Russia-Ukraine war LIVE: Zelenskyy says 157 people from Mariupol arrive in Zaporizhzhia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video address on Facebook, stated that 156 people arrived in Zaporizhzhia. He stated that the people who reached Zaporizhzhia had been in shelters for over two months. He expressed gratitude to the people who helped in rescuing the people. Zelenskyy accused Russian troops of not following the ceasefire and continuing strikes on the Azovstal steel plant and trying to storm the complex.

“I am grateful to all of those on whom the rescue of these people depended. Who agreed and who helped. I am grateful to everyone who ensured physical movement of people through the humanitarian corridor,” Zelenskyy said.

Pope Francis said that “barking of NATO” at Russia’s door might have resulted in Russian President Vladimir Putin launching a military offensive in Ukraine. The pontiff stated that he does not think Russia's anger was "provoked", however, he added that it might have "facilitated" the Russian aggression in Ukraine.  In his interview with Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis offered to visit Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring peace between two warring nations. Francis said that he is willing to go to Moscow, however, they have not received any response and they continue to push for it. 

Ukrainian officials have said that Russian armed forces have hit railroad infrastructure across the country. Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of the Ukrainian railways, said that strikes conducted by Russian armed forces on Tuesday hit six railway stations in Ukraine's central and western regions and caused heavy damage, according to AP. According to Kamyshin, around 14 trains in Ukraine have been delayed due to the strikes. Dnipro region Governor Valentyn Reznichenko claimed one person was injured as Russian missiles struck railway infrastructure in the region. 

US President Joe Biden has said that they have provided more than $3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. He called the money "a direct investment" in defending "freedom and deomocracy." He called on the Congrass to pass the funding quickly in order to help Ukraine against Russian military offensive. 

"Since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago, we have sent more than $3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine — alone, us — not counting our Allies.  And that money is a direct investment in defending freedom and democracy itself," US President Joe Biden announced. 

"I urge the Congress to pass this funding quickly to help Ukraine continue to succeed against Russian aggression, just as they did when they won the Battle of Kyiv, and to make sure the United States and our Allies can replenish our own stocks of weapons to replace what we’ve sent to Ukraine," Joe Biden said. 

Biden lauded the people of Ukraine, including those civilians who took up arms to defend their nation. He stated that they deserve credit for pushing back the Russian armed forces and not letting them succeed in their desire to dominate Ukraine. 

"So, the brave people of Ukraine, including the many civilians who have taken up arms to defend their country, deserve every ounce of credit for pushing back the Russian assault and frustrating Putin’s desire to dominate Ukraine, " US President Joe Biden said. 

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk Regional Military administration, has claimed that Russian shelling at the Avdiyivka Coke Plant has killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 others in Donetsk region, Interfax reported. He warned that the number of victims could rise. According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the attack took place when the workers at the Coke plant had just finished their shift and they were waiting for a shuttle at a bus stop. 

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has stated that Ukrainian authorities in cooperation with International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) have obtained the first DNA samples to identify victims of Russian armed forces in Makariv. She confirmed the development in a tweet on her official Twitter account. She further added,  "Russian soldiers left behind fire and an unspeakable desire to follow them to the end, to restore justice."

Russian missile hits Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast. It is reportedly the first attack on Zakarpattia since Russia started its military offensive in Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

Explosions have been reported in Vinnytsia, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions. Air raid alarms are still ongoing in almost all the regions of Ukraine. Russian armed forces have targeted major cities of Ukraine and sme explosions have also been heard in Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Odesa. 

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy has reported that 2 electrical substations have been damaged by a missile attack in Lviv, The Kyiv Independent reported. Ukrainian Railways company said that the trains on the way to Lviv have been delayed as Russian armed forces targeted the substations which are part of the railway infrastructure. Due to missile strikes, power outage has been reported in part of the city. 

The Operational Command "South" of Ukraine has claimed that Ukrainian armed forces destroyed command post of Russian troops on the administrative border of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, Nexta reported. 

As many as 156 civilians evacuated from Mariupol's Azovtal have reached Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia. Around 1,000 people continue to remain trapped in the Azovstal steel plant, The Kyiv Independent reported. Russian armed forces have been trying to enter the plant after an intense night of shelling which led to the death of two people. 

Amid the escalating war in Eastern Europe, the Austrian government stated that Russian diplomats will not be invited to commemorate the end of World War II and the victory over Nazism on May 8. According to the Russian ambassador to Austria, the Austrian Foreign Ministry has announced that no Russian diplomats will be present at events commemorating Austria's liberation from Nazism and the end of World War II. 

"An official note from the Austrian Foreign Ministry has been received with a notification that on May 8, the participation of the official representative of the Russian Federation in the events of the Federal Chancellor's office in memory of the liberation of Austria from National Socialism and the end of World War II in Europe is not provided for," ambassador Dmitry Lyubinsky said in a statement, as per RIA Novosti news agency. 

French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. During the talks, Putin stated that Moscow is ready for talks with Ukraine. "Despite Kyiv’s inconsistency and its lack of readiness for serious work, the Russian side is still ready for dialogue," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call. Putin also briefed Macron on the status of Russia's "special military operation," according to the Kremlin. It further stated that the two leaders also talked about global food security, with Putin emphasising that Western sanctions have aggravated the problem, the AP reported. 

Germany's federal government intends to send seven tank howitzers 2000 to Ukraine, German news outlet Welt reported on May 3. The German government has decided to send Panzerhaubitz 2000 to Ukraine from Bundeswehr inventories. The Netherlands had already committed to providing five howitzers to Kyiv. According to the media agency, the whole weapon system training for the Ukrainian army will take place in Germany.

The decision by the Chancellery and the Ministry of Defense appears to have been made against the recommendations of senior Bundeswehr, German armed forces' officers, Welt reported. The employment of advanced, digital fire control systems in weaponry for Ukraine is also being questioned. Although one of its political maxims is not to damage the Bundeswehr and its potential to establish partnerships with military deliveries to Ukraine, the administration ignored these concerns. The Panzerhaubitzen 2000 is a large artillery piece capable of firing at a 40-kilometre range.

By April 21, 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 rocket-propelled grenades with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 machine guns, and 15 anti-tank grenades with 50 rockets had arrived in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government sources. There are also 100,000 hand grenades, 2000 mines, 5300 explosive charges, and over 16 million rounds of ammunition for weapons ranging from assault rifles to heavy machine guns. Germany's federal government approved the first direct transfer of heavy weapons recently containing 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. 

