ukraine’s agricultural production and the food and fertiliser production of Russia and Belarus into world markets despite the war. I will do my best to help facilitate the dialogue to help make these reality,” Guterres said.

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Scholz, Biden agree to not recognise Russian territorial gains

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and United States President Joe Biden have agreed in a call that they will not recognise any Russian territorial gains in Ukraine, a German government spokesperson has said.

“They agreed that Ukraine needed to be further substantially and continuously supported in the practice of its legitimate right to self defence,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

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Chinese, Russian central banks to discuss use of national payment systems

The Chinese and Russian central banks will discuss the use and promotion of their respective national payment systems in both countries, Beijing’s envoy to Moscow has told the TASS news agency.

“Regarding the promotion and use of the Mir and China UnionPay national payment systems in both countries, this question will be decided by the two sides’ central banks at consultations,” Zhang Hanhui said.

Mir and UnionPay are among the few options left for Russians to make payments abroad since Russian banks were isolated from the global financial system in response to what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

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Russia ‘still ready’ to give safe passage to civilians: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country’s army was “still ready” to allow safe passage for civilians trapped at Mariupol’s steel plant.

“The Russian military is still ready to ensure the safe exit of civilians,” Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Kremlin said.

“As for the militants remaining at Azovstal, the Kiev authorities must give them an order to lay down their arms.”

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UN agency: Reopen Ukraine ports to ship food 

The United Nations’ food aid agency is appealing for Black Sea ports in Ukraine to be open again to permit shipping of wheat and corn exports, which many poor nations depend on.

The Rome-based World Food Program noted in its appeal that before the start of the conflict, 98 percent of Ukraine’s grain exports had moved through those ports. 

The UN agency said the ports, in Ukraine’s south must resume operations “to protect Ukrainian agricultural production and enable exports that are critical to Ukraine’s economy and global food security.” 

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Ukraine begins working on reconstruction plan

A Ukrainian cabinet body began to develop proposals for a comprehensive post-conflict reconstruction plan, according to local media reports.

The Reforms Office, which operates under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, was cited as saying a working group mechanism was launched to “analyse the current situation and develop proposals for the plan for the reconstruction and development of Ukraine.”

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Jill Biden to meet Ukrainian refugees in Romania, Slovakia on Mother’s Day

United States First Lady Jill Biden will leave Washington for a tour of Romania and Slovakia to highlight the US commitment to Ukrainian refugees on Sunday, celebrated as Mother’s Day in the United States.

The wife of President Joe Biden is due to meet US service members and embassy personnel, displaced Ukrainian parents and children, humanitarian aid workers and teachers during the four-day trip, her office said.

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EU proposes sanctions on former Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva

The EU has proposed sanctioning former Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva for her role in Kremlin propaganda and close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a document seen by AFP.

Kabaeva is a late addition to the list of individuals targeted in a sixth package of measures against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine.

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UN agency appeals to reopen Ukraine ports to ship food

The United Nations’ food aid agency is appealing for Black Sea ports in Ukraine to be open again to permit shipping of wheat and corn exports, which many poor nations depend on.

The Rome-based World Food Program noted in its appeal that 98 percent of Ukraine’s grain exports had moved through those ports before Russia launched its invasion.

The UN agency says the ports in Ukraine’s south, which have suffered heavy shelling, must resume operations “to protect Ukrainian agricultural production and enable exports that are critical to Ukraine’s economy and global food security”.

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UK sanctions Russian steelmaker Evraz

The British government says it has sanctioned steel manufacturing and mining company Evraz in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The steel manufacturing and mining company operates in sectors of strategic significance to the Government of Russia,” the government said.

“Today’s asset freeze means no UK citizen or company can do business with them.”

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Ukrainian city warns of Russian missile attacks before war anniversary

The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine has urged residents to avoid public gatherings this weekend, or leave the city if they can, for fear of Russian missile attacks.

“We have certain information, the enemy unfortunately wants to conduct further missile strikes, therefore on the 7th, 8th, and 9th there won’t be any public events, including prayers,” he said. “For your safety, I urge you … on these three days to stay at home … or out of town if you are able,” said Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv.

His announcement followed warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia might step up its offensive in Ukraine before May 9, when Moscow commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

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Over $6.3B collected at Ukraine donors’ conference

More than six billion euros ($6.3 billion) were collected at a Ukraine donors’ conference in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said.

At “this conference, we were able to gather more than six billion euros and this money will be distributed to support Ukraine and all those who support Ukraine,” Morawiecki told a news conference.

“When Russia brings death, the countries of the free world have to bring aid and I think this conference here in Warsaw showed an enormous amount of solidarity amongst all of us.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke via video link at the conference organised by Poland and Sweden with EU participation.

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Russia ‘violated’ promised truce at Mariupol plant: Ukraine 

Russia “violated” a promised truce at Mariupol’s steelworks, where Ukrainian forces are making a last stand in the city, a Ukrainian commander has said, pleading for help for “dying” soldiers and the evacuation of civilians.

“The Russians violated the promise of a truce and did not allow the evacuation of civilians who continue to hide from shelling in the basement of the plant,” Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander of the Azov regiment, said in a video on Telegram.

Palamar said Russian soldiers broke into the plant “three days ago” triggering intense clashes, and that “heavy bloody fighting continues.”

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Japan to add 140 individuals to Russian sanction list

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that 140 individuals would be added to a Russian asset freeze list while an export ban will be expanded to Russian military firms.

Kishida, speaking in London via a translator after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, added that now was the time for the Group of Seven leading nations to solidify its unity.

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Belarus admits Russia-Ukraine conflict ‘drags on’

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko has defended Russian onslaught on Ukraine but said he didn’t expect the 10-week-old conflict to “drag on this way.”

He also spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine but wouldn’t say if Russian President Vladimir Putin had plans to launch such a strike.

“But I am not immersed in this problem enough to say whether it goes according to plan, like the Russians say, or like I feel it,” he said in the nearly 90-minute interview at Independence Palace in Minsk. “I want to stress one more time: I feel like this operation has dragged on.”

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New gas pipeline reduces dependence on Russia

A 500-million-euro ($530 million) Lithuanian-Polish natural gas transmission pipeline has been inaugurated, completing another stage of regional independence from Russian energy sources.

The Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania pipeline that runs more than 500 kilometres (310 miles), comes “at a time when Russia has once again tried to blackmail us using gas,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the inauguration.

Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingridas Simonyte added that “any reduction or disappearance of this source of funding would have a very significant impact on the Russian economy and the ability to continue financing the war in Ukraine.”

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Finland prepared for Russia cutting its gas supplies: minister

Finland is prepared for the possibility of its eastern neighbour Russia cutting off its gas deliveries, a government minister has said.

The Finnish government said on April 28 it would not abide by Russia’s demand for gas payments to be made in roubles, which could lead to Russia cutting off its gas supplies this month, as has happened in Poland and Bulgaria.

Finland’s state-owned gas operator Gasum is due to respond this month to a letter on the rouble payments from Russia’s Gazprom.

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Russian forces stole 400,000 tons of grain: report

Russian forces stole 400,000 tons of grain from the four Ukrainian regions they occupied, local media has reported.

They stole 100,000 tons of grain from each occupied region – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, said Taras Vysotskyi, Ukraine’s first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, according to news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda.

This amounts to one-third of all reserves in these regions, he noted. If this continues and if Russians take away what was left in the regions for food before the new harvest, there is a risk of famine, the report warned.

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Kremlin accuses the West of preventing a quick end to Ukraine conflict

The Kremlin has accused the West of preventing a “quick” end to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine by supplying weapons to the pro-Western country.

“Coupled with the flow of weapons that these countries are sending to Ukraine, these are all actions that do not contribute to the quick completion of the operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov also said that humanitarian corridors to get civilians out of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant were functioning, after the Russian army announced a three-day ceasefire at the site.

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Russian negotiator accuses Kiev of ‘rolling back’ on agreements – TASS

A Russian lawmaker taking part in talks with Ukraine said negotiations are difficult and accuses representatives from Kiev of “rolling back” on existing agreements, TASS news agency has reported.

“I am one of the four negotiators from the Russian side, however, it is difficult to negotiate. Ukrainian counterparts come to an agreement, and then roll back”, TASS cited negotiator Leonid Slutsky as saying.

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Russia ‘trying to destroy’ last Ukrainian units in Azovstal: Kiev

Ukraine has said Russia is “trying to destroy” its remaining soldiers holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, with Kiev’s last defenders in the battered city saying Moscow forces have broken into the giant factory.

“Russian occupiers are focusing on blocking and trying to destroy Ukrainian units in the Azovstal area,” Kiev’s army said in a statement.

“With the support of aircraft, Russia resumed the offensive in order to take control of the plant.”

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Poland, Sweden host donors’ conference to help Ukraine

Poland and Sweden are co-hosting an international donors’ conference in Warsaw to raise funds for humanitarian efforts to help Ukraine, where thousands have been killed, cities devastated and millions of people displaced by Russia’s attack.

The High-Level International Donors’ Conference for Ukraine is jointly organised by the Polish and Swedish prime ministers in collaboration with the European Commission and European Council presidents.

The aims are to allow the international community to announce new pledges to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Ukrainian society and to create a forum to discuss how to support Ukrainian society over the longer term.

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Kremlin accuses the West of preventing a quick end to Ukraine conflict

The Kremlin has accused the West of preventing a “quick” end to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine by supplying weapons to the pro-Western country.

“Coupled with the flow of weapons that these countries are sending to Ukraine, these are all actions that do not contribute to the quick completion of the operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov also said that humanitarian corridors to get civilians out of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant were functioning, after the Russian army announced a three-day ceasefire at the site.

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Russian negotiator accuses Kiev of ‘rolling back’ on agreements -TASS

A Russian lawmaker taking part in talks with Ukraine said negotiations are difficult and accuses representatives from Kiev of “rolling back” on existing agreements, TASS news agency has reported.

“I am one of the four negotiators from the Russian side, however, it is difficult to negotiate. Ukrainian counterparts come to an agreement, and then roll back”, TASS cited negotiator Leonid Slutsky as saying.

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Russia ‘trying to destroy’ last Ukrainian units in Azovstal: Kiev

Ukraine has said Russia is “trying to destroy” its remaining soldiers holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, with Kiev’s last defenders in the battered city saying Moscow forces have broken into the giant factory.

“Russian occupiers are focusing on blocking and trying to destroy Ukrainian units in the Azovstal area,” Kiev’s army said in a statement.

“With the support of aircraft, Russia resumed the offensive in order to take control of the plant.”

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Poland, Sweden host donors’ conference to help Ukraine

Poland and Sweden are co-hosting an international donors’ conference in Warsaw to raise funds for humanitarian efforts to help Ukraine, where thousands have been killed, cities devastated and millions of people displaced by Russia’s attack.

The High-Level International Donors’ Conference for Ukraine is jointly organised by the Polish and Swedish prime ministers in collaboration with the European Commission and European Council presidents.

The aims are to allow the international community to announce new pledges to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Ukrainian society and to create a forum to discuss how to support Ukrainian society over the longer term.

Ukraine: 11 attacks repelled in Donbass region

Ukraine’s General Staff says the country’s forces have made some gains on the border of the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv and repelled multiple Russian attacks in the east.

In its daily morning update, the General Staff said that the Russians “lost control over several settlements on the border of Mykolayiv and Kherson regions.” Ukrainian forces also repelled 11 attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the update said.

At the same time, fighting over the Azovstal plant in Mariupol continued, the General Staff said. “With the support of aircraft, the enemy resumed the offensive in order to take control of the plant,” the update said, adding that the Russian troops were “trying to destroy Ukrainians units” at this last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the ravaged port city.

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Five civilians killed by shelling in Ukraine’s Luhansk region – governor

Five civilians have been killed by shelling from Russian forces in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in the past 24 hours, governor Serhiy Gaidai has said.

Gaidai said the shelling focused on Sievierodonetsk and Popasna, Hirske and Lysychansk.

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Russian ceasefire to begin at besieged Mariupol steel plant

A Russian-announced ceasefire is due to begin at the besieged steel plant in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, to allow civilians to flee even as its defenders vowed to fight to the end.

Russia’s defence ministry announced a daytime ceasefire for three days.

“The Russian armed forces will open a humanitarian corridor from 0500 to 1500 GMT (08:00 to 18:00 Moscow time) on May 5, 6 and 7 from the site of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians,” the ministry said.

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Japan says difficult to immediately follow Russia oil embargo

Japan will face “difficulty” to immediately follow a move to cut off Russian oil imports over the Ukraine conflict, its minister of economy, trade, and industry Koichi Hagiuda has said.

Hagiuda made the remark during a visit to Washington, after the European Union’s executive proposed the toughest package of sanctions yet against Moscow, including the embargo on crude oil.

“Given Japan has its limit on resources, we would face some difficulty to keep in step immediately” with other countries, Hagiuda told reporters.

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Poland, Sweden co-host donors’ conference to spur Ukraine aid

The prime ministers of Poland and Sweden will host a high-level international donors’ conference on Thursday in the Polish capital in partnership with other EU countries. The aim is to mobilise substantial pledges in order to support the UN humanitarian response in Ukraine as well as to discuss steps towards supporting Kyiv’s efforts to manage the economic consequences of the war.

The conference is a follow-up to the April 9 Stand Up for Ukraine event that raised €9 billion for Ukrainian refugees. The event in Warsaw is set to kick off at noon today.

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Ukrainian TV reporter-turned-soldier killed in fighting, says Zelensky

A Ukrainian television reporter who enlisted after the Russian invasion has been killed in fighting outside the northeastern city of Izyum, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

Oleksandr Makhov, 36, is at least the eighth journalist to have died in more than two months of conflict.

