[Korrespondent] 23:59 Kalush Orchestra's call to save Mariupol and Azovstal can cost the group victory in the competition and even threaten disqualification. Producer and presenter Igor Kondratyuk said that this is a gross violation of the Eurovision rules.
Meanwhile, some artists use the colors of the Ukrainian flag in their performances at the song contest. And Google statistics show a sharp surge in requests for "Mariupol" and "Azovstal".
23:45 Icelandic group Systur ended their performance in the Eurovision final with the phrase "Peace for Ukraine".
23:28 The director of the Kalush Orchestra group, Mykola Kucheryavy, said earlier today that the group was banned from making a performance with an emphasis on the war: “At first, our number had a fairly strong and clear expression about the war in Ukraine and a clear message. But we were banned, referring to the politicization of our numbers".
23:25 Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that Russia would not capitulate: "We speak firmly and clearly and are unambiguously sure of this, at least the Russian diplomats working here - there will be no such capitulation, there never will be." According to him, all the goals that Putin set for the RF Armed Forces "will be fulfilled."
23:16 The leader of the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, after his performance in the Eurovision final, addressed the world community from the stage: "Please help Azovstal, help Mariupol right now!"
23:14 The Luhansk region is gradually turning into a second Mariupol - there is no electricity, water, gas and mobile communications in the region, Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova said. She noted that the Russian military continues to strike at the important Lisichansk-Bakhmut highway. This is the only road that can be used to evacuate people and bring in humanitarian supplies. More than 40,000 residents have not been evacuated. The situation in the region is getting worse day by day.
23:07 Zelensky said in an evening address that now support for Ukraine - primarily with weapons - means working to prevent global hunger: "The sooner we liberate our land and guarantee Ukraine's security, the sooner the normal state of the food market can be restored."
The president also acknowledged that the situation in Donbas remains very difficult: "Russian troops are still trying to show at least some kind of victory. On the 80th day of a full-scale invasion, it looks especially crazy, but they do not stop all these attempts."
22:55 German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock is skeptical about the possibility of transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine: "Access to frozen funds from a legal point of view is not an easy task at all."
22:52 The G7 foreign ministers sent an "unusually tough" message to Beijing. They called for peace and stability in Taiwan and urged "strongly urge Russia to stop its military aggression against Ukraine," writes Politico.
"We urge China not to assist Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, not to undermine the sanctions imposed on Russia for its attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, not to justify Russia's actions in Ukraine, and to refrain from engaging in information manipulation and disinformation," it said. in the message.
22:23 Ukraine has lost about 23% of its railway network, said Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov. According to him, 6,300 km of main tracks were lost, 23,573 km of roads were damaged, 289 automobile and 41 railway bridges were damaged.
22:21 The occupiers are preparing to cross the Seversky Donets River in Belogorovka again, said the head of the Luhansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai. “Some idiots understood why they were being sent there, and the whole battalion refused to go on the attack. But the “fresh one” will soon come up. 2.5 thousand units of heavy equipment are already moving towards us from the previously occupied territories. ", he wrote.
Gaidai also said that in the occupied Rubizhne, medical equipment is being stolen by the chief collaborator doctor Eduard Kravchenko together with the Kadyrovites.
22:13 NATO countries are ready to support Ukraine in its opposition to Russian aggression until the victory of Ukrainian troops, Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korchok said before the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Alliance countries in Berlin. He stressed that Russia had already lost the political part of this war. The leadership of the Russian Federation failed to achieve the desired results and significantly worsened the situation of their country.
21:34 The head of the Lugansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai said that local residents are being massively taken out of Popasna to the occupied territories in order to mobilize and force them to fight against Ukraine. There is information that the occupiers are beginning to mobilize without a medical examination, besides, women will also be sent to war.
21:22 The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for two large offensives of the Russian Federation - on Severodonetsk and on the Lisichansk-Bakhmut highway from Popasna and Belogorovka, the head of the Lugansk OVA, Sergei Gaidai, said on the air of the telethon. He explained that the Russians need the regional center "for show", and the road - to cut off the region from communication with other regions, that is, to surround it. To ensure this offensive, 2.5 thousand units of enemy equipment are sent to the region.
