May 18 Buonasera Mag
Azovstal, Turkey, EU, Diplomats, Google, Slutsky, Russian Disinfo, Cannes Film Festival
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Here are some other stories we’re following…
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed the application on May 17, following its approval by the country’s parliament earlier on the same day, Finnish media outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported.
Ukraine's first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier started today in Kyiv. Vadim Shishimarin is accused of killing an unarmed civilian. Prosecutors say he was driving in a stolen vehicle with other soldiers in the north-eastern Sumy region when they encountered a 62-year-old cyclist using a phone. He was ordered to shoot the civilian to stop them from telling Ukrainian defenders about their location.
The Czech government has approved a programme to help citizens of Russia and Belarus who have fled persecution in their home countries.
The EU Commission has unveiled a €300bn plan to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian fossil fuels and boost the transition to green energy. Russia currently supplies 40% of EU gas and 27% of its imported oil.
President Biden: The United States will work with Finland and Sweden in the event of the ‘threat of aggression’ while the two countries’ Nato membership is being considered. “Finland and Sweden are longtime, stalwart partners of the United States. By joining Nato, they will further strengthen our defence cooperation and benefit the entire Transatlantic Alliance.”
The US Embassy finally reopens in Kyiv.
Reuters: Russia spent 1.7tn roubles (£21bn) on defence between January and April, almost half of its total budget for 2022.
Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Thursday that peace talks with Russia had been suspended, blaming Moscow for failing to understand that the war is “no longer taking place according to its rules, its timetable, or its plans”.
Russia has expelled a total of 85 diplomatic staff from France, Spain and Italy in response to similar moves by those countries, its foreign ministry said. It said it was ordering out 34 embassy staff from France, 27 from Spain and 24 from Italy.
Russian authorities have seized Google Russia’s bank account, making it impossible for its Russian office to function, a Google spokesperson said. The US tech giant’s Russian subsidiary has declared its intention to file for bankruptcy after months of pressure from authorities.
It is now illegal to sell George Orwell’s ‘1984’ in Belarus.
Decode39, NATO, Turkey, sanctions: why Finland sought Draghi
As diplomatic sources in Helsinki explained, Ms Marin’s goal was to obtain a full public endorsement regarding NATO membership from Mr Draghi, one of Europe’s most influential leaders.
Italy is also among the European countries closest to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, a pillar of NATO in the eastern Mediterranean and the sole opponent of Swedish and Finnish membership.
Laurenz Gehrke, Germany set to strip Gerhard Schröder of office space — but he can keep €8K allowance
Germany’s governing coalition wants to strip Gerhard Schröder of his office rooms in Berlin to punish the former chancellor for his ongoing personal and business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to tabloid Bild, the coalition consisting of the Social Democrats (SPD), which Schröder is still a member of, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) wants to make the final decision Thursday during a session of the budget committee.
Mariupol
The battle for the port city of Mariupol has ended after a devastating siege that lasted nearly three months. Hundreds of fighters have been evacuated to Russian-controlled areas since Monday but is unclear how many are still in the port city. Kyiv is calling for a prisoner swap but their fate is currently uncertain.
What will happen to the hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered from the besieged steelworks in Mariupol and are now in Russian hands is still unclear. And that’s why their relatives are concerned. Oksana, the wife of a fighter, said: “It’s very worrying for me and others that they were evacuated to Russian-controlled territory… We’re very, very worried about the things that can happen to them.”
The fall of Mariupol would give Russia a land bridge to Crimea and control of the Sea of Azov, cutting off Ukraine's maritime trade.
According to the UK MoD, "Despite Russian forces having encircled Mariupol for over ten weeks, staunch Ukrainian resistance delayed Russia’s ability to gain full control over the city. This frustrated its early attempts to capture a key city and inflicted costly personnel losses amongst Russian forces."
Oleksiy Goncharenko, Ukrainian MP: “For us, the main (thing) is to save the lives of these heroes, because they are real heroes of the whole free world. We worry very much, because we know that Russians don't care about their soldiers. We are ready to exchange, but they don't even take (the) bodies of their soldiers and officers from the field. So I hope we will have (the) exchange, and I hope to see our heroes back at home and see them alive.”
Oops.
Anna Yatsenko, Soviet Mass Deportations: Guidelines for Assimilation for the Russian Authorities
They are being sent to remote, depressed regions of Russia. In some cases, people are even receiving postcards inviting them to settle in the Russian Far East. Indeed, by the end of April, more than 300 Mariupol residents had been transported to the Primorsky Krai. Children were immediately assigned to kindergartens and schools, though local officials complain that they have “difficulties with the Russian language.”
Myroslav Laiuk, Never Again, Again, and Again
One of the best examples of such an unnoticed genocide is the extermination of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of what is now Russia-occupied Crimea. Today is its anniversary. The deportation of the Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula began on May 18, 1944. During the deportation, about half of the Crimean Tatar people were exterminated.
Ivana Stradner, Russian Disinformation in relation to the war in Ukraine, EU Parliament Congressional Testimony
Ladies and Gentlemen: I am honored to appear before you today to discuss Russia’s information warfare playbook. As you all well know, the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine extends far beyond Ukraine’s borders. This is not just a war on Ukraine; this is a war on Europe’s cultural and civilizational values. The scale of this threat requires a proportional response. Europeans have the power to determine the outcome of this conflict, if only we have the courage to use it.
Cannes Film Festival: “I’m convinced that the dictator is going to lose…”
We’re signing off…thanks for reading…
Mo & Scott