"Your family budget, your ability to fill up should not depend on the fact that a dictator declares war and commits genocide on the other side of the world".
Having defined him as a "criminal" and a "butcher", after having evoked a change of regime in Russia, Joe Biden returns to attack Vladimir Putin harshly, accusing him of "genocide" and of wanting to "wipe out" the Ukrainians.
"We will leave it to the lawyers to decide how to qualify him internationally, but it sure looks like genocide to me", the words of the American president who collects immediate praise from Zelensky: "True words from a true leader". But Macron holds back: "I'm very careful with terms," he says, and doesn't talk about genocide. While Moscow defines Biden's words as "unacceptable" and Beijing increases the dose: "In this way, all you can do is feed the tensions".
Meanwhile, the US is preparing to announce another 700 million dollars in military aid and Sweden and Finland are accelerating to join NATO. In these hours, a video has also circulated showing Russian military vehicles right near the border with Finland.
While Zelensky proposes to Putin an exchange of prisoners, a front is opened with Germany after the Ukrainian leader has blatantly refused the visit of German President Frank Walter Steinmeier to Kiev. Steinmeier is not welcomed by his proximity to Moscow in recent decades: as a former collaborator of Schroeder and foreign minister, he is among the architects of Russian politics of the last 20 years in Germany and has always pushed to build bridges between Europe in Moscow. .
On the war front, with the Donbass under siege (that is the goal, as Vladimir Putin clearly said yesterday) and the negotiations in a "dead end because of Kiev" (Putin's word), concern is growing over the allegations about use of chemical weapons by the Russians in Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia. Inflamed eyes and mucous membranes, dry mouth, breathing difficulties, tachycardia are the most common symptoms.
There is a "hand-to-hand" fight in Mariupol, where the Ukrainian marines have joined the Azov battalion. Moscow speaks of over a thousand Ukrainian soldiers who have arrested in the most battered city since the war, but Kiev denies the news.
( HERE all the news about Ukraine)
( HERE all the videos of the conflict)
Here is the news by the hour.
***
19.20 - Moscow threatens to hit the command centers in Kiev
Russia will hit Ukraine's command centers, including in Kiev, if the Ukrainian army continues its attempts to attack facilities in Russia. The warning came from the Moscow Ministry of Defense, according to reports from Interfax.
***
18.21 - Di Maio: "New sanctions in Moscow"
"We are preparing for new sanctions packages, we give the maximum mandate to the European Commission to determine what the next steps should be". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said this in an interview with CNN. Di Maio added that "while this is happening, Europe and Italy must implement their own energy security programs, which also pass through a ceiling on the price of gas".
***
5.30 pm - The island of Jersey "freezes Abramovich's 5.4 billion pounds"
The authorities of the island of Jersey, a tax haven linked to the British crown in the Channel, have frozen the equivalent of 5.4 billion pounds of assets (equal to about 7 billion dollars) believed to be attributable to the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. The Bloomberg agency reports. Abramovich, whose total personal fortune is estimated at around $ 12 billion, has been subjected to sanctions by the London government and the EU (but so far not by the US).
***
16.15 - Media: "New US weapons in Kiev, including heavy artillery"
In the new military aid package to Ukraine, which the Biden administration is preparing to announce, there will also be heavy ground artillery systems such as howitzers, weapons that can strike up to 70 km away. This was reported to Reuters by a source in the American Congress.
***
15.05 - Presidents of Poland and the Baltic countries to Kiev
"The presidents of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have left for Ukraine for a visit and are already on their way to Kiev" wrote the head of the International Policy Bureau of the Chancellery of the President of Poland Jakub Kumoch on Twitter. "The Polish president Andrzej Duda, together with the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia Gitanas Nauseda, Egils Levits and Alar Karis are in Ukraine and - he specifies - are currently headed to Kiev".
***
14.50 - Moscow: "It is unacceptable that Biden accuses Putin of genocide"
It is "unacceptable" that US President Joe Biden accuses Vladimir Putin of genocide. The Kremlin claims it.
"Our disagreement is categorical and we consider such attempts to distort reality unacceptable - commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov - especially because they come from the president of the United States, a country whose actions in recent history are well known".