The Russian space agency on April 30, conducted a satellite launch from the Plesetsk cosmodrome using the brand new Angara-1.2 light launch vehicle. According to multiple media reports, the launch that took place from north-western Russia’s Arkhangelsk Oblast region was to deliver a secret military satellite to use against Ukraine. "The elegant, light Angara came through for us and successfully passed the test. I congratulate everyone involved with the successful launch," Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said as per the TASS news agency. 

In an official statement, Russia's Defence Ministry said, "the combat crew of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces successfully launched an Angara-1.2 light-class launch vehicle with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defence". Rogozin had revealed that the mission was a test flight for the new Angara-1.2 light rocket and it lifted off with a satellite for the first time. 

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The Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, has presented a bill to allow people charged with corruption to be exempted from criminal liability if the damage is fully compensated during the war. As per the Ukrainian Pravda, the bill, presented on April 29, was submitted for review on Tuesday. The bill proposed that if the damage inflicted is fully paid, a person who has committed acts that contain signs of crimes under Articles 191, 209, 364, and 367 of the Criminal Code will be released from criminal accountability.  

As stated in the explanatory note, the enactment of this measure is critical in order to develop private sources of cash mobilisation without jeopardising criminal justice obligations during the military aggression by the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center’s executive board, said that passage of the bill would allow top corruption suspects to avoid punishment by "paying a portion of the loot, and then peacefully continue to steal further." "Instead of confiscating all the assets of defendants and forcing them to serve a real prison sentence, deputies want to allow them to continue stealing by paying just a small part of what was stolen," Shabunin remarked, as per Pravda. 

In a key development, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday stated that his country will support the admission of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), if they apply for it. He said this while addressing a joint press conference with Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin as well as Swedish Prime Minister Sweden Magdalena.  On Tuesday, the Prime Ministers of Finland and Sweden attended a meeting of the German Cabinet in Meseberg. "It is clear that if these two countries decide to be part of the NATO alliance, they can count on our support,"  Scholz added, as per the DPA news agency. 

Addressing the Ukrainian Parliament via video conferencing, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that Ukrainian troops will beat their Russian counterparts and the country will be free from occupation. "Ukraine will win. Ukraine will be free. You have exploded the myth of Putin’s invincibility and you have written one of the most glorious chapters in military history and in the life of your country," he added. PM Johnson also went on to say that this is Ukraine’s finest hour, that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come.

One of the ideologists of the "Russian world", the so-called Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Gundyaev, stated, "We don’t want to fight with anyone Russia has NEVER attacked anyone. It is amazing when a so powerful country did not attack anyone, only defended its borders," Nexta reported. 

Ukrainian defenders claimed that Russian forces are attempting to break into Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant after a night of intense shelling that killed two civilians.

UK Prime Minister Borish Johnson addressed the Ukrainian Parliament via video conferencing. During his address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the parliament in person, Nexta reported.

Ukraine's President's office claimed that the Russian shelling killed at least 3 civilians in Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast. According to the President's Office, certain other parts of Donetsk Oblast are under constant fire, and officials are attempting to evacuate residents from frontline regions, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the application of retaliatory special economic measures in connection with the unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organizations. The corresponding document is published on the official portal of legal information. 
According to the decree, these measures are taken to protect the national interests of the country "in connection with the unfriendly and contrary to international law actions of the United States and foreign states and international organizations that have joined them, aimed at illegally restricting or depriving the Russian Federation, its citizens and Russian legal entities of the right to property," the TASS news agency reported. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it paid attention to the anti-historical statements of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, which largely explain the course of the current Israeli government to support the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv. As per the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Israeli minister said literally the following: "The Jews did not destroy themselves during the Holocaust. Blaming Jews for anti-Semitism is a blatant level of racism against Jews."

Earlier on Monday, Israel had hit out at Russia over its foreign minister's "unforgivable" remarks on Nazism and antisemitism, including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish. In an interview with an Italian television channel, Sergey Lavrov was asked about Russia's efforts to "denazify" Ukraine, and he noted that even some officials, including the country's president, were Jewish. He added Ukraine might still have Nazi elements. According to an Italian translation, he said, "Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn't mean anything."

Ukrainian ambassador to Germany condemned Chancellor Olaf Scholz over his remark that he would not visit the war-torn country because Kyiv refused to invite German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier because of his alleged close ties with Russia. "Playing an insulted liver sausage doesn't sound very statesmanlike," Ukrainian ambassador, Andriy Melnyk, told the DPA news agency, as per German website Merkur.de. Criticising the German Chancellor further, Melnyk outlined "this is about the most brutal war of extermination since the Nazi invasion of Ukraine, it’s not kindergarten." 

Earlier Scholz had expressed his resentment over the non-invitation of the German President by the Kyiv regime. " It can’t work that from a country that provides so much military assistance, so much financial assistance that is needed when it comes to the security guarantees that are important for Ukraine in the future, but then you say the President can’t come,” Scholz had remarked. However, ambassador Melnyk stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would still be happy to welcome Scholz to Kyiv. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to hold a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today, BFM TV reported citing sources. The French leader has not spoken to Putin since March 29 in the wake of the Bucha massacre. 

Ukraine blamed the invaders for not allowing the evacuation of over 2,000 Mariupol residents who are still trapped near Berdyansk village. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko claimed this while speaking to the UA marathon, Ukrinform reported. "We were waiting today for the evacuation to take place on the Lunacharsky ring near Berdyansk. Around 2,000 people are stranded here who are waiting to be evacuated for the last two weeks. We have announced the beginning of the evacuation but hostile Russian troops are sabotaging our plans and preventing people from reaching Zaporizhia," he alleged. 

On May 3, Pope Francis claimed that he sought a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to end the Ukrainian conflict, adding that he has yet to receive a response. The pontiff also told Italy's Corriere Della Sera newspaper on Tuesday that Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, who has backed the war wholeheartedly, "cannot become Putin's altar boy."

Pope Francis, who earlier paid an unprecedented visit to the Russian embassy when the war broke out, told the daily that he urged the Vatican's top diplomat to send a message to Putin around three weeks into the fight. The message, he said, was that "I was willing to go to Moscow. Certainly, it was necessary for the Russian leader to allow an opening. We have not yet received a response and we are still insisting."

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After Russia suspended the gas supplies to some of the EU countries last week, the European Union is taking severe actions to limit its dependency on Russian energy supplies. Many countries are adamant about imposing an embargo on Russian gas and oil. However, Hungary, which is also a part of the European Union is still not on board, as the country's Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Foreign Affairs Peter Sziyarto stated that Hungary's economy cannot function well without Russian oil.