21:17 Kiev advises the Russian regime not to interfere in the affairs of Ukraine on the way to European integration, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said in a commentary to the UP: "Russia has not yet reached historical development in order to reflect on European values. For Ukraine, values are freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law. All the things for which Ukrainians are now defending their land from Russian aggression."
According to him, the "Russian world" is based on the suppression of its own population, depriving them of any rights and freedoms, enriching the ruling elite: "Therefore, let the Russian regime not stick its nose into the European integration of Ukraine, but go about its own business."
20:55 The G7 countries have decided not to impose sanctions against Russia that will affect the export of agricultural products to developing countries.
20:42 Turkey has proposed a sea evacuation of the wounded Azovstal fighters," Erdogan's adviser Ibrahim Kalin said. According to the plan, the evacuees will be transported by land to the port of Berdyansk, and the Turkish ship will take them across the Black Sea to Istanbul. The Turkish presidential adviser discussed this proposal with Zelensky in Kiev two weeks ago, but at the moment Moscow has not agreed to it, writes Reuters.
20:36 Zelensky signed a law banning the activities of pro-Russian parties in Ukraine.
20:33 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that "the people are asking the country's leadership to block the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO" because of their support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The Minister added that Ankara is ready to discuss this issue with its allies in the Alliance.
20:27 Medvedev said that Russia "does not care about the non-recognition of the new borders by the G7, the true will of the people living there is important. Do not forget the Kosovo precedent, Western friends." He also added that the members of the G7 "forgot to say about the inevitable use by Russia of strategic nuclear forces in the conflict and the possible execution of Ukrainian nationalists at the Execution Ground of Red Square through quartering."
19:49 German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that Russia's actions cause interruptions in the supply of grain, a strong rise in prices. This is a deliberately chosen tool in a hybrid war, she stressed.
19:41 The command of the Pacific Fleet received the task to urgently form a BTG from 200 military personnel from the entire fleet for further dispatch to the territory of Ukraine, journalist Roman Tsymbalyuk said. According to him, the command of the fleet decided to select for the new unit mainly sailors from ships, submarines and fleet support units. The unit is planned to be assembled on the basis of the 40th Separate Marine Brigade (military unit 10103, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky).
After the selection of the required number of military personnel, the BTG is planned to be immediately sent to reinforce the forces of the Eastern Military District on the territory of Ukraine. "The command decided not to bother with the preparation and organization of the coherence of the unit, because they do not want to anger the high command with the untimely execution of the order," the journalist writes.
19:25 The mayor of Kramatorsk Alexander Goncharenko warned that gas could completely disappear in the Donetsk region, and advised to buy electric stoves. This is due to the stoppage of gas transit through stations in the recently occupied territory of the Luhansk region.
18:59 Near Kharkov, Russian troops have concentrated their efforts on countering the Ukrainian counteroffensive towards the border and the safety of their supply lines in the north and east of the city, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
The enemy is also preparing for an attack on Severodonetsk, Soledar and Bakhmut - up to two battalion tactical groups have been moved there. The enemy has a partial success in the offensive in the Avdiivka area.
According to the General Staff, the armed forces of Pridnestrovie have been transferred from combat to normal operation. On the island of the Serpent, the enemy is trying to increase its military presence, strengthens the air defense system.
18:55 Two warships of the Russian Federation are currently on duty in the Odessa water area, the rest have gone to bases in the Crimea, OK Pivden reports. The day before it was reported that there were four ships and two submarines of the Russian Federation with more than 30 Caliber cruise missiles in the Black Sea.
18:52 In the south of Portugal, the house of Roman Abramovich worth 10 million euros was arrested, the local newspaper Publico writes. In mid-February, Millhouse Views LLC, owned by Abramovich's investment holding, tried to sell the house.
18:50 In the center of Sevastopol, the invaders opened a photo exhibition called Through the Eyes of Donbass , which presents photographs of the destroyed Mariupol, which was allegedly shelled by the Ukrainian army.
