Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed extending the periods of general mobilisation and state of marital law by 90 days. As Ukraine marks its Vyshyvanka Day, Russia has taken the surrendered defenders of Mariupol to a penal colony in Russia. Ukraine has not taken seriously an offer by the Russian government to buy electricity from Ukraine’s own Zaporizhia Nuclear Power station, Belarusian Nexta TV, Ukrainian public broadcaster Ukrinform and UK’s The Times report.
Zelenskyy has congratulated the Ukrainian nation on the Vyshyvanka Day. «This is our sacred amulet in this war. Happy Vyshyvanka Day, Ukraine!» the Ukrainian President wrote on Facebook as quoted by Ukrinform.
Ukrainians mark Vyshyvanka Day every year on the third Thursday of May. This year it is marked on May 19. On this day people in Ukraine and abroad are encouraged to Ukrainian traditional embroidered shirts, or vyshyvankas.
The sacred amulet will be needed to Ukrainians involved in warfare for some time still as the battles have reached a stalemate on the eastern and southern front and have shown no evidence of a ceasefire. On Wednesday, May 18, Zelenskyy submitted to Ukrainian Verhovna Rada draft laws to extend martial law and general mobilisation for another 90 days.
«To extend the martial law in Ukraine from 05:30 on May 25, 2022, for another 90 days,» according to draft law No.7389 published on the parliament’s website. In addition, Zelenskyy proposed to extend the general mobilization active in the country from May 25 for another 90 days.
The first period of martial law was imposed in Ukraine on February 24. Also, on February 24, the general mobilization was announced in Ukraine. The general mobilization in Ukraine is carried out for 90 days from the day of the decree coming into effect.
See the latest video address by Zelenskyy with English subtitles.
Mariupol defenders taken to Russia
A part of Ukrainian troops, who have laid down their weapons under siege in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works to be evacuated by the invaders, have been taken to the territory of Russia. The Times wrote that evacuees are being taken to a Russian prison colony and could be put on trial as «Nazi war criminals» rather than exchanged for captured Russians, as Kyiv had pushed for.
pic.twitter.com/GqdEueB2co
— The Times (@thetimes) May 18, 2022
Meanwhile, artillery attacks and air strikes continued in Azovstal pointing to a part of Ukrainian troops still being there.
Russian senior official visits occupied south
According to the American military institute The Study of War, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has visited the occupied parts of southern Ukraine. Khusnullin announced plans to allocate maximum integration assistance for Ukraine’s Zaporizhia Oblast to work in a «friendly Russian family».
Nexta TV reports that from now on the Zaporizhzhya NPP would work for Russia and supply energy to Ukraine only for a fee and that the facility would provide power to Russia. The Zaporizhzhya NPP is the largest nuclear power station in Europe.
In response to this, Ukraine’s state power grid operator Ukrenergo released a statement focusing on Russia not being able to supply power from Zaporizhzhya NPP to Russia. It noted that the Zaporizhzhya NPP remained «in the Ukrainian power grid under the control of Ukrainian specialists» and that Ukraine’s power system currently has no physical connections with Russia’s.
«So, since the Ukrainian power grid is disconnected from Russia and Belarus, Russian officials can promise supplying electricity but to the cruiser Moskva (Moscow). They say it has power outages and limited mobility,» the statement reads as quoted by Ukrinform, referring to the recently sunken flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet.