New military aid package in Kiev announced by US President Joe Biden, amounts to 150 million. Ukraine will be supplied with radar, artillery ammunition and other equipment .
With the latter package, Biden explained, "my administration has almost run out of funds that can be used to send military aid to Ukraine". The tenant of the White House then urged the US Congress and the allies to continue to "guarantee the flow of arms to Kiev".
Biden , who will participate in the video call with G7 leaders and Zelensky on Sunday, also said the US will defend Sweden and Finland, even before the Alliance's okay to join NATO. On the other hand, the agreement on the new EU sanctions package in Moscow has been postponed, and some countries are still resisting the oil embargo.
Zelensky has hinted that he would be willing to a peace agreement in which he would not demand the return of Crimea , but the compromise - he said - can only be achieved if the Moscow forces withdraw "on the positions of February 23", or the day before the invasion. "But Putin - added the Ukrainian president - still wants war".
A representative of the Moscow parliament visiting Kherson said instead that Russia will remain "forever" in southern Ukraine . Russia speaks of "stalled" negotiations and also wants the Donbass in addition to the recognition of Crimea. Moreover, without an agreement, he does not intend to withdraw his troops.
For his part, NATO secretary Jens Stoltenberg said: “Alliance members will never accept the illegal annexation of Crimea. We have always opposed Russian control over parts of the Donbass in eastern Ukraine. "
On the fighting front, another Russian frigate went up in flames in Odessa , near Snake Island in the Black Sea, after being hit by a Ukrainian rocket. News not confirmed by Washington and flatly denied by the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, these are crucial hours in the Azovstal steel plant : “During the ceasefire, Russian troops fired on a car that was transporting civilians to evacuate them. A soldier was killed, ”reports the Azov battalion. This morning, as reported by Moscow and also confirmed by Ukraine, about fifty civilians - women, elderly and children - were evacuated. According to what is reported, there would therefore be no more civilians in the steel plant , but only military resistance.
For his part, Zelensky fears attacks in a big way on May 9 , the day in which Russia celebrates victory in World War II. Hence the appeal to the Ukrainians: “Don't ignore the sirens, your lives are at stake”.
Four explosions in Transnistria , an autonomous pro-Russian region of Moldova on the border with Ukraine, raise fears of a widening of the conflict. The separatist republic has been under attack for days.
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Here is the news by the hour
9pm - The Marine Commander's appeal to Azovstal: "Don't let us die"
"It feels like I've found myself in a hellish reality show, where we are the military, fight for our lives, try every chance we can to save ourselves, and the whole world is just watching an interesting story. The only difference is this. it is not a movie and we are not fictional characters. " This was written in a post on Facebook by Serhiy Volyna, commander of the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian army marines, barricaded with the troops of the Azov regiment in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. "Higher powers, we are waiting for the result of your actions ... time is running out and time is our life!" He adds.
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19.10 - The head of the CIA: "Putin does not want to lose"
Vladimir Putin "is in a state of mind in which he believes he cannot afford to lose, I think he is convinced that doubling his efforts will allow him to make progress": said CIA chief William Burns speaking at an event in Washington .
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16.30 - Stoltenberg: "NATO cannot accept Crimean annexation"
"NATO members will never accept the illegal annexation of Crimea. We have always opposed Russian control over parts of Donbass in eastern Ukraine." This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the German newspaper Welt, taken up by Ukrinform. Yesterday Zelensky had opened timid glimmers of negotiations, excluding "claims" on the Crimea.
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3.40 pm - Di Maio: "The war is eliminating export success"
"We have experienced 2021 as the record year for the export of Made in Italy in the world. It was an absolute record, over 500 billion euros. Unfortunately, the war is eliminating all the successes we have had". This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, speaking with journalists on the sidelines of a conference on welfare that took place in Portici. "In the Aid decree that we approved a few days ago - he added - we unlocked measures to help businesses, not only to amortize the lost revenue but we will also work to help companies that exported to Ukraine and Russia to diversify the countries where to bring the made in Italy ".
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2.45 pm - Missiles in Donetsk, hit a high school
Russian missiles hit Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast. This was reported by the Kyiv Independent, which speaks of an initial death toll of 2 dead and 9 injured, but cites the state emergency service, according to which a fire broke out in a local high school following the attack.
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2.15 pm - Four missiles over Odessa
Russia has launched 4 missiles on the Odessa Oblast. The Kyiv Independent reports, citing the city council of Odessa, according to which some infrastructures have been damaged but so far no victims have been reported.
"Strong explosions" have also been reported in the Sumy region, in the Mykolaiv area and in the Khmelnytsky region. He reports it on Telegram Ukraina24.
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13.50 - Duma: "USA at war against us"
The United States "participates in hostilities in Ukraine". This was stated by the president of the Russian Duma Vyacheslav Volodin on his Telegram channel where he adds: "It is not just about the supply of weapons and equipment, Washington coordinates and develops military operations" on behalf of the "Nazi regime in Kiev", "thus participating directly to hostilities against our country ". Volodin's reference is to US intelligence information passed to the Ukrainians to hit Russian targets that the American media have written about in recent days.
