Ukraine Daily

Thursday, 12 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Destroyed marketplaces are seen after Russian missiles hit a residential area in Kharkiv City, May 8, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

Russian proxies will ask Putin to annex Kherson Oblast. Kirill Stremousov, a leader of the Kremlin’s proxies in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, said there won’t be any referendum in Kherson to make it a so-called “people’s republic”, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Instead, Russian proxies in Kherson are seeking outright annexation.

Russian occupiers block natural gas supplies to Luhansk, Donetsk oblasts. According to Serhiy Makogon, the head of Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator, Russian forces have blocked pipelines transporting gas from Russian-occupied areas to Ukrainian-controlled ones.

First Russian soldier to be tried for war crime in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it completed the first investigation of a war crime in Ukraine. The case accusing the Russian commander of the 4th tank division of allegedly killing a 62-year-old resident of Chupakhivka, Sumy Oblast, was sent to court. The suspect is currently under arrest.

Zelensky: War will be over when Ukraine gets all of its territories back. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his desire to continue negotiations is decreasing daily after seeing evidence of massacres and atrocities that the Russians have committed across the country.

On May 11, Russia launched several missile attacks at Poltava, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Chernihiv oblasts. The Russian attack in Kharkiv Oblast destroyed an agricultural warehouse in the town of Lozova and killed one civilian, mayor Serhiy Zelensky said. In the town of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian forces fired fired 18 missiles on a residential area, killing one and damaging over 60 homes, Yuri Karapetyan, head of the Komyshuvakha community said. In Chernihiv Oblast, Russia shelled the Gorodnyansky District 16 times from mortars, Ukraine’s Border Guard said.

Governor: Russia shells almost every settlement in Donetsk Oblast. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on May 11 that “there are practically no settlements” that Russian forces have not fired on, including the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Bakhmut, and Pokrovsk. Kyrylenko emphasized that Russian forces are targeting both Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure.

Nine people injured by Russian shelling of Mykolaiv Oblast over the past 24 hours. According to Hanna Zamazieieva, the head of the Mykolaiv Oblast Council, a total of 159 people injured in Russian attacks are currently being treated at Mykolaiv hospitals.

Governor: Luhansk Oblast cut off from communication. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram on May 11 that mobile communication in the region is disrupted and the humanitarian situation is dire. There is reportedly little aid remaining in the warehouses and delivery is difficult due to damaged roads.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry: Ukraine destroys bridges to stop advance of Russian troops in Luhansk Oblast. The Defense Ministry published satellite imagery that reportedly shows two destroyed bridges crossing the Siversky Donets River near the village of Bilohorivka.

Ukraine’s military defeats 250 Russian troops, repels 5 attacks in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Operational Tactical Group “East” said on May 11 that they destroyed one Russian ammunition warehouse, six tanks, an observation post, one infantry fighting vehicle, two armored personnel carriers, two armored fighting vehicles, and seven heavy artillery tractors.

General Staff: Armed Forces liberated another settlement in Kharkiv Oblast. The Ukrainian troops launched a successful counterattack against the Russians in the village of Pytomnyk north of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s military said.

UK Intelligence: Russia tries to reinforce its garrison on Zmiinyi Island. According to the recent intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia’s current efforts to augment its forces on Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea offer Ukraine more opportunities to “engage Russian troops and attrit materiel.” However, if Russia “consolidates its position on Zmiinyi Island with strategic air defense and coastal defense cruise missiles, it could dominate the north-western Black Sea,” the update reads.

General Staff: Russia still plans to capture Kyiv. Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational directorate, said that Russia’s potential next moves may be capturing southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and partially Zaporizhzhia oblasts, creating a land corridor from the occupied east of Ukraine to Russian-occupied Transnistria region in Moldova. Russia may then focus on capturing central Ukrainian regions and Kyiv, stage elections, and proclaim a new state, he said.

Investigators find documents implying Russia planned to occupy whole of Ukraine. The State Investigation Bureau reported on May 11 that they found Russian military documents in Trostianets, Sumy Oblast, that imply that Moscow initially planned to occupy the whole of Ukraine. The bureau also identified at least 34 cases of abduction and torture of civilians by Russian troops in Trostianets.

Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling Belgorod, reports casualties for first time. Governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed that alleged shelling by Ukraine has left one dead and six wounded. Ukrainian authorities have yet to respond to the accusation. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces have warned since the beginning of the war that Russia may try to stage provocations on its own territory to predicate or justify an attack on Ukraine.

Kharkiv Oblast policeman suspected of collaborating with Russia under arrest. According to the State Investigation Bureau, the policeman collaborated with the Russian Federal Security Service, providing them with data on the Ukrainian military equipment, locations of law enforcement and military checkpoints. The policeman is suspected of treason and may face life imprisonment.

UN: 4.8 million Ukrainians lost their jobs since Feb. 24. An estimated 4.8 million jobs have been lost in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to a report by the UN International Labor Organization. The organization estimates that employment losses would increase to 7 million if hostilities were to escalate.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s fuel depots lead to $227 million in losses. According to the Kyiv School of Economics estimates, the total amount of direct damage caused by Russia’s ongoing war exceeds $94.3 billion.

A view of the besieged city of Mariupol, which has been nearly destroyed by Russia’s forces since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. (Azov Battalion Press Service)

Mariupol

Mariupol defenders: All civilians evacuated from Azovstal. On May 9, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that 100 civilians remained at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. On May 11, Azov regiment officer Ilya Samoilenko couldn’t confirm the information about the 100 civilians during an interview with Sky News, saying that “as far as they know,” all civilians had been evacuated from Azovstal. The highly fortified Azovstal steel plant is being stormed by Russian troops.

