The total capture of Mariupol by Russian forces now seems inevitable. The evacuation of nearly 300 Ukrainian fighters from the huge Azovstal steelworks – the last pocket of resistance against the Russian army in the strategic port of Mariupol – was underway on Tuesday, May 17, according to kyiv, which now considers that these men have “fulfilled” their mission.
This city, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, is strategically located between the Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014 and the mining region of Donbass (eastern Ukraine), where there are two pro-Russian separatist “republics” and where Russia is now stepping up its offensive.
At the same time, Sweden followed in Finland’s footsteps by formalizing its candidacy for NATO membership on Monday. It should be noted that the unanimity and the parliamentary ratification of the thirty current members of the Atlantic Alliance is necessary to bring in a new member.
- Nearly 300 fighters evacuate Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
The soldiers of the garrison stationed in Azovstal have “fulfilled their combat mission”, the Ukrainian army general staff hailed in a statement, and orders were given to their commanders to “save the lives” of those who remain.
“Unfortunately, today Ukraine cannot unblock Azovstal by military means,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said on Telegram. The Ukrainian authorities said last week that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers – including 600 wounded – were in this industrial complex, a veritable “city within a city” with its kilometers of underground galleries.
- Venezuela: Russian Ambassador Appointed Foreign Minister
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday appointed his ambassador to Russia Carlos Faria as foreign minister. “He knows very well the whole geopolitical environment of the struggle for a multipolar world,” the socialist leader said in a statement broadcast by state television. Nicolás Maduro also expressed his support for Vladimir Putin amid international rejection of his military invasion of Ukraine.
- The IFRC deplores the difference in management in Europe of refugees from Ukraine and Africa
The president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, deplored on Monday the difference in the management in Europe of refugees from Ukraine and those from Africa when they flee, according to him, the same dangers.
“Yes, there are double standards (…) and we cannot deny it when it comes to requests for protection”, he noted during a press conference in the UN, on the occasion of a forum in New York organized from 17 to 20 May to assess the progress made since the adoption in 2018 of the Global Compact on Migration.
“Those fleeing violence, those seeking protection should be treated equally. I don’t think there is a difference between someone fleeing Donbass (in Ukraine) and someone who fleeing the violence of the radical group Boko Haram in Nigeria,” added the president of the IFRC, which brings together 192 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.
- After Finland, Sweden announces its candidacy for NATO and a “new era”
Following in Finland’s footsteps, Sweden formalized its candidacy for NATO membership on Monday, a historic reversal of these two Nordic countries, which were once non-aligned and which is a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After nearly two centuries of neutrality and then of military non-alignment, “we are leaving an era to enter a new one”, underlined Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson during a press conference.
Sweden expects, she said, to be a full member of NATO within a year, which, for its part, is trying to calm the last-minute hostility shown by Turkey, which will not “give in not” on his refusal to allow these two Nordic countries to join the Alliance, its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan hammered on Monday.
- At least ten dead in Russian strikes on Severodonetsk, in the east
At least ten people were killed in Russian bombardments on the city of Severodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine, almost surrounded by forces from Moscow, the governor of the region announced on Monday.
“At least 10 people have been killed. It is currently extremely difficult to verify the situation on the ground due to the new shelling,” Sergey Gaidai said on Telegram, calling on residents who did not flee to stay safe. .
In a previous message on Monday, Serguiï Gaïdaï had warned of artillery strikes on Severodonetsk and its twin city very close to Lysytchank, having caused fires in residential areas. “Severodonetsk suffered very powerful strikes,” he added, accompanying his message with photographs of the destruction.
- Discontent rises in the EU against the blocking of sanctions by Hungary
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba deplored Hungary’s blocking of the European oil embargo on Monday, but said he was confident in its adoption and called on EU member states to “kill Russian exports”. to prevent Putin from financing the war against his country. “The EU’s sixth sanctions package must include an oil embargo and I am sorry that this decision is taking a long time to be adopted,” he said after a meeting in Brussels with his counterparts from the EU. EU.
Only one country continues to block”, he underlined. “But it is not for me to tell Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban how he should act”, continued Dmytro Kouleba. “It is a family affair. for the European Union (…) I am confident. The embargo will be decided, but there will be a price to pay,” he said.