President Selenskyj wants to have the martial law imposed because of the Russian invasion extended by three months. Russia admits difficulties in Ukraine war. Turkey is dampening hopes that Sweden and Finland will soon join NATO. This happened today.

A few hours after Russia’s attack on February 24, Zelenskyi declared a state of war for the first time and then had it extended twice by 30 days each. Now martial law is to be extended by three months – as is general mobilization. This would mean that the state of war would last at least until August 23rd. A day later, Ukraine traditionally celebrates its Independence Day. Experts see the duration of the state of war as an indicator of how long Kyiv is preparing for possible fighting.

The first trial for alleged war crimes against a 21-year-old Russian who, according to local media, is said to have confessed his guilt, began in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday. The tanker is accused of killing a 62-year-old civilian in the Sumy region of north-eastern Ukraine. Kyiv accuses the Russian army of massive war crimes. Especially after the Russians withdrew from the suburbs of Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel and Borodjanka northwest of Kyiv, images of apparently executed people caused horror around the world.

Russia wants to tie the partially conquered Zaporizhia region in south-east Ukraine firmly to itself. “I think the perspective of the region lies in working in our harmonious Russian family,” said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin, according to the RBK news agency, during a visit to the occupied town of Melitopol. However, the regional capital, Zaporizhia, is still controlled by Ukrainian troops. Chusnullin had already laid claims to this region on Monday during a visit to the Kherson region west of Zaporizhia.

Russia has acknowledged difficulties and mistakes in its war of aggression against Ukraine. “Despite all the difficulties” and the arms deliveries from the West, the “special military operation” will be continued to the end, said Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council, Rashid Nurgaliyev. The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus, Ramzan Kadyrov, even spoke of “mistakes”. “In the beginning there were mistakes, there were some shortcomings, but now everything is 100% according to plan,” Kadyrov said at a political forum.

According to Russian sources, since the beginning of the week 959 Ukrainian fighters have surrendered from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, including 80 injured. Most recently, almost 700 people were taken into Russian captivity within 24 hours. There was initially no confirmation of these figures from the Ukrainian side. How many fighters – who have become the last defenders of the strategically important city – are still on the extensive site was unclear.

The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk has called on the German government to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine alongside France. “We assume that both Germany and France are able to continue to play this mediating role here,” Melnyk told the editorial network Germany when asked whether he saw a chance of reviving the so-called Normandy format to create peace.

The applications for membership in NATO had just been submitted a few hours – when Turkey demonstrated that it was serious about its resistance to the admission of Finland and Sweden: The German Press Agency learned from alliance circles that Turkey had security concerns at the meeting submitted and made it clear that she could not agree to the decision to start the admissions process at this point in time. The US government, after talks with Turkish officials, said it was “confident” that the two countries would eventually be admitted, despite the blockade. Finland and Sweden are concerned about their security in the wake of the Ukraine war and subsequently gave up their policy of military non-alignment.

In order to become independent of Russian energy as quickly as possible and to accelerate the energy transition, the EU Commission wants to mobilize 300 billion euros. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan on Wednesday that includes more ambitious goals for saving energy and with a view to the share of renewable energies.

The military situation

The evacuation mission at the Azov Steel Plant in Mariupol continues, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late night address on Tuesday. “The negotiation process with Russia on the evacuation of our heroes from Azov valley continues. The evacuation mission continues. It is overseen by our military and intelligence officers. The most powerful international mediators are involved,” said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s military said late Monday that its forces had completed their “combat mission” at the sprawling steel mill, which for weeks was the last major base in an otherwise Russian-held city.

According to Ukrainian sources, a disused gypsum factory belonging to the German company Knauf was bombed by the Russian air force in eastern Ukraine. “The air strikes damaged business premises and a fire broke out,” military governor of Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in the Telegram news service. Nobody was injured. Knauf shut down the plant shortly after the Russian invasion. The company confirmed on Tuesday evening that the plant in Soledor in the Donbass was hit by a rocket and set on fire.

The political developments

Russia is determined to tie the occupied Cherson region in southern Ukraine to itself. The region around the port city will have a “worthy place in our Russian family,” said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin during a visit to Cherson on Tuesday. The Russian state agency Ria Novosti quoted him as saying that people will live and work together in the future.

On May 1, Russia introduced the Russian ruble as official currency in the region. A few days ago, the deputy chief of the pro-Russian administration in Cherson, Kirill Stremoussov, brought up a formal application for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to join the conversation. He justified the waiver of a previously considered referendum with the fact that such a referendum on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, was not internationally recognized. The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, is convinced that a Russification of the Cherson region will fail.

According to the authorities, seven civilians were killed on Tuesday in the Donetsk region, which was fought over by Russian and Ukrainian troops. Six others were injured, Ukrainian military governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told the Telegram news service. He accused Russian troops of killing the people. Zelenskyi listed rocket attacks and bombardments in the Lviv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Luhansk regions. The Russian military wants to compensate for the failures in the east and south.

After tensions in the relationship between Kyiv and Berlin, Selenskyj described his telephone call with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday as “quite productive”. Among other things, military support for Ukraine was discussed, Zelenskyy said in his daily video address. He informed Scholz about the current military situation and its possible future development.

Selenskyj chose slightly different words to describe his conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. That conversation was “substantial and long,” he said. Among other things, it was about the next round of European sanctions against Russia and Ukraine’s plans for rapid accession to the European Union. According to the Élysée Palace, Macron promised that arms deliveries from France would continue and intensify. He also confirmed that Ukraine’s accession to the EU should be discussed in June.

CDU chairman Friedrich Merz has once again criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his hesitation in delivering arms to Ukraine. Scholz does not act as decided in the Bundestag, Merz said on Tuesday evening. “There are obviously delaying strategies in the federal government, at least one delaying tactic,” said Merz in “RTL Direkt”.

He goes on to say that companies are complaining publicly that export permits for tanks are not being issued. “They don’t play with open cards here,” said Merz. “There can be reasons not to say everything, but then the Chancellor should also express it. This shuffling around the issues is not appropriate to the cause.”

Read more about the course of the war in Ukraine in the news ticker.

Read everything about the political developments surrounding the Ukraine war in the news ticker.

Also read: The Ukraine update on May 17 – Future of Azov soldiers uncertain, Putin accuses West of “war”: This happened in Ukraine today