US Congressional Democrats have agreed to provide another $39.8bn in additional aid for Ukraine, two sources familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Monday.
The House of Representatives could pass the plan, which exceeds President Joe Biden’s request last month for $33 billion, as soon as Tuesday, and Senate leaders said they were also prepared to move quickly, the news agency reports.
Biden on April 28 asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine, including more than $20 billion in military assistance.
The new proposal includes an additional $3.4 billion for military aid and $3.4 billion in humanitarian aid, the sources said.
The need is also urgent: I have nearly exhausted the resources given to me by a bipartisan majority in Congress to support Ukraine’s fighters. This aid has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield. We cannot allow our shipments of assistance to stop while we await further Congressional action. We are approximately ten days from hitting this critical deadline.”
Democrats and Republicans both reportedly said they supported more aid for Ukraine and would approve emergency funding quickly, but it was delayed by disputes between the parties over whether additional funding for Covid-19 relief or stiffer immigration controls should be included.
Grateful to @POTUS and 🇺🇸 people for supporting 🇺🇦 in the fight for our freedom and future. Today's signing of the law on Lend-Lease is a historic step. I am convinced that we will win together again. And we will defend democracy in Ukraine. And in Europe. Like 77 years ago.
It is just after 8am in Ukraine. Here is a comprehensive rundown of everything you might have missed:
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the international community to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of his country’s ports in order to allow wheat shipments and to prevent a global food crisis. Ukraine’s major Black Sea port of Odesa for exporting agricultural products was struck by missiles on Monday. “Without our agricultural exports, dozens of countries in different parts of the world are already on the brink of food shortages,” he said.
Russian forces, backed by tanks and artillery, were conducting “storming operations” on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the southern city’s last defenders remained holed up, Ukraine’s defence ministry said. Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said Russian forces began “storming” the Azovstal plant after a UN convoy left the Donetsk region.
The Pentagon said it had seen indications that Ukrainians caught up in Russia’s invasion were being forcibly removed to Russia. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he “can’t speak to how many camps or what they look like”.
Joe Biden has signed the Ukraine Democracy Defence Lend-Lease Act of 2022 to streamline the supply of US weapons and other material to Ukraine or eastern European countries. US congressional Democrats also agreed toprovide another $39.8bnin aid for Ukraine, two sources familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Monday.
In Odesa, Russian missiles struck tourist sites and destroyed five buildings while injuring two people, its city council said. Ukrainian media reported a shopping centre was on fire.
The European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed the “progress” made during talks with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán during discussions related to the proposed sixth package of EU sanctions, which would include a ban on Russian oil imports to the EU. “We made progress, but further work is needed,” she said.
Ukraine hassubmitted the second part of a formal questionnaire to obtain candidacy for EU membership. “Today we have taken another step – a very important and not just a formal step – on our path to the European Union,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced in his national address late on Monday evening.
Russia’s ambassador to Poland was pelted with red paint by people protesting against the war in Ukraine as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw. Video footage released by Russian news agencies showed Sergey Andreev with paint on his clothes and face, surrounded by a crowd, some holding Ukrainian flags while chanting “fascists” and “murderers”.
The UN human rights council is due to hold a special session on Thursday to address alleged Russian human rights violations during its war in Ukraine. More than 50 countries, including Britain, Germany, Turkey and the US, backed a request by Ukraine and demanded an extraordinary meeting of the UN’s top rights body.
The UN Security Council is also expected to hold a new public meeting on Thursday on Russia’s war in Ukraine, in light of the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation. France and Mexico have requested briefings from the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), a diplomat told Agence France-Presse.
Here is a quick snap from White House press secretary Jen Psaki who earlier told reporters that President Joe Biden was not happy with leaks to news outlets in which US intelligence appeared to take credit for helping Ukraine target a Russian ship and Russian generals in Ukraine.
The president was displeased with the leaks. His view was that it was an overstatement of our role, an inaccurate statement and also an understatement of the Ukrainians’ role and their leadership and he did not feel they were constructive,” she said.
Here are some of the latest images showing the continued evacuation of Ukrainian civilians across the country.
A woman holds her dog as she arrives from Kherson to Zaporizhia, on Sunday. Photograph: Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Two people say goodbye through the train window in Dnipro, Ukraine. Photograph: Daniel Ceng Shou-Yi/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Azovstal evacuees wait for the bus to depart for their stay in Zaporizhia on Sunday night. Photograph: Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
A young girl and her siblings arrive from Mariupol to Zaporizhia by the evacuation held by the Red Cross on Sunday night. Photograph: Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Removing Russian President Vladimir Putin from power is the only way to protect the west and its allies from future threats from Moscow, Lithuania’s top diplomat has said.
Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Putin’s annual Victory Day speech was “underwhelming” and that the “gloomy faces” of generals and others were signs of failing in the Ukraine war. Yet, he said a wounded Putin may be even more dangerous and that the only way to remove the threat is to remove him in an interview with the Associated Press.
From our standpoint, up until the point the current regime is not in power, the countries surrounding it will be, to some extent, in danger. Not just Putin but the whole regime because, you know, one might change Putin and might change his inner circle but another Putin might rise into his place.
And so as long as a regime that intends to wage wars outside Russian territory is in place, the countries surrounding it are in danger.”
Lithuania is one of the three Baltic states that among Nato allies are particularly concerned about possible Russian designs on forcefully returning them to Moscow’s rule.
Landsbergis said Lithuania was pleased with the support that its Nato allies have offered to it and the other countries in the alliance’s eastern flank, but that they needed more. He said Lithuania, along with fellow Baltic nations Estonia and Latvia, would be pressing Nato to supply more air and maritime defences as well as permanent deployments of troops on their territory when alliance leaders meet in Madrid in late June.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold a new public meeting on Thursday on Russia’s war in Ukraine, in light of the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, diplomats said Monday.
The session, requested by France and Mexico, will be the 16th held by the Security Council since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, as part of an effort by western states to maintain pressure on Russia, Agence France-Presse reports.
France and Mexico have requested briefings from the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), a diplomat said.
The meeting will be held on the same day as an extraordinary session in Geneva of the UN Human Rights Council, requested by Ukraine, on “the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine.”
The new Security Council meeting will follow the adoption on Friday of a unanimous Security Council statement, initiated by Norway and Mexico, giving “strong support” to the UN Secretary General in his search for “a peaceful solution” to the conflict.
Ukraine calls for help to unblock ports and prevent global food crisis
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the international community to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of his country’s ports in order to allow wheat shipments and to prevent a global food crisis.
Ukraine’s major Black Sea port of Odesa for exporting agricultural products was struck by missiles on Monday.
For the first time in decades there is no usual movement of the merchant fleet, no usual port functioning in Odesa. Probably this has never happened in Odesa since World War II.
Ordinary life related to the sea is blocked by Russia. Exactly Russia. And this affects not only Ukraine.
Without our agricultural exports, dozens of countries in different parts of the world are already on the brink of food shortages. And over time, the situation can become downright terrible.
Politicians are already discussing the possible consequences of the price crisis and famine in Africa and Asia. This is a direct consequence of Russian aggression, which can be overcome only together - by all Europeans, by the whole free world. It can be overcome by putting pressure on Russia, by effectively forcing Russia to stop this disgraceful war.”
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, visited Odesa and said he saw silos full of grain, wheat and corn that was ready for export but blocked.
“This badly needed food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports. Causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response,” he said.
EU chief hails 'progress' made with Hungary for Russian oil embargo
The president of the European commission earlier hailed the “progress” made during talks with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who has so far resisted Brussels’ plans for a Russian oil embargo.
“This evening’s discussion with PM Viktor Orban was helpful to clarify issues related to sanctions and energy security,” von der Leyen tweeted.
The two leaders discussed the issue during a meeting in Budapest.
“We made progress, but further work is needed,” she said, adding she would organise a videoconference call “with regional players to strengthen regional cooperation on oil infrastructure”.
This evening’s discussion with PM Viktor Orban was helpful to clarify issues related to sanctions and energy security.
We made progress, but further work is needed. I will convene a VC with regional players to strengthen regional cooperation on oil infrastructure.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto also said the two sides “made progress” but that they still had plenty to discuss.
“We cannot make the Hungarian people pay the costs of this war,” he said in a video posted on Facebook, according to Reuters.
Before the leaders’ talks, Orban’s international spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, citing Szijjarto, compared the sanctions package to an “atomic bomb” for Hungary’s economy.
“Hungary will not vote for the EU Commission’s initiative on sanctions against Russia because it poses a problem for Hungary and does not contain a proposal for a solution,” he tweeted.
“The proposal is like an atomic bomb for the Hungary economy and would destroy our stable energy supply.”
