UN Security Council adopts statement expressing 'strong support' for Guterres' efforts to find a solution in Ukraine

Members of the United Nations Security Council, including Russia, have agreed on a statement expressing “strong support” for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to find a peaceful solution to the “dispute” in Ukraine.

The council scheduled a meeting later on Friday to adopt the brief statement, which would be the first approved by the UN’s most powerful body since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

It does not mention a “war,” “conflict” or “invasion” as many council members call Russia’s ongoing military action, or a “special military operation” as Moscow refers to it.

The statement, drafted by Norway and Mexico, “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and “recalls that all member states have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”

(AP)

50 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel plant, says Ukrainian official

At least 50 civilians were evacuated from the steel plant in Mariupol, said Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in a message on Telegram.

The civilians included women, children and older adults, she said, adding that the evacuation operation would continue tomorrow morning.

Vereshchuk said the evacuation was slow due to fighting and "other provocations", accusing Russia of violating the ceasefire.

 

Sweden reintroduces border checks, citing ‘a serious threat’

Sweden said Friday it was reintroducing temporary border controls at ferry terminals, airports, road crossings with other countries and other entry points to the Scandinavian nation because there “still is a serious threat to public order and internal security.”

The Swedish government said the temporary controls would start immediately and last until Nov. 11, meaning travelers will have to show passports and visas during the 6-month period.

The government did not mention a specific threat in its announcement but said the security situation in the country’s region of Europe is “extremely serious, and the overall terrorist threat level in Sweden remains elevated.”

Swedish Justice Minister Morgan Johansson noted that once inside Europe’s passport-free travel zone known as the Schengen Area, people can move relatively freely among 26 countries — 22 European Union nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

(AP)

'There is nothing left to fall apart', says Zelenskyy of the port city of Mariupol

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the southeastern port city of Mariupol has been destroyed completely and there is nothing left to fall to Russians, except for its besieged steelworks.

Zelenskyy, speaking on a video call to the Chatham House think-tank in London, was asked how the fall of the strategic city could affect the course of the conflict.

"You should understand that Mariupol will never fall. There is nothing there to fall apart. It is already devastated... there is no structure. This is all destroyed completely," Zelensky said in comments translated into English from Ukrainian.

What is left is "this little turf, this little structure, the Azovstal steel mill, or what remains of it", he added.

(AFP)

Ukraine war: False claims spread about military movements in Poland and Finland

Online misinformation about the armies of Poland and Finland has circulated online amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Social media users have falsely suggested that both European Union member states are preparing to enter the war or engage in military conflict.

Investigations by Euronews and other independent fact-checkers have revealed that the claims are false and alleged video evidence has been taken out of context.

Read the full article here.

Ukraine and Russia swap prisoners

Ukraine received 41 prisoners in a swap with Russia, the deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, including 28 military personnel and 13 civilians. 

She said it was "especially gratifying" that a rector of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was among the prisoners released. It was unclear how many prisoners were returned to Russia.

Ukraine officials warn Russia might increase bombardment on Victory Day

Officials from Ukraine’s national security council warned residents on Friday against the increased risk of shelling on Sunday and Monday, coinciding with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations.

A Facebook post published on the Centre for Counteracting Disinformation profile, under the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, urged Ukrainians not to ignore air raid sirens.

“Since Russian troops cannot boast of any significant achievements on the front by Victory Day, the risk of massive shelling of Ukrainian cities these days is increasing,” the post said.

Separately on Friday, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said authorities would not be extending the curfew in Kyiv, as one has already been introduced. But street patrols would be reinforced.

Moscow commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on 9 May, while the rest of Europe celebrates it one day prior, on 8 May.

How war is hitting Ukraine's farmers and threatening world food supplies

Ukraine, dubbed Europe's breadbasket, is one of the largest exporters of corn, wheat and oats to the European Union.

But the war is having a huge impact on the country's farmers.

Beyond the destruction of agricultural land, Russia's blocking of Ukraine's Black Sea ports means grains can only be shipped out of the country by rail or road.

Read the full story here.
 

