As Moscow flexed its muscles on Monday during the celebration of victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, President Volodymyr Zelensky countered that Ukraine would not cede any territory to Moscow. Fighting has intensified in southern and eastern Ukraine, where US arms shipments are expected to ramp up after Joe Biden reactivated an iconic World War II device.
On the diplomatic level, discussions continue within the EU for the establishment of an embargo on Russian oil. Yesterday, the President of the European Commission spoke with the Hungarian Prime Minister, reluctant to do without hydrocarbons from Russia. Ukraine, it hopes to obtain the status of candidate to the European Union in June.
Highlights of the day
> Joe Biden has signed a new support law for Ukraine
> kyiv wants to unblock its ports and avoid a global food crisis
> Emmanuel Macron believes that peace will not go through the “humiliation” of Moscow
>> Follow the events of Tuesday, May 10 live
10:06 a.m. – A hundred civilians still present in Azovstal
At least 100 civilians are still trapped in the underground shelters of the Azovstal steel complex, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol still pounded by Russian forces, announced an aide to the mayor of the city.
9:42 – Rutube inaccessible after a powerful cyberattack
The Russian video platform, which claims to be a competitor of the American giant YouTube, is inaccessible, the victim of “the biggest cyberattack in its history”, the company announced in a press release, stressing that the restoration of access to the platform “will take longer than the engineers initially thought.”
Rutube blames the attack on the same hackers who have “constantly attacked the sites of Russian public institutions for the past two months”, after the outbreak of the Russian offensive on February 24.
9:33 a.m. – Embargo on Russian oil: a possible agreement in the week
An agreement on a proposed European Union embargo on Russian oil, currently blocked by Hungary, is possible “within the week”, estimated the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune. “I think we can have an agreement within the week, we are working hard on it. It’s probably a matter of days, ”he said Beaune on the LCI channel.
“We have to move quickly, and I say this with confidence: there will be a sixth package of European sanctions, they will be very powerful and we will gradually, with a timetable, get out of Russian oil first but Russian hydrocarbons in general”, he continued.
8:24 a.m. – Russia underestimated Ukrainian resistance, British intelligence says
In its latest report, British intelligence indicates that Russia underestimated the Ukrainian resistance, while Vladimir Putin wanted to announce victory with great fanfare on May 9, during the commemorations of the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Latest Defense Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 10 May 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/l07FXELmoB
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/1c0D5OtBGX
— Ministry of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 10, 2022
7:30 a.m. – Japan imposes new sanctions
Japan announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday. They target 130 personalities including the President of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Michoustine. In addition, 70 companies are also sanctioned, particularly in the Defense sector.
7:10 am – The Ukrainian economy could shrink by 30% this year
The European Development Bank (EBRD), which is holding its annual general meeting this week, has sharply worsened its economic contraction forecast for Ukraine. It is now counting on a brutal contraction of 30% of the Ukrainian economy this year instead of 20% expected in its March forecasts, at the very beginning of the Russian offensive.
The international organization also still anticipates a 10% contraction of the Russian economy, targeted by a series of sanctions, and because of the cost of its war in Ukraine. The Bank is also revising its growth forecast for its entire zone downwards to 1.1% against 1.7% in its March forecast.
6:55 a.m. – kyiv wants its ports to be unblocked and avoid a global food crisis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that trade was halted at Ukrainian ports and urged the international community to take immediate action to end the Russian blockade, to allow wheat deliveries and avert a global food crisis. “For the first time in decades and decades, here in Odessa there are no regular movements of the merchant fleet, there is no routine port work,” the president said from Odessa.
“This is not a blow to Ukraine alone. Without our agricultural exports, dozens of countries in different parts of the world are already on the brink of food shortages. And over time, the situation could frankly become frightening. The Russian military’s shutdown of Ukrainian ports is fueling volatility in global financial markets, contributing to soaring commodity prices.
6:45 am – Ukraine hopes to obtain EU candidate status as early as June
The European Commission intends to give its opinion in June on Ukraine obtaining the status of candidate for membership of the European Union, likely to open the way to a long process of negotiations requiring the agreement of the Twenty-Seven, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday. On 7 March the EU launched the procedure for examining membership applications submitted by Ukraine, but also by Georgia and Moldova.
6:30 a.m. – France and Mexico request a meeting on Thursday of the UN Security Council
The UN Security Council is expected to hold a new public meeting on Thursday on Russia’s war on Ukraine, given “the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation”, diplomats said on Monday. Requested by France and Mexico, this session will be the 16th of the Security Council since February 24.
3:00 a.m. – Pulitzer Prize: a special mention for journalists covering the war
The New York Times won three Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, along with being named a finalist five more times, while rival Washington Post won the Public Service Award and Reuters won the Pulitzer in the photographic reportage category. Special mention was given to journalists covering the war in Ukraine, with the Pulitzer’s board also paying tribute to the 12 journalists killed since the start of the conflict.
>> The highlights of the night
> Biden reactivates a military assistance law dating from the Second World War for Ukraine
United States President Joe Biden signed a law Monday to speed up the shipment of military equipment to Ukraine, reactivating a device dating from the Second World War.
The “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022” is “based on a World War II program intended to help Europe resist Hitler” and “was supported by almost all members of Congress” American, has noted the White House. Further noting that the text was enacted as Russia marked the anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.
> Ukrainians were “sent against their will to Russia”
Ukrainians were “sent against their will to Russia”, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, confirming information from Ukrainian authorities. “We don’t have numbers but we have seen signs of Ukrainians being taken from Ukraine to Russia,” he said.
> Oil embargo: Ursula von der Leyen indicates “progress” with Orban
The President of the European Commission has reported “progress” and “clarifications” after a meeting with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, around “energy security”, while Budapest blocks an embargo project of the EU on Russian oil.
“There will still be work to do,” added Ursula von der Leyen, announcing the forthcoming holding of a videoconference with other “actors in the region” to “strengthen regional cooperation in oil infrastructure”.
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