NYT: Azovstal factory site ‘intensely’ bombed

Overview: Russia practices nuclear missile strikes and Azovstal factory ‘intensely’ bombed

These are the main developments from Wednesday evening and the night from Wednesday to Thursday:

• Russian troops practiced in Kaliningrad on Wednesday with missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to the AFP news agency. Launches of the ballistic missiles were simulated from an Iskander weapon system. The troops practiced, among other things, with fictitious attacks on enemy airfields and military command posts, and were also trained to quickly change positions in the event of a counter-attack.
• The terrain of the Azovstal factory ‘intense’ bombing was carried out in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, reports The New York Times based on satellite images. The images show blackened buildings at the complex where Ukrainian fighters still resist the Russian capture of the city. Russia has now announced a ceasefire for the next three days so that civilians can once again be evacuated from the grounds. On Wednesday, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, 344 civilians were evacuated from all over Mariupol with help from the UN and the Red Cross.
• Sweden can count on US support if it makes an official application to join NATO, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said after meeting her US counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Russia skips threatening language towards Sweden the possible accession to NATO, but “whatever Russia is planning in Sweden, the US will not just let this happen,” Linde said without going into details about the security guarantees. There can be several months between the application and actual membership, during which time Sweden cannot formally invoke Article 5, which states that an attack on one Member State is considered an attack on all Member States.

NYT: Azovstal factory site ‘intensely’ bombed

The site of the Azovstal factory in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol was ‘intensely’ bombed on Wednesday, reports The New York Times based on satellite images. On the images are blackened buildings to see.

Also on a video showing the BBC has posted heavy explosions can be seen and clouds of smoke over the complex, where Ukrainian fighters still resist the Russian capture of the city. The British broadcaster has not been able to independently verify the images, but assumes that the video was recorded on Wednesday.

Ukraine reported during the daytime on Wednesday that Russian soldiers had entered the Azovstal factory site, but the Kremlin denied that. Moscow announced a ceasefire on May 5, 6 and 7 to evacuate civilians from the factory on Wednesday evening. An evacuation attempt was successful on Tuesday. Then 101 people from the complex were taken to safety in the city of Zaporizhzhya.