Wednesday, May 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen prepare a tank at a position near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on April 29, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)

Air Force: 21 out of 26 Iranian-made Shahed drones downed over Ukraine. Ukraine’s Air Force reported shooting down 21 out of 26 Iranian-made Shahed “kamikaze” drones Russia launched at Ukraine overnight on May 3.

Ukraine’s parliament votes to extend martial law. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, has voted to extend martial law and mobilization for another 90 days, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported on May 2.

Russian media: Explosion wounds top proxy official in Russian-occupied Melitopol. The Russian-installed deputy head of the Internal Affairs regional office in Zaporizhzhia Oblast was reportedly hospitalized after opening his gate where an explosive device had been planted, according to Russian media reports.

Local authorities report oil depot fire in Russia’s southwestern Krasnodar region. A fuel storage facility in Russia’s southwestern Krasnodar region, located near the Crimean Bridge, was on fire early on May 3, the regional governor reported on Telegram.

Explosion reported near Russian-occupied Simferopol. An explosion reportedly occurred in a former training base for border guards near the village of Shkolnoye, a few kilometers from the Simferopol airport, on May 2, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

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Railway line reportedly sabotaged in Russia’s Bryansk region. A railway was blown up in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, a region bordering Ukraine in the northeast, resulting in a train derailing, according to Russian media reports on May 2.

Ukraine’s parliament recognizes Putin’s regime as ‘rascism.’ The Verkhona Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, adopted a resolution on May 2 defining Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s regime as “rascism,” also known as “rashism” or “ruscism,” a contraction of “Russian fascism.”

Foreign Ministry: ‘Ukraine not problem, but advantage for NATO.’ The Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko lashed out at a German Press Agency article, which cited unnamed diplomats arguing that talks about Ukraine’s accession to NATO “distract from the much more important support” for Kyiv and risk provoking Russia to wage “even more aggressive warfare.”

Official: S-300 missile systems spotted being transferred in direction of Zaporizhzhia. Five trucks transporting S-300 missile systems were spotted in Russian-occupied Mariupol heading toward Zaporizhzhia, Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol wrote on Telegram on May 2.

Ukraine launches new missing persons register. The register will include basic information such as the person’s name, place and date of birth, marital status, place of residence, last known location, circumstances and time of their disappearance, the Reintegration Ministry wrote.

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Ukraine war latest: Parliament extends martial law; 8 assault brigades ‘fully formed’

Ukraine’s new Offensive Guard force’s “fully formed” eight assault brigades will be under the command of the Armed Forces, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Unexploded mine kills 2 farmers in Kharkiv Oblast. A tractor hit a mine in a field between the villages of Verbivka and Vovchyi Yar in Kharkiv Oblast, killing two men, aged 39 and 47, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 2.

Russian forces attack Kherson Oblast, killing 1, wounding 1. Russian shelling of the village of Kozatske killed a 66-year-old resident, while the shelling of Dniprovske village injured a 78-year-old woman, Kherson Oblast Administration reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 191,420 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on May 2 that Russia had lost 191,420 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 460 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

EU to announce 1 million shell production plan per year. Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, will announce the plan to meet Ukraine’s military needs and replenish the EU’s reserves on May 3, the AFP reported.

Blinken: Ukraine’s success on battlefield quickest way to ‘just and durable peace.’ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Fox News on May 2 that Washington knew Ukraine was contemplating a counteroffensive “in the coming weeks,” and it was monitoring the course of events.

Foreign Affairs: General Milley says Ukraine has the capability for counteroffensive. Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said Ukraine has the capability to conduct offensive operations in an interview with Foreign Affairs published on May 2.

EU Commission bans import of some Ukrainian grain until June 5. The EU Commission put in place a month-long ban on wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds to “alleviate logistical bottlenecks” related to these goods in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

CNN: US ambassador says China should push Russia to end its war in Ukraine. “What we need to see from China is to push Russia to withdraw its troops and so that Ukraine can have all of its territory back and can be fully sovereign again in all aspects of that word,” U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on May 2.

In other news

Reuters: Putin not invited to King Charles’ coronation. The U.K. didn’t send invitations to King Charles’ coronation ceremony on May 6 to the heads of Russia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan, and Venezuela, a British source told Reuters.

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