Russian attacks expand to various locations including Ukrainian railways
Cities in western, central and southwestern Ukraine have been targeted by Russian attacks. According to Ukraine, the Russian military has also bombarded nationwide railway infrastructure. Biden has asked Congress to approve several billion dollars in aid to Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian sources, various cities including Lviv in the west, Vinnytsia and Kirovohrad in the center, and Odesa in the southwest have been targeted by Russian missile strikes. Viktor Mykyta, governor of the Transcarpathia region, reported that this region, which is located near the Hungarian border, has been targeted by a missile attack for the first time since the start of the war.
Based on the same news sources, the Russian military has attacked railway infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Aleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukrainian Railways, stated that in Tuesday, May 3rd (Ordibehesht 13th) attacks on the Ukrainian railway service, six train stations in the central and western parts of the country suffered serious damage. Ukrainian sources reported an unknown number of casualties.
Biden’s promise of further aid and visit by leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union to Ukraine
As Russian attacks intensified, Joe Biden, President of the United States, emphasized his country’s weapons support for Ukraine and said he has requested billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid from Congress. Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the United States has provided more than 3.7 billion dollars in weapons aid to the country.
While Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, has not yet positively responded to Vladimir Zelensky’s invitation to visit Ukraine, Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union, met with the Ukrainian President in Kyiv on Tuesday. This was met with criticism from some German political circles. Scholz said he will not travel to Ukraine because the Ukrainian government’s treatment of Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, was “disrespectful.” Ukraine had previously opposed Steinmeier’s visit to the country.
Russia has confiscated thousands of tons of Ukrainian grain
Ukrainian sources say Russia has transferred 400,000 tons of grain from occupied areas of Ukraine to its own territory. Taras Vysotsky, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, stated that this amount is approximately one-third of grain reserves in the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
According to this Ukrainian official, before the war, approximately 1.3 million tons of grain were stored for daily supply as well as for planting in these regions. He warned that if grain reserves decline further than this level, these regions will face the risk of famine. The forced transfer of grain from Ukraine is historically reminiscent of painful memories. When Joseph Stalin forcibly confiscated the grain of peasants in this region from the former Soviet Union, approximately four million people died of starvation between 1932 and 1933.
Source: DW
