Westerners continue to show their support for Ukraine. Starting with the Canadian Prime Minister who declared on Monday 1 May: “As the Ukrainians remain steadfast in the face of relentless attacks, Canada will continue to provide them with military, humanitarian and financial assistance.” Support that comes in the context of a conflict that is bogged down, already responsible for the death of 20,000 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine since December, according to the United States.
Ukraine and Canada pledge to continue their long-term cooperation
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday the continuation of their long-term cooperation program. The two leaders had a telephone conversation on Monday, after which the head of the Canadian government pledged to support “Ukraine as long as necessary”. “Canada will continue to provide them with military, humanitarian and financial assistance,” said Justin Trudeau in a tweet.
During his daily televised address, the Ukrainian president for his part welcomed the program “of long-term defense cooperation between Ukraine and Canada”. “Canada has already started confiscating Russian assets,” said Volodymir Zelensky, adding that “this is a significant example for all other countries in the world.” Canada has already trained more than 36,000 Ukrainian soldiers since September 2015 and this mission has been extended until March 2025.
Russian governor denounces Ukrainian bombardment in Bryansk region
Ukrainian forces shelled a village in Russia’s Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine on Tuesday (May 2nd), the local governor said in a social media post, a day after an explosion ripped through derail a freight train in the area. “In the morning, the Ukrainian armed forces shelled the village of Kurkovichi in the Starodubsky municipal district,” Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a message on his Telegram channel. “There were no casualties. Following the bombing, a fire broke out in one of the houses. All emergency services are on site.
Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. The army, however, reports daily on activities and troop movements in battlefield areas. On Monday, a locomotive and seven freight cars derailed in Bryansk after an unidentified explosive device detonated, Alexander Bogomaz said. Russian authorities say the region, which borders both Ukraine and Belarus, has seen multiple attacks by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups in the 14 months since Russia invaded. On Saturday, the governor said four civilians died when a village was hit by shelling on the Ukrainian side of the border.
US envoy to Brazil after Lula’s controversial comments on Ukraine
A senior US envoy traveled to Brazil on Monday in hopes of renewing dialogue with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose controversial remarks on the conflict in Ukraine had angered Washington. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States’ ambassador to the UN, will hold talks in Brasília on Tuesday with Brazilian government officials, then on Wednesday will travel to Salvador, the heart of the Afro-Brazilian community, to talk about racial equality.
Those around her insist that she will focus her attention on cooperation between the two giants of the Americas rather than on the Brazilian president’s comments about Ukraine. But, said an official on condition of anonymity, Linda Thomas-Greenfield will have the opportunity to “take stock” of this subject. “Our position is that a number of countries around the world, including Brazil, can play a positive role in trying to end the conflict,” he added.
20,000 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine since December
US intelligence estimates that 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in Ukraine since December, and another 80,000 wounded in combat, a White House spokesman said Monday (May 1). “Since December, we estimate that Russia has had more than 100,000 combatants killed or injured, including 20,000 combat deaths,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a conference call. press.
He said half of the dead belonged to the Russian private military group Wagner, and were mostly former prisoners “thrown into the fighting in Bakhmout (eastern Ukraine) without training or sufficient military command.” “The conclusion is that Russia’s offensive has backfired,” said John Kirby. On the other hand, he refused to comment on the losses suffered by Ukraine, supported by a Western coalition led by the United States. “It’s up to them to talk about it or not. I will never make public anything that makes it difficult for them. They are the victims, Russia is the aggressor,” he said. explain.
Russian ‘explosive device’ derails freight train near Ukraine
An “explosive device” derailed and set fire to a freight train in the Russian region of Bryansk bordering Ukraine on Monday, a rare incident which did not cause any casualties, according to the authorities. In full fear of sabotage operations and attacks in Russia, a high voltage line was also damaged on Monday by an explosive device in the Leningrad region (Northwest).
The incidents come a day after a Ukrainian strike that killed four people in a village in the Bryansk region and two days after a drone attack that caused a huge fire at an oil depot in annexed Crimea. On Monday, Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region said on Telegram that “an unidentified explosive device was detonated, which led to the derailment of a freight train”.