Russia carries out new missile strikes on Odessa in Ukraine

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Missiles hit Ukrainian coastal city of Odessa

Several missiles hit the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, regional administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said in televised remarks.

Bratchuk said the strikes hit the city after targets in the surrounding Odessa region were hit by four missiles earlier in the day.

He gave no further details on the new strikes, saying the facts were still being established.

Ukraine braces for escalation in attacks ahead of Russia’s V-Day

Ukrainian troops consolidated their positions around the country’s second-largest city as Russian forces launched more punitive attacks on a beleaguered steel mill in a bid to complete their conquest of the southern port of Mariupol in time for the Day celebrations. of Victory.

As Monday’s holiday commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II approaches, Ukrainian cities have braced for an expected increase in Russian attacks.

Officials have urged residents numbed by more than 10 weeks of fighting to heed air raid warnings. “These symbolic dates are for the Russian aggressor like red for a bull,” Ukrainian First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said.

ICRC official sees hope for more evacuations in Mariupol

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hopes the successful evacuation of civilians from a besieged steelworks in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will pave the way for more people to exit the complex, a senior ICRC official said.

“Experience shows that successful action helps further evacuations because now both sides have seen it working. We hope we can now build on this modicum of trust,” said Dominik Stillhart, ICRC director of operations. , to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung in an interview.

Russia claims to have destroyed US and European equipment in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region

The Russian Defense Ministry said it destroyed a large stockpile of military equipment from the United States and European countries near the Bohodukhiv railway station in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

The ministry said it hit 18 Ukrainian military installations overnight, including three ammunition depots in Dachne, near the port city of Odessa.

Ukrainian military says shelling of Kharkiv continues

Ukraine’s military said Russia was continuing its bombardment of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, while trying to probe elsewhere on the eastern front lines.

A daily statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces said Russian forces had destroyed three bridges near villages outside Kharkiv in an attempt to slow down a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.

In the south, the Ukrainian military said Russian rocket fire damaged civilian buildings in Mykolaiv. In Kherson, a southern Russian city, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were stepping up patrols.

Over 25,000 Russian troops killed so far, Ukraine says

A total of 25,100 Russian soldiers have so far been killed in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said.

Ukrainian forces have destroyed 199 Russian planes, 155 helicopters, 341 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,122 tanks, 2,713 armored vehicles and 509 artillery systems, according to the latest update from the Ukrainian General Staff.

Russia also lost 172 multiple rocket launcher systems, 1,934 vehicles and fuel tanks, 84 anti-aircraft systems, 11 boats and 90 cruise missiles, he added.

Nominations of Russian gas via Ukraine to Europe down

Nominations of Russian gas via Ukraine to Europe amounted to 92.4 million cubic meters (mcm), down from 98.7 million mcm on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing data from Ukrainian gas pipeline operator.

Britain says conflict in Ukraine weighs heavily on Russia’s most capable units

The conflict in Ukraine is weighing heavily on some of Russia’s most capable units and most advanced capabilities, the UK Ministry of Defense tweeted in a regular bulletin.

At least one T-90M, Russia’s most advanced tank, was destroyed in the fighting, as around 100 T-90M tanks are in service among Russia’s best-equipped units, including those fighting in Ukraine, a said the ministry.

“It will take a lot of time and money for Russia to rebuild its armed forces in the wake of this conflict. It will be particularly difficult to replace modernized and advanced equipment due to sanctions limiting Moscow’s access to critical microelectronic components “, did he declare.

Biden and Trudeau discuss Ukraine over the phone

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a phone call, stressed their commitment to holding Russia accountable for its attacks on Ukraine and discussed efforts to provide security assistance to Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.

Biden and Trudeau also discussed their upcoming attendance at the Summit of the Americas in June in Los Angeles, he added.

US announces new aid to Ukraine worth $150 million

US President Joe Biden announced another military assistance package for Ukraine on Friday as dozens of civilians were evacuated from besieged steel mills in Mariupol, the last pocket of resistance against Russian troops in the pulverized port city.

Worth $150 million, the latest US security aid for the “brave people of Ukraine” would include artillery munitions and radar, Biden said. A senior US official said it included counter-artillery radars used to detect the source of enemy fire and electronic jamming equipment.

Friday’s new batch brings the total value of US weapons sent to Ukraine since the attacks began to $3.8 billion – and the president has urged Congress to further approve a whopping $33 billion package, including $20 billion in military aid, “to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”

UK donates additional mobile generators to Ukraine

The British government said it would give Ukraine 287 mobile generators in addition to the 569 generators it had previously donated.

The new generators, which are enough to power nearly 8,000 homes, will be used for hospitals, shelters and other essential services amid the ongoing destruction in eastern Ukraine, the Business Department said, Energy and Industrial Strategy in a press release.

The government has also relaxed rules for supporting foreign fossil fuels to boost Ukraine’s vital energy supply, the statement added.

Italy orders seizure of yacht linked to Russian president

The Italian government has ordered police to seize a luxury yacht worth around $700 million believed to have been linked in the media to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The sleek six-deck Scheherazade had been under repair in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara since September, but recent dockside activity suggested the crew may be preparing to set sail.

A source with direct knowledge of a week-long investigation into the vessel said police believe the owner was Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of Russian energy giant Rosneft who is not currently the target EU sanctions.

kyiv: dozens of Ukrainians evacuated from Azovstal

Fifty Ukrainians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in the battered city of Mariupol, officials in kyiv said.

“Today we were able to evacuate 50 women, children and elderly people from Azovstal,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

Vereshchuk accused Russia of violating the promised ceasefire. “The convoy had to stand near Azovstal all day. Fights and provocations were going on there,” Vereshchuk wrote.

Zelenskyy: Ongoing negotiations for trapped in Azovstal

Ukraine is working on a diplomatic effort to rescue defenders trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant and it involves intermediaries and influential states, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Zelenskyy, who made the remarks in a late-night video address, did not elaborate.

For live updates from Friday (May 6), click here

Source: TRTWorld and agencies