WAR IN UKRAINE: May 11, 2022
Injured members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Credit: Ukraine MFA
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 76
Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, the US is warning, and a Russian victory in the eastern region of Donbas might not end its attack. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines tells a Senate hearing the next few months could see Russian actions escalate and become more unpredictable. “The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means," Haines says. More via BBC here
All Russian assets in Ukraine will be transferred to the state, according to Zelensky and the PM-the confiscated assets will be transferred to a newly created National Investment Fund. Zelenskyy added that “Russia must pay for what it has destroyed.” Russian assets in Ukraine range from a bus factory in Lviv to railway infrastructure.
Missiles struck two areas of the city of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine, according to the city's mayor. No casualties have been noted so far, Mayor Vadym Liakh said, and authorities are assessing the resulting damage - CNN.
The UN is calling for the urgent opening of Ukrainian ports to prevent a global famine crisis. Meanwhile there are fresh calls on Ukraine’s allies to deploy naval assets in the Black Sea to end the blockade.
Injured defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol (photo above) are in complete unsanitary conditions without any necessary medication, they lack water and food, says Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We call on the intʼl community to help us evacuate wounded people who are out of the battle & should be properly treated acc. to the Geneva Convention,” the ministry said in a Tweet. In an update said to be from the soldiers this morning, they said: “our guys are alive; shelling and fighting since the night and continue.”
Russia forcibly deports over 8,787 Ukrainians in single day. Ukrainska Pravda reports that Russian authorities said that nearly 9,000 Ukrainians, including 1,106 children, were deported to Russia from Ukraine, specifically the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, over the last 24 hours. Since the start of Russia’s all-out war 1,208,225 people have reportedly been forcibly moved to Russia, including 210,224 children.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk says that his satellite Internet service Starlink became a target of attacks from Russia, which is becoming increasingly chaotic in its cyberwar against Ukraine - Reuters. The system was to have been used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and ordinary citizens.
Belarusian volunteers see Ukraine war as stepping stone to a free Belarus. More in this Atlanic Council Ukraine Alert blog post.
The leader of the Russian band, Pussy Riot, has escaped from Russia with the help of friends. After more than a decade of activism, Maria Alyokhina disguised herself as a food courier to evade the police — and a widening crackdown by President Vladimir Putin. Full New York Times story here
A video account of my visit on May 8 to the historic Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv where dozens of Ukrainian servicemen are buried.
