A Russian missile killed one person in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country. Kyiv has invited Pope Francis to visit Ukraine.
A missile, Russian according to local authorities, left one dead and 15 injured in Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, around 1 a.m. (local time). According to the mayor, Oleksandr Senkevich, a total of four explosions were heard. One missile hit a house and another an apartment building.
For its part, the Russian occupation administration in the Zaporizhia region announced the death of a Ukrainian policeman who was collaborating with the Russian authorities in Melitopol. The man was killed by an explosive device outside an apartment building on Thursday morning, and another policeman was injured, according to the local branch of the Russian Interior Ministry. The exiled mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, also spoke about the death of a man whom he described as “collaborater”. Here’s the rest of the day’s takeaways.
Ukraine received 230 tanks and more than 1,500 armored vehicles according to NATO
NATO allies and their partners have provided Ukraine with 230 battle tanks and 1,550 armored vehicles since the start of the Russian offensive, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. According to him, these are “98% of the promised materials” who were sent to Ukraine, accompanied by “significant quantities of ammunition”allowing “to equip nine new armored brigades”.
“So the Ukrainians have the capabilities they need to take back more territory”, estimated the head of the Atlantic Alliance. However, some of the weapons delivered will not be usable for several months, due to lack of training of Ukrainian soldiers. Some have not yet arrived in Ukraine – in March, the US Department of Defense promised Abrams tanks for the fall.
Pope Francis invited to Ukraine
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmyhal was received by the head of the Catholic Church at the Vatican on Thursday. “I invited his holiness to personally visit Ukraine”he declared to the journalists at the end of this audience, during which the two men evoked according to him “the peace plan” of kyiv and the help that the Vatican could provide. “I asked for example the participation, the assistance of the Vatican, of his holiness, to bring back to Ukraine children, some of whom were orphans, and who were forcibly transferred, mainly to Russia”said the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
In a statement, the Vatican referred to “cordial talks” and an “special attention to the humanitarian aspect and efforts to restore peace”.
Putin orders the creation of museums dedicated to the offensive in Ukraine
According to instructions published on the Kremlin website, the Russian president has ordered his government to set about creating museums dedicated to the offensive that Moscow has been leading for a year in Ukraine, “and the exploits of its participants”. Vladimir Putin also ordered“examine the question of the transfer of objects related to the special military operation that can be exhibited in museums”, and to think about how the offensive could be studied in schools. A propaganda effort which comes two days after the vote of a law intended to facilitate a new mobilization in the army.