Makhov, known for graphic accounts from conflict zones, had also reported from Antarctica. He fought in a 2014 conflict after Russian-speakers staged separatist insurrections in two eastern regions of Ukraine.

“Patriotic and sincere, and always without vanity. And he was always among the bravest, among those first in line,” Zelenskiy said in an early morning video address.

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Ukraine says Russia planning WWII parade in Mariupol

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of planning to hold a military parade in the captured city of Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II.

Kyiv said an official from Russia’s presidential administration had arrived in the strategic southern port city, which has been largely destroyed in Russia’s more than two-month invasion of Ukraine, to oversee plans for the Victory Day parade.

“Mariupol will become a centre of ‘celebration,'” Ukraine’s military intelligence said in a statement on social media.

“The central streets of the city are urgently being cleaned of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance,” it added.

Mariupol is among the most battered cities in Ukraine. A group of Ukrainian forces are still holding out in its Azovstal steel plant.

“A large-scale propaganda campaign is under way. Russians will be shown stories about the ‘joy’ of locals from meeting the occupiers,” the military intelligence statement said.

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Hungary says Russia oil ban lacks energy security ‘guarantee’

Hungary on Wednesday said it saw no guarantee for its energy security in a proposed EU ban on Russian oil.

“We don’t see any plan or guarantee on how even a transition could be managed on the basis of the current proposals, and what would guarantee Hungary’s energy security,” the Hungarian government’s press office said in a statement sent to AFP.

Asked if this meant Hungary outrightly rejected the EU’s proposal, the press office did not immediately answer.

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Russia bars entry to 63 Japanese, including PM

Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called “unacceptable rhetoric” against Moscow.

The list includes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, among other officials

The sanctions bar the targeted individuals from entering Russia indefinitely, the ministry said.

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Moldova ready for ‘pessimistic’ scenarios: President

Moldova sees no imminent threat of unrest spilling over from the war in Ukraine despite “provocations” by pro-Russian separatists in recent days, but has been making contingency plans for “pessimistic” scenarios, President Maia Sandu says.

Sandu’s remarks came after fears have grown in the past week that Moldova could be drawn into the war in Ukraine, with which it shares a border, after pro-Russian separatists in the country’s breakaway region of Transnistria reported a number of attacks and explosions there, which they blamed on Kyiv.

Sandu and her pro-Western government have blamed the incidents on “pro-war” separatist factions. She has also denounced comments by a Russian general that one of Moscow’s war aims was to seize Ukrainian territory to link up with the separatists in Transnistria.

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Moscow warns it will target NATO weapons shipments

Russia’s defence minister has reiterated that Moscow’s forces will seek to destroy convoys of arms shipments to Ukraine from its Western allies, echoing earlier such threats from Moscow.

“The United States and its NATO allies are continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine,” Sergei Shoigu told a conference of defence ministry officials.

“We view any transport of the North Atlantic Alliance arriving on the territory of the country with weapons or materials destined to the Ukrainian army as a target to be destroyed,” he added.

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Russia warns NATO: transport carrying weapons in Ukraine is a ‘target’

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday the Russian military would consider NATO transport carrying weapons in Ukraine as targets to be destroyed, RIA news agency quoted him as saying.

Shoigu also said that the Ukrainian fighters holed up in the sprawling Azovstal plant in Mariupol were kept under secure blockade after President Vladimir Putin ordered that they be hermetically sealed off.

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EU vows to ‘significantly increase’ military support for Moldova

European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday pledged to increase EU military aid to Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbour that has seen a series of attacks in a pro-Moscow separatist region.

“This year we plan to significantly increase our support to Moldova by providing its armed forces with additional military equipment,” Michel told a press conference with Moldova’s President Maia Sandu during a visit to the country.

Michel said the EU will up support in the “field of logistics, of cyberdefence” and will seek to provide “more military-building capacities” to Moldova, without going into more detail. 

“The EU stands in full solidarity with you, with Moldova, it is our European duty to help and to support your country,” Michel said, adding that the bloc will help Moldova “cope with the consequences of the spillover from the Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

“We will continue to deepen our partnership with you to bring your country closer to the EU,” Michel said. 

We will help Moldova strengthen its resilience and cope with the consequences of the spill-over from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

By providing additional military equipment to 🇲🇩.

And by helping to counter disinformation and withstand cyber-attacks. @sandumaiamd pic.twitter.com/Q4NJHUqj6Y

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 4, 2022

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Hungary, Slovakia can continue to buy Russian crude oil until end of 2023 

Hungary and Slovakia will be able to continue buying Russian crude oil until the end of 2023 under existing contracts, an EU source told Reuters on Wednesday, benefitting from exemptions from an oil embargo proposed by the European Commission.

The EU executive proposed on Wednesday to ban imports of Russian crude oil within six months, and refined oil products by the end of the year.

In a bid to convince reluctant countries not to veto the proposal, Brussels has proposed a longer period to implement the embargo for Hungary and Slovakia, the source said.

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EU leader calls for Russian oil ban in new set of sanctions

The European Union’s chief executive is proposing that the bloc ban oil imports from Russia over its war on Ukraine, and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a new round of sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers Wednesday that the sanctions should involve “a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.”

She says the aim is to “make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets.”

The sanctions proposals are to be debated by the 27 EU member countries. Hungary and Slovakia have already said they would not take part. The two are landlocked and heavily dependent on Russia for their energy supplies.

Banks are also in the EU executive arm’s sights, and notably the giant Sberbank. Von der Leyen says the aim is to “de-SWIFT Sberbank”, as well as two other banks. SWIFT is the major global system for financial transfers.

Von der Leyen says those alleged to be spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine should be targeted, notably three big Russian state-owned broadcasters. She did not identify any of the outlets.

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Ukraine, UN and Red Cross make new effort to evacuate civilians from Mariupol

A convoy of buses left Mariupol on Wednesday in a new attempt by Ukraine, the UN and the International Committee of the Red  Cross to evacuate civilians from the southern Ukrainian city, the regional governor said.

The buses were heading for the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. He did not make clear whether any more civilians had been evacuated from a vast steel works in Mariupol where the city’s last defenders are holding out against Russian forces. 

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Russia-linked superyacht owners to appeal Fiji seizure order

A company registered as the owner of a Russia-linked superyacht has applied to prevent Fiji from seizing it under a US warrant, pending an appeal against the move. 

A High Court judge in Fiji’s capital Suva had granted an order on Tuesday for the seizure of the Amadea, which is reportedly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

The US warrant for its seizure was filed with the High Court last month.

The Amadea, with an estimated value of more than US$300 million, has been berthed at Lautoka in western Fiji since mid-April.

It has been linked in some reports to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, a target of US and European Union sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Belarus says surprise army drills no threat to neighbours 

The armed forces of Belarus began sudden drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, the TASS news agency cited the defence ministry of Ukraine’s neighbour as saying.

“It is planned that the (combat readiness) test will involve the movement of significant numbers of military vehicles, which can slow down traffic on public roads,” the Belarusian ministry said in a statement.

Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said the exercise posed no threat to its neighbours or the European community in general.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and the two discussed the Russian operation in Ukraine, among other issues, according to official statements.

Areas of Ukraine adjacent to Belarus, including its capital Kyiv, came under Russian assault in the initial stage of the invasion, but now Russia has focused its attacks on Ukraine’s eastern and southeastern regions.

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Russia to boycott UN Security Council meeting with EU committee

In a rare move, Russia will boycott a UN Security Council meeting Wednesday with the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), diplomats said, a further sign of deteriorating relations between Moscow and its United Nations partners.

According to a Russian diplomatic source speaking anonymously Tuesday, Moscow’s decision is linked to the situation in Ukraine.

A Western diplomat told AFP they had no memory of Russia boycotting a Security Council meeting since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.

The annual informal meeting between the council and the PSC has not been held since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. Wednesday’s meeting is expected to address the EU’s interaction with the UN in countries where both organizations are conducting operations.

Russia, which is one of the five permanent members on the Security Council, has been ousted from several UN bodies, including the human rights council.

At a press conference Tuesday, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose country will assume the Security Council presidency in May, said the council has been “extraordinarily successful” in “isolating Russia” since the end of February.

“Russia is isolated in the Security Council, and every time we have a discussion in the Security Council as it relates to Russia, they are on the defensive and we will continue to keep them on the defensive until they end their brutal attack on the Ukrainian people,” she told reporters.

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European Council chief ‘confident’ EU will adopt embargo on Russian oil, despite pushback

“Our goal is simple, we must break the Russian war machine,” said European Council president Charles Michel on Tuesday. “I am confident that the council will imminently impose further sanctions, notably on Russian oil.”

Such an embargo could far-reaching impacts, as the EU imports one-third of its oil from Russia, and accounts for two-thirds of the country’s oil exports. FRANCE 24’s Alison Sargent explains:

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UK: Russian military ‘significantly weaker’

The British Defence Ministry has said it believes the Russian military is now “significantly weaker” after suffering losses in its offensive in Ukraine.

The ministry made the comment in its daily statement on Twitter regarding the conflict. It said: “Russia’s military is now significantly weaker, both materially and conceptually, as a result of its military operation in Ukraine. Recovery from this will be exacerbated by sanctions. This will have a lasting impact on Russia’s ability to deploy conventional military force.”

The ministry added while Russia’s defence budget has doubled from 2005 to 2018, the modernisation program it undertook “has not enabled Russia to dominate Ukraine”. “Failures both in strategic planning and operational execution have left it unable to translate numerical strength into decisive advantage,” the ministry said.

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Ukraine awaits arrival of evacuees from Mariupol steel plant

Ukraine hopes a column of evacuees from the ruins of a vast steel works in Mariupol will reach the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said more than 200 civilians were still in the Azovstal steel plant where the city’s last defenders are holed up. A total of about 100,000 civilians remained in the port city on the Sea of Azov, he said.

“The column (of evacuees) is moving towards Zaporizhzhia. The evacuation continues,” Boichenko said on national television. “We are limiting information and hope that the evacuees from Azovstal will reach Ukraine.”

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US official: Russia plans to annex parts of eastern Ukraine

A senior US official has warned that Russia plans to annex large portions of eastern Ukraine later this month, and the Mariupol steel mill that has become the city’s last stronghold of resistance came under renewed assault a day after the first evacuation of civilians from the plant.

Michael Carpenter, US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said Monday that the US believes the Kremlin also plans to recognise the southern city of Kherson as an independent republic. Neither move would be recognised by the United States or its allies, he said.

Carpenter cited information that Russia is planning to hold sham referendums in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics that would “try to add a veneer of democratic or electoral legitimacy” and attach the entities to Russia. He also said there were signs that Russia would engineer an independence vote in Kherson.

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More than 1M Ukrainians taken to Russia

More than 1 million people, including nearly 200,000 children, have been taken from Ukraine to Russia since the Russian offensive began, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday, according to the state-owned news agency TASS.

Defense Ministry official Mikhail Mizintsev said those included 11,550 people, including 1,847 children, in the previous 24 hours, “without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities.”

He said those civilians “were evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation from the dangerous regions” of Donetsk, Lugansk and other parts of Ukraine, according to the report.

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EU hopes to pass new Russian sanctions

The European Union hopes to pass the sixth round of sanctions against Russia at the next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the bloc’s chief diplomat said.

Borrell, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Council meetings, said he hopes the EU will be able to take “measures to significantly limit these imports” but conceded so far there is no agreement from all the members.

“But I am confident that, at least with regard to oil imports, this agreement will be possible between now and the next Council meeting,” he added.

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Borrell: More Russian banks will be pushed out of SWIFT

A fresh European Union sanctions package over Russia’s offensive on Ukraine is set to include “more Russian banks” being pushed out of the global SWIFT network, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Monday.

“In the banking sector, there will be more Russian banks that will leave SWIFT,” the global banking communications system, Borrell said during a visit to Panama.

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Russia: Over 11,500 people evacuated

More than 11,500 people, including 1,847 children, were transported from Ukraine into Russia on Monday without the participation of Kiev’s authorities, Russia’s defence ministry said.

That number includes evacuations from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, which Russia recognised as independent just before launching its February 24th attack.

Russia says the people have been evacuated on their own request, while Ukraine has said Moscow has forcefully deported thousands of people to Russia since the beginning of the conflict.

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Ukraine has ‘adequate stock of international reserves’

Foreign financial aid will ensure the stability of Ukraine’s central bank reserves as the country deals with the economic shock from the Russian atrocities, central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said.

The central bank’s international reserves fell to $26.8 billion as of beginning of May from $28.1 billion a month earlier.

“We have an adequate stock of international reserves, despite the … government’s fulfilments of all its foreign debt obligations,” Shevchenko wrote on the NV Business media portal.

“With sufficient international financial assistance, we will be able to maintain reserves at the proper level and even increase them.”

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Borrell says EU aims to pass new Russia sanctions as early as next week

The European Union hopes to pass the sixth round of sanctions against Russia at the next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the bloc’s chief diplomat said on Monday.

Borrell, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Council meetings, said he hopes the EU will be able to take “measures to significantly limit these imports” but conceded so far there is no agreement from all the members.

“But I am confident that, at least with regard to oil imports, this agreement will be possible between now and the next Council meeting,” he added.

The Council has meetings scheduled for May 10 and May 16 later this month.

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Ukrainian forces apparently ‘taking ground back’ in Kharkiv

Frank Ledwidge, a senior lecturer in military strategy and law at the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, said that the Russian advance has stalled in the Kharkiv area and may force the invading troops to call in reinforcements from the Donbas region.

