As has been the case for several weeks now, the city of Mariupol, and more particularly the fate of the last Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the immense industrial site of Azovstal, which focuses attention on the 74th day of war.
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Especially since on the eve of May 9, the date on which the Russians celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War, it seems obvious that the latest evacuations in the martyr city of south-eastern Ukraine could precede a final enemy assault.
Last pockets of resistance in Mariupol
Extremely rare ammunition and food, extreme living conditions, mediocre care… The last Ukrainian fighters entrenched in the Azovstal factory, in Mariupol, are still fighting, in extremely difficult conditions, at a time when the Russian army is tightening its grip on this last pocket. of resistance in the port city of southeastern Ukraine, almost entirely under the Russian flag.
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Soldiers besieged in Mariupol: a Ukrainian commander calls for an evacuation "like in Dunkirk, in 1940"
“Many soldiers are in serious condition.
They are injured and have no medicine,” explains Yevguenia Tytarenko, a military nurse, whose husband, a member of the Azov regiment, and his colleagues are still in the factory.
"Food and water are also missing," she said, still in contact with her relatives inside.
Her husband's determination is intact.
“I will fight until the end,” Mykhaïlo wrote to him by SMS.
Ukraine on the menu of a G7 with Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to take part in a videoconference meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday, as kyiv fears a final Russian assault on the last fighters besieged in Mariupol, before the commemoration in Moscow on Monday of the victory against Nazi Germany.
"May 8 is a historic date marking the end of the Second World War in Europe which has caused terror, destruction and death in Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's spokeswoman said on Friday, saying the war in Ukraine made “the cohesion of the G7 (…) more important than ever”.
Germany holds the presidency of the G7 this year (also Canada, United States, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Japan).
This third meeting since the beginning of the year will be devoted "in particular to the situation in Ukraine", she indicated, without further details.
US President Joe Biden had mentioned this meeting a few days earlier, about possible additional sanctions against Russia.
Azovstal: women, children and elderly people evacuated
Women, children and the elderly have all been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of resistance by Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, a port city devastated by fighting with the Russians, kyiv announced on Saturday.
These operations, which have been taking place for a week under the aegis of the UN and the Red Cross, have allowed, according to the Ukrainians, nearly 500 people to flee.
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“We lacked food”: in Mariupol, a hundred civilians evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks
“We have evacuated civilians from Azovstal,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday evening in his daily message, citing the number of 300 exfiltrated people.
“We are now preparing the second phase (…): the injured and the medical personnel”.
And, “of course, we are also working to evacuate our soldiers.
All these heroes defending Mariupol,” he continued, without giving a figure.
“It's extremely difficult.
But it is very important”.
Russia ready for its May 9 parade
Final rehearsals took place on Saturday before the traditional military parade on May 9 in Moscow celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany, which will be the occasion for a show of force in the middle of the struggling Ukraine campaign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will have another opportunity to issue warnings, after Russia has repeatedly brandished the nuclear threat.
VIDEO.
War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin has the date of May 9 in the sights
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the "plane of the Apocalypse", an Ilyushin Il-80 specially designed to allow the president to rule the country from the air in the event of a nuclear war, will fly over Red Square.
Several pieces of equipment capable of firing nuclear missiles, such as the Iars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic system and the shorter-range Iskander system, will also be paraded.