Ukraine Daily

Monday, 30 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

People board a bulletproof bus to evacuate from the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, under heavy shelling, on May 2, 2022. (Getty Images)

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Zelensky pays visit to military positions in Kharkiv Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the positions of Ukraine’s military, assessed the destroyed infrastructure of the region and held a working meeting with local authorities. He also presented Ukrainian soldiers with state awards.

Zelensky: ‘Russia lost its own future and any cultural ties to the free world.’ In his latest national address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Russia has already lost not only the battle for Kharkiv, not only the battle for Kyiv and the north of our country. It lost its own future and any cultural ties to the free world. They all burned down. One third of the Kharkiv region is still under occupation. We will definitely liberate the entire territory.” During the address following his visit to Kharkiv Oblast, Zelensky said that law enforcement agencies would investigate Roman Dudin, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) branch in Kharkiv Oblast. Zelensky said that Dudin had failed to contribute to the city’s defense since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.

Lavrov: Capturing all of Donbas is ‘absolute priority’ for Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts’ entire territory remains the priority. He added that the residents of other Ukrainian regions would need to “decide their future” themselves. Since February, Russia has toned down its rhetoric, switching from an attempt to seize control over Ukraine’s entire territory to a more narrow focus on the Donbas.

General Staff: Russian troops move towards central Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops are trying to entrench their positions in northeastern Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine’s General Staff said. Russia’s main focus is to encircle Ukrainian troops in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, as well as to block the main roads, according to the report. The General Staff also said that Russian troops had conducted an unsuccessful offensive towards Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast, and retreated to previously-held positions. Russia has also withdrawn some units from Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff added.

Russian troops repeatedly block civilian cars evacuating from occupied territories to Zaporizhzhia. Russian troops sometimes stop columns of 300-400 cars for 4-5 days, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh said on May 29. According to him, the Russians sometimes demand money for letting the cars pass.

Joint Forces Operation: Ukraine repels 14 Russian attacks, downs two cruise missiles. Ukrainian forces shot down two Russian Kh-59MK cruise missiles and three high-precision unmanned aerial vehicles on May 29. They also destroyed two Russian artillery systems, 11 armored fighting vehicles, and 10 military vehicles.

CNN: Russian ship loaded with grain allegedly stolen from Ukraine arrives in Syria. New satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies show the bulk carrier Matros Pozynich arriving in the Syrian port of Latakia on May 27, estimated to carry about 30,000 tons of grain. CNN reported that it is one of the three ships that have been loading grain in Sevastopol’s port in Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian authorities estimated that Russian troops had stolen more than 400,000 tons of grain in occupied territories.

Russian forces shell Mykolaiv, casualties reported. Mykolaiv Mayor Alexander Senkevych reported that the Russian troops fired at the city’s residential area in the morning and there are an undetermined number of victims. Later in the day Russian forces struck Mykolaiv Oblast’s Novyi Buh. The Novyi Buh City Council reported late on May 29 that the central part of the city has suffered significant damage due to Russian airstrike.

Russian forces shell Kharkiv again. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city had come under fire but he didn’t provide further details. Russia also shelled the northern Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Chernihiv 10 times on May 29, the State Border Guard Service reported.

15 miners blocked underground due to blackouts in Donetsk Oblast. Several cities in the government-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast are now without electricity due to a broken power line. Local authorities are working to bring the miners to the surface, according to the mayor of Kramatorsk.

Russians reportedly stealing metal from occupied Mariupol. For the second day in a row, Russian ships are being loaded with metal in the port of Mariupol, according to Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the Mariupol mayor.

Luhansk Oblast Governor: Ukraine pushed Russian forces away from Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway. Governor Serhiy Haidai reported that additional Ukrainian troops and humanitarian supplies can now be transported using the key highway connecting Ukraine-controlled territories with the Lysychansk-Sievierodonetsk agglomeration.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Ukraine’s military destroys Russian ammunition depot in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Operational Tactical Group “East” reported that 39 Russian troops were killed on May 29. One infantry fighting vehicle, one armored personnel carrier, five armored fighting vehicles, two artillery systems, three heavy artillery tractors, one fuel tanker, and three unmanned aerial vehicles were also destroyed.

Russian shelling damages 59 residential buildings in Donbas, kills 3 civilians. The Joint Forces Operation reported on May 29 that Russian shelling in Donbas destroyed and damaged 59 residential buildings, a power station, and a community center. At least three civilians were killed and two were injured in Pokrovsk and Bakhmut districts of Donetsk Oblast. Information on the rest of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is still being clarified.

Russian forces lose 2 high-ranking officers in Ukraine. Colonel Volodymyr Ivanov, a member of Russia’s Defense Ministry’s press service, and Oleksandr Vyhulyar, the commander of the 106th Parachute Division, were killed in Ukraine, Ukraine’s military announced on May 29.

General Staff: Russia has lost 30,150 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on May 29 that Russia had also lost 1,338 tanks, 3,270 armored vehicles, 2,240 vehicles and fuel tanks, 631 artillery pieces, 203 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 air defense systems, 174 helicopters, 207 airplanes, 504 UAVs, and 13 boats.

International response

RFE/RL: EU countries fail to reach deal on Russia sanctions. Rikard Jozwiak, an editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said on Twitter that EU representatives will meet once again on May 30 to discuss the sixth sanctions package. Hungary is demanding exemptions for a potential oil embargo, and there are also disagreements on whether to ban Russian citizens from buying real estate in Europe, he said.

Germany to provide grants worth 1 billion euros to Ukraine. German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen made the announcement following a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

Vucic: Russia, Serbia to sign 3-year gas contract. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Russia would give Serbia “the best price in Europe” for its gas. “If we realize everything, we will have a safe winter when it comes to gas,” Vucic said.

Poland to send 18 KRAB and self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. These howitzers can be used by three artillery squadrons and can fire up to 40 kilometers, six times a minute. Poland is the second-largest donor of MILITARY equipment to Ukraine after the U.S.

Bloomberg: EU to remove pipeline oil embargo from new sanctions package. The EU proposed banning seaborne oil from Russia while holding off imposing restrictions on import from the key pipeline Druzhba, Hungary’s main source of crude imports, to satisfy Budapest’s objections. The European Commission sent a revised proposal to national governments on May 28, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Welt: Germany has hardly delivered any weapons to Ukraine for past nine weeks despite promises. The German newspaper reported, citing a source, that the federal government has not met the requests for lighter weapons either. Ukraine has only received two weapon shipments from Germany since March, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to supply German tanks and armored personnel carriers, citing agreements with NATO allies.

In other news

Kalush Orchestra sells Eurovision trophy, raises $900,000 for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. The 2022 Eurovision winner’s frontman, Oleg Psyuk, also sold his iconic pink bucket hat. The auction’s proceeds will be used to buy PD-2 unmanned aerial systems for Ukraine’s military.

Cabinet of Ministers lifts visa restrictions for foreign journalists in Ukraine. Journalists accredited by the Defense Ministry won’t need to obtain a temporary residency permit or a visa to stay in Ukraine for more than 90 days. The measure will be active for the time of the martial law and 30 days after it ends. With this decision, the government aims to remove bureaucratic obstacles for journalists to continue to cover the war in Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Asami Terajima, Alexander Query, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Oleg Sukhov, Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland, Olena Goncharova, Teah Pelechaty, and Brad LaFoy.

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