“It seems the Ukrainians (in Kharkiv) are taking ground back from the Russians and threatening their supply lines,” says Ledwidge. “It looks as if they’re going to need to draw forces away from the Donbas to achieve some kind of rescue of their beleaguered force up there.”

Ledwidge adds that the Russian offensive in Donbas is beginning to slow down, having failed to achieve the kind of breakthrough Moscow was seeking.

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UK’s Johnson to address Ukrainian parliament, announce new aid package

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to address Ukraine’s parliament, delivering a message that the fight against Russian invasion is Ukraine’s “finest hour.”

Johnson’s office says the UK leader will announce a new 300 million pound ($375 million) package of military aid to Ukraine when he speaks to the legislature by video link on Tuesday. Britain has already sent Ukraine equipment including missiles and missile launchers. The new package includes electronic warfare equipment, a counter battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment and thousands of night vision devices.

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Germany’s Scholz defends Ukraine policy after criticised as slow

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected criticism that he has been too hesitant to support Ukraine since Russia began attacking its neighbour.

“I have always decided quickly, together with everyone else, coordinated with the allies,” Scholz told broadcaster ZDF, adding that his strategy was set, namely that Germany acts “prudently and with a clear mind”.

Scholz emphasised that the financial and military assistance provided by Germany and other states had contributed to the successes of the Ukrainian army, which he said is “now able to hold out for so long against such an overpowering opponent”.

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Russian military says it shot down Ukrainian drones over Snake Island

Moscow says Russian forces have shot down Ukrainian drones, after Ukrainian sources said earlier that Russian ships in the Black Sea had been destroyed using drones.

The Russian military said that three Ukrainian Bayraktar drones had been shot down over Snake Island. However, no information was provided by the Russian Defence Ministry concerning its own losses.

Earlier, Ukrainian Armed Forces commander Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said  that two Russian Raptor boats were destroyed at dawn near the island, in a Facebook post, though an accompanying video could not be independently verified. He said that Bayraktar drones had been deployed.

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German Chancellor Scholz declines to say if he would share a table with Putin at G20 summit

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has declined to answer when asked if he would sit at a table with Putin at a G20 summit Indonesia is hosting later this year.

“We will decide on that if the matter arises,” he said in an interview with ZDF public television. “It would be unwise to do anything else.”

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Physical gas flows on Yamal-Europe pipeline at Mallnow halt: Gascade data

Physical gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which brings gas from Russia via Poland to Germany, has stopped, data from the Gascade pipeline operator has shown.

Physical exit flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border were at 13,218,713 kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) before it dropped to 0, the data showed.

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Sanctions won’t be lifted until Russia signs peace deal: Germany’s Scholz

The sanctions imposed on Russia will not be lifted until Moscow reaches a peace agreement with Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding that it was for Ukraine to decide what peace it wanted.

Interviewed on ZDF public television, Scholz said Putin had miscalculated if he had anticipated that he might be able to gain territory from Ukraine, declare an end to hostilities and see Western countries drop sanctions.

“He didn’t think his entire Ukraine operation through,” Scholz said. “He didn’t think Ukraine would resist like that. He didn’t think we would support them to hold out for so long… We won’t withdraw the sanctions unless he reaches an agreement with Ukraine, and he won’t get that with a dictated peace.”

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Ukraine fighter says civilians remain trapped in Mariupol steel works

A Ukrainian fighter holed up the city of Mariupol has said that up to 200 civilians remain trapped inside bunkers in the Azovstal steel works after an evacuation operation led by the UN to save civilians from the site.

Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, 39, a deputy commander of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment, told Reuters that his fighters could hear the voices of people trapped in bunkers of the vast industrial complex.

He said they were women, children and elderly people, but that the Ukrainian forces there did not have the mechanised equipment needed to dislodge the rubble, he said.

“We were planning to tear up the bunkers, the entrance to which is blocked, but all night into Monday naval artillery and barrel artillery were firing. All day today aviation has been working, dropping bombs,” Palamar said by Zoom.

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EU says using Russian roubles payment scheme would breach sanctions

Using Moscow’s proposed scheme for foreign companies to pay for gas by enabling Russia to convert their payments into roubles would breach EU sanctions, the bloc’s energy policy chief has said.

“Paying rubles through the conversion mechanism managed by the Russian public authorities and a second dedicated account in Gazprombank is a violation of the sanctions and cannot be accepted,” EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told a news conference after a meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels.

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Scholz to Putin: ‘End the senseless killing’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again appealed to Putin to end his war against Ukraine.

“Stop this war, stop the senseless killing, withdraw your troops from Ukraine,” he said after the Indo-German intergovernmental consultations in Berlin.

“We agree that borders must not be moved by force.”

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UEFA bans Russian clubs, national team for next season

Russia’s national soccer team and the country’s club sides have been banned from European competition next season, UEFA has said.

Russia’s bid to host the Euro 2028 or the Euro 2032 tournaments have also been declared ineligible, the Switzerland-based governing body said.

UEFA said it decision to rule Russia out as a host followed its regulations that each bidder should “not act in a manner that could bring UEFA, the UEFA final or UEFA final phase, any other bidder the bidding procedure or European football into disrepute.”

UEFA and world soccer governing body FIFA had already suspended Russia’s national teams and clubs from international football until further notice due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia will not participate in this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.

Portugal, the opponent defeated by Russia in the qualifying play-offs, will now participate in Group C.

Additionally, Russian teams will not participate in UEFA club competitions next season.

More info: ⬇️

— UEFA (@UEFA) May 2, 2022

 

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US hopes to reopen Kyiv embassy by end of month

Washington is hoping its diplomats will be able to return to Ukraine’s capital “by the end of the month”, says embassy charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien.

“We very much hope that conditions will permit us to go back to Kyiv by the end of the month,” Kvien said at a press conference in the western city of Lviv.  

The US closed its embassy in Kyiv on February 14, ten days before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and moved its diplomats westwards.

Kvien said she and her staff were “working day and night in Poland” to “help Ukraine win this war.”

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Finland will not select players competing in Russian leagues

More news from Finland, this time hockey-related. The country’s Ice Hockey Association says players competing in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and other leagues in Russia next season will not be selected for the national team.

“The position of the Finnish Hockey Association is that players playing in Russia next season will not be able to play for the national team,” the association has said in a statement.

Finnish club Jokerit withdrew from the KHL in late February, days after the invasion.

As many as 31 Finnish players were on KHL rosters according to the league’s website but only a handful remain following Jokerit’s withdrawal and several players choosing to leave their clubs in the wake of the invasion.

Finland’s men’s ice hockey team won Olympic gold in Beijing in February, beating the Russian Olympic Committee team in the final. 

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Finnish group scraps nuclear plant project with Russian firm

Finnish-led consortium Fennovoima says it has terminated a contract with Russian group Rosatom to build Finland’s third nuclear power plant, citing risks linked to the Ukraine war.

“The contract has been cancelled due to delays and the inability to deliver, and we have seen that the war has increased these risks,” Fennovoima chairman of the board Esa Harmala told reporters at a press conference.

Rosatom said it was surprised by the announcement – and threatened to take the matter to court.

“The reasons for such a decision are completely incomprehensible,” the group said in a statement, adding that the project had been “progressing” and Fennovoima’s management had not discussed the termination of the contract with shareholders.

The proposed 1,200-megawatt Russian-designed reactor was to be built in Pyhajoki, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the port of Oulu in northern Finland.

The Hanhikivi 1 project, in which Rosatom owns a 34-percent stake with the remainder held by a Finnish consortium, has been delayed several times and the construction permit has not yet been granted. Construction was supposed to begin next year and electricity production in 2029.

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Evacuation buses have not reached pickup point yet: Mariupol council

Buses seeking to evacuate more civilians from Mariupol have not yet reached the agreed pickup point, according to the city council, contradicting an earlier report that they had left the devastated port city in southeast Ukraine.

The city council urged the evacuees to remain in place.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the delay.

Earlier, Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupol’s mayor, had said the buses had left Mariupol but he later put out a message that also confirmed the hitch in the planned evacuation.

The civilians in question are from the city itself, not from the Azovstal steelworks, from where the UN and Red Cross have organised evacuation convoys.

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 Russia’s Bolshoi scraps performances by critical directors

Russia’s Bolshoi theatre has announced it is cancelling the performances directed by Kirill Serebrennikov and Timofey Kulyabin who have spoken out against Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Late Sunday, Russia’s top theatre announced that instead of the three performances of “Nureev”, a ballet directed by Serebrennikov, the audiences this week will see a production of Aram Khachaturian’s ballet, “Spartacus”.

The prestigious theatre also said that instead of “Don Pasquale”, a comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti directed by Timofey Kulyabin, audiences this week will see a production of Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”

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 Germany would weather Russian oil ban despite shortages says energy minister

Germany would be able to weather an EU embargo on Russian oil imports by the end of this year even though a  stoppage could result in shortages, said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, appearing to throw his weight behind a ban.

Two EU diplomats earlier said the bloc is leaning toward a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of the year as part of a sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. EU energy ministers will discuss the proposed oil ban in Brussels later on Monday.

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 Ukraine evacuees head to safety after ordeal in Mariupol steel works

The first evacuees from the ruins of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works were expected to reach the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia later today, after cowering in underground bunkers from Russian shelling for weeks.

The vast Azovstal industrial complex in the Sea of Azov port city that has been devastated by weeks of Russian  shelling has served as a refuge for both civilians and a dwindling number of Ukrainian troops as Moscow has  claimed control of Mariupol.

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Israel denounces Lavrov’s Hitler comments, summons Russian ambassador

Israel has denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for suggesting that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots, and demanded an apology from Moscow.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Russian ambassador for “a tough talk” over the comments, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television.

Asked about Russian claims that it invaded Ukraine to “denazify” the country, Lavrov said that Russia’s neighbour could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were Jewish.

“Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, speaking to the station in Russian, dubbed over by an Italian translation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Lavrov’s remarks were “unforgivable”.

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Mariupol civilians evacuated on buses: Local official

An aide to Mariupol’s mayor says buses carrying civilians have left the city as evacuation efforts continue there.

It was not immediately clear how many people had been evacuated on the buses.

Hundreds of people remained trapped in Mariupol’s Soviet-era Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of resistance to Moscow’s siege on the city.

A first group of evacuees from the site was due to arrive in Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian-held city northwest of Mariupol, on Monday morning. But Russian forces had resumed shelling the steelworks on Sunday as soon as the buses had left the plant, the mayor’s aide said.

“Yesterday, as soon as the buses left Azovstal with the evacuees, new shelling began immediately,” Petro Andryushchenko told Ukrainian television.

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Ukraine says it destroyed two Russian patrol boats

A Ukrainian Bayraktar drone destroyed two Russian Raptor-class patrol ships in the Black Sea on Monday, Ukraine’s military chief has said.

“Two Russian Raptor-class boats were destroyed at dawn today near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island,” Chief of General Staff Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote in a Telegram post.

There was no immediate reaction from Moscow to the claim.

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Russia says it shot down Ukrainian fighter jet

Russia’s defence ministry says that its armed forces have shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near the city of Slovyansk, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The ministry said in a briefing that Russian troops had hit a total of 38 military targets throughout Ukraine overnight, including ammunition depots and control centres.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the claims.

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5.5 million have fled Ukraine: UNHCR

More than 5.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The majority have left for neighbouring Poland, which has welcomed more than three million people bidding to escape Russia’s offensive.

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New Zealand adds 170 Russian politicians, 6 defence companies to sanctions

New Zealand has added 170 Russian politicians to its sanctions list, as well as six defence companies and organisations which had contributed to Moscow’s offensive.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced that the “full suite” of sanctions has now been placed on more than 400 Russian leaders, oligarchs and their family members.

These sanctions will prohibit those on the list from “carrying out activity in New Zealand, and prevent New Zealand from becoming a financial safe haven for those involved with Russia’s illegal activities in Ukraine”, Mahuta said in a statement.

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Russians tortured POWs with frostbite, Ukraine claims

Ukrainian prisoners of war taken to Russia were tortured with freezing temperatures, beaten and forced to sing “patriotic” Russian songs, Ukraine’s ombudswoman for human rights has said.

Lyudmila Denisova said on Telegram that some of the 14 Ukrainian POWs swapped on Friday had their limbs amputated because Russians forced them to wear water-filled boots for days in freezing temperatures.

She said the prisoners were thrown in jail in the western city of Kursk, where they were interrogated two or three times a day, beaten severely and denied medical help. She added that apart from the amputated limbs, some had severe wounds and sepsis on returning to Ukraine.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the claims, while Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports.

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Shelling damages dozens of Kharkiv heating stations

Shelling in Kharkiv has damaged 24 boiler houses and 36 heating stations, some of which will have to be rebuilt, the region’s press service has said.

“This year, preparations for the new heating season will be large-scale as, due to significant damage, a number will have to be rebuilt anew,” the press service said in a statement.

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Three dead and three wounded in Luhansk: Governor

Intensive Russian shelling killed three civilians in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, its governor has said.

The deaths occurred in the towns of Lysychansk, Popasna and Zolote, Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram.

Haidai also said the Ukrainian-controlled part of Luhansk had witnessed 18 incidents of shelling on May 1 that “ruined” 28 buildings.

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One-fourth of Moscow’s Ukraine ground forces ‘combat ineffective’: UK

More than one quarter of the 120 battalion tactical groups Russia committed at the start of the war in Ukraine are likely now ineffective for combat, the United Kingdom’s defence ministry has said.

The ministry’s latest intelligence briefing says Russia’s initial commitment represented about 65 percent of its entire ground combat strength.

