What happened in the last few hours

On day 439 since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, here are the major news as of 8:00 p.m. this Monday, May 8:

Kyiv says Russian shelling in Kherson injured eight people, including a nine-year-old boy. Provincial authorities in Kherson, in southeastern Ukraine, said this afternoon that Monday’s Russian bombardment injured eight people, including a nine-year-old boy. Six civilians were injured in the town of Stanislav on the west bank of the Dnieper, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others were injured in Antonivka, on the outskirts of the city of Kherson, the provincial capital, according to the administration’s military chief, Roman Mrochko.

Russian attack on Odessa causes fire in Red Cross warehouse with humanitarian supplies. The Red Cross announced on Monday the destruction in a fire caused by a Russian missile attack of a 1,000 square meter warehouse that the organization rented in the Ukrainian province of Odessa and which it used to store equipment. humanitarian aid, and in which, according to military sources, one person died. “As a result of a missile attack on the Odessa region on May 8, 2023, the rented warehouse of the Odessa regional organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross, with an area of ​​1,000 square meters, was completely destroyed,” he said. wrote in a statement the Ukrainian Red Cross.

Russia suspends operations at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in preparation for Ukrainian counteroffensive. The governor of the Russian occupation authorities of the Ukrainian province of Zaporizhia, Yefgeny Balitsky, said on Monday that the operation of the nuclear power plant of the same name, the largest in Europe, has been suspended until further notice “for avoid provocations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. Balitski accused the Ukrainian government of emptying the Kajovka reservoir, one of the largest in the Dnieper, which is used to cool the plant. “We shut down nuclear reactors due to the unpredictability of Ukrainian actions.”

Poland says Ukraine already has 10 of the promised 20 MiG-29 fighters. The Polish government said on Monday that Ukraine had already received 10 of the 20 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters it had promised them. This was stated by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak during a visit to Canada.

An incident with a Russian fighter prompted NATO to raise its alert level on Friday.. NATO air forces raised their alert level on Friday after an incident between a Russian fighter and a Polish plane working for the European border agency Frontex, an official from the alliance said on condition of anonymity. According to the official, the measure was in reaction to the “dangerous behavior” of the Russian fighter over the Black Sea, near Romanian territory.

The UN has confirmed nearly 8,800 civilian deaths in Ukraine, but warns the true figure is higher. The UN said on Monday that 8,791 civilians, including 519 children, have died in Ukraine since the war began, while another 14,815 people have been injured in the conflict. Most of these 23,606 victims were killed or injured in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, partly controlled by Russia. Throughout April, 179 deaths were recorded, three fewer than in March and 620 fewer than the same month last year. During the first week of May, 58 people died and 163 others were injured. In total, the United Nations Human Rights Office has verified 7,297 deaths caused by long-range explosives, 271 by mines and 1,223 by other armed means.

Ukraine assures that Russia paralyzed the grain export agreement via the Black Sea. Ukraine’s Reconstruction Ministry claimed on Monday that Russia has de facto paralyzed the operation of the Black Sea grain export deal, a pact struck by Kiev and Moscow with UN mediation. and Turkey in July 2022 and it has been extended several times since then. “The Russian Federation has once again effectively stopped the Initiative [para la exportación de grano por el mar Negro] by refusing to register new ships and to carry out inspections. This course of action contradicts the terms of the current pact,” the ministry said in a statement.

Sánchez conveys to Guterres his support for the UN to achieve peace in Ukraine. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, conveyed this Monday to the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, Spain’s full support for this organization in an attempt to achieve peace in Ukraine. Sánchez met Guterres at the Moncloa Palace on the occasion of the United Nations chief’s trip to Spain to receive the King’s Carlos V award.

Von der Leyen will meet Zelenski in Kyiv this Tuesday, coinciding with Europe Day. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel to Ukraine on Tuesday, coinciding with Europe Day, celebrated on May 9, as confirmed by her spokesperson, Eric Mamer. In Kiev, the leader of the European executive will meet the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, during a symbolic meeting during which “she will reaffirm her unwavering support for the country” in the face of Russian aggression.