Evacuations of civilians were to continue in Mariupol on Saturday, as was the Russian offensive which knows no let-up ahead of celebrations in Moscow of the victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.
“We will continue (Saturday) our evacuation operation” in Azovstal, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday evening on Telegram, specifying that the evacuation of the city of Mariupol is also planned for the end of the day. -noon.
These new evacuation attempts would complement those of the previous days. On Friday, 50 people were evacuated from the huge Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of resistance by Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.
These are women, children and the elderly. These operations, which are taking place under the aegis of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), began last weekend and, according to kyiv, have enabled nearly 500 civilians to flee.
In Mariupol, “people are evacuated as much as we can”, exclaimed during a videoconference intervention organized by the Chatham House think tank in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Missile strikes
At the same time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense affirmed in its morning report on Saturday that “the enemy does not stop its offensive”.
“In Mariupol, the enemy continues to block Ukrainian defense units in the district of Azovstal”, assures the ministry, which also underlines the destruction of three road bridges by the Russians “to slow down the counter-offensive” in the Kharkov region.
Missile strikes have been reported in the past 24 hours in the Kharkiv region, in the city of Mykolaiv (south), in the Donetsk region, according to the same source.
On Friday evening, two rocket attacks hit Odessa, the major Ukrainian port on the Black Sea, without however causing any casualties, announced the Southern Command of the Ukrainian forces.
A continuation of the fighting despite the unanimous adoption by the UN Security Council on Friday of a declaration calling for peace in this country, which enters its 72nd day of war on Saturday.
As May 9 approaches, the authorities expect an intensification of bombardments and continue to call on Ukrainians not to ignore the anti-aircraft sirens and to descend into the shelter.
“Please do not ignore air alerts and go to shelters immediately, the risk of bombardments is very likely in all regions of Ukraine”, warned the mayor of kyiv, Vitaly Klitshko, warning his fellow citizens on Friday that no commemoration of May 9 would take place in the Ukrainian capital.
“Gift to Putin”
“The enemy is trying to finish off the defenders of Azovstal, he is trying to do this before May 9 to give Vladimir Putin a present,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Mr. Zelensky.
Russia has so far only been able to claim complete control of one major city, Kherson.
On Saturday in Moscow, the Russian army carried out the last rehearsals on Red Square before the traditional military parade on May 9.
If the Russian forces sought to “destroy” the last fighters or civilians of Mariupol, kyiv would be forced to break off any peace negotiations, also warned the Ukrainian president.
The Azov regiment, which defends the steelworks, accused the Russian military of having targeted “with an anti-tank guided missile” one of its cars involved in the operation to evacuate civilians, killing a soldier and injuring six.
On Saturday morning, the staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said that the Russian forces had continued their offensive against the Azovstal steelworks on Friday, despite the ceasefire they unilaterally decreed on Thursday for three days.
Mariupol, a city in the south-east which had nearly 500,000 inhabitants before the war, was devastated by two months of Russian siege and bombardment.
In the east, Severodonetsk, one of the main cities of the Donbass still in the hands of the Ukrainians, is “virtually surrounded”, recognized its mayor on Friday.
Bombings
“Bombings every day, every day, morning, afternoon and evening. There has not been a day without bombardment, not a day,” Olga Babitch told AFP after leaving her village and reaching Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine.
For their part, the Ukrainian forces continue to resist the pressure of the Russian army. According to a report published by the British Ministry of Defence, “the conflict in Ukraine is causing damage to the most capable Russian units”.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian army claimed on Facebook that it destroyed a Russian military landing ship near Serpents’ Island in the Black Sea, which Moscow did not confirm.
On the sidelines of the Ukrainian conflict, the authorities of the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestria, in Moldova, announced on Saturday that four explosions had taken place on Friday evening in a village bordering Ukraine, without causing any casualties.
Fears that the conflict in Ukraine could spill over into Transdniestria have been heightened in recent weeks after a Russian general claimed the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine was aimed at establishing a corridor to the pro-Russian separatist region.
The United States for its part announced on Friday a new military aid of 150 million dollars to Ukraine, consisting in particular of artillery munitions and radars, but warned that the funds allocated to the weapons for kyiv were now “virtually exhausted”.
This aid, well below previous American arms shipments, includes in particular 25,000 155 mm shells, counter-battery radars to detect Russian artillery fire and communications jamming devices.
“Congress must quickly release the envelope needed to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” President Joe Biden said in a statement about the colossal $33 billion budget extension requested. in the US Congress.
Consequences in the world
In its first show of unity since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the United Nations Security Council — where Russia, a permanent member, has veto power — gave its “strong support to “seek a peaceful solution” in that country.
The main body of the UN, which also expresses its “deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine”, gives in this respect “firm support” to the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres “in the search for a peaceful solution” to this conflict.
On the Western sanctions front, Hungary persevered on Friday in its blocking of the proposed European embargo on the import of Russian oil and difficult negotiations were underway between the 27 EU member states to find an agreement this weekend. end, several diplomatic sources told AFP.
In addition, Germany, which will provide seven armored howitzers to the Ukrainians, announced that the leaders of the great powers of the G7 would have a virtual meeting on Sunday devoted to the war in Ukraine in which President Zelensky is to participate.
Because the consequences in the rest of the world are beginning to be felt.
Africa is facing an “unprecedented” crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including soaring food and fuel prices, officials from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) warned on Friday. ).