Sziyarto further stated that despite the fact that they have voted for every package of sanctions proposed by the European Union, they continue to receive criticism from the EU. He claimed that they have clearly said that ensuring the country's energy security is the most important thing and as a result, Hungary will not vote for sanctions to restrict Russia's gas and oil supplies, according to Interfax. He also said that this is a personal choice, not the political one. Foreign Minister Szijjarto made these comments in Kazakhistan after having a conversation with his Kazakh counterpart, Mukhtar Tleuberdi.

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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Tuesday claimed that it eliminated 24,200 Russian personnel since the war began on Feb 24. In its latest operational update through a Facebook post, Ukraine said, "the greatest losses of the enemy were observed in the Izyum direction.”

Russia’s foreign ministry on Monday linked a new 900-word essay saying that it evidently proves the practice of antisemitism in Ukraine. "We paid attention to the anti-historical statements of the head of the Israeli foreign ministry Yair Lapid, which largely explain the course of the current Israeli government to support the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv," the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in a Twitter post. 

For context, the feud between Israel and Moscow stems from Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's comments of Adolf Hitler have "Jewish blood." Lavrov used the context to compare Zelenskyy with the condemned dictator in order to justify Moscow's "denazification" of Ukraine.

 Governor of Luhansk oblast, Serhiy Haidai, claimed that at least "12 enemy attacks were successfully repelled on the front line of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Six tanks, five artillery systems, 22 units of armoured combat vehicles and eight motor vehicles were destroyed," The Guardian reported cities his Telegram post. 

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not want a peace treaty as "it will be the end for him." However, as per reports, ever since the war began Zelenskyy has always proposed direct talks with Putin in an attempt to resolve the all-out conflict. 

Pope Francis has told an Italian newspaper that he offered to travel to Moscow to meet the Russian president about three weeks into the invasion, but that he has not received a response.

Francis was quoted Tuesday by Corriere della Sera as saying his offer to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was made through the Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 20 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said, “Of course, it would be necessary for the leader of the Kremlin to make available some window of opportunity. But we still have not had a response and we are still pushing, even if I fear that Putin cannot and does not want to have this meeting at this moment.”

Associated Press

On May 2, a top US official warned Ukraine that Russia intends to annex Donetsk and Luhansk through 'sham' elections later this month. The US believes Kremlin also plans to recognise the southern city of Kherson as an independent republic, according to Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Neither action would be accepted by the US or its allies, he said.

Carpenter highlighted reports that Russia is arranging phoney referendums in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics to "try to add a veneer of democratic or electoral legitimacy" to the entities and bind them to Russia. He also said that there were indicators that Russia was planning to stage an independence referendum in Kherson. Mayors and municipal legislators have been kidnapped, internet and telephone service has been cut off, and a Russian school curriculum will be implemented soon, he said.

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Amid possibilities of US President Joe Biden visiting Ukraine, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was in Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's president, dismissed the reports and said, "There are no plans in the works at this time, and obviously, we'll continue to assess." However, she asserted that the POTUS wants to visit the war-torn country but added there are no plans for his visit. "And I know the President would love to visit Ukraine, but — no plans are in the works at this point in time," she added. Earlier last month the White House also echoed the same statements. "It is unlikely President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Kyiv anytime soon," according to the White House's earlier statement. 

Notably, POTUS Biden visited the neighbouring country of Ukraine, Poland, last month with Austin and other members where he held several rounds of meetings with the Ukrainian delegation. However, his visit was confined to the boundaries of Poland. 
Earlier last month, the leaders of four NATO nations-- Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia-- visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv to lend their support to the embattled country. The leaders travelled by train to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to meet with their counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and visited Borodyanka, one of the nearby towns where evidence of atrocities was found after Russian troops withdrew to focus on the country’s east. However, Biden chose to stay at home. 

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Amidst the ongoing ruthless war in Ukraine, European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrel, warned that more Russian banks will be disconnected from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) payment system. Speaking to reporters in Panama, Borrell informed this without sharing specific details, "I cannot disclose the names or the number of the financial institutions now. And in the energy sector, we are looking for measures that would significantly affect the import of Russian oil," he added, as per Sputnik. Notably, SWIFT is used by different financial institutions to send and receive information, such as instructions for cross-border money transfers. 

According to Borrel, the EU Political and Security Committee is working on the sixth package of monetary sanctions against the Kremlin and he hoped it can be agreed upon at the upcoming meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. It was previously reported that the EU planned to impose a ban on Russian oil imports by the end of the year. The EU imposed five sets of sanctions against Russian individuals, organisations, the banking sector, and energy since the onset of the war on February 24.

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English singer, songwriter, and musician Paul McCartney on Monday waved a Ukrainian flag in Washington as he kicked off his world tour.  

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday claimed that the Russian troops are "significantly weak" after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a war against Ukraine. "Russia’s military is now significantly weaker, both materially and conceptually, as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. Recovery from this will be exacerbated by sanctions. This will have a lasting impact on Russia’s ability to deploy conventional military force," the ministry said in its latest war update. 

Russia claims the people were evacuated at their own request, but Ukraine claims Moscow has deported hundreds of people to Russia without their consent since the conflict began. Center for Combating Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Russia has stated that the Russians exploited Ukrainian youngsters deported from Russia's temporarily seized territory in Ukraine for propaganda purposes, according to Pravda. It was also announced that orphans from Mariupol were taken to a hospital in Donetsk controlled by Russian invading forces.

Just last week Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that almost a million refugees have already come to Russia from Ukraine and the Donbas region. At the meeting of the board of Attorney General, Putin also said that those who have come to Russia from Ukraine should be given special care. Ukraine has also blamed the Russian Federation for illegally kidnapping Ukrainian people for securing more funds.

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US Marine Corps and US Air Force on Monday prepared to send Howitzer missiles to Ukraine. Meanwhile, NEXTA reported, citing Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby that Washington will provide Ukraine with 5,000 more Javelin anti-tank missiles in the coming days.

Despite fears that the Pentagon's own stockpile of Javelin weapons is diminishing, the Pentagon has rejected claims that weaponry exports to Ukraine have had an influence on America's military readiness. Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a senior United States Defense Department official told the media on Monday, “We are comfortable that our readiness has not been impacted by the series of presidential drawdown authorities that we have executed," ANI reported.  

According to the official, the US has supplied almost 5,000 of the 5,500 Javelin anti-tank weaponry systems to Ukraine as per their commitments. However, in spite of the Pentagon's guarantees, the Biden administration is considering other options in case of shortages. 

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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday concluded her trip to Poland and Ukraine along with a Congressional delegation. Taking to Twitter, Pelosi stated that the visit was a display of commitment to the embattled Kyiv and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). "We now return to the US, inspired from our engagements and continue our work to further support Ukraine so that Democracy triumphs over dictatorship," she wrote.

Pelosi also expressed "gratefulness" to the members for the knowledge, experience & commitment they brought to the challenges they face. "Our members served as strong representatives of the American commitment to the NATO alliance & Ukraine," she added.

The top-level delegation, headed by Pelosi, was in Warsaw on Monday to reaffirm America's commitment and "deep gratitude" to Poland for its humanitarian efforts amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She met Poland President Andrzej Duda and thanked him for the "generosity and hospitality extended by the people of Poland" to the Ukrainian refugees.

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Ukraine’s ambassador-designate to Canada says Russia must be held accountable for its troops committing sex crimes, including against children. Yulia Kovaliv told a Canadian House of Commons committee Monday that Russia is using sexual violence as a weapon of war and said rape and sexual assault must be investigated as war crimes. She said Russia also has kidnapped Ukrainian children and taken them to Russian-occupied territories and now Russia itself. Ukraine is working with partners to find the children and bring them back. All of Russian society, and not just President Vladimir Putin “and his proxies,” should bear responsibility for the war on Ukraine because more than 70% of Russians support the invasion, Kovaliv said.

Associated Press

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday claimed that over 1 million people, including nearly 200,000 children, have been taken from Ukraine to Russia since the war began on February 24. Around 11,550 people, including 1,847 children, in the previous 24 hours have been transferred “without the participation of the Ukrainian authorities," said Mikhail Mizintsev, a Russian MoD official. According to Tass, the civilians “were evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation from the dangerous regions” of Donetsk, Lugansk and other parts of Ukraine.

US Charge d'Affaires Kristina Kvien on Monday returned to Ukraine for the first time since February 24. While the embassy officials hope to return to Kyiv by the end of May, Kvien said, "We are thrilled" while addressing a presser in Lviv. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin may formally declare a war on Ukraine as soon as on May 9, said retired US Army Brigadier General Peter Zwack, as quoted by CNN. According to his analysis, Putin will officially turn the station of his invasion from "special military operations" to a "war" on Victory Day, which is a remembrance day of the Nazi's defeat against Moscow.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said that Moscow has “forgotten all the lesions of World War II” a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood” and that “the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews”. In the latest daily nightly address, the president of the war-torn nation accused the Russian minister of creating an “anti-Semitic thrust” and forgetting the lessons of World War II.

“Such an anti-Semitic thrust by their minister means Russia has forgotten all the lessons of World War II. Or maybe they never studied those lessons,” Zelenskyy said. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he has no plans to visit Ukraine after last month, Kyiv reportedly refused Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier's tour. In an interview Monday with German public broadcaster ZDF, Scholz said, "This stands in the way" and that "This cannot be done".

In latest operational update, Ukraine's armed forces said, "In the Donetsk direction, the main efforts of Russian enemy continue to focus on establishing full control over the settlements of Rubizhne and Popasna and advancing in the direction of the settlements of Lyman and Slovyansk."

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told a news conference in Panama City that the bloc hopes to pass the sixth round of sanctions against Russia at the next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. Borrell also said that he hopes the EU will be able to take “measures to significantly limit these imports” but conceded so far there is no agreement from all the members, as per The Guardian

The newly-appointed Foreign Secretary of India Vinay Kwatra on Monday said that India's position on the continuing war in Ukraine "amply takes care of our principles as also our interests," ANI reported. He made these remarks while he was addressing a press conference at the conclusion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first phase of his Europe visit. Further, in answer to a query on "what India's value space considerations are in this conflict (in Ukraine)," the Foreign Secretary made the statements. 

According to Foreign Secretary Kwatra, they have repeatedly advocated for a quick and early suspension of hostilities, as well as a diplomatic and dialogue-based settlement path, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. “I think these have been the central pillars in terms of our position which we have explained many times," he added. 

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US and Western officials believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin could formally declare a war on Ukraine as soon as May 9, more than two months after he announced a ‘special’ operation on the neighbouring country. The declaration of war, according to a CNN report, would allow the full mobilisation of Russia’s reserve forces as they attempt to conquer eastern and southern Ukraine. May 9 is also known as Russia’s ‘Victory Day’ as it commemorates the defeat of the Nazis in 1945. 

Earlier on Monday, Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said that Washinton has “highly credible” intelligence reports that Russia will try to annex Luhansk and Donetsk “some time in mid-May,” 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin might undergo cancer surgery and will temporarily hand over power to the Secretary of the country’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, claimed media reports amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Citing a Telegram channel purportedly run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general, New York Times stated that Putin has been recently told by the doctors that the Kremlin leader must undergo an operation.

The report added that the anticipated surgery and recovery are expected to incapacitate Putin for “a short time”. Referring to Putin’s “sickly appearance and uncharacteristically fidgety behaviour in public” in recent months, NYT noted that the Russian President has been rumoured to suffer from cancer along with other serious diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

However, a United States official has said that the media reports pertaining to Putin;’s surgery could not be verified by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. As per the report, the US official said, “I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate that”. 
 

Ukraine's Operational Command South said that 122 Russian troops were killed in southern Ukraine on May 2. It also said they prevented Russian forces from seizing a military observation post in Kherson Oblast.

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine on Monday, May 2, shared pictures of Serhiy Kolotsei, the commander of the National Guard Unit of Russia, who is the alleged prime suspect of the Bucha genocide. In a series of tweets, Iryna Venediktova claimed that the Russian commander of the National Guard Unit, who butchered four unarmed men and tortured a civilian during a mock execution, has been identified. She also accused Kolotsei of sending looted goods to Ulyanovsk after committing the atrocities.

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a press briefing has said that US President Joe Biden "would love" to travel to Ukraine, however, as of now, there are "no plans in the work" for him to visit the war-torn nation. It is to mention here that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin recently visited Ukraine and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  

"There’s no plans in the works at this time, and obviously, we’ll continue to assess.  And as you know, our objective is to reopen the embassy, to have our diplomats back there, not just traveling back and forth but present in the country.  And I know the President would love to visit Ukraine, but there are no plans in the works at this point in time," Jen Psaki said in the press briefing. 

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has claimed finding the bodies of two men with traces of torture in the village of Kalynivka in the Kyiv region, Nexta reported. According to Iryna Venediktova, the hands of men were tied behind their backs and their nails were missing, and their bodies had wounds of gunshots.

