Ukraine Daily

Friday, 20 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Vadym Shishimarin, 21, the first Russian soldier, on trial for a war crime in Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine on Feb. 24. (Anna Myroniuk)

Stoltenberg: Russia’s offensive in Donbas stalled, but ‘war may continue for a long time.’ NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on May 19 that NATO doesn’t believe that Russia has given up on its strategic goals and that NATO has to be prepared to support Ukraine “for a long time.”

Zelensky: Donbas ‘completely destroyed.’ “In Donbas, the occupiers are trying to increase the pressure. It’s hell there, and that’s not an exaggeration” President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his nightly address. “This is what will be qualified as the genocide of the Ukrainian people and for which the occupiers will definitely be brought to justice,” he said.

Politico: Ukraine seeks long-range rocket launchers, Biden resists. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with the U.S. for months to send multiple rocket launchers, but the White House is worried about expanding and prolonging the war as the weapon can be used to launch strikes inside Russia, Politico reported, citing three anonymous sources. Ukrainian officials “are growing frustrated with the Biden administration’s resistance to providing U.S.-made long-range rocket systems,” Politico added, as the weapon is critical to outgun Russia in the Donbas.

Ukrainian forces liberated 23 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast within 2 weeks. Russian troops continue to shell Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts “to divert our forces from the main directions,” says Ukrainian General Oleksiy Hromov.

WSJ: Russia refuses to permit grain shipments from Ukraine. Russia ignored pleas to end the Black Sea blockade preventing Ukraine from transferring most of its grain to international markets. Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, told the UN Security Council on May 19 that Western sanctions against Russia and other factors are to blame for the rise in food prices, not Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russian occupiers try to conscript Ukrainian men in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. Russian occupiers have been forcing male residents of the temporarily occupied town of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast to either go to Russia or join the Russian army, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said during an interview with Focus media. “We have no information that anyone has agreed to join the Russian Armed Forces,” Synehubov said as quoted by Focus.

Russians block civilians from leaving occupied areas in southern Ukraine. Russians have held over 1,000 cars with people at their checkpoint in Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, not allowing them to either enter Ukrainian-controlled territories or return to the occupied ones, deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration Zlata Nekrasova reported on May 19. According to her, there are women with children in the cars.

Ukrainian minister slams ‘some EU capitals’ for second-class treatment of Ukraine. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that “strategic ambiguity” on Ukraine’s European perspective has failed, emboldened Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and must end. “We do not need surrogates for EU candidate status that show second-class treatment of Ukraine and hurt the feelings of Ukrainians,” he wrote on Twitter. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had said earlier that there was “no shortcut on the path into the EU”, while French President Emmanuel Macron had said that “Ukraine joining the EU is not a matter of a few months or a few years.”

Russian shelling wounds 2 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Three houses were destroyed and 24 damaged, Mykola Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional council, reported on May 19.

Finance minister: Ukraine needs $5 billion per month to finance social and humanitarian aid. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said on May 19 to G7 finance ministers that frozen Russian assets should be used to rebuild Ukraine. “Ukraine needs more active funding from our international partners,” Marchenko said.

Self-proclaimed governor says Kherson to become part of Russia. At a first meeting with the occupying pro-Russian collaborators in Kherson, Russian-appointed governor Volodymyr Saldo has said Kherson will “soon become part” of the Russian Federation. “We see the Russian Federation as our own country,” Saldo said, adding the new budget of Kherson region has been approved in Russian rubles.

Russian forces conduct false-flag operations in southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” said on May 19 that Russian forces continue to shell occupied Kherson. They are reportedly using Russian air defense systems to shoot down their own missiles to give the impression Ukraine’s Armed Forces are bombing civilians.

Zelensky expects final stage of war will be ‘bloodiest.’ During a speech to Ukrainian university students on May 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he cannot yet call on Ukrainians to return home from abroad due to fears the final stage of the war will be “the most difficult, the bloodiest.”

Institute for the Study of War: Unidentified Russians attack military commissariats in Russia with Molotov cocktails. Attacks in three Moscow Oblast settlements over the last five weeks are likely in protest of covert mobilization, the Institute for the Study of War said. Ukraine’s General Staff reports at least 12 cases of deliberate arson on military commissariats in Russia.