Ukraine's president invites German leaders on May 9

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has invited German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit Ukraine on May 9, the day Russia marks the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Western officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the Victory Day holiday to make an announcement about the war — either declaring a victory or escalating the conflict.

Scholz has yet to make a solidarity visit to the country. Scholz has traded barbs with Ukrainian officials in recent weeks because of Kyiv’s refusal to invite Steinmeier, whom Ukraine accuses of cosying up to Russia during his time as foreign minister.

Speaking at London’s Chatham House think-tank on Friday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken to Steinmeier and invited both him and Scholz to come to Kyiv.

He said Scholz “can make this very powerful political step to come here on the 9th of May, to Kyiv.”

(AP)

Amnesty report calls for Russia to face war crimes justice

Amnesty International says it has documented extensive war crimes by Russian forces in communities around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, including arbitrary executions, bombardments of residences and torture.

“The pattern of crimes committed by Russian forces that we have documented includes both unlawful attacks and willful killings of civilians,” Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said in a statement on Friday.

“It is vital that all those responsible, including up the chain of command, are brought to justice.”

The organisation said it collected evidence and testimony in eight cities near Kyiv, including Bucha, where bodies were found lying in the streets in the immediate aftermath of the Russian withdrawal. 

Amnesty International's report details numerous Russian atrocities, including:

• The shooting in Bucha of Yevhen Petrashenko, a 43-year-old sales manager, who was shot in his kitchen while his wife and children were hiding in the basement.
• His neighbour Leonid Bodnarchuk, a 44-year-old construction worker, shot dead as he climbed the stairs by Russian soldiers, who then threw a grenade into the stairwell.
• The executions in Bucha were carried out with specialised rifles used by some elite Russian units, the report said. 
• Indiscriminate bombardment in Borodianka that killed at least 40 people and destroyed eight residential buildings.
• The report says researchers found evidence documenting specific units of the Russian army that were involved.

On Thursday the UN's human rights chief Michele Bachelet detailed "increasing" human rights abuses since the Russian invasion, including summary executions, arbitrary detentions and "possible enforced disappearances" (see earlier post).

(with AP)

Nuclear weapons 'must not be unleashed', says Moscow

Russia's Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that Russia does not intend to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

"We have repeatedly had to refute insinuations about Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons during the special military operation in Ukraine - this is a deliberate lie," foreign ministry spokesman  Aleksey Zaitsev told a weekly news briefing.

"Russia firmly adheres to the principle that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must not be unleashed."

Days after Russia's invasion in late February, Vladimir Putin ordered his military commanders to put the country's strategic nuclear forces on special alert.

Western analysts have questioned whether the failure of his forces on the ground may prompt him to resort to a "tactical" nuclear strike in Ukraine.

Amid increasingly virulent anti-Western rhetoric on Russian state television, commentators have openly evoked potential nuclear strikes against other European countries.

(Euronews, AP)

G7 to discuss 'situation in Ukraine' on Sunday, Zelenskyy invited

The G7 leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Sunday to discuss the war in Ukraine, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a spokeswoman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

"8 May is a historic date marking the end of World War II in Europe, which brought terror, destruction and death to Europe," spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a press conference on Friday, stating that with the current war in Ukraine "the cohesion of the G7 is more important than ever".

Germany holds the G7 presidency this year.

This meeting, the third since the beginning of the year, will be devoted "to the situation in Ukraine in particular," Hoffmann said, without further details.

US President Joe Biden had already announced a meeting this week of the G7 group, without giving a precise date, on possible additional sanctions against Russia.

"We are always open to additional sanctions," he said Wednesday at the White House, adding that he would discuss with G7 members "what we will and will not do".

The G7 group of wealthy countries includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.

Orban 'will not allow' EU to sanction Russian Orthodox Church leader

Orban also protested against the inclusion in the EU's sanctions package of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a vocal supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine.

"We will not allow church leaders to be put on a sanctions list," he said in Friday's radio interview in which he strongly criticised the proposed EU embargo on Russian oil (see previous blog post).

Read more here:

Orban criticises EU plans to sanction head of Russian Orthodox Church

Patriarch Kirill's support of Putin and the war has already drawn condemnation with Pope Francis warning him not to become "Putin's altar boy". #EuropeDecoded

Brussels crossed 'red line' with Russian oil embargo — Orban

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that Brussels had crossed a "red line" in wanting to ban Russian oil imports and "undermined" the European unity displayed since the start of the war in Ukraine.

"Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "has deliberately or not attacked European unity," he said in a radio interview. "From the beginning we have made it clear that there is a red line, namely the energy embargo. They have crossed that line."

Orban said the European Commission's current proposal banning Russian oil imports would amount to an "atomic bomb" dropped on the Hungarian economy, adding that Hungary was ready to negotiate if it sees a new proposal that would meet Hungarian interests.

The EU proposal to be put to member states, as unveiled by von der Leyen on Wednesday, involves imposing an EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports, to be phased out by the end of the year.

Hungary and Slovakia, both countries which are highly dependent on Russian pipeline oil, have pushed to be granted extra time to complete the phase-out. 

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday that Hungary’s energy supply “would be completely destroyed” by the EU's plan. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told CNN that the minimum phase-out period for Hungary would be "three to five years".

(Euronews with AFP, AP, Reuters)

Read the full story from Euronews Brussels Bureau here:

Russian oil ban plans like 'dropping atomic bomb on Hungary's economy'

euronewsHungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are among the most sceptical over EU plans to ban Russian oil imports. #EuropeNews

'500 civilians evacuated' from Mariupol this week

Ukrainian authorities said on Friday that nearly 500 civilians have been taken to safety from the besieged and bombarded southeastern city, and that the evacuations were continuing on Friday.

"We have managed to evacuate almost 500 civilians" since the start of this "difficult" operation organised by the UN, the head of the president's office Andriy Yermak said on Telegram. "Ukraine will continue to do everything possible to save all civilians and military personnel" trapped in Azovstal, he said.

The UN-led evacuations, which began last weekend, were due to continue on Friday from the huge steel plant, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in this strategic port in southern Donbas, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told AFP.

The UN, in association with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), announced on Thursday afternoon that it had sent a new convoy to Azovstal, where hundreds of soldiers, many of them wounded, and some 200 civilians still remain, according to the local authority.  

"Today we are focusing on Azovstal," Verechtchouk said. "The operation is starting now. We pray for its success," she added.

On Thursday evening, she said Marioupol residents were being called to gather at 1000 GMT (1200 CET) in front of a Marioupol shopping centre to be evacuated.

(AFP)

Germany to send seven howitzers to Ukraine

Germany will deliver seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, on top of five howitzers the Dutch already pledged, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Friday.

The training of Ukrainian troops on the artillery weapons can start next week in Germany, she told reporters in the Slovak town Sliac where she was supposed to meet her Dutch counterpart later today.

The move follows the approval of a delivery of "Gepard" anti-aircraft tanks in late April, as the German parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of supplying Ukraine with heavy weapons.

(with Reuters)

Russia still attacking Mariupol steelworks — Ukraine army

The Ukrainian military says the Russian effort to seize the steel plant in Mariupol continues.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces issued a daily statement Friday saying that “the blockade of units of the defense forces in the Azovstal area continues.”

It added: “In some areas, with the support of aviation, resumed assault operations to take control of the plant.”

Elsewhere in the country, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces are conducting surveillance flights of territory. In the hard-hit areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine’s military said it repulsed 11 enemy attacks and destroyed tanks and armored vehicles. There was no immediate acknowledgement of those losses by Russia. (AP)

Russia aims to take Mariupol before V-Day — UK intelligence

The British defence ministry's daily update says Russia's renewed effort to seize control of the Mariupol steelworks is linked to next Monday's Victory Day Parade in Moscow, the annual celebration of the end of World War II.

It also notes that Russian forces continued their ground assault at the plant in contrast to Moscow's claims that they were only sealing it off.

Russian army 'ready to ensure evacuations', says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday evening that "the Russian army was always ready to ensure the evacuation of civilians" from Azovstal, who could still number 200, trapped with Ukrainian fighters in this complex.

