Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:28 GUR representative Andrei Yusov called the Russian Federation’s threats to conduct training using tactical nuclear weapons ordinary nuclear blackmail. According to him, this is “a stable practice of the Putin regime.”
22:26 Russia no longer uses the Crimean Bridge to supply troops in Ukraine, The Independent writes, citing satellite images. They show that Moscow has switched to using land routes in its controlled eastern and southern Ukraine to supply its front lines after repeated attacks on the Kerch Bridge.
| Interesting. |
| And you believe them, Mr le Président? Adorable. |
| To doubt Putin’s election is to doubt his own — an impossibility. |
In turn, Pentagon Speaker Patrick Ryder condemned Russia's "irresponsible rhetoric" after it announced its intentions to conduct exercises on the use of nuclear weapons. At the same time, Ryder noted that the United States does not observe changes in the strategic location of Russian forces, but “will continue to monitor the situation.”
21:52 The speaker of the Khortitsa group of troops, Nazar Voloshin, denied the information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly blew up the bridge across the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal. He also assured that there are no Russian military in Chasovoy Yar: “Over the past week and today, the situation around the city has not changed, active hostilities are going on day and night. However, Russian propaganda periodically makes information that their army has already entered city. There have been no territorial successes of the enemy there in recent days. There is no enemy Russian army in the city."
20:45 During his visit to France, Xi Jinping, following Macron, called for an “Olympic truce” throughout the world during the Games in Paris.
20:27 Zelensky said in an evening video message that today he had telephone conversations with the presidents of Lithuania and Poland Gitanas Nauseda and Andrzej Duda, as well as with the prime ministers of Estonia and Canada Kaja Kallas and Justin Trudeau - he personally invited them to the Peace Summit in Switzerland.
20:20 Macron said that France is not at war with either Russia or the Russian people. “We have no desire to change the regime in Moscow,” the French leader emphasized.
20:16 Zelensky said that he held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters and heard Syrsky’s report on the results of his visit to the front line. There was also a report on our own production of weapons and staffing of brigades. We separately discussed supplies from partners.
20:03 The Netherlands plans to begin sending F-16s to Ukraine this fall, following Denmark, which intends to transfer fighters in the summer, Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren said.
19:44 Chinese leader Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen discussed the war in Ukraine during a meeting in Paris. Xi stressed that China, France and the European Union must counter the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine and create conditions for peace negotiations. He once again stated that China is not “a party to this conflict.” Xi Jinping also said that China will support the holding of an international peace conference, which will be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine.
Von der Leyen, in turn, emphasized that Beijing must make more efforts to prevent Chinese dual-use goods from entering the Russian Federation and ending up at the front.
19:35 Acts of violence, industrial sabotage, explosions, arson and other property damage to European infrastructure - the intelligence services of the European Union countries are awaiting sabotage from the Russian Federation. Russian authorities are willing to act either independently or through proxies, but have little regard for the risk of civilian casualties. For more information about what the Western media learned from their sources in the intelligence community, see the article Russia is preparing sabotage in Europe.
19:00 The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow will perceive the appearance of F-16 aircraft in Ukraine as carriers of nuclear weapons “regardless of their modification.” The department called the supply of these fighters to Ukraine a “targeted provocation.”
18:36 Russia announced military exercises with the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. The order to carry them out was given personally by Putin. As they say in Moscow, they decided to conduct the training because of “threats from France, Great Britain and the United States.” Note that major nuclear states such as the United States and China regularly test their nuclear weapons, but very rarely publicly link such exercises to specific perceived threats, as Russia does. Read more in the article How statements about NATO troops in Ukraine scared Putin.
18:14 Ukraine has already received additional missiles for Patriot air defense, said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles. The missiles were donated not only by Spain, but also by other Western countries.
18:02 Italy does not allow Ukraine to use its weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: “We have always maintained the confidentiality of our military supplies: only parliament is informed. Our goal is to supply non-offensive weapons that serve to protect Ukraine, but on the territory of Ukraine , and not on Russian territory."
17:47 The Ukrainian Armed Forces blew up the bridge across the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal near Chasovy Yar, said the head of the Council of Ground Forces Reservists Ivan Timochko. According to him, in this way the Russian offensive on the flanks of the city is restrained: “The canal itself is a serious obstacle to its assault and the movement of enemy forces. On the other hand, the destruction of the bridge across the canal means that, unfortunately, our troops are on the other side No".
17:31 Ukraine’s maritime exports in April 2024 exceeded February 2022. That is, Ukraine managed to restore the main export route for its grain in the Black Sea. And the Armed Forces of Ukraine turned out to be much more effective in this matter than the UN and international negotiations. Read more in the material Pre-war volumes.
16:58 The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the British Ambassador that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory “could be any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond.”
16:42 The French Foreign Ministry stated that Paris did not send soldiers of the Foreign Legion to Ukraine.
