Parade of big names in Ukraine, to bring solidarity to the Kiev government that has been at war against Russian troops for over two months.
Jill Biden, wife of the US leader , arrived on a visit to the country invaded by the armies of Moscow, who met Olena Zelenska , the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Canada's premier J ustin Trudeau instead visited Irpin , one of the areas where massacres by the Kremlin military were reported.
Bono and The Edge , respectively U2 frontman and bassist, also arrived in Kiev, giving life to an improvised concert in the subway ( VIDEO ).
In the meantime, there are decisive hours in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupo I , where practically all civilians have been evacuated. The fighters of the Azov Battalion , barricaded in the mega steel plant, held a press conference announcing that they will not give up.
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Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin went to Mariupol , who also went to the city of Volnovacha, 60 km north of the port center on the Sea of Azov, "to evaluate the reconstruction works" after the conflict. This was announced by the pro-Russian leader of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin , quoted by Tass.
On Memorial Day, there is also a long-distance blow-off between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. Zelensky said that the Russians are " ", while Vladimir that it is "a common duty to prevent the restoration of Nazism", saying he is sure of the Russian victory against "the Nazi scum".
The decision follows the extramarital affair case that ended up in the crosshairs of the secret services. Colette Kress receives an interim position. The stock market is shaking.
The situation in Ukraine was also at the center of the last G7 meeting by videoconference . "We must continue to support Ukraine - Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in his speech - and we must move forward with the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, we must make every effort to help achieve a ceasefire and to give new impetus to the negotiations ".
Meanwhile, news arrives from Moscow on the parade scheduled for Monday 9 May , Victory Day in which the role of the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany is remembered. There will be 77 - like the years since the end of the Second World War - the planes and helicopters that will fly in parade over the capital. This was communicated by the Russian Defense Ministry, confirming that eight fighters will fly over Red Square forming the letter "Z" to support the "Russian military personnel participating in the special military operation in Ukraine ".
Di Maio: "We cannot supply Kiev with offensive weapons"
"We must support Ukraine and its army for its legitimate defense and at the same time Italy will continue to work for peace. But we cannot think of providing weapons to hit Russian soil." Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said this to “Che tempo che fa” on Rai3. This would not be legitimate, "it is the position of the Italian government", added Di Maio regarding some recent statements by the British Defense Minister.
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Draghi at the G7: "Continue with the sanctions, but work for a ceasefire"
"Together with his partners, Prime Minister Mario Draghi reiterated the importance of close coordination to support Ukraine and pursue peace by promoting an immediate ceasefire and credible negotiations". Palazzo Chigi reports this after the G7 videoconference extended to the President of Ukraine Zelensky. "We must continue to support Ukraine - said Draghi - and we must move forward with the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, we must make every effort to help reach a ceasefire as soon as possible and to give new momentum for negotiations ".
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G7: "Russia puts global food security at risk"
"President Putin's war against Ukraine is putting global food security under severe stress. Together with the United Nations, we call on Russia to end its blockade and all other activities that prevent the production and export of food from the United Nations. 'Ukraine, in line with its international commitments, if it does not, this will be seen as an attack on supplies
global food ". Thus the statement of the G7 leaders.
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Zelensky at the G7: "Russians withdraw from all over Ukraine"
"Ukrainian President Zelensky stressed Ukraine's firm determination to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said that Ukraine's ultimate goal is to ensure the full withdrawal of Russian forces from the entire territory of Ukraine and ensure the his ability to protect himself in the future, thanking the G7 members for their support. " It can be read in the final declaration of the G7 after the summit by videoconference.
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Scholz: "We will not take NATO to war"
"We will not make any decisions that lead NATO to war. That remains." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says this in his speech to the nation that will be broadcast tonight on TV, according to the text issued by the chancellery. "The fact that there should no longer be a world war, and certainly not a war between nuclear powers, is also a teaching of May 8," he added with reference to the commemoration of the German capitulation in the Second World War.
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Justin Trudeau visiting Irpin
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kiev. A visit “to see all the horrors that the Russian invaders have committed in our city. And, of course, he was shocked, "said Irpin Mayor Olexandr Markushin.