18:44 The Armed Forces of Ukraine pushed the Russian army to the border in the Kharkiv region, thereby cutting off one of the main supply lines for the Russians in Izyum. The turning point in the Russian-Ukrainian war is approaching, according to British expert Mike Martin. According to him, during the last week a culmination began at the front: Russian forces switched from offensive to defensive, and vice versa - the Armed Forces of Ukraine switched from defense to offensive.
"This trend is especially noticeable in two regions - Kharkiv and Kherson. In particular, in the latter, the Ukrainians pushed the enemy back into the city, which will complicate the annexation of the region planned by Russia," Martin explained.
18:42 New Hungarian President Katalina Novak condemned Putin's aggression and supported Ukraine's accession to the EU: "We condemn Putin's aggression, an armed attack on a sovereign state. We will forever say no to all efforts to restore the Soviet Union. We Hungarians want peace here and in neighboring countries, we want peace, not war. We demand the investigation and punishment of war crimes."
The role of the president in Hungary is predominantly ceremonial, and Novak is a representative of the ruling Fidesz party, also represented by Viktor Orban.
18:34 G7 countries do not recognize changes in the borders of Ukraine and will "support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine - including Crimea - and all states," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.
The G7 also called on Minsk to "stop allowing Russian aggression and comply with its international obligations."
18:20 Adviser to the Mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, said that a large convoy of cars with Mariupol residents (from 500 to 1,000 cars) that had been waiting for a pass for more than three days was finally allowed into Zaporozhye.
18:18 Finland is ready for Russia's possible actions in connection with the country's accession to NATO, said the Minister of State Property and Relations with the EU, Tytti Tuppurainen. According to her, the time has come for Finland to "acquire allies and get more partners", but at the same time she "does not intend to provoke anyone."
18:09 Zaluzhny showed how American howitzers work in Ukraine:
17:56 The authorities of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation reported that local residents on behalf of the Ministry of Emergency Situations receive SMS about the need to evacuate from the border areas. The Ministry of Emergency Situations says that this is a fake.
17:53 For the first time in a long time, 17 civilians, including three children, were evacuated from Severodonetsk, said the head of the Luhansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai. Previously, the evacuation was not carried out due to the shelling of the highway to Bakhmut, through which there is communication with the region.
17:47 Podolyak on Finland's entry into NATO: "Russia is finally tired of the whole world, Moscow's threats no longer interest anyone. NATO borders will reach the suburbs of St. Petersburg - this is how you can translate the conversation between the President of Finland and the Russian president from diplomatic language into simple. Welcome into a new reality, Mr. Putin."
17:45 Turkey has not closed the door for Sweden and Finland to join NATO, but wants to negotiate with countries and prevent "terrorist activities", especially in Stockholm, Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in an interview with Reuters.
17:42 Zelensky, at a meeting with US Republican senators in Kiev, called on the United States to officially recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
17:18 The war in Ukraine has dealt a severe blow to commodity markets, changing global patterns of trade, production and consumption in such a way that prices will remain historically high until at least 2024, the World Bank said in a report.
17:14 Putin has no choice but to negotiate with Ukraine, Scholz said in an interview with t-online. He recalled that since February 24, the Russian army has suffered much greater losses than the USSR during the decades of the campaign in Afghanistan. "It should gradually become clear to Putin that the only way out of this situation is to reach an agreement with Ukraine," the chancellor said and stressed that the sanctions pressure on Russia would continue until the Kremlin understood this.
17:11 The European Union is working to simplify the procedure for the confiscation of property of Russians. According to the Deputy Head of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, the innovations will make it possible to confiscate criminal funds and manage them without waiting for a guilty verdict from the court.
17:07 Negotiations on the oil embargo against Russian oil have been raised to the level of EU foreign ministers. At the level of ambassadors, this initiative was constantly blocked by Hungary. According to Western media, the first meeting at the level of foreign ministers will be held on Monday, May 16, in Brussels.
16:56 Russian invaders are preparing a "census of the population" of the Kherson region, Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova said. The Russians acted in the same way in Crimea in 2014. Residents of the Genichesk district have already begun to receive notifications about the need to apply to the village council. The occupiers plan to start the "census" on Monday, May 16, and complete it by the end of the month.
16:41 The Azov Regiment reports that the occupiers are continuing to storm Azovstal: they are dropping bombs, using heavy artillery and tanks, and using a large number of infantry.
16:24 The Russians are preparing a large-scale disinformation attack for the international community using the parents of children deported to Russia and Donetsk, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petr Andryushchenko reports. Due to threats of separation from children forever, parents are forced to record video messages, where they must "testify" that the separation of parents and children was arranged by Azov fighters and "nationalists". After such videos, the Russians are planning a "second series", where they "found and returned" the children to their parents.
16:02 Killed and wounded occupiers from Snake Island are being brought to Sevastopol. Of the forty signalmen of the RF Armed Forces seconded to Zmeiny Island, eight returned alive, while ten bodies of the dead were evacuated, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the Sevastopol military hospital is overcrowded with surgery and traumatology departments. Due to the high workload, forty beds are installed in the wards. The "authorities" of Crimea require entrepreneurs to send workers to blood donation points. Anyone can become a donor, no medical documents are required, no examination is carried out.
The "state enterprises" of Crimea received an order from the "authorities" to send a certain number of men to the local military registration and enlistment offices (depending on the total number of employees). They are invited to sign contracts with the Russian Armed Forces for a period of three months to a year. They promise to serve in the already occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. But, as practice shows, promises are not kept: many captured Russians complain that they immediately found themselves on the front lines.
15:47 About 5 million Ukrainians have lost their jobs since the beginning of the war, according to the International Labor Organization. If the fighting intensifies, this figure could rise to 7 million people. And if the fighting stopped immediately, 3.4 million jobs could be restored.
15:33 Zelensky met with a delegation of the upper house of the US Congress, headed by the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitchell McConnell, who is visiting Ukraine. "This visit is a powerful signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine by the US Congress, as well as the American people," the president said.
15:10 From May 16, electronic payment for travel in municipal public transport will be resumed in Kiev - both in the subway and in land transport, Klitschko said.
15:02 Kyiv City Council has renamed the Arch of Friendship of Peoples in the capital - now it is called the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian people, Klitschko said. The deputies also approved a list of more than 40 monuments and memorial signs that must be removed from the streets of the city and transferred to the museum of totalitarianism.
As for the renaming, this, according to the mayor, is a "resonant topic": "We heard both the opinions and wishes of the people of Kiev, and criticism. Therefore, in order not to make hasty decisions, we attract specialists from the institutes of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Institute of National Memory and other institutions to completion of the naming process". The Kyiv City Council has extended the voting on renaming the capital's objects until June 19, it will be held in the Kiev digital mobile application .
14:53 Finnish President Sauli Niinostiio, in a conversation with Putin, said that Russia's demands to abandon NATO membership at the end of 2021 and its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022 changed the security policy in Finland, the Office of the Finnish President said. The Finnish president also reminded Putin that he said at their first meeting in 2012 that every independent nation maximizes its own security.
"This is still the case. By joining NATO, Finland will strengthen its own security and assume responsibility. Finland wants to continue to solve the practical problems that the border neighborhood creates, factually and professionally," he said.
The President of Finland also conveyed to Putin a message from Zelensky about the need to ensure the evacuation of the civilian population.
14:36 Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu announced the resumption of the work of the Romanian embassy in Kiev.
14:29 The Russian Foreign Ministry said that if the EU really approves the procedure for starting Ukraine's registration in the European Union, "this will mean the end of the European Union."
14:11 The President of Finland spoke with Putin and told him that in the coming days the country would make a decision on NATO membership, Russian media reported, citing the chancellery.
According to the Kremlin, Putin stressed that Finland's abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality "would be wrong" and that "there are no threats to Finland's security." He also warned that "a change in Finland's foreign policy could have a negative impact on relations with the Russian Federation."
In addition, Putin said that the negotiation process on Ukraine "is actually suspended by Kyiv", and Kyiv "does not show interest in a serious and constructive dialogue."
14:05 Russian media write that in Kherson, prisoners in the pre-trial detention center rebelled and attempted to escape, the police stopped the riots.
13:59 The G7 countries are ready to supply weapons to Ukraine for a long time , it is said in a joint statement adopted by the foreign ministers of the G7 countries: "We will continue to provide our military assistance to Ukraine as long as it is necessary."
13:42 Ukrzaliznytsia stops running evacuation trains due to a significant decrease in demand for flights, said the head of the UZ, Alexander Kamyshin. According to him, there will be only one flight for the evacuation of people - from Pokrovsk, Donetsk region.
13:30 Defenders of Azovstal see the only way out for themselves - extraction to Turkey. But a guarantor is needed, which China can become, relatives of the defenders said at a briefing.
13:11 Relatives of the defenders of Azovstal asked China to intervene and become a peacemaker, to help save the Ukrainian military. The third country for the extraction of the defenders of Mariupol may be Turkey, Erdogan is not against it, they said at a briefing.
13:08 At a meeting of G7 ambassadors, Ukraine announced the need to create an influential organization of grain exporting countries that responds to global market challenges. "Due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, 7 million tons of wheat, 14 million tons of corn grain, 3 million tons of sunflower oil and 3 million tons of sunflower cake, as well as other crops, did not enter the world market," Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky said.
Therefore, Solsky suggested discussing the creation of an influential organization of the main grain exporting countries in the world, which would respond to threats to food security, in particular from the Russian Federation. This organization, at the suggestion of Ukraine, will set the maximum volumes of grain exports to stabilize prices and predictability of the market.
13:02 The Moldovan Post reported that "for technical reasons" it suspends the sending of all shipments to Russia.
13:00 British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urged the West to continue supporting Ukraine with heavy weapons, including aircraft, and to tighten sanctions.
12:58 On the territory of the Avangard community of the Odessa district, pyrotechnics will destroy ammunition today from 13:00 to 15:00. The State Emergency Service asks citizens not to panic - an explosion will be heard.
12:55 This morning, the occupants fired at the border settlement of Bleshni in the Chernihiv region from the Russian side. Eight explosions were recorded on its outskirts, preliminary shelling was carried out from a mortar. There are no losses among personnel and equipment, OK Pivnich reported.
12:48 Russia today disconnected Finland from the supply of electricity, said the operator of the national energy system Fingrid. At the same time, the company assured that there would be no serious problems, since Sweden would provide sufficient capacity. Electricity from Russia accounts for about 10% of Finland's total consumption. The official reason for the shutdown is "problems with payments."
12:46 Banks that help Russians circumvent sanctions may themselves be subject to restrictions, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has warned. At present, the department is focused on preventing Russian institutions and citizens from evading sanctions, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyem said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for the imposition and implementation of sanctions, expects banks to "conduct their own due diligence" to ensure they do not transact with sanctioned individuals or companies.
12:44 There is no immediate threat to Kiev today, the defense plan in case of another Russian offensive is ready, said the chief of staff of the Kiev military administration, Sergei Korniychuk. He assured that in the event of a second offensive, the Kyiv defense plan was developed taking into account the shortcomings and miscalculations during the first Russian offensive.
"There is no direct threat to the capital today. But given that the capital is a major political and economic center, Kyiv will always be one of the enemy's main strategic targets. Considering this, we are preparing for the worst-case scenario - this is a second offensive," Korniychuk explained.
12:41 The Ukrainian military went on a counteroffensive in the Izyum direction , Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv OVA, said: "The Izyum direction remains the hottest point. Our armed forces have launched a counteroffensive there. The enemy is retreating in some directions."
12:39 Covert mobilization continues at the state level in Russia. In the Belgorod and Rostov regions, on the basis of conscripts and mobilization resources, new units of troops are being formed, which are sent to Ukraine. However, the use of such troops is mostly ineffective, said the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Vadym Skibitsky. According to him, Russia has already exhausted the reserves of combat-ready tactical battalion groups.
Skibitsky also confirmed information about depression and a depressive moral and psychological climate in the units of the Russian troops. The most depressed morale is among the servicemen of the 1st and 2nd army corps from ORDLO, because it is there that forced mobilization takes place. Untrained personnel are now being sent to the most important areas.
