Ukraine Daily

Sunday, 22 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Wounded from the town of Lyman arrive to Kramatorsk’s third city hospital on May 15, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)

Podolyak: Ukraine rules out ceasefire or concessions to Russia. In an interview with Reuters on May 21, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said agreeing to a ceasefire would backfire as Russia would use the pause in fighting to prepare for further offensives. “The (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible,” he said.

Zelensky: 700,000 soldiers defending Ukraine now. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised interview on May 21 that 700,000 defenders of Ukraine are fighting all across the country, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

CIT: Ukraine could be ready for a counteroffensive within 2 months. Ruslan Leviev, head of the Conflict Intelligence Team, told the Meduza news site that the war is likely to turn in Ukraine’s favor in one and a half or two months. He cited the popular demand for an offensive and the arrival of Western weapons. The Conflict Intelligence Team is an independent Russian open-source intelligence outfit.

ISW: Russian troops likely reinforcing positions in Kharkiv Oblast, increasing combat power in south. The Institute for the Study of War in its latest update said Russian troops will likely attempt to prevent further Ukrainian advances toward the border with Russia in Kharkiv Oblast while continuing to intensify efforts to encircle and capture Sievierodonetsk. Russian forces may also be assembling forces in southern Ukraine in an attempt to seize more territory on the southern axis.

General Staff: Russia deploys Iskander missile launchers to Belgorod Oblast. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on May 22 that Russia has deployed Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system launchers to Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. Russia is also increasing logistics and repair bases in the area, the General Staff said.

General Staff: Russia preparing offensives towards Sloviansk, Lyman. Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russian troops unsuccessfully tried to storm Lypove, Vasylivka, Maryinka and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces also shelled Velyka Komyshuvakha and Dovhenke in Kharkiv Oblast, the General Staff added.

Zelensky expects multiple rocket launchers to be approved for Ukraine. Representatives of more than 40 countries will meet online on May 23 to discuss further military support for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 21 that multiple rocket launchers could be a game-changer against Russia in Donbas. “We appeal to all countries to supply MLRS systems, thanks to which Ukraine will be able to take the initiative and liberate its territory,” he said.

Russian missile hits military infrastructure in Rivne Oblast. Rivne Oblast Governor Vitaliy Koval reported that the number of victims and the extent of destruction have not yet been confirmed.

Russian forces destroy bridge between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk Oblast, said that previously the bridge had been blown up by Russia’s proxies in 2014, before being rebuilt in 2016.

Russian shelling destroys music school in Donetsk Oblast. A music school in the town of Sviatohirsk was shelled by Russian forces in the early morning on May 21, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported. The school is completely destroyed now, according to Kyrylenko.

Ukrainian troops say they destroyed Russian battalion tactical group. The group was liquidated while attempting to cross the Siversky Donets river near the village of Serebryanka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s 30th Mechanized Brigade said. The Ukrainian soldiers said they had destroyed dozens of Russian troops and several units of equipment, as well as a pontoon bridge.

Russian occupying forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast threaten entrepreneurs who refuse to conduct business in rubles. The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram that Russian occupiers have set the exchange rate in the occupied village of Vasylivka as 10 hryvnia to 25 rubles and those who refuse to sell products in rubles are threatened with a “prophylactic conversation.”

Guerrillas help Ukraine’s Armed Forces destroy Russian artillery in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration said on May 21 in a Telegram post that “thanks to coordinated actions with guerrillas, Ukrainian riflemen destroyed several artillery systems of the Russian army.”

Health minister: Russian forces block medicine supply to hospitals in occupied territories. According to Viktor Lyashko, 235 medical institutions and 20 emergency teams, most of them in Kherson Oblast, are facing shortages. The official said that Russian occupiers are trying to force hospital staff to cooperate with them.

Mayor: More than 1,000 apartments damaged in Lozova after shelling. A Russian missile strike on the city of Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast on May 20 also damaged 11 educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and completely destroyed the city’s house of culture, Lazova Mayor Serhiy Zelensky said on May 21 in a video address on Telegram.

Zelensky: More than 1,000 educational institutions destroyed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. During his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian military has destroyed 1,873 educational institutions since Feb. 24. “This is a colossal scale of losses,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine’s Air Force destroys at least 12 pieces of Russian military equipment on May 21. Air Force Spokesman Yuri Ignat said that two Solntsepek multiple rocket launchers were among the equipment destroyed. Ignat also reported that Ukraine’s Air Force downed two Kalibr cruise missiles Russia fired from the Black Sea as well as missiles over Vinnytsia Oblast.

SBU confirms Kramatorsk train station was attacked from Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) spokesperson Artem Dekhtiarenko said on May 21 that the SBU “got indisputable evidence” that Russia was behind the attack on the Kramatorsk railway station that killed 61 and injured 121 people on April 8. The SBU established that a missile was launched by the Tochka-U ballistic missile system from the territory in Donetsk Oblast which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

Zelensky: Russia blocks 22 million tons of crops in Ukrainian ports. President Volodymyr Zelensky added on May 21 that Russia is stealing Ukrainian crops. According to Ukraine’s agrarian policy ministry, grain exports are limited to 500,000 tons per month, compared to 5 million tons before the war.

Ukraine launches hotline for Russian army’s soldiers to surrender. After intercepting phone calls from soldiers conscripted by Russia in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine wh compare their service to “slavery” and ask for help, Ukraine’s State Security Service launched the “2024” hotline for the Russian army’s soldiers willing to surrender.

