LIVE TEXT The war in Ukraine, day 804. Vladimir Putin is officially sworn in for a new term at the head of Russia / Ukraine aims to complete the security agreement with the US in May / Putin: Russia is willing to collaborate with the West / Ukraine thwarted a “undercover plot to kill Zelensky”

Ukraine thwarted a “covert plot to kill Zelensky”

A plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky was discovered by the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Sky News and The Guardian inform.

The SBU said two agents posing as Ukrainian State Guardsmen were tasked by Moscow with finding a way to capture Zelensky and then kill him.

They also planned to kill other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, the SBU said in a statement on Telegram.

SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk described the plot as a “pre-inauguration gift to Putin”.

Estonian parliament declares Russian Orthodox Church “sponsor of Russian military aggression”

On May 6, the Parliament of Estonia supported a resolution by which the Russian Orthodox Church is declared “an institution that sponsors the military aggression of the Russian Federation”.

The church, also known as the Moscow Patriarchate, has widely supported Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

“Ever since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow… has expressed his public support for the act of aggression of the terrorist regime of the Russian Federation,” the Estonian Parliament statement said. , write Kyiv Independent.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of using chemical weapons on the battlefield

Russia and Ukraine accused each other, in front of the world chemical weapons monitoring organization in The Hague, of using banned toxins on the battlefield, the organization announced on Tuesday, The Guardian writes.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said the accusations were “insufficiently substantiated”, but added that “the situation remains volatile and of great concern regarding the possible resurgence of the use of toxic chemicals as weapons”.

Putin: Russia is willing to cooperate with the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, while taking the oath for a new six-year mandate, that Russia does not rule out dialogue with the West, but it must take place on equal terms, reports Reuters and Sky News.

In a short speech, Putin also said that Russia is open to developing relations with other countries, which he described as “the majority of the world”, writes The Guardian.

The EU intends to sanction the Ukrainian media oligarch accused of treason by Kiev

The EU plans to sanction a media oligarch accused of running malign influence operations in Europe and ban four other Russian media outlets from the airwaves and the internet, in the latest round of measures against Russia.

The EU bloc wants to sanction Viktor Medvedchiuk, a former Ukrainian politician and businessman accused of high treason by Kiev, who was released to Russia in a prisoner swap in 2022, according to The Guardian.

Listening devices, found in the room where the meeting of the Polish Council of Ministers was to take place

Polish special services found and dismantled listening devices in a room where the Council of Ministers was to meet on Tuesday, said the spokesman of the coordinator of the special services, reports the Reuters agency, quoted by The Guardian.

Vladimir Putin was officially inaugurated as the President of Russia. The fifth term begins

Vladimir Putin was officially sworn in as President of Russia, marking the start of his fifth term.

The Kremlin leader began his speech by thanking the nation for its support and the military fighting his war in Ukraine.

“I would like to thank the participants in the special military operation, I would like to thank all those who fight for our homeland,” he says, according to Sky News.

“I see the deep understanding of our historical role to defend our choice, to defend our freedom and to defend the national interests of Russia.

“We will get through this difficult period and we will be successful,” he says.

The tactic used by Russia to influence the decisions of the West

The Kremlin appears to be using a tactic known as reflexive control to influence decision-making in the West and try to limit military assistance to Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this reflexive control involves Russia manipulating its adversaries into voluntarily making decisions that benefit Moscow.

For example, the Kremlin has consistently synchronized nuclear training exercises and vague threats of nuclear retaliation with major Western policy decisions regarding the war in Ukraine, notes Sky News.

General Staff: Russia has lost 476,460 soldiers in Ukraine since February 24, 2022

Russia has lost 476,460 soldiers in Ukraine since the start of its invasion on February 24, 2022, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on May 7.

This number includes 1,160 casualties suffered by Russian forces in the last day.

According to the report, Russia also lost 7,405 tanks, 14,227 armored fighting vehicles, 16,509 vehicles and fuel tanks, 12,287 artillery systems, 1,057 multiple launch missile systems, 792 air defense systems, 349 of planes, 325 helicopters, 9,717 drones, 26 ships and boats and a submarine.

Reuters: The Tuapse refinery hit by a drone resumes its activity after 3 months of repairs

Rosneft’s Tuapse oil refinery has resumed processing after being damaged by a drone attack in January. Repairs were reportedly completed at the facility’s primary oil refining unit at the end of April.

Reuters: The US and most EU countries abstain from Putin’s inauguration

The United States and most European Union nations will not attend the Kremlin ceremony to inaugurate Vladimir Putin for a new six-year presidential term, which will take place on May 7.

Russian dissident Kara-Murza wins Pulitzer Prize for commentary

Imprisoned Russian journalist and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, won a Pulitzer Prize for the comments he wrote from his cell.

Russia attacks 11 communities in the Sumy region

Russian forces hit 11 communities in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine in 31 separate attacks throughout the day, the regional administration reported on May 6. The regional administration confirmed that the Russian attack on the community of Krasnopillia, earlier in the day, injured three people.

Yermak: Ukraine aims to finalize the security agreement with the US in May

A Ukrainian delegation led by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, held the fourth round of negotiations with the US on the future bilateral security agreement on May 6, the Presidential Office announced.

Russia is currently detaining several American citizens on what are believed to be false charges.

The US denounces Russia’s “irresponsible rhetoric” regarding the nuclear exercises

“This is an example of the irresponsible rhetoric we’ve seen from Russia in the past. It’s completely inappropriate given the current security situation,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

Russia no longer uses the Crimean Bridge to supply the front lines

The bridge, also called the Kerch Bridge, connects mainland Russia with the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula and has long been a crucial supply route for the Russian military in Ukraine.