Mariupol Azovstal ~ Civilians Evacuated, Defenders Left To Die as Jill Biden and Justin Trudeau Visit Ukraine
Zelenskyy will address the G7 meeting today on VE Day
Today is the anniversary of VE Day and it has been a rather busy one where it is symbolic of peace and victory. Jill Biden popped over the Slovakian border to visit Ukraine and her counterpart, Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod, while Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada) visited Irpin and will speak with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
The Azov soldiers in Mariupol are in a live or die situation. Ukraine does not have the resources to come in and extract them and they know that, but blaming the Ukrainian army is not going to help them right now. They are known as Neo-Nazis, which doesn’t help their situation either as Russia is claiming that they are the reason for the special military operation. First and foremost, they are Ukrainians and should be saved, but the UN has gone silent now that most civilians have been evacuated. The UN needs to stand up to Russia once and for all.
What will happen at the G7 meeting? There will be discussions on more sanctions, more support and aid for Ukraine, and how to finance the rebuilding of Ukraine. The news channels have hit a stagnant period, where it is all too easy to say Donbas and Odesa has been bombed again, and countries are pledging more aid. The BBC has cut the live reporting, and most of the front pages don’t even mention the war unless there is something terrible like the Bucha massacre. We all are waiting for the inevitable—either some party takes out Putin to end the war, or that it continues until Russia pushes NATO or the US to far and the war escalates. In the meantime, more people are dying or being displaced while we effectively wait for the ‘war game’ players to make their moves.
Day 74 (8 May)
With the combined efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, civilians managed to be evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks. A series of white flags were used to ensure safe passage between the two sides, but there are no guarantees for the soldiers, wounded or not. Surrender is not an option for they know that the likelihood of them being tortured and killed is high. The families of the soldiers have said they will form a human shield to help them leave safely, but why can’t the UN do more? They have waited more than 2 months to intervene in Mariupol, and will they let soldiers die a certain death? Ukraine is helpless and has asked for help, but they aren’t getting the help they need.
The Azov soldiers that are still in the steelworks have given a press conference where they state that they cannot be sure all civilians have been evacuated. They also criticise the Ukrainian government for being ill-prepared for failing to defend Mariupol, and state that they will not surrender. It is has been suggested that Turkey could extract them, but that is unlikely as Turkey likes being the mediator in the negotiations and that will look as if they are taking sides against Russia.
Transnistria has seen explosions near the Ukrainian border. The area is pro-Russian and it is believed this is Russia creating false flags again to boost their propaganda.
The world waits for 9 May, which is Victor Day as Russians claim that there will be developments in the special military operation. We can only hope NATO has got their act together and are prepared.
Jill Biden visited Ukraine for 2 hours and met with the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod on Mother’s Day. This is the first time Olena has been seen since the invasion.
Justin Trudeau is visiting Ukraine, and has visited the city of Irpin which has suffered multiple attacks, and will speak to Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Trudeau has also reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv.
The German Foreign Minister (Annalena Baerbock) will visit Kyiv on 10 May. In a national television address today, Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor has stated that Germany must support Ukraine against Russia, the aggressor.
Many European countries are donating fire trucks to Ukraine, that are essential for rescuing those injured from shelling and bombing. Some have been bought privately and driven over to neighbouring border countries to be delivered, while others have been donated.
Shelling and bombing continues in Odesa, Kharviv, Poltava, and Luhansk. A missile targeted a water plant in Luhansk, and has left a million people without water. This has probably been repeated in other areas of Ukraine. The plant can’t be fixed until the fighting is over, thus causing another humanitarian crisis where diseases like typhoid and cholera can develop.
According to Russian relatives of soldiers who have returned in coffins, they do not blame Russia or Ukraine for their deaths, but for some reason they blame the USA. This is due to propaganda and brainwashing. A soldier at war has a high chance of dying as that is their job. People need to stop blaming others.
In Bilohorivka (eastern Ukraine), a school was targeted and destroyed by a bomb. There were 90 people taking shelter there, and so far only 30 have been rescued where the others are feared dead. Most of the village was sheltering in the basement, where it took more than 3 hours to control the blaze before rescue attempts could be made.
The US Embassy staff return to Kyiv on VE Day, but this is temporary to support the Ukrainian officials.
Sanctions are not working as countries have found loopholes to get around the system as expected. Fertilizer is a huge export, and Brazil is among the countries that have circumvented the sanctions that have been aided by Citigroup.
Bono and The Edge (U2) perform in a Kyiv subway (Kreshchatik Station) in support of Ukraine. They performed ‘Stand By Me’ altering the words to Stand By Ukraine.
The G7 will meet today and Zelenskyy will address them via video link. The focus should be on stopping Russia rather than thinking about rebuilding a country that is still under attack and being destroyed.
Those in Mariupol still need a permit to move around the city or to leave. Reports claim that 2,000 men are being held in filtration camps and cannot leave unless they are sick. These men are allegedly being used to collect dead bodies and to destroy the evidence of dead civilians.
Those who have escaped the Donbas region are telling their stories of what they experienced. In Izyum, people lived in basements and saw dead bodies left on the street while drunken Russian soldiers looted houses and shops.
Patron, the heroic mine sniffing Jack Russell was awarded a medal by Zelenskyy. He has been a symbol of hope, and has helped save lives and enabled rescues by tracking down the mines that the Russians hid in the regions they have attacked.
Ukrainian farmers are exporting their crops via Romania due to the Black Sea blockade.
A temporary statue of Putin has been erected in Kyiv, and around the globe there are unflattering murals of Putin, calling him out as a dictator who has blood on his hands.
The war IS and has been a humanitarian crisis since the invasion began. It is heartbreaking to learn that people who took refuge in a school thinking they would be safe, only to have the building bombed with so many dead.