The night of the war at a glance
Weapons at the steelworks are to rest for three days – massive disruption to train traffic in Ukraine
5/5/2022 6:52 am
Ukraine is hoping for further rescue operations for threatened civilians from the port city of Mariupol, which has been almost entirely conquered by Russia. The Russian military announced ceasefires for Thursday, Friday and Saturday so that people could leave the Azovstal steel plant, which was under siege there. In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised the same for the Ukrainian side. “We hope to continue rescuing people from Azovstal, from Mariupol,” he said in his evening video address. Russian troops continued to try to destroy the supply routes for Western weapons with heavy rocket attacks on railway systems in Ukraine on Wednesday.
Fighting and ceasefires at the Azovstal Steel Plant
In the heavily damaged city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, the last Ukrainian defenders continued to be entrenched in the extensive Azovstal factory compound. There is a complex tunnel system underground, in which it is estimated that around 200 civilians are hiding in addition to the armed men. Russian troops had been advancing on the site for two days, said Azov regiment commander Denis Prokopenko. “There are heavy, bloody fights.”
However, the Russian military announced a ceasefire and a temporary withdrawal of its troops for further evacuations. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that so-called escape corridors should be set up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CEST). Civilians rescued from the Azovstal steel works can then decide for themselves whether they want to stay in Ukraine or be taken to Russia. Zelenskyj reported on a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres about the evacuations. They are mediated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. On Wednesday, 344 people from Mariupol and the surrounding area were taken to Zaporizhia in Ukrainian-controlled territory, and 156 refugees on Tuesday.
Kremlin official shows new Russian power in Mariupol
A few days before May 9, the “Day of Victory” over Hitler’s Germany, Moscow demonstrated its newfound power with a visit to Mariupol by senior Kremlin official Sergei Kiriyenko. The former head of government organizes Russian domestic politics for President Vladimir Putin. According to the information, he visited the Ilich steelworks and the port in Mariupol and was also a guest in Volnovakha, a city in the separatist republic of Donetsk. The people of the People’s Republic of Donetsk see Kiriyenko’s visit as a symbol “that Russia has returned here forever,” wrote Denis Puschilin, head of the Donetsk separatists.
Shortly before the attack on Ukraine, Russia recognized the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which split off in 2014, as independent. In Moscow there is speculation as to whether Putin will announce the further direction of the Ukraine war at the traditional Victory Day parade. However, the Kremlin denied that Putin would announce a general mobilization.
In the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea, the Russian army practiced attacks with the nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile system. About 100 soldiers moved out with 20 vehicles, as the military announced on Wednesday. Then individual or mass launches were simulated to hit enemy missile systems, airfields, bunkers or troops. Iskander-M can fire cruise missiles or rockets up to 500 kilometers. From Kaliningrad, Warsaw, Berlin and other capitals are within easy reach.
Missiles hit railway facilities in Dnipro
Repeated Russian rocket attacks on railway facilities have severely disrupted train traffic in Ukraine. According to an overview by the Ukrsalisnyzja railway company on Wednesday evening, around 20 long-distance trains were running with delays of up to twelve hours. “Russia is trying to ruin our logistics because they cannot defeat us in the field,” Ukrainian Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. He confirmed the attack on a railway facility in the middle of the city of Dnipro. Unverified videos online suggested that a railway bridge across the wide Dnipro River had been hit there. Local authorities said the train service had stopped at the site.
Because of the Russian missiles, there was an air alert in almost all parts of Ukraine on Thursday night. Despite the attacks, the delivered arms ended up in Ukraine’s hands, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said in Washington. The broadcaster CNN reported that of the 90 promised howitzers from the USA, around 80 are already in Ukraine. 90,000 of the 144,000 promised projectiles of ammunition also reached their target.
That’s going to be important today
An international donor conference is held in Poland. She is supposed to collect money for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The event in Warsaw is jointly organized by Poland and Sweden. Partners of the conference are the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council. The United Nations is also involved.
You can follow all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.