…As U.S. prepares new arms package for the battered country
This morning, Russia set a new ultimatum for surrender in the battered city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces and reportedly hundreds of civilians are holed up in the Azovstal steel plant potentially facing their “last days, if not hours,” one Ukrainian commander said.
Vastly outnumbered, the Ukrainian troops have pledged to keep fighting.
Officials in Ukraine continue to call for more weapons support and faster delivery as Russia intensifies its bombardment of the eastern Donbas region.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is preparing a massive new arms package for Ukraine, according to sources who spoke to NBC, and Chinese imports of Russian coal have plummeted.
Russia likely wants to be able to show “significant successes” ahead of its annual Victory Day celebration on May 9, the British defense ministry said in an intelligence update.
“This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date,” the U.K. ministry said.
May 9 is of great national importance to Russia, as it marks the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Russian forces are now advancing toward Kramatorsk, the capital of the Donbas region, which continues to suffer from rocket attacks, the ministry said. The Donbas is made up of the two pro-Russian self-declared “republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk.
“High levels of Russian air activity endure as Russia seeks to provide close air support to its offensive in eastern Ukraine, to suppress and destroy Ukrainian air defense capabilities,” the ministry added.
Meanwhile, Ukraine wants to cut Russia off from financing its military activities with oil revenues, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The plan is to restrict key sectors in Russia — including energy and banking, as well as export-import operations, transport, he said. “The next steps should include an oil embargo and a complete restriction on oil supplies from Russia,” he said during his nightly video address.
Ukrainian and international experts are working to ensure that “Russia will lose the opportunity to finance the military machine,” he added, saying details of the plan were published today.
“We are also working to ensure that all — I emphasize — all Russian officials who support this shameful war receive a logical sanctions response from the democratic world,” the president said.
Zelenskyy highlighted his meeting with European Council President Charles Michel, who visited Kyiv on Wednesday.
The two leaders talked about how to address threats to food and energy security in Europe and globally. “Resuming exports of Ukrainian agricultural products and blocking Russia’s ability to blackmail Europe with energy resources are top priorities for everyone on the continent,” he added.
While pointing out that the EU was preparing a sixth package of sanctions, he emphasized that sanctions are not “an end in themselves,” but a tool to motivate Russia to end the war.
Zelenskyy added that the situation in the east and south of Ukraine remains “as severe as possible” and that Russian forces are still trying for some victory through new large-scale offensives — “at least something they can ‘feed’ their propagandists with,” he said.
Russia has been waging information warfare alongside its military operations. NBC News previously reported that Russians have been “fed a steady diet of propaganda” by Russian-state media.
(CNBC)
Pix: Battered bodies in Ukraine