FM Szijjártó on PM Orbán's talks with @vonderleyen: We have made it clear that Hungary cannot support the sanctions package against as long as it does not provide a solution for HU's concerns. In its current form, the sanctions would be like an atomic bomb for HU's economy. pic.twitter.com/YPCxnXyKLM
European diplomats in Brussels are locked in negotiations on the next series of sanctions against Russia.
The draft was drawn up by experts in von der Leyen’s commission, the EU executive, but several member states have reservations - most vocally Hungary.
The package would have seen most EU members halting oil imports from Russia by the end of the year.
Technical talks continue, and negotiators insist there is united EU support behind the need for tougher sanctions, but Hungary and its neighbours need support to ensure alternative sources of fuel.
Here is quick visual guide as to what is happening in Ukraine.
Intense fighting is continuing to rage in Ukraine’s east, the vital Black Sea port of Odesa in the south came under bombardment again, and Russian forces are seeking to finish off the Ukrainian defenders making their last stand at a steel plant in Mariupol.
White House accuses Putin of 'revisionist history' in Victory Day speech
The White House has dismissed a ‘Victory Day’ speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “revisionist history” and said his suggestion that western aggression led to the Ukraine war was “patently absurd.”
Speaking to reporters during a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Putin’s speech was “revisionist history that took the form of disinformation.”
What we saw President Putin do is give a version of revisionist history that took the form of disinformation that we have seen too commonly as the Russian playbook.
Psaki said 9 May is supposed to be “about celebrating peace and unity in Europe and the defeat of Nazis in World War Two” but instead “Putin is perverting history” to justify his unprovoked and unjustified war.
Now, what is fortunate is that we are all aware — reporters around the world are aware, Europeans are aware, Americans are aware — of the disinformation factory that President Putin and the Kremlin seem to be.
The suggestion that this war that was prompted by — directed by President Putin was prompted by Western aggression or Western plans is patently false and absurd.”
Russian President President Vladimir Putin attends a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow on Monday. Photograph: EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock
It is “highly likely” that Finland will apply for Nato membership, the Finnish minister for European affairs has said.
Tytti Tuppurainen told CNN the decision has not yet been made, but called the nation’s likely membership “a very natural response” to Russia’s war in Ukraine. She added that if her country does indeed apply, she hopes “the ratification process would be as brief as possible.”
We would, of course, prefer to have a neighbourhood that would have been founded on friendship and cooperation.
But it is Russia that has distanced itself from the security order and it is Russia that has started war in Europe. It is Russia that has invaded in Ukraine. Now, people see this new reality and the time has come to join Nato.”
Russian forces, backed by tanks and artillery, were conducting “storming operations” on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the southern city’s last defenders remained holed up, Ukraine’s defence ministry said. Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said Russian forces began “storming” the Azovstal plant after a UN convoy left the Donetsk region.
The Pentagon said it had seen indications that Ukrainians caught up in Russia’s invasion were being forcibly removed to Russia. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he “can’t speak to how many camps or what they look like”.
Joe Biden has signed the Ukraine Democracy Defence Lend-Lease Act of 2022 to streamline the supply of US weapons and other material to Ukraine or eastern European countries. US congressional Democrats also agreed toprovide another $39.8bnin aid for Ukraine, two sources familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Monday.
In Odesa, Russian missiles struck tourist sites and destroyed five buildings while injuring two people, its city council said. Ukrainian media reported a shopping centre was on fire.
The European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, is heading to Hungary to meet its prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to discuss issues related to the proposed sixth package of EU sanctions, which would include a ban on Russian oil imports to the EU. Von der Leyen has said the commission aims to deliver its opinion on EU membership for Ukraine next month.
Ukraine hassubmitted the second part of a formal questionnaire to obtain candidacy for EU membership. “Today we have taken another step – a very important and not just a formal step – on our path to the European Union,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced in his national address late on Monday evening.
Russia’s ambassador to Poland was pelted with red paint by people protesting against the war in Ukraine as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw. Video footage released by Russian news agencies showed Sergey Andreev with paint on his clothes and face, surrounded by a crowd, some holding Ukrainian flags while chanting “fascists” and “murderers”.
The UN human rights council is due to hold a special session on Thursday to address alleged Russian human rights violations during its war in Ukraine. More than 50 countries, including Britain, Germany, Turkey and the US, backed a request by Ukraine and demanded an extraordinary meeting of the UN’s top rights body.
A mine-sniffing dog credited with detecting more than 200 explosives since the start of the war in Ukraine has been given a medal. Patron, a two-and-a-half-year-old jack russell whose name means “ammo” in Ukrainian, was presented with the award by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Kyiv.
