What has happened in Ukraine in the last few hours
On the 83rd day of the Russian-initiated war against Ukraine, these are the key data on Tuesday, May 17, 8:00 p.m.:
Russia will declare the members of the Azov battalion terrorists. The Russian authorities have begun to press ahead with a number of measures aimed at detaining in the country the Azov Battalion prisoners made in Ukraine. Shortly after Kyiv announced the end of its nearly three-month struggle at the Mariupol Steel Plant, Russia’s State Duma, its lower house, announced it would debate an explicit resolution this Wednesday to authorize the exchange of “Nazi criminals” with Ukraine impede. how the Kremlin qualifies them.
At least seven more buses leave the Azovstal plant. At least seven buses with Ukrainian militiamen left the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol (south-eastern Ukraine) on Tuesday, Reuters agency said, citing a witness. The evacuation comes under the terms of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine to remove from the plant the militiamen, who were still resisting inside after almost three months of war and more than a month of siege.
Putin accuses the West of using sanctions to make energy more expensive in the world “for political reasons”. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused European countries of driving up energy prices by imposing sanctions on his country “for strictly political reasons”. According to the president, the punitive measures taken against Russia for the biggest offensive in Europe since World War II are due to “its own ambitions and pressure from the American overlord”. “They’re trying to blame us for this energy inflation,” he said.
Sweden and Finland will submit their NATO application on Wednesday. Sweden and Finland will submit their applications for NATO membership in Brussels tomorrow, Wednesday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced at a press conference together with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
The International Criminal Court sends 42 experts to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine. The Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Tuesday that it was dispatching a team of 42 experts to Ukraine, the largest by number in the institution’s history, to investigate allegations of war crimes committed during the Russian invasion. “I confirm that today my office deployed a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and other support personnel to Ukraine,” Karim Khan said in a statement, noting that this is “the most important mission in terms of troops ever deployed.” be the ground at once.
France promises to step up arms sales to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron promised in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday that France would “intensify” arms sales to Ukraine. According to a statement from the Elysee, Macron has also indicated to Zelenskyy that he is ready to respond to further requests for support.
Slovakia proposes a special tax on Russian oil to prevent its use. Slovak Finance Minister Igor Matovic this Tuesday proposed a special tax on Russian oil to offset its price differential with Brent oil, a benchmark in Europe. According to Matovic, the rate would be 30% of the price difference between Russian oil and Brent. The aim is to encourage the country’s only refiner to look for alternative sources.
In the photo by Alexander Ermochenko for Reuters, buses with Ukrainian prisoners arrive in Olenivka on the outskirts of Donetsk.