Tag: Russias

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 94th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Saturday, May 28.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Russian troops had entered Severodonetsk, the largest Donbas city still held by Ukraine, but denied the city was encircled. “We will have enough strength and resources to defend ourselves. However, it is possible that in order not to be surrounded we will have to retreat,” he said on Telegram.
• Haidai said 90 percent of buildings in Severodonetsk were damaged with 14 high-rises destroyed in the latest shelling.
• Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank, said while Russian forces would likely struggle to take ground in the city of Severodonetsk itself as they have “performed poorly in operations in built-up urban terrain throughout the war”.
• Russia’s separatist proxies said they controlled Lyman, a railway hub west of Severodonetsk. Ukraine said Russia had captured most of Lyman but that its forces were blocking an advance to Sloviansk, to the southwest.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would never cede Lyman or Severodonetsk, adding “Donbas will be Ukrainian”.
• Ukraine’s military said it had repelled eight attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk on Friday, destroying tanks and armoured vehicles.
• In the Kherson region north of Russian-held Crimea, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces were fortifying their positions and trapping civilians with constant shelling.
• The US Army has awarded a contract worth up to $687m to Raytheon for anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine.
• The United Nations said a total of 4,031 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including nearly 200 children, since Russia’s full-scale invasion began – although the real number is likely to be much higher.

Diplomacy

• Zelenskyy said Russia was weaponising a global food supply crisis and the world must prevent large-scale famine. Moscow did not appear ready for serious peace talks, he said. The Kremlin blamed Kyiv for stalled peace talks.
• US President Joe Biden said Russian forces are “attacking schools, nurseries, hospitals, museums with no other purpose than to eliminate a culture” and added that the war is “a direct assault on the fundamental tenets of rule-based international order”.

Economy

• The European Union is seeking a deal this weekend to ban Russian oil deliveries by sea but not pipeline to win over Hungary, which has opposed plans for a full embargo. Zelenskyy has accused the EU of dithering.
• Russia expects to receive 1 trillion roubles ($14.4bn) in additional oil and gas revenues this year, the country’s finance minister has said, adding that part of the windfall will be spent on the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
• Russia will need huge financial resources to fund its military operation in Ukraine, its finance minister said. The economy minister blamed Russia’s economic troubles on low household spending.
• Russia said it paid coupons in foreign currency on two eurobonds, a move that could mean it again averted default.
• S&P cut Ukraine’s credit rating to ‘CCC+/C’ from ‘B-/B’, citing a larger effect of Russia’s attack on the country.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 93rd day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Friday, May 27.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of carrying out a “genocide” in the eastern region of Donbas.
• Russia’s offensive in the Donbas could leave the eastern region “uninhabited” and Moscow’s forces want to turn cities such as Popasna, Lysychansk and Severodonetsk to ashes, Zelenskyy said.
• Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country will not be able to counter Russia’s offensive without more heavy weapons.
• The head of a Russia-backed separatist region in eastern Ukraine said there may be more Ukrainian fighters hiding at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol.
• The United States is considering supplying Kyiv with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which can have a range of hundreds of kilometres, US officials said.
• Russia’s shortage of combat-ready equipment is showing in the battle for Severodonetsk as its ground forces continue their attempt to surround it, the UK’s defence ministry said.
• A pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine said more than 5,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war are being held in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
• Russian forces have made gains in the Luhansk region in past week, but their offensive operations remain slow, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
• Investigators in the Kharkiv region have started criminal proceedings into Russia’s shelling of Kharkiv city.
• Zelenskyy pleaded with the West to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to give it a chance against the Russian offensive in the Donbas.
• Two Russian soldiers – accused of war crimes after firing rockets on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine – appeared at a second trial hearing in the northeastern town of Kotelva. Both pleaded guilty.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he was forming a southern military command and sending a battalion-strength tactical group to an area that borders Ukraine.

Casualties

• At least 1,500 people have been killed, 13,000 remain trapped and about 60 percent of residential buildings were destroyed in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, the mayor said.
• Shelling in Kharkiv killed nine people, including a five-month-old child, and wounded 19 others, Zelenskyy said.
• Investigators have started criminal proceedings into Russia’s shelling of a busy area of Kharkiv city.
• Four people were killed in Severodonetsk on Thursday, the governor of the Luhansk region said.
• In Russia, one woman died from wounds and a man was in critical condition after shelling by Ukraine forces of a village in the border region of Belgorod, the governor said.