The United Nations has estimated that as many as 3153 civilians have been killed since the Russian military offensive started in Ukraine on February 24, The Kyiv Independent reported. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 3,316 people have been injured since the Russian attack began. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address Ukrainian Parliament on May 3. Johnson will be the first world leader to address the Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started on February 24. The Britain government will announce a new £300m (₹28,68,58,17,000) package of defensive military aid for Ukraine, according to the statement released by the UK government. In addition, the Boris Johnson-led government will also deploy specialised civilian protection vehicles for Ukraine. In his address, Johnson is expected to praise Ukraine’s resistance against Russian armed forces. 

The Mariupol City Council has announced that the Ukrainian government will continue to evacuate civilians from the Mariupol city on May 3, The Kyiv Independent reported. The Ukrainian government with support of the United Nations and the Red Cross will start the evacuation from Mariupol on May 3 at 7 am (local time). 

Sweden Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde has announced that the Swedish Embassy will reopen in Kyiv on Wednesday, May 4. She expressed gratitude to the Sweden Ambassador to Ukraine and the team of officials for their hard work. Ann Linde thanked Polish authorities for temporarily hosting the Swedish Embassy in Poland. 

A senior US official has claimed that Russia will try to "annex" Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic to Russia. Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, has stated that Russia "plans to engineer referenda on joining sometime in mid-May," Kyiv Post reported. Carpenter added that the US believed that Russia planned to consider a similar plan for Ukraine's Kherson region.

UEFA suspended the Russian team from participating in the Nations League 2022/23. Furthermore, UEFA banned Russia from taking part in the Women's EURO 2022 scheduled to take place between 6-31 July in England. Moreover, Russian clubs have been suspended from UEFA club competitions in the 2022/23 season. The bid submitted by the Football Union of Russia (FUR) to host the UEFA EURO 2028 or the UEFA EURO 2032 has been declared "not eligible" by the UEFA Executive Committee. 

"Russia will not participate in group C of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final tournament scheduled between 6 and 31 July in England and will be replaced by Portugal, the opponent Russia defeated in the play-offs," the UEFA said in the statement. 

Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) has claimed that Russia had shared plans of launching a full-scale military attack on Ukraine with Hungarian authorities beforehand, The Kyiv Independent reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his plan of launching an attack on Ukraine with Hungarian authorities. 
 

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in a tweet said that Russian armed forces have been damaging Scythian tombs in the Kherson region. The Kherson Regional Inspection on the Cultural Heritage Objects has claimed that Russian troops have been destroying thousand-year-old Scythian tombs in Kherson by firing on them. 

Germany has expressed willingness to support ban on importing Russian oil. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said that Berlin is willing to implement European Union's ban on Russian oil, despite the increase in price of oil, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine informed that Russia has launched missile attack in Odesa. According to The Kyiv Independent, a 15-year-old boy has been killed and another wounded in the Russian missile strike in Odesa.  Nataliya Gumenyuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s “south” military command, has claimed that five people were present in the residential building that was targeted by Russian missile strike. 

The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine informed on Monday that Russia has launched another missile attack in Odesa. According to The Kyiv Independent, the number of casualties has not been confirmed yet but several buildings including a religious one have been destroyed. 

Earlier today, Russian Foreign Ministry released a short video clip of the maidan protests which took place on May 2, 2014. Taking to Twitter, Russia poked Ukraine with a caption that read, "8 years ago - 42 “anti-Maidan” protesters perished in the  #OdessaMassacre. The Ukrainian radicals set the Trade Unions House on fire and cheered as people were burned alive Despite all available evidence, the Kiev regime made little to no effort to punish the culprits (sic)".

The Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, has drafted a legislation calling on the US to identify Russia as a state supporter of terrorism, according to the Rada's speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk. In a Facebook post, on May 2, Stefanchuk claimed that a US designation would further isolate Russia from the rest of the world and allow for the strengthening of international sanctions against it. He further added that "we have to separate terrorists from the civilised world by all possible means."

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the lives of injured Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol should not be left in the hands of the Russian army, which continues to bomb their positions. Addressing a press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod in Kyiv on Monday, Kuleba applauded the efforts of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross for making the evacuation process a reality. 

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The Prosecutor General of Ukraine released the images of Russian National Guard, Serhiy Kolotsei, who is the first alleged suspect of the Bucha killings. In a thread of tweets, Iryna Venediktova claimed that the Russian guard killed four unarmed men and tortured a civilian during a mock execution. She also alleged that he sent looted goods to Ulyanovsk after the atrocities.

Addressing a joint briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, PM Modi called for talks between Russia and Ukraine saying that the war will have no winners. "From the start of the Ukraine crisis, we asked for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine through dialogue. We believe no side will be a winner and everybody will suffer from this war. We are in favour of peace. India is worried about the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine caused due to war and has been sending humanitarian help to the countries in need", PM Modi said.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the lives of injured Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol should not be left in the hands of the Russian army, which continues to bomb their positions. Addressing a press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod in Kyiv on Monday, Kuleba applauded the efforts of the United Nation and the International Committee of the Red Cross to make the evacuation process a reality. "But everything is very fragile, everything can fall apart at any moment, so it’s better to wait until the evacuation is over," he added, as per Interfax news agency. 

Ukraine claimed that the first suspect of the Bucha massacre has been identified as Sergei Kolosei, the commander of the National Guard Unit of the Russian Federation. "This photo became one of the symbols of the atrocities in Bucha - bodies of shot civilians with their hands tied behind their backs on Yablunska Street. There are three victims in the photo, the fourth killed did not get into the frame. Three gunshot wounds to the head, a fourth man suffered internal organs and a skeleton shot. They all became victims of the occupiers," Irina Venediktova, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, wrote in a Facebook post. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz released a joint statement with the Indian Prime Narendra Modi during the latter's visit to Berlin on Monday. In his statement, Scholz accused Russia of breaching fundamental principles of international law by attacking Ukraine. He said that the war and the brutal attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine show how unrestrained Russia has been in violating the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. "Thus, I repeat my appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin - end this senseless killing, withdraw your troops from Ukraine," Scholz added. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his first in-person meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday as he reached Berlin, Germany. Releasing a joint statement with the German Chancellor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that recent geopolitical incidents have shown that world peace and stability are in critical condition and showed how all countries are interconnected. "We had said that talks are the only way to solve the Ukraine crisis. We believe that no one will be a victorious party in this war," PM Modi added. 

