War in Ukraine, day 805. Ukraine prepares for blackouts after another massive Russian attack

The most important events of the last 24 hours:

• Ukraine is preparing for blackouts after another massive Russian attack
• Britain expels Russian military attaché it says is ‘undeclared spy’
• Putin brings his army to the Victory Day parade
• Steven Seagal, nervous after being asked in the Kremlin why he supports Putin: “It’s a stupid question”
• Russia’s best three-month earnings from oil and gas since invasion began
• The Kremlin on allegations of an FSB attack on Zelensky: We do not comment
• German Minister: Putin must not get away unpunished for the war in Ukraine
• Russia has launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
• Denmark announces a new humanitarian aid package of 33.2 million dollars for Ukraine
• “We choose our president”: Kremlin defends “purely democratic” Russia
• Zelensky announces that Ukraine and Spain have concluded discussions on the text of the security agreement
• Belarus announces joint tactical nuclear inspection with Russia
• Ukraine announces the arrest of two agents who planned the assassination of Volodymyr Zelensky, at the behest of Moscow
• EU plans to sanction Ukrainian media oligarch accused of treason by Kiev
• The tactics used by Russia to influence the decisions of the West

Update 16:55 – Ukraine warned on Wednesday of possible power outages at the end of the day, following a new “massive” attack by Russia on its power grid, which left at least one dead and ten injured, AFP and Reuters report.

The national electricity company Ukrenergo warned that power outages are “possible throughout Ukraine (…) from 18:00 to 23:00”.

It asked its customers to “use electricity sparingly”.

Update 15:45 The British authorities decided to expel the military attache from the Russian Embassy.

“I am telling the House of Commons that we will expel the Russian military attache, who is an undeclared intelligence officer,” British Home Secretary James Cleverly said.

He also announced at the same time the withdrawal of diplomatic status from several properties owned by Russians in Britain, claiming they were used for espionage.

“We will impose new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas, including limiting the period of time that Russian diplomats can spend in the UK,” added the minister.

“Our message to Russia is clear: stop this illegal war. Withdraw your troops from Ukraine. Stop this malign activity,” he concluded.

Russian state media reports that the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced that, following the expulsion of the Russian military attache from London, the Kremlin would respond “appropriately”.

Update 14:54 Russian President Vladimir Putin brings his army to the Victory Day parade.

On May 9, in Moscow, over 9,000 soldiers and dozens of military vehicles will parade in front of the Russian leader, two days after he began his fifth term as president.

Yuri Ushakov, an adviser to the Russian president, said Kazakh President Kassim Jomart Tokaiev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mîrzioev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadîr Japarov and Turkmen President Serdar Berdîmuhammedov would attend the event in Red Square. .

Ushakov added that Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo will also be present.

Armenian President Nikol Pashinian, who attended the festivities last year, announced that he would not be able to attend this year’s event.

Update 13:30 The Kremlin has refused to comment on information released by the Ukrainian Security Service, SBU, which announced on Tuesday that it had foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-ranking officials in Kiev.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the SBU’s announcement.

He added that it is “unlikely” that the information is “accurate”.

The SBU said it had arrested two Ukrainian officers with the rank of colonel who worked for Russia’s FSB security service and had planned attacks targeting Zelensky, SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk and the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service , Kirilo Budanov.

The attacks were supposed to be “gifts” for Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of the inauguration of his fifth presidential term.

Update 11:30 Steven Seagal raged at the correspondent of the British TV station Sky News.

Seagal, present at Tuesday’s Kremlin ceremony where Vladimir Putin began his fifth term as president, was asked why he supports the Russian leader.

“I can’t answer such a stupid question. I think it’s a stupid question and I think you know the answer,” he retorted.

The 72-year-old Seagal, the hero of numerous action films in which he uses his knowledge of martial arts, is also a well-known supporter of Vladimir Putin.

In 2018, he also participated in the previous inauguration of his mandate at the Kremlin and was decorated by the Russian president with the “Order of Friendship” for his “major contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation”.

Update 10:30 In the past three months, the Russian state has earned more money from oil and gas than in any other similar period since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Sky News reports.

The quoted source states that he analyzed the data of the Bloomberg agency and learned that this year, in the mentioned interval, Russia obtained, on average, 1.2 trillion rubles a month, equivalent to 12 billion euros, in the form of oil and gas revenues .

It is the highest three-month average since April 2022.

International sanctions have not stopped Russia from exporting energy materials, they have only reconfigured the geography of Russia’s global fossil fuel business, Sky News reports.

The performance of the last three months, including April, comes on the back of high crude oil prices.

Update 09:12 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pleaded for common support for Ukraine, at the beginning of a tour in the United States and Canada, reports DPA.

During a visit to New York, Pistorius had a meeting with representatives of the American Jewish Committee, during which he insisted on Germany’s increased contribution to NATO.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to get away with his brutal war of aggression. It is about how and if democracies defend themselves,” the German minister commented.

Pistoriuls is due to discuss the global security situation with US and Canadian officials until Friday.

He will meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington on Thursday and Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair in Ottawa on Friday.

Update 08:00 An air strike launched by Russia on Ukraine has damaged several installations in the energy infrastructure throughout the country, according to several Ukrainian officials, international media reports.

“A new massive attack on our energy industry,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Gherman Galushchenko wrote on Telegram.

Electricity generation and transmission facilities in Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia regions were targeted, the minister said.

Ukrenergo, the operator of Ukraine’s national grid, confirmed on Telegram that equipment at one of its facilities in central Ukraine had been damaged, without giving further details.

In the Poltava region, an energy infrastructure facility was hit by a drone attack, starting a fire, the governor of the region, Filip Pronin, said on Telegram. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.

The governors of Vinnitsa and Zaporizhia regions announced that critical civil infrastructure facilities were damaged, without providing further details.

All missiles aimed at Kiev were destroyed, said Sergei Popko, head of the city’s military administration.

Air defense systems were also engaged in repelling the Russian attack over the Lviv region, where several explosions were reported, according to regional officials.

Update 00:01 The Danish Foreign Ministry announced on May 7 a new humanitarian aid package of 250 million kroner ($33.2 million) for Ukraine, Kyiv Independent reports.

Denmark, one of Kiev’s main backers during Russia’s full-scale invasion, recently announced an additional $633 million in military support for Kiev.

About 40 percent of Ukraine’s population needs humanitarian aid, the ministry said, citing UN data.

War in Ukraine, May 7, 2024 | Vladimir Putin took the oath for the fifth presidential term: “We will become even stronger”

War in Ukraine, May 6, 2024 | Several heavy artillery rockets hit a power plant in Donetsk

War in Ukraine, May 5, 2024 | Volodymyr Zelensky, Easter message: “Today our prayer is for all Ukrainians”

War in Ukraine, May 4, 2024 | Six injured, following a Russian drone attack in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk

War in Ukraine, May 3, 2024 | Ukrainians advised not to go to church on Easter, for fear of a Russian attack