Status: 05/11/2022 07:05 a.m
Ukrainian President Selenskyj has praised his soldiers’ readiness for action – and reported gains in territory near Kharkiv. He sees little hope of liberation for the fighters trapped in the Mariupol steelworks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported successes in the defense of the armed forces against Russia’s attacking forces. The Ukrainian military is succeeding in gradually pushing the Russian forces out of Kharkiv in the north-east of the country, Zelenskyj said at night. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, his troops expelled the Russian soldiers from four towns north-east of Kharkiv. The aim is to push them back to the Russian border.
The current situation in Ukraine: Russian attacks continue unabated
Mathea Schülke, WDR, Morgenmagazin, May 11, 2022
Zelenskyy praised the courage and sacrifice of his country’s troops in the fight against the Russian army. “I am grateful to all our protectors who are defending themselves and showing truly superhuman strength to drive off the invaders’ army,” he said in his daily video address Tuesday night. And that in the fight against the “once the second strongest army in the world”.
Despite further successes on various fronts, Zelenskyj did not want to allow euphoria and “excessive emotions” to arise. “There is no need to create an atmosphere of specific moral pressure when certain victories are expected on a weekly and even daily basis,” he warned.
conflicting parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body.
Attacks in Zaporizhia, Odessa and Luhansk
While the Ukrainians regain control of lost territories in the north-east of the country, the Russians are gradually advancing about 150 kilometers to the south-east in the Donbass. Ukraine’s Southern Command reported “merciless” attacks by Russian forces on homes, farms and power supplies.
At least one person was killed and eight others injured in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia on Tuesday evening, according to Ukrainian sources. Above all, residential buildings in Orechowo were hit, reported the “Ukrajinska Pravda”, citing the regional administration. Because of the intensity of the shelling, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the town was temporarily interrupted. The information could not be independently verified.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian side reported Russian missile attacks on the important southern port of Odessa. The strategy behind this is apparently to cut off supply lines and arms deliveries to Ukrainian troops.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai reported 22 attacks on the region within 24 hours. Due to the Russian attacks in the region, Ukraine wants to stop gas transit to Europe via Luhansk.
Ukrainian soldiers are still stuck in the steel mill
Russian attacks on Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the Mariupol Steelworks also continued. According to the will of the Russian besiegers, the Ukrainian fighters are not allowed to leave the area. Russia insists on their surrender.
According to Ukrajinska Pravda, the Russian military has rejected any proposal for the unhindered withdrawal of the fighters from the Azovstal plant. “The defenders of Mariupol remain there, they continue the resistance on the Azovstal site.” Kyiv continues to use all available diplomatic means to enable the soldiers to be rescued.
Zelenskyi previously stated that Ukraine currently does not have the heavy weapons needed for a successful push to liberate Mariupol.
Also on Tuesday, the Ukrainian defenders reported heavy shelling by Russian troops. The area had been attacked from the air all night long, said the deputy commander of the Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, to “Ukrajinska Pravda”. There are many seriously injured. They urgently need to be brought to safety.
Most recently, several hundred civilians were evacuated from the site with the mediation of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Contrary to recent reports about the complete evacuation of all civilians from the Mariupol plant, regional administrator Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Monday evening that there were still 100 people there who were not combatants.