Mikhail Podolyak, the adviser to the head of Ukraine's President's Office, claimed that no one has caused so much pain to the residents of Donbass as Russia. "In 2019 27 civilians died in Donbas. In 2020 – 8. In 2021 – 15. After 2 months of the full-scale war, the death toll in Mariupol alone reached tens of thousands. No one has brought as much pain and grief to the residents of Donbas as Russia has brought since 2014 and especially today [sic]," he wrote in a Twitter post. 

The World Bank has provided 495 million euros in grants to Ukraine amid its war against Russia. This grant includes about € 463 million from the United States, about € 20.5 million from Norway and about € 10 million from Austria. The Ukrainian Finance Ministry stated that this fund will be used for key social and humanitarian expenditures, such as health care and support for internally displaced people.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry on Monday stated that the threat of Russia launching missile strikes from Belarus still remains high. Addressing a media briefing, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, the spokesperson of Ukraine's Defence Ministry, stated that several units of the Belarusian Armed Forces are fortifying the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in Brest and Gomel regions. "Demonstrative and provocative actions along the state border with Ukraine are not ruled out in the future," he claimed, Ukrinform reported. 

The governor of Luhansk Oblast claimed that Russian shelling destroyed a renowned school in the region. According to the governor, Serhiy Haidai, the Lysychansk Gymnasium school, which was built over a century ago, survived two world wars and a Russian attack in 2014. It was one of Ukraine's top 100 schools, he added, as per The Kyiv Independent. 

Energy ministers from across the European Union are gathering in Brussels for an emergency meeting to review the bloc's energy supply. This comes only days after Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria for refusing to pay for Russian gas in rubles, CGTN Europe reported. Russia's energy giant, Gazprom, cut off natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after they declined to pay for the gas in Russian rubles. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for his comments about Nazism and antisemitism - including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish. Taking to Twitter, Kuleba stated that Lavrov could not help hiding the deeply-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites. "His heinous remarks are offensive to President @ZelenskyyUa, Ukraine, Israel, and the Jewish people. More broadly, they demonstrate that today’s Russia is full of hatred towards other nations," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister tweeted. 

Furthermore, Lavrov was also lambasted by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid who claimed that the Russian minister's remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error. "Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism," Lapid remarked. 

In an interview with an Italian news channel, Lavrov stated that even if several figures in Ukraine, including the country's President, were Jewish, the country could still have Nazi elements. “Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn't mean anything,” Lavrov added, The Associated Press reported.  
 

As many as 12 Russian saboteurs were apprehended in the Odessa region while planning provocations on Monday. According to Nexta, weapons and explosives were also found in their possessions. 

Ukraine claimed that its Air Defence Forces destroyed another enemy drone in Odessa region on Monday. The head of the Odessa regional military administration, Maxim Marchenko, claimed this on Telegram. "The air defence unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down an enemy drone over the Odesa district. We are working for victory," he added, as per Ukrinform. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he doesn't rule out the possible use of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation. In an interview with the Australian TV channel Nine Network, he outlined that Russians have already demonstrated their recklessness at nuclear power plants in Ukraine, so it can't be stated that "Russia will definitely not use nuclear weapons," Ukrainian Pravda reported. 

"We have a very developed nuclear generation, nuclear power plants in Ukraine, we are very powerful. At first, Russians seized the Chornobyl nuclear power plant then they captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe. They fired at it from tanks, from other armoured vehicles, they specifically fired at nuclear reactors," Zelenskyy claimed. He remarked that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is almost six times larger than the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and an explosion at the facility would kill a large number of people in Europe. 
 

Ukraine has accused Russian troops of firing missiles at the Zatoka bridge in the Odessa region for the third time in the past week. "The enemy fired missiles at the bridge across the Dnister estuary," the spokesperson of the Odesa Military Administration Serhiy Bratchuk stated in a Telegram post. 

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development supported the plan for the economic recovery of Ukraine and presented the basic principles on which it will be based. The government, the Ministry of Economy, leading experts and business associations are currently working on a plan for Ukraine's economic recovery and are ready to involve the public sector in the formation of this document, the Ukrainian Parliament said in a statement. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Turkey's proposal to prepare the new tourist routes for Russians. Turkey's drafting of fresh proposals for Russian tourists, as well as its support for Ukraine, can be termed as "double standards," he remarked.

"Turkey acts as a mediator and supports Ukraine with important steps, but on the other hand we see how in parallel is preparing several tourist routes specifically for Russian tourism," Zelenskyy added, as per EPT News. 

The local official in Ukraine's Mariupol stated that the evacuation process in the city has begun once again. Peter Andryushchenko, the Mariupol mayor's advisor, said buses have departed Mariupol and would pick people up in Berdyansk and Manhush on their route to Zaporizhzhia, where thousands of civilians are stranded, The Kyiv Independent reported.

According to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Russia's Raptor-class patrol ships were destroyed using Turkish-produced Bayraktar drones near the Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Black Sea, The Kyiv Independent reported. 

Dockworkers in Amsterdam, Netherlands are refusing to unload a tanker carrying Russian diesel, a day after a similar action by dockers prevented the ship from entering Rotterdam port. On Saturday, the Sunny Liger, a 42,000-tonne tanker, was anchored off the coast of Amsterdam, with port officials considering her entry into the Dutch capital. Workers at a Rotterdam pier refused to touch her cargo on Friday as well. 

"SunnyLiger with Russian oil sails to the Port of Amsterdam. The ship is expected at Evos A'dam at 11:45 PM. Called the company and made an URGENT appeal to them not to treat this ship! In addition, towage company Svizer requested not to tow this vessel," Asmae Hajjari, chairwoman of the FNV's harbour worker chapter, wrote on Twitter.

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Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, a British intelligence estimate released on May 2 stated that Russia's elite soldiers have lost so many casualties that replenishing them will take years. Since the beginning of the war, more than a quarter of Russia's invading army has been deemed "combat ineffective," according to the report.

The UK Ministry of Defence's said, "At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65 per cent of its entire ground combat strength. It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective."

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As the war in Eastern Europe still continues to intensify, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is attempting to persuade several countries to reconsider their "neutral" stance towards Russia. According to the ZN.UA News, Scholz is expected to use his powers as chairman of the G7 and invite the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a special guest at the summit. The summit of the group is scheduled to be held in the Bavarian Alps from June 26 to 28. As per the report, Germany will continue to strive to join PM Modi in forming a wide international alliance aimed at isolating Russia for its unjustified invasion of Ukraine. 