Azov: Russian forces destroyed second underground hospital at Azovstal. Maksym Zhorin, a co-commander of the Azov regiment, told Hromadske media outlet that Russians had destroyed the second underground hospital at Azovstal two days ago, further depriving soldiers of medical care. The same attack also killed 10 people. He added that even those with minor injuries are slowly dying due to poor conditions. According to the government, more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including hundreds of wounded, remain at Azovstal, a highly fortified steel plant in Mariupol that is being stormed by Russians.

Defense Ministry: Ukrainian military can’t break siege of Mariupol at the moment. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said during a briefing on May 11 that if there were at least one opportunity to unblock Mariupol, “the country’s leadership would use it.” President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said that Ukraine needs more heavy weapons to break the city’s siege.

Vereshchuk: Ukraine offers to exchange Russian POWs for injured Azovstal defenders. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that negotiations are underway to evacuate severely injured soldiers from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant through a mutually-agreed humanitarian corridor. “There is no agreement yet. Negotiations are ongoing,” said Vereshchuk.

Wives of Mariupol defenders meet with Pope, ask him to help save their husbands. Pope Francis met with the wives of two Ukrainian soldiers defending Mariupol’s Azovstal plant on May 11 at the Vatican. “We told the Pope about our husbands, the injured soldiers, the dead that cannot be buried. We asked him for help, to be a third party in this war, and help us to guarantee a humanitarian corridor,” one of the wives, Yuliia Fedosiuk said, according to CNN. She added that the Pope seemed “very well-informed of the situation in Ukraine.”

The human cost of Russia’s war

Prosecutors: Russia’s war kills at least 226 children since Feb. 24, injured 417. However, 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, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said.

UN: 7,256 civilian casualties in Ukraine due to Russia’s war. According to the UN’s human rights agency, as of midnight on May 10, Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed 3,496 civilians and wounded 3,760 since Feb. 24. The agency believes the actual figures are considerably higher. Most of the recorded casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, the agency wrote in its report.

Governor: Russian forces abduct 271 people in temporarily-occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh said that, as of May 11, 118 people remain hostage and 153 have been released.

501 National Guard servicemen killed by Russia’s war. Oleksii Nadtochyi, operations chief of the National Guard’s main directorate, said on May 11 that 1,697 of their servicemen were injured. The National Guard is a military force that is part of the Internal Affairs Ministry. Ukraine doesn’t disclose its general combat losses. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, up to 3,000 Ukrainian troops were killed, and up to 10,000 were wounded as of mid-April.

City council: Over 10,000 people may die from ‘diseases and intolerable living conditions’ in Mariupol in 2022. Up to 170,000 people currently remain in Mariupol, the city council said. The Russian occupiers have turned the city into a “medieval ghetto”, and the number of casualties is expected to be high there, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said. “Our people are under lethal threat,” he said. “Therefore, a full evacuation of the city is needed.” The highly-fortified Azovstal steel plant, the only remaining pocket of resistance in Mariupol, is being stormed by Russian troops.

General Staff: 26,350 Russian troops killed since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on May 11 that Russia had also lost 1,187 tanks, 2,856 armored fighting vehicles, 528 artillery pieces, 185 multiple launch rocket systems, 87 surface-to-air missiles, 160 helicopters, 199 airplanes, 390 drones, and 12 boats.

International response

European Commission: Ukraine needs up to 600 billion euros for reconstruction. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Ukraine needed around 500-600 billion euros for reconstruction due to Russia’s war. The official said that the EU will “provide large and very meaningful support for these reconstruction needs.”

German embassy reopens in Kyiv on May 10. German Ambassador Anka Feldhusen said that she and several other German diplomats had returned to Kyiv to “show the world that we believe in Ukraine’s victory in this terrible war.”

Czech Republic recognizes Russia’s actions in Ukraine as genocide. The Czech Republic Senate has recognized the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people, Yevhen Perebyinis, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, said. The adopted resolution also supports supplying weapons to Ukraine and granting the country the EU candidate status.

Czech President approves 103 Czechs joining Armed Forces of Ukraine. Czech Republic President Milos Zeman has given official approval to 103 of the country’s citizens seeking to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček said on May 11. He added that Prime Minister Petr Fiala has to co-sign the decision.

Reuters: Meta withdraws policy guidance request related to Russia’s war. The Facebook parent company reportedly cited “ongoing safety and security concerns” for withdrawing a request from its Oversight Board on the content moderation of posts related to Russia’s war in Ukraine. A Meta spokesperson declined to provide further information on the nature of the policies in question or about the specific concerns.

In other news

Ukraine wins record 103 medals in Summer Deaflympics. Ukrainian athletes have already won a total of 103 medals, including 47 gold, 29 silver, and 27 bronze medals in the 2021 Summer Deaflympics. It is the country’s best-ever result in the Deaflympics, Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports reported on May 11. The 2021 Games are being held in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil.

Odesa Territorial Defense troops find ancient amphorae while digging trenches. The ancient containers date back to 4th-5th century BC, according to the 126th Brigade in a Facebook post on May 11. The artifacts have been donated to the Odesa Archaeological Museum.

Kharkiv cuts off ‘sister’ ties with Russian cities. Kharkiv City Council announced on May 11 that it has unilaterally severed ties with Belgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Novosibirsk. According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, it is impossible for Kharkiv to have relationships with those that “kill Ukrainians and destroy our Motherland.”

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Asami Terajima, Thaisa Semenova, Daria Shulzenko, Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland, Oleg Sukhov, Oleksiy Sorokin, Toma Istomina, Teah Pelechaty, and Lili Bivings.

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