WAR IN UKRAINE: May 13, 2022 — Michael Bociurkiw

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 79

The families of the Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have called on the world to stop Russia and save their loved ones. Mainly, their appeal was directed at the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yevheniy Sukharnykov, a father of an Azov fighter, said: “My son is also at Azovstal, in hell. They are keeping the defense right now. It is not just a war, it’s a slaughterhouse. We demand extraction for our fighters along with their wounded and fallen brothers. There’s an international practice. The fighters are extracted to a third country, a neutral one. We insist on this decision. We started a petition calling for the extraction procedure. As of now it has 1.5 million signatures. The society supports this decision, what’s left to do is to organize it. We understand that Turkey can be a suitable country (for the procedure). I address president Erdogan as a man and a father. Save our fighters. You have the experience. Send a civilian fleet. We understand all the risks, but this is our only chance. We either risk or together with the whole world watch them killed.”
Ukraine has offered to swap Russian POWs for 38 heavily-wounded soldiers in the Azovstal steel plant. There’s been no reply from Moscow on the offer.
"Millions will die" if Ukrainian ports not reopened: The head of the UN World Food Programme, David Beasley, is pleading with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reopen Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying "millions of people around the world will die because these ports are being blocked." It comes as the EU proposed “solidarity lanes” exclusively for exporting agricultural goods from Ukraine to help ease the blockade of produce - CNN
The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a Russian warship or a boat, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said without giving details. Media reports say the ship is a project 23120 logistics support vessel Vsevolod Bobrov or Elbrus.
The UN Human Rights Council has voted to increase scrutiny on the "deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression," particularly given events in Mariupol and several other towns and cities. China and Eritrea voted against the motion (Eritrea is a signatory to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative and heavily indebted) and India was among several other member states which abstained). Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the motion, saying on Twitter: “ Perpetrators of these barbaric crimes will be brought to justice.”
The Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, stated that the country is buying Soviet and Russian military equipment wherever it can possibly find it to transfer to Ukraine.
Republican Senator Rand Paul has blocked a bill to provide $40 billion in aid to Ukraine. Mr Paul had pushed for language to be added to the bill that would give the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction oversight of the money and weapons the U.S. is sending to Ukraine.
Enhanced customs checks by Polish customs are causing chaos on the Ukrainian side of the border. Crossing into Poland today we witnessed a queue of lorries around 20kms long waiting to cross into Poland. Much of the line was stationary - we saw no movement whatsoever. A driver told us that customs officers are looking for arms and ammunition. An independent security analyst told me that a new trade that’s sprung up in war memorabilia has caught the attention of Polish authorities. Non-commercial traffic is also impacted by the added checks - all bus passengers are having to remove their luggage and send it through X-ray machines. I’m reaching out to the Polish Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the customs department, for a statement.