Ukrainian raid on school and kindergarten in Kherson
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had evidence of “a deadly attack, carried out by Ukrainian nationalists, which targeted a school and a nursery in the Kherson region, with deaths and injured among civilians”. The ministry said, “The Ukrainian armed forces bombed the liberated territories of Kiselevka and Shirokaya Balka in the Kherson region. The fire of Ukrainian nationalists targeted purely civilian structures. A school and kindergarten in the Kiselevka settlement were bombed.” It posted a video of the aftermath of the attack.
Efforts to save Ukrainian civilians from Mariupol
International efforts to save Ukrainian civilians from the shattered remains of Mariupol intensified Saturday, as a fragile cease-fire allowed about 20 women and children to escape the now-ruined Azovstal steel plant for a convoy into western Ukraine. The Red Cross and United Nations helped broker the pause, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko told the BBC. He said the non-combatants huddled in bunkers beneath the plant are “on the borderline between life and death and it’s difficult to say how many days or hours we have to save their lives”. Boychenko estimates that about 600 of the 1,000 women and children still at the plant have been injured. New satellite images show flattened buildings within the plant, with large holes punched in the roofs of any structure left standing, according to Maxar Technologies. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government warned that the 100,000 civilians still living in Mariupol’s rubble now face mortal danger from a new threat: disease.
‘Putin towards announcement of total war in Kyiv’
President Putin could abandon the term “special operation” to indicate the invasion of Ukraine and speak of “total war” in Kyiv. Quoting Russian and Western officials, The Independent reports that seeking a “revenge” for military failures, senior officers of the Russian army are pushing the Russian president to announce the change during the annual Victory Day parade on May 9. The move would allow the Kremlin to activate martial law, engage its allies in military aid and proclaim mass mobilisation.
Evacuation bus found with blood, passengers missing
A bus used to help evacuate Ukrainian civilians and carry humanitarian aid has gone missing, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration announced Saturday. A volunteer managed to escape after Russians allegedly started shooting at two busses in the village of Popasna on Friday. Ukrainian troops visited the area of the alleged attack and found a damaged bus with no people aboard, but with “traces of blood” in the area. The second bus has not been found.
Bodies of tortured and gagged men found near Bucha
A grave containing the bodies of three men tortured, gagged and shot in the head was found in the woods near the village of Myrotske, in the district of Bucha, in the Kyiv region. The Kiev police wrote on Facebook, “The victims were tortured for a long time; bullet wounds were found in the limbs. The three men were shot in the ear. This is another mass grave dug by Russian soldiers in the Bucha district, where more than a thousand citizens were killed and tortured,” said the chief of police of the Kyiv region, Andriy Nebytov.
Ukraine wants China to act as a guarantor for security
Kyiv has offered Beijing to become one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security. This was revealed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba in an interview with the Chinese news agency Xinhua. He said the only way to restore peace to Ukraine is to restore sovereignty over its entire territory within internationally-recognised borders.
‘Strengthen Ukraine to make Putin fail’
In a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he intends to continue to militarily strengthen Kyiv and that he remains committed to making “Putin fail”. The BBC quotes a spokesman for Downing Street as saying, “President Zelensky has provided information on the intense fighting in eastern Ukraine and the continuing siege of Mariupol.” The parties also discussed “progress in UN-led efforts to evacuate Mariupol”.
Russia will leave the ISS following sanctions
Russia will leave the International Space Station due to the sanctions imposed for the invasion of Ukraine. “The decision has already been made, we are not obliged to talk about it publicly,” said general manager Dmitry Rogozin in an interview reported by the Bloomberg agency, citing Tass and Ria Novosti. “I can only say this: in line with our obligations we will inform our partners of the end of our work on the ISS one year in advance,” he added.
Angelina Jolie makes surprise visit to Ukraine
Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, where she spent some time with children affected by the war, volunteers and refugees. Her visit was announced on Telegram by Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytskyy, The Associated Press reported. Jolie, 46, met and spoke with internally displaced Ukrainians, including children hurt in an attack in the eastern city of Kramatorsk earlier this month, who have found refuge in Lviv. “She visited children who suffered from a missile strike by the Russian military on the Kramatorsk train station,” Kozytskyy said, according to CNN. “She was very moved by their stories. One girl was even able to tell Ms. Jolie about her dream privately,” he added.
‘Comedian-in-chief’ Biden calls Trump a ‘plague’
President Biden played the role of “comedian-in-chief” for the White House correspondents dinner. “I am happy to be here with the only group of Americans who have a lower approval rating than me,”says the American president from the stage of the Washington Hilton referring to his collapse in the polls. “We have had a plague followed by two years of Covid,” he adds, referring to the fact that he is the first president to speak at dinner for the first time in six years. Donald Trump, his predecessor, never attended the event believing the media to be the “enemy of the people”. The last president in office to attend was Barack Obama. On a more serious tone Biden then adds: “A free press is not the enemy of the people, it is the guardian of freedom.”
Porn MP resigns
Neil Parish, the Tory member of Parliament who said he accidentally opened “tractor porn” on his cellphone in the House of Commons, resigned his seat Saturday and admitted that he had deliberately viewed the racy videos in the chamber. The 65-year-old conservative legislator had a “moment of madness,” he said, when he looked up X-rated content during an idle moment when he was waiting for a vote.
Feminists kick off early May Day protests in Berlin
Thousands of people marched through the German capital to protest against violence against women ahead of May Day. A feminist demonstration of around 2,500 marched under the slogan of “Take back the night”, accompanied by a heavy police presence. Hundreds of protesters also took part in various other activities around the city on Saturday, including protests against rising rent, and the planned opening of a new police station in the neighborhood of Kreuzberg.Earlier on Saturday morning, a group of housing activists occupied a vacant hostel in the centre of the capital before police evicted them. The crowd dispersed following clashes with the police.
Tornado rips through Kansas
A tornado that barrelled through parts of Kansas destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes and buildings, injured several people and left more than 15,000 people without power. There were no fatalities or critical injuries despite the widespread destruction. Officials said more than 1,000 buildings were affected when a strong twister swept through Andover on Friday evening. In the daylight on Saturday, emergency crews found a more widespread path of destruction than was earlier estimated.