12:31 In three days, the invaders lost about 250 pieces of equipment and up to 1,500 soldiers and officers near Belogorovka, Anton Gerashchenko reports and publishes a video:
12:25 Deputies of the Mariupol City Council appealed to the Foreign Ministry with a request to use all international instruments to save the Ukrainian military from Azovstal. Such an appeal was adopted at an extraordinary session held online today, the city council said.
12:23 Russia is planning the third phase of the war in Ukraine at least until the end of the year, adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Viktor Andrusiv believes: "I will explain why - according to their calculations, a serious energy crisis will begin in the world closer to winter, problems with heating will begin, and in Ukraine too these problems will begin, and serious problems with the economy, because energy prices are growing very strongly, and now the Kremlin’s stake will be that towards the end of the year the West will understand, let’s say, that it is necessary to negotiate with the Russian Federation, and if they hold out until the end years, then they expect that they will be negotiated with what they demand.
12:18 Ukraine can avoid prolonging the war if it receives enough weapons from partners, says former Supreme Commander of NATO Allied Forces in Europe, four-star General of the US Army Wesley Clark: "If Ukraine has the combat ability to push back Russian troops in Donbas, cut them gradually forces in Kherson, Kherson region, close their access to the Crimea and go in two directions, both in the east and in the south, and cut their troops. In addition, you need to get mobile protective equipment and then close these boilers or the cordon in two places " .
According to the general, this requires tanks, and MLRS, and helicopters, and aircraft, such as Su, F-16, etc. It also requires proper logistical capabilities and relevant intelligence data.
"If Ukraine has high moral standards, the proper spirit and motivation, receives the proper equipment, weapons and equipment, including the MiG-35, other types of helicopters and aircraft from friend countries, then we can avoid a scenario of a long war," Clark is convinced. .
12:06 In Mariupol, in areas where there is electricity at least from generators, people began to watch Ukrainian television through T2, adviser to the mayor of the city Petr Andryushchenko reports. He asks the employees of TV channels to start a running line that Ukraine is fighting for the Mariupol residents and is waiting for the liberation of the city, and that everything the occupiers are talking about is a lie. In particular, they lie to Mariupol residents about criminal liability and forced mobilization when crossing the line of confrontation.
11:56 The problem with fuel in Kiev should be completely resolved before the end of the month, said the deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Nikolai Povoroznik. According to him, now, first of all, those structures that urgently need it are provided with fuel, and "for all other consumers, this is a market issue."
11:42 This weekend, the US will try to find out why Turkey opposes Sweden and Finland joining NATO, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. In particular, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to meet with his counterparts in the Alliance, including the Turkish foreign minister, this weekend at an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.
11:17 In the occupied Melitopol, many strangers have appeared spreading gossip, the Zaporozhye Regional Military Administration reported. As residents of the city note, they were brought before May 9 from the Crimea and the so-called "LDNR" and settled in empty houses and apartments.
"Missed Cossacks" in city markets, in squares and parks sit down with people and say that in the city 60% of the population has allegedly already gone over to the side of the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, they say, has already forgotten about Melitopol.
11:14 Lukashenka and Putin will hold bilateral talks in Moscow on May 16 as part of the CSTO summit, Minsk said.
11:12 The "DPR" reported that almost 500 people, including 63 children, were "evacuated" from Mariupol to Bezymennoe in a day.
11:07 The situation in Pridnestrovie is destabilized by internal forces, although the growth of tension is really connected with the war in Ukraine, Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said. According to him, the purpose of these forces is to ignite the conflict and prevent the country from joining the EU.
"We want to resolve the Transnistrian conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. We see that the vast majority of citizens in the Transnistrian region do not want to live in a war zone and want peace, but there are forces inside that want to fuel destabilization," Popescu said on the sidelines of the meeting of heads Foreign Ministry of the G7. He added that Moldova is making every effort to prevent the war from starting inside the country.
11:01 Ukrainian intelligence suggests that a "referendum" in Kherson on joining Russia can be held in September, namely on September 11th. "And we must not forget that about 800,000 passports of citizens of the Russian Federation have been issued on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in the occupied territories," Vadim Skibitsky, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate, said.
