May 7, 2022
image source,EPA
On May 6, 50 civilians were able to leave the Mariupol steel plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a peace deal with Russia hinged on the withdrawal of Russian troops to their pre-invasion state.
In an interview with a London think tank, Zelensky said that was the minimum his country could accept.
He said he was “the leader of Ukraine, not a miniature Ukraine”. But he did not mention Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has entered its third month, and there have been several rounds of talks between the two countries, but no ceasefire has been reached.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said during talks with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow on April 26 that Russia would not refuse to negotiate with Ukraine. He said that although special military operations are still ongoing, Russia still hopes to reach an agreement through diplomatic channels.
image source,Reuters
Video released by the Ukrainian Azov Corps shows the Mariupol steel plant being shelled.
He also said that combat operations in the city of Mariupol had ceased and that the large Azovstal steel plant in the southeastern city had been completely blocked, and that he had ordered the cancellation of offensive operations.
But as of now, Russia is still in full control of the city of Mariupol. Ukrainian troops and some civilians are still at the Azov steel plant, which has been under heavy attack by Russian forces.
If Mariupol is finally taken, Russia will achieve its biggest achievement since the two-month war, and for Putin, it will be a congratulatory gift. May 9 is Victory Day in Russia, the day the country commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis in World War II.
However, Zelensky said in an interview in Kyiv with London-based think tank Chatham House that Russia could not hold on to the territory it had controlled since it invaded Ukraine.
“In order to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, the situation before February 23 should be restored,” he said in response to a question from the BBC, referring to the day before the war started.
“I was elected president by the Ukrainian people, not the president of a mini-Ukraine. That’s very important.”
Statements on the situation before February 23 suggest that Ukraine may not insist on taking back Crimea before reconciling with Russia. The peninsula was annexed by Russia eight years ago.
Zelensky called on Russia and Ukraine to resume diplomatic dialogue: “While they destroyed all our bridges, I don’t think all channels have been destroyed.”
Russia calls the process a “stasis”.
image source,EPA
Russian soldiers in Mariupol
Mariupol continues to evacuate
Russia and Ukraine said 50 civilians, including 11 children, were evacuated from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol on Friday, coordinated by the United Nations and the Red Cross. But there are still people believed to be trapped in Soviet-era tunnels and bunkers beneath the factory.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the evacuation was delayed by fighting and what she called “provocative acts”. Evacuations will resume on Saturday, she said.
Russia had earlier announced a three-day ceasefire at the plant during the day, starting on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said he would invite German Chancellor Scholz to visit Ukraine on May 9.
It would be highly symbolic if the German leader appeared in Ukraine on the day Russia commemorates Victory Day.
“He can take a very powerful and intelligent step politically and come to Kyiv on May 9,” Zelensky said. “I’m not explaining what it means, I think you’re culturally literate enough to understand. The reason for that.”
The Ukrainian leader has previously criticized Germany’s stance during the war.
In a BBC interview in April, he accused Germany of thwarting efforts to impose an energy embargo on Russia, saying that European countries that continued to buy Russian oil were “making money with other people’s blood”.
That same month, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier canceled a planned visit to Kyiv at the last minute because of Germany’s economic ties with Russia.
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Zelensky: Countries that buy Russian oil are making bloody money
Biden steps up military aid
Also on Friday, US President Joe Biden announced $150 million (£120 million) in new military aid to Ukraine to help Ukraine defend itself.
A senior U.S. official told reporters the aid included artillery shells, anti-artillery radars used to detect the source of enemy fire, electronic jamming equipment and parts.
But Biden warned that funding was nearing depletion and urged Congress to approve more.
The U.S. said it was also providing intelligence to Ukraine, and U.S. media quoted officials as saying U.S. intelligence helped Ukraine sink Russia’s flagship missile cruiser, the Moscow.