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An explosion at the steel mill
Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS
The 74th day of the war in Ukraine was marked by the commemoration of the victory over Nazi Germany 77 years ago.
Both Kyiv and Moscow drew parallels to the current war situation and accused each other of picking up on Europe's fascist history.
The still trapped fighters in the Mariupol Steelworks are preparing for a major offensive on the last day before the "Victory Day" celebrated in Russia on May 9th.
Overall, the fighting in eastern Ukraine continues to intensify.
Western Ukraine also pledged further support: Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were present in Kyiv.
In the further course of the day, the G7 states then announced that they were moving away from Russian oil imports, thus following the approach of the USA and the EU.
The developments at a glance.
humanitarian situation
The people of eastern Ukraine continue to face fierce fighting.
After the Russian airstrike on a school in
the Luhansk region
on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian authorities expect up to 60 dead.
This was announced by the governor of the region, Serhij Hajdaj, on Telegram.
So far, emergency services have recovered two bodies from the rubble of the school in Bilohorivka.
However, 60 of the 90 people who sought shelter from the air raid in the school building are still missing.
The administration also reports numerous destroyed residential buildings
from the Ukrainian port city of
Odessa after a Russian attack on Saturday.
More than 250 apartments were damaged by the rocket fire, the Odessa City Council said on Telegram.
Only a quarter of this is currently habitable.
Nothing was initially known about possible fatalities.
military situation
In eastern Ukraine, the Russian army intensified its attacks on Sunday. According to the Ukrainian general staff, the situation on the border with Moldova was "tense".
The entrenched Ukrainian fighters in the besieged
steelworks in Mariupol
are also preparing for a Russian assault following the evacuation of civilians in recent days.
In an online press conference, the soldiers emphasized their fighting spirit: "We will continue to fight as long as we live to repel the Russian occupiers," said Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment.
Palamar appealed to the international community to help evacuate wounded soldiers.
Palamar also contradicted the Ukrainian Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk, who announced on Saturday evening that all remaining civilians in the industrial complex would be completely evacuated.
Both Russia and Ukraine are reporting fierce fighting on
Snake Island
in the Black Sea.
The strategically important island is located 35 kilometers from the coast in the Odessa region.
According to the Russian military, a Ukrainian Su-24 bomber and a Mi-24 helicopter were shot down over the island on Sunday night and a Bayraktar drone was brought down outside the city of Odessa.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian military recently reported the sinking of a Russian landing ship on the island.
In addition, the operations staff of the Ukrainian Defense Command South showed a video of the alleged shooting down of a Russian helicopter over the island.
Ukrainian media had even previously reported that a Russian frigate in the region had caught fire after being shelled.
However, there is no confirmation for these reports.
Russian forces had captured the Ukrainian base on the island early in the war.
The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the guided missile cruiser »Moskva«, later sank in the area, apparently after Ukrainian fire.
That says Kyiv
With an emotional video speech from the heavily damaged Kiev suburb of Borodjanka, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke up.
On the commemoration day of the end of the Second World War, he drew parallels between the Nazi attack and the current Russian invasion.
"In Ukraine, they organized a bloody rerun of Nazism," said Zelenskyy in the video about the Russian attack on his country.
He also recalled the contribution of the Ukrainian people to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Ukraine suffered from bombings, mass shootings and occupation, lost people in concentration camps and gas chambers, in captivity and in forced labour, but in the end it won anyway.
Proof is Adolf Hitler's destroyed "Werewolf" bunker near the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia.
This shows that evil cannot escape its responsibility.
"It can't hide in the bunker," Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom critics have repeatedly accused since the beginning of the war of being in a secret safe place as a precaution.
Moscow says so
In Russia, however, the final preparations are underway for the internationally eagerly awaited celebrations of "Victory Day" on Monday.
In advance, the Kremlin published a greeting on its website in which the current war situation was compared to that of World War II: "Like 1945, victory will be ours," the message said.
And: "It is our sacred duty to prevent the ideological heirs of those who have been defeated" from getting "their revenge."
Around 11,000 soldiers are said to march in the traditional parade in Moscow.
Tanks and other military technology are also shown.
Eight fighter jets are also said to form the letter "Z" in the sky, which is the official symbol of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
That's what the USA and the G7 countries say
The leading democratic industrialized countries have agreed on their joint action in the Ukraine war via video link.
They are united behind the position of the USA and the EU of gradually phasing out
oil imports from Russia
.
"We will ensure that we do so in a timely and orderly manner, in a manner that gives the world time to secure alternative supplies," said a G7 statement released on Sunday.
In addition to the heads of state and government of the USA, France, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and Japan, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also took part in the meeting.
The G7 countries also condemned Russia for the war of aggression.
"We are appalled by the massive loss of life, the attack on human rights and the destruction caused by Russia's actions in Ukraine," the statement said.
A US official also announced a ban on providing business services to companies or individuals in Russia.
In addition, US export controls would be tightened and
sanctions imposed
on three of the main television channels directly or indirectly controlled by President Vladimir Putin's government: Pervy Kanal.
Rossiya-1 and NTV.
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atb/dpa/AFP/Reuters/AP