Ukraine gains ground as Russian forces step up attacks against Mariupol steel plant

Ukraine gains ground as Russian forces step up attacks against Mariupol steel plant
A woman sits with children as evacuees, including civilians who left the area near Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, arrive at a temporary accommodation centre during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the village of Bezimenne in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine May 1, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

President Zelenskiy said that Ukraine’s forces are not retreating from the fight and they’re even gaining back some ground in some regions. On the other hand, Russia is targeting western sections of Ukraine again with its missile strikes after it wasn’t so effective the last time.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Vladimir Putin to allow evacuation from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, which is one of the only places where citizens of the Ukrainian city have been able to go. This came right after the news that Russia was storming the plant.

Key comments:

“We need more money to make sure the United States can continue to send weapons directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine,” Biden said during a trip to a factory in Alabama. Biden said the anti-tank systems are “some of the best, most effective weapons in our arsenal.”

“[President Macron] expressed his profound worries concerning Mariupol and the situation in the Donbass, and called on Russia to allow evacuation efforts from the Azovstal steel plant in the coming days,” read an Élysee Palace readout of the call between Macron and Putin.