10:57 The American Institute for the Study of War admits that Russia intends to annex the occupied south and east of Ukraine in the coming months and include them in its composition. Further, the doctrine will spread to these regions, allowing the use of nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory. This threatens Ukraine and its partners with a nuclear attack in the event of an attempt to recapture these areas.
Analysts note that this option could have “devastating consequences for the long-term viability of the Ukrainian state,” so the West urgently needs to support the Ukrainian counteroffensive and thwart such a scenario.
10:52 In the Kherson region, the invaders are handing out "leading positions" to waitresses and bouncers, the SBU reports, citing the interception of conversations. Collaborators admit that due to unprofessionalism they are leading the region to a humanitarian crisis, and they are already planning to flee to Crimea.
10:43 The Armed Forces of Ukraine can return the entire Donbas if the Russians do not stop the offensive ahead of schedule, analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War say. According to them, the new phase of the war will follow one of three development paths:
- Russia will stop and annex already occupied territories;
- RF will try to mobilize additional forces;
- Putin will continue to pursue unrealistic military goals with insufficient resources and will eventually collapse in the coming months.
10:37 In Mariupol, after an attempt by the invaders to return water supply to the city, all basements are flooded, water flows through the streets, since all pipes are damaged by shelling. Workers of the water utility received diving equipment and are trying unsuccessfully to repair gusts in the basements, said the mayor's adviser Petr Andryushchenko. Drinking water, according to him, is still inaccessible - it, like food, is sorely lacking.
In the city, about 150-170 thousand people remain hostages of the occupying authorities, with almost no chance to leave for Ukraine.
10:23 For Ukraine, the proposal on "alternative options for European integration" is unacceptable , Yermak said: "We believe that it creates the same illusion of open doors as in the case of NATO." The head of the Presidential Office emphasized that both a powerful sanctions policy and Ukraine's accession to the EU is a matter of mutual security - for Kyiv itself and for all of Europe, "although not all European capitals are aware of this yet."
“Ukraine today deserves to be applied special unprecedented mechanisms for EU membership. In June, our state should receive the status of a candidate for the European Union, because otherwise it will be an extremely negative and wrong signal,” Yermak said. “The EU and NATO should finally "to understand that as much as Ukraine needs the EU and NATO, NATO and the EU need Ukraine to the same extent. I believe that today neither the European Union nor NATO will be strong without Ukraine."
Yermak is also convinced that Ukraine will become one of the founders and leaders of the new security system that should be created after the war. "And we want to do it together with our European friends," he added.
09:59 The General Staff announced the approximate combat losses of the enemy on the morning of May 14. The enemy suffered the greatest losses over the past day in the Slavic and Bakhmut directions.
- personnel - about 27,200 (+300) people liquidated,
- tanks - 1218 (+13),
- armored combat vehicles - 2934 (+34),
- artillery systems - 551 (+9),
- MLRS - 195 (+2),
- air defense systems - 88 (+0),
- aircraft - 200 (+0),
- helicopters - 163 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 411 (+6),
- cruise missiles - 95 (+0),
- ships/boats - 13 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 2059 (+17),
- special equipment - 42 (+1).
09:41 Ukraine is negotiating the evacuation of 60 seriously wounded from Azovstal, Irina Vereshchuk told Suspilny. According to her, about 600 wounded are now on the territory of the plant.
09:28 The occupiers continue to attack Azovstal from the sky, the earth and are trying to advance by land, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petr Andryushchenko reports. In addition, yesterday the occupiers published in social networks personal contacts (phone numbers, profiles) of the brides and wives of Ukrainian defenders.
09:26 On the evening of May 13, Russian troops fired on one of the border villages of the Shostka district of the Sumy region with unguided aircraft missiles, the State Border Service reported.
09:25 British intelligence reports that "the fact that Russia managed to impose a pro-Russian local leadership only in Kherson highlights the inability of the Russian invasion to make progress in achieving its political goals in Ukraine."
Analysts note that if Russia holds a referendum in Kherson on joining the Russian Federation, it will almost certainly manipulate its results in order to show a clear majority in favor of secession from Ukraine. "Residents of the Kherson region, most likely, will continue to demonstrate their disagreement with the Russian occupation," the intelligence service believes.
