Fate of the soldiers from the Azovstal plant unclear First war crimes trial in Ukraine Selenskij: “Quite productive” conversation with Scholz The developments in the Ukraine war in the stern ticker.
Day 84 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: After the first Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from the long-contested Azov Steelworks, the question of their fate now arises. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is pushing for a prisoner swap. But there is now a question mark behind it. The fate of the soldiers still in the steelworks is also unclear for the time being. Meanwhile, negotiations between the warring parties have failed once again. Talks on ending the war between Moscow and Kyiv will only be resumed if there are concrete proposals, according to Kiev negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak. No good prospects. Meanwhile, the Russian troops are said to be “digging in” in southern Ukraine. Fighting continues unabated in the east of the country.
News of the war in Ukraine from Wednesday, May 18:
4.45 a.m .: USA launch online platform on Russian war crimes
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the USA has started a conflict observatory. The new Conflict Observatory is intended to ensure “that crimes committed by Russia’s troops are documented and that the perpetrators are held accountable,” said a spokesman for the State Department in Washington. Among other things, the program will collect, analyze and publish information and evidence of “atrocities, human rights violations and damage to civilian infrastructure”. Reports would be posted on the ConflictObservatory.org website in the future.
The observatory is therefore a collaboration between scientists and the private sector. The aim is to support the pursuit of justice and, in the long term, to contribute to the prosecution of those responsible in courts in Ukraine, the USA and elsewhere. The information is also intended to help counter Russia’s disinformation campaigns.
4.30 a.m .: Strack-Zimmermann calls for a weapons aid coordinator
The chairwoman of the defense committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), has reiterated calls for a chief manager for the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. She pleads for a special coordinator in the Chancellery to quickly bring everyone involved from politics, business and the military to one table, said Strack-Zimmermann of the German Press Agency.
So far, the Ukrainian government has placed its inquiries in a wide variety of places. “That also led to unfortunate misunderstandings that we cannot and do not want to be responsible for in this situation,” said Strack-Zimmermann. “All of this is not only annoying for everyone involved and creates uncertainty due to unclear regulations and processes, it also slows down the urgently needed aid to Ukraine,” she said. Approval processes, repairs and the procurement of spare parts and ammunition are time-consuming.
4:01 a.m.: First war crimes trial in Ukraine
The first war crimes trial against a Russian soldier since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24 begins today (1:00 p.m. CEST) in Ukraine. The Solomjansky district court in the capital Kyiv is hearing against 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin. He is accused of shooting dead an unarmed civilian from a stolen car in the northern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on February 28.
Shishimarin faces a life sentence for war crimes and premeditated murder. According to his lawyer, he admitted to killing the 62-year-old. Ukraine accuses the Russian army of having committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity since the beginning of the war. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also investigating alleged international crimes in the Ukraine war.
4:00 a.m.: Independence from Russian gas and oil: EU presents energy plan
The European Commission is today presenting its further plans for the EU’s independence from Russian gas and oil. In addition to a greater focus on renewable energies, an expansion of relationships with other oil suppliers such as the Gulf States is expected. In addition, it could be about Hungary’s demand to provide billions in aid for the construction of a new pipeline and thus become independent of the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. Hungary is currently blocking an agreement among member states to stop imports of Russian oil. The country sees its energy supply as endangered.
2.01 a.m .: Europe’s gas suppliers name a way to pay for Russian gas
Several European gas suppliers are confident that they have found a payment mechanism for Russian gas that is acceptable to both the EU and Moscow. Italian energy group Eni said it would open an account in euros and one in rubles with Gazprombank “in the coming days”. So Eni can pay in euros, the Russian bank then converts it into rubles. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered gas deliveries to be paid for in rubles. The Europeans see this as a subsequent change in the current treaties and reject it. Companies complying with Russian demands risk being prosecuted for violating EU sanctions.
1.41 a.m .: Selensky calls the conversation with Scholz “quite productive”
After tensions in the relationship between Kyiv and Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj described his phone call with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) as “quite productive”. Among other things, military support for Ukraine was discussed, Zelensky said in his daily video speech on Wednesday night. He informed Scholz about the current military situation and its possible future development, said the President.
Selenskyj chose slightly different words to describe his conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. That conversation was “substantial and long,” he said. Among other things, it was about the next round of European sanctions against Russia and Ukraine’s plans for rapid accession to the European Union. According to the Élysée Palace, Macron promised that arms deliveries from France would continue and intensify. He also confirmed that Ukraine’s accession to the EU should be discussed in June.
1.02 a.m .: Reznikov: “Russia is digging in in the south”
According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Russian forces are digging in in the south and east of his country. “Russia is preparing for a long-term military operation,” he told the European Union (EU) defense ministers and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Accordingly, the Russian troops are currently strengthening their positions in the areas occupied by them in the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in order to “switch to defensive mode if necessary”. Reznikov reiterated that Moscow wants to create “a land corridor between Russia and Crimea” and occupy “the entire south of Ukraine.” Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The minister called on the western allies to coordinate arms deliveries to Kyiv “in order to liberate our territories as quickly as possible”. Meanwhile, Russia is determined to tie the occupied Cherson region in southern Ukraine to itself. The region around the port city will have a “worthy place in our Russian family,” said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin during a visit to Cherson on Tuesday. The Russian state agency Ria Novosti quoted him as saying that people will live and work together in the future.
12:00 a.m .: Deutsche Bahn helps with grain exports from Ukraine
According to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, transports by rail with the help of Deutsche Bahn have started to support grain exports from Ukraine. The goods subsidiary DB Cargo is in the process of enabling a “rail bridge” to enable future transport of large quantities of agricultural products to ports on the North Sea and the Adriatic, said the FDP politician on Tuesday in Berlin. The help has begun, DB Cargo is already driving on behalf of private grain exporters from Ukraine. Railway boss Richard Lutz spoke of two to three trains a day from the Ukraine via Poland and the corresponding terminals to Western Europe. The background is that the export of grain via the seaports of Ukraine has come to a standstill because of the Russian war against the country. This threatens deliveries to North Africa and Asia in particular, and there are fears of problems with the food supply and even famine.
12:00 a.m.: Location of the remaining fighters in the Azov steel plant unclear
After the evacuation of around 260 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov steelworks in Mariupol, the situation of the city’s remaining defenders in the huge industrial complex remains unclear. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said on Wednesday night that influential international mediators were involved in the efforts to rescue them. The 260 soldiers who left the Azovstal plant on Tuesday night went into Russian captivity. Kyiv hopes to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war at a later date, but the Russian military initially left such a step open. Moscow released a video purporting to show the Ukrainians being arrested, receiving medical treatment and the evacuation of the injured. A good 50 of the soldiers are said to be seriously wounded.