***
2.45 pm - Kiev: "Disappointed by Macron, he doesn't want to talk about genocide"
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was disappointed that French President Emmanuel Macron did not use the word "genocide" to define the atrocities of the Russian occupiers. This was stated by spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, quoted by UNIAN. "The reluctance of the French president to acknowledge the genocide of the Ukrainians after all the explicit declarations of the Russian leadership and the criminal actions of the Russian army is disappointing," he said.
***
2.10 pm - Zelensky: "Either we stop Moscow or we lose all of Eastern Europe"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today urged Europe to take more action against Russia, warning: "We can stop Russia or lose the whole of Eastern Europe." "If Europe wastes time, Russia will use it to expand the war zone to other countries". he said in a video message to the Estonian Parliament.
***
13.50 - "Chemical weapons in Mariupol": investigations
"We are gathering evidence" of the use of chemical weapons by Russian forces in Ukraine. Our experts are examining them, even if it will not be easy ", assured the mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko.
***
1.10 pm - Zelensky: "Over 500 thousand Ukrainians brought by force to Russia"
Over 500,000 Ukrainians were forcibly brought to Russia by the Moscow authorities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today during his speech in the Estonian Parliament. Ukrinform reports it. According to Zelensky, the Russians try to take the deported Ukrainians to remote regions of the country, confiscate their documents and personal items such as cell phones and separate the children from their parents to allow - it is the plan, he says - Russian families to adopt them illegally.
***
12.55 - Finland: "A decision on NATO shortly"
Finland will decide whether to run for NATO "within a few weeks". Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said this at a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart in Stockholm. Meanwhile, a film, verified by Sky News, is circulating showing Russian military vehicles near the Finnish border. The same video also shows the movement of military equipment,
including coastal defense systems, in what appear to be "warning" maneuvers.
***
12.40 pm - The Swedish goal: "In NATO by June"
The goal is for Sweden to join NATO in June this year. This was stated by sources reported by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The information comes in parallel with Finland presenting its new security policy analysis today and the Swedish Social Democrats devising the plan to address the issue internally. "There is a before and after on February 24," said Swedish Prime Minister Andersson.
***
12.15 - Putin: "We will sell gas and oil to others"
"Russia can increase domestic oil, gas and coal consumption and increase supplies to other parts of the world." The Russian President Putin said this from TASS.
The decision by Westerners to reject normal cooperation with Russia and some of Russia's energy resources has already affected millions of Europeans and the United States, he added.
***
12 pm - China in Biden: “Genocide? Avoid new tensions "
China "has always maintained that on Ukraine the top priority for all parties concerned is to keep calm and restraint, to cease fire and stop the war as soon as possible, avoiding a large-scale humanitarian crisis". This is the response of the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian to a question about the accusations of genocide by US President Joe Biden against Russia with the aggression against Ukraine. "Any effort by the international community should cool the tension, not fuel it, and should push for a diplomatic solution, not aggravate the scenarios further," Zhao added.
***
11.55 am - UN: "Almost 1,900 civilians killed"
At least 1,892 civilians were killed, and another 2,558 were injured, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the United Nations reported, according to CNN. The death toll includes 478 men, 308 women, 30 girls and 52 boys, as well as 71 children and 953 adults whose gender is still unknown, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ohchr) announced. .
***
11.35 - Kiev insists: "Use phosphorus bombs"
"Russian forces attacked the village of Novodanylivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, with phosphorus bombs." This was stated by the spokesman of the regional military administration Ivan Ariefiev taken up by the Kyiv Independent. "The use of such bombs against civilians - it is emphasized - is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions".
***
11.30 - Turkish ships for the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol
"Turkey provides ships for the evacuation of people from Mariupol and looks forward to a positive response." This was announced by the Ankara Ministry of Defense quoted by TASS.
***
11.20 am - “Genocide”, Macron brakes
French President Emmanuel Macron did not use the term "genocide", like his US counterpart Joe Biden, to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin in relation to Ukraine, questioning the usefulness of an "escalation of words" to put end to the war. Interviewed today by France 2 on Biden's statements, Macron said he wanted to be "careful of terms". "It's madness what's happening, it's unprecedented brutality, but at the same time I'm looking at the facts and I want to try as much as possible to continue being able to stop this war and rebuild peace, so I'm not sure what the escalating words will serve the cause, "he added.
***
10.55 am - Ukrainian marines join the Azov battalion
In Mariupol, some units of the 36th separate brigade of marines named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinsky managed to reach and join the Azov regiment. This was announced on Facebook by Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the head of the Office of President Zelensky, quoted by Ukrinform. The 36th brigade, according to what the Russian Defense Ministry claimed, would have surrendered in the port city to the soldiers of Moscow. "In Mariupol, units of the 36th Marine Brigade, with a very risky action, reached the Azov regiment and escaped defeat," wrote Arestovych.
***
10.40 am - Kiev: "The Russians want to hold the victory parade on May 9 in Mariupol"
The Russians intend to organize a parade in Mariupol on May 9, if their military campaign is successful: this was stated by Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor, on Telegram, quoted by Ukrinform. "According to our information, Ivashchenko (the self-proclaimed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol) has been ordered to clear part of the central district of the city of debris and corpses to allow the parade on May 9. Everything indicates that the occupiers want to organize a ' Carnival of Victory ', if successful, "he says.
***
10 am - Mariupol, 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered
1,026 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Mariupol, including 162 officers and 47 female soldiers. This was stated by the Russian Defense Ministry quoted by TASS. According to the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major Igor Konashenkov, "1,026 Ukrainian soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade, near the Ilyich steel plant" surrendered to Russian troops.
***
9.50 am - Moscow to the USA: "Enough disinformation on chemical weapons"
Washington must "stop making disinformation" on chemical weapons: the Russian embassy in the US states, reports the Guardian. The note comes in response to yesterday's statements by US State Department spokesman Ned Price that the US fears Moscow may try to use chemical weapons in Ukraine. Washington and Kiev make "disinformation" when they say that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine since Moscow destroyed its last chemical stocks in 2017, the embassy specifies: "Ned Price once again stood out for his useless speeches , not corroborated by a single piece of evidence ".
***
9.30 am - Hand-to-hand battle in Mariupol
The Russian army is trying to take over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol: control of this steel factory has become a focal point in the battle for control of the port city, with fierce attacks and even hand-to-hand fighting in the corridors of the enormous industrial complex used by Ukrainian soldiers. This was reported by the army of Kiev quoted by the BBC. The Azovstal steel mill is one of the key operational bases for the several thousand Ukrainian fighters remaining in the besieged city. A part of the far-right Azov battalion has chosen the steel mill as its base.
***
9 am - Di Maio: "Promote a peace conference"
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, interviewed on 'Radio too', says that as regards the war in Ukraine, we need to "accelerate on diplomacy" and promote "a peace conference" preceded by "a ceasefire".
***
8.40 am - Mariupol, a thousand Ukrainian marines surrendered
Over 1,000 Ukrainian navies, "hundreds" of whom are injured, surrendered to Mariupol: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, very loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, wrote today on his Telegram channel: Tass reports. Their decision to surrender "is the right choice", comments Kadyrov.
***
8.20 - Presidents of Poland and Lithuania meet Zelenski
The presidents of Poland and Lithuania will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today. "Our goal is to support President Zelensky and Ukraine's defenders at a crucial moment for the country," said Jakub Kumoch - quoted by the Kyiv Independent - who heads the Polish International Policy Bureau and is accompanying the Polish president. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted that he is going to the capital of Ukraine with "a strong message of political support and military assistance".
***
7.50 am - Bombing of Kharkiv and Mariupol
Russian artillery bombings on Kharkiv and airplanes on Mariupol continue, where civilian infrastructures have been hit: the region of Zaporizhia has also been targeted. This was reported by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on its Facebook page in the morning report, quoted by the UNIAN Agency. In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the Russian army is launching air strikes and advancing in the area of the Azovstal metallurgical complex and the port.
(Unioneonline / L)