- Washington said it was “confident” that Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO would be resolved.
- The Russian Defense Ministry said the last Ukrainian troops hiding at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol had surrendered.
- The Ukrainian government said a Russian missile hit a cultural center in the Kharkiv region.
- The U.S. State Department has confirmed that a U.S. consular officer visited detained American basketball star Britney Greenner in Russia.
Here are all the latest updates:
Russia may allow older personnel to join the military
Russia’s parliament is considering new legislation to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to join the military as contract soldiers.
Two members of United Russia made the proposal on Friday.
Russia ‘digs deep’ into protracted war: Institute of War
In its latest update on the fighting in Ukraine, the Institute for War Research said that Russian forces appear to be “digging deep” around Kharkiv and on the southern axis in preparation for a counteroffensive and protracted war in Ukraine.
Here are the key developments on May 20, according to the War Institute:
- The fighting is concentrated in the area between Izyum and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions
- Major Russian offensive continues around Severo Donetsk, with “marginal gains” to the north, west and south of the city, especially near Popasna
- Russia may have inflated the number of soldiers evacuated from the Azov steel plant to “maximize” any prisoner-of-war exchange with Ukraine, according to the Institute for War Research, the last batch of surrenders evacuated from the Azov steel plant was 531
Russia removes bodies from bombed Mariupol theatre
An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said Russia on Friday removed the last of the bodies from the theater, where hundreds of civilians had been taking refuge when Russian troops bombed the theater in March.
“Today, the occupiers completed the removal of the bodies,” Peter Andrishenko wrote on Telegram.
Andreeshenko said he was “outraged” and “outraged” by what he said was a war crime.
“Right now, we will never know how many civilians were killed,” Andreeshenko said, adding that the bodies were buried in a mass grave.
Ukraine Contact Group to meet again on May 23
The Ukraine Contact Group of more than 40 countries, led by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, will meet again online on May 23.
They will discuss further military support for Ukraine.
Wimbledon relegated after banning Russian and Belarus players
The tennis governing body said players at Wimbledon would not receive ranking points because organisers of the British Championships banned players from Russia and Belarus.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian players were excluded from the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament, according to British government guidance.
It is the first time Wimbledon has excluded players on nationality grounds since German and Japanese players were banned after World War II.
Zelensky claims Russia should pay for sabotage
In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Ukraine held Russia financially responsible for the damage caused by its forces to Ukraine.
Zelensky said that in the eastern part of the Donbass, where the Russian offensive has been most violent, Russian troops have reduced the towns of Rubizhny and Vornovaka to rubble, just as they did with Mariupol. Trying to do the same with Severo Donetsk.
Zelensky said Russia should be made to pay for every home, school, hospital and business it destroyed, and he said a legal mechanism should be created so that everyone who was victimized by Russia’s actions could be compensated.
Top EU official condemns Russian military for ‘unspeakable crimes’
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned “unspeakable crimes”, including sexual violence, by Russian troops in areas recently reoccupied by Ukraine.
“The perpetrators must be held accountable,” Borrell tweeted.
Over 2,400 Ukrainian fighters surrender in Mariupol: Russia
A total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters hiding at the Mariupol steel plant have surrendered since Monday, including more than 500 who surrendered on Friday, state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the country’s defense ministry.
Blinken discusses Ukraine during Japan visit: State Department
The U.S. State Department announced that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to Japan to accompany President Biden on a tour of Asia.
“While in Tokyo, the secretary of state will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshisaka Hayashi and other senior Japanese officials,” the State Department said in a statement.
“The U.S. Secretary of State and the Japanese Foreign Minister will discuss our global response to President Putin’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine, the increasingly destabilizing behavior of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and U.S.-Japan cooperation under the new Economic Policy Consultative Committee (EPCC), including in regional economic development.”
Zelensky says high-risk flight delivers supplies to besieged Azov steel plant
Zelensky has revealed a weeks-long mystery about the siege of the Azov steel plant in Mariupol: How to deliver supplies to the fighters inside the steel plant?
Zelensky said in an interview on the third anniversary of his inauguration that Ukrainian pilots risked Russian anti-aircraft fire by using helicopters to deliver medicine, food and water to steel plants, causing numerous casualties.
Zelensky said the work also included retrieving the remains and picking up the wounded.
“They are absolutely heroic people, they know it’s difficult, they know it’s almost impossible to fly,” the Ukrainian president said.
Ukraine says Russian missile hit Kharkiv regional cultural center
Kyiv said a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian cultural center in the Kharkiv region, injuring seven people, including an 11-year-old child.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s social media channels posted a video showing a massive explosion hitting the newly renovated Lozova Palace of Culture, which Ukraine’s emergency services reported was partially destroyed and the roof on fire.
“The occupiers see culture, education, and humanity as their enemies,” Zelensky wrote, adding, “What is in the minds of those who choose such targets? Absolute evil, absolute stupidity.”
U.S. says consular officials visited basketball player detained in Russia
A U.S. consular official visited detained basketball star Britney Greenner in Russia, the State Department said, while urging Moscow to have more regular consular contacts with Russia.
Greener, 31, a two-time Olympic champion and member of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February on charges of carrying an e-cigarette pod containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
“I can confirm that Britney Greener, who was detained, was visited by a consular officer on Thursday, May 19, and the consular officer found that she continued to do so under these extremely challenging circumstances,” Price said in the briefing. Well done.”
“But again, our message is clear and simple, and we continue to insist that Russia allow ongoing and timely consular access to all detained U.S. citizens, and a one-time visit is not enough.”
Germany sends anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine: report
The German news agency DPA reported that the country will deliver the first 15 Cheetah anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine in July.
The DPA reported that the delivery, which included training and nearly 60,000 rounds of ammunition, was agreed after talks between the German defense minister and the Ukrainian defense minister.
The cheetah — German for “cheetah” — was considered very effective against low-flying aircraft and lightly armored ground targets, and it was retired by the German military in 2012, but manufacturer KMW is repairing about 50 of the mothballed units for Ukrainian use.
U.S. ‘confident’ that Turkey’s concerns over NATO expansion will be resolved
The U.S. State Department said Washington was “confident” that Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO would be resolved.
“Turkey is a long-standing and important NATO ally,” spokesman Ned Price said, adding, “We understand Turkey’s longstanding concerns and we will continue to work together to end the scourge of terrorism.”
Turkey has accused Finland and Sweden of harboring “terrorists,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement, which Ankara blames for a failed coup attempt against the government in 2016.
The last Ukrainian fighters surrender at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol: Russia
The last Ukrainian troops hiding at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol have surrendered, the Russian Defense Ministry said, marking the end of a weeks-long siege.
“The territory of the Azov Steel Plant … has been completely liberated,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Click here to read all updates for Friday, May 20.
