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© Reuters. Police are seen at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
(Reuters) – Ukraine’s military vowed not to give up the eastern city of Bakhmut as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces.
FIGHTING
* The Kremlin rejected as “plucked from thin air” a U.S. assessment of 100,000 Russian military casualties in Ukraine in the last five months, including more than 20,000 deaths.
* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said weapons production and arms supply to the front line would be crucial to military success for Moscow, and that he had called for missile output to be doubled urgently.
DIPLOMACY/POLITICS
* Russia said it knows nothing about a Vatican peace mission for Ukraine mentioned by Pope Francis.
* The Kremlin said Germany’s involvement in the conflict was growing by the day and that Berlin had no way of ensuring weapons it had given Ukraine would not be used against Russian territory.
* Russian security services are working to ensure that Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade across Red Square on May 9 can go ahead safely despite the risk of a threat from Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
* Denmark plans to donate 1.7 billion Danish crowns ($249.81 million)to Ukraine for military purposes.
SPORT
* Russian and Belarusian competitors have been cleared to take part as neutrals at this month’s world judo championships in Doha, prompting Ukraine to pull out of the May 7-14 event.
GRAIN
* Ukraine’s grain exports could fall to around 26 million tonnes in the 2023/24 season, largely due to Russia’s invasion.
QUOTES
* “We strive to ensure that all athletes, regardless of their nationality or background, have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, without discrimination” – International Judo Federation (IJF).
* “We will continue, despite all the forecasts and advice, to hold Bakhmut, destroying Wagner and other most combat-capable units of the Russian army” – General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian ground forces.
* “The explosion wave twisted the door. Had we stayed for five more seconds, we would have been trapped here … My child will need psychological help, it is horrible” – resident Viktoriia Suprun after missile attack in Pavlohrad city.
RECENT IN-DEPTH STORIES
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* ANALYSIS-Russia crosses new lines in crackdown on Putin’s enemies
* EXCLUSIVE-The Russian military commandant who oversaw reign of fear in Ukraine town
* EXCLUSIVE-Kazakhstan has ramped up oil exports bypassing Russia -sources
* Liberated villages offer glimpse of precarious Ukrainian health system.
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