Negotiations on evacuation from Azovstal, billions spent on the war: last night's highlights

The government has announced talks on the evacuation of troops from Azovstal through Turkey, the US Senate is considering a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, and the UN is calling for an immediate unblocking of Ukrainian ports due to the threat of world hunger. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.

Evacuation from Azovstal

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that Turkish-mediated talks are underway to evacuate the Ukrainian military from Azovstal plant in Mariupol. The special operation will have several stages, the first of which is the evacuation of the seriously wounded — 38 bed-ridden fighters. After that, negotiations will take place to save others.

The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Serhiy Kyslytsia called for assistance in evacuating the sick and wounded from the Azovstal steelworks at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

He said that Ukraine is worried about the fate of Azovstal defenders if they fall into the hands of the Russian occupiers, and there are many warriors on the territory of the plant who need medical care.

"They need to be taken to safe places where their right to life will be guaranteed. Russian captivity is not such a place for Azovstal servicemen," Kyslytsia stressed.

What about US aid?

The US Senate considered approving a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine and, despite widespread support, failed to approve it immediately. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul insists that a special inspector general be added to the bill to introduce control over money and weapons sent to Ukraine by Washington.

Due to procedural moments, the decision is postponed to at least the next week.

Mass burials near Mariupol

Places of mass burial of people near the besieged city of Mariupol continue to grow in size. Such changes were recorded by the Planet Labs satellite in May in the villages of Staryi Krym and Vynohradne in the Donetsk region. The photo shows that the probable burial sites have grown in length, as new trenches have appeared.

Other important news:

• The enterprises of the state defense concern Ukroboronprom restored trophy equipment with a total value of 1.5 billion hryvnias ($50.5 million). Now it is being used to resist Russian troops.
• Ukraine was forced to spend 245.1 billion hryvnias ($ 8.3 billion) on military needs due to the full-scale Russian invasion. The Ministry of Finance stressed that Ukraine urgently needs foreign support, as the country is forced to spend billions of dollars on extraordinary expenses.
• The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to unblock Ukrainian ports for exports from Ukraine. Otherwise, millions of people could die.
• Some European Union countries say it may be time to postpone the ban on Russian oil to impose other proposed sanctions against Russia until the bloc can persuade Hungary to support the embargo. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing unnamed EU diplomats.