In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Putin "drew attention to humanitarian issues, including the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal factory site (...), carried out in collaboration with representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross," the Kremlin said.

"The Russian army is always ready to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians," Putin added, while accusing Ukrainian fighters of "holding them back".

"As for the militants who still remain in Azovstal, the Kyiv authorities should order them to lay down their arms," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier the Russian army was respecting the ceasefire around the factory and that humanitarian corridors around Azovstal were "working".

This was denied by Ukrainian fighters on the ground. Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, which is defending these installations, said in a video that "bloody fighting" was taking place inside the site and that the Russians were "not keeping their promise" of a truce.

(AFP)

Executions, detentions, disappearances: UN details human rights abuses

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law keep increasing every day. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, she said, 6,731 civilian deaths and injuries have been recorded and “the real figures are considerably higher.”

From late February for about five weeks, she said, Russian forces in areas around Kyiv targeted civilian men whom they considered suspicious, detaining, beating, summarily executing them and in some cases taking them to Belarus and Russia. In other Russian-controlled areas including the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, she said her office continues to document arbitrary detentions and possible enforced disappearances of local officials, journalists, civil society activists, retired members of the armed forces and other civilians by Russian troops and affiliated armed groups.

“As of May 4, my office has documented 180 such cases, of which five victims were eventually found dead,” Bachelet said, adding that her staff has also heard about cases of women raped by Russian armed forces in areas under their control, and other allegations of sexual violence by both Russians and Ukrainians.

(AP)

Putin's forces making 'plodding' progress in east — Pentagon

The Pentagon says the majority of Russian forces that had been around the port city of Mariupol have left and headed north, leaving roughly the equivalent of two battalion tactical groups there, or about 2,000 troops.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that even as Russian airstrikes continue to bombard Mariupol, Moscow’s forces are still making only “plodding” and incremental progress as the main fight presses on in the eastern Donbas region.

He said he has seen no change in Russian behavior or momentum as May 9 draws near.

Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9, the anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. There have been suggestions that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to tout a major victory in Ukraine when he makes his address during the traditional military parade on Red Square.

Kirby said the U.S. still assesses that Russia is behind schedule and not making the progress in the Donbas that it expected.

(AP)

Russia has hit 400 hospitals and health centres — Zelenskyy

In his nightly video address Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described a “catastrophic” lack of access to medical services and medicine in areas of the country under Russian occupation.

In those areas, he said almost no treatment was available for those suffering from cancer and where insulin for diabetics was difficult to find or non-existent. He said antibiotics were in short supply.

Zelenskyy also said that during the course of the war, the Russian military has already fired 2,014 missiles on Ukraine, while 2,682 flights of Russian warplanes have been recorded in Ukrainian skies. He said the destroyed or damaged infrastructure includes nearly 400 hospitals and other medical facilities.

(AP)

Guterres: UN must 'get people out of these hellscapes'

The UN confirmed to Euronews that a "safe passage operation" was under way in Mariupol "in coordination with the parties to the conflict". The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is also involved.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council on Thursday that a third evacuation was taking place and UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said its aim is to evacuate more civilians from Mariupol and the sprawling Azovstal steel plant.

“We must continue to do all we can to get people out of these hellscapes," the secretary-general said.

Guterres said 101 civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal plant along with 59 more from a neighboring area in the first operation that ended Tuesday. He said that in the second operation, which was completed Wednesday night, more than 320 civilians were evacuated from the city of Mariupol and surrounding areas.

The secretary-general negotiated the agreement for civilian evacuations from besieged areas including Mariupol with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. Guterres expressed hope that continued cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the two governments “will lead to more humanitarian pauses to allow civilians safe passage from the fighting and aid to reach those in critical need.”

Griffiths told a UN pledging conference for Ukraine in Warsaw, Poland, earlier Thursday that a convoy left for Mariupol on Thursday and expects to arrive Friday morning and hopes to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant. (AP with Euronews)

Good morning, this is Alasdair Sandford with Friday's updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.