It adds that the units to have suffered the highest level of attrition are some of Russia’s most elite and “will probably take years … to reconstitute”.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 02 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/ZuMXTmNRyd

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/S7E6h4WTgM

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 2, 2022

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Jill Biden to visit Ukrainian refugees in Romania and Slovakia

United States’ First Lady Jill Biden will visit Romania and Slovakia from May 5 to 9 to meet US service members and embassy personnel, displaced Ukrainians, humanitarian aid workers and teachers, her office has said.

Biden’s visit is the latest show of support for Ukraine and neighbouring countries that are helping Ukrainian refugees by top US representatives.

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Two locations added to Mariupol evacuations

Mariupol City Council has said the UN and Red Cross secured two extra areas from where civilians will be evacuated on Monday – the village of Manhush and Lunacharske Circle near Berdyansk.

The evacuation from Mariupol will now begin from 7am, the city council said in a Telegram post. Previously, the start was planned for 8am.

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Brussels mayor visits Lviv hospital

Brussels Mayor Philippe Close has visited evacuated Ukrainians receiving hospital care in Lviv, according to the city’s mayor, Interfax reports.

Andriy Sadovyi said the hospital’s needs were recorded in the visit.

“We agreed on the necessary equipment and rehabilitation abroad. A short but important visit,” Sadovyi wrote on his Telegram channel.

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Nadal, Djokovic slam Wimbledon ban on Russian players

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have criticised Wimbledon’s decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from taking part in this year’s tournament.

“I think it’s very unfair of my Russian tennis mates, my colleagues … it’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war,” Nadal said in Spain where he and Djokovic are preparing to play in the Madrid Open.

“I still stand by my position that I don’t support the [Wimbledon] decision. I think it’s just not fair, it’s not right, but it is what it is,” Djokovic said.

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Russia planning attacks on Dnipropetrovsk: Zelenskyy

Russian forces are accumulating in the south of Ukraine to attack cities and communities in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Zelenskyy has said.

In his night-time address, he spoke of Russia’s attacks on Sunday, saying the war for Moscow’s troops was one of “extermination”.

“They targeted the warehouses of agricultural enterprises. The grain warehouse was destroyed. The warehouse with fertilizers was also shelled. They continued shelling of residential neighbourhoods in the Kharkiv region, Donbas, etc,” he said.

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South Korea embassy staff return to Kyiv

South Korea’s ambassador to Ukraine, Kim Hyung-tae, and other embassy staff have returned to Kyiv to restart operations, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry, Yonhap news agency reports.

South Korean embassy officials had evacuated from the capital and worked at a temporary office in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi since March.

The ministry said it is considering the phased return of the remaining staff.

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Azovstal evacuees arrive in Russian-occupied territory

Dozens of civilians evacuated from the bunkers of Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks arrived at a temporary accommodation centre in Donetsk on Sunday, the Reuters news agency has reported.

A Reuters photographer saw civilians arriving in the village of Bezimenne in an area of Donetsk under the control of Russia-backed separatists about 30km east of Mariupol.

They were reportedly receiving refreshments and care.

The operation to evacuate people from the steelworks had been under way since Friday led by the UN, and in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

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Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying medical infrastructure, denying medical care

Ukrainian intelligence officials have accused Russian forces of destroying medical infrastructure, taking equipment and denying medical care to residents in several occupied cities and towns.

In a Facebook post, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense claimed that ventilators and other equipment provided since 2014 by international donors and the government of Ukraine were removed from a hospital at Starobilsk in the eastern Luhansk region.

The same post alleges that tuberculosis patients were denied medical care in the Kharkiv region at Volchansk while several facilities were used to treat wounded Russian troops.

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Ukraine says it’s stalling Russia’s offensive

The Ukrainian army says that a Russian offensive along a broad front in the country’s east has been stalling amid human and material losses inflicted by Kyiv’s forces.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post that Russian troops were trying to advance in the Sloboda, Donetsk and Tauride regions, but were being held back by Ukrainian forces that continue to fight village by village.

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US to target Russian oligarchs with provisions in $33bn Ukraine aid bill

United States Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has said he will add provisions to the $33bn Ukraine aid package that will allow US authorities to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets and send money derived from them to Ukraine.

“Ukraine needs all the help it can get and, at the same time, we need all the assets we can put together to give Ukraine the aid it needs,” Schumer said.

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Denmark says Russia spy plane breached airspace

The Danish government has summoned Russia’s ambassador after a Russian spy plane violated its airspace.

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in a Twitter post that the breach was “totally unacceptable and particularly worrying in the current situation”, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions with NATO, where Denmark is a member.

The plane entered Danish airspace on Friday evening east of the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm before flying into Swedish airspace, the government said. Swedish defence officials reported the violation on Saturday.

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UN conducts evacuation of civilians from Mariupol steel plant

The United Nations is conducting a “safe passage operation” for civilians from the Azovstal steel in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

The operation began on April 29 and is being coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Russia and Ukraine, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Spokesperson Saviano Abreu said no further details could be released so as not to jeopardise the operation. The evacuation convoy had started on Friday, travelling some 230 kilometres (142 miles) before reaching the plant on Saturday morning.

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Moscow: Nearly 50 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel plant

The Russian defence ministry has said nearly 50 civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant.

“On April 30, following the implementation of a ceasefire and the opening of a humanitarian corridor, two groups of civilians have left the residential buildings adjacent to the site of the Azovstal steel plant,” the ministry said on Telegram.

“Twenty-five residents left in the afternoon. In the early evening, a second group of 21 people left and were taken to Bezimenne,” a village situated halfway between Mariupol and the Russian border. 

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Pope says Mariupol ‘barbarously bombarded’

Pope Francis has described the conflict in Ukraine as a “macabre regression of humanity” that makes him “suffer and cry”, calling for humanitarian corridors to evacuate people trapped in the Mariupol steelworks.

Speaking to thousands of people in St Peter’s Square for his noon blessing, Francis, 85, again implicitly criticised Russia.

“My thoughts go immediately to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city of Mary, barbarously bombarded and destroyed,” he said of the mostly Russian-controlled southeastern port city, which is named after Mary.

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Fire at Russian military site near Ukraine injures one

One person has been injured in a fire on a Russian defence ministry facility in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a local resident suffered minor injuries and his life was not in danger. There were no immediate comments from the defence ministry. Images posted to social media showed a large funnel of smoke rising above the ground.

Russia last month accused Ukraine of a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod—for which Kiev denied responsibility—as well as shelling villages and firing missiles at an ammunition depot.

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UK: Russia using troll factory to target Kremlin critics

Russia has turned an old factory in Saint Petersburg into a so-called troll farm to spread disinformation and target Kremlin critics, including world leaders, according to UK government-funded research.

The site in the Russian city is allegedly being used to “spread lies” on social media and in comment sections of popular websites, Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement detailing what it called a “sick” operation.

The ministry, which will share the research with social media platforms, claimed it found paid employees of the troll factory were targeting politicians as well as musicians and bands, in countries including Britain, South Africa and India.

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German leader rejects criticism over Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has brushed aside criticism that his government is not doing enough to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s assault.

“I make my decisions quickly—and in coordination with our partners,” Scholz was quoted as saying in an interview published on Sunday by newspaper Bild. “I am suspicious of acting too hastily and Germany going it alone.” Scholz said he wasn’t bothered by opposition claims that he’s too hesitant and timid.

Even though Germany reversed its policy of not sending weapons to countries during a conflict, Scholz has been accused at home and abroad of being hesitant and slow in coming to Ukraine’s aid.

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NATO exercises begin along its eastern flank

Poland’s armed forces say military exercises involving thousands of NATO soldiers have begun. They are regular exercises aimed at improving the security of the alliance’s eastern flank but come this year with the Ukraine conflict raging nearby.

Due to those circumstances, Poland’s military appealed to the public on Sunday not to publish information or photos of the columns of military vehicles expected to move through the country in the coming weeks. It warned that “ill-considered activity” could harm the alliance’s security. “Let’s be aware of the dangers!” the statement said.

The Polish Army said 18,000 soldiers from over 20 countries were taking part in the Defender Europe 2022 and Swift Response 2022 exercises that are taking place in Poland and eight other countries. The exercises are scheduled to run May 1-27.

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Russia strikes US weapons near Odesa, destroys runway

Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck at weapons supplied to Ukraine by the United States and European countries and destroyed a runway at a military airfield near the Ukrainian city of Odesa. 

The ministry said it used high-precision Onyx missiles to strike the airfield after Ukraine accused Russia of knocking out a newly-constructed runway at the main airport of Odesa. 

Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said Russia had used a Bastion missile, launched from Crimea. 

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Russia says 46 civilians left area near Azovstal plant

Two groups of civilians left the residential area around the Azovstal steelworks in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday, Russian news agencies cited the defence ministry as saying on Sunday.

The ministry said a total of 46 civilians had left the area and were provided with food and shelter, RIA and TASS reported.

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Russia says could seize assets of ‘hostile’ countries

Russia suggested that it could seize the Russian-based assets of countries it deems hostile in retaliation for a US proposal to sell off Russian oligarchs’ assets and pay the proceeds to Ukraine.

“As far as companies based in Russian territory are concerned whose owners are citizens of hostile countries and where the decision has been taken” to seize Russian assets, “it is fair to take reciprocal measures and confiscate assets,” said the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.

“And the proceeds from the sale of these assets will be used for our country’s development,” he said on his Telegram channel. 

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Images show damage to oil depots in Russia

Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press show damage to oil depots just across the Ukrainian border in Russia after suspected Ukrainian attacks.

The photos from Saturday show damage at two sites in Bryansk. The blasts damaged multiple tanks, leaving the surrounding grounds charred.

The explosions happened Monday. One hit an oil depot owned by Transneft-Druzhba, a subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled company Transneft that operates the western-bound Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline carrying crude oil to Europe.

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Russia’s Gazprom continues gas exports to Europe via Ukraine

Russian gas producer Gazprom said it was supplying natural gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday in line with requests from European consumers.

Requests stood at 97.2 million cubic (mcm) for May 1, up from 71.7 mcm on Saturday.

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Civilians evacuated from Mariupol plant, as Russia strikes Ukraine’s east, south

Russia has carried out missile strikes across southern and eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said, and some women and children were evacuated from a steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol after sheltering there for over a week.

Russian forces hit Odesa airport, Luhansk and Donetsk with missiles and captured the town of Kherson in the south, giving them a foothold just 100 km (62 miles) north of Russian-annexed Crimea. 

Russia has mostly occupied Mariupol, a strategic eastern port city on the Azov Sea. It declared victory in Mariupol on April 21 even as hundreds of Ukrainian troops and civilians took shelter in the Azovstal steel works.

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Pelosi met with Zelenskyy in Kiev

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has met with Ukraine’s president.

Footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi in Kiev with a Congressional delegation. Those with Pelosi included Reps. Jason Crow, Jim McGovern and Adam Schiff.

Pelosi later said: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom. We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.” 

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Ukraine FM asks China to be security guarantor

Ukraine’s foreign minister has asked China to provide security guarantees for Kiev, in a lengthy interview containing some of the most direct criticisms of Moscow recently published by Beijing’s state media. 

“Ukraine is currently studying the possibility of acquiring security guarantees from permanent members of the UN Security Council, including China, and other major powers,” Dmytro Kuleba was quoted as saying by official news agency Xinhua. 

“We propose that China becomes one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security, this is a sign of our respect and trust in the People’s Republic of China.” 

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Russia eyes long-term control of Ukraine’s Kherson

Russia probably aims to exert strong political and economic influence on Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson in the long term, after ruling out its return to Ukrainian control and initiating a currency switch to the rouble, Britain said.

“Since seizing … Kherson in early March, Russia has sought to legitimise its control of the city and surrounding areas through installing a pro-Russian administration,” the defence ministry said in a tweet.

Russia’s enduring control of the region and transport links will benefit its ability to sustain advances to the north and west and improve its security control of the nearby Crimea, the update added. 

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Russian priests condemn Ukraine conflict

Father Georgy Edelshtein is keen to debate those who disagree with his opposition to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

“I’d like to see one or two of my opponents sitting right here,” the 89-year-old says, pointing to an empty armchair in his living room full of gilded icons.

He explains: “I’m afraid I am a bad priest. I’ve never been against all wars but I’ve always been against any land-grabbing, aggressive war.” 

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Russia: Ukraine shells Kherson, kills civilians

Russia’s Defence Ministry has said shelling by Ukraine’s forces of villages in the Kherson region has killed and injured civilians, the Russian RIA news agency reported.

The ministry said Ukrainian forces shelled a school, a kindergarten and a cemetery in the villages of Kyselivka and Shyroka Balka. It gave no information on how many people were killed or injured, or when the shelling took place.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine to the report.

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Zelenskyy: Russia has lost 23,000 soldiers in ‘senseless war’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has switched to Russian in his nightly video address to urge Russian soldiers not to fight in Ukraine, saying even their generals expected that thousands of them would die.

“The occupiers are gathering additional forces for new attacks against our military in the east of the country. They brought reinforcements to the Kharkiv region, trying to increase pressure in Donbass. They have lost more than 23,000 soldiers in the battles of this senseless war for Russia. But they do not stop.”

“The Russian command is well aware that thousands more Russian soldiers will be killed and thousands wounded in the coming weeks. But why do the Russian soldiers need this? Why do their families need this? Russian commanders lie to their soldiers when they say that they have some serious penalties for refusing to fight. And at the same time they do not tell them, for example, about the preparation of additional refrigerators for storage of corpses by the Russian army.”

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Azov Regiment: 20 civilians evacuated from Mariupol

Some women and children were evacuated from a steel plant that is the last defensive stronghold in the bombed-out ruins of the port city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian official and Russian state news organizations said, but hundreds are believed to remain trapped with little food or water.

A top official with the ultra-nationalist group, Azov Regiment, the Ukrainian unit defending the plant, said 20 civilians were evacuated during a ceasefire, though it was not clear if he was referring to the same group. There was no confirmation from the UN.

“These are women and children,” Sviatoslav Palamar said in a video posted on the regiment’s Telegram channel. He also called for the evacuation of the wounded, “We don’t know why they are not taken away and their evacuation to the territory controlled by Ukraine is not being discussed.”

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UK: Russia’s ‘troll farms’ spread misinformation

The British Foreign Office has said Russia is using a troll factory to spread disinformation about the conflict in Ukraine on social media and target politicians across a number of countries including Britain and South Africa.

“We cannot allow the Kremlin and its shady troll farms to invade our online spaces with their lies about Putin’s illegal war,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

“The UK Government has alerted international partners and will continue to work closely with allies and media platforms to undermine Russian information operations.”

Russia says the Western media have provided an excessively partial narrative of the war that largely ignores Moscow’s concerns about the enlargement of NATO and what it says is the persecution of Russian speakers in Ukraine, something denied by Kiev.

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20 civilians have been evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal site

20 civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks, where the last Ukrainian troops are holed up in the Black Sea port of Mariupol, the soldiers there said Saturday.

“Twenty civilians, women and children … have been transferred to a suitable place and we hope that they will be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia, on territory controlled by Ukraine,” said Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment.

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Ukraine says Russian air forces continuing to launch airstrikes on Mariupol

Ukraine’s military said on Saturday that Russian planes are continuing to strike the besieged city of Mariupol, focusing on the Azovstal steelworks where troops and civilians are sheltering.

The general staff of the armed forces posted on Facebook that the Ukrainian military had regained control over four settlements in the Kharkiv region.

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Russian missile strike hits Odesa airport

A Russian missile strike on Odesa airport has damaged the runway, rendering it unusable, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday.

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Ukraine carries out prisoner exchange with Russia

Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, with seven soldiers and seven civilians coming home, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk posted online. She did not say how many Russians had been transferred.

The two nations have swapped prisoners several times during the conflict. Ukraine said Russia had handed over 33 soldiers on Thursday.

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Russia expects trade with China to reach $200bn by 2024

Russia’s foreign ministry said it expected commodity flows with China to grow and trade with Beijing to reach $200 billion by 2024, the Interfax news agency reported, as Moscow looks east in the face of growing western isolation.

The ministry said Chinese companies must be wary of the risk secondary sanctions pose, but said Beijing was ready to expand its cooperation with Moscow, Interfax reported.

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France says it will ‘intensify’ military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France will “intensify” its military and humanitarian support to Ukraine following a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.

The French presidency said that aid to Ukraine amounted to “more than 615 tonnes of equipment, including medical equipment, generators for hospitals, food aid, shelter aid and emergency vehicles”.

Zelensky thanked France for sending “large-scale military shipments that contribute to the Ukrainian resistance”.

Newly re-elected Macron reiterated his “strong concern” over Russia’s bombing of Ukrainian cities and the “unbearable situation” in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

Macron said he wanted to “work actively during his second term to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, always maintaining close coordination with its European partners and allies”.

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Mariupol mayor makes emotional plea calling on international community to help evacuate city

Russian shelling continues in the beseiged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where local officials warned of a dire situation unfolding in the Azovstal steel plant. The city’s mayor held an emotional press conference Saturday calling on the international community to help evacuate Mariupol, saying that there were 600 wounded Ukrainian fighters and civilians holed up in the plant. FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv.

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Russia says killed more than 200 Ukrainian troops

Russia’s armed forces say they have hit 17 Ukrainian military facilities with high-precision missiles and also destroyed a command post and a warehouse used to store rockets and artillery.

In an online post, the defence ministry also said air force strikes during the day killed more than 200 Ukrainian troops and destroyed 23 armoured vehicles. There was no immediate reaction from Kiev.

The post made no mention of an attack on Odessa airport, which the local governor said had been hit by a Russian missile, putting the runway out of action.

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Ukraine: Russian air forces continuing to strike city of Mariupol

Ukraine’s military has said Russian planes have continued to launch strikes on the besieged city of Mariupol, focusing on the Azovstal steelworks where troops and civilians are sheltering.

In a Facebook post, the general staff of the armed forces also said the Ukrainian military had regained control over four settlements in the Kharkiv region.

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Pregnant soldier among Ukrainians freed in prisoner exchange

Fourteen Ukrainians, including a pregnant soldier, have been freed in the latest prisoner exchange with Russian forces, Ukraine has said, without revealing the number of Russians returned to Moscow.

“Today, we carried out a new exchange of prisoners. Fourteen of ours are coming home, seven military and seven civilians. One of the military women is five months pregnant,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Vereshchuk accused Russian forces of deporting large numbers of civilians into Russia and using them as “hostages”.

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Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for soldiers’ evacuation

Two Ukrainian women whose husbands are defending a besieged steel plant in Mariupol have called for any evacuation of civilians to also include soldiers, saying they fear the troops will be tortured and killed if captured by Russian forces.

“The lives of soldiers matter too. We can’t only talk about civilians,” said Yuliia Fedusiuk, 29, the wife of Arseniy Fedusiuk, a member of the Azov Regiment in Mariupol.

She and Kateryna Prokopenko, whose husband, Denys Prokopenko, is the Azov commander, made their appeal in Rome for international assistance to evacuate the Azovstal plant, the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the bombed-out city.

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Russia hit Kharkiv region overnight: local authority

Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleg Synegubov, has given on social media an update on the overnight shelling in the region:

• Russian artillery continued, hitting the eastern residential area of Saltivka.
• One person was injured.
• Ukrainian forces pushed back a Russian attempt to advance near the villages Sulyhivka and Dovhenke.

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Russia says strategic stability dialogue with US formally ‘frozen’

Dialogue between Moscow and Washington on strategic stability is formally “frozen”, the TASS news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry official as saying.

Vladimir Yermakov, head of nuclear non-proliferation and controls at the foreign ministry, told TASS those contacts could be resumed once what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine was complete.

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Russia says it hit 389 targets in Ukraine overnight

Russia has said that its artillery units struck 389 Ukrainian targets overnight, including 35 control points, 15 arms and ammunition depots, and several areas where Ukrainian troops and equipment were concentrated.

Russia’s defence ministry said that its missiles had hit four ammunition and fuel depots.

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Shelling in Russia’s Bryansk region hits parts of oil terminal

Russian air defences prevented a Ukrainian aircraft from entering the Bryansk region, Russian news outlets reported citing the region’s governor, adding that as a result shelling hit parts of an oil terminal and adjacent territory. 

“There are no victims,” RIA news agency cited the governor, Alexander Bogomaz, as saying. He added that a logistics building at the terminal was damaged. 

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Ukraine: Russia stole ‘several hundred thousand tonnes’ of grain

Russian forces have stolen “several hundred thousand tonnes” of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister said.

Speaking to Ukrainian national TV, Taras Vysotskiy expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry accused Russia on Thursday of stealing grain in territory it has occupied, an act it said increased the threat to global food security. 

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Russia urges US, NATO to halt Kiev arms supply: state media

Russia’s foreign minister has urged the US and NATO to stop supplying Kiev with arms if they are “really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis”, Chinese state media reported.

“If the US and NATO are really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis, then first of all, they should wake up and stop supplying the Kiev regime with arms and ammunition,” Lavrov said.

The Kremlin had previously called Western arms deliveries to Ukraine a threat to European security.

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UK: Russian forces have ‘weakened morale’

The British military believes Russian forces in Ukraine are likely suffering from “weakened morale.”

The British Defense Ministry made that assessment in a tweet as part of a daily report it provides on Russia’s war on Kiev.

It says Russia “still faces considerable challenges” in fighting. The British military believes Russian forces have “been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from the failed advances in northeast Ukraine.”

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Shelling continues in Luhansk region: SES

Russian shelling hit overnight the towns of Orikhovo, Rubizhne and Novodruzhesk in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) has said.

“Numerous fires of residential buildings occurred in Rubizhne and Novodruzhsk,” it said on social media, adding that there were “possible victims”.

SES also said that 15 houses in Gorsky and Orikhovo where destroyed.

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Nearly 390 Ukrainian targets hit overnight: Russian ministry

Russia’s ministry of defense said it has hit overnight 389 Ukrainian targets, including 35 control points,
169 areas where Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment were concentrated, Interfax news agency reported.

It added that 15 arms and ammunition depots and four military facilities were destroyed.

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Poland’s PGNiG says gas flowing after Russia cut off

Poland’s biggest gas company PGNiG said that it had started delivering gas to 10 different towns and regions across Poland that had had their gas cut off earlier in the week.

The move comes a day after PGNiG said its two subsidiaries – Polska Spolka Gazownictwa and PGNiG Obrot Detaliczny – would provide gas to customers in areas affected by a halt in deliveries from Russian company Novatek Green Energy.

Several towns across Poland had their gas supplies cut by the Russian-owned supplier hit by sanctions.

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Ukraine to end fuel shortages soon – Zelenskiyy

Ukraine will soon stamp out fuel shortages, even though Russian forces have damaged a number of oil depots, President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said.

This week, Russia struck Ukraine’s main fuel producer, the Kremenchuk oil refinery, as well as several other large depots.

“Queues and rising prices at gas stations are seen in many regions of our country,” Zelenskiyy said in a nightly video speech. “The occupiers are deliberately destroying the infrastructure for the production, supply and storage of fuel. 

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US official: Ukraine resistance slows Russia

A senior US defence official said the Russian offensive is going much slower than planned in part because of the strength of the Ukrainian resistance.

“We also assess that because of this slow and uneven progress, again, without perfect knowledge of every aspect of the Russian plan, we do believe and assess that they are behind schedule in what they were trying to accomplish in the Donbas,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the US military’s assessment.

He said the US believes the Russians are “at least several days behind where they wanted to be” as they try to encircle Ukrainian troops in the east. 

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Shelling in Russia’s Bryansk hits parts of oil terminal: regional governor

Two strikes hit the Russian village of Zhecha in Starodubsky district, Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz has said on his telegram channel.

The shelling struck parts of an oil terminal and the surrounding area, he said, adding that there were no victims.

The incident took place at 6.50am local time (3.50am GMT), Bogomaz said, as Russian air defence prevented an Ukrainian aircraft from entering the Bryansk region.

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Ukraine says Russia stole ‘several hundred thousand tonnes’ of grain

Russian forces have stolen “several hundred thousand tonnes” of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister has said.

Speaking to Ukrainian national TV, Taras Vysotskiy expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces.

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Russia forced to merge, redeploy depleted units: UK

Britain says Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeast Ukraine.

“Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localised improvements,” the British military said in a post on Twitter.

“Russia hopes to rectify issues that have previously constrained its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control,” the military said

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 30 April 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/TU1DzgHpEu

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mfMgJGMqAL

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 30, 2022

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Kharkiv hit by sustained Russian shelling

Kharkiv’s regional military administration says the city has been hit by multiple Russian attacks.

One person was killed and five were injured “as a result of enemy artillery and mortar strikes”, Kharkiv’s regional military administration said on its Telegram account on Saturday.

The city is the second biggest in Ukraine.

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Russia wants sanctions lifted as part of peace talks

A little more detail from Lavrov’s interview with Xinhua.

He told the Chinese state media agency that a Russian demand for the removal of sanctions was part of its peace negotiations with Ukraine. He described the talks, which are taking place on video link, as “difficult”.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has told Polish journalists that the chance of the talks ending was “high” because of Russia’s “playbook on murdering people,” the Interfax news agency said.

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Ukraine cracks down on anyone suspected of ‘collaboration’

Ukrainian authorities are cracking down on anyone suspected of aiding Russia and its forces.

Offenders face up to 15 years in prison for acts of collaborating with the invaders or showing public support for them under new laws adopted by Ukraine’s parliament after the Russian invasion.

A “registry of collaborators” is being compiled and will be released to the public, Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s Security Council, was quoted as saying in a report by The Associated Press news agency. He would not say how many people had been targeted nationwide.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations has said more than 200 criminal cases on collaboration have been opened, while Zelenskyy has also stripped two security service generals of their rank over alleged collaboration, accusing them of treason.

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Lavrov dismisses need for UN help on humanitarian corridors

The Russian foreign minister appears to have dismissed the need for the United Nations to help secure humanitarian corridors out of Ukraine’s besieged cities.

As an interviewer at Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV tried to ask Lavrov about UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s call for humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of civilians, Lavrov cut him off.

“There is no need. I know, I know,” Lavrov said, appearing irritated. “There is no need for anybody to provide help to open humanitarian corridors.”

Successive efforts to help civilians escape the devastated southern port city of Mariupol have failed.

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Australian Olympic Committee backs humanitarian visas

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has said it will support Ukrainian athletes seeking to resettle in Australia on humanitarian grounds, according to the Reuters news agency.

Outgoing AOC President John Coates told the committee’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Saturday that it was “sad” young Ukrainian athletes were swapping sports equipment to take up arms against Russia.

“Today I announced that the AOC executive has by circular resolution last week, determined that the AOC will support humanitarian visa applications by Ukrainian athletes and will seek the assistance of you, our member sports, in their settlement requirements,” Coates said.

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More than one million people evacuated into Russia since invasion: Lavrov

Lavrov says some 1.02 million people have been evacuated into Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.

The number includes 120,000 foreigners and people evacuated from the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.

Lavrov made the comments to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

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Russia secures ‘tactical advances’ in Donetsk, Luhansk: IOW

The Institute for the Study of War (IOW) has released its latest update on the situation on the ground.

