Moscow's assault on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol has started: armored vehicles, tanks, landing attempts, a large number of infantry and aerial bombardments to flush out the fighters of the Azov Battalion barricaded together with the Ukrainian marines and various civilians.

The Russian army has started storming the huge steel plant, reports the Ukrainian agency UNIAN, citing its military correspondent Andrei Tsaplienko . "The occupiers stormed the Azovstal, trying to enter the plant."

Shortly after came the confirmation of the deputy commander of the Azov regiment Svyatoslav Palamar : "We were bombed all night, two civilian women were killed and now Azovstal is being stormed. The Russians are now trying to break into the plant, first of the assault, the planes bombed it ".

But the Russian offensive does not stop at the steel mill or even at the Donbass provinces. Multiple attacks affecting various areas of the country: air-raid sirens are heard in almost all of Ukraine , explosions are also recorded in Kiev, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, while at least 5 are heard in Lviv, west of the country, and have caused "damage important ".

MACRON-PUTIN PHONE CALL - A long phone call lasting over two hours between the Russian and French presidents, the first since Macron's re-election at the Elysée . Macron appealed to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for "Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council, putting an end to its devastating aggression ".

Reiterating the need for a ceasefire, Macron underlined "his continued readiness to operate under the conditions of a negotiated solution to allow for peace and full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" and offered "the its willingness to work with relevant international organizations to help lift the Russian blockade of Ukrainian food exports across the Black Sea with consequences for world food security ".

Putin, for his part, said he was open to dialogue but that Ukraine "is not ready for serious negotiations" to put an end to the conflict. He accused the EU of "ignoring" Ukrainian war crimes and said that " the West must stop supplying Ukraine with weapons ".

MARIUPOL AND IRPIN - In the meantime, harsh accusations continue to reach the Russians. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko speaks of " more than 20,000 civilians killed in just two months . I cannot say whether the Russians are preparing anything for May 9. They have already done everything they can, they have destroyed the city. Putin already has it . surpassed Hitler . He can be proud of himself. " The mayor also said that the Russians had "deported" almost 40,000 people from Mariupol, taken to the margins of Russia and forced to work.

Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova instead reported 290 civilian bodies killed by Russians in Irpin , demanding that Putin be tried because "he is the leading war criminal of the 21st century: remember Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine. And now the Ukraine. 'he is responsible as commander in chief of the war crimes committed in these areas ".

VATICAN - “I asked Cardinal Parolin, after twenty days of war, to send Putin the message that I was willing to go to Moscow. Of course, it was necessary for the Kremlin leader to allow a few windows. We have not yet received an answer and we are still insisting, even if I fear that Putin cannot and does not want to have this meeting right now. But so much brutality, how can you not stop it? ". This was declared by Pope Francis in an interview with Corriere. "I'm not going to Kiev for now - he said - I first have to go to Moscow, first I have to meet Putin".

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The day by the hour:

Missiles on Lviv: "Part of the city without electricity"

“After the missile attack on Lviv, two electrical substations were damaged. Part of the city is without electricity. "The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, reports on Twitter. According to local sources, four missiles have hit the city in western Ukraine.

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Anti-aircraft alarms in almost all of Ukraine

Anti-aircraft alarms are underway in almost all of Ukraine. In addition to Lviv and Kiev, explosions were also heard in Dnipro and Vinnytsia.

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Shot down missile near Kiev

The Ukrainian anti-aircraft shot down a Russian missile near Kiev. This was announced by the advisor to the interior minister Anton Gerashchenko. Some witnesses in the capital report hearing an explosion. Explosions were also heard in Lviv.

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"There are still 300 civilians in Azovstal's 5 anti-aircraft shelters"

The Azovstal has 5 anti-aircraft shelters capable of withstanding a nuclear warhead attack, where there are still 300 civilians, including 30-40 children and wounded in need of treatment. Enver Tskitishvili, director general of the site, told this in an interview with the BBC relaunched by the Ukrainian media. Between the ground and the ceiling of the communication tunnels between the various shelters, which are even deeper, there are - he explained - at least 8 meters thick.