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13.35 - Di Maio: "From Zelensky an important opening, now it's Putin's turn"
"We must not get used to the idea that this war must go on indefinitely, we must not forget the goal of peace". This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference on welfare that took place in Portici, in the Neapolitan area. "Zelensky made a very important opening: after opening on the neutrality of Ukraine, he said he is willing to consider Crimea out of the peace agreement. These are important openings, Putin must show that he wants to come to the table, not wanting war ", concluded the head of the Farnesina.
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12.15 pm - Four explosions in Transnistria
Four explosions struck in the early hours of today an area near the village of Varancau, in Transnistria: the Ministry of the Interior of the pro-Russian separatist region of Moldova on the border with Ukraine has announced, according to Interfax. At least two drones, he specified, flew over a military unit in Varancau. Last month, grenades were thrown at the state security ministry of the self-proclaimed capital of Transnistria, Tiraspol, Russian radio broadcasting masts were destroyed and a military unit near Tiraspol was hit.
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12 pm - Kiev confirms, 50 civilians evacuated from Azovstal
Fifty women, children and the elderly were evacuated from the Azovstal steel mill today, but Mariupol residents could not be gathered on the way back near Port City due to the Russian violation of the ceasefire. This was stated by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk quoted by Interfax Ukraine. The evacuation will continue tomorrow, he added. "I sincerely apologize to the people of Mariupol who waited in vain for the evacuation buses today. We should be able to do that tomorrow. We gather near Port City at 5pm," he said.
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11.35 am - Moscow: "Another 50 evacuated from the steel mill"
Another 50 people were evacuated today from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol: the headquarters of the territorial defense of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk (DPR), according to Interfax reports.
"Fifty people were evacuated today from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol," the headquarters announced this morning: "The number of civilians evacuated from the territory of the metallurgical plant has reached 176 people," he added. Yesterday 50 civilians were evacuated from the steel plant.
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11.10 am - Severodonetsk surrounded, fighting in progress
Small arms firefights are taking place in the suburbs of the Donbass city of Severodonetsk between pro-Russian separatists from eastern Ukraine and Kiev units using snipers and drones. The BBC reports. The city, which had a population of 100,000 before the invasion, would be close to being encircled. Civilian casualties were reported both in the city of Bakhmut, after a missile attack on a residential area, and in Donetsk.
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10.50 am - UN: "Reopen Ukraine ports to avoid global famine"
World Food Program (WFP) appeal for the reopening of Ukraine's ports to avert the looming famine threat: "Ports in the Odessa area of southern Ukraine must be reopened urgently to prevent the global crisis of hunger gets out of control ", reads the WFP institutional website. "Ukraine's grain silos are full. Ports on the Black Sea are blocked, leaving millions of tons of grain trapped in silos on land or on ships that cannot move." FAO previously claimed 25 million tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine.
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10.30 - Kiev expands the counter-offensive in Kharkiv
The Ukrainian armed forces are expanding the counter-offensive in the eastern region of Kharkiv and could thus ease the pressure of the Russian army on that quadrant. Not only that: Kiev units have taken back several settlements north and east of Kharkiv under their control, reducing the Russian ability to threaten the regional center.
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9.30 - NATO: "The war is entering a decisive phase"
The war in Ukraine is entering a "decisive phase", but NATO does not see an escalation between Moscow and the Atlantic Alliance at the moment: NATO deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana, said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
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9.20 - Zelensky to the Ukrainians: "Don't ignore the sirens"
"I ask all our citizens, especially these days, not to ignore the anti-aircraft sirens. Please, it's about your life, the life of your children. Also, strictly adhere to public order and city curfew rules. and in the communities ". It is the appeal on Telegram by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in view of 9 May, Victory Day for Russia, which it is feared will be celebrated this year with actions in Ukraine.
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9.05 am - Kharkiv literary museum destroyed
The National Literary Memorial Museum of Hryhoriy Skovoroda in the town of Skovorodynivka, eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, destroyed in the night by a Russian bombing. This was announced on Facebook by the head of the Zolochiv community, Viktor Kovalenko, taken up by the Ukrainian media. A missile hit the roof of the 18th century building, causing a fire that engulfed all the premises of the museum. The museum director's son who was on guard at night was pulled out of the rubble with several injuries.
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8.20 am - Kharkiv: "Russians shoot cars, 4 civilians dead"
Russian forces yesterday fired on a column of 15 cars of civilians fleeing a city occupied by Moscow in the Kharkiv region (east), killing at least four people, the UNIAN agency reports. The cars had left the city of Volchansk, in the Chuguevsky district, and were attacked near the town of Stary Saltov, about 30 km to the south. Ukrainian police found six damaged cars and four burned bodies.
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7.35 am - Kiev: "Yesterday 8 Russian attacks rejected"
Ukrainian forces yesterday repelled eight Russian attacks and shot down at least 14 Moscow army drones: the news agency Ukrinform reports. In addition, according to the press office of the Joint Forces Operation, three Russian tanks were destroyed, as well as eight artillery systems, seven armored combat vehicles, three units of special equipment and one vehicle.
(Unioneonline)