The report further stated that Germany also wants European defence corporations to provide India with a viable alternative to Russian arms supplies. Last week, the German Parliament voted in favour of ramping up the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine to fight against Russian aggression. According to reports, the union and the ruling traffic light coalition parties voted in favour of sending military help to Ukraine. A vast majority of 586 legislators voted in favour of the proposal at the Bundestag on April 28. 

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The fact that Ukraine's democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish does not "negate" the presence of Nazi elements in the country, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He defended the idea of "denazification" of Ukraine vaguely exemplifying that "even Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood." Speaking to Zona Bianca, an Italian news channel, Lavrov further claimed that "some of the worst antisemites are Jews."

"So what if Zelenskyy is a Jew. The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. I believe that Hitler also had Jewish blood," Russian FM Lavrov said.

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Denmark is set to reopen its embassy in Kyiv as the Russian war burgeoned in east Ukraine. Danish FM Jeppe Kofod on Monday stated that the step will ensure Danes "have a direct cooperation by having our embassy and ambassador in the heart of the Ukrainian capital," the Associated Press reported. Denmark Ambassador to Ukraine, Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, and staff will also return to Kyiv as soon as it reopens, Kofod added. 

Israel has summoned the Russian ambassador over comments made by the Russian foreign minister about Nazism and antisemitism. In an interview with an Italian news channel, Sergey Lavrov explained that Ukraine could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including the country’s president, were Jewish. “Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, according to an Italian translation. In a statement Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called the remarks “unforgivable and scandalous and a horrible historical error.”

“The Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust,” Lapid said. “The lowest level of racism against Jews is to blame Jews themselves for antisemitism.”

Associated Press

Ukrainian authorities on Monday claimed that Russian invading troops have stolen farm equipment worth millions of dollars and shipped it to Chechnya, CNN reported. Among the stolen items included 27 pieces of machinery including combine harvesters from villages at least 700 miles away from the city. 

Russian Armed Forces on Monday shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near Sloviansk, in the east of Ukraine. Apart from this the Russian Defence Ministry in its operational update also claimed to hit at least 38 military targets in Ukraine, including ammunition depots and control centres, The Guardian reported. 

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), Ukraine this year will be unable to export at least half a million tons of grain due to port closures amid the Russian invasion. 

According to UN estimates, over 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country in the wake of the all-out Russian war that began on February 24, says data recorded by the United Nations.  

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, a British intelligence estimate released on May 2 stated that Russia's elite soldiers have lost so many casualties that replenishing them will take years. Since the beginning of the war, more than a quarter of Russia's invading army has been deemed "combat ineffective," according to the report.

The UK Ministry of Defence's said, "At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65 per cent of its entire ground combat strength. It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective."

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Amid the ongoing war, the highest-ranking Russian serviceman visited several regions which were occupied by the Russian forces, news agency, Ukrinform reported on Sunday. According to the media reports, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation General Valery Gerasimov visited several posts in Ukraine which were now occupied by the Russian soldiers. The media report said that the top military officer visited Ukraine last week. Citing Russian military officials, the report claimed that the Ukrainian soldiers learned about the visit and added they failed to react on time.

"The Ukrainian side learned about the visit but did not have time to catch Gerasimov. When the Ukrainian forces opened fire on one of the positions visited by Gerasimov at the G12 school in the Russian-controlled city of Izyum on Saturday night, the general had already returned to Russia," Ukrinform quoted a Russian official. 

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The fact that Ukraine's democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish does not "negate" the presence of Nazi elements in the country, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He defended the idea of "denazification" of Ukraine vaguely exemplifying that "even Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood." Speaking to Zona Bianca, an Italian news channel, Lavrov further claimed that "some of the worst antisemites are Jews."

"So what if Zelenskyy is a Jew. The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. I believe that Hitler also had Jewish blood," Russian FM Lavrov said.

Amid the mounting sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the German Foreign Minister stated that his country is willing to support a gradual, European Union (EU)-wide blockade on Russian oil imports. "We are preparing this in such a way, that we could if necessary keep it up over the coming years," minister Annalena Baerbock told ARD TV, DW News reported. Her remarks came a day after Germany's Economy and Climate Ministery stated that Berlin hopes to be completely independent of Russian crude oil imports by the end of the summer.

"Russian oil imports were essentially reduced to the remaining quantities required by the refineries in Leuna and Schwedt - that's only about 12% in total. Complete independence from Russian crude oil imports by late summer is therefore realistic," the ministry wrote in a Twitter post. It further stated that hard coal imports from Russia have already been reduced from 50% to around 8% since the beginning of the year. The German ministry further outlined that new sales contracts for hard coal from Russia were prohibited, while procurement from other countries has been accelerated at the same time. 

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday stated that Berlin will end Russian coal purchases by next summer. In addition, Berlin will also stop importing Russian oil by the end of this year. 

Russian businessman and founder of one of the largest Russian banks, Oleg Tinkov, slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. During an interview with New York Times, the oligarch said, “I believed that the Putin regime was bad. But of course, I had no idea that it would take on such a catastrophic scale." He further stated under Putin's leadership, the country has remained "mired in nepotism, sycophancy and servility."

Ukraine General Staff on Monday claimed that scattered units of Belarus troops have been identified in the Volyn and Polissya border region of Ukraine. "The threat of missile strikes on military and civilian infrastructure from the territory of the Republic of Belarus by the Russian enemy remains,” the Ukrainian armed forces said in a statement released on Facebook. Ukraine further claimed that the defending troops have eliminated at least 10 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 

Finland is all set to apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in the near future, Unikform reported. "We are more or less aware that Finland will apply to join NATO. This completely changes the balance. If one of our states joins, tensions will increase, ” said Ann Linde, Swedish Foreign Minister. Asked whether Finland would eventually join NATO, Linde said that "this can be said with confidence." The final decision on NATO membership is expected to be made by the Swedish and Finnish authorities in the next few weeks. 

A handful of embassy staff from South Korea returned to Kyiv on Saturday, including Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae. The South Korean embassy in Ukraine is set to begin operations on Monday. The embassy will carry out diplomatic work and protect South Korean citizens by closely cooperating with the Ukrainian government from Kyiv,” Ukraine Foreign Ministry said, as quoted by CNN. The statement also added that the remaining staff will also return "gradually" from Romania depending on the local situation. South Korea closed its embassy in Kyiv on March 2 due to the escalating Russian attacks. 

More than 100 civilians holed up in Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol have been evacuated on Sunday with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, CNN reported. Shortly after the evacuations, the steel plant came under fire leading, which led to the halt in the said efforts. 

