We’re three months in now. Here’s a map from the British Ministry of Defence with the current situation in Ukraine:
Under the cut: 200 bodies have been discovered in the basement of a bombed high-rise in Mariupol; Russia’s ministry of defense issued a denial that its sailors are being forced to disassemble household appliances to use them for spare parts aboard Russian ships; The commander of the Azovstal unit’s wife says the captured soldiers are being held in “satisfactory” conditions; EU sending €500 in aid to Ukraine; Russian forces capture Svitlodarsk in Donetsk Oblast; And tonight, I’m ending with a few interesting links from Kyiv Independent about the last three months of war.
“The bodies of more than 200 people have been discovered in the rubble of a high-rise apartment building in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to a Ukrainian official.
Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor Vadym Boychenko, said workers found the bodies while digging through a basement underneath the collapsed building.”-via The Guardian
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“Russia’s ministry of defence has just issued a denial that its sailors are being forced to disassemble household appliances to use them for spare parts aboard Russian ships in the Caspian sea. It says:
Ukrainian propagandists find it difficult to explain what specific elements from household appliances can be used in the most complex electronics of a Navy ship. Also, not a single specific case is given where a washing machine would have to be disassembled to repair a combat unit.
The ministry compares what it says is the fake story to rumours that have previously circulated about using domestic machines for spare parts for tanks.
Perhaps more significant however than the attempt to debunk the tale, is the end of the statement. The ministry of defence asserts:
As for microelectronics manufacturers, there are enough resources in the Russian Federation. In addition, Russia intends to join efforts in the production of microelectronics with Belarus in order to fully provide for the military.”
-via The Guardian
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“Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces after the three-month siege of the Azovstal steel plant are being held in “satisfactory” conditions, according to the unit commander’s wife, amid uncertainty over the fate of the prisoners.
Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov battalion, was able to briefly call his wife, Kateryna, who said she had also been told that the prisoners had not been subjected to violence. It was not immediately clear if Prokopenko had been able to speak freely during the conversation.
“He said he was ‘OK’ and asked how I was,” Kateryna Prokopenko told the Guardian on Tuesday. “I’ve heard from other sources that the conditions are more or less satisfactory.”
At least 1,000 Ukrainian fighters, including members of the Azov battalion, were transferred to Russian-held territory last week after the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was taken by Russian forces.”-via The Guardian
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“The EU Council has approved the allocation of the fourth tranche of assistance from the European Peace Fund (EPF) in the amount of 500 million euros, which will allow the EU to support the Ukrainian army with weapons.
This was announced by the press service of the EU Council on Tuesday, writes " European Truth ".
Following the approval of three tranches of military support totaling € 1.5 billion this year, the fourth tranche will add € 500 million, bringing the total to € 2 billion.”-via Pravda (Ukrainian language source)
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“On the morning of May 24, the occupiers occupied the city of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region. The day before, they captured the neighboring village of Myronivsky.
This information was confirmed to Free Radio journalists by the head of the Svitlodar military administration Serhiy Hoshko.
" Currently, they are hanging out their rag (Russian flag, ed.) On the administrative building ," says Serhiy Hoshko.
According to him, armed invaders are already walking the streets, checking the documents of local residents.
“ The locals I talk to say they don't see a large presence. There are certain groups of 5 people each , ”said the head of the Svitlodar VCA.” -via FreeRadio (Ukrainian language)
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Three months of Russia’s war in photos
Editorial: The Kyiv Independent’s response to the New York Times editorial board (The NYT posted an editorial basically stating that there’s only so far Ukraine can hope to push the Russians before they have to give up.)
Nikolay Ivanovich lives in the frontline village or #Luganske, part of #Svitlodarsk which is the last government controlled town before #DNR territory a stone's throw away. During the peak of fighting Nikolay and his neighbours survived by eating their dead dairy cows which were killed by shelling while grazing in the nearby field. The meat was shared between struggling friends and neighbours. He asked me to photograph him with his beloved dog. Just one little story from the shitshow that is #Donbass. January 2017.
Old lads playing cards in the eerily quiet town of #Svitlodarsk back in August. Svitlodarsk is close to the frontline in East #Ukraine, just 20km down the road from rebel-held Debaltseve. It's like some kind of almost deserted late Soviet city with perfectly maintained flower beds and rocket damaged buildings and the girls who work in the produkty look like they are from a strange old film
UKRAINE, Svitlodarsk : Ukrainian servicemen play football on a road at Svitlodarsk, approaching Debaltseve on February 15, 2015. A ceasefire in Ukraine was cautiously observed by both sides, despite accusations by Kiev and the US that Russia had fuelled a final push by rebels to gain territory before the deadline. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered troops to abide by the truce from midnight (2200 GMT), in line with a deal reached in Minsk earlier this week with the leaders of Russia, Germany and France. AFP PHOTO/ VOLODYMYR SHUVAYEV
