On May 11, during a visit to the United States, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called on the United States and Russia to dialogue and end the war in Ukraine, saying that settling gas transactions in rubles according to Russia's requirements would not bring chaos to the market.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, and Zelenskiy thanked him. At present, the fighting in the Mariupol Steel Plant is fierce, in addition to the Russian army shelling on the periphery, the special forces have entered the factory for a short period of time, and the Ukrainian army is also said to be gathering troops to counterattack.
The Italian prime minister said the ruble's purchase of natural gas did not violate EU regulations
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has just visited Washington and discussed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with US President Joe Biden, arguing that the United States and Russia need dialogue to end the war in Ukraine.
As for Russia's demand that "unfriendly countries and regions" settle gas bills in rubles, Draghi said he was confident that even if it traded in rubles, it would not interfere with supply.
While the EU warned member states not to accede to Russia's demands or violate EU sanctions against Russia, Draghi believes it is a gray area without any official statement. He also said that in fact, many gas importers have opened ruble accounts to trade with Gazprom.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said during a visit to Oman that there are enough buyers for Russian energy products, and bluntly said that the West should bear the taste of expensive energy, "There are enough buyers to patronize our energy, we will cooperate with buyers, let the West spend more money than before to pay Russia, let them explain to their own people why they are getting poorer."
On the other hand, the Ukrainian side claims that russian gas shipments to Europe through Ukraine have been forced to decrease due to interference by pro-Russian militants in the eastern Donbass region.
However, the Russian side refuted it, saying that there was no obstacle to the continued normal supply of natural gas. The Russian side stressed that it has been reliably fulfilling its contractual obligations for natural gas supply and will continue to do so.
British Prime Minister Johnson visited Finland and Sweden to discuss the topic of "joining NATO"
On the 11th local time, British Prime Minister Johnson flew to Finland and Sweden to discuss the application of the two Nordic countries that have always maintained a neutral stance to join NATO. In addition, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said that Johnson's visit will continue to focus on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At a press conference in Sweden, Johnson stressed the British position and would support the democratic attitude of countries in deciding whether to join NATO.
Over the past few months, British, Swedish and Finnish militaries have conducted joint military exercises in the High North and Baltic Regions. During the visit, Johnson also signed a mutual security assurance statement with Finland and Sweden to consolidate the Nordic defense system, strengthen intelligence sharing and cooperation, accelerate joint military training, and jointly promote exercises and military deployments, aiming to ensure that when allies are caught in war or national security is threatened, they can provide assistance to each other upon request.
As for the possibility of Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian Federation Security Council, has warned that if the two countries join NATO, the length of NATO's land border with Russia will more than double, in which case the denuclearization of the Baltic Sea will not be possible. A recent poll in Finland showed that 62 percent of Finns favor joining NATO, and local military analysts in britain said all indications were that the two countries would apply for NATO membership at the same time by the end of the week, and that if they joined, there was also a high risk or provoked strong resentment from the Russian government.
The U.S. Congress intends to approve nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, and Zelenskiy is grateful
The US House of Representatives approved a total of $39.8 billion worth of aid to Ukraine on the evening of the 10th, which is higher than the $33 billion required by the Biden administration. The grant includes $8.7 billion in economic aid and anti-trafficking funds, $6 billion in security assistance, and $900 million in refugee resettlement assistance. The 57 members of the House of Representatives who voted against it were all Republicans, some on the grounds that they "didn't have enough time" to read the 30-page appropriations case.
The White House then issued a statement supporting the House's actions and said it looked forward to negotiating with the Senate leadership to jointly approve the payment to ensure that aid to Ukraine was not interrupted. Less than two months after the last congress approved aid to Ukraine totaled $13.6 billion, the authorities have again applied to Congress for funding.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin recently sent a letter to the leaders of both parties urging them to approve the appropriation as soon as possible, and the Pentagon said that Biden's use of funds that can be used to mobilize arms stocks has about $100 million left in the power to use the power, which may be exhausted in the third week of this month, and if this appropriation is approved, Biden will have the right to mobilize $11 billion of stockpiled weapons.
In addition, the House of Representatives passed four bills on the situation between Russia and Ukraine on the 11th, including requiring US financial institutions to ensure that their entities and individuals comply with financial sanctions against Russia and Belarus; calling on international financial institutions to immediately suspend Ukrainian government debt repayment, providing preferential financial assistance to Ukraine, and instructing the US government to provide debt repayment bailouts for Ukraine; urging the authorities to seek to prohibit Russian officials from participating in international organizations, including the G20 as well as prohibiting transactions involving IMF Special Drawing Rights held by Russia and Belarus. The next steps in these bills will be put before the Senate.
In a routine video speech on the evening of the 11th, Zelenskiy thanked the US House of Representatives for passing the huge aid to Ukraine bill, and said that the relevant funds will be used to strengthen Ukraine's national defense forces and promote war crimes investigation and diplomatic work.
The situation in Mariupol was unstable, and the Russian army was ambushed by sporadic Ukrainian troops
From 8:00 a.m. local time on May 9 to 8:00 a.m. on May 10, 400 people, including 70 children, left Mariupol for evacuation assistance points. Ukrainian officials earlier said all children and women, as well as the elderly, had been taken away from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol. At present, the fighting in the steel plant is fierce, in addition to the Russian army shelling on the periphery, the special forces have entered the factory for a short period of time, and the Ukrainian army also said that it is gathering troops to counterattack.
The United Nations reported another 3 phases of the withdrawal from Mariupol and the factory territory, and it was not until the completion of the operation that the United Nations began to disclose details, and the whole process was coordinated by the United Nations and the ICRC. But Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said the information that the Azov battalion in the steel mill proposed to exchange every 15 civilians for one ton of their own food and medicine was not presented.
The urban substation center in Mariupol began supplying power on May 6, and it will take about a week to fully restore the power supply, when the city will resume water supply, but the first phase of water supply will not be able to receive the city's districts at the same time, and the water will go farther and farther as the pipeline is restored. Experts have estimated that between 60 and 70 per cent of the city's buildings in the city of Mariupol have been destroyed, and residents have lost electricity, water and gas, as well as Internet and mobile communications, almost at the start of the military special operation.
Source: Phoenix TV Information Station
Edit: Mu Mu