UK Intelligence: Russia fired top commanders for poor performance in Ukraine. According to the latest intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia has fired Sergei Kisel, the commander of the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, for failing to capture Kharkiv. Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has also likely been suspended following the sinking of the flagship Moskva, the ministry added. “This will likely place further strain on Russia’s centralized command and control model,” the report reads.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Vadym Shishimarin, 21, is the first Russian soldier tried for a war crime in Ukraine since Russia began its all-out war on Feb. 24. He faces a life sentence for violating the laws of war by killing a civilian during the Russian troops’ retreat from Ukraine. Read our story on Shishimarin’s trial here.

In one day Kyiv resident Olena Sukhenko lost most of her family - her mother, the mayor of Motyzhyn, a village in Kyiv Oblast, a father and a brother. “In one moment, I became not a daughter and sister, but just an adult without a family.” Read our story about a daughter who mourns her loved ones here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

12 killed, over 40 injured in Russia’s shelling of Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast. Russian troops have been “chaotically” shelling Sievierodonetsk with heavy weapons, mostly targeting residential buildings, according to Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai.

Russia’s war killed at least 231 children, injured at least 427. According to Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova, the figures are expected to be higher since they do not include casualties in the areas where hostilities are ongoing and in the Russian-occupied areas.

Russia kills 5 civilians, wounds 6 in Donetsk Oblast on May 19. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Facebook post that Russian attacks killed two civilians in Bakhmut, one in Krasnohorivka, one in Avdiivka, and one in Khrestyshche. He also said it is currently impossible to get an accurate count of the victims of Russia’s attacks in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

Governor: Russian airstrike hits Bakhmut. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian shells hit several buildings on May 19, and rescuers pulled 6 people out of the rubble. They are in stable condition. On May 18, rescuers also found the bodies of a woman and a 2-year-old child under the rubble of a destroyed house in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast.

General Staff: 28,500 Russian troops killed since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff said on May 19 that Russia has also lost 1,254 tanks, 3,063 armored fighting vehicles, 595 artillery pieces, 199 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 surface-to-air missiles, 167 helicopters, 203 airplanes, and 13 boats.

International response

US Senate approves $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, sends bill to Biden for signature. The US Senate on May 19 gave final approval to a $40 billion emergency military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine.

CNN: Biden announces $100 million military aid for Ukraine. The security package will include artillery, radar, and other equipment for Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden said on May 19, CNN reported.

European Parliament approves suspending import duties on Ukrainian exports to EU for one year. To “support Ukraine’s economy,” the measures will remove import duties on Ukrainian industrial products, along with entry duties on fruit and vegetables, anti-dumping duties, and safeguard measures on steel imports for one year.

Australia to provide Ukraine with more armored vehicles. The Australian government is sending Ukraine 14 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers and 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, Australian Defence Magazine reports. The country will also provide Ukraine with 60 pallets of medical supplies, “donated by Australian citizens,” as well as three pallets of radiation monitoring equipment, and some personal protective equipment.

Reuters: G7 countries agree to allocate $18.4 billion to Ukraine. The sum includes $9.2 billion from the U.S., according to the draft document quoted by Reuters.

Egypt turns away shipment of grain Russia stole from Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked Egypt on Twitter on May 19 for refusing a Russian ship the Ukrainian Embassy in Egypt alleged was transporting grain stolen from Ukraine.

Reuters: US wants to give Ukraine ‘advanced anti-ship missiles’ to defeat Russia’s naval blockade. The White House is looking to arm Ukraine with Boeing Harpoon and Naval Strike missiles made by Kongsberg and Raytheon Technologies, Reuters reports, citing U.S. officials. The decision of which country will send Ukraine Harpoons first is ongoing amid fears of reprisals from Russia.

In other news

Bloomberg: In first quarter, Russia’s economic growth ‘slowed down more than expected.’ According to Bloomberg, Russia’s GDP growth fell to 3.5%, despite average forecasts of 3.7%, as the “initial impact of sanctions imposed following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began to show up.”

Court grants permission to arrest former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court granted a request to arrest the former president over accusations he smuggled 20 people into Russia from Donetsk Oblast in 2014 with the assistance of three helicopters of the Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said in a statement published to its website on May 19. Yanukovych was convicted in absentia for treason in 2019 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He is believed to live in exile in Russia.

Ukrainian cat Stepan wins World Influencers and Bloggers Award. The famous cat from Kharkiv won the award considered the most prestigious in the industry. The ceremony was held in Cannes, France, on May 18, and money raised during the event will be spent on helping Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Anna Myroniuk, Daria Shulzhenko, Thaisa Semenova, Olga Rudenko, Oleg Sukhov, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olena Goncharova, Lili Bivings, and Brad LaFoy.

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