What happened on the day of May 11th. The main thing

Ukrainian troops continued to violate the truce and attack Russian regions. Georgia has elected a new patriarch. The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom have expanded sanctions against Russia. A visa-free regime agreement has entered into force between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and Germany and Ukraine have agreed to jointly produce long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). All the details and other news are in the Izvestia digest.

Ukraine has violated the temporary truce over 23 thousand times.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) continued to violate the declared temporary truce. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 23,802 cases of violations by the Ukrainian army were recorded during the truce. So, during the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces made 12 attempts to attack positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and carried out 767 attacks on positions from multiple rocket launchers, artillery pieces and mortars, as well as 6905 strikes using drones.

Georgia has elected a new patriarch

Vladyka Shio was elected the new Patriarch of Georgia by 22 votes, it follows from the voting results. He will be named Shio III. The enthronement of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia will take place on May 12 at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral at 9:00 Moscow time. Since 2003, Shio has been the head of the Senak and Chorotsk diocese. At the end of 2017, by decree of the former Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, he was appointed locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Europe has recognized the need for direct negotiations with Russia

Finnish President Alexander Stubb has admitted that Europe should start direct negotiations with Russia because US policy does not meet European interests. He added that the participants in the future dialogue have not yet determined the format of contacts — Europe may send one special envoy or a group of leaders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, noted that Moscow had not received a response from Europe about the candidacy of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for negotiations between Russia and the European Union (EU). He noted that the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin about Schroeder's candidacy for negotiations caused a storm of discussions in Europe.

The development of the hantavirus situation in the world

Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said that the quarantine of 14 Spaniards evacuated from the MV Hondius liner, which previously experienced an outbreak of hantavirus, will last 42 days, starting on May 6. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, commenting on the situation with hantavirus, noted that the risk to public health due to the outbreak of the disease currently remains low. At the same time, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that an employee of the Spanish Civil Guard, who participated in the evacuation of passengers of the MV Hondius cruise ship during the hantavirus outbreak, died of a heart attack.

Germany and Ukraine have agreed on the production of long-range drones

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit to discuss the issue of expanding cooperation in the field of armaments with Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit to discuss the issue of expanding cooperation in the field of armaments with Ukraine. Later, he announced the launch of a joint production with Ukraine of long-range drones capable of covering distances up to 1,500 km, and called Berlin and Kiev strategic partners.

The beginning of visa-free travel between Russia and Saudi Arabia

The agreement on the abolition of visa requirements between Russia and Saudi Arabia entered into force on Monday, May 11, which is why Russian citizens will be able to make tourist trips to the kingdom without a visa. Nikita Kondratiev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects at the Ministry of Economic Development, in turn, stressed that the visa-free regime between Russia and Saudi Arabia would significantly increase the mutual interest of travelers. He added that, by analogy with other visa-free regimes, such a step allows to increase the tourist flow by another 30 to 50%.

The European Union has expanded anti-Russian sanctions

The European Union has added 16 teachers and leaders of youth organizations, as well as children's centers, including those located in the new regions, to the sanctions list against Russia. In addition, the Nakhimov Naval School of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Regional Branch of the DOSAAF of Sevastopol and five other Russian children's organizations were added to the list. The children's center "Eaglet" in Tuapse and "Scarlet Sails" in Yevpatoria were also sanctioned.

Britain has also expanded the anti-Russian sanctions list, imposing restrictions against 85 individuals and organizations. Several employees of the Russian PR agency Agency for Social Design and a number of non-profit organizations (NPOs) have been sanctioned by London. In addition, restrictions were also imposed on the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Novosibirsk region, Nadezhda Boltenko, and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Kherson region, Irina Kravchenko. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Izvestia that after Britain imposed sanctions against a psychiatric hospital and children's camps in Russia, it was time for the London authorities to call paramedics.