May 11, 2022: Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian Capt. Svyatoslav Palamar, who is hunkered down inside Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steel plant, tells CNN that he believes all civilians sheltering inside the plant are now out — with the caveat that due to the constant bombardment, it is difficult to make a full assessment of the situation across the massive facility.

Palamar, the deputy commander of Ukraine’s Azov regiment, made the comments to CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday. 

Palamar added that a ceasefire was needed so that an international NGO could enter the steel plant to properly assess the situation, because the current siege did not allow for a proper assessment of current conditions.

“Basically what needs to be done is [that] a ceasefire is called upon so that some international organization can come and assess the situation, because under this constant bombardment, we are not able to go around and check anything,” Palamar said. 

On Saturday, Ukraine’s President Voldomyr Zelensky said in his nightly addressed that “phase one” of the Azovstal evacuations was over and that essentially all civilians —meaning women, children and elderly — had exited the plant. 

The president said “phase two” would involve the exodus of the wounded and medics, as well as military still inside the plant.

The Russian-installed leadership of the Kherson region said that the issuing of Russian passports to residents of the region who want them will begin by the end of the year.

Speaking on a newly created television network in the region, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed military-civilian administration, said: "The next step will be an offer to issue passports of the Russian Federation to everyone. I think that this year we will already begin issuing passports."

He said it would not be obligatory for residents of the region to obtain Russian passports.

Earlier Wednesday, the new Russian-installed leadership of the Kherson region said it plans to make a formal request to become part of the Russian Federation, according to a statement on a new Telegram channel that appears to be linked to the pro-Russian administration.

A resident of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson said that her city is like a "zombie apocalypse" since Russian troops took over.

The woman, who requested to be identified as Tanya, said in an interview on CNN International that the invasion has taken a physical and psychological toll.

"It's very hard to live in such conditions, physically, because you cannot do things that you did before the war," she said. "You can't go out as much, you can't breathe fresh air, so it's hard physically."

"Psychologically, it's even more harder because you see all those empty shelves in the stores, you see all those armed people going out to walk by you, by the street, and it's terrifying because they are all around the city. So it's hard," she continued

The new Russian-installed leadership of the Ukrainian region of Kherson today announced plans to make a formal request to become part of the Russian Federation.

"Authorities of Kherson region will appeal to the President of Russia with a request to include the region into Russia," according to a statement on a new Telegram channel, which appears to be linked to the pro-Russian administration.

Tanya said she is scared of Russian soldiers patrolling the city and that no one she knows wants to be a part of Russia.

Tanya said that many people have left the city and it's fairly empty by 3 p.m. local time.

The woman told CNN she wants to leave the city — like many of her friends have already — but it's very difficult because there are no official evacuation corridors and dozens of Russian checkpoints.

She said the city's train station has not been operating since the Russians took over the city, and Russian troops are now using it as a base.

The social media giant Meta is walking back a call for advice on how to moderate Facebook and Instagram content related to the war in Ukraine.

The company said Wednesday it has withdrawn a request for its external Oversight Board to opine on how to handle material surrounding Russia’s invasion.

The move leaves Meta to continue figuring out on its own, for now, how to deal with the myriad of platform challenges posed by the conflict, ranging from Ukrainians’ calls for violence against Russian invaders to fake videos of the war to malicious hacking of Ukrainian military officials’ Facebook accounts. 

Some more context: The Oversight Board, created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as an independent, court-like entity, is composed of experts on civil rights and free expression and can issue non-binding policy guidance to Meta on its content moderation, as well as review specific cases of content removals.

Meta declined to characterize details of the original request for advice and the types of questions it had for the board, citing “ongoing security concerns on the ground” as a reason for pulling its call for policy guidance. 

The Oversight Board, in a separate statement, said Meta had cited “specific” security concerns in its notification of withdrawal. 

Meta’s initial request for guidance was filed on March 25, the company told CNN. The Oversight Board told CNN it had agreed to take up the matter on March 29. Meta then withdrew the request in late April, it said. 

“The withdrawal of this request does not diminish Meta’s responsibility to carefully consider the ongoing content moderation issues which have arisen from this war,” the Oversight Board said in its statement.

After two days of sharp losses, oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on renewed concerns about the flow of energy from Russia. 

US oil jumped 6.3% to $105.97 a barrel in recent trading. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 5.2% to $107.75 a barrel.

The rebound comes amid continued uncertainty over the supply of Russian energy to Europe.

Not only is the European Union debating an embargo on Russian oil, but Ukraine suspended the flow of some Russian natural gas to Europe. The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator blamed “interference by the occupying forces.”