A convoy of citizens evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant will leave the besieged port city of Mariupol on Monday. “There is good news. With the support of the UN and Red Cross, today two additional locations have been agreed upon for placing people in the evacuation convoy that will leave Mariupol,” said a Telegram post shared by the city council. 

As the all-out Russian war in Ukraine entered day 68 with the western nations expediting military supplies to Kyiv, US defence analysts have predicted that the additional artillery could change the course of the war in fear of significant fatalities on both sides. According to a report by Washington Post, US officials flagged that the "bloody battle" could douse down if both sides analyse the impact of firing long-range weapons. If fired, the attacks will prove "decisive" in the next phase of the war, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday, while speaking alongside his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand.

The Pentagon chief's remarks came as US President Joe Biden's administration is training a small group of Ukrainian troops to operate dozens of 155 mm Howitzer cannons that both Canada and Washington have promised to send to Ukraine. France has also pledged to send self-propelled Caesar Howitzers, which fire from the back of the truck.

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In the latest operational update, the Ukrainian armed forces said, "During the previous day, air defence units hit ten Orlan-10 UAVs. Russian enemy suffers significant losses, especially in artillery and on land. In the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts only, ten attacks by russian occupiers were repulsed in the past 24 hours, two tanks, seventeen artillery systems, thirty-eight units of armored combat vehicles and 10 units of enemy vehicles were destroyed."

UK's Ministry of Defence has said in the latest intelligence update, "At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65 per cent of its entire ground combat strength."

"It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective," it said.

"Some of Russia’s most elite units, including the VDV Airborne Forces, have suffered the highest levels of attrition. It will probably take years for Russia to reconstitute these forces," it added.

The Ukrainian government will continue to evacuate people from Mariupol on May 2 starting at 7 a.m. local time, the Mariupol City Council said, according to Kyiv Independent. The evacuation buses will depart from the Port City shopping mall.

On social media, the “Ghost of Kyiv” was a military hero, an ace fighter pilot hailed for supposedly shooting down multiple Russian planes. The tales began just days into the war and circulated for months, bolstered by official Ukrainian accounts.

But on Saturday, Ukrainian authorities admitted that the legendary pilot was a myth.

“The Ghost of Kyiv is a super-hero legend whose character was created by Ukrainians!” Ukraine’s air force said in Ukrainian on Facebook.

The statement came after multiple media outlets published stories wrongly identifying Major Stepan Tarabalka as the man behind the moniker. Tarabalka was a real pilot who died on March 13 during air combat and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said last month.

But he was not the Ghost of Kyiv, the force said in Saturday’s statement.

“The information about the death of the The Ghost of #Kyiv is incorrect,” Ukraine’s air force wrote in a separate post Saturday on Twitter. “The #GhostOfKyiv is alive, it embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots of the Tactical Aviation Brigade who are successfully defending #Kyiv and the region.”

The legend emerged just a day after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, as social media users began to spread claims, without evidence, of an anonymous fighter pilot who had single-handedly taken down multiple Russian planes.

Memes, unrelated photos, and even footage from a flight simulator video game circulated on social media, claiming to show the Ghost of Kyiv during combat.

On Feb. 25, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted a photo that Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense had shared three years earlier , falsely claiming it showed the Ghost of Kyiv who had taken down six Russian pilots.

Two days later, Ukraine's official Twitter account shared a video including the same picture, along with footage of fighter jets in combat, set to pulsating music, with the caption: “People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so — this UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and country, and has already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts.”

That same day, Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, shared the same old photo on Telegram — but now claiming he had shot down 10 occupying planes.

By the time news outlets, including the Times of London, falsely identified the pilot as Tarabalka on Friday, reports had increased the ghost’s toll to 40 planes. The Times later updated its story to reflect the air force’s new position on the Ghost of Kyiv.

(AP)

South Korea’s Ambassador to Ukraine Kim Jyung-tae and some embassy staff have returned to Kyiv to restart operations there, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

Ukraine as soon as possible. Blinken made the comment while speaking to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. An overnight statement Sunday said Blinken told Kuleba that America “plans to return to Kyiv as soon as possible.”

Blinken said diplomats had been making “initial visits” to Lviv to prepare. The US evacuated its embassy in Kyiv in February just before Russia launched its war on the country. The US had been bringing diplomats across the Polish border each day to work in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, before stopping the practice. Lviv has largely been spared in the conflict, though a missile strike several days ago targeted a railroad facility near the city. The US is one of Ukraine’s main backers in the war, providing billions in aid and weaponry.

Amid the ongoing Russia Ukraine war, Republic Media Network continues to report from war-stricken Ukraine. After Russia fired two missiles at the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv on Thursday, April 28, one of the missiles hit a 25-storey residential building in which one person was killed and at least 10 people were injured. 

In a recent update, Republic visited the attack site to access the damage caused by the Russian missile attack. As per the visuals, the missile hit the lower floors of the 25-storey residential building in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The building suffered severe damage which resulted in the death of one person.

Speaking with Republic on the missile attack on the residential building, one of the residents of the building said, "I was not present here. But when I got the news, I took my car and came here. I found that my apartment was crashed." He further added that the windows, part of his room and doors were severely damaged in the missile attack. "Right now, we are repairing them," he told Republic. "It was a missile attack from Russia. Russia fired two missiles, " he added.

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United Nations has estimated that the Russian blockade is preventing the export of 4.5 million tons of Ukrainian wheat. As a result of Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports, sea routes cannot be accessed to export Ukrainian grains, said the body, as per Kyiv Independent. 

Earlier, as the Russian forces have embarked on a major military operation to seize significant parts of southern and eastern Ukraine following their failure to capture Kyiv, Zelenskyy criticised the renewed assaults in the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. It is a key target because of its strategic location near the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

“All the leaders of the free world know what Russia has done to Mariupol. And Russia will not go unpunished for this,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. He warned that Russia was “gathering additional forces for new attacks against our military in the east of the country.”

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the region’s governor said on social media that two explosions were heard in early hours of Monday in Belgorod, which is the southern Russian region bordering Ukraine. 

'It's only a matter of time' before US President Joe Biden visits Ukraine amid the Moscow-Kyiv war, said US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff while detailing a three-hour-long discussion of the Congressional delegation had with Zelenskyy in Kyiv. 

United Nations operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol is underway, reported The Guardian citing confirmation from a spokesperson. The officials reached the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city, and the exercise is being coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukraine and Russia. It is to note that the steel plant was the last Ukrainian holdout in the besieged city of Mariupol.