MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow is ready for talks with Ukraine.
The Kremlin said in a reading on Tuesday that “despite Kyiv’s inconsistency and lack of readiness for serious work, the Russian side is still ready for dialogue.”
The Kremlin added that Putin had also briefed Macron on the progress of Russia’s “special military operation.” It added that the two leaders also discussed global food security, and Putin stressed that Western sanctions have exacerbated the situation.
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KEY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
– Humanitarian workers prepare to receive civilians evacuated from Mariupol Steel
– Pressing the armaments of Ukraine burdens the US arms stockpile
– Pope Francis offers to meet with Putin, but has not received a response
Follow all AP stories about Russia’s war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
ZAPORIZH, Ukraine – The UN Resident Coordinator for Ukraine said 127 people had been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol and nearby areas in a government-controlled city as part of an operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Osnat Lubriani, the humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said on Tuesday that the evacuees included 101 people who could finally leave the bunkers under the Azovstal steel plant and see the light of day in two months.
Another 58 people joined the convoy in Manchush, a town on the outskirts of Mariupol.
“Today we brought people safely to Zaporozhye,” said Lubriani. “However, I am worried that there may be more civilians left trapped.”
The evacuees received humanitarian aid, including health and psychological care, from the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and partner agencies after arriving in Zaporozhye on Tuesday.
Some of the evacuees chose to be left before arriving in the city, which is in government-controlled territory, Lubriani said in a statement.
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Kyiv, Ukraine – The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, who is hiding in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, confirmed to the Associated Press that Russian forces began storming the plant on Tuesday.
The move comes almost two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military not to storm the plant, but rather to block it.
Asked about reports in the Ukrainian media that the huge steel production – the latest stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in a city otherwise controlled by Moscow’s forces – was storming, Svyatoslav Palamar told the AP that “this is true”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mariupol’s patrol police chief, Mikhail Vershinin, was quoted by Ukrainian television as saying that the Russian military “has begun storming the plant in several places.”
The reports come amid UN efforts to evacuate civilians from the plant, which has helped dozens of people flee the sprawling facility.
According to Denis Schlega, commander of the 12th Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, which is also currently in Azovstal, 200 civilians, including children, remain at the plant.
Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told reporters on Tuesday that about 150 civilians had been taken from Azovstal and several hundred remained at the plant. “We need a few more days to continue this operation,” Vereshchuk said.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish Prime Minister Mete Frederiksen has called on visiting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to try to influence Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
“Putin must stop this war,” Frederiksen said on Tuesday, adding immediately: “I hope India will influence Russia.”
India’s neutral position in the war has raised concerns in the West and won praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who praised India for assessing “the situation as a whole, not just one-sidedly.”
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LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Ukrainian parliament that their country had achieved “the greatest weapons feat of the 21st century” by rejecting Russia’s attempt to take Kyiv.
Johnson addressed deputies in the Ukrainian legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, via video link on Tuesday. He is the first world leader to do so since Ukraine was attacked on February 24th.
Johnson, one of Ukraine’s most prominent international supporters, has announced a new 300m-pound ($ 375m) package of military aid to Ukraine, including radar, drones and armored vehicles.
Johnson said Ukraine had “blown up the myth of (Russian President Vladimir Putin’s) invincibility” and expressed confidence that Ukraine would win the war.
The British leader said Western allies had not done enough to stop Russia after it annexed Crimea and sparked a conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and said Ukraine’s allies should not pressure it to give up territory. to make peace.
He said: “You are masters of your own destiny and no one can and should impose anything on Ukrainians. We in the United Kingdom will be guided by you and we are proud to be your friends. ”
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The Russian military says it has resumed strikes on the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol.
Vadim Astafiev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian fighters hiding in the plant “came out of basements, took up firing positions on the territory and in the plant’s buildings.” Astafiev said Russian forces, along with rebel forces in Donetsk, were using “artillery and planes … to destroy these firing positions.”
Steelmaking is the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in a city otherwise controlled by Moscow’s forces. More than 100 civilians, including young children, escaped from the steel plant in an evacuation attempt monitored by the United Nations and the Red Cross.
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TIRANA, Albania – Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky reiterated his call on the world to close Russia off all international financial and trade systems.
In an online speech to the Albanian parliament on Tuesday, Zelenski called on Europe and the world to stop buying oil from Russia, close Russian banks, stop trading with Russia, close ports for Russian ships and restrict the arrival of Russian tourists, “because you do not know who is coming, a murderer in prisons or executioners of Mariupol.
“It’s just unfair,” Zelensky said of the United Nations buying about $ 2.5 billion in materials from Russia for its humanitarian operations.
He thanked the small Western Balkan country for its full support, especially in the UN Security Council, where it is a temporary member.
“Our story, when half a million Albanians were forcibly deported during ethnic cleansing from their land in Kosovo and found refuge in Albania, helps us feel the far-reaching pain of Ukraine,” said Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The 1998-1999 bloody conflict between Serbia and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, then a Serbian province, left more than 12,000 dead and forced nearly a million Kosovars to flee their homeland.
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BERLIN – The leaders of Finland and Sweden said their governments had not yet decided whether to join NATO, but stressed close security co-operation with other European countries in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Speaking on Tuesday after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz near Berlin, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that “Russia’s attack on Ukraine has completely changed our security environment” and “there is no going back.”
“We have to decide whether to apply for NATO membership or continue on our current path,” she said. “This is the debate we are having now in our national parliament.”
Her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Anderson, said the Scandinavian nation’s parliament was conducting a security review on May 13th.
“The analysis includes Sweden’s future international defense partnerships, including a discussion on NATO, and all options are on the table,” she said.
“While our respective security measures are, of course, decided at national level, we coordinate very closely with Finland,” Anderson added.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said both sides would be welcome if they decided to join the 30-member military organization and could become members fairly quickly.
NATO foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Berlin on May 14-15.
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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – A group of 20 children from an orphanage in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, have arrived in Slovenia, where they will remain until the end of the war.
Officials said on Wednesday that the children were mostly young children who had traveled with orphanage staff, doctors, nurses and their families.
The group will remain near the western town of Postojna and will receive temporary protection status in the small European Union country.
Local Civil Protection Commander Sandy Kirk said “the arrival was quite emotional.” Curk says there were no problems along the route and the trip lasted 24 hours.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – The Slovak energy minister says the country is not ready to join the European Union’s embargo on Russian oil imports as part of a new package of sanctions to be imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Slovakia is almost completely dependent on Russian oil, which it has received through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. Economy Minister Rhard Sulik told reporters on Tuesday that Slovakia’s only refiner, Slovnaft, could not immediately switch from Russian crude to other oil. The change in technology will take several years, he said.
“We will certainly push for his release,” Sulik said.
European Union leaders discussed new sanctions sanctions on Tuesday, which could include a gradual oil embargo. The 27 member states are likely to start discussing the plans on Wednesday, but it could be several days before the measures take effect.
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STRASBOURG, France – the Italian Prime Minister …
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