Russian forces have launched attacks on various targets that appear to be linked to the transport of military equipment in Ukraine. These included three railway stations damaged by rocket attacks in the western city of Lviv, a local official said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has released videos showing the destruction of Russian military vehicles in the eastern Donetsk region and in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as an attack on an apparent Russian military position on Snake Island in the Black Sea.
Here’s what you need to know:
Four evacuation corridors planned: Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced four planned evacuation corridors to the city of Zaporizhzhya on Wednesday “if the security situation permits”. They will allow for evacuations from Mariupol, Lunacharske Circle, Tokmak and Vasylivka, Vereshchuk said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his overnight address Tuesday that 156 people had arrived in Zaporizhzhya from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Visit to Mariupol by a Russian-backed high-level official: Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Russian-backed separatist region of Donetsk, is the first known senior official — either Russia- or Russian-backed — to visit the besieged Ukrainian city, according to pictures posted on his Telegram channel. The visit is the first significant sign of the approaching Russification of Mariupol.
At least 290 civilian bodies found in Irpin since the Russian withdrawal: The bodies of 290 civilians have been recovered in the town of Irpin, outside Kiev, since the withdrawal of Russian troops, Irpin mayor Oleksandr Markushin said on Tuesday. Markushin said 185 of the dead have been identified and most were male. “Schwarf and gunshot wounds” were the causes of death.
US hopes to attract highly educated Russians: US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it easier for highly educated Russians to obtain a visa to work in the US. Tens of thousands of highly educated Russians have reportedly fled Russia since the war, and the US government hopes to capitalize on that brain drain, officials said.
Biden administration says it will not allow Russia to “co-opt” Victory Day: Amanda Sloat, senior director of the White House National Security Council, told DailyExpertNews that the Biden administration does not want Putin to “co-opt” Monday’s victory day by linking it to the invasion of Ukraine. She declined to comment on intelligence indicating Putin could use the holiday to rally support for his invasion of Ukraine, including possible steps to formally declare war on his neighbor or annex the Donbas and Luhansk regions.
Two-hour call between Macron and Putin: French President Emmanuel Macron had a phone call with Putin that lasted more than two hours, the Élysée Palace said on Tuesday. Macron warned Putin of the consequences of the war and called for an end to “devastating aggression,” he said. Macron also expressed “deep concern about Mariupol” and the situation in the Donbas region.
Diplomatic dispute between Israel and Russia: Russia on Tuesday accused Israel of supporting “the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev”, raising the stakes in a diplomatic dispute between Moscow and the Jewish state over Ukraine, anti-Semitism and Adolf Hitler. The accusation may increase pressure on Israel, which has voted in the UN to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has not fully sided with Western sanctions against Moscow or provided Ukraine with weapons.
US classifies WNBA player as “wrongly detained” in Russia: The US State Department has now classified WNBA player Brittney Griner as wrongfully detained in Russia and her case is now being heard by the office of US Presidential Special Envoy to Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, a State Department official confirms. cnn. The SPEHA office directs and coordinates diplomatic efforts aimed at the release of Americans wrongfully detained abroad. It played a key role in securing the release of American Trevor Reed from Russia last week.