The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

War Ukraine - Russia: latest live news | Kiev takes pressure off counteroffensive: 'We are considering different options'

2023-05-10T05:11:06.167Z

Highlights: Zelenskiy thanks von der Leyen for EU aid to acquire ammunition for Ukrainian artillery | French journalist killed in bombing near Bakhmut | Scholz calls for EU "not to be intimidated by Putin's shows of force" EL PAÍS offers free of charge the last hour of the conflict in Ukraine as a public service. The U.S. and UK ask Russia to renew grain agreements and not use hunger as a weapon. U.N. says inspections of departing vessels under an agreement allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine to the Black Sea resumed on Tuesday.


Zelenskiy thanks von der Leyen for EU aid to acquire ammunition for Ukrainian artillery | French journalist killed in bombing near Bakhmut | Scholz calls for EU "not to be intimidated by Putin's shows of force"


EL PAÍS offers free of charge the last hour of the conflict in Ukraine as a public service. If you want to support our journalism, subscribe.

The Ukrainian government has tried on Tuesday to reduce the pressure on the expected counteroffensive to retake the territories occupied by Russia. "The final plan has not been approved yet," National Security Council Chairman Oleksii Danilov said. "We have different options and all of them are being considered." The President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, has personally thanked this morning in Kiev the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the new aid package of 1,000 million euros approved by Brussels to finance the supply of ammunition for the Ukrainian army. The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has bet this morning that the EU is not "intimidated" by the "demonstrations of force" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Tuesday presided over the Victory Day parade in Moscow. A journalist from Agence France Presse has been killed in a bombing near Bakhmut.

  • Photo gallery | Victory Day Parade in Moscow

02:18

Images of the 440th day of war in Ukraine

Back to top

New publications

The Country

US and UK ask Russia to renew grain agreements and not use hunger as a weapon

The United States and the United Kingdom have jointly called on Tuesday for the extension of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals through the Black Sea, denouncing that Russia continues to use food "as a weapon".

"In recent days, Russia has again blocked ships from entering Ukrainian ports to load grain, a cynical act that has as a direct result the reduction of the amount of food on world markets and, in fact, 'is reaching those in need.'" in Africa, the Middle East and around the world," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference. "The world should not have to remind Russia every two or three weeks not to use people's starvation as a weapon," said visiting British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Ukraine is one of the world's leading producers of cereals. The so-called Black Sea agreements, signed on July 22 last year for 120 days by the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, helped alleviate the global food crisis caused by the war, and was renewed for four months.

It expires on May 18 and Russia has not agreed to a third renewal.
Russia denounces in particular the non-implementation of a second agreement with Ukraine to allow its own exports of cereals and fertilizers. Moscow complains of not being able to sell its produce and fertilizers due to Western sanctions, which particularly affect the financial and logistics sector. The United States rejects this argument and assures that it does not fall under the thumb of US sanctions. (AFP)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 22: 21

The Country

U.N. says Ukrainian grain exports have resumed

The United Nations said inspections of departing vessels under an agreement allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine to the Black Sea resumed on Tuesday. Moscow has been threatening for weeks to abandon the deal on May 18 over what it says are obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports. There were no inspections of entry or exit of ships on Sunday or Monday.

The UN and Turkey negotiated the Black Sea export deal in July to help address a global food crisis that has been exacerbated by Moscow's war in Ukraine. Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN form a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, which implements the agreement. "The JCC has confirmed that inspections have resumed today on departing vessels," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Senior officials from the four parties will meet in Istanbul this week for talks. Russia has said it will not extend the pact beyond May 18 unless a list of demands to remove obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports is met.

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths will travel to Istanbul, Haq said. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Tuesday described the discussions ahead of the meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as "positive." "We will work to continue with the grain deal on May 18 without allowing any stoppage or cessation," Akar told broadcaster Haberturk.

To help convince Russia to allow Ukraine to resume Black Sea grain exports, a three-year agreement was signed in July in which the UN agreed to help Moscow facilitate such shipments.
While Russian agricultural exports are not subject to Western sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance are a barrier to shipments.

Russia, in an excerpt from a letter seen by Reuters last month, told its JCC counterparts that it will not approve the participation of any new vessels in the Black Sea deal unless transits are made before May 18. The JCC has not authorized any new vessels since Thursday. (Reuters)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 21: 19

The Country

Kiev takes pressure off counteroffensive: 'We are considering different options'

Ukrainian National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has tried to ease pressure on Kiev over Ukraine's expected counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territories. "I don't use the term counterattack," he said in an interview on Ukrainian television. "These are military operations. The final plan has not yet been approved; We have different options and all of them are being considered."

