Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 79

Here are the key events so far on Friday, May 13.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• The families and supporters of the Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant are pleading for more help for them to be rescued.
• Russian forces have likely taken control of all Rubizhne and Voevodivka in the Luhansk region, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
• Shelling in Luhansk has killed two people and destroyed more than 50 homes, the region’s governor has said.
• Russian military targeted villages in the east near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, the Ukrainian military has claimed.
• Increasing military support from the West to Ukraine risks sparking a war between Russia and NATO, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has declared.
• Rocket attacks intensified on Ukraine’s central Poltava region, “perhaps the most intense for the duration of the war”, the regional governor has said.
• Ukraine has said forces damaged a Russian navy ship in the Black Sea with satellite images showing a probable strike.
• More than six million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, United Nations refugee agency data showed.

Human rights

• The UN Human Rights Council has approved an investigation into possible war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine.
• A Russian soldier accused of shooting a 62-year-old man is set to stand trial in Ukraine for war crimes.

Diplomacy and aid

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is prepared for talks with Putin to find mutual agreement but says Ukraine will never recognise Crimea as part of Russia.
• During a G7 meeting, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said it is essential to maintain the pressure on Russia by providing more weapons to Ukraine.
• United States Republican Senator Rand Paul has single-handedly delayed the passage of a $40bn aid bill to provide support to Ukraine after the US House approved it on Wednesday.
• The head of Zelenskyy’s office said Ukraine must “become part of a united Europe as soon as possible. This is a matter of mutual security”.
• European Commission President von der Leyen called Russia the “most direct threat” to the international order and said it has waged “barbaric war”.
• A Russian diplomat warned Finland and Sweden that they could become “a target” after Finnish officials announced the country must join NATO military alliance “without delay”.

Economy

• Ukraine spent 245.1 billion hryvnia ($8.3bn) on the war instead of development since the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24, the finance minister said.
• Putin blamed the West for triggering a global economic crisis and inflation due to severe sanctions imposed on Russia.
• Europe is facing gas supply disruption and pressure for alternatives after Russia imposed sanctions on European subsidiaries of Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy giant and Ukraine halted gas flow, leading to higher prices.
• The European Commission said it would help Ukraine export millions of tonnes of grain blocked by the Russian navy in Ukraine’s ports.