Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 21 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian serviceman inside the basement of Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol, Ukraine, amid Russia’s invasion. Photo released on May 20, 2022, by Dmytro Kozatskyi.

Institute for the Study of War: Russian proxies in Mariupol struggle to establish administrative control of the city. The U.S. think tank said temporarily-occupying Russian and Russian proxy authorities in Mariupol reportedly struggled to establish administrative control of the city on May 19. Aide to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andriushchenko said pro-Russian collaborators in Mariupol are guided by Russia’s Federal Security Service instead of the leadership of Russian-occupied Donbas.

Defense Ministry: Russia ready to launch 16 cruise missiles from Black Sea. Oleksandr Motuzianyk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, said two Russian ships with a total volley of up to 16 Kalibr cruise missiles are ready for use in the Black Sea.

Ukraine confirms Italy proposed plan to end war. Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said that Italy’s proposals are now being reviewed. Earlier, media reported that Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio had handed over a document with a peace plan to the United Nations’ Secretary General and the G7 countries. The four-stage plan includes a ceasefire and the demilitarization of the frontline under UN supervision, negotiations on the status of Ukraine vis-a-vis NATO and the European Union, a Ukrainian-Russian agreement on Crimea and the Donbas, and a multilateral agreement on peace and security in Europe.

Police identify 13 victims of sexual assault by Russian soldiers in Kyiv Oblast. Since the special police mobile group was launched in April, it has identified 13 victims of sexual assault allegedly committed by Russian troops during their occupation of Kyiv Oblast, according to Deputy Interior Minister Kateryna Pavlichenko. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into two cases of alleged rape, Pavlichenko reported.

Governor: Russia blocking evacuation from Kherson Oblast. Kherson Oblast Governor Hennadii Lahuta said that Russian forces have been blocking the evacuation of civilians for the fifth day in a row. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command added that Russian troops are blocking the road from Kherson Oblast to the territories controlled by Ukraine, attempting to direct everyone who wants to leave the region to the Russian-occupied Crimea.

Local official: Russian troops clear rubble covering Mariupol Drama Theater, conceal death toll. “Now we will never find out how many civilians were actually killed there,” said Petro Andriushchenko, advisor to Mariupol’s mayor. On March 16, the Russian military attacked the theater, where hundreds of women and children were hiding, with an aerial bomb.

Poltava, Zhytomyr oblasts report explosions. Poltava Oblast Governor Dmytro Lunin said a Russian missile struck a facility in Poltava’s Lubny District, although details have yet to be clarified. Yurii Tarasiuk, the head of the Korosten regional military administration, said two explosions were recorded in the town of Malyn, Zhytomyr Oblast, on the morning of May 20. No casualties have been reported yet.

National Bank of Ukraine to lift restrictions on exchange rate. The National Bank of Ukraine said it would remove restrictions on the exchange rate at which banks sell foreign currency on May 21. Previously, this rate could not deviate from the official rate by more than 10%. The bank also temporarily reduced the monthly limit on cash withdrawals abroad from Hryvnia accounts from 100,000 Hr($3,418) to 50,000 Hr ($1710).

Prosecutors identify another Russian officer allegedly guilty of atrocities in Kyiv Oblast. According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, 30-year-old Russian Vasyl Lytvynenko, commander of the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade, ordered his soldiers to kill civilians in the village of Lypivka, 40 kilometers west of Bucha.

Ukraine’s Military: Russia accumulates 130 units of military equipment near Chornobaivka, Kherson Oblast. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian forces are seeking to strengthen their military units, which have been repeatedly defeated by the Ukrainian army at a nearby airfield.

Luhansk Oblast Governor: ‘Rubizhne shared the fate of Mariupol.’ On May 20, Serhiy Haidai published photographs of mass destruction in Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, comparing it to Mariupol, up to 90% of which has been destroyed or damaged by Russian airstrikes and shelling. Haidai said that Rubizhne was “completely destroyed,” and that there are cemeteries with buried civilians in the yards.

Ambassador says he has impression that Scholz doesn’t want to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. In an interview with German RND media, Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his unwillingness to send heavy weapons to Ukraine even though the German parliament approved the decision three weeks ago. Melnyk says that Scholz is likely “stalling for time” and waiting for a ceasefire in Ukraine when “there would no longer be any need for courageous decisions.”

Azovstal

UK Defense Ministry: At least 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal surrendered. The U.K. Defense Ministry said an unknown number of Ukrainian forces remain inside the plant. The ministry’s update also said that Ukraine’s resistance in Mariupol means that Russian troops need to be re-equipped and refurbished prior to redeployment. However, Russian forces will likely be redistributed without adequate preparation due to pressure to achieve operational objectives.

Zelensky: Western partners involved in evacuation of Mariupol defenders. While details were not disclosed, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was negotiating the evacuation with the leaders of several countries, including Turkey, Switzerland, and Israel.

Russian media claim all Ukrainian defenders left Azovstal. According to Kremlin-controlled media, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Azovstal, and the entire city of Mariupol, is under Russian control. In total, 2,439 Ukrainian defenders have been evacuated from the plant since May 16, Russia’s Defense Ministry claims. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied these figures.

Institute for the Study of War: Russia potentially overstating number of Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from Azovstal. The U.S. think tank said that Russia may be inflating the numbers either to maximize the amount of Russian prisoners of war received at the next exchange, or to avoid the embarrassment of admitting to having undertaken a months-long siege against merely “hundreds” of Ukrainian soldiers.

Azov commander says defenders evacuated from Azovstal received medical treatment. Denys Prokopenko did not specify whether medical attention was provided to the Ukrainian soldiers taken from the steel plant before or after their evacuation. He said “the process continues” regarding the removal of deceased soldiers. “I hope that in the near future relatives and the whole of Ukraine will be able to bury the soldiers with honor,” Prokopenko said.

Zelensky: Pilots risk their lives to deliver supplies to Azovstal. Ukrainian pilots braved Russian anti-aircraft fire to bring humanitarian supplies to and retrieve the dead and wounded from Azovstal steel plant, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address on May 20. “A very large number of our pilots died, unfortunately. Absolutely heroic people… Just imagine what these people have done,” Zelensky said.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Defense asks court to acquit Russian soldier accused of war crimes. Days after Russian soldier Vadym Shishimarin, 21, pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed civilian, his lawyer asked for the defendant to be acquitted. Shishimarin, a sergeant in the Russian army, is accused of killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov as his unit was retreating from Ukraine’s northern Sumy Oblast. Read our story here.

Kramatorsk surgery center saves region’s lives. As war bleeds Donetsk Oblast, the surgery center in Kramatorsk’s first city hospital has to shoulder the burden of caring for civilians from a large area. Its handful of remaining doctors and nurses operate on the ill and the wounded before they can be transported west to other hospitals, the closest of which is in the city of Dnipro, 250 kilometers away. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

4 Russian missiles hit Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, in past 24 hours. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, the city of Bakhmut has experienced constant airstrikes. Kyrylenko also reported significant destruction of civilian infrastructure in the city. Across Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces killed five and injured six civilians in the past day.

Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia’s war kills 232, injures 427 children since Feb. 24. Figures are expected are likely higher as they do not include casualties in areas with ongoing hostilities or temporarily Russian-occupied areas.

Ukraine’s Military: Russia loses 28,700 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on May 20 that Russia has also lost 1,263 tanks, 3,090 armored personnel carriers, 2,162 vehicles and fuel tanks, 596 artillery systems, 200 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 anti-aircraft defense systems, 168 helicopters, 204 aircraft, 460 UAVs, and 13 boats.

Russian missile strike injures at least 7 in Kharkiv Oblast. Russia launched a missile strike on a community center in the town of Lozova, Kharkiv Oblast, Suspilne television reported. At least seven people, including an 11-year-old-child, were injured in the attack. Rescuers are on the scene.

Georgian media: 11 Georgian volunteers killed in Ukraine since Feb. 24. News Georgia media outlet reported on May 20 that the latest casualty recorded was 38-year-old Georgian soldier Rati Shurgaia, killed in hostilities near the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast.

Governor: Russia kills 15 in Sievierodonetsk in attempt to advance in Luhansk Oblast. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said on May 20, “the assault on Sievierodonetsk was unsuccessful — the Russians suffered personnel losses and retreated.” At least three people were also killed as a result of Russian shelling on a school in the area. According to Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk, up to 15,000 civilians remain in the city’s bomb shelters and 70% of residential buildings in Sievierodonetsk have been destroyed or damaged.

International response

AFP: Germany opposes pooling EU debt to rebuild Ukraine. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner rejected any joint EU borrowing to help cover the cost of rebuilding Ukraine after the European Commission proposed this idea on May 19. The commission came up with a vision to set up a RebuildUkraine facility of loans and grants of unspecified size, based on the EU’s recovery fund for which the bloc jointly borrowed on the market.

Canada to loan additional $195 million to Ukraine via IMF. Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the loan through the International Monetary Fund’s Administered Account for Ukraine. Combined with earlier financial support, this loan brings Canada’s financial commitment to Ukraine to $1.5 billion this year.

EU looks into ways to use frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to ‘rebuild Ukraine.’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told ZDF television broadcaster, “I think Russia should also make its contribution,” as quoted by Reuters on May 19.

Germany to send 15 anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine in July. A German Defense Ministry spokesperson said on May 20 that Ukraine will receive 15 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, as well as 60,000 rounds of ammunition from Germany in July.

Over 40 countries of Ukraine Contact Group to meet again on May 23. The group, led by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will discuss further defense support for Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a May 20 briefing. The group, composed of nations dedicated to aiding Ukraine, first convened at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base in April. This meeting will take place online. Before the meeting, Austin will speak with Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Official: Ukraine receives 29,000 tons of humanitarian aid over past week. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, aid received this week has consisted of food, clothing, medicine, military goods, furniture, cars, generators, and thermal-imaging cameras. Tymoshenko said humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war totals 360,000 tons.

In other news

Andriy Zagorodnyuk: Putin’s Black Sea blockade leaves millions facing global famine. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is strangling the country’s economy and also threatening to spark a global food security crisis by preventing Ukrainian agricultural exports from reaching international markets. Unless this issue is addressed, it will cause famine around the world in the coming months. Read the story here.

Gasum: Russia to cut off gas supply to Finland on May 21. Finnish energy company Gasum said it will use other sources to supply natural gas to its customers, but added that winter will be “challenging.” The gas firm had refused to pay for Russian gas in rubles. In early May, Finnish media reported that the country’s key politicians had been warned that Russia might cut off the gas supply to Finland due to its potential accession to NATO.

Lithuania to cut off Russian energy imports on May 22. Pan-European electricity exchange Nord Pool halts trade with Russian Joint Stock Company Inter RAO due to the risk of non-payment for electricity by Russia. Dainius Kreivys, Lithuania’s energy minister, said that for his country it’s not only a “journey towards energy independence,” but also a way to show solidarity with Ukraine. “We must stop financing the Russian war machine,” Kreivys said.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Daria Shulzhenko, Thaisa Semenova, Natalia Datskevych, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Oleg Sukhov, Teah Pelechaty, Olena Goncharova.

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