"Our military knows what to do, where to do it and when to do it," Danilov said. "And in the office of the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president of our country, the final decisions regarding timelines and directions will be made." (Agencies)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 20: 49

The Country

A woman takes pictures in front of an anti-Russian President Vladimir Putin poster on a Kiev street. / OLEG PETRASYUK / EFE

What has happened in the last few hours

On the 439th day of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, these are the main news at 20.00 hours in Spain:

Von der Leyen in Kiev backs Zelenskiy's call for a special court for Ukraine. The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, has ratified on Tuesday from Kiev her support for the creation of a special tribunal to judge Russia's war crimes in Ukraine, a role that, she added, will correspond to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. "We work daily to collect evidence and record all crimes," he said, after meeting in the Ukrainian capital with the country's president, Volodímir Zelenski, to insist that the objective is to "do justice" and "ensure that war criminals" will not escape it.

A French journalist is killed in a bombing near Bakhmut. French journalist Arman Soldin, video coordinator for Agence France Presse in Ukraine, was killed Tuesday afternoon in a Russian bombing near Bakhmut, the agency said. According to AFP, Soldin was with a group of journalists from the agency near the town of Chasiv Yar, 10 kilometers west of Bakhmut, when, at 16.30 local time (15.30 Spanish peninsular time) Grad missiles began to fall on the area.

The US announces a new military aid package to Ukraine worth 1.100 billion euros. The Government of the United States has announced on Tuesday a new package of military aid to Ukraine that includes, among other equipment, air defense systems and ammunition against drones and that is valued at about 1,200 million dollars (about 1,100 million euros), something that the Ukrainian president has already rushed to thank, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries plan to send missiles with a range greater than 300 kilometers to Ukraine. The International Fund for Ukraine, a group of European countries led by the United Kingdom and including the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, is considering sending missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers to Ukraine, which would mean an escalation in the military aid provided by the West to Kiev to fight the Russian invasion.

The owners of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant claim that the situation at the plant is deteriorating. The chairman of Energoatom, the Ukrainian company that owns the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, said on Tuesday that the situation at the plant was deteriorating. According to Petro Kotin in an interview with the media of the German group Funke (which includes several regional newspapers in Germany) Russia is bringing more troops and military vehicles to the plant compound, located in the middle of the front.

The FBI claims to have disrupted a Russian spyware package. The FBI has sabotaged a set of malicious software used by elite Russian spies, U.S. authorities said Tuesday, a rare public acknowledgment of the digital tug-of-war between two cyber superpowers. Law enforcement sources consulted by Reuters have said FBI technical experts have identified and disabled malicious software used by Russia's FSB security service against an undisclosed number of U.S. computers, a move they hope could deal a mortal blow to one of Russia's top cyberespionage programs.

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 20: 04

The Country

French journalist killed in bombing near Bakhmut

French journalist Arman Soldin, video coordinator for Agence France Presse in Ukraine, was killed Tuesday afternoon in a Russian bombing near Bakhmut, the agency said. He was 32 years old.

According to AFP, Soldin was with a group of four journalists from the agency near the town of Chasiv Yar, 10 kilometers west of Bajmut, when, at 16.30 local time (15.30 CET) Grad missiles began to fall on the area. His colleagues were unharmed. (AFP)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 20: 13

The Country

Owners of Zaporizhia NPP claim situation at plant is deteriorating

The chairman of Energoatom, the Ukrainian company that owns the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, said on Tuesday that the situation at the plant was deteriorating. According to Petro Kotin in an interview with the media of the German group Funke (which includes several regional newspapers in Germany) Russia is bringing more troops and military vehicles to the plant compound, located in the middle of the front.

Kotin's information is complemented by information that Russia is evacuating civilians from several towns in Zaporizhia province located on the frontline, including Energodar, where much of the plant's personnel reside. On Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued its alarm about the evolution of the situation of the plant. (Agencies)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 19: 43

The Country

Von der Leyen backs Zelenskiy's request for a special court for Ukraine in Kiev

The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, has ratified on Tuesday from Kiev her support for the creation of a special tribunal to judge Russia's war crimes in Ukraine, a role that, she added,
will correspond to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

"We work daily to collect evidence and record all crimes," he said, after meeting in the Ukrainian capital with the country's president, Volodímir Zelenski, to insist that the objective is to "do justice" and "ensure that war criminals" will not escape it. The president of the Commission was referring to the creation of what she called an International Center for the persecution of the war against Ukraine, thus taking up the claim expressed last week by Zelenski himself in his visit to the headquarters of the ICC in The Hague and his allusion to the recognition of the war of aggression launched by Russia to avoid other future wars of aggression.

