Najaf Ali

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have launched a third operation to evacuate civilians from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council on Thursday. Guterres said this is the third such operation to evacuate citizens from the … Read more

US First Lady Jill Biden departs Thursday evening on a trip to Romania and Slovakia, where she will spend time with several Ukrainian families displaced by the Russian invasion, according to a release from the East Wing. Part of the first lady’s intense, four-day schedule of events and meetings and visits includes Mother’s Day activities … Read more

Medals, road-signs and statues — these are some of the early symbols of Russia’s seizure of parts of southern Ukraine, and especially Mariupol. The leader of self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and a senior official in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party awarded medals “For the Liberation of Mariupol” this week. “The liberation of this … Read more

An unnamed man who describes himself as a medic has made an appeal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to help rescue those still trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. In a short video message released late Thursday, the man addresses Erdogan directly: “We are constantly being shelled from the air, sea and land. I … Read more

Former US President George W. Bush held a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday morning and posted an image from the video call on Instagram. Bush called Zelensky the “Winston Churchill of our time” in then post and “thanked the President for his leadership, his example, and his commitment to liberty.”

Ukrainian authorities have planned a further round of evacuations out of the besieged city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. “Tomorrow, on May 6, an evacuation from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia will take place. We are going to gather near the “Port City” shopping mall at about 12pm,” Vereshchuk announced … Read more

Geographically, the city of Mariupol occupies only a tiny area on the map but it now stands obstinately in the way of Russian forces who have burst out of the Crimean peninsula. They are pushing north-east to try to link up with their comrades and Ukrainian-separatist allies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. General … Read more

In Russia, tanks, missile launchers and armored vehicles thundered through central Moscow this evening as the military held another dress rehearsal for the big Victory Day parade on 9 May. Muscovites gathered to watch the weaponry roll past, some taking photos and waving to the troops perched atop the tanks. The 9 May military parade … Read more

The significance of Russian celebrations on 9 May’s Victory Day is not lost on Ukrainians. MP Alyona Shkrum says she believes there will be an increase in fighting, inspired by the celebrations. Shkrum says Vladimir Putin is a “delusional dictator” who will turn the traditionally-celebrated day into a “big fight right now against Nazis”. One … Read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 344 people were evacuated from Mariupol and surrounding areas to Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, during his nightly address. “I am grateful to all those who make the evacuation operation successful,” Zelensky said. Zelensky also called for a ceasefire to evacuate those who remain in Mariupol. “We are negotiating and hope … Read more

She stood in just her bathrobe in the freezing basement of the Mariupol theater, coated in white plaster dust shaken loose by the explosion. Her husband tugged at her to leave and begged her to cover her eyes. But she couldn’t help it – Oksana Syomina looked. And to this day, she wishes she hadn’t. … Read more

 Ukrainian forces inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works were fighting “difficult bloody battles” against Russian troops for a second day on Wednesday, the commander of the far-right Azov regiment said. “I am proud of my soldiers who are making superhuman efforts to contain the pressure of the enemy … the situation is extremely difficult,” commander Denis … Read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a plea for peace during a taped address to Denmark on the 77th anniversary of the Scandinavian country’s liberation from Germany during World War II. “The Russian state is not ready to stop the war. They’re dreaming of capturing Ukraine and other European countries. They’re still dreaming that the freedom … Read more

The smell of burnt wire and rubber still lingered in the air around the railway power station on the outskirts of Lviv Wednesday morning, hours after the blaze was extinguished. A group of investigators was collecting debris from the Russian rockets that struck this place the evening before. Now it serves as evidence of Russia’s attempts to systematically destroy key infrastructure. The Lviv … Read more