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Jill Biden in Ukraine, a surprise trip
Jill Biden took a surprise trip to western Ukraine when she met First Lady Olena Zelenska at a school in Uzhhorod, a city of 100,000 inhabitants just a few kilometers from the border with Slovakia.
"I wanted to come on Mother's Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this brutal war must end and that the American people are with the Ukrainian people," said the first lady as she donated a bouquet of flowers to Olena Zelenska.
The Ukrainian first lady thanked the US one, defining her act "very courageous". The two, after a closed-door meeting, visited a classroom hosting displaced children, where the pupils were doing odd jobs to give to their mothers.
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EU, oil embargo still postponed
The green light of the permanent representatives of the 27 of the EU (Coreper) is still postponed for the sixth package of sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine, with the gradual embargo on oil in Moscow. There would have been important progress on most of the measures, but there would still be work to be done, inter alia, on how to ensure the security of supply and technical issues to be resolved, also linked to infrastructural reconversion. This is what we learn from European sources.
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Russian Deputy Prime Minister in Mariupol
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin went to Mariupol and the city of Volnovacha, 60 km north of the port center on the Sea of Azov, "to evaluate the reconstruction works" after the conflict. This was announced by the pro-Russian leader of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, quoted by Tass.
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The Azovstal Fighters: "Until the end"
"There are many wounded soldiers to be evacuated" from Azovstal to Mariupol "but we will fight to the end". This was announced by the commander of the Azov battalion, Denis “Radis” Prokopenko, in an online press conference from the besieged steel plant.
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Putin: "A common duty to prevent the restoration of Nazism"
It is a common duty to prevent the restoration of Nazism: Russian President Vladimir Putin said today, congratulating, among other things, the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. This was reported by TASS, which cites the Kremlin.
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Kiev: "25,500 Russian soldiers killed since the beginning of the war"
At least 25,500 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began, according to the Kiev army. In its update on the losses suffered by Moscow so far, the army indicates that after 74 days of conflict there are also 199 fighters, 156 helicopters and 360 drones shot down. In addition, the Kiev forces claim to have destroyed 1,130 Russian tanks, 509 pieces of artillery, 2,741 armored vehicles for transporting troops, 92 cruise missiles, 179 rocket launchers, 12 ships, 1,961 vehicles and tankers for the transport of fuel, 86 anti-aircraft defense units and 39 special equipment units.
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Ukraine: 225 children have been killed since the war began
The number of children killed since the start of the war in Ukraine has risen to 225, while 413 children have been injured. This was reported by the Attorney General's office on Telegram, quoted by Ukrinform, underlining that these figures are not definitive since the recovery of the victims is made difficult in the areas of Russian hostilities. Most of the children were affected in the Donetsk, Kiev, Kharkiv, Chernihiv regions.
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Two boys aged 11 and 14 killed by bombs in Lugansk
Two boys aged 11 and 14 were killed and two girls aged 8 and 12 were injured yesterday in a Russian bombing raid on the city of Pryvillia, in the Sievierodonetsk district of the Lugansk region. This was reported by the Kyiv Attorney General's office on Telegram quoted by Ukrinform.
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Kadyrov announces Popasna taking, Kiev denies
The head of Chechnya - Ramzan Kadyrov, a loyalist of Vladimir Putin - announced today that most of the Ukrainian city of Popasna is in the hands of his soldiers, but Ukrainian officials say the battle to defend the city in the east of the country continues. The Guardian reports it.
"The Chechen special forces fighters have taken control of most of Popasna," Kadyrov wrote on Telegram today. "The main streets and central districts of the country have been completely cleared," he added. For the moment, Kiev has not made any comments.
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Sixty civilians missing in an attack on a school in Lugansk
About 60 civilians are missing after the Russian army airstrike yesterday afternoon on a school with a shelter in the village of Bilohirivka, in the Lugansk region. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration, Sergii Gaidai, on Telegram taken up by Ukrinform. "All 60 people left under the rubble of the buildings are most likely dead," writes Gaidai. Yesterday the Ukrainian emergency services spoke of at least two victims. 90 people were hiding in the basement, in the evening at least thirty had been rescued .
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Ukraine: anti-aircraft sirens in almost all regions
The anti-aircraft warning sirens rang this morning in almost all Ukrainian regions: the Kyiv Independent reports.
