Russia steps up assaults on Ukraine
Ahead of Russia’s Victory Day holiday, cities across Ukraine are preparing for an expected increase in Russian attacks
ZAPORIZHZHIA: Ukraine evacuated more civilians from a besieged Mariupol steel plant on Saturday as Russian forces unleashed new bombardments across the country ahead of Victory Day festivities in Moscow.
The Azovstal steel mill is the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the devastated port city and its fate has taken on a symbolic value in the broader battle since Russia’s invasion.
Fighting continues on many fronts, and Ukraine’s defence ministry said it had destroyed another Russian vessel - a Serna-class landing craft - in the Black Sea. “The traditional parade of the Russian Black Sea fleet on May 9 this year will be held near Snake Island - at the bottom of the sea,” the ministry added.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will celebrate the World War II Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with a traditional Victory Day parade.
As Russia’s Monday holiday commemorating Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II approached, cities across Ukraine prepared for an expected increase in Russian attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged residents numbed by more than 10 weeks of war to heed air raid warnings.
The Ukrainian rescue service said a missile hit a technical college in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern region of Donetsk, causing a fire and at least two deaths. Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said there had been “massive bombardments” along the frontline.
Strikes were also reported in the north of Ukraine near the city of Kharkiv and in the southern city of Mikoleyev, a key Russian target.
Counter offensive
Ukrainian forces have launched a counter-offensive of their own. According to the defence ministry, Russian troops were forced to demolish three road bridges near Tsyrkuny and Ruski Tyshky outside Kharkiv, to slow the Ukrainian advance.
“The conflict in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on some of Russia’s most capable units and most advanced capabilities,” UK Defence Intelligence said.
The west, meanwhile, is stepping up arms deliveries to Ukraine’s defenders.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced another package of military assistance worth $150 million, including radars for detecting the source of enemy artillery fire.
This brings the total value of US weaponry sent to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began to $3.8 billion.
And Biden’s wife, US First lady Jill Biden, was in Romania meeting Ukrainian refugees.
“You are amazingly strong,” Biden said in Bucharest after listening to mothers and children recount how they fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
“We stand with you, I hope you know that.”
Azovstal evacuation
Ukraine’s defence ministry had earlier said Russian forces had resumed their assault on the Azovstal site, despite talk of a truce to allow trapped civilians to flee. “All women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.
“This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation is over,” Vereshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging service.
Putin may ‘double down’
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director William Burns said on Saturday that Russian president believes doubling down on the military conflict in Ukraine will improve his outcome in the war. “He’s in a frame of mind in which he doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” said Burns, who was speaking at a Financial Times event in Washington.
“I think he’s convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress.”
The CIA chief also sees no indications that Russia is preparing to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.
“We don’t see, as an intelligence community, practical evidence at this point of Russian planning for the deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns said.
“Given the kind of sabre rattling that ... we’ve heard from the Russian leadership, we can’t take lightly those possibilities,” Burns said.
“So we stay very sharply focused as an intelligence service ... on those impossibilities at a moment when the stakes are very high for Russia,” he said.