QUICK READING May 2: Denmark and Sweden summon Russian ambassadors over airspace violations

Image of people being taken out of the Azovstal factory in Mariupol in the video broadcast on May 1 – Photo: REUTERS

* Denmark and Sweden summoned the Russian ambassadors on May 1 after accusing a Moscow spy plane of violating their airspace. AFP news agency quoted officials from both countries as saying that the Russian plane entered Danish airspace on April 29 and then entered Sweden. Denmark said it sent two F-16 fighter jets to intervene.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it carried out the summons in accordance with the diplomatic protocol inherent in such violations. The Danish side made the announcement a few hours before Sweden.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, About 100 Ukrainian civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plants in the city of Mariupol on May 1after the United Nations confirmed “safe passage operations” were taking place here.

“For the first time, there was a two-day cease-fire in this territory and we were able to remove more than 100 civilians, women and children,” Zelensky said in his daily video broadcast on the night of May 1.

The first evacuees will arrive in the Ukrainian controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday morning, May 2. Zelenskiy said the evacuation would continue on May 2 if conditions permit.

Russia’s Sputnik news agency also reported that 80 civilians had left the Azovstal plant at the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those who left said about 300 civilians were still trapped here. Earlier, on April 21, Russia announced that it had “liberated” Mariupol.

Meanwhile, CNN quoted a Ukrainian commander in Mariupol as saying that the area of ​​the Azovstal steel factory complex continued to be attacked.

Evacuees from Mariupol arrive at a temporary shelter in Bezimenne in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on May 1. Photo: REUTERS

* Speaking on Italian television on May 1, when asked if May 9 would mark a turning point in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed: “Our soldiers I won’t base their actions on a specific date.”

“We will celebrate our victory with solemnity, but the timing and speed of what is happening in Ukraine will depend on the need to minimize the risk to Russian civilians and soldiers,” Lavrov said. .

Russia is scheduled to parade on Red Square in Moscow on May 9, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Lavrov also affirmed that Russia is trying to prevent nuclear war. “Western media misrepresent threats from Russia. Russia has never interrupted efforts to reach agreements that guarantee that a nuclear war will never form,” the Russian diplomat stressed. strong.

He said the goal of the operation in Ukraine was to ensure the security of pro-Russian forces in the Donbass region and criticized the West for “stealing” money from Moscow through sanctions.

* Democratic leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, said he would act to add provisions to the $33 billion aid package for Ukraine that would allow The US confiscated the assets of the Russian oligarchs and then sold them to Kiev.

“The time has come for the sanctioned Russian tycoons to be held accountable for the illicit wealth they have received,” Schumer said. Last week, US President Joe Biden asked Congress to pass the aid package. This, marked a turning point in Washington’s support for Kiev.

* Congressman Adam Kinzinger of the US Republican Party announced that he would draft a resolution that would allow the US to deploy troops in Ukraine if Russia used “nuclear, chemical, biological weapons”, according to Radio. Russia Today. Mr. Biden has so far denied sending troops to Ukraine, saying the move could trigger “World War Three” with Russia.

* Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said thatThe country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still working to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

“Our president is in talks with both leaders. We are making sincere efforts. Our president also calls them when needed, or they call him,” the newspaper said. Sabah quoted Mr. Cavusoglu.

QUICK READ 1-5: Speaker of the US House of Representatives is in Kiev

TTO – “His fight is fighting for everyone. We pledge to (support) you until this fight is over,” US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a video posted by the Ukrainian president.