May 3 events in Babelʼs review : 156 people were evacuated from Mariupol, the occupiers began to storm “Azovstal”, and tensions between Russia and Israel are growing

Author:
Dmytro Rayevskyi
Date:

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Babel has been conducting daily live text coverage and promptly informing the main news on the Telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the highlights of the day in case you havenʼt been able to follow live.

The day before occupants again fired at the Korabelny raion of Mykolayiv. As a result of the shelling, three metal household cars were engaged. In the morning Mykolayiv was fired at once again. In Kharkiv Oblast, a fire broke out at one of the enterprises in the Kharkiv district due to morning shelling. The factory was closed for martial law, the premises were severely damaged, and a 46-year-old worker was killed. In total, three people were injured in the oblast in one day: two people in Kharkiv and one in Chuhuiv district. The Avdiyivka Coke Plant in the Donetsk Ooblast was also shelled, killing at least 10 people and injuring 15 others.

In Mariupol, the occupiers began storming the Azovstal plant, where the Azov Regiment is stationed. Before the assault, Russian aircraft bombed the plant for several hours. There was a large-scale fire, a column of smoke can be seen in all areas of Mariupol. Two civilian women were killed by the Russian occupiers after yesterdayʼs massive airstrikes on the Azovstal plant.

Residents of Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia Oblast arrived in Zaporizhzhia by their own vehicles. Azovstal managed to evacuate 156 people, including about 20 children — they are going to Zaporizhzhia. The Russians treated the people of Mariupol, who were evacuated from Azovstal, with contempt. One of the residents said that they were called "pencils" when they were taken out of the plant. There are still about 200 civilians left at the plant. The evacuation from Tokmak and Vasylivka by buses was disrupted by the Russians.

On the border of Sumy Oblast, Russia continues to provoke: around noon, Russia opened fire with mortars on the territory of the Glukhiv community.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for refusing to go to Kyiv. He called it "offended liver sausage." This is a German phraseology. There is a tale about a liver sausage, which was offended that the butcher took it out of the pan last, and burst with resentment.

In his address to the Verkhovna Rada, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson said that Brimstone anti-ship missile systems and armored vehicles would be sent to Ukraine in the coming weeks to evacuate people from the occupied territories.

Slovak defense industry company Konstrukta Defense begins repairs and modernization of Ukraineʼs military equipment. The US police cynologists handed over bulletproof vests for service dogs to Ukrainian border guards. The United Kingdom is sending 13 protective armored vehicles to Ukraine to safely evacuate civilians from the shelling areas in the east.

The Italian humanitarian organization Cesvi is allocating the first € 500,000 for the restoration of the Ukrainian Bucha and plans to raise more through charitable contributions. This money will go to the restoration of communal infrastructure and social facilities in Bucha. The US corporation GE Healthcare donated to Ukraine 50 hospitals for ultrasound diagnostics, 100 patient monitors, 25 ventilators, and five mobile X-ray machines.

Russiaʼs foreign ministry has said the Israeli government supports the "neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv". Tensions and anger are growing in Israel over Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovʼs words that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was half Jewish. Lavrovʼs statements became the most discussed in the Israeli press. In particular, The Jerusalem Post writes that such statements by the Russian minister mean that Israel can no longer remain neutral on the issue of the war in Ukraine. Another publication, Haaretz, published a statement from the US Jewish Committee stating that it had repeatedly asked for denazification — but not of Kyiv, but of Moscow.