Russia-Ukraine Crisis: In the early hours of the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, two explosions place in the early hours on in Belgorod, the southern Russian region bordering Ukraine, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a social media post. This comes at a time when around 100 civilians were evacuated from a steel plant in Mariupol.
Western powers have rushed to send military aid to Ukraine and imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. “Do not be bullied by bullies,” US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told reporters at a news conference in Rzeszow in southern Poland on Sunday after returning from Ukraine.
Pelosi met Zelensky on Saturday, becoming the most senior US figure to visit since the war began. She promised to enact the $33-billion (31-billion-euro) arms and support package announced by US President Joe Biden last week. Jill Biden will spend Mother’s Day meeting with Ukrainian mothers and children who fled for their lives after Russian President Vladimir Putin opened war against Ukraine, the White House announced late Sunday.
Meanwhile, Russia is not looking to end its war in Ukraine by Victory Day on May 9th, its foreign minister said, as the country looks set to mark the key anniversary under the cloud of a deadly conflict. The United Nations has said that the Russian blockade prevented the export of 4.5 million tons of Ukrainian wheat, the Kyiv Independent reported. As a result of Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports, sea routes cannot be accessed to export Ukrainian grains.