- Russian President’s Deputy Chief of Staff visits Mariupol
- Another 300 were evacuated from Mariupol and nearby Zaporizhzhia
- Russia conducted mock nuclear-capable missile drills in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea
- Air raid sirens sound overnight in several Ukrainian cities
This article was last updated at 03:17 UTC/GMT
US intelligence provides information on Russian generals to Ukraine – report
The New York Times reports that Ukraine is receiving intelligence from the United States on the whereabouts of Russian generals, which the Ukrainians are using to launch deadly attacks.
U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement that battlefield intelligence was not provided to Ukrainians “with the intent to kill Russian generals.”
However, not all Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian senior officers and military leaders are due to intelligence sharing with the Americans.
Multiple sources reportedly told The New York Times that the United States was not involved in the strike at a location in eastern Ukraine where Russian General Valery Gerasimov was present.
On Tuesday, US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel on Tuesday, “There is a significant amount of intelligence flowing into Ukraine from the United States.”
More than 600,000 Ukrainian refugees currently in Germany
Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said more than 600,000 Ukrainians fleeing war in their country have arrived in Germany since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Of the total number, about 40% of these Ukrainian refugees are minors.
It is unclear how many of that number signed up and returned or went to another country without unsigning.
According to the German federal police, the number of new arrivals has dropped significantly and many have returned to Ukraine as the war moves east of the country.
UN: 300 civilians from Mariupol and neighboring towns evacuated
The UN said more than 300 civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine escaped and were evacuated to the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Tuesday’s evacuation was the second successful operation in as many days to get civilians out of Mariupol and nearby areas as Russian shelling and attacks continue.
Official visit to the Kremlin in Mariupol
Sergey Kiriyenko, deputy chief of staff in the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, almost entirely occupied by Russian forces.
Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin announced the visit in a Telegram post.
Kirienko is a former Russian Prime Minister. His current portfolio includes domestic politics.
Russia conducts mock nuclear exercises
In the Russian-owned part of the Baltic territory known as Kaliningrad, Russian forces trained to carry out nuclear-capable missile strikes.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces carried out single and multiple strikes on targets mimicking missile system launchers, airfields, protected infrastructure, military equipment and command posts of a false enemy.
Additional combat units also practiced “actions under radiation and chemical contamination conditions.”
More than 100 soldiers participated in the exercise.
Ukrainian and Israeli leaders speak out about Lavrov’s anti-Semitic comments
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
He added that the two leaders spoke about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s anti-Semitic remarks during a 42-minute presentation on Italian television last Sunday. In his comment, he suggested that German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was Jewish, for which there is no evidence, and that the Jewish people were responsible for the Holocaust.
Russia has since doubled down on its comments.
Zelenskyy addresses Denmark on anniversary of Nazi surrender
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed crowds in the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus via video link and said the war in his country was just as cruel as the one commemorated annually on May 4.
The Danes remember the date from 1945, recalling when they learned that German troops had gone to Denmark in a radio announcement.
CDU deputy: “Zelensky trusted Germany”
Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of Germany’s parliament for the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), told DW that during his visit to Kyiv with CDU leader Friedrich Merz, “Zelenskyy showed confidence in Germany “.
Kiesewetter added that “we all believe that our chancellor now has enough leeway to really support Ukraine more wholeheartedly.”
“There are three issues that Ukraine needs. First, long-range weapons to separate the Russians. Second, strong security guarantees for a future free and liberal society and a free and sovereign Ukraine. And third, this what we also need is an opportunity to become a member of the European Union.”
“The army is really fighting a brave war and it needs all support because we will lose our civilization if we don’t support it. And we have to contain Russia,” Kiesewetter concluded.
Air raid sirens sound in Ukrainian cities
Across Ukraine, in areas near kyiv, Cherkasy and Dnipro in the central part of the country and in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, air raid sirens sounded on Wednesday evening.
In Dnipro, local authorities said a railway facility was attacked and videos on social media indicated a bridge was also hit.
JPMorgan Chase CEO: “The Cold War is back”
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said the Federal Reserve should have acted sooner to raise interest rates to reduce inflation and thwart a possible recession in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
Dimon said: “The cold war is back”, adding: “We have to pump more oil and gas”.
His comments come as the European Union considers an oil embargo against Russia by the end of the year.
Summary of Wednesday’s events in Russia’s war on Ukraine
The Russian military said it would open humanitarian corridors from the Azovstal steel plant in the beleaguered port city of Mariupol on Thursday and over the next two days. The announcement comes after the leader of Ukraine’s ruling parliamentary faction, David Arakhamia, said Russian forces had entered the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Arakhamia added that the government had contact with the last group of Ukrainian fighters at the factory after Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said earlier in the day on state television that contact had been lost.
The factory is the last refuge for Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol and authorities said hundreds of civilians were also hiding in the underground network of tunnels. City authorities said around 200 civilians and more than 30 children were still trapped there.
Ukraine’s military intelligence said in a statement on social media that Russia plans to hold a World War II Victory Day parade in Mariupol on May 9.
“The central streets of the city are being urgently cleared of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance,” he said, adding, “A large-scale propaganda campaign is underway. The Russians will see stories on the “joy” of the inhabitants to meet the occupants.”
May 9, Victory Day, is one of Russia’s most important holidays, and there was speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin might make a major announcement in Moscow, such as an official statement from war on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russia was seeking to step up the pace of its offensive in the east of the country. Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Moscow carried out nearly 50 airstrikes on Tuesday alone.
The British Ministry of Defense said Russia continued to strike non-military targets to weaken Ukrainian resolve. Its latest military intelligence update says the targets include residential properties, schools, hospitals and transportation hubs.
The UK also banned Russia from using UK accounting, management consulting and public relations services and imposed new sanctions on pro-Kremlin news organizations and journalists. The UK will also apply individual travel bans to certain journalists working for Russian broadcaster Channel One.
The EU has set out plans for a sixth round of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian oil imports by the end of the year. Hungary and Slovakia have already declared that they will not participate in the oil sanctions and that they will have an additional year to find alternative suppliers.
kyiv has said that European Union countries blocking a gradual embargo on Russian oil imports would be complicit in crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
Sberbank and two other major Russian banks are about to be excluded from the international financial communication system. Sanctions also include an EU ban on three Russian state broadcasters, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen calling the TV stations ‘spokespeople who aggressively amplify lies and propaganda of Putin”.
ar/aw (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
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