War against Ukraine: That's the situation
Created: 05/15/2022Updated: 05/15/2022 05:58
Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops continues.
© Francisco Seco/AP/dpa
The band Kalush Orchestra brought Ukraine a triumph at the ESC in the middle of a costly war.
Meanwhile, the military situation remains difficult.
The current developments:
Kyiv - While Ukraine is first considering where it could host the Eurovision Song Contest next year, bitter fighting continues, especially in the east of the country.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a very difficult situation in the Donbass industrial area there.
Regional authorities expect new attacks by Russian troops in several directions.
Selenskyj: Next ESC in Ukraine
Following the victory of the Kalush Orchestra band at the ESC held in Turin, the Ukrainian President was determined to fulfill his obligations as host country despite the current Russian war of aggression.
"Next year Ukraine will host the Eurovision!" Zelenskyy wrote on Sunday night in his news channel on the Telegram chat service.
Selenskyj also referred to the band's appeal to the ESC to save the port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops.
“We are doing everything so that one day Ukrainian Mariupol will welcome participants and guests of Eurovision.
A free, peaceful, rebuilt!” he wrote.
more on the subject
Selenskyj: The ESC 2023 will be held in Ukraine
Two months after the attack: "Russia's blitzkrieg failed"
War against Ukraine: That's the situation
Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko wrote to Telegram that the government is starting to think about where to hold the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Ukrainians finished well ahead of British singer Sam Ryder, who finished second with 466 points, with 631 points.
Kuleba: Accept consequences of sanctions against Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on people in Germany to accept the consequences of the sanctions against Russia.
"Sometimes it's cheaper to help someone else and endure a short period of deprivation than sitting at home, watching TV and doing nothing, just allowing the problem to eventually knock on your own door," said Kuleba at "Bild television”.
Ukraine offers a fair deal: "Give us everything we need and we will contain Russia and defeat it in Ukraine so they never knock on your door."
Kyiv refuses to surrender territories to Russia
Kuleba also reiterated in the interview that his country is not ready for agreements with Russia that would leave Ukrainian territory in the hands of the attackers.
"There is nothing wrong with a ceasefire if it is the first step towards a solution where Ukrainian territory is liberated," he said.
"But we will not accept the fact that there is a partial separation of territory." The government in Kyiv will "not allow diplomacy to simply prolong our suffering and simply postpone the next phase of the war."
Zelenskyy: Russia wants at least a small victory in Donbass
According to Zelenskyy, the situation in the Donbass region remains "very difficult" for Ukraine.
The Russian troops tried to achieve "at least a certain victory" there, said Zelenskyj in his daily video speech on Sunday night.
That seems “particularly crazy” on the 80th day after the invasion.
Russian troops are concentrating their attacks on eastern Ukraine after failing to advance towards Kyiv.
Selenskyj was confident: "Step by step we are forcing the occupiers to leave our country."
Ukrainian military: Russian attacks across the east
According to Ukrainian military information, Russian troops are attacking on a broad front in the east of the country.
Among other things, the Russian army is particularly active in Donetsk, the Ukrainian general staff wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
Russian troops regrouped in the Sieverodonetsk region.
The Russian military is trying to encircle Ukrainian units in the Donbass, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on television.
In Mariupol, the Azovstal steelworks, which is trapping the city's last Ukrainian defenders, continues to be bombed and shelled.
Zelenskyi bans pro-Russian parties
Parties that support the Russian war of aggression should soon be able to be banned in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law passed in early May, the Ukrainian parliament announced on its website.
The law will come into effect one day after its official publication.
For example, the ban is intended to hit parties that justify or deny Russia's war against Ukraine.
As early as March, Ukrainian authorities halted the activities of nearly a dozen parties allegedly linked to Russia.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.
That will be important on Sunday
Sweden's governing Social Democrats want to make a decision on whether their country should apply for NATO membership.
The party had previously spoken out against joining the military alliance, but the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine triggered an intensive NATO debate in Sweden - as well as in neighboring Finland.
dpa
