Fierce fighting throughout eastern and southern Ukraine

Odessa and the surrounding area saw a sharp increase in air strikes, as Russian forces reportedly used missiles, warships and fighter jets to target multiple targets. Meanwhile, Russian forces in Mariupol also stepped up their campaign to take control of the Azovstal metallurgical plant.

View of the commercial district in Odessa after being hit by a missile on May 10 AFP

Azovstal tightening pliers

AFP quoted Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk As of yesterday, there were more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers entrenched inside the Azovstal factory, of which hundreds were wounded. “With each passing day the situation is getting worse,” said Ms. Vereshchuk. In addition, Ukraine said at least 100 civilians are still trapped inside the factory premises, although the Russian side and some Ukrainian officials previously announced that they had evacuated all of them.

With the support of tanks and artillery, Russian forces are deploying stormy operations against the Azovstal plant, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. However, the Russian military repeatedly affirmed that it did not attack the factory, but only opened fire to prevent Ukrainian soldiers from advancing to capture the fire points.

In Odessa, an important port city on the Black Sea, the Ukrainian armed forces announced on Facebook that one person was killed and five injured when seven rockets hit a shopping mall and warehouse. On the same day, CNN reported a shopping mall and two hotels in the southern port city of Odessa Ukraine was hit by three Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The Russian side has not commented on the above information.

In Luhansk, Governor Serhiy Gaidai said the area had been hit 22 times in the 24 hours to yesterday. “The situation in Bilohorivka continues to be tense. The enemy is trying to break through the encirclement to transport equipment and troops,” Gaidai said. In the town of Bogodukhov, northwest of Kharkiv, local officials reported four deaths and several houses destroyed. The Ukrainian military says Russian forces are increasing their presence along the front lines near Kharkiv.

For his part, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed that the Russian military had repelled a major effort by the Ukrainian military to retake Snake Island, the outpost that Russia took control of from Ukraine in the early days. campaign, according to Sputnik. Reuters quoted information from the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that missile and artillery forces neutralized 53 Ukrainian military vehicles in the Mykolaiv region. At the same time, the Russian side also shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet over Kharkiv.

America accelerates reinforcements

The White House yesterday announced the US President Joe Biden signed into law the loan – lease of Ukraine’s democracy defense 2022, allowing to speed up the process of military aid to the Eastern European country amid hostilities lasting more than 70 days. In addition, AFP quoted several sources familiar with the matter as saying that US Democrats had agreed to an additional aid package of nearly 40 billion USD, including an agreement to supply a huge amount of weapons to Ukraine.

Same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky urges the international community to immediately take steps to end Russia’s blockade of its seaports, free up food cargo ships and prevent a global food crisis. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also arrived in Ukraine yesterday, becoming the highest-ranking Berlin government official to visit the country since Russia launched a special military operation on February 24. Greece announced the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv, joining the list of countries (including the US) that began sending diplomatic missions to Ukraine after the outbreak of hostilities.