West underestimated ‘brutality and ambitions’ of Russia’s Putin, former NATO chief says
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO Secretary General, told CNBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “big loser” from Moscow’s unprovoked onslaught in Ukraine and says the West made mistakes in the run-up to the Kremlin’s invasion.
Pro-Russian forces say 50 more people evacuated from besieged Azovstal plant
Several dozen Ukrainian civilians, who had been living in the bomb shelters of the Azovstal plant for more than a month, are seen being evacuated in Mariupol, Ukraine on May 06, 2022.
Leon Klein | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Pro-Russian forces said 50 more people were evacuated on Saturday from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, where scores of civilians have been trapped for weeks alongside Ukrainian fighters holed up in the Soviet-era plant.
The territorial defense headquarters of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Telegram that a total of 176 civilians had now been evacuated from the steelworks.
“Today, May 7, 50 people were evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol,” the DPR said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a late-night video address on Friday that Ukraine was working on a diplomatic effort to save defenders barricaded inside the steelworks. It was unclear how many Ukrainian fighters remained there.
“Influential intermediaries are involved, influential states,” he said, but provided no further details.
The defenders have vowed not to surrender. Ukrainian officials fear Russian forces want to wipe them out by Monday, in time for Moscow’s commemorations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
— Reuters
Images show Moscow’s dress rehearsal of ‘Victory Day’ parade
The Kremlin’s preparations are underway for the country’s annual “Victory Day” commemorations on May 9.
The 77th anniversary of the then-Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II comes more than two months after the Kremlin launched its unprovoked onslaught on Ukraine.
Russian soldiers walk to Red Square during the rehearsal of a “Victory Day” military parade. The commemoration marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Russian Sukhoi Su-25 jets release smoke in the colours of the Russian flag while flying over Red Square during the general rehearsal of the “Victory Day” military parade in central Moscow on May 7, 2022.
Yuri Kadobnov | Afp | Getty Images
Russian soldiers walk to Red Square by passing through Tverskaya street during the rehearsal of the Kremlin’s “Victory Day” military parade.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launcher parades through Red Square during the general rehearsal of the “Victory Day” military parade in central Moscow on May 7, 2022.
Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine’s counteroffensive around Kharkiv enters decisive phase, think tank says
A Ukrainian serviceman stands guard at an undisclosed location in Kharkiv Oblast, near the Russian-Ukrainian border, amid…
Read More News: Ukrainian forces pursue counteroffensive around Kharkiv; Russia rehearses ‘Victory