16:20 The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that it does not recognize Putin as the President of the Russian Federation, and called on foreign states, international organizations and the public “to follow this example, not to recognize the results of the Russian pseudo-elections and the legitimacy of the Russian dictator Putin.”
15:39 Syrsky said that due to the difficult situation in the East, he worked for two days in units that are conducting defensive operations in the Pokrovsky and Kurakhovsky directions - that is, in the direction of the enemy’s main attack. According to the commander-in-chief, this is where the main strike forces of the enemy are concentrated, who are trying to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian troops and reach the large settlements of Kurakhovo and Pokrovsk.
The task of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the conditions of constant enemy attacks is to hold occupied lines and positions, inflict maximum losses on the enemy, exhaust him, thereby disrupting the plans of the Russian Federation and gaining time for the formation and preparation of reserves. Syrsky also said that he had worked with unit commanders: “It is impossible for a company or battalion commander to control a battle several kilometers from his units and make informed and adequate decisions at a distance.” The Commander-in-Chief emphasized that the presence of the commander plays a decisive role in maintaining a high level of moral and psychological state of the soldiers.
15:24 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense clarified that the Group 13 unit, using the Magura V5 maritime strike drone, destroyed a Russian high-speed patrol boat of Project 12150 Mongoose in Crimea. Boats of this class are used by the Russian Navy and special services as multi-purpose high-speed vessels for patrolling water areas, fighting saboteurs, as well as search and rescue operations.
Modified versions of high-speed boats are equipped with remote-controlled combat modules with the main standard weapon - a 14.5 mm machine gun mount. In addition, on board the Mongoose, the Russians have two automatic grenade launchers AGS-17, a manual anti-sabotage grenade launcher DP-64 and two MANPADS of the Igla or Verba type.
14:45 At night, the Russians dropped five aerial bombs on the village of Zolochev, Bogodukhovsky district, Kharkov region - two police officers and a civilian woman were injured, said the head of the investigation department of the Main Directorate of Police in the region, Sergei Bolvinov. The courthouse, social security department, children's sports school and boiler room, and 12 private houses were damaged.
14:38 Poland will not send its troops to Ukraine, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said: “This concept was presented by Mr. President Emmanuel Macron several months ago. Poland is not preparing and will not send Polish troops to Ukraine.”
14:04 Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary Zsolt Schemien said that his country “will not send Ukrainian male refugees to death.” According to him, “those who fled to us from Ukraine are all safe, and we will not extradite them.”
13:57 European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said that the EU has begun work on opening the Office of Defense Innovation in Kiev. He recalled that the EU recently adopted a new defense industry strategy, which “is designed not only to support European defense readiness, but also to strengthen ties between the European and Ukrainian defense industries.” Breton added that the new strategy sets a clear priority for further development of cooperation.
13:25 Borrell called on the EU countries to purchase weapons for Ukraine from Ukrainian defense companies and quickly transfer them to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The European diplomat also noted that the EU should be more creative and explore new ways to deliver military support to Ukraine.
13:02 On May 4, a Russian plane dropped a FAB-500 on Belgorod, as a result, seven people were injured, including a child, 31 households and ten cars were damaged, the opposition Russian publication Astra reports, citing sources in the emergency services. The Russian authorities hid this. So, on the day of the explosion, the governor did not name its cause, but local media assumed that a Russian aerial bomb had fallen on the city. In March-April of this year alone, the Russian Aerospace Forces dropped more than 20 aerial bombs on Russian territory.
12:50 Russian troops tried to recapture the island of Nestryga in the Kherson region, control over which was recently returned to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Dmitry Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces. According to him, over the past 24 hours, “the enemy attacked Krynki twice and again tried to capture the island of Nestryga.” At the same time, Pletenchuk added that no significant changes in the nature of the enemy’s actions were identified, as well as signs of the creation of offensive groups.
12:44 Shmygal said in an interview with CBC News that Ukraine is “one step away” from an invitation to NATO. According to the prime minister, Kyiv expects NATO members to make a decision on their membership application at a summit in Washington in July. Shmygal stressed that Kyiv has carried out “all the necessary reforms, and now we are one step away from an invitation.”
12:39 Ukraine this year can produce weapons worth another 10 billion dollars - if there is funding from partners, said the head of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, Alexander Kamyshin. According to him, the Ukrainian defense industry is capable of producing products worth $20 billion a year. Of these, 6 billion have already been contracted, and they hope to find another 4 billion inside Ukraine. And $10 billion is financing that partners can cover. Denmark and Canada have already invested in Ukrainian weapons production.
12:11 Peskov said that the exercises with non-strategic nuclear weapons are connected with statements coming from the West about their readiness to send troops to Ukraine. The Kremlin speaker called these statements “dangerous” - according to him, this is a new round of escalation of tension, “it is unprecedented, requires special attention and special measures.”
11:36 The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that two GAZelles moving along the road, which were transporting company employees to work, and a passenger car were attacked by kamikaze drones. The incident occurred near the village of Berezovka, Borisov district. Six people died on the spot, 40 were injured, including three children. Russian public pages write that the machines of the Agro-Belogorye company, which specializes in the production of pork, dairy products and feed, were attacked.
