Friday, May 17

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Two girls in vyshyvankas pose for a photo in Kyiv on May 16, 2024. Vyshyvanka Day celebrates Ukrainian folk traditions, particularly the creation and wearing of ethnic embroidered clothes known as vyshyvankas. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

General Staff: Ukraine thwarts Russia’s attempts to gain foothold in Vovchansk. “The enemy’s plans to advance deeper into the city of Vovchansk and gain a foothold there were thwarted,” Ukraine’s General Staff said on May 16.

Minister: Russia captures, shoots civilians in northern Vovchansk. Russian forces are taking Ukrainian civilians captive and preventing their evacuation in the embattled northern part of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on May 16.

Zelensky: Ukraine can prevent occupation of Kharkiv with 2 Patriot systems. When asked if the U.S. is to blame for what is happening in Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “It is the world’s fault.”

NATO top commander says Russia has insufficient numbers for breakthrough in Kharkiv Oblast. Echoing comments from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said earlier in the day that the situation in Kharkiv Oblast was “difficult” but “under control,” General Christopher Cavoli expressed confidence that Ukraine would be able to withstand the assault.

Military: Ukraine has not lost ground near Robotyne in Zaporizhizhia Oblast. Ukrainian troops have not lost ground near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Dmytro Lykhovii, General Staff’s spokesperson told on the national television on May 16.

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Source: Ukrainian drones attack Russian defense manufacturer’s facilities in Tula. Drones operated by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) hit production facilities of the state-owned Russian weapons manufacturing company “Basalt” in the city of Tula overnight on May 16, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.

Partisans: Ammunition depot hit at Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea. The partisans claim that the damaged depot stored “most of the missiles” for Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets as well as MiG-31 aircraft, a carrier of Kinzhal ballistic missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine.

Russian media: Novorossiysk port, oil depot hit in overnight attack. Drones and missiles struck an oil refinery and seaport in the Russian city of Novorossiysk in the early hours of May 17, causing explosions and power outages, the Russian Telegram news channel Astra reported.

WSJ: Russia tested space-based anti-satellite weapon with potential nuclear capabilities in 2022. The officials said that Russia had launched a satellite into space in February 2022 to test components for a potential anti-satellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device. However, the satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reported.

PM’s advisor: Power cuts in Ukraine may last until August. Power supply restrictions in Ukraine may last until August, Yurii Boiko, an advisor to the prime minister, said at a press conference in Kyiv on May 16.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Situation in Kharkiv ‘difficult’ but ‘under control’

“As of today, the situation in Kharkiv Oblast is generally under control, our soldiers are inflicting significant losses” on Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 16.

Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram

Vyshyvanka: A Ukrainian tradition preserved through centuries (Photo)

Every year on the third Thursday of May, Ukrainians celebrate Vyshyvanka Day. Vyshyvanka is the Ukrainian word for an embroidered shirt or dress – a central piece to traditional Ukrainian clothing.

Photo: Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing

New Defense Minister Belousov aims to put Russia’s economy on war footing

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s appointment of a new defense minister, Andrey Belousov, is seen as an attempt to streamline Russia’s economy and mobilize it for the war effort.

Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Glide bombs help Russia gain land in Ukraine. What makes them so effective?

Every week, hundreds of these large, deadly weapons rain down on Ukraine, creating 20-meter-wide craters and obliterating military positions and entire settlements.

Photo: Wikimedia

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Kharkiv kills 2. A Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast killed two women on May 16, the Kharkiv Oblast Office of the Prosecutor General reported on Telegram.

Russian cluster munition attack on Kharkiv Oblast injures 6, including Vovchansk official. Russian forces attacked a village near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast with cluster munitions on May 16, injuring six people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russian attacks on Kherson, Donetsk oblasts kill 1, injure 9. Russian troops attacked the village of Mykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast and the Beryslav district in Kherson Oblast on May 16, killing one person and injuring nine, according to the prosecutors.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 41 over 1 day. Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts — Sumy, Luhansk, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Casualties were reported in the latter five regions.

General Staff: Russia has lost **488,460 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.**This number includes 1,520 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Opinions and insights

Kharuk: Ukraine’s naval drones are taking over the Black Sea

“Russian forces have encountered a new enemy in the Black Sea: Ukraine’s arsenal of naval kamikaze drones. These deceptively small unmanned vehicles have targeted Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since September 2022, picking off Russian battleships one by one,” writes military historian Andrii Kharuk.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

International response

Xi claims Beijing, Moscow want ‘political solution’ to Russia-Ukraine war. Speaking on May 16 at a press conference during Putin’s two-day visit to China, the pair put on a united front and cast themselves as partners opposed to a Western, U.S.-led world order.

Reuters: Sri Lanka to send delegation to return mercenaries fighting on behalf of Russia. According to reports, a top official in the Sri Lankan government stated that the government will send a delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of nationals reportedly fighting in the war in Ukraine.

Reuters: G7 will support using frozen Russian assets revenue to fund Ukraine. The G7 finance ministers are set to meet on May 24, where they will work out the details to come to a final decision before a summit in Italy in June.

New York Times: NATO member states considering sending military instructors to Ukraine. Some NATO member states are discussing the possibility of sending military instructors or contractors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops and assist with equipment repairs, the New York Times reported on May 16.

US imposes sanctions on Russians who helped transport weapons from North Korea to Russia. With Russia’s military stocks running low and domestic production capacity simultaneously hampered by Western sanctions, North Korea has been shaping up as Russia’s leading weapons supplier, reportedly providing Moscow with extensive military packages, including ballistic missiles and over 3 million artillery shells.

Denmark announces more than $815 million in new military assistance for Ukraine. “With today’s donation, we meet Ukraine’s urgent need for more air defense, artillery, and ammunition,” said Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

New Zealand announces new sanctions over Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The restrictions target actors purportedly involved in the transfer of North Korean arms to Russia for use against Ukraine and Iranian actors providing military aid to Moscow.

Polish parliament’s lower house passes law amendments on Ukrainian refugees. Sejm, the lower chamber of Poland’s parliament, supported on May 15 amendments to the law on Ukrainian refugees, which include several changes and extend their protection until Sep. 30, 2025.

Netherlands’ incoming coalition government reaffirms support for Ukraine.

Under outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands has been a staunch ally of Ukraine, being one of the few partners to pledge F-16 fighter jets.

In other news

Slovak PM ‘no longer in life-threatening condition’ after assassination attempt. A 71-year-old man is reportedly suspected of carrying out what Slovak government officials have called an assassination attempt and has been detained.

FT: EU to freeze Georgia’s membership bid if ‘foreign agents’ law enacted. The bill’s introduction into the parliament has led to widespread protests across the country and criticism from the EU and the U.S.

Official: Ukraine’s civil service suffering ‘catastrophic’ shortage of people. Last year, the Ukrainian government passed a law limiting bonuses for those working in the civil service.

Moldova to hold referendum on joining EU in October. The European Council agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova last December. Chisinau has moved closer to Europe over recent months amid repeated warnings that the Kremlin is attempting to carry out a destabilization campaign inside the country’s borders.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Martin Fornusek, Katya Denisova, Nate Ostiller, Rachel Amran, Oleg Sukhov, Sonya Bandouil, and Abbey Fenbert.

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