War in Ukraine, day 453 EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the crises in Ukraine and Sudan. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu will also participate in the meeting.
Most Important Events in Last 24 Hours:
- Ukraine announced that it shot down only four of the 12 missiles fired by the Russians at Dnipropetrovsk.
- Russia: Zaporozhye nuclear power plant switches to generators after fire in city
- A woman in the color of the Ukrainian flag splashed herself with fake blood at the Cannes Film Festival
- Russians wreak havoc in Dnipro, where local defenses shot down 15 drones and four cruise missiles.
- Zelenskiy: “Ukraine’s possible donation of F-16 is a historic moment for the whole world”
- The Ukrainian military admits the area it still controls in Bahmut is “small”.
- EU foreign ministers meet to discuss the crises in Ukraine and Sudan
- Russian campaign: Ukraine prepares drones armed with infected mosquitoes
- Ukrainian forces continue to advance and gain ground on the flanks of Bahmuth
- Biden: Zelensky promised US F-16s would not attack Russian territory
- Russian MFA: Volodymyr Zelensky’s presence at G-7 summit, a ‘propaganda show’
- Volodymyr Zelensky: The city of Bahmud was not “occupied” by Russia
- Joe Biden at G7: Russia Started This War, Can End It Today
- Four Russian drones were shot down overnight by the Ukrainians
Update 11:30 New information is coming out about the massive attack by the Russian army in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
Located in the Middle East of the country, the city had about 1 million people before the Russian invasion.
Dnipro is 125 kilometers from the current front line.
During the overnight attack from Sunday night to Monday, Russia launched 16 missiles of various types and 20 Shahed drones, according to a statement posted on Facebook by Ukraine’s military.
According to the document, the anti-aircraft defense destroyed “four Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles” and all 20 drones.
However, the Ukrainian military did not specify what happened to the other 12 missiles and what the casualties and material damage were.
Dnipro’s mayor, Boris Filatov, wrote in a telegram that “since the beginning of the war, there has never been such a large-scale bombardment of the city”.
For his part, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergei Lizak, said seven people were injured in the Russian attack.
Since the beginning of May, Russia has increased its bombings at night, especially over Kiev.
Ukraine says its air defenses, bolstered by Western military aid, have shot down most of the Russian drones and missiles.
Update at 10:30 A woman dressed in the colors of the Ukrainian flag made a shocking appearance on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.
The woman sat in the middle of the steps, picked up fake blood packets and tore them over her head, Antena 3 CNN reported.
The incident took place on Sunday evening, before the out-of-competition screening of French director Juste Philippe’s film “Acid”.
Security officials immediately intervened and evicted the woman.
Update 09:30 Generators provide power to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant after the external power supply to the nuclear complex is cut off.
The announcement was made by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom on Monday.
“As a result of the disconnection of the 750 kV high-voltage line, the nuclear power plant lost external power. Auxiliary power is provided by diesel generators. The cause of the disconnection is under investigation,” Rosatom posted. telegram.
According to the cited source, the radiation level at the perimeter of the plant, health care area and monitoring area is normal.
The Ukrainian governor of the region, Yuriy Malashko, said the fire broke out at one of the city’s installations due to an overload of the energy system. He pointed out that there was no power outage at the plant due to the bomb attacks.
The Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe, is controlled by Russian forces but operated mostly by Ukrainian workers.
Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency described the situation there as “increasingly unpredictable” after Moscow ordered the evacuation of residents of the occupied territories near the nuclear plant.
Earlier on Monday, a Ukrainian official said technicians were working to restore power to the plant.
Update 09:00 Update 09:00 Sunday to Monday Several explosions were reported overnight in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and in the Zaporizhia and Kharkiv regions following the activation of a nationwide air raid alert at 3:48 am.
In a post on Telegram, Dnipro’s governor Sergey Lizak said “thanks to the security forces” the city had withstood the attack.
He later said 15 drones and four cruise missiles were shot down in the area. Eight people were injured, three of whom were taken to hospital, the official said.
Dozens of vehicles were destroyed or damaged, he said, as well as nine residential buildings, several private houses, shops, a kindergarten and administrative buildings.
Earlier on Sunday night, the port city of Odessa was also hit by Russian war drones.
Update 08:30 President Volodymyr Zelensky says the eventual delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is “a historic moment for Europe and the whole world.”
The spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also confirmed this possibility.
Last weekend, Volodymyr Zelensky participated in a meeting of G7 leaders, a group of the world’s most developed states, in Japan.
At the G7, it was US President Joe Biden who inspired the hopes of Ukrainians.
He announced a new support package for Ukraine, but also the U.S. approval to supply Kiev with F-16s.
For now, based on public reports, Ukraine’s Western backers have announced they will help train Ukrainian pilots on such flights.
Update 08:00 The commander of the Ukrainian army, Colonel-General Oleksandr Chirsky, admitted that the area Kiev militants still claim inside the city of Bahmut is “small”.
The controlled territory is located on the western edge of the city, in turn, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense notes.
On the other hand, both officials say Ukrainian troops have made significant progress in the suburbs and other areas outside the city.
General Sirski said his forces had advanced on the flanks of Bahmut and were now approaching a “tactical encirclement” of the city.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the announcement by Wagner mercenaries, which it said had “completed the liberation operation” in Bahmut over the weekend.
On the other hand, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary force, said his men would withdraw from the front lines in eastern Ukraine on May 25, but Russian officials did not immediately respond.
Update 00:01 EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the crises in Ukraine and Sudan. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu will also participate in the meeting.
According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, European ministers will hold in-depth discussions on countering the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, respectively the situation in the Horn of Africa.
“Debates on the Horn of Africa take place against the backdrop of recent developments in the region, including Sudan. European ministers will be invited to assess these developments, their impact on regional stability and the EU’s response mechanisms.
Minister Bogdan Aurescu will express his support for the EU’s diplomatic efforts at the regional and international level, especially in the context of the regional contagion of the crisis in Sudan and the deteriorating possibilities of expanding the Wagner Group’s influence in the region. “, announced the MFA.
European officials will also address the EU’s commitment to Central Asia, developments in Tunisia and Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
At the same time, European foreign ministers will exchange views with their counterparts from the Western Balkans “as a continuation of the practice launched at the May 2022 EAC meeting, inviting partners from the region once a year to European foreign ministers’ discussions.”.
War in Ukraine, May 21 | Zelensky assured Joe Biden that US F-16s would not attack Russian territory
War in Ukraine, May 20 | Ukrainian forces took the initiative on the battlefield, Bahmut, and advanced significantly on the flanks.
War in Ukraine, May 19 | Zelensky condemns the indifference of some Arab countries to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
War in Ukraine, May 18 | London confirms that Ukraine has already used Storm Shadow missiles in attacks against the Russian military
War in Ukraine, May 17 The export contract for Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea was extended by two months
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