Day 90 of the full-scale invasion.
The death toll in Mariupol is over 22,000. Something tells me that won’t be the final number.
I guess former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will be happy to hear that Ukrainian forces retreated from Svitlodarsk.
In short: It’s all about Donbas.
Who needs nuclear weapons when you can use food for leverage? Russia has a grip on areas around Ukraine’s ports, holding food hostage:
Russia has called for the lifting of sanctions that were imposed over its invasion of Ukraine as part of a “comprehensive approach” aimed at averting a global food crisis.Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain exporters but it has built up vast stockpiles that it is unable to send abroad due to a Russian blockade of its ports.The Kremlin’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Russia was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor that would allow ships a safe route out of Ukraine – if sanctions were lifted and Kyiv de-mined nearby waters.Yesterday, the European Union accused Russia of using food supplies as a weapon with global repercussions.Earlier, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said food prices worldwide would keep going up while the impasse continued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to make it easier for those in southern Ukraine to gain Russian citizenship.
The Russians occupy Kherson. The order also goes to those in Zaporizhzhia, which is still under Ukraine’s control. Russia has control of surrounding areas though.
Russia has been attacking Zaporizhzhia:
Ukrainian authorities say two areas of the major southern city of Zaporizhzhia were struck by Russian missiles early this morning, leaving one person dead and three others wounded.Four missiles were reportedly fired just after 05:00 local time (03:00 BST) and one was intercepted, in what is being seen as the biggest attack on the city. The regional administration says a shopping centre and at least 62 homes were damaged in the strike.Much of Russia’s offensive is centred on eastern Ukraine, but Russian forces are in control of part of the big Zaporizhzhia region, including the big nuclear power station on the southern bank of the Dnipro river.Ukrainian officials say Russia has gathered three of its battalion tactical groups at Vasylivka around 50km (30 miles) south of Zaporizhzhia but it is not yet clear whether they plan to launch an offensive on the city.
Will the outcome in Donbas determine Ukraine’s fate? Some officials think so:
The Russian offensive in the Donbas has made significant gains, with Ukrainian officials saying the “fate of the country” could be decided in the ongoing battles.Moscow’s troops were close to encircling the neighbouring cities of Severodonetsk and Lyschansk, whose capture would give them control of half of the eastern region.The cities straddle the Siversky Donets river, and Ukrainian forces are heavily dug in after resisting Moscow-backed separatists in the war of 2014.There were unconfirmed reports Russian forces had cut off the road through which Kyiv has been resupplying its fighters in Severodonetsk.“Now we are observing the most active phase of the full-scale aggression which Russia unfolded against our country,” Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian ministry of defence, said.“The situation on the [eastern] front is extremely difficult, because the fate of this country is perhaps being decided [there] right now.”
This is just awful:
Sergiy Gaidai, governor of the eastern region of Lugansk, has said Russian forces were bombarding the industrial city of Severodonetsk with air strikes, rockets, artillery and mortars in an effort to solidify control over the province and move further into Ukraine.”The situation is very difficult and unfortunately it is only getting worse. It is getting worse with every day and even with every hour,” Mr Gaidai said in a video on Telegram.”The Russian army decided to completely destroy Severodonetsk.”He added: “They are simply erasing Severodonetsk from the face of the earth.”
Ukrainian forces have retreated from Svitlodarsk, a contested town in eastern Donbas.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, confirmed the news. He also said it looks bleak in Lyman, which is located in the northern Donetsk region:
“About 10,000 civilians remain in occupied Svitlodarsk,” Kyrylenko said. “No more than 30% of the population left the city. Today, May 24, the Russian army entered Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region. Russian flags have already been hoisted there.”According to Kyrylenko, Svitlodarsk had been surrounded on three sides, and that the city had not been under intense shelling, so much of the civilian population remained.”This is not a retreat [of the Armed Forces of Ukraine], but a regrouping,” he said. “This is the right and logical decision in this situation to save the lives of [the military] and regroup.”Pro-Russian Telegram channels showed images of the Russian flag being hoisted over the city administration building in Svitlodarsk.Kyrylenko also described the situation as “very difficult” in Lyman, a city further north in Donetsk region.”It’s now under constant fire,” he said. “The enemy entered the territory of the Lyman community a long time ago. Their main goal is to take the centre of the community of Lyman. The estuary is now partially under control, they enter, then they are kicked out, heavy artillery drives in, and tanks enter the outskirts of the city to conduct shelling and occupy the entire center and the entire Lyman community. The situation there is now one of the tensest along the entire front line, along with Avdiivka.”
Petro Andriushchenko, the advisor to the Mariupol mayor, told CNN at least 22,000 Mariupol residents lost their lives as Russia attacked the port city nonstop for weeks:
“Mariupol is now a city of ghosts,” an adviser to the mayor of the ruined Ukrainian port city said Tuesday.Speaking to CNN’s Melissa Bell, Petro Andriushchenko — who has fled to Ukrainian held territory — said that Mariupol town hall officials believe that at least 22,000 residents of the city were killed during three months of war — a figure that cannot be independently supported, with the free press now unable to get access to the city and those still inside too scared to speak openly.The figure of 22,000 is based, Andriushchenko said, on the many contacts he and other town hall officials continue to have with officials trapped inside. But he believes the actual figure could be much higher.Andriushchenko said that the process of reburying the dead has been complicated by Russian official insistence that reclaimed bodies be brought to a morgue and that a person claiming a body must agree to record a video in which the applicant says the deceased was killed by the Ukrainian military.Andriushchenko said that, based on the information gathered from his network of sources, Mariupol tonight is a city thrown back to the Middle Ages.“It is absolutely dark inside the city. The only lights are from Russian troops and Russian patrols,” he said. “Everywhere it’s the smell of death and the smell of fire.”The mayor’s adviser said his contacts paint a picture of a city in the grips of a humanitarian catastrophe with very little contact to the outside world. Mobile phone connections are only just beginning to be re-established.He said residents are unable to move freely, with special passes needed for any movement within the city and a filtration system keeping them from fleeing altogether.
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