Ukraine Daily

Wednesday, 18 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Mayor of Odesa Hennadiy Trukhanov attends a funeral on April 27 of three women, Lyudmyla, Valeria and Kira Glodan killed by a Russian missile that hit Odesa on April 23. (Oleksandr Gimanov)

Ukraine, Russia stall on peace negotiations. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that “negotiations are not continuing.” He blamed Ukraine for not agreeing to Russian terms. Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the Ukrainian president’s office, said that negotiations “are paused.”

General Staff: Russian troops attempt several offensives in Donbas. The Russians are trying to advance towards Slovyansk in Donetsk Oblast and Severodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, as well as along the entire frontline near the city of Donetsk, Ukraine’s General Staff said. Russian troops also fired missiles from Su-35 aircraft near Bakhmut, Soledar, Kalynove, and Vovchoiarivka, in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the General Staff said.

Lviv Oblast Governor: Russian missile attack caused damage to railway infrastructure. Regional Governor Maksym Kozytsky said that the Russian forces hit a railway infrastructure facility in the Yavoriv district overnight, but there are no reports of injuries or death so far. The official thanked Ukraine’s Air Defense for shooting down three cruise missiles.

Zelensky establishes commission to assess damage caused by Russia’s aggression. According to a presidential decree signed on May 17, the purpose of the commission will be “to ensure full compensation for the damages caused to Ukraine as a result of the Russian Federation’s large-scale, armed aggression and the formation of measures for the postwar reconstruction of the state.”

Ukraine launches mobile groups to monitor nuclear, chemical threats. Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin said that groups launched in every region would quickly respond to emergencies if Russian forces used these banned weapons. “We must be ready to react to any situation,” he said.

WHO records 226 attacks on Ukrainian healthcare facilities since Russia’s all-out war began. World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told a news conference in Kyiv on May 17 that the total amounts to “almost three attacks per day since the 24th of February,” leaving at least 75 people dead and another 59 injured.

Russian media: Russia considering withdrawal from WHO, WTO. Russia’s parliament will consider withdrawing from the World Health Organization, as well as World Trade Organization, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported on May 17, citing deputy speaker of Russia’s State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy.

Zelensky: Russia’s recent missile attacks across Ukraine are an attempt to compensate for Russian military failures. Russian missile attacks and air strikes on Lviv, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Luhansk oblasts over the last 24 hours are the Russian military’s attempt to compensate for a “series of failures in the east and south” in Ukraine, President Zelensky said during his daily address. According to the president, these attacks do not dramatically change the situation, “especially since our air defense and anti-sabotage measures are becoming stronger.”

Ombudsman: Russian forces hold over 3,000 Mariupol residents in ‘filtration prison.’ According to Lyudmyla Denisova, Russians hold them in what used to be a penal colony in the Olenivka village, Donetsk Oblast. There are about 30 volunteers who tried to bring humanitarian aid to besieged Mariupol among them, Denisova said. Civilians are tortured with electric shocks before being brought to the colony, according to the official.

Ukrainian forces destroy two Russian ammunition depots in Kherson Oblast. Ukraine’s Operational Command South said the two ammunition warehouses were located near Pyatihatok and Stepanovka in Kherson Oblast. It also reported that fighting continues on the line of contact in Mykolayiv and Kherson oblasts where Russian troops are trying to gain a foothold and continue shelling the positions of Ukraine’s Armed Forces with mortars and artillery.

Azovstal

Zelensky: ‘Azovstal evacuation mission continues.’ During his daily address, President Zelensky said the evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is being overseen by Ukraine’s military and intelligence with the help of the “most influential international mediators.”

Reuters: At least seven buses with Azovstal defenders leave steel plant on May 17. The buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers were escorted by Russian forces, Reuters reported citing a witness. Some of the Ukrainian fighters transported did not appear to be wounded, the witness said. 264 Ukrainian soldiers, including 53 heavily wounded, were evacuated from Azovstal in Mariupol to the Russian-occupied territory on May 16. Ukraine said they would be exchanged for Russian POWs.

Vereshchuk: 52 severely wounded Azovstal defenders will be exchanged for Russian POWs once their condition stabilizes. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that negotiations continue, and Ukraine is working on the next stages of the humanitarian operation to save soldiers’ lives. Meanwhile, Russia hasn’t confirmed its commitment to exchange the captured Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal.

Russian parliament to consider ban on exchanging Azov POWs. Russia’s parliament will consider banning the exchange of Russian prisoners of war for captured members of the Azov regiment, Russian state-controlled RIA Novosti reported. On May 26, the Russian Supreme Court will consider recognizing Azov as a terrorist organization. 264 Ukrainian soldiers, including Azov fighters, were evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol to the Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine said they would be exchanged for Russian POWs.

Russia to question Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from Azovstal in criminal cases. Russia’s Investigative Committee said on May 17 that it will “identify nationalists and check them for involvement in crimes committed against the civilian population of the Donbas” in line with one of the Kremlin’s propaganda narratives. On May 16, 264 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to hospitals in Russian-occupied Novoazovsk and Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast.

ISW: ‘Outrage, confusion’ on pro-Russian social media about Azovstal evacuation. Rather than a celebration of the “full capitulation” of Mariupol the Kremlin was likely anticipating, some Russian Telegram channels and bloggers expressed outrage at negotiations and that Russian forces didn’t “destroy the Ukrainian defenders at Azovstal,” the Institute for the Study of War stated in its May 17 assessment.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

The Kyiv Independent traveled to Odesa to talk to the city’s mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov about the war, pro-Russian sympathies among residents, the city’s notorious reputation for crime, and why despite Russia’s attacks on the city, the mayor is keen to see a street named after Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov. Read our story here.