Gladkov also stated that in the village of Stary Khutor, Valuysky urban district, an infrastructure communication facility was damaged as a result of a kamikaze drone attack.
11:01 During Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris, Macron will put pressure on his Chinese counterpart to force Moscow to stop the war against Ukraine, writes the Associated Press. According to the publication, Paris expects that the negotiations will help convince Beijing to use its leverage over the Russian Federation to help end the war in Ukraine. In particular, Putin plans to visit China in the near future.
10:38 In Crimea, as a result of an operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Group 13, a Russian high-speed boat was destroyed by a Magura V5 maritime attack drone. Intelligence clarified that the boat was destroyed in Uzkaya Bay.
10:35 In the Sumy region, as a result of night shelling, more than 400 thousand consumers were cut off from power, the Ministry of Energy reported.
10:19 Shmygal said in an interview with CBC News that Ukraine will be “infinitely grateful and happy” if Western partners decide to send in their troops. At the same time, he clarified that this would only be “if the time comes,” but for now Kyiv is only asking for weapons.
10:13 In Sumy, as a result of a night attack, one person was wounded and a critical infrastructure facility was damaged, operational command North reported.
10:08 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the General Staff, on Putin’s instructions, has begun preparations for holding exercises in the near future, during which “a set of activities will be carried out to practically test the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons.” The department clarified that the exercises “are aimed at maintaining readiness to respond and in order to unconditionally ensure territorial integrity and sovereignty in response to provocative statements and threats by Western officials.” The exercises will be conducted with missile formations of the Southern Military District and Navy forces.
09:33 In the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed in Chasovoy Yar, and six more people in the region were injured, said the head of the OBA Vadim Filashkin.
09:15 In the Kherson region over the past 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was wounded, five high-rise buildings and six private houses were damaged, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
08:47 The number of victims as a result of yesterday's strike by the Kabardino-Balkarian Army in the Shevchenkovsky and Kievsky districts of Kharkov has increased to 16, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. Another person was wounded as a result of shelling of the town of Zolochev, Bogodukhovsky district. In the village Monachinovka, Kupyansky district, one person was killed, two were injured.
08:44 As a result of a night attack in the Sumy region, the settlements of the Sumy, Romensky and Akhtyrsky districts were left without electricity, OVA reported. At night, power supply was restored in the affected areas and partially in Sumy, and work continues.
08:40 A forum of defense industries of Ukraine and the EU will be held in Brussels, where opportunities for strengthening cooperation will be discussed.
08:36 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 6:
- personnel - about 475,300 (+1040) people,
- tanks - 7380 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 14,213 (+34),
- artillery systems - 12,250 (+38),
- MLRS - 1057 (+0),
- air defense systems - 791 (+1),
- aircraft - 349 (+0),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 9683 (+47),
- cruise missiles - 2148 (+1),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 16,477 (+59),
- special equipment - 2008 (+6).
08:23 Over the past 24 hours, 125 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, in the Bakhmut direction, 36 enemy attacks were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Belogorovka in the Lugansk region, as well as Verkhnekamenskoye, Spornoe, Kleshcheevka, Vyemka, Novy, Razdolovka, Ivanovskoye and Andreevka in the Donetsk region. In the Avdeevsky direction, 31 attacks were repelled in the Novoaleksandrovka, Novopokrovsky, Umansky, Yasnobrodovka and Netaylovo districts of the Donetsk region. In addition, the enemy tried 27 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Konstantinovka, Krasnohorivka, Vodyanoye and Urozhainy, Donetsk region.
In the Kupyansky direction, the Defense Forces repelled 14 attacks in the areas of Sinkovka, Peschany, Berestovye, Kharkov region, as well as Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region; on Limansky - six attacks in the Nevsky districts of the Luhansk region, Novosadovoy and Torsky, Donetsk region; on Orekhovsky - six attacks in the area of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region; on Kherson - three attacks on the left bank of the Dnieper.
07:59 As a result of a night attack in the Sumy region, a high-voltage facility of Ukrenergo was damaged, the company reported. In addition, in the Kharkov region, as a result of Russian attacks on the evening of May 5, the protection switched off the equipment of the local power supply company. Most of it has already been returned to operation, but the complete restoration of energy supply is hampered by military operations near energy infrastructure facilities.
07:07 Air defense at night destroyed 12 of 13 attack UAVs of the Shahed-131/136 type, which Russia attacked from the Kursk region. All drones were destroyed in the Sumy region, the Air Force command reported.
01:53 The Russians carried out an airstrike on energy facilities in the Sumy region, OVA reported. The head of the Sumy city military administration, Alexey Drozdenko, said that as a result of a massive attack by suicide bombers, the city’s critical infrastructure facilities are being transferred to backup power. In particular, water supply and hospitals will be provided with full backup power. Invincibility points are also deployed in the city.