Diplomacy

• Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not win the war in Ukraine and he “already failed in all his strategic aims”, adding NATO will not become an active party in the conflict.
• Putin said trying to isolate Russia is “impossible, utterly unrealistic in the modern world” and “those who try to do it primarily hurt themselves”.
• Zelenskyy urged the West “to stop playing around” with Russia and impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to end its “senseless war” in Ukraine.
• No more additional US forces will be required for Sweden and Finland after they join NATO, American General Christopher Cavoli said.
• Zelenskyy complained about division inside the European Union over more sanctions against Russia and asked why some nations are being allowed to block the plan, hinting at Hungary’s opposition.
• Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin visited Ukraine, and Zelenskyy thanked her for Finland’s weapons deliveries and support for sanctions against Russia.

Economy

• Putin said Moscow is ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine.
• Russia is solely to blame for the global food emergency because of its blockade of Ukrainian ports, Ukraine’s foreign minister Kuleba said.
• An official said Hungary needs four years to shift away from Russian crude and make investments to adjust its economy before it can back the EU’s proposed oil embargo.
• The US won the latest round of a legal battle to seize a $325m Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, with the case now appearing headed for the Pacific nation’s top court.
• Ukraine has enough stored grain to meet domestic and global demand until at least the end of 2022, maybe into 2023, an economic adviser to Zelenskyy said.
• The White House said it expects minimal effects on the US and global economy from a potential Russian debt default after Washington decided to not extend a waiver that enabled Russia to pay US bondholders.
• Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland proposed to allow Russian oligarchs to buy their way out of sanctions and use the money to rebuild Ukraine.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 87th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Saturday, May 21.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Russia’s defence ministry said the last group of Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks had surrendered, marking an end to a weeks-long attack that left the city in ruins.
• The defence ministry said at Azovstal, 2,439 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in the past few days, including 531 in the final group. Ukraine did not comment on the figures.
• The commander of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment said in a video that civilians and heavily wounded fighters had been evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks, giving no further clue about the fate of the rest of its defenders.
• A Russian missile has struck a Ukrainian cultural centre in the eastern Kharkiv region, injuring seven people, including an 11-year-old child, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
• The Institute for the Study of War says Russian forces appear to be “digging in” around Kharkiv and along the southern axis in preparation for Ukrainian counteroffensives and a protracted war.
• The Pentagon said there were no indications Russia had used laser weaponry in Ukraine, following claims by Moscow that it was fielding a new generation of powerful lasers there to strike enemy drones.
• Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the number of cyberattacks on Russia by foreign “state structures” had increased several times over and Russia must bolster its cyberdefences.

Diplomacy

• Zelenskyy proposed a formal deal with the country’s allies to secure Russian compensation for the damage its forces have caused during the war.
• Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 wealthy democracies said they have mobilised $19.8bn for Ukraine and pledged to give more if needed.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak to Finland on Saturday, while maintaining his opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership bids over their history of hosting members of groups that Ankara deems “terrorists”.

Economy

• Russia’s Gazprom halted gas exports to neighbouring Finland, the Finnish gas system operator said, after the Nordic country refused to pay the supplier in roubles.
• Russia rushed forward two payments on its international debt in its latest attempt to stave off a default that has looked likely since its invasion of Ukraine.
• Seizing Russian state assets to help finance the rebuilding of Ukraine remains a possibility, Germany’s finance minister said, but he added that no decision had been taken at a meeting with his G7 counterparts.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 86th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Friday, May 20.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has been “completed destroyed” by Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
• The mission is still “under way” at the Azovstal plant, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment said as he and other fighters are still inside the steelworks. More than 1,700 fighters have now surrendered, according to Russia.
• Thirteen people died and more than 60 houses destroyed in Luhansk as Russian forces advanced towards the regional centre Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the governor said.
• Russian-backed proxy authorities in now occupied Mariupol are not collaborating and fighting with each other, which is likely exacerbated by the evacuation of Ukrainian fighters from Azovstal, the Institute for the Study of War said.
• Russian forces are likely to shift focus to reinforcing their operations in the Donbas once they have secured Mariupol, the UK’s defence ministry said.
• The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters.
• A Ukrainian state prosecutor asked a court to sentence a Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian who pleaded guilty in the first war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion.

