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Heavy fighting has been raging inside the Azovstal steel plant, where Mariupol's last defenders have been holding out for weeks.
The Azov Regiment, an experienced volunteer force with neo-Nazi roots, said in a post on its Telegram channel Thursday that Russian infantry supported by aircraft and artillery had launched an attack on the sprawling site. “Civilians and wounded soldiers still remain in the basement of the plant,” the post said.
Gaining full control of Mariupol, the key port city, would be a significant victory for the Kremlin as its eastern offensive struggles to make progress. In recent days Russian attacks have focused on striking infrastructure across the country, apparently to disrupt the supply of Western weapons.
While stepping up their support for Kyiv, Ukraine's allies are also focused on how to punish Moscow and hinder its war effort. European Union countries will continue to discuss the bloc's proposed ban on Russian oil — a key source of funds for the Kremlin but also of energy for the continent.
Russian attack on Mariupol plant likely driven by ‘symbolic victory’ aim, U.K. says
Russia’s continued attack on a steel plant in Mariupol is likely driven by a desire for a “symbolic victory” for Russia’s Victory Day celebration, the United Kingdom’s defense ministry said Friday.
Russian ground forces continued to attack the Azovstal steel plant, where the city's last defenders are located, the U.K. said. When Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in Mariupol two weeks ago, he ordered his troops not to storm it but to seal it off.
“The renewed effort by Russia to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming 9 May Victory Day commemorations and Putin’s desire to have a symbolic success in Ukraine,” the U.K. said in its daily intelligence update.
Russia's annual Victory Day commemorates its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Jill Biden to travel to Ukraine border, spend Mother’s Day meeting refugees
WASHINGTON — First lady Jill Biden’s weekend trip to Eastern Europe will include a Mother’s Day trip to Slovakia’s border with Ukraine, the White House announced Thursday.
Sunday’s stop at a border crossing in Vyšné Nemecké, Slovakia, will be the latest by a prominent U.S. government official to the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war. There, Biden will survey a checkpoint where Ukrainian refugees get basic assistance from humanitarian and Slovakian government workers before they travel farther west to processing centers and transit hubs, the White House said.
At the stop, which will include a visit to a small Greek Catholic chapel, Biden is expected to learn about the experiences of aid workers and refugees and convey the Biden administration’s gratitude for the work being done there, the White House said.
Biden on Sunday will also visit a refugee center and school in the larger city of Košice, about 55 miles from the border, where she will participate in Mother’s Day activities with Slovaks and Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine’s plight could be replicated in East Asia, Japan’s prime minister wars
LONDON — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned on Thursday that the invasion of Ukraine could be replicated in East Asia if leading powers do not respond as one, saying peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait must be maintained.
Kishida, speaking in London via a translator after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said now was the time for the Group of Seven leading nations to solidify its unity.
“Collaboration among countries sharing universal values becomes ever more vital,” he said. “We must collaborate with our allies and like-minded countries, and never tolerate a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by the use of force in the Indo-Pacific, especially in East Asia.”
“Ukraine may be East Asia tomorrow.”
Taiwan, a self-ruling island claimed by China as its own territory, has raised its alert level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, wary of the possibility Beijing might make a similar move on the island, though it has reported no signs this is about to happen.
U.S. intelligence helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say
Intelligence shared by the U.S. helped Ukraine sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, U.S. officials told NBC News, confirming a U.S. role in perhaps the most embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin’s troubled invasion of Ukraine.
The Moskva, a guided missile cruiser carrying a crew of 510, was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It sank April 14 after it was struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles, U.S. officials said. Moscow said the vessel sank after a fire. The Moskva was the largest Russian warship to have been sunk in combat since World War II. U.S. officials said that there were significant Russian casualties but that they don’t know how many.
The attack happened after Ukrainian forces asked the U.S. about a ship sailing in the Black Sea south of Odesa, U.S. officials said. The U.S. identified it as the Moskva, officials said, and helped confirm its location, after which the Ukrainians targeted it.
NATO chief says alliance will increase presence in Baltic Sea if Sweden applies to join
NATO will increase its presence around Sweden’s borders and in the Baltic Sea while a potential application to join the alliance is processed, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Sweden and neighboring Finland have remained outside the alliance, but Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine have led the countries to rethink their security policies, with NATO membership looking increasingly likely.
Both countries are seeking military protection assurances during an application process, which could take up to a year to be approved by all of NATO’s members.
“I am convinced that we will find solutions for the security needs Sweden will have in a transitional period,” Stoltenberg told SVT.
Former President Bush spends time with Zelenskyy
Russia launches multipronged attack on Azovstal steel plant
Russian infantry supported by aircraft and artillery have launched an attack on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian forces in the besieged port-city said Thursday.
“Russians broke into the industrial zone,” the Azov Regiment, an experienced volunteer force with neo-Nazi roots, said in a post on Telegram.
“Civilians and wounded soldiers still remain in the basement of the plant,” the post, translated by NBC News, added.
Mariupol has been besieged for months, with large parts of the city reduced to rubble while its remaining residents suffered without aid.
U.S. says Fiji seized Russian billionaire’s $300 million superyacht
Fijian authorities seized a $300 million yacht alleged to be owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov at the request of the U.S., the Justice Department announced Thursday.
The 348-foot luxury vessel known as the Amadea was seized after the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that it was subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of sanctions violations.
The U.S. government had said in court papers that “Kerimov and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions for the AMADEA to be sent through U.S. financial institutions, after a time which Kerimov was designated by the Treasury Department.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ruling should make it clear that “there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. laws, and there is no hiding place for the assets of criminals who enable the Russian regime.”
U.S. announces additional humanitarian assistance for Ukraine
The U.S. will provide $387 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the U.S. Agency for International Development said Thursday.
“This additional assistance will provide lifesaving food assistance to people in hard-to-reach areas inside Ukraine, as well as cash-based transfers for people in areas with functioning markets,” the aid agency said in a news release.
It added that the money was a contribution toward the $1 billion President Joe Biden pledged in March for those affected by the war “and its severe impacts around the world, including a marked rise in food insecurity.”
Kremlin says U.S. giving intelligence to Ukraine won't stop Russia from reaching goals
Western attempts to transmit intelligence to Ukrainian armed forces will not prevent Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
While the U.S., the U.K. and NATO’s transfer of intelligence and weaponry do not “contribute to the rapid completion of the operation,” he said, “they are not able to prevent the achievement of the goals set for the special military operation.”
The New York Times had reported that the U.S. was providing Ukrainian authorities with intelligence data that helped it strike key Russian officers. NBC News has not verified that reporting.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Thursday that the U.S. provides "battlefield intelligence" to the Ukrainians but does not do so with the "intent to kill Russian generals."
Two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said Thursday that current U.S. policy expressly forbids sharing lethal targeting intelligence about Russian civilian and military leaders.
Even when shared intelligence helps Ukraine target command and control centers, it is not explicitly tied to any one leader, the officials said.
NBC News detailed last month how U.S. intelligence had been instrumental in Ukraine’s success, including in helping Ukraine target Russian forces and avoid Russian attacks.