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Macron to Putin: "End the war in Ukraine"

The president of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, appealed to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to "live up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council, putting an end to its devastating aggression" in Ukraine. The Elysée made it known at the end of the interview, which lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. It was the first since March 29 between the two heads of state and the first since Macron's re-election.

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Mayor Mariupol: "Here Putin has already surpassed Hitler"

In Mariupol "more than 20,000 civilians were killed in just two months. I cannot say whether the Russians are preparing anything for May 9 or not. They have already done everything they can, they have destroyed the city. Putin has already surpassed Hitler. He may have already done so. be proud of yourself ". This was stated by the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, in an online briefing at the media center in Kiev.

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Mayor Mariupol: "Almost 40 thousand civilians brought to Russia to forced labor"

"We checked the lists of residents deported by the Russians to their country. Currently there are almost 40,000 people. Our citizens are taken to the margins of Russia, they are given an immigration certificate and used for various jobs because there is no one there. jobs". The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said in an online briefing at the Kiev media center, adding that the Russians "are forcing citizens to perform various tasks in Mariupol itself such as removing debris and burning the bodies of killed civilians: they are hiding their crimes ".

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"New powerful Russian assault on Azovstal"

"A powerful assault on the territory of the Azovstal plant is currently underway with the support of armored vehicles, tanks, landing attempts and a large number of infantry." The deputy commander of the Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, said in a video message on Telegram, adding that in the Russian attacks of the past few hours "10 civilians have been injured", in addition to the two women killed who had already reported.

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Putin: "Ukraine not ready for serious negotiations"

Ukraine "is not ready for serious negotiations" to end the conflict with Russia. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call with Emmanuel Macron, according to reports from the Kremlin, quoted by TASS. Putin also told Macron that he was still open to dialogue with Kiev and accused the EU of "ignoring" the war crimes committed by Ukraine.

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Putin to Macron: "Enough to give weapons to Kiev"

"The West must stop supplying arms to Ukraine". Vladimir Putin said this to French President Emmanuel Macron during the phone call that was held in the late morning, according to the Kremlin.

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Macron-Putin phone call ended

The announced phone call was held between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian agency Tass writes it, quoting the TV. The first conversation between the two after Macron's re-election to the Elysée lasted over two hours.

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Assault on Azovstal with armored vehicles

"Currently the situation in the Azovstal steel plant is very complicated, since this morning the Russians are trying to attack the plant using armored vehicles, at the moment the Ukrainian soldiers are repelling all the attacks". This was stated by the commander of the 12th operational brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard Denis Schlega, located in the territory of the metallurgical plant, quoted by Ukrinform.

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BoJo: "Ukraine will win and be free"

Ukraine will win the war against Russia and be free from foreign occupation. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this to Ukrainian deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, thus becoming the first Western and world leader to speak on video link in the Kiev Parliament after the invasion by troops from Moscow began.

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Kiev prosecutor: "Putin the main war criminal of the 21st century"

"Putin must absolutely be tried, he is the leading war criminal of the 21st century: remember Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine". Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova said this when she met journalists in front of the completely destroyed Irpin House of Culture. "He is the one responsible as commander in chief for the war crimes committed in these areas," he added. In Irpin alone, 290 covers of civilians killed by the Russians were found, of which "55 are just human remains," he said.

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"The Russians have started the assault on the Azovstal steel plant"

The Russian army has started storming the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. The Ukrainian agency UNIAN writes, quoting its military correspondent Andrei Tsaplienko. "The occupiers stormed the Azovstal, trying to enter the plant", writes Tsaplienko on Telegram, stating that the information is "confirmed by the deputy commander of the Azov regiment. There are no details yet".

