Russia tested a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile
Russia carried out a test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday. The missile “will make those who threaten our country think twice,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The missile, which was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, reached its destination 6,000 kilometers away in the Kurá range, on the Kamchatka peninsula, bathed by the Pacific Ocean. It is a new generation weapon with a very long range, which according to Putin will serve as a warning to his country’s enemies.
“A unique weapon, which will strengthen the military potential of our armed forces, ensure Russia’s security from external threats and make those who threaten our country with unrestrained and aggressive rhetoric think twice,” Putin said after the television announcement. of the ballistic test.
Israel offers Jerusalem as the setting for a summit between Putin and Zelensky
Israel reaffirms its readiness to host a possible meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, in Jerusalem, and is ready to make the city a meeting place for Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
This was said by the Israeli Ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Ben Zvi. “Of course. But again, they (Zelensky and Putin) must make a decision. We will be happy to host the meeting in Jerusalem,” the diplomat explained.
The Israeli ambassador also noted that the Ukrainian and Russian delegations could hold meetings in Jerusalem. “What has been done in Turkey can be done in our country,” said Ben Zvi.
He also confirmed that the leaders of Israel and Russia were still in regular contact, but it was not difficult for him to say when, for example, the next contact would be.
Germany says it has no more weapons to send to Ukraine
The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbockconfirmed this Wednesday that Germany does not have reserve military equipment to send to Ukraine and that it will offer training and maintenance support instead.
Baerbock reiterated in Riga what the German chancellor had already stated in this regard, Olaf Scholzand said that Germany has already sent Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank rockets from the Army (Bundeswehr) reserve.
He recalled in the Latvian capital, where he began a tour of the Baltic republics, that Germany will have a budget of one billion euros for military support in the medium and long term, which, however, may not be used for the defense of the Donbas region in the Russian offensive in that part of Ukraine.
German support, Baerbock said, could be devoted to the acquisition of new equipment and to replacing old Soviet and post-Soviet adapted systems with Western weaponry, which would require training and technical support.
Russia attacks the last stronghold in Mariupol as part of its new offensive in Ukraine
Russian forces today stepped up their offensive in eastern Ukraine with hundreds of more attacks, including against the last fighters defending Mariupol, amid renewed efforts to evacuate civilians from the war-torn city.
The capture of Mariupol is crucial for the offensive that Russia launched this week, as part of its invasion of Ukraine, to conquer the entire eastern region of the country where it is located, known as Donbass, which is the Ukrainian industrial heartland.
The offensive opens the second stage of the war that began almost two months ago, and comes weeks after Russia said it had completed the first and withdrew its troops from the northern kyiv region to focus on the “liberation” of Donbass.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its forces launched intense attacks in different parts of Ukraine, including Donbass, in the past 24 hours, hitting 1,053 targets with artillery and 73 with aerial bombardment.
Russia strikes over a thousand military targets in Ukraine
Russia claimed to have killed around 40 Ukrainian soldiers last night and struck more than 1,000 targets of Ukraine’s military infrastructure during a series of “high-precision missile” and artillery shelling.
The Defense Ministry said in a message on its Telegram account that the attacks took place in the eastern and southern provinces of Ukraine, coinciding with a new Russian offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region known as Donbass.
He also indicated that during the night 73 military installations were hit, including four command posts, with air strikes, and another 1,053 targets with artillery strikes, the Europa Press news agency reported.
More than five million Ukrainians have fled their country due to the war, according to the UN
More than five million Ukrainians have fled their country following the Russian invasion, according to UN figures published on Wednesday, in the fastest flow of refugees in Europe since World War II.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that 5,034,439 Ukrainians have left the country since Russia began its invasion on February 24.
Russia hands Ukraine an agreement proposal and awaits a response from kyiv
Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side a draft document in the peace talks being held by Moscow and kyiv, and awaits a response from its authorities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said today.
“To date, we handed over to the Ukrainian side our draft document that includes absolutely clear and developed formulations. The ball is in its court, we are waiting for a response,” said the representative of the Russian Presidency.
Peskov did not specify any timeframe for this response, saying only that “it depends on the Ukrainian side.”
For the Kremlin, preventing Russian tennis players from playing Wimbledon would be “unacceptable”
It would be “unacceptable” to ban Russian tennis players from the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, reacting to British media reports on the matter.
“Once again, they make athletes hostage to political prejudice, political intrigue… It is unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
“Considering that Russia is a very strong country in tennis, our athletes are at the top of the world rankings, their exclusion will have an impact on the competition itself,” he added.
Wimbledon bans Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing
The Wimbledon tournament will ban Russian tennis players, including world number two Daniil Medvedev, and Belarusians from competing as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
This confirms the threats of the British Government, which, through the sports minister, Nigel Huddleston, asked on several occasions that Russian tennis players had to declare their independence from Vladimir Putin in writing to prevent them from making any kind of gesture in favor from Russia during the event.
Wimbledon thus becomes the first major competition to prohibit individual athletes from participating, after Russia has been expelled from tournaments such as the World Cup in Qatar and other team tennis competitions such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean. King Cup, where they defended the titles won in 2021.
Norway sends 100 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s military offensive
The Norwegian Government announced today that it has sent 100 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine to strengthen kyiv’s military capabilities in the face of the Russian military offensive.
Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said these were French Mistral short-range missiles that Norway planned to replace in its arsenals. “But it is still an effective and modern weapon that will greatly benefit Ukraine,” the minister said.
Ukraine announces a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol for some 6,000 civilians
Ukraine announced today that an agreement has been reached to open a humanitarian evacuation corridor from the besieged Mariupol, which will try to remove some 6,000 civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly, from the city in the south of the country.
“Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation, we are going to focus our efforts on evacuating these people,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said via Telegran, reports the Ukrinform portal.
In the last three days, no humanitarian corridor had been opened, neither in that city nor in other parts of the east of the country, due to the lack of security guarantees, according to Vereshchuk.
kyiv believes that Putin seeks to present his “victory in the Donbass” on May 9
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry assumes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to move his troops “as much as possible” outside the limits of Donbass, in order to present it as a victory on May 9, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
“Their goal is quite clear: push the Ukrainian forces beyond the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and keep the land corridor to Crimea occupied,” defense spokesman Alexander Motuzyanyk told RBC-Ukraine channel.
That is the victory that Putin “will try to sell to his society”, he adds, after having failed in his “plan A”, which in kyiv’s opinion was the invasion of the entire country.
New Russian offensive in Lyman, in Donetsk
The Ukrainian military high command reported today of a new Russian offensive towards the city of Lyman, in the Donetsk region, as part of Russia’s advances to try to control all of Donbass, while the siege of Mariupol continues.
The clear objective of the Russian troops is to “capture” Mariupol and gain full control over the Kherson region, according to the latest part of the high command, released on Facebook and the Ukrinform portal.
The partial blockade also continues on Kharkov, the second Ukrainian city, also in the east, subjected to intense bombardment for weeks, where a regrouping of Russian troops has been recorded.
The President of the European Council arrives in Ukraine to meet with Zelensky
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, arrived today in the Ukrainian capital to meet with President Volodimir Zelenski, in a new sign of support from the European Union (EU) in the face of the Russian invasion.
“In kyiv today. In the heart of free and democratic Europe,” the former Belgian prime minister said in a message on Twitter, announcing this surprise visit, accompanied by a photograph of himself at the Ukrainian capital’s train station.
EU sources said Michel was received by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna upon his arrival in Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with the Ukrainian president, the Europa Press news agency reported.