The evacuation of civilians from the steel factory in Mariupol is extremely difficult. The bombing continues there. And according to Moscow, almost 1.1 million people have already been brought to Russia during the entire war.
It remains extremely difficult to get all civilians out of the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, which has been besieged for weeks. There was talk of an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to get as many people as possible to safe areas, including from the rest of the city. While about 100 civilians were transported by bus to a nearby city (which is in Russian hands) on Sunday, the counter last night stood at 20.
According to the deputy commander of the Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, this is because the complex was again shelled by the Russians: “The enemy’s artillery has caused new piles of rubble and destruction,” he said via Telegram last night. Buildings of the factory complex in which civilians are hiding are also said to have come under fire.
More than 3000 dead civilians
Moscow reported last night that nearly 1.1 million Ukrainian citizens from now-occupied territories have already been transferred to Russia. Among them would be at least 200,000 children. According to senior officer Mikhail Misinzev, 11,500 people, including 1,850 children, were taken from the war zone yesterday alone. The UN human rights organization OHCHR came at the same time as the report that more than 3,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the war on February 24. Most of them were killed in rocket attacks or bombings.
‘Minimum territorial gain’
The battle in eastern Ukraine, in the Donbas region, is not going according to plan for the Russians. So says a senior official at the US Department of Defense. According to him, the Russian army suffers from poor command, low morale and a problematic supply of equipment: “We see minimal territorial gains in the area.”
In the southwestern port city of Odessa, just 60 kilometers from the Romanian border, the Russians carried out another rocket attack. The target was a strategically important bridge. According to the Ukrainians, a 14-year-old boy was killed and a 17-year-old girl was injured. “In what way were these children a threat to the Russian state?” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky asked during his daily speech last night.
‘Fake elections’
According to the Americans, Russia plans to hold ‘fake elections’ in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The intent is to annex them, said Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). After the elections, the separatist ‘people’s republics’ Luhansk and Donetsk would become part of Russia. The elections were supposed to take place sometime in mid-May.
According to Carpenter, there are also similar plans for Kherson, another region that has just been conquered by the Russians. “Our information on this is very reliable,” he said in Washington last night. “Unfortunately, we’ve been right more than once in our predictions about what’s to come. These kind of fake referendums are not legal. We have to act quickly.”
In Kherson, in addition to their own currency, the ruble, the Russians have now also introduced their own communication infrastructure. Last Saturday, the internet in Kherson was completely shut down for this. According to the organization NetBlocks, which investigates security and freedom on the internet, all internet traffic in the region now goes through Russian equipment and according to Russian rules, “including censorship”.
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British aid
Britain is set to announce a further $358 million in military aid to Ukraine today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will inform the Ukrainian parliament about the delivery of, among other things, a radar system against artillery attacks, jammers for GPS signals and night vision goggles. In his speech, Johnson will also say that Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion will be remembered for generations to come. It’s their ‘fine hour’as was said of the British when they resisted Nazi Germany in World War II.
Criticism of Lavrov
President Zelensky also lashed out at Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last night. In an interview with Italian television, he had said not only that ‘Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood’, but also that the ‘worst anti-Semites are often Jews’. He answered this when asked why Russia wants to ‘de-nazify’ Ukraine, while President Zelensky is Jewish.
According to the president, Russia has “forgotten all the lessons of the Second World War”. Israel also reacted furiously to Lavrov’s statements. It has called the Russian ambassador to the fore and demands an apology.
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