evacuations of civilians from the Azovstal factory in Mariupol resumed

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5:39 p.m. : New exchange of prisoners between kyiv and Moscow. Forty-one people, including eleven women, have been released by Russia, announces kyiv. Among those freed is a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox clergy. The authorities did not reveal the number of Russians handed over to Moscow in return.

5:33 p.m. : Evacuations have finally started in Azovstal, according to France Télévisions’ special envoy to Mariupol. About fifteen civilians left the industrial complex. They were picked up by the Russians and taken to a “filtration center”, from where they will then depart either to Russia or to another destination in Ukraine. This is the first evacuation convoy to embark passengers today. Three other buses still have to hit the road.

4:11 p.m. : At 28, Sergei left the French Foreign Legion, of which he had been a member for four years in Toulon, to fight in Ukraine, his country of origin. Mathilde Dehimi met him.

(MAXPPP)

4:10 p.m. : Major agricultural powers, including the European Union, the United States, Canada and Australia, pledge to ensure world food security despite the shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . “We are committed to working together to ensure there is enough food for everyone, including the poorest, most vulnerable and displaced people”write these 51 members of the World Trade Organization in a joint press release.

3:17 p.m. : #Ukraine: damning new report on Russian war crimes in the Kiev region.❌Residential buildings bombed in Borodianka❌Extrajudicial executions of civilians in other towns and villageshttps://t.co/pKAVRiqzJ1

3:16 p.m. : “The wish that we have is that the highest instances of the Russian regime be judged and condemned for war crimes.“

Questioned by franceinfo, the vice-president of Amnesty international France affirms that his NGO holds “irrefutable evidence that war crimes are being committed on Ukrainian soil”. His organization released a report to that effect today.

2:56 p.m. : No new evacuation has taken place for the moment at the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, according to Luc Lacroix, the special envoy of France Télévisions on the spot. Negotiations are continuing between Russians and Ukrainians, under the aegis of the United Nations and the Red Cross, present on the spot. A bus left for the complex, but so far no civilians have left the industrial site and boarded the vehicle.

2:39 p.m. : Ukrainian intelligence had assured Wednesday that Moscow was preparing a military parade in this strategic city where the last Ukrainian fighters are entrenched, after weeks of terrible fighting, in a vast industrial zone.

2:39 p.m. : Russia ensures this afternoon not to plan celebrations in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on the occasion of May 9, the date which marks the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

2:53 p.m. : The Azov regiment, which defends the huge Azovstal steelworks where the last Ukrainian fighters from Mariupol are entrenched, accuses the Russian forces this afternoon of having targeted one of its cars taking part in the operation to evacuate civilians. One soldier died and six people were injured, according to this source.

2:31 p.m. : Here is the update on the news:

• Tension is rising among the 27 countries of the European Union. Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban judges that Brussels had crossed “a red line” wanting to ban imports of Russian oil and “door reached” to the European unity shown since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

• A new UN convoy is expected today to evacuate the last civilians entrenched in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in this strategic port of Donbass. Some 500 civilians have been able to leave the city in recent days, according to Ukrainian authorities.

• Agreement concluded. The National Council of the Socialist Party voted last night in favor of an alliance with La France insoumise, EELV and the Communist Party for the legislative elections. Our journalists Clément Parrot and Thibaud Le Meneec tell you about this difficult union of parties that fiercely defended their interests.

• It’s the big day for the runners. The Tour of Italy starts from Hungary today, for a relocated stage rather promised to a puncher. You can follow the race here.

1:13 p.m. : The leaders of the great powers of the G7 will hold a virtual meeting on Sunday devoted to the war in Ukraine, in which will also participate the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “May 8 is a historic date marking the end of the Second World War, which caused terror, destruction and death in Europe”commented a spokeswoman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying that with the current war in Ukraine “G7 cohesion is more important than ever”.

1:04 p.m. : It is noon, here is the point on the news:

• Tension is rising among the 27 countries of the European Union. Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban judges that Brussels has crossed “a red line” by wanting to ban imports of Russian oil and “door reached” to the European unity shown since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

• A new UN convoy is expected today to evacuate the last civilians holed up in the Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the strategic port of Mariupol. Some 500 civilians have been able to leave the city in recent days, according to Ukrainian authorities.

• Agreement concluded. The National Council of the Socialist Party voted last night in favor of an alliance with La France insoumise, EELV and the Communist Party for the legislative elections. Our journalists Clément Parrot and Thibaud Le Meneec tell you about this difficult union of parties that fiercely defended their interests.

• “Spring should probably be fine”. On franceinfo, the president of the Scientific Council was reassuring about the epidemic situation in France, while recalling that the pandemic was not “not finished”.

11:37 : In the region of Lviv, in western Ukraine, a thousand children are currently accommodated in 25 orphanages. Coming from the East for the most part, they have very often experienced the horror of the bombardments. Our journalists Agathe Mahuet and Arthur Gerbaud went to meet them.

(AGATHE MAHUET / FRANCEINFO / RADIO FRANCE)

1:02 p.m. : A renowned Russian journalist and opponent, Ilia Azar, announces that he is being prosecuted for having criticized Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, a new example of the repression aimed at critics of this military intervention. Azar, who is currently not in Russia, risks a fine of up to 100,000 rubles (1,400 euros at the current rate).

10:51 a.m. : Tension is rising among the 27 countries of the European Union. Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban ruled on Friday that Brussels had crossed “a red line” wanting to ban imports of Russian oil and “door reached” to the European unity shown since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. “From the beginning, we made it clear that there was a red line, namely the energy embargo. They crossed that line”did he declare.

12:58 : According to the special envoy of France Televisions Luc Lacroix, the ceasefire is rather respected this morning in Mariupol, even if some explosions were heard. Negotiations are still ongoing to evacuate the civilians present in the factory where the last Ukrainian fighters are entrenched.

10:36 : “We must rearm, strengthen cohesion and put ourselves in a position to be competitors with the Russians. But we must not lose sight of the fact that Russia is not going to disappear.”

In an interview with AFP, the boss of the French army believes that Europe has entered “in a long competition” with Russia. “The subject is not only Ukraine but the Baltic countries, Poland, Hungary…”he believes.