Date—May 18, 2022

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Stories

1. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that almost a thousand Ukrainian fighters have left the blocked Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Russia calls it captivity, while the Ukrainian side considers it an operation to save the Mariupol garrison, hoping for an exchange of troops. According to Konashenkov, 959 people have been “captured” since May 16, including 80 wounded, of whom 51 were taken to Novoazovsk Hospital in the occupied part of the Donetsk region. Last night, 694 soldiers of the Azov Regiment and other units, including 29 wounded, came out of the Azovstal dungeons, said a representative of the Russian Defense Ministry. The Ukrainian side has not yet disclosed information about the departure of the defenders of Mariupol, so as not to harm them. (Source: UP).

War

1. President Volodymyr Zelensky proposes to extend martial law. The relevant bill №7389 “On Approval of the Presidential Decree “On Extension of Martial Law in Ukraine”” was registered and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. It was extended for another month in April. Since Russia is not going to withdraw from our land yet and continues its shelling, President Zelensky submitted to the Council a bill approving a decree to continue martial law. (Source: LB).

Economy, Social life, and Culture

1. The chairman of the Mykolaiv regional military administration Vitaly Kim reported that the sowing campaign in areas with no military operations is finished by 80-85%. Asked about the supply of fuel to local farmers, Kim said there was a shortage of fuel in the region due to logistics problems. “The situation with fuel is bad. We have rebuilt the logistics, but it is not physically coping yet. We were promised that within a week or two this situation will be completely leveled off,” the head of the OVA said. According to him, the Nikolaev agrarians already bought fertilizers and fuel and now build to themselves additional warehouses because “due to problems with logistics delivery time increases”. “They are preparing warehouses so that everything they need can be stored longer and then the products can be exported. In general, people understand that they need to live on, and they are sowing,” the head of the OVA concluded. Earlier, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky said that Ukraine had sown 25-30% fewer crops than last year. The volume of spring corn has been reduced, and farmers are switching to cheaper crops due to logistics, fuel, and machinery problems. (Source: LB).

Invasion Damage

1. Kyrylenko: The Russians destroyed another educational institution in the Donetsk region – Avdiivka School G1, which burned down. “At night, the Russian army fired at the school with banned phosphorus munitions. The school burned to the ground. Fortunately, no one was injured: there were only people on duty in the building, and they managed to escape. military, no military equipment. It’s just that the Russians, as always, are purposefully destroying civilian infrastructure, “said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of DOVA. Military experts and investigators emphasize that Ukraine and Russia do not have phosphorous munitions. Instead, they may be incendiary munitions, which are also prohibited – they cannot be used in or near cities. The use of incendiary ammunition on military facilities is allowed only if they are remote from civilians. Such munitions are used to create mass fires in areas with dry vegetation using flammable combustible materials. (Source: Telegram).

2. Russian occupation forces destroyed a synagogue building in Mariupol. Once again, they confirm their disgraceful status as “racists”. Russian “liberators” destroy everything in their path and have already surpassed the Nazis in the number of war crimes. “the building of the “old synagogue” and the premises of the community center. Real barbarians of today!”, – said in a statement by the Mariupol City Council. (Source: LB).

Foreign news

1. In exchange for Finland and Sweden’s agreement to join NATO, Turkey wants them to condemn all Kurdish organizations and lift restrictions on arms sales. In particular, Ankara insists that any new candidates for NATO membership acknowledge its concerns with Kurdish militias, both inside Turkey and in Syria and Iraq. The fact is that although NATO members recognize the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as terrorists, their attitude towards their Syrian branch of the YPG is very different – some have even provided them with weapons to fight the Islamic State. That is why Turkey is demanding that Sweden and Finland publicly condemn the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and other Kurdish organizations. Turkey also wants Sweden and Finland to lift restrictions on arms sales they imposed in 2019 in response to the invasion of Syria. Although the arms trade between Turkey and Finland and Sweden is small, it is important for Ankara to demand that such restrictions be lifted by the United States. In particular, Turkey hopes to return to the agreement with the United States on the purchase of F-35 fighters, from which it was banned after it bought S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. (Source: Bloomberg).

2. Trass: Great Britain is open to discussing the establishment of an international criminal tribunal against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders in connection with the war in Ukraine. “We clearly understand that Putin and all those behind the horrific war crimes committed in Ukraine must be brought to justice, and we are working very closely with the International Criminal Court,” said Lisa Trass, the British Foreign Secretary. She reminded that Great Britain had sent experts to Ukraine to help gather evidence, from witness testimonies to video recordings. The minister said the government was open to discussing the tribunal’s idea, saying it was “under consideration” and that Britain wanted to “ensure the most effective prosecution of those who committed these heinous war crimes, including rape and indiscriminate attacks on civilians”. (Source: The Guardian).

Refugees

1. For eight days after May 9, the flow of entry into Ukraine through its western border has exceeded the flow of entry, a record since the beginning of the war. According to the SBGS, on May 17, as the day before, more than 31 thousand people left Ukraine, while the number of those who arrived in the country was 37 thousand against more than 41 thousand the day before. The agency clarified that over the past day the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian goods increased to 239 after falling in the previous two days to 150-190. According to the Polish Border Guard Service, on May 17, 26,000 people entered Ukraine from the country, while the day before – 26.8 thousand. In the opposite direction, the flow was 20,000 compared to 19.2 thousand the day before. In total, according to the Polish Border Guard Service, since the beginning of the war, 3.422 million people have arrived in Poland from Ukraine and 1.358 million people from Poland to Ukraine. According to UNHCR at 13:00 on May 16, a total of 6.267 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding entry flow), including 3.377 million to Poland, 977.91 thousand to Romania, and Moldova, and Russia to Russia. 850., 53 thousand, Hungary – 610.08 thousand, Slovakia – 424.03 thousand, Belarus (data for May 12) – 27.31 thousand At the same time in Ukraine, according to the State Border Guard Service, from February 28 1.821 million people entered. (Source: Interfax).