09:08 The Turkish ruling party clarified its position regarding the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO: Ankara wants these countries to reconsider relations with the Kurdistan Workers' Party banned in Turkey.
09:06 Ukraine is ready to return to Russia the bodies of the Russian invaders who died near Kiev and Chernigov. Volodymyr Lyamzin, head of the department for military-civilian cooperation in Ukraine, said that on May 13, the Ukrainian military authorities loaded the bodies of Russian soldiers collected after the fighting in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions into refrigerator cars.
08:59 The Russians are again trying to install air defense systems on Serpentine, said the speaker of the Odesa OVA Sergey Bratchuk.
08:51 In the Lugansk region, seven high-rise buildings in Severodonetsk and one in Rubizhne were damaged from Russian shelling, where two private houses were also destroyed. In Lisichansk, as a result of artillery shelling, the administrative building of a rubber technical products plant was destroyed, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Gaidai.
In the Rubizhne area, the enemy continues shelling, so there could be much more damage there, Gaidai specified. The Russians also conducted assault operations in the areas of Zolote and Kamyshevakhi.
08:47 Today, early in the morning, the invaders fired at the Dnepropetrovsk region from Hurricanes, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko. The Shirokovskaya bulk fell under the blow, people were not injured. Windows were shattered in several houses, cluster munitions were found in several yards, and pyrotechnicians were at work.
08:29 According to the Pentagon, there are now 105 Russian battalion tactical groups in Ukraine. The number of Russian BTGs in Donbas continues to grow.
08:21 The United States will rotate its troops in Europe in the coming weeks and months, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. According to the NYT, this signals that the temporary deployment of troops is likely to become permanent. 10.5 thousand US troops will go to Europe. Kirby emphasized that these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine, but intend to support the defense of NATO allies. The total number of American troops in Europe will remain at about 100,000.
07:55 Russia has entered the third phase of a full-scale war in Ukraine and is preparing for a long-term battle, Viktor Andrusiv, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, said. According to him, the first phase was an attempt to seize Ukraine "in a couple of days", the second - to carry out a large encirclement of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the east. Now the occupiers have passed into the third phase of the war, when they begin to prepare for the defense of the lines where they stopped.
"This indicates that they have decided to turn the war into a very long one ... They expect that the crises that the war causes will put the West at the negotiating table with them, and the West will try to exchange us for something," the adviser explained.
07:48 In the Donetsk and Tauride directions, the enemy used mortars, cannon artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and aircraft in order to inflict maximum losses on the Defense Forces, deplete personnel and destroy fortifications, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in the morning report . In addition, the enemy is trying to improve the tactical situation in the areas of the settlements of Kamyshevakha, Krasnogorovka, Novomikhailovka, Konstantinovka and Pobeda - he has no luck.
07:22 Zelensky will speak via video link at the World Economic Forum in Davos on May 23. Personally in Davos, Ukraine will be represented by the Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov and the Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.
07:16 Azov in Mariupol destroyed about six thousand Russian soldiers, along with the general, said the deputy commander of the regiment, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, during the Kiev Security Forum. According to him, the enemy prevailed in terms of the number of people and weapons. The grouping consisted of about 14,000 people, including Wagner PMC militants. 78 tanks and more than a hundred armored vehicles were also destroyed.
07:08 The American Institute for the Study of War believes that Ukraine most likely won the battle for Kharkov. Moscow is conducting an orderly withdrawal of its forces from near Kharkov, not trying to hold positions. That is, the Russian Federation does not conduct large-scale battles for the liberated settlements.
Analysts note that the Russians failed to encircle Kharkov, these plans can be considered failed. At the moment, they call the goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the disruption of communications between the Belgorod region and the enemy grouping, which operates in the Izyum direction. However, according to experts, these lines of communication are largely inaccessible to Ukrainians. Especially to the east of Kharkov, where there is a water barrier - Seversky Donets.
00:02 The Russian army has big problems with personnel at the front in Ukraine, there are not enough people, but instead of open mobilization, they are trying to carry it out covertly. Details on how this happens are in the material To death by advertising .