The key points:

• Russia continued to shell the “entire frontline” in Donetsk and Luhansk and “secured several tactical advances”.
• Russian military probably intends to leave a “minimal force” in Mariupol to block Ukrainian forces in the Azovstal plant.
• Ukraine recaptured Ruska Lozova and continued counterattacks northeast of Kharkiv.

#Kharkiv and #Izyum Update:#Ukrainian forces continued to repel #Russian attacks southwest and south of Izyum on April 29. Ukrainian forces continued limited counterattacks directly northeast of Kharkiv city and recaptured Ruska Lozova.https://t.co/Yw5KKwNl6v pic.twitter.com/oinRPINWQ0

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) April 29, 2022

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US Marine killed in Ukraine ‘just wanted to help out’, his father says

The father of a former US Marine who was killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia has told The Washington Post that his son “just wanted to help out”.

Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died on Monday and is the first known US citizen to die while fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.

“I’m not going to lie, I tried telling him, ‘Hey, think about it,’” Cancel’s father, who also served in the Marines, said. “He thought people needed help.”

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US National Guard to send ageing equipment to Ukraine

At least five US states are sending their ageing M113 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, the Defense News website has reported.

According to the report, the governors of Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia have announced that they would be sending their M113s over to Ukraine, at the request of the Department of Defence.

The aid is part of Biden’s announcement to send an $800m military aid package to Ukraine that includes heavy artillery, ammunition and drones.

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UK to deploy 8,000 soldiers ‘to defend Europe’: ministry

Around 8,000 UK soldiers will conduct a series of planned exercises across Europe this summer, the British
Ministry of Decence has said, noting it will be the “largest deployment since the Cold War”.

The operation will involve 72 Challenger 2 tanks, 12 AS90 tracked artillery guns and 120 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles deployed to countries from Finland to North Macedonia, the ministry said in a statement.

“The UK makes a significant contribution to the defence of Europe and the deterrence of Russian aggression,” Commander Field Army Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse said.

🇬🇧 Thousands of @BritishArmy troops are deploying across Europe for a series of planned exercises.

Alongside allies and partners from @NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, soldiers will combine capabilities and values to promote peace and security.

➡️ https://t.co/4CF2q9Cd8K pic.twitter.com/YUyMn01s8k

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 29, 2022

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Over 1,000 civilians exhumed in Kyiv region: official

The bodies of 1,187 civilians have been found so far in the Kyiv region, a local police official has said.

On Thursday alone, 28 bodies have been exhumed, Andriy Nebitov said in televised remarks. Most of the bodies – 1,080 – were found in the Bucha district northwest of Kyiv, he added.

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Five towns in Ukraine’s east hit overnight: official

Five towns in Ukraine’s southeastern Luhansk region have been shelled overnight, a defense official has said. The bombardment damaged houses and caused fires, but there were no casualties, Serhiy Haidai added on Telegram.

Meanwhile in the eastern region of Donetsk, three people died, and three were wounded, on Thursday due to Russian air strikes in the Ukrainian city of New York, regional chief Pavlo Kirilenko posted on Facebook.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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Russian checkpoint in bordering town hit: local authorities

A checkpoint in the Russian village of Krupets in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine was shelled at 8am local time (5am GMT), regional governor Roman Starovoyt has said on his telegram channel.

He added that there were no casualties or damage.

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US believes Russian intelligence was behind attack on journalist: reports

US intelligence believes Russia was behind an attack in April on Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov, editor of the investigative newspaper Novara Gazeta, US news organizations have said.

Muratov has said that while he was on a train he was splashed with red paint containing acetone by an attacker who told him, “this is for you from our boys.” The journalist at the time posted photographs of his face, chest and hands covered in red oil paint, which he said badly burned his eyes because of the acetone.

The New York Times and Washington Post both reported that US intelligence agencies had concluded that their Russian counterpart orchestrated the attack, which took place on a Moscow-Samara train.

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Civilians’ evacuation planned from Mariupol

An operation is planned to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant on Friday, the Ukrainian president’s office said.

It didn’t provide further details.

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UK says Russia military focused on ‘Battle of Donbas’

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has also given an update on the latest situation on the ground.

“The Battle of the Donbas remains Russia’s main strategic focus, in order to achieve its stated aim of securing control over the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” it said in its latest intelligence update.

Fighting has been particularly heavy around the towns of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, it added.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 29 April 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/94lb8T09GX

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Shgw19Ejz0

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 29, 2022

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Russia has made ‘minor advances’: ISW

Russia made “minor advances” in eastern Ukraine on Thursday but did not gain any new territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Its latest assessment says military reinforcements are being deployed through the border town of Belgorod.

“Russian and proxy forces continued to mobilize in Transnistria and set conditions for a false flag attack,” it added.

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Japanese PM Kishida on way to Indonesia

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Indonesia as he tries to rally Southeast Asia to respond more robustly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and is the current chair of the G20, while Japan is the region’s sole member of the G7.

In Southeast Asia, while most countries backed a UN General Assembly vote condemning the invasion, only Singapore has imposed sanctions. Indonesia is under pressure to ban Putin from the G20 summit in Bali later this year. Analysts have said it is unlikely to do so.

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Ukraine suffers serious losses, but not as many as Russia: Aide

An aide to Ukraine’s president has said the country has suffered serious losses in the war with Russia, but Moscow has lost many more soldiers.

In a video posted online, the aide, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the military situation was difficult but controllable.

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Russia should pay to rebuild Ukraine: Slovakia deputy PM

Slovakia’s deputy prime minister has said Russian aggressors have destroyed entire cities and the lives of millions of people in Ukraine, and when the war is over Moscow should pay to rebuild the country and restore its cultural heritage.

In what she acknowledged as “quite an unorthodox view”, Veronika Remisova also said that after the war “there will be a big need to integrate Russia, even though Russia is an aggressor, even if Russia is doing horrible war crimes”.

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Pentagon says US is analysing attacks on Kyiv

The United States is analysing attacks on Kyiv that the Ukrainian authorities blamed on Russian missiles, Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby has said.

“We’re still trying to analyse this and figure out what happened here, what was struck and with what kind of munition,” he told CNN.

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AP revises earlier report of one death in Kyiv explosions

The Associated Press news agency has revised an earlier report saying that one person had been killed in explosions in Kyiv. The agency said the person was alive, but had lost a leg.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Shevchenkivskyi district in the northwestern part of the city was hit twice, causing fires in at least two high-rise buildings.

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OSCE to close down Ukraine monitoring mission

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has announced it will take “immediate steps” to end its monitoring mission in Ukraine.

“This is not an easy decision to take. We have explored all possible options through political dialogue with participating States to achieve the renewal of the Special Monitoring Mission’s mandate, but the position of the Russian Federation left us with no choice but to take steps to close down the Mission,” Zbigniew Rau, the Polish foreign minister and the OSCE’s current chairman said in a statement.

“The Mission played a crucial role in providing objective information on the ground, facilitating ceasefires and working to ease the effects of the conflict on the civilian population. The work of the SMM’s members deserves our appreciation and gratitude”.

The special mission was deployed to Ukraine in March 2014.

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 Russian strikes on Kyiv aimed ‘to humiliate’ the UN, Zelensky says

Russian strikes on Kyiv on Thursday aimed “to humiliate” the UN, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Today, immediately after the end of our talks in Kyiv, Russian missiles flew into the city. Five rockets. And this says a lot … about the Russian leadership’s efforts to humiliate the UN and everything that the organisation represents,” Zelensky said, adding that it required “a correspondingly powerful reaction”.

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UN chief, team ‘shocked’ by proximity of Russian strikes on Kyiv

UN chief Antonio Guterres and his team were “shocked” by the proximity of the Russian strikes, which hit central Kyiv as they were visiting the capital. However, a spokesman has confirmed that they are all “safe”.

“It is a war zone but it is shocking that it happened close to us,” Saviano Abreu, spokesman for the UN’s humanitarian office told AFP, without saying how close they were to the point of impact. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there had been “two hits in the Shevchenkovsky district”, with one hitting “the lower floors of a residential building”. 

He said three people had been taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. 

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Two explosions heard in Kyiv as UN chief visits Ukraine’s capital

Reuters eyewitnesses have reported hearing two explosions in the Ukrainian capital even as the UN secretary-general visits the city.

The office of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a central district of the capital was hit by Russian strikes. It added that authorities are gathering details about possible casualties.

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Guterres says UN doing all it can to make evacuation from Mariupol steel plant possible

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after talks that his organisation is doing everything it can to help evacuate a steel plant where fighters and civilians are holed up in the city of Mariupol. “At the present moment I can only tell you we are doing everything we can to make it happen. I’m not going to enter into any comment that could undermine that possibility,” he said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky said: “I trust and believe – just as many relatives of those people who are blocked in Azovstal (steel plant) do – that the secretary-general and we will be able to have a successful result.”

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US senior defence official says some Russian forces are leaving Mariupol

A senior US defence official says that the US has uncovered evidence that suggests some Russian forces are leaving the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and moving towards the northwest, even as fighting for the port city continues, Reuters reports.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Ukrainian forces are being trained inside and outside the country on how to use howitzers, a mobile radar system and the M113 armoured personnel carrier.

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‘We’re not attacking Russia, we’re helping Ukraine defend itself,’ says Biden

US President Joe Biden has outlined his plans to offer more support to Ukraine in a speech at the White House.

He is asking Congress to approve an additional $33 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine “for the next five months”.

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 Ukraine condemns Kyiv strikes as ‘heinous act of barbarism’

Ukraine lashed out angrily after Russian strikes on Kyiv as UN chief Antonio Guterres was visiting the capital in the first such bombardment since mid-April.

“By this heinous act of barbarism Russia demonstrates once again its attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world,” tweeted Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

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Finland and Sweden could join NATO quickly: Stoltenberg

Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly should they decide to ask for membership in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

“If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed and I expect the process to go quickly,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, adding he planned to speak with the Finnish president later in the day.

He said he was sure arrangements could be found for the interim period between an application by the two Scandinavian countries and the formal ratification in the parliaments of all 30 NATO members.

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Ukraine says Russia aiming to encircle forces in Dontesk

Russian forces have intensified their efforts to encircle Ukrainians in the southeastern Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces has said.

They are also focusing their assault in the eastern Kharkiv region trying to move towards the villages of Sulihivka and Velyka Komyshuvakha that lies close to the Russian border, it said on Facebook.

Russian shelling of the regional capital, Kharkiv, also intensified, it said.

Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.

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Russia says it destroyed two ammo depots overnight

Russia’s defence ministry has said its missilesstruck four Ukrainian military targets overnight, destroying two missile and ammunition depots near the settlements of Barvinkove and Ivanivka in the east of the country.

It said Russian forces had also downed a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft near Luhansk.

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‘War is an absurdity in 21st century’: UN’s Guterres in Ukraine

UN Secretary-General Guterres has described war as “evil” and absurd during a visit to Borodianka outside Kyiv, where Moscow’s troops are accused of killing civilians during their occupation.

“I imagine my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic. The war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil. There is no way a war can be acceptable in the 21st century,” Guterres said.

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UK says Ukraine can attack Russian logistics

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said would be legitimate for Ukrainian forces to target Russian logistics but they were unlikely to use British weapons.

Moscow has accused London of provoking Ukraine to strike targets in Russia, saying there would be an immediate “proportional response” if it continued.

“If Ukraine did choose to target logistics infrastructure for the Russian army, that would be legitimate under international law,” Wallace told BBC TV.

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IAEA chief calls for access to Europe’s largest nuclear plant

Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has called for access to the nuclear plant in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, saying the level of safety there is like a “red light blinking”.

The plant – Europe’s largest nuclear facility – is currently under Russian occupation.

Grossi told The Associated Press that IAEA needs to reestablish connections with the plant, which also requires repairs.

“And all of this is not happening,” he said. “So this is a pending issue. This is a red light blinking.”

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Putin set to dig in like ‘a cancerous growth’ in Ukraine: Wallace

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Russian President Vladimir Putin may seek to consolidate what he has got in Ukraine and dig in, like a “cancerous growth” within the country.

“You can see in his current statements he is, in almost desperation, trying to broaden this either with threats or indeed, with potential false flags or attacks,” he told Sky News on Thursday

“I think it’s certainly the case that Putin, having failed in nearly all his objectives, may seek to consolidate what he’s got, sort of fortify and dig in as he did in 2014. Just be a sort of cancerous growth within the country in Ukraine and make it very hard for people to move them out of those fortified positions.”

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Russia’s Black Sea fleets retains ability to attack Ukraine: UK

The British Ministry of Defence says Russia’s Black Sea fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets, despite its losses of the landing ship Saratov and the cruiser Moskva.

In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said about 20 Russian Navy vessels, including submarines, are in the Black Sea operational zone.

“The Bosphorus Strait remains closed to all non-Turkish warships, rendering Russia unable to replace its lost cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea,” it added.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 28 April 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/kGpbSP2o7L

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/PKEHRgHGJ6

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 28, 2022

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Air defence activated in Russia’s Belgorod: Report

Russia’s TASS news agency says air defence systems have been activated in the Russian city of Belgorod.

It cited the local government saying that the systems were activated in the early hours of Thursday.

The Belgorod province borders Ukraine’s Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, all of which have seen heavy fighting since Russia  

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US energy industries on ‘war footing’: Official

US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm has said that Russia’s war on Ukraine “screams” that the world needs to stop importing oil and gas from Russia and instead move towards other forms of energy.

At an international forum on offshore wind energy in Atlantic City, Granholm said the US as well as its energy industries “are on a war footing,” and called for a rapid acceleration of renewable energy including offshore wind power.

