The Ukrainian resistance made it possible to slow down Moscow’s offensive, all the more so thanks to the Western aid brought to kyiv. But the Kremlin nevertheless believes that it can fulfill its objectives.
The latter have been concentrating for several weeks on the South East of the country, in particular in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters and civilians are still entrenched in the Azovstal metallurgical complex, awaiting a safe evacuation. While a new UN humanitarian convoy is expected this Friday, May 6, kyiv accuses Moscow of not respecting the ceasefire necessary to allow civilians to evacuate the site.
- New UN convoy expected in Azovstal
A UN convoy is expected this Friday to evacuate the last civilians entrenched in the Azovstal steelworks, in Mariupol, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in this strategic port of Donbass, without however assurance of a truce in the fighting.
“As we speak, a convoy is on its way to arrive in Azovstal by tomorrow morning with the hope of recovering the remaining civilians from this dark hell, which they have inhabited for so many weeks and months, and bring them back to safety,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said in Warsaw on Thursday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that it is associated with it. A hundred civilians had already been able to leave this complex last weekend, during an evacuation organized with the UN and the ICRC.
- Disputed truce in Azovstal
“The Russians do not respect their promise of truce and do not allow the evacuation of civilians” still refugees with the fighters in the underground of this huge complex, said Thursday, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment which defends this site.
READ ALSO >> Ukraine: “the plane of the apocalypse” parade in the sky of Moscow, the last provocation of Putin
He asked for help from the international community and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “evacuate the remaining civilians” – 200 according to the mayor of Mariupol – and the “injured soldiers, who are in agony in the absence of medical treatment adequate”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him, during an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, that his country remained “ready” to ensure that these civilians holed up with Ukrainian fighters are evacuated “safely”.
- Pentagon denies aid to target Russian generals
The US Department of Defense has denied providing intelligence allowing Ukrainian forces to target senior Russian officers near the front, as reported by The New York Times.
It is true that the United States transmits elements of information to kyiv “in order to help the Ukrainians to defend their country”, declared John Kirby, the spokesman of the Pentagon. But, he added, “we do not provide information on the whereabouts of senior military commanders on the battlefield, nor do we participate in targeting decisions made by the Ukrainian military.”
- Putin apologizes to Israel
Vladimir Putin on Thursday apologized to Naftali Bennett for remarks by his head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov, who claimed that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood”, according to a statement from the office of the Israeli Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude regarding the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” it read.
- More than six billion euros in donations
More than six billion euros in donations were collected Thursday during an international donors’ conference in Warsaw, “to support Ukraine and all those who support Ukraine”, according to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The European Commission has announced a donation of 200 million euros for the internally displaced in Ukraine and France will increase its overall aid to two billion dollars, against 1.7 billion so far.
- Western support slows Russian offensive
Western aid to Ukraine is preventing Russia from quickly ending its offensive in its neighbor, Moscow said on Thursday, nevertheless assuring that all its objectives would be met.
“The United States, the United Kingdom, NATO as a whole constantly share intelligence data with the Ukrainian armed forces. Combined with the supply of weapons (…), these actions do not make it possible to quickly complete operation” in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
- Sixth EU sanctions package
European Council President Charles Michel spoke out on Thursday for the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the EU as part of the sanctions, in order to make them “available” for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Separately, Brussels has offered to sanction former Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva for her role in Kremlin “propaganda” and her “close” ties with President Vladimir Putin. She is part of a new list of personalities threatened with a ban on entry into the EU and an asset freeze, as part of a sixth package of European sanctions currently under discussion.