Read the op-ed by Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland in which she talks on how Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has lost Ukraine forever.

The human cost of Russia’s war

UN: 7,814 civilian casualties in Ukraine due to Russia’s war. According to the UN’s human rights agency, as of May 16, Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed at least 3,752 civilians and wounded at least 4,062 since Feb. 24. The agency believes the actual figures are considerably higher than the confirmed numbers. Most of the recorded casualties were caused by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, the agency wrote in its report.

Russian occupiers kill seven civilians in Donetsk Oblast on May 17. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, six people were also injured in the region on May 17. The governor also reported that a child was severely injured in Russian missile strike on Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk Oblast. Kyrylenko said that rescuers continue to clear the rubble following a missile attack that hit a five-story residential building in Bakhmut. The governor once again urged civilians to evacuate from the oblast.

Russian airstrike on Chernihiv Oblast kills at least eight people, injures 12 others. Suspilne media reported the casualties citing the local State Emergency Services. Chernihiv Oblast Governor Viacheslav Chaus earlier reported that the Russian airstrike hit the village of Desna, where a military training center is located.

General Staff: Russia has lost 27,900 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on May 17 that Russia has also lost 1,235 tanks, 3,009 armored personnel carriers, 2,109 vehicles and fuel tanks, 578 artillery systems, 198 multiple launch rocket systems, 90 anti-aircraft defense systems, 167 helicopters, 201 aircraft, 436 UAVs, and 13 boats.

Ukraine’s Military: High-ranking Russian military officials killed by Melitopol guerrillas. Russian occupying forces are “trying to hide this situation,” the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported on its Telegram channel on May 17. Russian forces have also increased the inspection of private vehicles in Melitopol, “probably in search of guerrillas,” the update read.

International response

ICC sends ‘largest-ever’ investigative team to Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sent a 42-member team to Ukraine to investigate alleged war crimes committed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. The group consists of investigators, forensic experts and support staff that will work with Ukrainian authorities. This is the “largest-ever” deployment of this type in the history of its organization, AFP reports.

US to launch program documenting open-source evidence of Russian war crimes. The U.S. State Department announced on May 17 the creation of the Conflict Observatory to authenticate and preserve open-source information, including information from social media, for current and future war crimes investigations against Russia.

Reuters: G7 finance ministers planning 15 billion euros in aid for Ukraine. The Finance Ministers of the G7 are planning to put together a 15 billion euro aid package for Ukraine, Reuters reported citing an anonymous senior German official. German newspaper Der Spiegel earlier said that G7 may initiate budget support worth almost 30 billion euros for Ukraine.

Canada plans to ban Putin and 1,000 members of Russian government from entering country. In order to do so, the Canadian Senate has introduced a bill to amend its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that would allow the country to ban entry to all individuals subject to Canadian sanctions, as well as their family members. “Banning close associates and key supporters of Putin’s regime, including those responsible for this unprovoked aggression, from entering our country is one of the many ways in which we’re holding Russia accountable for its crimes,” Canada’s public safety minister Marco Mendicino said in a statement.

Macron: European Council to consider Ukraine’s application for EU membership in June. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed to President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 17 that Ukraine’s application to join the EU will be considered at a meeting of the European Council in June. Macron also stated that France’s supplying of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine will continue and increase in the coming weeks. Earlier Macron had commented it will take decades for Ukraine to be accepted into the EU.

Der Spiegel: Deutsche Bahn helps export Ukrainian grain. Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway company, plans to transport significant quantities of Ukrainian agricultural products to ports on the North and Adriatic Seas, German Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing stated, as reported by Der Spiegel. Two to three trains per day have already begun transporting Ukrainian grain to Western Europe through Poland.

Bloomberg: US poised to fully block Russian debt payments. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is planning to completely block Russia’s ability to pay U.S. bondholders, which could bring Russia closer to “the brink of default, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

Reuters: US to suggest EU imposes tariffs on Russian oil instead of embargo. The U.S. plans to propose that EU countries impose tariffs on Russian oil as a faster alternative to an embargo, Reuters reported citing U.S. Treasury officials. The mechanism would limit Russia’s revenue from oil exports.

Germany to lend 150 million euros to Ukraine. On May 17, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers approved a decision to get a “soft loan” of up to 150 million euros from German state bank KfW. “We will immediately use these funds to finance key social expenditures and key aspects of our country’s reconstruction,” Prime MInister Denys Shmyhal said.

EU to demand reforms as condition for funding Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung has obtained a draft of the European Commission’s reconstruction plan for Ukraine. Money from member states and international partners would be allocated under “strict conditions, such as fighting corruption and reform efforts by the Ukrainian government,” according to the plan. The plan also envisages that the reconstruction of Ukraine’s war-torn infrastructure may take more than 10 years. Damage caused by the war to Ukraine is estimated at hundreds of billions of euros, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

In other news

Finland files application for NATO membership. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed the application on May 17, following its approval by the country’s parliament earlier on the same day, Finnish media outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported.

Israeli embassy returns to Kyiv. Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky raised the Israeli flag near the embassy building in Kyiv on May 17, the embassy wrote on Twitter.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Asami Terajima, Anna Myroniuk, Daria Shulzhenko, Thaisa Semenova, Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland, Oleksiy Sorokin, Oleg Sukhov, Olena Goncharova, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings, and Brad LaFoy.

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