"We were bombed all night, two civilian women were killed and now Azovstal is being stormed." This was reported by the deputy commander of the Azov regiment barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant of Mariupol Svyatoslav Palamar (Kalyna) quoted by Ukrainska Pravda. "The Russians are now trying to break into the plant, before the assault, the planes bombed the plant," he adds.

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Putin signs the decree against sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree with the new Russian measures in response to the sanctions. This was reported by the Russian agency Tass.

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New delays for buses from Azovstal to Zaporizhzhya

The humanitarian convoy under the aegis of the United Nations and the Red Cross, with the displaced from the Mariupol steel plant, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance, is on its way to Zaporizhzhia, late on its schedule due, according to what is learned, checks carried out by the Russian military at checkpoints in the occupied territories crossed by the corridor.

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Moscow: "Lapid's words explain Israel's support for the Kiev regime"

"We have paid attention to the anti-historical statements of the head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid, which amply explain the course of the current Israeli government in support of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev": the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote today in a tweet. Yesterday Lapid said that the statements of the Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov (according to whom "Hitler was also of Jewish origin") "are both unforgivable and outrageous, and a terrible historical error".

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Kiev, two thousand civilians fleeing Mariupol blocked by the Russians

Two thousand Mariupol residents are waiting near Berdyansk, about eighty kilometers from the port city, to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia, but Russian troops won't allow it. The mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boychenko denounces this, according to Ukrinform. "Hostile Russian troops are destroying our plans and are not allowing our Ukrainians and our Mariupol residents to reach the city of Zaporizhzhia," Boychenko said.

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Kiev, Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region, one dead

In the past 24 hours, Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region have resulted in one death and 3 injuries. The Kyiv Independent reports it citing the governor of Kharkiv oblast, Oleh Synehubov. A bombing of a factory in the region, Synehubov explains, caused a fire in which a worker died.

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Moscow, 11,550 people evacuated in 24 hours, including 1,847 children

The Moscow army has evacuated 11,550 people from Ukraine to Russia in the last 24 hours, including 1,847 children, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to Interfax. Since the war began on February 24, Russia has evacuated a total of 1,092,137 people from Ukraine, including 196,356 children.

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Two bodies with traces of torture near Mikolaiv

The bodies of two people with traces of torture were found in a mass grave near Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. The regional prosecutor's office in Mykolaiv reports on Telegram, according to Ukrinform. During the investigation in the village of Novofontanka, Bashtanska district, Ukrainian law enforcement officers who are "documenting the crimes of the Russian army during the occupation" found "the bodies of two local people with traces in a mass grave. of gunshot wounds and torture. One of the men had his legs tied, "explains the regional prosecutor's office, adding that" traces of the Russian army were found nearby, including fragments of a typical packet of Russian biscuits " . "The exact cause of death will be determined by the results of the forensic examination," he adds.

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Heavy bombing in the Zaporizhzhia region

Moscow is regrouping its troops and strengthening artillery and air defense units in the areas of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Mykolaiv: the Ukrainian army has announced, according to reports from the Kyiv Independent, adding that in the last few hours the Russians have heavily bombed the cities of Tokmak and Berdyansk, in the Zaporizhzhia region. For its part, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration has announced that Moscow is trying to establish a logistical support network for its troops.

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Children who have died since the beginning of the war rise to 220, 406 injured

The death toll of children in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion rises to 220 (yesterday it was 219). The Ukrainian Public Prosecutor's Office on Telegram reports this. There are also 406 injured children on the rise.

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Kiev, "Moscow could strengthen bombardments in the east on May 9"

Russia could step up bombing in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region on May 9, the day of victory over the Nazis, said the head of the regional military administration, Sergii Gaidai, according to the Kyiv Independent. Gaidai believes the plan is part of Moscow's "scorched earth" strategy to take over the region by that date. According to the governor, Russian forces will use heavy weapons, including artillery and multiple launch systems, to try to destroy "everything in their path".

(Unioneonline)

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