(CNN) — the president of UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky accuses Russia of blocking 22 million tons of food and warns that countries will face crises if ports are not unblocked. “Russia has blocked almost all ports and, so to speak, all maritime opportunities to export food – our grain, barley, sunflower and more,” Zelensky told a media meeting on Saturday.
Here is the latest news regarding the war in Ukraine:
Russia introduces new controls on Mariupol movement
Aerial view of damaged residential buildings and the Azovstal steel plant in the background in the city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022. Credit: ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images
Russian forces that control Mariupol have begun requiring permits for cars to enter and leave the occupied Ukrainian city, an aide to the city’s Ukrainian mayor said on Sunday.
Petro Andrushchenko, the adviser, also warned that deportations of Ukrainians from the region were increasing.
Under restrictions introduced on Saturday, cars and passengers entering the city need single-use passes issued by a Russian commander in Manhush or Vynohradne, towns to the west and east of the occupied city, Andrushchenko said.
Passes to leave the city must be obtained from the Interior Ministry of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People’s Republic.
There is already a several-week wait for a pass, he said, and traveling within the district without entering the city also requires a pass.
“For those who are going to visit Mariupol, remember, for now it is a one-way trip,” he warned.
Mariupol, a strategically important port city on the Sea of Azov, fell under full Russian control last week with the surrender of the Azovstal steel mill, the last stronghold of the Ukrainians defending the city.
“The free world has the face of Ukraine,” says Poland’s president in Kyiv
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda addresses lawmakers during a session of the Ukrainian parliament in kyiv on May 22. (Stringer/Archyde.com)
Polish President Andrzej Duda told Ukrainian lawmakers on Sunday that “today’s free world has the face of Ukraine,” according to a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
Roman Hryshchuk tweeted a photo of Duda addressing the camera with lawmakers holding a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag.
“Dear Ukrainians, your relatives, wives, parents, children, who were forced to leave for Poland, are not refugees in our country. They are our guests.” tweeted Hryshchuk in English, citing Duda.
Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainian refugees have entered Poland since the Russian invasion in February, making it by far the largest host nation for people fleeing the country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees.
Duda also told Volodymyr Zelensky during the speech that “nobody can break our unity”, while becoming the first foreign leader since the Russian invasion to address Ukraine’s Rada parliament in Kyiv.
Duda’s office tweeted the message.
Russian forces fell back from a strategically important city
Smoke rises during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk on May 21. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia attacked Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine from several directions overnight but were pushed back to previous positions, President Zelensky’s office said on Sunday.
Seven houses in Severodonetsk and at least 27 houses in surrounding towns and villages were damaged, according to the office statement.
The attack on Severodonetsk was part of a broader attack along the line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian military general staff said.
“The enemy forces are preparing to resume the offensive in the direction of Sloviansk,” the Ukrainian general staff said, referring to another key city in the area.
Severodonetsk and Sloviansk are key to controlling the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Parts of Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
Lithuania cuts Russian energy imports
Lithuania will have completely cut off imports of Russian energy supplies, including oil, electricity and natural gas, from Sunday.
The country’s energy ministry said in a statement on Friday that pan-European energy exchange Nord Pool had decided to stop trading Russian electricity with its sole importer in the Baltic states, Russian utility Inter RAO, meaning the country would no longer import Russian energy.
“Not only is it an extremely important milestone for Lithuania on its journey towards energy independence, but it is also an expression of our solidarity with Ukraine,” Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said. “We must stop funding the Russian war machine.”
Biden will meet with Modi
US President Joe Biden arrives in Japan on May 22. He will have a separate one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Quad summit. (Evan Vucci/AP)
US President Joe Biden will meet face-to-face this week with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Japan as the United States works to convince India to join Western sanctions on Russia.
They will meet on the sidelines of the Quad summit, where security in the Indo-Pacific is expected to be a central issue. The Quad is an informal alliance between the US, India, Japan and Australia.
When Biden and Modi meet separately, their talks will be “constructive and direct,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as the US president flew from South Korea to Japan.
India is a major buyer of Russian arms and has been wary of distancing itself from Moscow amid the war in Ukraine.
With information from Antonia Mortensen and Julia Presniakova.