Diplomacy

• The West should not expect Russia to continue food supplies if it slaps Moscow with devastating sanctions, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
• Top US General Mark Milley spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov – their first discussion since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there can be “no shortcuts” to European Union membership for Ukraine. He is the second EU leader to quash Kyiv’s hope of fast-tracked membership.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is “determined” to block Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO, calling Stockholm in particular a “complete terror haven”.
• Kherson will “soon become part” of the Russian Federation, the Russian-appointed head of the Kherson region said.
• Russia will fight attempts to steal its assets abroad after discussions by EU leaders to use the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.
• Sweden and Finland joining NATO membership will “strengthen collective security”, US President Joe Biden said after meeting the leaders of both countries in Washington, DC.
• Finland said it opposes NATO deploying nuclear weapons or setting up military bases on its territory even if it succeeds in its bid to join the alliance, according to Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
• Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine to enable a negotiated end to the war.

Aid

• Biden applauded US Congress for approving a nearly $40bn military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine.
• Washington announced an additional $100m in security assistance to Ukraine including artillery, radar, and other equipment.
• The UK has provided more than four million doses of painkillers and antibiotics, as well as personal protective equipment and respirators to Ukraine.

I praise the 🇺🇸 Senate’s approval of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. $ 40 billion is a significant 🇺🇸 contribution to the restoration of peace and security in Ukraine, Europe and the world. We look forward to the signing of the law by @POTUS

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2022

Economy

• China is quietly ramping up purchases of oil from Russia at bargain prices, according to shipping data and oil traders who spoke to the Reuters news agency.
• Qatar hopes to start sending liquefied natural gas to Germany in 2024, the Gulf state’s deputy prime minister told the German daily Handelsblatt.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia at the United Nations Security Council of using food as a weapon in Ukraine by holding “hostage” the food supply for millions worldwide who rely on Ukrainian exports.
• Moscow said sanctions on Russia would have to be reviewed if it were to open access to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports so grain could be exported.
• Ukraine’s agriculture ministry announced grain exports are down 64 percent so far in May compared with the same time last year.
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the EU to restore Ukrainian grain exports.
• The International Monetary Fund’s deputy managing director said this year would be “challenging” for Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and tighter global financial conditions.
• The UN food chief warned the war in Ukraine has created “an unprecedented crisis” of escalating food prices, with 49 million people in 43 countries already “knocking on famine’s door”.
• McDonald’s struck a deal to sell Russia’s 850 restaurants under a new name to its existing licensee Alexander Govor, who operates 25 restaurants in Siberia.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 85th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Thursday, May 19.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Russia’s defence ministry said 771 Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol had surrendered in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 1,730, RIA reported on Thursday. The ministry said 80 of the fighters were wounded.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is determined to reclaim control over the southern cities of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdiansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol, now occupied by Russian troops.
• Ukraine’s fighters blew up an armoured train carrying Russian troops, Ukraine’s territorial defence force said, but an adviser to Zelenskyy later said the attack had been confined to rails near the train.
• Russia has fired more than 2,000 missiles in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, Zelenskyy said.
• Four people were killed in shelling by Russian forces in Severodonetsk, the governor of the Luhansk region said.
• Russian forces shelled Zelenodolsk village of the Dnepropetrovsk region, leaving many residents without electricity, the regional governor said.
• Russian authorities said they plan to destroy Azovstal after capturing it and turn Mariupol into a “resort city”, the Institute for the Study of War reported.
• Russia said it will start using a new generation of powerful lasers in Ukraine to destroy drones. Zelenskyy mocked Russia’s “wonder weapons” and said it “clearly shows the complete failure of the mission”.
• Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman said at least 231 children have died and 427 were injured since February 24.
• Russia has been carrying out “apparent war crimes” including executions, torture, and other abuses, according to Human Rights Watch.
• A Russian soldier facing the first Ukrainian war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed civilian.

Diplomacy

• The US reopened its embassy in Kyiv, nearly three months after closing it and withdrawing diplomats shortly before the Russian invasion.
• Ukraine will not compromise with Russia and will not give up any territory, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said.
• Russia expelled 85 diplomats and staff from the embassies of France, Italy and Spain in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
• Other countries may be dragged directly into the war if it continues affecting states bordering Russia, the head of Ukraine’s president’s office Andriy Yermak said.

NATO

Economy

• Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said that the US does not have the legal authority to seize Russian central bank assets frozen due to the invasion. Some European Union officials are advocating seizing about $300bn in Russian central bank foreign currency assets frozen by sanctions to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
• Google’s Russian subsidiary The Alphabet Inc announced plans to file for bankruptcy after its bank account was seized by Russian authorities over the company’s failure to delete content Moscow deems illegal and for restricting access to some Russian media on YouTube.
• The US, several global development banks and other groups revealed a multibillion-dollar plan to address a worldwide food security crisis amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Aid

• The US announced $215m in emergency food assistance for Ukraine.
• Japan announced the doubling of aid to Ukraine to $600m, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
• Australia is sending Ukraine additional military equipment, taking the nation’s contribution to Kyiv’s war effort to more than 285 million Australian dollars ($199m), The Australian newspaper reported.
• The World Bank said it will make $30bn available to help stem the food security crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• The European Commission will provide Ukraine with a 9 billion euro ($9.5bn) macro-financial aid and recovery programme.