Von der Leyen ha recogido así la reclamación expresada la semana pasada por el propio Zelenski en su visita a la sede de la CPI de La Haya y su alusión al reconocimiento de la guerra de agresión lanzada por Rusia para evitar otras guerras de agresión futuras.

"El foco de este paquete es acabar con la evasión de estas sanciones", ha dicho Von der Leyen, en referencia al undécimo paquete europeo de sanciones propuesto el pasado viernes por la Comisión.

Entre las novedades de este nuevo paquete, la presidenta destacó la inclusión de "productos de tecnología avanzada y componentes de aviones", que no pueden entrar en Rusia aunque su destino final esté en otros países. "Ya no acabarán en manos del Kremlin", ha dicho sobre los efectos de la medida.

Von der Leyen ha explicado que la Comisión ha identificado recientemente "un incremento muy inusual de los flujos comerciales de la UE con ciertos terceros países". "Estos bienes acaban en Rusia", dijo la presidenta de la CE. "Si vemos que los productos que van de la UE a terceros países acaban en Rusia, podremos proponer a los Estados miembros que sancionen la exportación de estos productos", anunció Von der Leyen, que subrayó que este nuevo instrumento será utilizado con "precaución".

El nuevo paquete también prevé sanciones contra las "entidades fantasmas de Rusia y terceros países que evadan de forma intencionada nuestras sanciones", ha explicado la presidenta del ejecutivo comunitario. (Efe)

ACT.9 MAYO 2023 - 18:16

El País

El FBI anuncia haber desbaratado un paquete de software espía ruso

El FBI ha saboteado un conjunto de software malicioso utilizado por espías rusos de élite, han afirmado este martes las autoridades estadounidenses, un raro reconocimiento público del tira y afloja digital entre dos superpotencias cibernéticas.

Fuentes policiales consultadas por Reuters han dicho que los expertos técnicos del FBI identificaron y deshabilitaron el software malicioso utilizado por el servicio de seguridad FSB de Rusia contra un número no revelado de ordenadores estadounidenses, una medida que, esperan, podría asestar un golpe mortal a uno de los principales programas de ciberespionaje de Rusia.

“Consideramos que esta ha sido hasta ahora su principal herramienta de espionaje”, ha afirmado uno de los funcionarios estadounidenses a los periodistas antes del anuncio oficial. Ha señalado que Washington esperaba que la operación "lo erradicará del campo de batalla virtual".

El funcionario identificó a los piratas informáticos del FSB detrás del malware con un notorio grupo de piratas informáticos conocido como "Turla", que ha estado activo durante dos décadas contra una variedad de objetivos alineados con la OTAN.

El funcionario habló con los periodistas con la condición de no ser identificado.

Los diplomáticos rusos no respondieron de inmediato un mensaje en busca de comentarios. Moscú niega rutinariamente la realización de operaciones de ciberespionaje. (Reuters)

ACT.9 MAYO 2023 - 17:28

El País

EEUU anuncia un nuevo paquete de ayuda militar a Ucrania con valor de 1.100 millones de euros

El Gobierno de Estados Unidos ha anunciado este martes un nuevo paquete de ayuda militar a Ucrania que incluye, entre otros equipos, sistemas de defensa antiaérea y munición contra drones y que está valorado en unos 1.200 millones de dólares (unos 1.100 millones de euros), algo que ya se ha apresurado a agradecer el presidente ucraniano, Volodímir Zelenski.

El Departamento de Defensa estadounidense ha destacado en un comunicado que este nuevo lote pone de manifiesto el compromiso de Washington con Kiev, ayudando a cubrir sus "necesidades más urgentes", con vistas a que las Fuerzas Armadas de Ucrania puedan "defender su territorio" y hacer frente a la agresión lanzada por Rusia.

La lista difundida por el Pentágono incluye el aporte futuro de munición, incluidos obuses de 155 milímetros, pero no habla de nuevos compromisos en relación al envío de tanques, ni hace alusión alguna a los cazas que Zelenski lleva meses reclamando y que la Administración estadounidense no contempla proporcionar.

El mandatario ucranio se ha mostrado en Twitter agradecido por este nuevo y "potente" paquete de ayuda. Lo ha descrito como una “señal de solidaridad” en un día especialmente "simbólico", con motivo del Día de Europa y de la conmemoración de la victoria frente al nazismo en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. “Juntos, avanzamos hacia una nueva victoria”, ha proclamado. (Europa Press).

ACT.9 MAYO 2023 - 17:28

The Country

Ukrainian servicemen enter the coordinates of the target into a missile launcher on the Bakhmut front. / Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries plan to send missiles with a range greater than 300 kilometers to Ukraine

The International Fund for Ukraine, a group of European countries led by the United Kingdom and including the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, is considering sending missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers to Ukraine, which would mean an escalation in the military aid provided by the West to Kiev to fight the Russian invasion.

