8:55 am: “I am not sure that an embargo is needed immediately” on Russian gas
Philippe Aghion, economist, underlined this Monday morning on France inter: “I am in favor of accelerating the energy transition, that we become as quickly as possible independent of Russian gas. But I’m not sure that there should be an embargo right away. It’s much more effective to arm the Ukrainians. »
8:41 a.m.: Russians open Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
An administrative building is charred, but those of the reactors seem intact: AFP was able to visit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on Sunday, the largest in Ukraine and Europe, whose capture by the Russian army has aroused concern of the international community.
The plant “is operating normally, in accordance with nuclear, radioactive and environmental standards”, assures Major-General Valéri Vassiliev, a specialist in nuclear and chemical issues, on site, sent by Moscow to secure the site.
6:51 am: Angelina Jolie visits children in a hospital and talks to Ukrainians and volunteers
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, made a surprise visit to Lviv in western Ukraine on Saturday, where she spoke with displaced people, reported visiting children and was seen in a café.
In a hospital, she visited children injured in the April 8 bombardment in front of the Kramatorsk station in the east of the country. She also spoke with Ukrainians who have had to flee combat zones and volunteers who provide psychological assistance to displaced people at Lviv station. The actress was also spotted at a cafe in Lviv.
According to CNN, Angelina Jolie traveled to the area in her personal capacity, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees not involved in the visit.
6:20 a.m .: Ukrainian authorities hope for continued evacuations in Mariupol
The continuation of the evacuations of residents of Mariupol is scheduled for Monday morning, after a first operation which removed a hundred civilians from the Azovstal factory, besieged by Russian forces in this strategic port in south-eastern Ukraine. This evacuation operation began on Saturday and was carried out in coordination between Ukraine, Russia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It first concerned civilians present in the basements of the huge Azovstal steelworks.
Today, for the first time since the start of the war, this vital humanitarian corridor has begun to function. For the first time, there were two days of real ceasefire in this territory
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian President
6:08 a.m .: Russia is not aiming for an end to the war in Ukraine on May 9
Russia is not seeking to end the war in Ukraine on May 9, celebrated as “Victory Day”, its foreign minister said, as analysts believed a possible end to the conflict on that date. “Our military will not artificially adjust their actions to any date, including Victory Day,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Italian TV Mediaset broadcast on Sunday, referring to the date commemorating May 9, 1945 and the surrender of the Nazis to the Allies, including the Soviet Union. “We will solemnly celebrate May 9, as we always do. Let us remember those who fell for the liberation of Russia and other republics of the former USSR, for the liberation of Europe from the Nazi scourge,” he stressed.
5:50 am: An embargo on Russian oil being finalized in the EU
The European Union is finalizing a gradual halt in its purchases of oil and petroleum products from Russia to sanction the war in Ukraine and will announce a timetable and new measures this week. A first exchange is scheduled for Monday during a meeting of the Ministers of Energy of the Twenty-Seven in Brussels, but no decision is expected because the Commission will not yet have submitted its proposals for sanctions.
Germany, one of the European countries most dependent on Russia for its energy, announced on Sunday that it had already succeeded in greatly reducing this trend, in particular for coal and oil.
5:47 a.m.: The evacuation of the Azovstal plant has begun
Dozens of civilians were evacuated on Sunday from the city of Mariupol, where they were trapped in the Azovstal steel complex. The UN confirmed that this operation, which began on Saturday and was carried out in coordination between Ukraine, Russia and the International Red Cross, was continuing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that a first group of “about a hundred people” will be welcomed on Monday in Zaporijjia, a city located west of Mariupol.
The Russian Ministry of Defense meanwhile claimed that “80 civilians detained by Ukrainian nationalists” had been rescued from the territory of the Azovstal factory and evacuated to the village of Bezimennoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, “where they received accommodation, food and necessary medical assistance”.
5:46 am: The latest highlights on the military front
– In the east, President Zelensky warned that the Russians “have formed reinforcements in the Kharkiv region, trying to increase the pressure in the Donbass”. A senior Ukrainian military official underlined “the difficult situation” in the east, particularly in the regions of Izium and Sieverodonetsk, “where the enemy has concentrated most of its efforts and its most combat-ready troops”. .
– Eight civilians were killed on Sunday in bombardments in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, including four in the town of Lyman alone, close to the front.
– To the south, in Kherson, the only major Ukrainian city of which they have fully taken control, the Russian forces “are taking an operational break to reinforce their tactical positions and prepare an offensive aimed at taking control of the outer approaches” of the city , said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington.
What to remember from Sunday
- In the port city of Mariupol, the evacuation of the Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in this city, has begun. A hundred civilians are heading for Zaporijjia, “the territory controlled by Ukraine”, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi met Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Kyiv to show US support for Ukraine.
- After a series of explosions affecting infrastructure in Russia, attributed to incursions by the Ukrainian military across the border, the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod reported a fire on Saturday in military installations.
5:45 am: Hello everyone, welcome to this live where we will follow the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, this Monday, May 2, on the 68th day of the Russian invasion.