Moody’s downgrades Ukraine’s ratings. Rating agency Moody’s lowered Ukraine’s long-term credit rating from Caa2 to Caa3 due to the risks of a protracted war with Russia and an increasing public debt burden over international financial support.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Andriy Zagorodnyuk: ‘Those who say Ukraine can’t win don’t understand the situation.’

A New York Times editorial article titled “The War in Ukraine Is Getting Complicated, and America Isn’t Ready,” published on May 19, immediately triggered a stir in Ukraine and beyond. In the wake of all the backlash about the editorial, the Kyiv Independent asked Ukraine’s former defense minister, director of the Kyiv-based Center for Defense Strategies, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, whether Ukraine really can’t prevail over Russia.

Azovstal

Zelensky says Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal up for prisoners exchange. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised interview that Ukrainian defenders taken from Azovstal to Russian-controlled cities must return home as part of a prisoner exchange. According to Zelensky, all civilians, doctors, as well as wounded and severely wounded people left the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, a total of 2,439 soldiers from Azovstal have surrendered.

Russia to consider exchanging Mariupol defenders for Medvedchuk. Leonid Slutsky, a member of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine, said that Russia would consider exchanging the Ukrainian soldiers who were taken by Russia as prisoners of war in Mariupol for pro-Kremlin member of parliament Viktor Medvedchuk. The Ukrainian soldiers surrendered earlier in May after defending the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, for months. Medvedchuk is currently under arrest in a treason case.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian shelling kills 3 civilians in Kherson Oblast. Russian troops fired on the village of Bilozerka, damaging infrastructure, killing three residents and injuring three others, Suspilne television reported.

Russian shelling kills 7 civilians in Donetsk Oblast. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk Oblast, also said that 10 people were injured in the region on May 21.

Russia’s war has killed at least 400 civilians in Donetsk Oblast since Feb. 24. 1,116 people have been injured, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on May 21. The numbers, however, do not include those killed in the destroyed cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. According to officials, the number of civilian casualties is estimated to be around 20,000.

General Staff: 28,850 Russian troops killed since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on May 21 that Russia has also lost 1,278 tanks, 3,116 armored personnel carriers, 2,178 vehicles and fuel tanks, 596 artillery systems, 201 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 anti-aircraft defense systems, 169 helicopters, 204 aircraft, 462 UAVs, and 13 boats.

International response

Polish President Duda arrives in Ukraine to address parliament. President Andrzej Duda arrived in Ukraine on May 21 and will become the first head of a foreign state to deliver a speech at Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Biden signs bill providing $40 billion in aid for Ukraine. According to an announcement by the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the “Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022” on May 21. The package includes military, economic, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as it battles the Russian aggression.

Russia bans US top officials including Biden, Harris from entry. 963 U.S. nationals, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and CIA Director William Burns are now denied entry to Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry took this step in response to U.S. sanctions over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Portuguese prime minister pays visit to Irpin. Antonio Costa visited Irpin, a Kyiv suburb that saw heavy hostilities during the Battle of Kyiv, on May 21. “The levels of destruction and violence are completely devastating. I testified the evidence of vicious, indiscriminate, and unjustified attacks,” Costa said. “I will never forget the visit to Irpin.”

Portugal to provide 250 million euros to Ukraine. “This will help Ukraine maintain macroeconomic stability during the war and allow us to recover sooner after our victory,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during the meeting with Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa. The funds will the allocated through the International Monetary Fund.

Reuters: Germany, Italy approve ruble accounts for Russian gas payments. Following discussions with the EU, Germany and Italy told companies they could open rouble accounts to proceed purchasing Russian gas “without breaching” sanctions against Russia, Reuters reported citing its anonymous sources.

Russia cuts off gas supplies to Finland. According to the Finnish gas firm Gasum, starting from May 21, it will “supply natural gas to its customers from other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline.” The decision comes after Gasum’s earlier refusal to pay for Russian gas in rubles.

Bild: Germany has unused Marder vehicles which it refuses to provide to Ukraine. The German newspaper Bild has obtained a classified document stating that Germany has 62 Marder infantry fighting vehicles that are no longer used and could therefore be given to Ukraine. Earlier Germany stated it cannot supply any Marder vehicles to Ukraine because all 343 of them were being used by the German military.

Russian Transport Minister: Western sanctions have led to serious problems with logistics in Russia. Russia’s Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev told journalists on May 21 that Western sanctions have forced Russia “to look for new logistics corridors,” Russian independent media Meduza reported. Russia will now rely more heavily on the North-South transport corridor to move freight, Savelyev said.

In other news

Saint Javelin’ mural being painted in Kyiv. The mural will portray the viral “Saint Javelin” meme with an Orthodox Madonna clad in green and cradling a Javelin anti-tank missile, which Ukraine uses as it battles Russian aggression. The mural will be the first of a series of murals on Antonova Street, according to former deputy of the Kyiv City Council Andriy Andreev.

Statue of Russian writer Alexander Pushkin taken down in Mykolaiv. The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Senkevych, said the monument was taken down to avoid vandalism, and a decision on what to do with it will be made after the war is over. Since Russia launched the ongoing large-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukraine has witnessed “derussification” – the dismantlement of some momuments to Russians and the renaming of some streets named after Russians.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Daria Shulzhenko, Asami Terjima, Sergiy Slipchenko, Toma Istomina, Oleksiy Sorokin, Oleg Sukhov, and Lili Bivings.

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