Ukraine stated on Friday (May 6, 2022) that 50 citizens were evacuated from a bombed-out steelworks in Mariupol, accusing Russia of breaking a ceasefire designed to allow dozens more trapped beneath the factory to leave after weeks of siege. Mariupol has been subjected to the most lethal bombing of the 10-week-old conflict, and the massive Soviet-era Azovstal factory is the only component of the city – a crucial southern port on the Azov Sea – remaining in Ukrainian forces’ control.
In a late-night video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine was engaged in a diplomatic effort to free the defenders trapped within the steelworks. ‘Influential intermediaries, influential governments are engaged,’ he stated, without delving into much detail. Some of the hundreds of civilians who had sought refuge in a network of tunnels and bunkers under the facility were evacuated last weekend through United Nations-brokered arrangements. However, fresh violence halted them over the week.
According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 50 women, children, and the elderly were evacuated from the factory on Friday afternoon, and the operation will continue on Saturday. According to her, the Russian side consistently broke a local truce, making the evacuation very difficult. ‘The humanitarian effort at Azovstal will continue on May 7,’ Russia added, confirming the number of evacuees.
Earlier this week, the mayor of the city claimed that 200 people were stranded at the factory with minimal food or water. It’s unknown how many people are still alive. According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, Russia is attempting to fend off forces inside the plant in order to take it by Monday. This is a gift for President Vladimir Putin, in time for Moscow’s commemorations of the former Soviet Union’s WWII triumph over Nazi Germany.
GLOBAL HUNGER
The port, located between the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, and portions of eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia-backed rebels the same year, is critical to connecting the two Russian-held regions and limiting Ukrainian exports. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grain, which were needed to keep prices from spiraling and creating global famine, were held in Ukraine, according to Josef Schmidhuber, Deputy Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Markets and Trade Division in Geneva. He characterized the scenario as ‘nearly horrible’.
Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces were still attempting to take over the whole of eastern Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said it had damaged an ammo dump in Kramatorsk and shot down two Ukrainian jets. However, Arestovych stated in a video briefing that Ukrainian forces had achieved some breakthroughs around Kharkiv and Kherson, inflicting ‘major casualties’ on the Russians while also suffering losses. It was impossible to independently verify either side’s claims concerning battlefield occurrences.
Moscow describes its activities as a ‘special military operation’ aimed at disarming Ukraine and ridding it of anti-Russian nationalism instilled by the West. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of starting a conflict without provocation. Since the commencement of the invasion, more than 5 million Ukrainians have fled abroad. Ukraine’s military staff warned Friday morning in Mariupol that Russia has begun its operations to take control of the Azovstal complex, including with air support.
According to Reuters, a member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic troops fighting with the Russian army in eastern Ukraine believes Ukrainian forces do not have enough strength left to protect Azovstal. ‘It won’t last long,’ claimed a combatant who identified himself as Alexei while chatting near the factory on Thursday. On April 21, Putin declared victory in Mariupol, ordered the facility to be shut off, and ordered Ukrainian soldiers inside to disarm.
When asked about plans for Russia to commemorate World War II memorial days in portions of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied, ‘The moment will come to commemorate Victory Day in Mariupol’. Ukraine and its western allies warn that after failing to grab the capital, Russian forces have made modest progress in their revised goal of seizing the country’s east and south, but they may also want to include Ukraine’s western neighbor, Moldova.
AN EXAMPLE OF UNITY
The White House said that US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders will make a video conversation with Zelenskiy on Sunday as a show of solidarity. Biden presented a security aid package for Ukraine, including more artillery shells, radars, and other equipment. Separately, a US official stated that it was worth $150 million.
Meanwhile, the Italian government has ordered the seizure of a boat worth $700 million that has been connected to Putin in the media. Since September, the elegant, six-deck Scheherazade has been undergoing repairs at the Italian port of Marina di Carrara. The United Nations Security Council, which includes Russia, voiced ‘grave concern’ over the situation in Ukraine in its first comment since the Feb. 24 invasion.
Russia’s $1.8 trillion economy has been harmed by the most severe sanctions ever placed on a major nation, and the European Union has suggested more. However, the latest package, which includes an oil embargo, has met with some criticism, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban comparing it to dropping an ‘atomic bomb’ on the economy.
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