European officials come to Odessa, the US calculates nearly 40 billion USD in aid for Ukraine

According to The Guardian, a meeting between Michel and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, part of a visit on May 9, was interrupted after Russian missiles hit the port city of Odessa.

“The meeting was interrupted, as the officials in attendance had to find cover when the missile hit the city of Odessa. They continued their meeting in the bunker. European Council President Charles Michel was briefed by the head of Ukraine’s navy about the damage caused by a Russian missile launched from the sea, as well as witnessed first-hand the horrific destruction of an apartment building. and the impact on many innocent people,” said an official accompanying Michel.

The Guardian reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky then joined the meeting via online form, and said that he was “pleased that the European Union (EU) has shown support for the Kiev government. at the highest level”.

The US calculates nearly 40 billion USD in aid for Ukraine

Two sources close to the matter told Reuters news agency early this morning (May 10) that Democrats in the US Congress have agreed to provide $39.8 billion in aid to the US government. Ukraine.

“The US House of Representatives can vote on this plan, exceeding the $33 billion requested by US President Joe Biden last month, as early as May 10. U.S. Senate leaders also said they were prepared to quickly pass this aid,” the sources said.

Earlier on April 28, Joe Biden asked the US Congress for an additional $33 billion in aid to Ukraine, to assist the country in the face of Russian attacks. The aid will include $20 billion in military assistance, $8.5 billion in economic aid to keep the Ukrainian government functioning, and more than $3 billion for humanitarian aid operations.

Poland regrets the attack on the Russian Ambassador

“This is an incident that should not have happened, and we regret it. Diplomats enjoy special protection, regardless of the policies of the government they represent,” Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau told RT news agency on the night of May 9.

Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev was splashed with red paint while participating in a ceremony honoring Soviet Red Army soldiers who died in World War Two.

Video posted on Telegram shows that Ambassador Andreyev was surrounded by a crowd of Ukrainian supporters when present at the ceremony. Then the extremists splashed paint on Mr. Andreyev.

“We condemn the attack carried out by supporters of neo-fascism. The interruption of Victory Day celebrations, as well as previous attacks on many World War II monuments or cemeteries, demonstrated the rebirth of fascism. in the West,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RT.

Separatists accuse Ukraine of firing rockets at civilians

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Lugansk Republic (LPR) said on the night of May 9, that their armed forces shot down a Tochka-U ballistic missile launched by Ukraine towards a residential area in Novaya Astrakhan.

“On Victory Day, the Ukrainian armed forces bombarded the residential area of ​​Novaya Astrakhan with a Tochka-U ballistic missile. We later brought down the missile. The emergency warning system has helped civilians avoid casualties,” TASS news agency quoted the LPR military statement as saying.

The Kiev government has not yet responded to the separatist allegations.

Ukraine says Russian troops attacked Azovstal factory ‘like a storm’

“Russian soldiers, supported by tanks and artillery, are conducting ‘storm-like’ offensive operations on the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces are entrenched. There will be more attacks on the area of ​​the plant,” Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told The Guardian.

An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, also accused the Russian military of attacking the Azovstal factory “just as the UN delegation left the Donetsk region”. “As expected, after the United Nations convoy left the Donetsk region, Russia started attacking Azovstal again,” Andriushchenko said.

Currently, The Guardian has not been able to verify the above claims of Ukrainian officials.

UN to hold special session on Ukraine

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) announced on May 9 that it will convene a special session on May 12 to address allegations of human rights violations by Russia in Ukraine.

“More than 50 countries, including the UK, Germany, Turkey and the US, have supported Ukraine’s request and demanded an extraordinary meeting of the United Nations’ top human rights body to consider it. The human rights situation is deteriorating in Ukraine due to Russia’s military campaign,” the Guardian quoted an unnamed UN official as saying.

According to The Guardian, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UN Yevheniia Filipenko had previously written a letter to the President of the UNHRC asking the agency to pay more attention to human rights reports.

“The current situation calls for the urgent attention of the UNHRC in light of recent reports of war crimes and large-scale violations in the town of Bucha and elsewhere, and reports of trade injuries. mass deaths in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine,” part of the letter was written by Filipenko.

Tuan Tran