May 21, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Russia halted natural gas exports to Finland on Saturday, according to a statement from Finnish state-owned energy firm Gasum.

The company had been preparing for such a situation and there would be no disruptions to its transmissions network, or gas supply in the coming months, he added.

Gasum will revert to gas supplies from other sources to service its filling stations, the statement said. 

Russian state media outlet TASS confirmed the export halt, citing “non-payment” as the reason for Russian firm Gazprom’s decision to cut supplies.

Russian energy in Europe: Gazprom has continued to demand European countries pay for Russian gas in rubles, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that “unfriendly” foreign nations would have their supplies cut if they didn't make the currency switch.

In a statement Tuesday, Gasum rejected the proposed rubles payment scheme and said it would take Gazprom to arbitration over the issue.

NATO bid: Finland on Sunday formally announced its intention to join NATO, ditching decades of neutrality and ignoring Russian threats of possible retaliation in a bid to strengthen its security following the onset of the war in Ukraine.

Finland relied on Russia for nearly 68% of its natural gas consumption in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.

But Russia’s gas exports account for just 3% of the Nordic nation’s total energy mix — which includes energy generated from biofuels and nuclear sources — according to data from Eurostat and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas.

Russia claims it has taken control of the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol. Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with Russian strikes hitting civilian structures.

Here are the latest developments:

Russia on Friday claimed its troops have "completely liberated" the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol — the final holdout of Ukrainian resistance in the otherwise Russian-occupied southern city.

CNN cannot independently verify that all Ukrainian troops have left the steel plant.

Ukraine is yet to confirm Russia's claims, which, if true, would mark a symbolic military victory for Moscow.

Here's what you need to know:

The siege of Mariupol: The strategically important port city was one of the first to come under Russian attack after Moscow's invasion began on Feb. 24. By early March, it had been surrounded by Russian forces, leaving residents facing dire shortages of food and water — and constant bombardment that hit a maternity hospital and a theater where civilians were sheltering.

The plant: By mid-April, most of the last Ukrainian defenders were fighting to hold Russian forces back from the Azovstal steel plant — which had also become a shelter for as many as 1,000 civilians, including some seriously injured who were stranded without medical care.

In late April, Russia claimed it had achieved the "liberation" of Mariupol — which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied, saying soldiers were still resisting in the city.

Evacuation attempts: Evacuations of civilians from Azovstal began on May 1. On May 16, Ukraine's military said its forces had completed their "combat mission" at the steel plant, with hundreds of soldiers evacuated from the facility.

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from the plant were taken to a pre-trial detention center, while the severely injured were receiving medical treatment, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukraine said it expects to carry out an exchange of Russian prisoners of war for the severely injured soldiers.

The situation on the ground: If true, Russia's claim on Friday would suggest the entire city of Mariupol has fallen to Russian control after nearly three months of brutal fighting.

A spokesperson from the Russian Defense Ministry claimed the “last group of 531 militants surrendered" in the plant. Earlier, the Ukrainian commander of the Azov regiment had issued an order for soldiers to preserve their "life and health ... and stop defending the city."

Videos posted online appear to show the remaining Azov fighters walking out of the steel plant. CNN cannot independently verify the number of fighters left in the plant.

Russian gains: If confirmed, the fall of the Azovstal steel plant means Russian forces are in full control of Mariupol, paving the way for them to establish a land corridor between Russia and the annexed territory of Crimea.

The symbolic victory would also secure a key port on the Sea of Azov for Russia and release Russian troops to fight on the front lines of the war in the Donbas region.

Russia claimed Friday that its troops have “completely liberated” the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. 

In a statement, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the “last group of 531 militants surrendered,” referring to the Ukrainian fighters who for several weeks had been resisting the Russian assault on the plant.

Earlier, the Ukrainian commander of the Azov Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko, gave the order to stop defending the city of Mariupol and issued a short video message from inside the Azovstal steel plant saying that the top military leadership had "issued an order to preserve the garrison soldiers' life and health and stop defending the city."

Konashenkov said the Azov Regiment commander “was taken out of the territory of the plant in a special armored car.”

New video posted online appears to show the remaining Azov fighters walking out of the steel plant. 

CNN cannot independently verify that all Ukrainian troops have vacated the steel plant.

US intelligence officials are skeptical that any change in Russian public opinion against the Kremlin's war in Ukraine — even a dramatic one — would have an effect in persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict, according to multiple sources familiar with the latest intelligence.

Officials also doubt that the war, which many strategists believe has been an unmitigated disaster for Russia's military, is likely to lead to the removal of Putin from power, at least in the short term.

That assessment reflects the extent to which officials believe Putin has cemented his control over Russia during his more than two decades in power. Although intelligence officials believe Putin is keenly sensitive to small shifts in public opinion, his ability to crack down on protests and control the media still helps insulate him against any significant popular uprising — leaving him free to prosecute the war on his own terms.

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The US is expected to keep 100,000 troops stationed in Europe for the foreseeable future unless Russia escalates and threatens Sweden and Finland or NATO members, according to multiple US officials.

The numbers could temporarily increase if NATO carries out more military exercises in the region, and the US could add additional bases in Europe if the security environment changes, the officials added.

The plans are being considered following Thursday's meeting of NATO's military chiefs in Brussels, the officials said. The military chiefs are making the recommendations to a NATO defense ministers meeting planned for June, and NATO leaders including President Joe Biden will meet in Madrid at the end of that month.

The US increased its overall force posture in Europe from about 60,000 troops before Russia's invasion of Ukraine to about 100,000 now, adding troops and military assets to countries along Europe's eastern flank to support NATO and to further deter Russia. The US contributed thousands of troops to NATO's Response Force, which was activated for the first time in NATO's history earlier this spring.

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