(Original title: Focus on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict: The Azov Steel Plant will not be defeated for a long time, and the Russian army will start dropping incendiary bombs or phosphorus bombs?)
Financial Associated Press, May 15 (Editor Niu Zhanlin)According to Ukrainian media Ukrinform local time on Sunday (May 15), Ukrainian Mariupol officials said that Russia had dropped incendiary or phosphorus bombs at the Azov steel plant. However, this news has not been confirmed by Russia.
The Ukrainian official claimed: “Yesterday, the Russian army used incendiary bombs or phosphorus bombs for the first time. The Russian army itself claimed to have used 9M22C incendiary bombs with thermite. The burning temperature is about 2000 to 2500 degrees Celsius, and it is almost impossible to be extinguished.”
Russian offensive continues
The fighting at the Azov steel plant is still ongoing, and the sound of explosions at the scene continues. According to Russian soldiers, they hope to take full control within the next one to two weeks. At present, the Russian Air Force is continuing to bomb the Azov steel plant.
In addition to the Azov Steel Plant, the Russian army has also recently attacked several Ukrainian command posts, ammunition depots and other military targets. The Ukrainian side said that the Ukrainian army launched a counterattack against the Russian army that controlled the city of Izyum.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army has attacked multiple Ukrainian command posts and ammunition depots, as well as a large number of troops and military equipment assembly points. The Russian army also shot down several Ukrainian drones over Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials said on Saturday that the Ukrainian army launched a counter-offensive against the Russian army near the Russian-controlled city of Izum in the Kharkov region. Ukraine is negotiating with Russia to evacuate 60 people from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Veresyuk said, according to the Ukrainian state news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone call with Finnish President Niinisto on Saturday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are almost at a standstill and that Kyiv does not want serious and constructive dialogue.
European and American countries increase arms aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video speech on Saturday evening local time that it has been 80 days since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the current situation in the Donbas region is “still very difficult” and the Russian offensive is still continuing.
On the same day, Zelensky met with several US senators in Kyiv. Zelensky said the two sides discussed how the United States could continue to provide Ukraine with military and financial support, as well as how to increase sanctions on Russia.
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said on Saturday that the situation in Ukraine was looking increasingly worrisome as the U.S. and Europe provided Ukraine with increasingly powerful weapons.
“The United States is becoming more and more involved in this conflict, which will have the most unpredictable consequences for the two nuclear powers,” Antonov said.
Antonov described the situation as “worrying”, which could trigger retaliation from Moscow; U.S. policies have also made European countries more dependent on Washington, especially with the Nord Stream-2 project frozen.
Finland and Sweden join NATO
On Sunday, NATO foreign ministers held an informal meeting in Berlin, Germany. Before the meeting, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Jwana expressed confidence that Finland and Sweden can meet the standards for joining NATO.
He stressed that he believed that NATO allies would view Finland and Sweden’s “joint” applications in a constructive manner. If Finland and Sweden seek to join NATO, NATO allies would welcome it. Turkey’s concerns about the two countries’ “joining the treaty” can be resolved.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have issued a joint statement this week, making it clear that Finland will apply to join NATO. The Russian side responded that Finland’s accession to NATO posed a direct threat to Russia and was considering retaliation.
The Nordic subsidiary of Russia’s Unified Electricity Import and Export Corporation announced that it will suspend electricity exports to Finland due to Finland’s “arrears in electricity bills.” At present, the Finnish company has not made an official explanation for this. The Finnish government has also not said whether the arrears of electricity bills to Russia are related to bilateral relations and Finland’s plan to join NATO.
According to the TASS news agency, Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto said in an interview with the Swedish “Evening News” that Finland may submit an application to join NATO on May 18. On May 14, Finland’s ruling Social Democratic Party held a meeting that day and voted to support Finland’s membership in NATO.
Sweden is also actively preparing to join NATO, and has abandoned its decades-old military non-alignment policy. Sweden may submit an application to join NATO on May 16.