Day 445 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Missile Strikes on the Hometown of the Ukrainian participants in "Eurovision”

Ukraine | May 14, 2023, Sunday // 10:15|  views

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Day 445 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

  • Zelensky is visiting Germany
  • Zelensky spoke in Rome with Pope Francis, President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni
  • Rocket fire over the hometown of the Ukrainian participants in "Eurovision”
  • Two Russian military planes and two helicopters have been shot down near Ukraine, a Russian newspaper reported


Zelensky is visiting Germany

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Germany after the government in Berlin announced that it was preparing the largest military aid package for Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian president is arriving in Germany for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Zelensky commented that his visit was devoted to the issue of very important supplies of weapons for the Ukrainian defense, in particular air defense systems.

The visit was preceded by an announcement by Berlin that it was planning new aid for Kyiv worth 2.7 billion euros. The package will include 30 Leopard 1 tanks, lots of armored vehicles, drones, air defense systems, missiles and ammunition.

According to German sources, Volodymyr Zelensky will talk to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He would later travel to Aachen to receive the Charlemagne Prize.

The European Union must speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, insisted Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He pointed out that Ukrainian fighters need 1,000 artillery shells every day in the battle for Bakhmut alone.

Ukrainian forces are moving gradually into two areas in the vicinity of Bakhmut, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar announced, noting that the situation in the urban part remains complicated.

An air alert was declared last night on the entire territory of Ukraine, except for Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Two civilians were injured in a hit in the industrial zone of the city of Ternopil in the western part of the country.

Zelensky spoke in Rome with Pope Francis, President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni

Official Rome pledged full support for Ukraine during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the Italian capital. He met his colleague Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and was received by Pope Francis. In late April, the Holy Father announced that the Vatican was participating in a peacekeeping mission to end the war in Ukraine.

This is Zelensky's first visit to Italy since the start of the Russian invasion. 1,000 policemen are keeping order in Rome, over which a no-fly zone has been established.

The Ukrainian president first spoke with his colleague Sergio Mattarella, then held a working lunch with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “We are betting on the victory of Ukraine, we will support it as much as necessary”, Meloni said at the joint press conference.

"Thank you for the sanctions against the aggressor. We also talked about European integration. Despite the war, we will implement all the decisions and requirements of the European Commission, it is very important for us to become partners in the European Union," said Zelensky.

Volodymyr Zelensky was later received in audience by Pope Francis. “War brings untold suffering and death”, said the Holy Father, an active defender of peace in Ukraine. The two met in February 2020 and had several phone conversations after that.

Earlier this week, Francis met with the Russian ambassador to the Vatican and, according to an Italian newspaper, may have handed him a letter for Putin.

Zelensky's visit comes amid Russian missile strikes on the capital and other cities. A Ukrainian military commander said Kyiv’s forces were advancing on parts of the front line near Bakhmut.

Over the past four days, Russian forces have withdrawn in disarray from their positions in the area, British intelligence said.

Rocket fire over the hometown of the Ukrainian participants in "Eurovision”

The city where the Ukrainian Eurovision contestants are from came under fire. The missile strike was carried out just as the grand final of the competition was underway in Liverpool.

Ten minutes before the duo "Tvorchi" went on stage, they wrote on Instagram that the city of Ternopil in Western Ukraine was under attack.

Local authorities report two injuries. Ukraine's foreign ministry blamed Russia for the attack, which took place before and during the participation of Tvorchi, who placed sixth in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Two Russian military planes and two helicopters have been shot down near Ukraine, a Russian newspaper reported

The Russian newspaper "Kommersant" reported that two Russian fighter jets and two military helicopters were shot down near the Ukrainian border yesterday, which would be a major blow to Kyiv if confirmed, Reuters reported.

Kommersant, a respected independent business-oriented daily newspaper, reported on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, the Su-35 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters formed a strike group and were "downed almost simultaneously" in an ambush in the Bryansk region, bordering northeastern Ukraine.

"According to preliminary reports ... the fighter jets were to carry out a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to support them - among other things, to pick up the aircrews if they were shot down."

TASS reported that a Russian Su-34 had crashed in that region, but did not specify the cause. The Russian news agency also quoted an emergency services official as saying a fire in the helicopter's engine caused it to crash near Klintsi, an area about 40km from the border.

The TASS information does not mention either the Su-35 or the second helicopter.

However, a video posted on the pro-war military Telegram channel, which has around half a million followers, shows a helicopter high in the sky exploding and then plummeting to the ground in flames.

Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not independently verify, said the video showed the Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. Other images posted by the channel show debris in fields.

Kommersant did not provide evidence for its report that two warplanes and two helicopters had been shot down, but the same claim was made by several strongly pro-war bloggers, according to Reuters.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow did not respond to the agency's request for comment.

According to Kommersant, all four crew members died.

There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually refuses to comment on reports of attacks on Russian territory.

However, on Twitter Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident "Justice... and instant karma."

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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Tags: Ternopil, Ukraine, Russia, Zelensky

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