Day 69 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Attacks on Azovstal resumed, US accused Russia of Annexing parts of the Country

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The attacks on the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant have resumed, a Ukrainian official was quoted as saying by BTA.

Civilians were evacuated yesterday, but hundreds remain trapped in the besieged Azovstal.

The metallurgical complex in the port city has been bombed for weeks by Russian forces. A fire in the factory was reported after the renewed strikes.

A 14-year-old boy was killed and another 17-year-old girl was injured in a rocket attack in Odessa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The children were in a building that was damaged in the collision and there were five people in it.

The United States has accused Russia of wanting to annex two pro-Russian territories in eastern Ukraine, AFP reported.

US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter says Washington has new and very reliable information that Russia intends to hold referendums in mid-May to try to annex pro-Russian separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. .

He added that Moscow was considering a similar plan for Kherson. It is the only important Ukrainian city over which the Russians have taken full control since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

Carpenter said these would be similar to referendums, fabricated votes that would not be seen as legitimate, and any attempt to annex other Ukrainian territories. "We need to act urgently," he added.

Kyiv also claims that Russia wants to organize independence referendums in the Kherson region, as well as in the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region.

Meanwhile, a senior Pentagon...