Around 260 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steelworks are already in Russian captivity. President Zelenskyj also wants to save the remaining defenders and hopes for a deal. Meanwhile, a Russian government representative is determined to permanently tie the Cherson region to Moscow.
Kyiv hopes to exchange Azovstal defenders
After a good 260 Ukrainian soldiers left the Azov steelworks in Mariupol and placed themselves in Russian hands, the situation of the remaining defenders in the huge industrial complex remains unclear. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during the night that influential international mediators were involved in the efforts to save them. The 260 soldiers who left the plant on Tuesday night went into Russian captivity.
Kyiv hopes for a later exchange for Russian prisoners of war, but Russia's military 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.
Russian government representative in the occupied territory of Kherson
In southern Ukraine, Russia is determined to tie the occupied Cherson region 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. On May 1, Russia introduced the Russian ruble as official currency in the region. A few days ago, the deputy chief of the pro-Russian administration in Cherson, Kirill Stremoussov, brought up a formal application for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to join the conversation. The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, is convinced that a Russification of the Cherson region will fail.
Ukraine mourns dead civilians
Meanwhile, according to the authorities, seven civilians have been killed in the Donetsk region, which is fought over between Russian and Ukrainian troops. Six others were injured, Ukrainian military governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. He accused Russian troops of killing the people. Zelenskyi listed rocket attacks and bombardments in the Lviv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Luhansk regions. The Russian military wants to compensate for the failures in the east and south.
German plant in Ukraine bombed
According to Ukrainian sources, a disused gypsum factory belonging to the German company Knauf was bombed by the Russian air force in eastern Ukraine. "The air strikes damaged business premises and a fire broke out," military governor of Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram. Nobody was injured. Knauf shut down the plant shortly after the Russian invasion. The company confirmed on Tuesday evening that the plant in Soledor in the Donbass was hit by a rocket and set on fire.
USA set up online platform
In response to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the US has launched 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.
That brings the day
You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.
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