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Latest Developments in Ukraine: May 19

by VOA News

   For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit [1]Flashpoint
   Ukraine.

   The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All
   times EDT:

   6:00 a.m.: Russia's foreign ministry said Thursday it was expelling
   five Portuguese diplomats, according to Reuters. The expulsions come
   several weeks after Portugal expelled 10 Russian embassy staffers.

   5:45 a.m.: Switzerland said Thursday it is reopening its embassy in
   Kyiv

   5:10 a.m.: Russia's defense ministry said Thursday hundreds more
   Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant
   in Mariupol, bringing the total this week to 1,730.

   4:30 a.m.: Ukraine welcomes the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Bridget
   Brink as Washington's Ambassador to Ukraine, Ukrainian President
   Volodymyr Zelenskiyy's chief of staff said on Thursday.

   "We greet the U.S. Senate unanimous decision to approve Bridget Brink
   (as) the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine," Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter.
   There has been no U.S. ambassador in Kyiv since 2019.

   4:01 a.m.: The International Committee of the Red Cross said it began
   registering "combatants leaving the Azovstal plant, including the
   wounded, at the request of the parties," starting Tuesday and the
   operation was still ongoing Thursday. The ICRC said it is not
   transporting prisoners of war to places where they were held in a
   [2]statement published Thursday.

   The aid organization urged warring parties to protect the rights of
   fighters. "It's critical to ensure they're accounted for & treated
   humanely and with dignity," ICRC said in a Twitter post.

   3:05 a.m.: Several senior Russian commanders have been fired for
   performing "poorly" during the opening stages of Russia's invasion of
   Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense's
   Thursday report.

   The ministry said the suspended include the lieutenant general who
   failed to capture Kharkiv, and the vice admiral under whose command the
   Russian cruiser Moskva sank.

   "A culture of cover-ups and scape-goating is probably prevalent within
   the Russian military and security system," the report said. Given the
   likely finger-pointing and shifting of blame, "it will be difficult for
   Russia to regain the initiative," it added.

   2:15 a.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Finland's President Sauli
   Niinistö and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson for talks
   Thursday at the White House about their applications to join NATO,
   support for Ukraine and European security.

   Biden on Wednesday praised what he called Sweden and Finland's
   "important decision" after they formally applied for membership in the
   NATO military alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

   "I warmly welcome and strongly support the historic applications from
   Finland and Sweden for membership in NATO and look forward to working
   with the U.S. Congress and our NATO allies to quickly bring Finland and
   Sweden into the strongest defensive alliance in history," Biden said.

   At a Wednesday meeting at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd
   Austin told his Swedish counterpart, Peter Hultqvist, "We look forward
   to your contributions to the NATO alliance." VOA's Pentagon
   correspondent Carla Babb [3]has the story.

   1:40 a.m.: Amnesty International continues to call for the rights of
   the Ukrainian soldiers to be respected as reports of soldiers
   surrendering surfaced after the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol fell
   under Russian control.

   "Prisoners of war must not be subjected to any form of torture or
   ill-treatment," Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International's Deputy
   Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, [4]said in a statement
   posted Tuesday.

   Prisoners "should be given immediate access to the International
   Committee of the Red Cross," he said. "The relevant authorities must
   fully respect the rights of prisoners of war in accordance with the
   Geneva conventions."

   12:50 a.m.: RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty shares an [5]interview with
   the mother of a Ukrainian National Guardsman based in Mariupol.

   During the May 11 interview in Kyiv, Inna Zatoloka shares some of the
   texts her 20-year-old son sent her since Russia invaded Ukraine.
   "Mother, I'm alive," he once texted. "Love you."

   Mark Zatoloka was one of hundreds of soldiers defending civilians
   sheltering in the Azovstal steel plant while Russia attacked. Inna does
   not know whether he made it out alive.

   12:30 a.m.: The U.S. Senate is set to vote Thursday on a $40 billion
   aid package for Ukraine.

   The measure includes money for military equipment, training and weapons
   for Ukraine, replenishing stocks of U.S. equipment sent to Ukraine and
   financing to help other countries that aid Ukraine.

   It also includes billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, including
   helping to address global food shortages caused by the conflict. The
   House of Representatives overwhelmingly gave its approval to the
   package last week.

   If the Senate approves the measure, it would go to President Joe Biden
   for his signature.

   Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters
   and Agence France-Presse.

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/z/6932
   2. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/ukraine-icrc-registers-hundreds-prisoners-war-azovstal-plant
   3. https://www.voanews.com/a/finland-and-sweden-formally-submit-application-to-join-nato/6578209.html
   4. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/05/ukraine-russia-the-rights-of-ukrainian-prisoners-of-war-from-azovstal-must-be-respected/
   5. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-mariupol-azovstal-russia-mother-soldier-missing/31856868.html