Monday, May 8

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Visitors wipe their shoes on a Russian flag before entering an outdoor exhibition showing items of the Russian army on May 7 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The outdoor exhibition shows a variety of items left by Russian soldiers in different regions of Ukraine during the Russian invasion. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

Ukraine downs 35 Russian drones.Russia launched at least 35 Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 drones in the early hours of May 8 amid another large-scale attack on Ukraine, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its morning update. Ukraine’s air defense shot down all the aerial targets.

Czech president says Ukraine shouldn’t rush counteroffensive. Czech President Petr Pavel said in his interview with the Guardian that he had warned the leadership of Ukraine against a rushed counteroffensive. He added that while Ukrainian top military commanders “still have a feeling that they do not have everything to start successfully an operation,” a poorly planned counteroffensive could turn into a disaster.

Military official: Ukraine expects counteroffensive to cause panic in Russia. Ukraine expects the Russian command to panic when the anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive begins, Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov told British newspaper The Independent in an article published on May 7.

ISW questions Russia’s ability to coordinate a cohesive defense campaign across front line. Russia’s military leadership appears to be increasingly delegating responsibilities for different sectors of the front in Ukraine to various Russian commanders while the power of the theater commander continues to wane, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.

Explosion reported in Odesa as air raid sirens spread across Ukraine. An explosion was reported in the southern city of Odesa on May 7, Suspilne media reported. It is currently unknown what caused the explosion. In Ukraine, a large-scale air raid alert was announced late in the evening.

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CNN: US confident in Ukraine’s claim it used Patriot system to down hypersonic missile. The U.S. has “high confidence” in the accuracy of Ukraine’s claim that it used a Patriot air defense system to intercept a Russian Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missile, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Zaluzhnyi meets German general, expresses hope for fighter aircraft. Ukraine’s most senior commander, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, met his visiting German counterpart, Carsten Breuer in the past week, briefing him on Ukraine’s military situation, Zaluzhnyi wrote on Telegram on May 7.

Ukrainian intelligence warns of Victory Day provocations by Russia. Moscow might stage false-flag attacks against Russian and Belarusian populations around May 9, Ukraine’s General Intelligence Directorate chief Andrii Usov, said at a briefing on May 7.

FSB claims it prevented Ukrainian drone strike on military airfield. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on May 7 that its operatives had prevented Ukrainian drones from striking the Severny military airfield in Russia’s Ivanovo Oblast.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia likely facing ‘worst labor shortage’ in decades. The U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest update that Russia is “almost certainly facing its worst labour shortage in decades,” with its population having reportedly decreased by “two million more people than expected” due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and its all-out war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian military: Russia moving civilians out of occupied Enerhodar. Russian forces are evacuating civilians out of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast city of Enerhodar, Ukraine’s General Staff said on May 7.

Human cost of war

Official: Russian army shells Kherson Oblast, injures woman, damages civilian infrastructure. On May 7, the Russian military shelled two villages, Yantarne and Kizomys, Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on his Telegram channel. As a result of the shelling, a 62-year-old woman was injured.

Governor: 5 injured in Russian attack on Balakliia. Russian forces hit a car park in Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, with an S-300 missile on May 7, injuring at least five people, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Prosecutors: Russia has killed at least 480 children, injured 964 since Feb. 24, 2022. A 16-year-old Ukrainian girl who was severely injured in the Russian attack on Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 29 died in hospital on May 5, bringing the total number of children killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion to 480, according to the latest update by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

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Russia launches another large-scale strike against Ukraine, injuring at least 5 in Kyiv

Three people were injured in blasts in Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district, and two others were injured when drone wreckage fell in the Sviatoshynskyi district, Klitschko said.

Photo: Souther Military Command

Wagner a ‘shadow of what it once was’: Russia security expert on the rage of mercenary boss Prigozhin

After seeming to have calmed down over early spring, the internal conflict between Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian Defense Ministry has escalated dramatically.

Photo: Telegram

Ukraine war latest: Prigozhin claims Wagner promised enough ammunition for Bakhmut assault

Russia’s Wagner Group claimed on May 7 that Moscow had promised enough ammunition and weapons for its mercenaries to continue their deadly assault on Bakhmut.

Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly – Issue 86

The Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development will check all state-owned enterprises under its jurisdiction for corruption, starting with Boryspil International Airport. 

Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

International response

Frontex suspends patrolling Black Sea over incident with Russian fighter jet. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, temporarily suspended patrol missions over the Black Sea following an incident with a Russian fighter jet on May 5. A Polish L410 Turbolet plane was intercepted during its routine patrol by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter around 60 kilometers east of Romanian airspace.

Turkey rejects US proposal to give Ukraine S-400 system. Turkey has refused the U.S.’s suggestion to give Ukraine an advanced S-400 air defense system it had purchased from Russia, Turkish news outlet Lodos Haber reported on May 7.

In other news

Blogger jailed for liking a caricature depicting Belarusian dictator dies in prison.

Mykola Klimovich, a 61-year-old blogger and social activist from Pinsk, died in prison, Human rights center Viasna reported. In February, Klimovich was sentenced to a year in prison for reacting to a caricature depicting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the Odnoklasniki social network.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Daria Shulzhenko, Oleg Sukhov, Francis Farrel, Igor Kossov, Oleksiy Sorokin, Natalia Datskevych, Brad LaFoy, and Olena Goncharova.

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