Here are the key events so far on Friday, May 13.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• The families and supporters of the Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant are pleading for more help for them to be rescued.
• Russian forces have likely taken control of all Rubizhne and Voevodivka in the Luhansk region, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
• Shelling in Luhansk has killed two people and destroyed more than 50 homes, the region’s governor has said.
• Russian military targeted villages in the east near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, the Ukrainian military has claimed.
• Increasing military support from the West to Ukraine risks sparking a war between Russia and NATO, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has declared.
• Rocket attacks intensified on Ukraine’s central Poltava region, “perhaps the most intense for the duration of the war”, the regional governor has said.
• Ukraine has said forces damaged a Russian navy ship in the Black Sea with satellite images showing a probable strike.
• More than six million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, United Nations refugee agency data showed.

Human rights

Diplomacy and aid

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is prepared for talks with Putin to find mutual agreement but says Ukraine will never recognise Crimea as part of Russia.
• During a G7 meeting, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said it is essential to maintain the pressure on Russia by providing more weapons to Ukraine.
• United States Republican Senator Rand Paul has single-handedly delayed the passage of a $40bn aid bill to provide support to Ukraine after the US House approved it on Wednesday.
• The head of Zelenskyy’s office said Ukraine must “become part of a united Europe as soon as possible. This is a matter of mutual security”.
• European Commission President von der Leyen called Russia the “most direct threat” to the international order and said it has waged “barbaric war”.
• A Russian diplomat warned Finland and Sweden that they could become “a target” after Finnish officials announced the country must join NATO military alliance “without delay”.

Economy

• Ukraine spent 245.1 billion hryvnia ($8.3bn) on the war instead of development since the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24, the finance minister said.
• Putin blamed the West for triggering a global economic crisis and inflation due to severe sanctions imposed on Russia.
• Europe is facing gas supply disruption and pressure for alternatives after Russia imposed sanctions on European subsidiaries of Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy giant and Ukraine halted gas flow, leading to higher prices.
• The European Commission said it would help Ukraine export millions of tonnes of grain blocked by the Russian navy in Ukraine’s ports.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 71st day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Thursday, May 5.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Russian forces were battling for control of the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said.
• The European Union proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Moscow, with a phased oil embargo.
• Ukrainian fighters inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant are fighting “difficult, bloody battles” against Russia, a Ukrainian commander said.
• Russia said a three-day ceasefire would begin on Thursday at the besieged steel plant to allow civilians to leave.
• More than 300 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol and other parts of southern Ukraine in a joint UN-Red Cross operation, the UN said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a longer ceasefire to evacuate more civilians in southern Ukraine. “The lives of the people who remain there are in danger,” he said.
• The United States has provided intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces kill about 12 Russian generals, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
• The armed forces of Ukraine’s neighbour Belarus began surprise large-scale drills to test their combat readiness.
• The UK’s defence ministry said Russia may try to inflate the threat that Belarusian military exercises pose in order to drive Ukraine’s forces up to the north of the country and away from fighting in the Donbas.
• Russia is also trying to increase the tempo of its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had disabled six railway stations there used to deliver Western arms.

Nuclear-capable missile practice

• Russia says its forces have practised simulated nuclear-capable missile attacks during war games in Kaliningrad, an exclave on the Baltic Sea located between EU members Poland and Lithuania.

Child casualties

• Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, 221 children have died and 408 have been injured, Ukraine’s ombudsman said.

Diplomacy

• The Kremlin dismissed speculation that President Vladimir Putin would declare war on Ukraine and announce a national mobilisation on May 9. Russia describes its invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation”.
• European Council President Charles Michel pledged to increase EU military aid to Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbour that has seen a series of attacks in a pro-Moscow separatist region.

