The Latest on the War in Ukraine - Day 57

The Donbas region has become the epicenter of the Russia-Ukraine war now. Russia is also flexing its nuclear power with missile tests.

• The Russian assault in the Donbas region has intensified and the Russian forces are advancing towards Kramatorsk with incessant air attacks.
• It looks like Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to show ‘significant successes’ for the annual 9th May Victory Day celebrations, the rehearsals for which have already begun in Russia.
• In an act of showing off its muscle, Russia also tested its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile. According to the Pentagon, this was a routine test and had nothing to do with the war.
• The battle in Mariupol continues with very few civilians having been successfully evacuated. Ukrainian negotiators are willing to hold peace talks in Mariupol to save civilian lives.
• Meanwhile in Russia, as the economic sanctions begin to take hold, the mainstream media there is bombarding the airwaves with ‘positive stories’ of how everything is running smoothly.
• Across the Atlantic, representatives of the US, UK and Canada staged a coordinated walkout at a G20 meeting in Washington when a Russian delegate started speaking.