The offensive in eastern Ukraine is apparently faltering, but military reconnaissance is currently being intensified by the Ukrainian defenders and the Russian attackers.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin, Kyiv, In Ukraine, fears of increased Russian airstrikes in connection with the upcoming Moscow Victory Day are growing. President Volodymyr Zelensky called for caution and discipline. “I ask all our citizens – and especially these days – not to ignore the air alert,” said the head of state on Friday in his evening video address. “Please, this is your life, the life of your children.” In cities close to the front, such as Odessa, a curfew is to apply for two days.
Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Hitler’s Germany in World War II on Monday, May 9th. President Vladimir Putin will speak at the traditional large military parade in Moscow. He is expected to set the course for the two-and-a-half-month-old war of aggression against Ukraine.
It was precisely for this symbolic day that Selenski invited Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to Kyiv. Scholz could take a “very strong political step” and come to the Ukrainian capital on May 9, the president said at an event hosted by the London think tank Chatham House. In Mariupol, Russian troops wanted to hold fire for the last time on Saturday to allow civilians to withdraw from the embattled Azovstal steelworks.
The military situation in the morning
According to Ukrainian sources, it was comparatively quiet at the front last night. “On May 6, eight enemy attacks were repelled in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, destroying three enemy tanks, eight artillery systems, seven military armored vehicles, one car and three units of engineering equipment,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Saturday With. There were storm attempts primarily around the Azovstal steelworks.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
According to the report, Russian activity on other front sections, which had been heavily contested in recent weeks, was primarily limited to military reconnaissance and artillery shelling. For example, in the Izyum region, from where Russia is planning a major advance towards Kramatorsk to encircle the Ukrainian units in the Donbass, drones were used to identify the defensive positions.
The city of Kharkov and the towns in front of Donetsk were targets of artillery attacks. The Russian Air Force was also in action. Ground attacks, however, were not reported. This information could not be verified independently.
Preparations for Russia’s Victory Day
The President of Ukraine warns his citizens to remain vigilant.
(Photo: dpa)
At the weekend, Ukrainians should strictly follow the orders of the authorities and adhere to local curfews, Zelenski warned. Because of the danger of mines, entering forests occupied by the Russian military is forbidden. The Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior announced that it would patrol with 5,000 men to prevent possible provocations.
In the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa, people have to stay at home from Sunday evening at 10 p.m. local time (9 p.m. CEST) until Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. local time (4 a.m. CEST). There will be no curfew in the capital Kyiv, said Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. But he also advised people to stay at home. “In the coming days there is a high probability of rocket fire in all regions of Ukraine,” he said.
Possible trip of the Federal Chancellor to Kyiv
A spokesman for the federal government referred to the dates already known about Selenski’s invitation to Scholz for May 9th. This includes the inaugural visit by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. “The day before, the Federal Chancellor, his G7 colleagues and the Ukrainian President will discuss the situation in Ukraine in a video link on the historic anniversary of the end of the World War,” said the spokesman.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
Scholz is planning a television speech on the war in Ukraine, which will be broadcast on television on Sunday evening. Also on Sunday, the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, is traveling to Kyiv at the invitation of the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefantschuk – and could possibly also meet President Zelenskiy there.
For weeks there was disagreement between Kyiv and Berlin because a visit from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not desired. Scholz had described the unloading as an obstacle to his own trip. Steinmeier and Selenski cleared up the irritation in a phone call on Thursday. Scholz then announced that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would travel to Kyiv.
The map shows the state of hostilities on May 5th.
More US military aid
US President Joe Biden approved more military aid to Ukraine. With an additional package, the country should receive artillery ammunition, radars and other equipment, Biden announced. A $150 million (around €142 million) package has been approved, the US State Department said.
Including this aid, the USA has promised or already delivered weapons and ammunition worth more than 3.8 billion US dollars (around 3.6 billion euros) to the former Soviet republic since the beginning of the war. Biden has also asked Congress for an additional $33 billion in military aid and humanitarian assistance. Zelensky has stated that the goal is to drive Russian troops out of the Ukrainian territories occupied since February 24.
Stoltenberg warns Putin against using nuclear arsenal
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns Russia against using nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war. “Our message is clear: after the use of nuclear weapons, there would only be losers on all sides,” Stoltenberg told the “Welt am Sonntag”. “A nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought, including Russia.”
NATO Secretary General warns Putin against using nuclear weapons.
(Photo: dpa)
According to Stoltenberg, however, the Alliance has no indication that Russian nuclear weapons in particular have been at a higher level of readiness since the beginning of the war on February 24. Moscow has generally put its deterrent weapons on alert, which is also understood as a threat with the nuclear arsenal.
The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, has meanwhile ruled out any cooperation with Kremlin chief Putin after the end of the war. “Russia’s president has said goodbye to the civilized world,” Heusgen told Funke media group newspapers (Saturday). Putin should be brought before an international court for war crimes committed by Russia.
That brings the day
A man leaves the Azovstahl steel mill, watched by Russian troops and troops of the separatist army.
(Photo: AP)
In Mariupol, the Ukrainians’ last defensive post in Azovstal is constantly under Russian fire. The aim of the Russian troops is said to be to conquer the factory site, which is heavily fortified with bunkers and tunnels, by May 9th. In previous evacuations, only civilians, mostly women, children or the elderly, were allowed to leave the plant in the direction of Ukrainian-controlled areas. On Friday, according to Kiev, there were 50 people. On Saturday there should be another escape option.
Meanwhile, soldiers and wounded are stuck underground. Ukraine is trying to get them out too, Zelenskiy said. “We are also working on diplomatic options to save our military, which still remains on Azovstal.” International mediators are involved. He threatened that there would be no more talks with Russia if the civilians and soldiers in Azovstal were killed.
More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog