Newsletter 17/05/2024
Daily news digest
The exhibition "Qirim Içün/For the sake of Crimea" opened in the capital
Top
Targets in Sevastopol, Tuapse, Novorossiysk attacked by SBU, HUR - source
According to the source, explosions in Sevastopol Bay were a joint operation carried out by SBU and HUR. In addition, Ukrainian intelligence attacked the Novorossiysk Sea Port, and SBU drones hit an oil refinery in Tuapse.
The attack hit the Sevastopol electric substation, which led to power outages. In the Port of Novorossiysk, explosions were heard near the oil terminal and at the railway station. This is the second time this year that SBU drones "visited" the Tuapse Oil Refinery, which the Russians have begun to restore, the source said.
Russians trying to launch offensive in Kharkiv region on rear of Ukrainian forces – CinC Syrskyi
In Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Russian invaders have expanded the area of active hostilities by almost 70 kilometers and concentrated their main efforts on the Strilecha-Lyptsi sector, attempting to take Vovchansk and launch an offensive on the rear of Ukrainian forces.
In Kharkiv, number of people injured as result of shelling by KABs increased to 25
On 17 May, at 15:40, the Russian military launched two strikes with guided aerial bombs on the city of Kharkiv. Law enforcement officials noted that all emergency services are working at the site of the attack. The dead men are currently being identified. In addition, according to preliminary police information, 18 men and a 58-year-old woman sustained explosive injuries and shrapnel injuries of varying severity.
Due to Hungary's position, CoE Committee of Ministers changed format of declaration on Zelensky Formula
The Ukrainian delegation was aware that Hungary would be against the inclusion of a clause in the general declaration of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supporting President Zelensky's Peace Formula, so it was decided to change the format of the final document.
Russia exploits attempt on Fico to play victim - British expert
Russian propaganda and pro-Russian actors in Europe are trying to exploit the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico to portray themselves and their allies as victims while claiming that Ukraine and the West are real “villains”.
First time since war-start, no complaints from military over ammo shortage
"Even ahead of the Czech initiative (regarding the supply of projectiles procured in third countries - ed.), we see progress. For the first time since war-start, none of the brigades complained that there were no artillery shells. And this has been happening for the past two months. Everyone still has a lot of work to do. The Czech initiative will go ahead. We are negotiating with all partners on the issue of money," said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine nationalises two Russian passenger planes
The High Anti-Corruption Court upheld the claim of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and confiscated two Russian passenger aircraft owned by the Rostec Corporation.
War
Border guards destroy Russian IFV near Vovchansk
On the outskirts of Vovchansk, border aerial reconnaissance spotted a camouflaged Russian infantry fighting vehicle. The information was relayed to the artillerymen from the "Steel Frontier" brigade, which subsequently fired on the vehicle.
New satellite imagery shows two MiG-31s, one Su-27 destroyed at Belbek Air Base
The New York Times investigator Christiaan Triebert published satellite images of the Belbek Air Base in temporarily occupied Crimea on the social media platform X, Ukrinform reports.
"On Maxar imagery, two MiG-31s and one Su-27 have been completely destroyed, and a MiG-29 damaged, at the Russian Air Force's Belbek Airbase in occupied Crimea. A fuel storage near the main airbase runway was also destroyed, and debris continued to burn in the aftermath," Triebert wrote.
Ukraine downs all Russian 20 drones overnight Friday
The Russian invasion forces launched 20 one-way attack UAVS of the Shahed-131/136 type at Ukraine overnight Friday.
The UAVs were launched from the Russian regions of Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk.
As per the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Russian drones were downed over Kharkiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions.
More than 9,300 people evacuated from seven communities in Kharkiv region
More than 9,300 people have been evacuated from seven communities in the Kharkiv, Chuhuiv, and Bohodukhiv districts in the Kharkiv region that are under Russian shelling.
ISW analyzes impact of degraded air defense capabilities on Ukrainian energy infrastructure
Russian missile strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since March 2024 have likely caused long-term damage to the Ukrainian energy infrastructure and repeated energy blackouts.
Analysts, in particular, recall that power outages to stabilize the power system began on May 14, and suggest that long-term damage to Ukraine's energy grid that generates persisting energy disruptions threatens to constrain Ukrainian efforts to expand its defense industrial base (DIB).
Politics
Zelensky welcomes Macron's idea to deploy foreign instructors in Ukraine
"Training in Ukraine is logical – we have already spoken about it. It is faster than going, say, to France or even to Poland. And then, cooperation on demining, it is possible to create a hub for the repair of French equipment, for example, directly in Ukraine, so as not to send it to France. I look at it very positively, to be honest. All this could be a step that would encourage other countries as well. That is, it opens a new page in this war," President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a meeting with journalists
Defense
Lithuania transfers ammunition, anti-drone systems, UAVs to Ukraine
Lithuania has transferred ammunition, anti-drone systems, UAVs, generators and folding beds to the Ukrainian army as part of uninterrupted military support for Ukraine. The aid package includes 5.56×45 mm cartridges and 100 kW generators.
Lithuania hands over six AMBER 1800 radar systems to Ukraine
Lithuania has actively joined the German initiative to strengthen Ukraine's air defence by announcing its intention to transfer 6 AMBER 1800 radar systems to Ukraine.
Society
Ukrainian MFA, embassies of 24 countries reaffirm their commitment to upholding equality
Today, on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT+), the Council on Human Rights, Gender Equality and Diversity at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) and diplomats of other countries reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to upholding equality and respect for the human rights and dignity of all members of society, including LGBTQI+ persons and their allies.
EU allocates EUR 50M to support 150 Ukrainian media outlets
The European Union supports Ukrainian mass media both at the national and regional levels. In total, EUR 50 million have already been donated as part of the assistance to the media.
Work on dismantling "kiosk church" UOC-MP in Kyiv will continue next week
Next week, the foundation slab remaining from the demolished kiosk chapel, which the UOC-MP community had built unauthorisedly near the National Museum of History of Ukraine, will be removed.
As reported, in Kyiv at night, the "temple-mafia" of the UOC-MP was demolished in the UNESCO buffer zone, near the National Museum of History of Ukraine. This building, which consisted of three 20 sq m kiosks, was erected by the religious community of the UOC-MP in violation of the law on the territory of the National Museum of History of Ukraine in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Kyiv: St Sophia Cathedral and adjacent monastery buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra".
Publications
Volodymyr Zelensky: the battle for legitimacy has been won
On May 20, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term as President of Ukraine officially began. According to the Constitution, the next presidential election was supposed to take place on March 31, 2024, but Russia’s full-scale invasion pushed this issue far into the background before it returned to the Ukrainian media space only after a series of statements voiced by Western politicians.
In May 2023, PACE President Tiny Kox said Ukraine should organize elections despite the ongoing war, referring to the statute of the Council of Europe. Then, in August, U.S. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that free and fair elections be held in this country, even as it is being attacked.
However, neither these statements nor Kyiv's decision to postpone the elections caused a particular public stir in Ukraine. According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), in September 2023, more than 80% of citizens believed it was not the right time for elections. Civil society shared the same opinion: more than 100 NGOs and movements signed the relevant statement on the Civil Network OPORA platform. A consensus was also formed among political forces: in November 2023, heads of parliamentary factions, including opposition, signed a memorandum agreeing that free and fair national elections should be held in the post-war period.