WAR IN UKRAINE: May 11, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 442
Peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are currently impossible as "both parties are convinced they can win," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Spanish newspaper El Pais. "This was a Russian invasion against international law, against the UN Charter, but I do not see Russia at the moment willing to withdraw from the territories it occupies, and I think Ukraine is hoping to retake them," Guterres said in the interview published on May 9. "What we are doing, to the extent possible, is having a dialogue with both parties to solve specific problems." The UN chief added that his organization focused on securing exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea as well as of Russian food products and fertilizers, which the West hasn't sanctioned - Kyiv Independent
Ukrainian defenders continued to hold out against a fresh wave of Russian assaults in the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut despite Russian claims of advances, the military said on May 10, as the European Union discusses a fresh batch of sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Enerhoatom, the operator of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, has warned that Russia plans to forcibly "evacuate" about 3,100 employees of Europe's largest nuclear station, which already faces a "catastrophic lack of qualified personnel." - RFE/RL
The war in Ukraine will increasingly pit large numbers of poorly trained Russian troops with outdated equipment against a smaller Ukrainian force with better Western weapons and training, NATO's top military official said on May 10.
France’s National Assembly voted Tuesday to designate Russia’s paramilitary Wagner group as a terrorist entity. All lawmakers present in parliament — 331 in total — voted in favor of the resolution, which is non-binding. The resolution calls on the European Union to register Wagner on the EU list of terrorist groups. “This resolution and its European scope aims … at reinforcing legal tools against [the Wagner group]. Adding it to the EU list would affect all the stakeholders, the banks, that make its activity possible,” said Benjamin Haddad, an MP belonging to Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party and one of the authors of the text. The resolution is non-binding but sends “a political and symbolic message,” said Haddad - Politico
Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on flights to Georgia and eased visa requirements for its citizens, taking a major step to facilitate travel between neighbors whose relations have been tense since a 2008 war. The Kremlin gave no immediate explanation for the moves, which removed restrictions imposed in 2019 after protests broke out in Georgia over ties to Russia. The Foreign Ministry said the changes are in line with efforts to “ease contacts between the people of Russia and Georgia, despite the lack of diplomatic relations.” Those ties were cut off after the war - Bloomberg
The director of the Center for Russian Studies at Portugal’s University of Coimbra, Vladimir Pleassov, has been sacked, following an accusation of developing propaganda in favor of Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine within the university. The dismissal was confirmed by the rector of the University of Coimbra, Amílcar Falcão, in statements to Rádio Renascença.