“Russia is waging a war in Ukraine and the imperative to move away from Russian oil and gas, for the world to move away from Russian oil and gas screams that there is an imperative that we electrify,” said Granholm, the former Michigan governor.

“Offshore wind is just a huge component in that.”

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Ukraine president invited to G20 summit 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his Indonesian counterpart had invited him to attend the summit of Group of 20 (G20) major economies to be held in the Southeast Asian country later this year.

“Had talks with President @jokowi… Appreciate inviting me to the @g20org summit,” he said in a tweet, referring to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current G20 chair, by his nickname.

Zelenskiy did not confirm whether he would accept the invitation to the summit on the island of Bali in November. Russia has said its President Vladimir Putin plans to attend.

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Ukrainians to decide on issue of joining Russia: Lavrov

Ukrainians will decide themselves on the issue of joining Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

“The citizens of Ukraine will determine their own fate. It’s up to them, not someone else,” Lavrov said at a news conference with his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh in Moscow, in response to a question about the possibility of Ukraine’s southern regions becoming a part of Russia.

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One woman killed in Russian shelling in east Ukraine

A woman was killed in Russian shelling of a hospital in the east Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the regional governor has said.

Russia did not immediately comment on the accusation by the Luhansk region’s governor, Serhiy Gaidai. Moscow has denied targeting civilians or hospitals in its “special military operation” launched on Feb. 24.

The hospital was one of only two still working in the area, Gaidai said. The other is in nearby Lysychansk.

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Another 52,000 Ukrainians flee

More than 5.3 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In total, 5,317,219 people have fled Ukraine as refugees since February 24, according to the latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

That marks an increase of 52,452 over the figure given on Tuesday.

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Other European nations could see gas cut: Kremlin

The Kremlin has said that Russia may halt gas supplies to other European customers following a cutoff to Poland and Bulgaria if they also refuse to switch to payment in roubles. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, argued that the Russian demand to switch to roubles in payments for gas resulted from the Western action to freeze Russian hard currency assets. 

He said those were effectively “stolen” by the West in an “unprecedented unfriendly action.”

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Poland, Bulgaria get gas from EU neighbours : EU chief

Poland and Bulgaria are now receiving gas from their EU neighbours after Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom turned off the taps, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen has said.

“Today, the Kremlin failed once again in its attempt to sow division among member states. The era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe is coming to an end,” von der Leyen said.

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UN nuclear agency seeks plant access

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s director-general has said that the level of safety at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, currently under Russian control in Ukraine, is like a “red light blinking” as his organisation tries in vain to get access for work including repairs.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Rafael Grossi said that the IAEA needs access to the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine so its inspectors can, among other things, reestablish connections with the Vienna-based headquarters of the UN agency.  And for that, both Russia and Ukraine need t o help.

The plant requires repairs, “and all of this is not happening. So the situation as I have described it, and I would repeat it today, is not sustainable as it is,” Grossi said. “So this is a pending issue. This is a red light blinking.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

EU begins emergency gas talks

European Union officials have been holding emergency gas talks following Russia’s decision to abruptly turn off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, according to the bloc’s top official. 

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the announcement by Gazprom “is yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail.” Leyen lashed out at what she described as an “unjustified and unacceptable” move underlining “the unreliability of Russia as a gas supplier.”

Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, said a meeting of the gas coordination group was underway, adding that the region’s 27 countries are prepared to weather Russia’s cutoffs. “We are mapping out our coordinated EU response. We will also continue working with international partners to secure alternative flows.” 

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Turkish president, UN secretary-general discuss Ukraine conflict 

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine was on the agenda in a phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

During the conversation, Guterres briefed Erdogan about his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to a statement by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate. 

The development comes two days after Guterres met Erdogan in Ankara, and both reaffirmed their common objective to end the war that began on February 24.

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Russia withdraws from UN tourism body: UNWTO

Russia is withdrawing from the United Nation’s tourism body, the UN World Tourism Organization has said ahead of a vote by its executive council to suspend Moscow’s membership over its offensive in Ukraine.

“Russia has announced its intention to withdraw from UNWTO,” the organisation said in a tweet, adding that Russia’s suspension “is effective immediately”.

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Russia bans entry to 287 British MPs: foreign ministry

The Russian foreign ministry has banned entry to 287 British MPs in response to the UK’s sanctions against Russian parliamentarians.

“In response to the decision taken by the British government on March 11 to add 386 State Duma deputies to a sanctions list, in a reciprocal move, personal restrictions are being placed on 287 members of the House of Commons,” the ministry said in a statement. The House of Commons has a total of 650 members.

Bulgarian PM accuses Russia of blackmail over gas supplies

Russia’s warning it is shutting off gas supplies to Bulgaria over demands to change the payment scheme is a grave breach of a current contract and amounts to blackmail, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has said.

Petkov said Bulgaria was currently reviewing all of its contracts with Gazprom, including for transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary, because “one-sided blackmail was not acceptable”.

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Moldovan breakaway region says shots fired from Ukraine towards village

The Interior Ministry of Moldova’s pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria has said that shots have been fired from the territory of Ukraine overnight towards a village that houses a large ammunition depot.

The ministry also said that it had detected drones that it said were launched from Ukraine.

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22,400 Russian troops killed in war so far: Ukraine

At least 22,400 Russian soldiers have so far been killed in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has claimed.

In addition, the Ukrainian troops destroyed 939 Russian tanks, 2,342 armoured personnel vehicles, 421 artillery systems and 149 multiple launch rocket systems, the Ukrainian General Staff announced in a statement.

The Ukrainian forces also destroyed 185 aircraft, 155 helicopters, 71 air defence systems, 1,666 vehicles, eight ships and light speedboats, 76 fuel vehicles, as well as 207 unmanned aerial vehicles, the statement added. Ukraine also announced that the Russian army lost 300 more soldiers in the last 24 hours.

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Polish PM decries Russian ‘gas blackmail’

Poland’s prime minister has lashed out at Russia for trying to “blackmail” his country with an abrupt cutoff of gas supplies. He says he believes the move was revenge for new sanctions that Warsaw imposed this week against Russia.

The sanctions announced Tuesday targeted 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom. 

Hours later Poland said it had received notice that Gazprom was cutting off supplies to Poland for failing to comply with new demands to pay in Russian rubles. Speaking to the Polish parliament, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki vowed that Poland would not be cowed by the gas cutoff.

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Russian forces pummel Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol steel plant – mayoral aide

Russian forces have been pounding a huge steel works in Mariupol where the southern Ukrainian city’s last defenders and some civilians are holed up, a local official has said.

Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to the city mayor, said there had been no let-up in air strikes on the Azovstal plant despite Russian President Vladimir Putin saying there was no need to storm it after declaring victory in Mariupol.

“Air attacks on Azovstal are not subsiding. No ceasefire, but attempts to storm again and again. Despite the statements (by Putin),” Andryushchenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “At the same time, street fighting continues again in the sector between the Azovstal plant’s management (buildings) to the street.”

Russia cuts off gas, European prices spike

European gas prices have spiked by as much as 24 percent following Gazprom’s statement that it is suspending deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria starting Wednesday because it hasn’t received any payments from them since April 1. 

Benchmark Dutch futures traded at one point around $132 (125 euros) per megawatt hour.

The spike comes even as the weather turns warmer in the Europe, lessening the demand for the natural gas for heating homes and businesses.

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Ukraine: Several villages in east captured by Russian forces

Ukraine has said that Russian forces have pushed deeper into the east of the country and captured several villages as part of Moscow’s offensive to take control of Donbass.

The defence ministry said that Russian forces had pushed out Kiev’s army from Velyka Komyshuvakha and Zavody in the northeastern Kharkiv region and had gained control over Zarichne and Novotoshkivske in Donetsk.

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Russia says it hit US, European weapons in missile strike in Ukraine

Russia’s defence ministry has said its Kalibr missiles have struck an arms depot in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region housing weapons from the United States and European countries.

The ministry said its air force had destroyed 59 Ukrainian military targets overnight.

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Swiss have frozen $9B in sanctioned Russian wealth – NZZ

The amount of Russian assets frozen under sanctions Switzerland has adopted has risen to around $9.34 billion (9 billion Swiss francs), the Neue Zuercher Zeitung paper has reported, without citing its sources.

That would be around 1.5 billion francs more than Swiss authorities had reported on April 7.

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Britain says Ukraine controls majority of its airspace

Ukraine retains control over the majority of its airspace, Britain’s defence ministry has said, adding that Russia has failed to effectively destroy the country’s air force or suppress its air defences.

“Russia has very limited air access to the north and west of Ukraine, limiting offensive actions to deep strikes withstand-off weapons,” it said on Twitter. 

“Russian air activity is primarily focused on southern and eastern Ukraine, providing support to Russian ground forces,” the ministry added in a regular bulletin. 

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Russian gas supplies resume to Poland – operator data

Gas supplies under the Yamal contract to Poland edged up after dropping to zero earlier, data from the European Union network of gas transmission operators have shown.

Physical gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline from Belarus to Poland were at 3,449,688 kWh/hour at 0422 GMT.

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US: Allies must move ‘at the speed of war’ to help Ukraine

The US defence chief urged Ukraine’s allies to “move at the speed of war” to get more and heavier weapons to Kiev.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting of officials from about 40 countries at the US airbase at Ramstein, Germany, and said more help is on the way.

“We’ve got to move at the speed of war,” Austin said. He said he wanted officials to leave the meeting “with a common and transparent understanding of Ukraine’s near-term security requirements because we’re going to keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet them.”

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Russian gas continues to flow to Bulgaria – Bulgartransgaz

Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria continue to flow for the time being, Vladimir Malinov, executive director of Bulgarian gas network operator Bulgartransgaz, has said.

Bulgaria’s energy ministry said Russia’s Gazprom has informed Bulgarian state gas company Bulgargaz it will halt gas supplies as of Wednesday. The ministry will give a news briefing on the situation later on Wednesday morning.

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‘Ramp up’ tank and warplane production for Ukraine

Ukraine’s fate is hanging in the balance and its allies must brace for the long haul and “ramp up” military production including tanks and planes to help, Britain’s foreign minister will say on Wednesday.

The global security structures that should have prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive have failed, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will say in a speech calling for “a new approach”.

“We cannot be complacent –– the fate of Ukraine remains in the balance,” she will say, according to a preview of her address to diplomats and business leaders in London.

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Blasts heard in Russia’s Belgorod, ammunition depot on fire

A series of blasts were heard in the early hours of Wednesday in the Russian city Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said, and an ammunition depot in the province was on fire.

Gladkov said no civilians had been hurt by the fire which broke out at a facility near Staraya Nelidovka village. Russia this month accused Ukraine of attacking a fuel depot in Belgorod with helicopters and opening fire on several villages in the province.

The Belgorod province borders Ukraine’s Luhansk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions, all of which have seen heavy fighting since Russia began attacking Ukraine two months ago.

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Chinese drone maker DJI suspends business in Russia, Ukraine

Drone giant DJI Technology Co Ltd has said it will temporarily suspend business in Russia and Ukraine, making it the first major Chinese company to halt sales to Russia since the country launched its offensive in neighbouring Ukraine in February.

“DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions,” the privately held company said in a statement. “Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine.”

Although Western firms have pulled out of Russia in protest, many Chinese companies have stayed there, taking a cue from Beijing’s stance of refraining from criticism of Moscow over the assault.

Ukrainian officials and citizens have accused DJI, the world’s largest maker of consumer and industrial drones, of leaking data on the Ukrainian military to Russia.

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India’s ONGC struggling to move Russian oil to Asia – sources

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is struggling to find a vessel to ship 700,000 barrels of crude from Russia’s Far East, in a growing sign that complex trades involving one of Moscow’s biggest partners are being interrupted by Western sanctions, sources say.

Several Indian companies including ONGC have stakes in Russian oil and gas assets, and India has been buying more Russian crude since Moscow attacked Ukraine, snapping up the popular Urals crude grade, while other buyers have shunned Russian exports.

ONGC has a 20 percent stake in the Sakhalin 1 project that produces a Russian grade known as Sokol, which ONGC exports through tenders. Sokol is mostly bought by North Asian buyers and loaded from South Korea.

However, Moscow’s ability to ship that grade, which requires vessels that can break through the ice, is becoming harder due to concerns from shippers over reputational risk and the increasing difficulty for Russian assets to find insurance coverage.

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US offers $10 million reward for information on Russian intelligence officers

The United States on Tuesday offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on six people it described as Russian military intelligence officers who had conducted cyber attacks affecting critical US infrastructure.

The six officers work in a cyber-focused unit of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and were involved in a 2017 global malware attack that infected the computers of several private U.S. entities, including a hospital system, the US State Department said.

The 2017 “NotPetya” cyber attack crippled parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure and damaged computers in countries across the globe including France, Germany, Italy and the United States, causing billions of dollars in estimated damage.

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Russian parliament speaker: Cut off gas to other ‘unfriendly’ countries

Russia’s top lawmaker says gas giant Gazprom has made the right decision in fully suspending supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, adding that Moscow should do the same with other “unfriendly” countries.

“The same should be done with regard to other countries that are unfriendly to us,” Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, wrote on his Telegram channel.

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‘Ukraine is strengthening’ after US, allies promise more heavy weaponry: Ukrainian presidential aide

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says he welcomes promises by the United States and its allies to send more heavy weaponry to Ukraine following talks at a German air base.

“One of Russia’s odd demands at the start of the war was the ‘full demilitarization’ of Ukraine. After yesterday’s epochal meeting of 40 defense ministers, I have bad news for Russia. Capacity, speed, simplified logistics, an expanded range of weapons – Ukraine is strengthening,” he wrote on Twitter.

