Ukraine's natural gas pipeline operator said on May 11 that it would stop Russian shipments through a key hub in the east of the country, while its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Kyiv's military had made small gains, pushing Russian forces out of four villages near Kharkiv.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Russian shipments via pipelines should be exempted from planned European Union oil sanctions against Moscow that, in their current form, would destroy Hungary’s economy.
While speaking to French University Sciences Po, Zelensky said that the war could have been avoided if Ukraine had been granted a NATO membership beforehand.W
Earlier, on May 10, Russia pummeled the vital port of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said, in an apparent effort to disrupt supply lines and Western weapons shipments critical to Kyiv’s defence.
The U.S. House emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package on Tuesday, as lawmakers signalled a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian invasion.
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Ukraine battles Russia in Black Sea over strategic Snake Island
A remote island off Ukraine occupied by Russia on the first day of its invasion has, as Kyiv steps up efforts to retake it, become the focal point of what some defence officials believe may become a battle for control of the western Black Sea coast.
Both countries have reported renewed fighting around Snake Island, which achieved worldwide fame in the conflict’s first hours when Ukrainian border guards stationed there rejected a Russian warship’s demand for their surrender.
The fightback by Ukraine for the island, located near its sea border with Romania and covering just 0.17 square kilometres (0.06 square miles), could decide if Russia is able to establish a defensive base there and thereby exercise dominance over the north-western Black Sea, the ministry said. -Reuters
NATO membership would have prevented the war, says Zelensky
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, on May 10, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking to French University Sciences Po, said the war with Russia would have been prevented if his country had been member of NATO beforehand.
“If Ukraine had been part of NATO before the war, there would have been no war”, Zelenskiy told students via videolink. -Reuters
Russian-backed separatist region of east Ukraine blocks Facebook, Instagram
The Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine said on Wednesday it had blocked access to Facebook and Instagram, aligning itself with Russia’s policy on the U.S.-based social networks.
Moscow recognised the DPR and a second region of eastern Ukraine - the Luhansk People’s Republic - as independent on Feb. 21, and sent troops into Ukraine three days later, citing as one of its reasons the need to protect Russian-speakers there.
“Access to the information resources of the American company Meta, which allows calls for violence against Russian-speaking users on its social networks, has already been blocked,” the DPR’s communications ministry said in a statement.
“In light of this, access to the Facebook and Instagram social networks is blocked on the republic’s territory.”
Meta Platforms Inc did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia banned Facebook and Instagram in March after a court found Meta guilty of “extremist activity”. Moscow had already curbed access to Facebook for restricting Russian media outlets’ access to the platform. -Reuters
Lavrov says Russia has enough energy buyers apart from West
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gives a joint press conference with his Omani counterpart following their meeting in Muscat on May 11, 2022. | Photo Credit: AFP
Russia has enough buyers for its energy resources outside of Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, as European Union countries try to sharply reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas.
“Let the West pay more than it used to pay to the Russian Federation, and let it explain to its population why they should become poorer,” Lavrov said at a news conference in Muscat after talks with his Omani counterpart. His statement comes amid tough sanctions on Russian oil by the European Union.
Hungary says EU’s Russia oil embargo should exempt pipeline shipments
Russian shipments via pipelines should be exempted from planned European Union oil sanctions against Moscow that, in their current form, would destroy Hungary’s economy, its Foreign Minister said on Wednesday. Peter Szijjarto said that, following talks with EU officials, an agreement between Budapest and Brussels on the proposed ban still looked unlikely.
“Brussels has no proposal for a solution ... which could handle the atomic bomb like impacts of this potential oil embargo against Russia on Hungary’s economy.” Szijjarto said said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
Most other EU countries support banning Russian oil under a new sixth package of sanctions designed to punish Moscow for waging war on Ukraine. Unanimity is required for such a decision, however, with Hungary the most vocal critic. Szijjarto said the only way to an agreement would be if the ban applied to maritime oil shipments only and that it would be realistic to return to Hungary’s original proposal to exempt pipeline shipments.
Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline account for about 65% of the oil Hungary needs. - Reuters
Moldova’s gas supplies unaffected by Ukraine decision on gas transit
Moldova’s national gas operator, Moldovagaz, said on Wednesday the country bordering Ukraine was not affected by Kyiv’s decision to suspend gas transit from Russia along an important route.
“Everything is good. We have not received any warnings from our supplier, (Russian state gas exporter) Gazprom, about a possible cessation of gas supply,” a spokesperson for Moldovagaz said. She said Moldova was currently receiving sufficient gas supplies.
Ukraine said on Tuesday it would suspend gas flows through the Sokhranivka transit point, which it said delivered almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe via Ukraine, blaming Moscow and saying it would move the flows elsewhere. - Reuters
Ukrainians make gains in east, stop Russian gas at one hub
An aerial view shows a T-90 tank of the Russian army being destroyed in a drone attack, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Vovchansk Raion, Ukraine, in a screen grab taken from a handout video released on May 10,2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Ukraine's natural gas pipeline operator said Wednesday it would stop Russian shipments through a key hub in the east of the country, while its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Kyiv's military had made small gains, pushing Russian forces out of four villages near Kharkiv.
The pipeline operator said Russian shipments through its Novopskov hub, in an area controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, would be cut beginning Wednesday. It said the hub handles about a third of Russian gas passing through Ukraine to Western Europe. Russia’s state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom put the figure at about a quarter. - AP
House approves $40 billion in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request
The House emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package on Tuesday as lawmakers beefed up President Joe Biden's initial request, signalling a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin's bloody three-month-old invasion.
The measure sailed to passage by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing USD 7 billion more than Biden's request from April and dividing the increase evenly between defense and humanitarian programs.
The bill would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, replenish weapons the Pentagon has shipped overseas and provide USD 5 billion to address global food shortages caused by the war's crippling of Ukraine's normally robust production of many crops. - PTI
EU blames Russia for targeting of U.S. satellite operator Viasat at start of war
The European Union (EU) on May 10 accused the Russian authorities of carrying out a cyberattack against a satellite network an hour before the invasion of Ukraine to pave the way for its assault.
It marked the first time the EU has formally blamed the Russian authorities for carrying out a cyberattack, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Germany reopens embassy in Kyiv, supports war crimes probes
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday reopened her country’s embassy in Kyiv that was closed more than two months ago following the Russian invasion.
Baerbock, the first German Cabinet member to visit Ukraine since the start of the war, also pledged that Berlin would provide further support to Kyiv, including when it comes to investigating and prosecuting war crimes. - AP
U.N. approves Czech Republic to replace Russia on rights body
The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on May 10 for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the world organisation’s leading human rights body following its suspension over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats on the Geneva-based council are divided among regional groups and a replacement for Russia had to come from an East European country. - AP
Russia pummels vital port of Odesa, targeting supply lines
Russia pummeled the vital port of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said on May 10, in an apparent effort to disrupt supply lines and Western weapons shipments critical to Kyiv’s defence.
Ukraine’s ability to stymie a larger, better-armed Russian military has surprised many who had anticipated a much quicker end to the conflict. With the war now in its 11th week and Kyiv bogging down Russian forces and even staging a counteroffensive, Ukraine’s foreign minister appeared to suggest the country could expand its aims beyond merely pushing Russia back to areas it or its allies held on the day of the February 24 invasion. - AP
U.S. intel questioned for misjudging Afghanistan, Ukraine
Top U.S. intelligence officials were questioned on May 10 about why they misjudged the durability of governments in both Afghanistan and Ukraine, and whether they need to reform how intelligence agencies assess a foreign military’s will to fight.
U.S. intelligence believed the U.S.-backed Kabul government would hold out for months against the Taliban and thought Russian forces would overrun Ukraine in a few weeks. Both assessments were wrong. The U.S. and Western allies are now rushing to aid Ukraine’s resistance against Russia in what has turned into a grinding, violent stalemate. - AP