“The ante has been upped. Markets are skittish,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at data and analytics firm Kpler.

US oil fell 9% over the prior two days, finishing Tuesday at $99.76 a barrel. 

The volatility comes as prices at the pump continue to march higher, contributing to high inflation gripping the US economy.

Gas prices hit $4.40 a gallon on Wednesday for the first time ever, up three cents in one day, according to AAA. The fresh record leaves the national average up 17 cents in just the past week and well above the March peak of $4.33. 

US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan visited the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow on Wednesday to deliver a message to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, a US State Department official said. 

The meeting was to discuss bilateral issues, the official said, without detailing what specific issues were discussed. The Russians did not summon Sullivan, this was a previously planned meeting, the official said. 

The official said that reports about the meeting lasting for about 20 minutes were roughly accurate, but noted that is a normal amount of time for meetings between US and Russian officials.

More context: Sullivan’s meeting comes just weeks after a prisoner swap between the US and Russia led to the release of a wrongfully detained American citizen, Trevor Reed. Sullivan was a key player in the Biden administration who worked on securing Reed’s release. 

After that release a different senior State Department official noted that the Biden administration could not share many details about the process behind the release because of the other wrongfully detained Americans in Russia right now, who they are still trying to get home. 

“We need to be cautious because this is not the end, by any means, of what we are involved with in discussing the status of wrongfully detained American citizens in Russia. We need to protect the way that this came about. I am not saying that the others will come about in same way, but I need to be careful about what we say publicly,” the senior State Department official told CNN last week. 

US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said the Russian use of hypersonic weapons in Ukraine was not having “really significant or game-changing effects” during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing.

“Other than the speed of the weapon, in terms of its effect on a given target, we are not seeing really significant or game-changing effects to date with the delivery of the small number of hypersonics that the Russians have used,” Milley said.

A senior US defense official said on Tuesday that Russia had launched between 10 and 12 hypersonic missiles against Ukraine so far.

Milley confirmed this was the first time hypersonic weapons had ever been used in combat, and he said that the Defense Department has analyzed each hypersonic strike, but added he could only elaborate on the details in a classified session.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the same hearing that he concurred with Milley, and he did not think that Russian President Putin’s use of hypersonics would “cause him to be willing to elevate to use a nuclear weapon.”

Earlier in the hearing, Austin said it was US President Joe Biden’s decision to share intelligence with US allies and partners in the lead-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“That created trust amongst our allies in a more meaningful way,” said Austin, “and that trust allowed us to create greater unity.”

Austin said that intelligence sharing was “a key element” in fostering that unity, which he hoped would continue.

As Wednesday winds down in Ukraine, these are the latest developments in Russia's war:

Since the last time CNN’s team was on the ground in southern Ukraine six weeks ago, nothing has changed, and yet, everything has.

The heavily contested areas are in a brutal stalemate with the give and take on Russian advances as they try to move towards Mykolaiv, a strategic port city.

Constant shelling has torn apart much of the area, trapping many who cannot flee while leaving many isolated — and alone.

The village of Shevchenkove was held by Russia in March but the Ukrainian military has taken it back.

On Sunday, CNN visited and witnessed what is left of it— buildings damaged on every road and empty homes. So much is abandoned, but the sounds of outgoing and incoming artillery fire continue.

More the 50% of this village is destroyed, the military escort told CNN.

The shelling starts getting closer, but two neighbors walking down a gravel road continue chatting, not a flinch in reaction to the sounds of the blasts.

The damage from shrapnel is visible outside the home. She showed CNN the area where she sleeps in their dark and damp candle-lit bunker. She and her husband have been lucky.

Driving into another village nearby, the damage looks the same. In Kotlyareve, few people walk the streets, several elderly are seen on bikes.

“In war I was born, and in war I will die,” Valentina said as she sat alone in her front yard under the shade of a tree.

Using a stick to help her walk, she showed CNN the damage to her home and the craters the shelling left behind.

For many, there is nowhere else to go. Some say they are too old to evacuate. For others, it’s their land they don’t want to give up.

“It would be best to lie down at night and not get up. Neither hear nor see. Pity all the people, pity the soldiers,” Valentina added, sometimes mumbling to herself.

But for mothers like Svitlana, it’s waiting for her son to return from the war in Mariupol that keeps her here.

“Our children are all at war. My son is a prisoner. If he comes back, and if I have gone, it’s like I’ve abandoned him. We wait, hope, worry, he is alive and we will live," she told CNN.