WAR IN UKRAINE: May 22, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 88
Ukraine rules out ceasefire or concessions to Russia. In an interview with Reuters on May 21, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said agreeing to a ceasefire would backfire as Russia would use the pause in fighting to prepare for further offensives. “The (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible,” he said - The Kyiv Independent
BBC correspondent James Waterhouse said Russia had increased its artillery and air strikes as well as missile attacks - gaining ground mile by mile in Luhansk while the Ukrainians are forced to retreat.
Zelensky: More than 1,000 educational institutions destroyed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. During his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian military has destroyed 1,873 educational institutions since Feb. 24.“This is a colossal scale of losses,” Zelensky said - Kyiv Independent
As thousands of Ukrainians continue to flee Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine, they run a gauntlet of harassment by Russian troops, sometimes coming under fire. More than a dozen people have spoken to CNN at length about their harrowing journeys out of the Kherson region, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the invasion in late February. They also tell of the unexplained disappearances at night, the climate of fear and the acute shortages that led them to flee. Full story here
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world has just ten weeks stockpile of wheat remaining. Global wheat inventories have fallen to their lowest level since 2008 due to a “once in a generation occurrence.”
While the world's eyes are focused on the human suffering brought about by Russia's invasion, environmental experts in Ukraine are keeping a close record of the environmental damage it has caused, to try to repair it as soon as possible, and in hopes of extracting reparations. The mined and destroyed forest in Irpin is just one example of the environmental damage caused by Russia's war on Ukraine. Full CNN story here
Appeasement is the worst possible policy for both Ukraine and Russia. Pressure is growing on Ukraine from states such as France, Germany and Italy to trade land for peace. Why this is a bad idea. Read the Atlantic Council opinion piece here
