Russia expands airstrikes – fighting in the east


Dramatic situation in Azowstal

IAccording to unanimous Ukrainian and Russian information, a ceasefire in the battle for Azowstal on Saturday enabled the last civilians to be rescued from their hiding places. For the remaining soldiers, however, the situation is desperate. He can only hope for a miracle, wrote the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhiy Wolynskyj, on Facebook. “Here’s to higher powers finding a solution to save us!”

Observers assume that the Kremlin wants to take Azovstal as soon as possible so that it can announce the capture of Mariupol on Monday, the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Hitler’s Germany.

“We are now preparing the second stage of the evacuation mission, the wounded and doctors,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address. This is only possible if all sides stick to an agreement. “Of course we are also working on withdrawing our military.” However, Moscow has repeatedly announced that it intends to take the Ukrainian fighters captive even if they surrender.

Deaths in the east from artillery fire and bombs

Russian and Ukrainian troops continued to fight fiercely in eastern Ukraine in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. At least six Ukrainian civilians were killed there, the regional administration said on Saturday. Among the dead are two children who are said to have been killed in the village of Pryvilya under fire from Grad (hail) multiple rocket launchers. In a village near Lysychansk, a bomb dropped from the air hit the school, under which the last bunker in the village was located. According to initial reports, two people died there.

The capital Kyiv and its surroundings were affected by the air alarm on Sunday night, but also Lviv in the west, Kharkiv and Donetsk in the east, Odessa in the south and other areas. Ukraine fears particularly heavy airstrikes in the context of Russia’s upcoming commemoration of the Soviet victory in World War II.

Complaint about destruction of cultural monuments

The world commemorates the victory over National Socialism in World War II these days, Zelensky said. But for him, the Russian approach shows “that it is impossible to defeat evil once and for all”. He lamented that 200 Ukrainian cultural heritage sites had been hit in the two-and-a-half month war of aggression. “Unfortunately, when people disregard other people’s rights, disobey the law and destroy culture, evil returns,” the president said.

According to the Russian military, 1.16 million people have been brought to Russia from the contested areas of Ukraine since the end of February. This included 205,000 children, said the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. Russia sees this as rescuing threatened civilians. Kyiv accuses Moscow of kidnapping people against their will and preventing them from moving to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

London promises big aid package

Britain pledged £1.3 billion (€1.52 billion) in military aid to war-torn Ukraine ahead of G7 deliberations. “The UK was the first country to recognize the scale of the threat and is sending arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying by the PA agency. The attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin not only caused unspeakable destruction in Ukraine. “It also threatens peace and security across Europe.”

Johnson announced part of the new £300m package last week. Among other things, anti-artillery radar, jamming devices for electronics and night vision devices are to be delivered for this purpose. London had previously pledged £1.5 billion in military and humanitarian aid.

That brings the day

On Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz will give a televised address on the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945 and on the war in Ukraine. As the federal government announced, it is a special commemoration of May 8 because of the ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine this year.

As Germany’s highest-ranking representative to date, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas is traveling to Kyiv on Sunday. She follows an invitation from the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. On behalf of the Bundestag, Bas wants to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at the memorial to the murdered Ukrainian Jews in Babyn Yar. Bas also hopes to meet President Zelenskyy when the security situation allows.



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