Economy impact

• Oil prices jumped on the proposed EU ban on Russian oil imports, which needs approval by member states. The Kremlin said it was looking into various options in response. Germany said prices could go up considerably.
• The Czech Republic and Bulgaria will seek exemptions from the ban, while Hungary and Slovakia say they need a three-year transition.
• US President Biden said he would speak with leaders from the G7 advanced economies this week about more sanctions.
•  The number of people globally facing a severe lack of food increased by a fifth to 193 million last year. The Ukraine war means the outlook will worsen, the UN said.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 70th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Wednesday, May 4.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Belarusian armed forces began surprise large-scale drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, the defence ministry of Ukraine’s neighbour said.
• Russia has deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near Ukraine’s eastern city of Izium in an apparent effort to advance along the northern axis of the Donbas region and capture the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, the UK said.
• A convoy of buses left Mariupol on Wednesday in a new attempt by Ukraine, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate civilians from the southern Ukrainian city, the regional governor said.
• Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said air raids had damaged power stations, cutting off electricity in some districts.
• Russia’s air force attacked 39 military facilities in Ukraine, state news agency TASS reported, citing a representative from Russia’s defence ministry.
• Russian attacks in Donetsk have killed at least 21 civilians, the highest daily death toll in a month, according to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Business and economy

• EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has called on the bloc to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year as officials prepare a new round of sanctions, but some EU states, including Slovakia and Hungary, say they will not support sanctions.
• Russia was set to avoid a debt default after overdue payments on two of its sovereign Eurobonds were sent to creditors, four sources told Reuters news agency.
• US President Joe Biden visited a Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama that manufactures the anti-tank Javelin missile, spotlighting a weapon that has helped Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin put the West on notice that he could terminate exports and deals, the Kremlin’s toughest response yet to the sanctions burden imposed by the US and its allies.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced another $376m in UK military aid for Ukraine and hails the country’s resistance to Russia as its “finest hour”.

Diplomacy

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says no one should assume that Russia would not attack other countries given its violation of international law in Ukraine, and Germany would support Finland and Sweden if they decide to join NATO.
• Taiwan has donated $150,000 in aid for Ukrainian refugee children in Slovakia.
• Australia has moved to further sanction more than 70 Russian politicians and more than 30 “puppet” Ukrainian government officials installed in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 68th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Sunday, May 2.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Some 100 civilians evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol were due to arrive in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.
• Russia’s defence ministry said it had carried out a missile strike on a military airfield near the port city of Odesa, destroying a runway and a hangar containing Western-supplied weapons and ammunition.
• Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow’s upcoming Victory Day celebrations on May 9 will have no bearing on the pace of its operations in Ukraine.
• In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region governor, Oleh Synehubov warned residents in the north and east of the city of Kharkiv to remain in their shelters due to heavy Russian shelling.
• Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, urged people to evacuate while it was still possible.
• Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine’s forces of shelling a school, kindergarten and cemetery in villages in the occupied southern Kherson region, the Russian RIA news agency said. There was no immediate response from Ukraine.
• More than one-quarter of the 120 battalion tactical groups Russia committed at the start of the war in Ukraine are likely now ineffective for combat, the UK’s defence ministry said.

Diplomacy

• Following a surprise visit to Kyiv, US Speaker Nancy Pelosisaid she had met Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy to send the message that Washington’s stands firmly with Kyiv as it battles Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “diabolic invasion”.
• Britain’s Foreign Office said Russia is using a troll factory to spread disinformation about the war on social media and target politicians across a number of countries including Britain and South Africa.
• Russia is committed to working to prevent a nuclear war from ever beginning, Lavrov said in an Italian television interview. “Western media misrepresent Russian threats,” Lavrov said, speaking in Russian through an Italian interpreter.
• Finland will almost certainly apply for membership in NATO, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Swedish television.
• Denmark and Sweden summoned Russia’s ambassadors after a Russian spy plane violated the air space of both countries, their governments say.

Children

• Some 219 children have died in Ukraine, and 405 have been wounded, since Russia launched its full-scale offensive on February 24, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has reported.
• The highest number of children affected by the war was is in the Donetsk region (139), followed by Kyiv (115), Kharkiv (95) and Chernihiv (68), the office said on the Telegram app.

Business and economy

• US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he would add provisions to a $33bn Ukraine aid package to allow Washington to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets and send money from their sales directly to Ukraine.
• Russia should confiscate property owned by Westerners in response to a proposal by US President Joe Biden to transfer the frozen assets of Russia’s elite to Ukraine, Russia’s most senior lawmaker said.
• The European Union is leaning towards a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, two EU diplomats said, after talks between the European Commission and EU member states this weekend.
• EU energy ministers were set to hold emergency talks on Monday, as the bloc strives for a united response to Moscow’s demand that European buyers pay for Russian gas in roubles or face their supply being cut off.