Western embassies are returning to kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. In the south-east of the country, operations to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel site in Mariupol are continuing. Franceinfo summarizes the highlights of Monday May 2.
Azovstal evacuees expected in Zaporizhia
Ukraine hopes to be able to continue to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, as Russian forces continue their offensive in Donbass. A hundred people have already been evacuated this weekend from the huge Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in this strategic port in southern Ukraine. They were expected Monday evening in Zaporizhia, a town about 200 km to the northwest and still under Ukrainian control, even if the front line is getting closer.
>> We explain to you the progress of the evacuation of the Azovstal factory, the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol
The evacuations, which began on Saturday in coordination between Ukraine, Russia, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), allowed, for the first time in two months of siege and bombing of the city, to evacuate “more than 100 civilians” buried in the cellars of the Azovstal steelworks, with the last Ukrainian fighters, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the Russian army, 57 people left for the north, towards territories occupied by the Russians, and 69 towards territories controlled by the Ukrainians. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk recalled that “hundreds of civilians remain stranded in Azovstal”.
The return of American diplomats to kyiv is hoped “by the end of the month”
The return of American diplomats to kyiv, the Ukrainian capital which they had left in mid-February, a few days before the start of the Russian invasion, is hoped “by the end of the month” May, announced the American charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien during a press conference in Lviv, a large city in western Ukraine.
“It’s my first day back in Ukraine.“, she added, thinking to herself “delighted”while specifying that it “was going to go back and forth on the day for a week or maybe two”. “The priority is the safety of the staff. If the security officers tell us that we can come back to Kyiv, then we will go back“, assured Kristina Kvien. “The message to Russia is: ‘You have failed'”, she launched in front of the press. And to add: “Mr. Putin made a historic miscalculation in his unprovoked and unjustified attack.”
Denmark and Sweden announced on Monday the reopening of their embassies in kyiv, as a sign of support for Ukraine. On Monday morning, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod reopened his country’s embassy in the Ukrainian capital, during a surprise visit to the country.
Israel slams Russian foreign minister’s remarks that ‘Hitler also had Jewish blood’
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid strongly criticized the remarks of his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Ukrainian President Volodymyr “Zelensky makes this argument : how can nazism be present [en Ukraine] if he himself is Jewish ? I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood”said the head of Russian diplomacy, while Russia repeated that it wanted “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.
Faced with these remarks, Yaïr Lapid summoned the Russian ambassador to obtain “clarifications”. For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, denounced the use of the Holocaust as “political tool”.
The Ukrainian army destroyed two Russian patrol boats
Two Raptor-class boats were shot down by the Ukrainian army using Turkish drones. These Russian patrol boats are among the fastest shuttles in the Russian Navy, reaching nearly 90 km/h at full speed. They can carry up to 20 soldiers, in addition to the crew of three.
Serpents’ Island, off which they were shot, is located in the Black Sea, southwest of Ukraine. She has become one of the emblems of the Ukrainian resistance. For its part, Moscow did not confirm the information.