Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:54 By his decree, Putin dismissed Nikolai Patrushev from the post of Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation “in connection with a transfer to another job,” and appointed ex-Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu in his place. At the same time, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will continue to work in his post. Peskov said that Putin “decided that the Russian Ministry of Defense should be headed by a civilian; the department should be open to innovation and advanced ideas.” Peskov also noted that it is very important to “fit the economy of the power bloc into the country’s economy so that it corresponds to the dynamics.”
21:26 Putin proposed appointing a new Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation instead of Shoigu - as reported in the Federation Council, the Kremlin nominated Andrei Belousov, the first deputy chairman of the head of government Mishustin, for this position.
20:09 As of 18:00, all streets of Volchansk are under the control of the Defense Forces, said the head of the city military administration Tamaz Gambarashvili. According to him, there were small groups of Russians who tried to enter the territory and streets of the city, but now the city is completely under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the same time, Gambarashvili noted that Volchansk is under massive shelling by the Russians, residents continue to leave. “I think that within another one or two days we will completely evacuate the population,” added the head of the GVA.
20:01 The settlements into which the enemy entered were in a permanent “gray zone,” and therefore this success is “conditional” and costs the enemy huge losses in equipment and manpower, the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said: “Territory ", occupied by the enemy, is localized, and constant fire is carried out on it. The situation in the defense zone of our brigade is complex, but controllable."
19:56 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence that Ukraine will be able to hold the front line in the Kharkov region: “I am convinced that Ukraine will be able to effectively hold the line in the east and will be able to continue to use the advantages achieved in the Black Sea.”
19:45 The intention of Russian strikes in the Kharkov region is to stretch Ukrainian forces and undermine the moral and motivational basis of the ability of Ukrainians to defend themselves, Zelensky said in an evening video message. According to him, there are fierce battles along a significant part of the border strip. “There are villages that have actually turned from a gray zone into a combat zone, and the occupier is trying to gain a foothold in some of them, and simply use some for further advancement,” the president said. At the same time, he noted that the Pokrovsky direction is now the toughest. Also tough are Limanskoye, Vremevskoye, Kramatorskoye, Kupyanskoye directions.
17:28 As a result of Russian attacks in Volchansk, Kharkov region, one person was killed and five were injured, the prosecutor’s office reported.
17:19 People are leaving Volchansk, Kharkov region, in large numbers due to constant shelling, as well as the risk of re-occupation of the city, Radio Liberty reports. The head of the Kharkov OVA Oleg Sinegubov said that up to 500 people remain in Volchansk, the evacuation continues. He also said that during these days the number of massive artillery and air strikes has increased: Volchansk, Liptsy and all points of the northern border are under enemy fire almost around the clock. Today, information has been received about two casualties in Liptsy and Volchansk. The number of settlements where active hostilities are taking place has also increased.
15:51 A high-rise building in Belgorod could have been blown up from the inside, according to OSINT analyst and military observer Tendar. According to him, in the footage published online, not a single falling rocket is visible, but only smoke and flying debris. “A residential building was blown up in Belgorod. Throughout this war, I have seen many damaged residential buildings, and I am almost sure that this one is completely different. The pattern of the explosion indicates an explosion from inside the building,” the expert noted.
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, Andrei Kovalenko, also did not rule out a provocation by the Russian Federation: “The house in Belgorod appears to have been blown up. The video from the cameras does not show falling objects, therefore, all the Russian accusations of shelling by the Defense Forces are untrue.” According to Kovalenko, this looks like a Russian provocation or a domestic explosion.
14:40 Ukrainian senior military leadership knew about Russia’s offensive plans in the north of the Kharkov region, said Andrey Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense: “The enemy’s actions in this direction began according to a known schedule, about which all authorities, leadership and command were informed by the Main Intelligence Directorate. Accepted necessary measures. Together with the Security and Defense Forces in the Kharkov direction, special forces and special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry are now fighting the enemy."
Yusov also said that military personnel from the Moscow and Leningrad military districts are fighting on the enemy’s side in the Kharkov direction. One of the objectives of the enemy’s latest actions in the Kharkov region is destabilization and the intention to sow panic in Ukraine, Yusov added and called for trusting trusted and official sources of information.
14:26 As a result of the new shelling of Belgorod, 19 people were injured, including two children, said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. An entire entrance to one of the multi-storey buildings collapsed. Various damages were recorded in 62 apartments of three apartment buildings. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that a house in Belgorod collapsed as a result of falling debris from a downed Tochka U missile, which was allegedly launched from Ukraine.
12:08 Attempts by Russian troops to break through Ukrainian defenses have been stopped, Syrsky said. “We know the enemy’s plans and react flexibly to all his actions. To strengthen the defense, all necessary measures are taken and decisions are made quickly, including personnel decisions. The situation is difficult, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces are doing everything to maintain defensive lines and positions,” he assured commander-in-chief.
He said that there are intense battles in the Kupyansky, Seversky, Limansky, Pokrovsky directions, and the situation is changing very dynamically. In some areas the enemy has partial success, in others the Defense Forces displace the enemy and improve their tactical position.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy does not abandon attempts to capture the city of Chasov Yar and continues to advance east of the city. Unsuccessfully trying to restore the lost position in the Kleshcheevka area. Despite the difficult situation at the front, units are being rotated to rest military personnel and restore the combat effectiveness of brigades, Syrsky noted.
11:12 Scholz said that Ukrainian men with a residence permit will be able to stay in Germany: “The legal situation is such that residence here is not called into question. Employment also leads to security of residence.” The Chancellor also called on Ukrainians to find work in Germany: “We hope that those who came from Ukraine will work as soon as they are able to work. It is worth noting that many are already doing this, but there are still several hundred thousand of those who are urgently needed for labor market."
10:53 More than 4,000 thousand residents were evacuated from the territories of the Kharkov region, where the enemy intensified hostilities, in more than two days, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
09:40 Power steering drones attacked three objects on Russian territory at night, Ukrainian media write, citing sources. These are the Volgograd Oil Refinery, Kaluganefteprodukt and Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant.
09:37 In the Donetsk region, as a result of Russian shelling on May 11, two people were wounded - in Novoselovka First and Nikolaevka, said the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
09:33 In the Kherson region, as a result of Russian shelling over the past 24 hours, one person was killed, five were injured, including one child, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. A private house and public infrastructure facility were damaged.
09:30 As a result of a series of massive shelling of the city of Volchansk from different types of weapons, dozens of private houses were damaged during the day on May 11, two people were killed, six were wounded, said the head of the Kharkov OVA Oleg Sinegubov. Another person died as a result of artillery shelling. Glubokoe, Kharkov district.
09:18 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 12:
- personnel - about 482,290 (+1260) people,
- tanks - 7454 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 14,375 (+22),
- artillery systems - 12,472 (+30),
- MLRS - 1066 (+2),
- air defense systems - 797 (+1),
- aircraft - 350 (+1),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 9910 (+42),
- cruise missiles - 2194 (+1),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 16,819 (+64),
- special equipment - 2042 (+2).
09:10 During the day, 155 military clashes were recorded at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In the Kharkov direction, the enemy attacked 12 times in the areas of the settlements of Strelechye, Krasnoye, Morokhovets, Oleynikovo, Lukyantsy, Gatishche, Pletenevka, Pylnaya, Volchansk, Bugrovatka in the Kharkov region. In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled 19 attacks in the areas of Sinkovka, Novoehorivka, Ivanovka, Kharkov region, and Stelmakhovka, Luhansk region.
In the Liman direction, ten attacks were repelled in the areas of Makeevka, Nevsky and Serebryansky forestry in the Lugansk region, as well as Novosadovoy and Ternov in the Donetsk region; on Seversky - 16 attacks in the Belogorivka districts of the Luhansk region, as well as Verkhnekamensky, Sporny, Vyemka, Razdolovka of the Donetsk region.
In the Kramatorsk direction, 27 enemy attacks were repelled in the areas of Kleshcheevka, Andreevka, Ivanovsky, Chasov Yar, Grigoryevka, Novy Donetsk region; on Pokrovsky - 32 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Semenovka, Kalinovo, Novoaleksandrovka, Evgenyevka, Sokol, Novopokrovskoye, Novoselovka Pervaya, Umanskoye, Netaylovo, Donetsk region; on Kurakhovsky - ten attacks in the areas of Konstantinovka, Sladkoye, Krasnogorovka, Vodyanoye; on Vremevsky - 16 attacks in the Urozhainy, Staromayorsky districts of the Donetsk region; on Orekhovsky - two attacks in the Rabotino area of the Zaporozhye region; on Pridneprovsky - five attacks in the area of the village of Krynki, Kherson region.
09:03 Trump again said that he would end the war in Ukraine immediately after being re-elected president: “From the first day we take the White House from the dishonest Joe Biden, I believe we will have the four greatest years in the history of our country. Until then "I will even walk into the Oval Office, right after I win, I will resolve the terrible conflict between Russia and Ukraine. I know them well."
08:29 Over the past 24 hours, May 11, air defense units of southern Ukraine destroyed five Russian reconnaissance UAVs - four ZALA in the Kherson region and Orlan-10 in the Nikolaev region, the Air Force reported.
07:53 A fire started at the Volgograd Oil Refinery after a drone attack, but it was quickly extinguished, Governor Andrei Bocharov said. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that during the night six UAVs were allegedly destroyed and intercepted over the Bryansk, Volgograd and Lipetsk regions, and two Tochka-U missiles were also destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod region.
02:35 Ukrainian fighters of the Gostri Kartuzi unit from the National Guard report that due to great pressure from the Russians, the Defense Forces had to withdraw from some positions in the Kharkov region. At about 14:00 on May 11, fighting for the village began. Deep, of strategic importance. The Russians suffer heavy losses, but still put pressure and in some places have success. The DeepState analytical project reports that the enemy has advanced to Krasnogorovka, near Vladimirovka and occupied Streleche, Pylnaya, Krasnoye, Borisovka, Ogurtsovo and Pletenevka. It is also being promoted in Ivanovsky and the surrounding area.