Here are the key events so far on Wednesday, May 18.
Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- The fate of Ukrainian fighters evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol remains uncertain after some were transported to the Russian-controlled town of Olenivka near Donetsk, and some were taken to a prison colony. Russia’s defence ministry said more than 950 fighters at Azovstal have surrendered since Monday.
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed that 3,752 civilians have been killed and 4,062 injured in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24.
- At least 229 children have died and 424 injured since February, according to Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova.
- Ukrainian forces reportedly killed several high-ranking Russian officers in the southern city of Russian-occupied Melitopol, Ukraine’s officials said.
- Seven civilians have been killed by Russian attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian regional governor said.
- Eight people were killed and 12 others wounded in a Russian air attack on the village of Desna in the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv, the regional emergency service said.
- The war is entering “a protracted phase”, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, as Russian forces are now seeking full control of the east and south of Ukraine.
- Russia has a “significant resourcing problem” and lacks a united command, which continues to hamper Russia’s operations”, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said.
Diplomacy
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) sent its “largest-ever” team of 42 experts to Ukraine to investigate alleged war crimes.
- The European Union is ready to approve another 500 million euros ($527m) in military aid for Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
- The US State Department reiterated Washington’s support to Kyiv but says it is up to Ukraine to define its own objectives in talks with Russia.
- Russia’s foreign ministry announced its withdrawal from the Council of the Baltic Sea States “in response to hostile actions” that have turned it “into an instrument of anti-Russian politics”, the state-owned TASS news agency reported.
- Australia sanctioned 12 entities and 11 individuals, including Russian journalists, for being “purveyors of propaganda and disinformation who have sought to legitimise Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine”.
- The UK is considering using Russian assets to fund rebuilding in Ukraine, UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss said.
NATO
- Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join NATO military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
- US President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Sweden and Finland at the White House on Thursday to discuss their NATO applications, amid pushback from NATO member Turkey.
- Finland and Sweden joining NATO would probably make “not much difference” because the two countries had participated in the alliance’s military drills in the past, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said.
Economy
- Europe would be committing “economic suicide” by seeking to phase out Russian energy supplies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a UN meeting with senior officials to discuss global food security.
- Ukraine needs large-scale economic assistance, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Brussels.
- Russians lined up at McDonald’s restaurants after the chain announced its closure after more than 30 years of operating in the country.
- About 300,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat bought by Egypt for delivery in February and March is yet to be shipped from Black Sea port.
Energy
- The European Commission is expected to lay out a plan for how to wean the region off Russian hydrocarbons by 2027, the Reuters news agency reported.
- European energy giants continue buying Russian gas as EU guidelines appear to allow them to do so without breaching sanctions.