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Polish gas company PGNiG confirms Gazprom supplies to Poland halted

Polish gas company PGNiG confirms Gazprom has halted supplies to Poland, adding that company clients are still getting the fuel in line with their needs.

“Cutting gas supplies is a breach of contract and PGNiG reserves the right to seek compensation and will use all available contractual and legal means to do so,” the company said.

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Poland bringing forward completion of liquefied natural gas terminal

Poland wants to finish its floating liquefied natural gas terminal in 2025, earlier than planned, the minister in charge of energy security has said.

“We want the facility to be ready in 2025, we are speeding this up. The plan was to have it ready in 2027,” Piotr Naimski told RMF FM radio after Russia said it was halting gas supplies to Poland.

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Bulgaria says Russia’s gas halt breach of contract

Bulgaria’s energy minister says the country has paid for Russian gas deliveries for April and halting gas supplies would be a breach of its current contract with Gazprom, Reuters reports.

Alexander Nikolov told journalists Bulgaria would observe the European Commission’s stance urging countries not to pay in roubles for Russian gas as demanded by the Russian president.

“Because all trade and legal obligations are being observed, it is clear that at the moment the natural gas is being used more as a political and economic weapon in the current war,” Nikolov said.

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Russia’s gas cuts add to ‘economic pariah’ status: UK

Russia’s decision to cut off gas supply to Poland will add to its status as an economic and political pariah, Britain’s deputy minister has said.

“It (halting gas supply) will have a … very damaging effect on Russia as well because it is becoming further and further, more and more, not just a political pariah, but an economic pariah,” Dominic Raab told Sky News.

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Gazprom says gas to Poland and Bulgaria now suspended

Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom says it has completely suspended gas supplies to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG as neither had paid on time in roubles.

“Gazprom Export has notified Bulgargaz and PGNiG of the suspension of gas supplies from April 27 until payment is made in accordance with the procedure established by the decree,” Gazprom said in a statement.

It also warned that if they siphon gas intended for other European customers, the deliveries would be reduced by that amount.

The move follows Putin’s order for payments for Russian gas supplied to Europe to be made in roubles.

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Hungary still receiving Russian gas: Minister

Hungary is receiving Russian gas according to its contract with Gazprom via Bulgaria and Serbia, Hungary’s foreign minister has said.

Gazprom informed Hungary that transit shipments via Bulgaria are separately handled, Reuters has reported.

“I want to assure everyone that the non-delivery of gas shipments to Bulgaria does not mean a halt in transit shipments via Bulgaria,” Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook page.

Szijjarto said Hungary’s next payment obligation for Russian gas is due on May 22, and the country will transfer its payment in euros to Gazprombank, where the amount will be converted into roubles.

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Russian gas to Austria continues to flow: Minister

Russian natural gas deliveries to Austria are continuing unrestricted and there is no indication that will change, Austria’s energy minister has told ORF radio.

Asked if there were any indications that gas from Russia could be cut off as in Poland or Bulgaria, Leonore Gewessler said: “No, we have no such indications … deliveries to Austria remain unrestricted.”

Austria obtains 80% of its gas from Russia.

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Blasts heard in Russia’s Kursk, Voronezh provinces

The governor of Russia’s Kursk province, which borders Ukraine, said explosions had been heard in Kursk city early on Wednesday which were most likely the sounds of air defence systems firing.

In Voronezh, the administrative centre of another province of the same name adjacent to Ukraine, Russia’s TASS news agency cited an emergencies ministry official as saying that two blasts had been heard and the authorities were investigating.

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Ukraine still controls most of its airspace: UK

Ukraine retains control of most of its airspace, while Russia has failed to effectively destroy the Ukrainian Air Force or suppress the country’s air defences, the UK defence ministry has said in its latest intelligence briefing.

It added that Russia’s air activity was focused mainly on southern and eastern Ukraine and that it had very limited air access to the north and west of the country.

The briefing also said Russia was likely using “unguided free-falling bombs” in its air strikes on Mariupol. “These weapons reduce Russia’s ability to effectively discriminate when conducting strikes, increasing the risk of civilian casualties,” the defence ministry added.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 27 April 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/yBkEQmjzoS

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/r4vIO69jIM

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 27, 2022

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Russia says it ‘liberated’ entire Kherson region

Russia’s defence ministry has said its forces have liberated the entire Kherson region in the south of Ukraine, Interfax news agency has reported.

It cited a senior official as saying elsewhere in the south of Ukraine, Russian troops had taken parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv regions, as well as part of the Kharkiv region to the east of Kyiv.

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Russia shelled Sumy region for ‘more than a day’: Governor

Russia fired mortar bombs at various settlements in the Sumy region from across the border, the region’s governor has said.

“We see that these shellings continue for more than a day from Bachevsk to Billopillya. Almost the entire border line is fired from heavy artillery and mortars,” Dmitry Zhivitsky said in a Facebook video message on Tuesday.

Ukraine destroyed Russian missile system on Snake Island: Army

Ukraine’s army has said its forces destroyed a Russian surface-to-air missile system on Snake Island, known as Zmiinyi Island in Ukrainian, in the Black Sea.

“Our forces defeated hostile positions on Zmiinyi Island. A hit on the control point was recorded, the destruction of the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system. The losses of the rashists are being specified,” The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook. Ukraine’s army often refers to Russia’s forces as “rashists”.

The post also said that Russian forces had tried to advance towards the Mykolaiv region through the villages of Tavriyskoye and Novaya Zarya on Tuesday, “but had no success, suffered significant losses and retreated”.

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Ukraine has recaptured three villages in Mykolaiv: Official

Ukraine’s army now has full control of three settlements in the Mykolaiv region, an adviser to the head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has said.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have returned full control over three villages west of Snihurivka: Shirokoye, Lyubino and Novopetrivka,” Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram.

Independent Press could not verify this report.

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Russian official: Ukraine fires at Russian village

Several buildings have been damaged in the Golovchino village in Russia’s Belgorod province which came under fire from Ukraine on Tuesday morning, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram without citing evidence.

Hours earlier, Gladkov said at least two people had been hurt in an attack on another village, Zhuravlyovka.

He did not specify whether the two attacks were cases of artillery or mortar shelling or missile strikes.

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Spain seizes bank accounts, yachts, properties belonging to Russians

Spanish authorities have frozen 12 bank accounts and funds and seized three yachts and 23 properties belonging to Russian oligarchs since the war broke out in Ukraine, the prime minister’s chief of staff has said.

Speaking in the Spanish parliament, Oscar Lopez said the assets have been seized in line with the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russian oligarchs. 

Over the last two months, Spanish authorities have seized the yachts of billionaires Viktor Vekselberg, Alexander Mikheev and Sergey Chemezov.

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Britain says Russia tries to encircle Ukraine’s positions in east

Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country’s east, the British military has said in an update.

Reports say the city of Kreminna has fallen, with heavy fighting in the south of the city of Izium, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Britain’s defence ministry said on Twitter.

“Ukrainian forces have been preparing defences in Zaporizhzhia in preparation for a potential Russian attack from the south,” it added in the regular bulletin.

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Germany to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine: Report

Germany will pledge to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung has reported, in what would be a clear switch in Berlin’s cautious policy on military backing for Kyiv.

The paper said German defence minister Christine Lambrecht was set to offer the weapons at Tuesday’s meeting with allies at the United States’ Ramstein Air Base.

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Six Ukrainian women train to demine their country 

Six Ukrainian women have started demining training in Kosovo to dispose of explosive ordnance in their war-torn country.

They are the first group of Ukrainian deminers to be trained by the MAT Kosovo, part of the Malta-based PCM Group of companies.

Instructors are teaching them how to dispose of unexploded ordnance, such as cluster munitions, minefields, booby traps and other explosive remnants.

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UK minister says no imminent threat of escalation in Ukraine conflict

British armed forces minister James Heappey has said he did not think there was an imminent threat of escalation in the war in Ukraine.

“Lavrov’s trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don’t think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation,” Heappey told BBC Television.

Earlier Lavrov told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict and said NATO’s supply of weapons to Ukraine meant that the Western alliance was engaged in a proxy war with Russia.

Heappey said the wider international community, not NATO, was providing military support to Ukraine.

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India ready to step up on global issues: Jaishankar

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says his country is prepared to take a much bigger role in global affairs and would help the world with more supplies of wheat if trade rules allowed.

“India is prepared to step forward in a much more substantive way on the big global issues, including in the multilateral arena,” Jaishankar told a conference as various ministers from Europe and Asia asked him about New Delhi’s stance on the Ukraine war, China’s rise and other issues.

He said India had already raised exports of wheat to make up for supply disruptions from the Black Sea region and could do more if World Trade Organization rules allow.

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Moscow should launch next phase of Ukraine campaign: Separatist leader

The Russian-backed separatist leader of a breakaway statelet in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has called for Moscow to launch the next stage of its military campaign in the country after reaching the region’s frontiers.

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), as making the remark on a Russian talk show broadcast online.

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Russia says overnight strikes killed 500 Ukrainian troops

Russia’s defence ministry says its forces struck over 90 military targets in Ukraine overnight, killing at least 500 soldiers and destroying dozens of armoured vehicles, artillery and other military equipment.

The ministry also said its troops had hit two ammunition depots in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

There was no immediate response to the claims from Kyiv, while Independent Press could not independently verify the ministry’s reports.

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Activists block Russian oil tanker in Norway

Greenpeace activists in Norway have blocked a Russian oil tanker from unloading its cargo near Oslo, saying the shipment was helping to finance Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “warfare”.

The Hong Kong-registered Ust Luga, leased by Russian oil company Novatek, is carrying 95,000 tonnes of fuel bound for Esso’s terminal in southeast Norway, Greenpeace said in a statement.

The tanker was coming from its namesake Russian city, near Saint Petersburg, according to the Marine Traffic website.

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UN: Another 45,000 flee Ukraine war

More than 5.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia launched its attacks two months ago, with over 45,000 joining their ranks in the past 24 hours.

In total, 5,232,014 people have fled Ukraine as refugees since February 24, according to the latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

That marks an increase of 45,270 over Sunday’s figure.

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Russia says its missiles target railway supplies of weapons to Ukraine

Russia’s defence ministry has said its high-precision missiles destroyed six facilities powering the railways that were used to supply Ukrainian forces with foreign weapons.

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Ukraine says Russia is targeting railways to cut arms supply routes

Ukraine’s military command has said that Russia was trying to bomb Ukraine’s rail infrastructure in order to disrupt arms supplies from foreign countries.

“They are trying to destroy the supply routes of military-technical assistance from partner states. To do this, they focus strikes on railway junctions,” the armed forces command wrote in a post on Facebook.

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Britain to send Stormer armoured vehicles to Ukraine

Britain will send a small number of Stormer armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for anti-air missiles to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.

Wallace added that British assessments showed that around 15,000 Russian personnel had been killed in the conflict while 2,000 armoured vehicles including some 530 tanks had been destroyed, along with 60 helicopters and fighter jets.

“I can now announce to the House that we will be gifting a small number of armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for those anti-air missiles,” he said.

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Finland, Sweden to begin NATO application in May, local media reports

Finland and Sweden will together express their will to join NATO in May, tabloid newspapers Iltalehti in Finland and Expressen in Sweden have reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Despite tightening cooperation with the military alliance since Russia annexed Crimea, the Nordic countries have both opted to stay out, but Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine has led to a sharp U-turn in both countries’ attitudes towards NATO.

Finland and Sweden are planning to have their country leaders meet in the week of May 16 and after that publicly announce their plans to bid to join the alliance, Iltalehti wrote.

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Russia fired two missiles over large nuclear station, officials say

Russia deliberately fired two cruise missiles over a large nuclear station in central Ukraine as an act of “nuclear terrorism,” energy officials have said.

The missiles flew over the Khmelnitsky nuclear power station in the Vinnitsia region, Energoatom, the state-run agency that controls Ukraine’s nuclear generation, said in a statement on the messaging app, Telegram.

“This is the latest act of nuclear terrorism,” it said, adding that the missiles flew “maximally close” to the power station.

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Russia’s expulsion of German diplomats not ‘justified’: Berlin

Germany reacted with defiance to Russia’s announcement that it would expel 40 German diplomats in response to a similar move by Berlin over the conflict in Ukraine.

“We expected today’s step, but it is in no way justified,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.

She added that the 40 Russian diplomats expelled by Berlin “did not serve diplomacy for a single day” while those expelled by Russia had “not done anything wrong”.

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Russian diplomat says no point in ceasefire at the moment

Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations has said Moscow sees no point in establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine at this stage, fearing Kyiv may use it to stage “provocations”, RIA reported.

RIA cited Dmitry Polyanskiy as saying that Russia had not struck any residential areas in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa. Ukraine’s southern air command on Saturday said that two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings in Odesa.

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Russia deployed 8 warships off Ukraine’s coast: official

Moscow has deployed eight warships near Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk has said.

He said in televised remarks the ships are capable of launching a total of 58 missiles at a time, and their presence would “endanger” Ukrainian civilians.

The Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagman, capsized and sank on April 14 becoming Russia’s largest loss since its invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.

Ukrainian officials claimed it was hit by two Neptune missiles, but Russia insisted that it sank while being towed after a munitions explosion.

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Germany to borrow extra 39.2 bn euros this year due to Ukraine war

Germany will take on an additional 39.2bn euros ($42.1bn) of debt in 2022 to counter the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, sources in the finance ministry have said.

The additional debt package, set to be put to the cabinet on Wednesday, will raise the total of new borrowing for the year to 138.9bn euros.

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Russia says deputy FM discussed bilateral issues with US envoy to Moscow

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Washington’s ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan discussed bilateral issues at a meeting on Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry has said.

 

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