The British Ministry of Defense has contacted arms companies to find out if those companies would be able to supply those projectiles, reports Reuters. The devices on which information is requested would have to be able to be launched from land, sea and air and have a payload of between 20 and 490 kilos, in addition to having technologies to minimize their possibility of being intercepted and methods to penetrate anti-aircraft defenses and increase the probability of hitting the target. British government sources have assured that the decision to send such weapons to Kiev has not yet been taken.

Washington, for its part, announced today that it has approved a new military aid package to Ukraine valued at 1.200 billion dollars (REUTERS)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 17: 11

The Country

United Nations

The King calls on the EU to unite in the face of the war in Ukraine

Miguel Gonzalez

The King has called on Europe to "reaffirm and unite even more forcefully and decisively", in the face of challenges such as "the war in Ukraine, provoked by the unacceptable Russian invasion". Felipe VI made this appeal on Tuesday, during his speech at the delivery of the Carlos V European Prize to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres. The event coincided with Europe Day, which is celebrated every 9 May.

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 16: 56

The Country

Ukrainian Activists Prevent Russian Ambassador to Poland from Paying Tribute to Soviet Soldiers

A group of Ukrainian activists on Tuesday prevented the Russian ambassador in Warsaw from laying a wreath at the cemetery-mausoleum of Soviet soldiers to commemorate the Russian holiday of Victory Day.

The Russian ambassador, Sergei Andreyev, arrived shortly before noon at the cemetery in a limousine and accompanied by several bodyguards to lay a wreath at the monument in memory of the Soviet soldiers who fought against the Germans between 1944 and 1945.

At the gate of the compound was a group of Ukrainian activists who had previously placed a row of flags of their country, crosses with names of victims fallen in the war in Ukraine and columns with the names of the Ukrainian cities of Bucha and Bakhmut. According to the Polish press, the activists surrounded the Russian ambassador and rebuked him, forcing the police guarding the site to intervene. When the Russian diplomat laid the wreath on the ground, some of the Ukrainians trampled on it.

Soon after, a group of people who identified themselves as the "Association of the Heirs of Polish Veterans of World War II" placed several bouquets of flowers on the graves of Polish soldiers, buried in that same cemetery, and sang the national anthem of Poland.

A few hours before the incident, the secretary general of Poland's ruling party, Krzysztof Sobolewski, said he hoped that, unlike last year, the Russian ambassador would refrain from repeating "provocations" and not try to pay tribute. In 2022, the Russian ambassador was attacked by activists who threw red paint at him when he was going to commemorate the same anniversary, in the same cemetery-mausoleum. (EFE).

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 16: 22

The Country

Russian War in Ukraine

Victory Day in Russia, in pictures

The Country

Some 10,000 soldiers, including more than half a thousand fighters in the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, and numerous military teams paraded along the cobblestone of Red Square, surrounded this year by strict security measures for fear of acts of sabotage by the enemy. In this photo gallery you can see some details of the day.

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 15: 48

The Country

Chinese President Xi Jinping with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in 2019. / POOL / REUTERS

Beijing threatens to "replicate" EU sanctions on Chinese companies with ties to Russia

The Chinese government has warned that it will replicate the eventual sanctions ordered by the European Union against companies in its country that maintain commercial exchanges with Russia. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of that country, Qin Gang, visiting Berlin today. "China and Russian companies have a normal relationship. That kind of cooperation should not be affected [by possible EU sanctions]," Qin said during a news conference alongside German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. In that case, "China will provide the necessary reply to firmly protect the legitimate interests of its enterprises," the Chinese minister added. The European Commission has proposed to member states a new package of restrictive measures against Russia to prevent them from circumventing the European sanctions imposed on Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The Commission's proposal singles out for the first time eight Chinese companies accused of re-exporting goods to Moscow. (AFP)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 15: 27

The Country

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kiev today. / VALENTYN OGIRENKO / REUTERS

Zelenskiy thanks von der Leyen for EU aid to acquire ammunition for Ukrainian artillery

The president of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, thanked the European Union this morning for the new aid package of 1,000 million euros approved by Brussels to finance the supply of ammunition for the artillery of the Ukrainian army. "Today I thanked Ursula for the EU's readiness to supply us with much-needed ammunition, one million artillery shells," Zelenskiy told a joint news conference with von der Leyen. The Commission approved this aid on 5 May. Von der Leyen has traveled to Kiev to meet with the Ukrainian president on the occasion of the celebration of Europe Day. (EFE)

ACT.9 MAY 2023 - 13: 06

Follow all the international information on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2023-05-10

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.