Thursday, May 23
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Residents embrace each other after a Russian aerial attack on May 22, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A Russian airstrike with guided aerial bombs targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring at least 12 people. (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)
Source: SBU has a new weapon – Grad-equipped Sea Baby drones. Naval drones used by the SBU have hit several Russian warships but until now have been kamikaze drones that explode on impact or in the near vicinity of a target.
Governor: Russia trying to storm Luhansk Oblast’s Bilohorivka, situation ‘really difficult.’ Russian troops have been trying to storm the village of Bilohorivka in Luhansk region, for three days, but the situation is under Ukraine’s control, Governor Artem Lysohor told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) on May 22.
Police: Russian forces shooting civilians in Vovchansk. Speaking on air to KYIV24 on May 22, Oleksii Kharkivskyi, the town’s police chief, said there had been “several” incidents and investigations were “ongoing.”
Ukraine approves system to grant soldiers additional vacation days for destroying Russian military equipment. According to the measures posted on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website, soldiers will be given five days of leave upon confirmation they have destroyed a Russian ship or plane, four for the destruction of an anti-air defense system or a helicopter, and three for a tank or armored personnel carrier.
Parliament votes to create temporary commission for fortifications. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on May 22 to create a special temporary commission on fortifications, lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said.
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Ukrainian forces shoot down another Russian Su-25 aircraft. This is the fifth Russian Su-25 jet that Ukraine has reportedly shot down this month.
357 Russian soldiers and collaborators suspected of war crimes. Ukrainian law enforcement has identified 357 Russian servicemen and occupation officials suspected of war crimes, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin posted on X.
Official: Poland weighs shooting down Russian missiles near border. “This issue is being considered from a legal and technical point of view, but there are no decisions in this matter,” Polish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski said.
Russia launched counterspace weapon into orbit, US says. Wood described the move as “troubling.” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder separately said on May 21 the U.S. was monitoring the situation and had a “responsibility to be ready to protect and defend… the space domain.”
Swedish commander: Putin aims to control Baltic Sea, has his eye on Gotland Island. Russian President Vladimir Putin may be seeking dominance over the Baltic Sea and has his sights on the island of Gotland, Micael Byden, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, said in an interview with RND published on May 21.
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Ukraine war latest: UK intelligence has evidence of Chinese lethal aid to Russia
Speaking at the London Defense Conference, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said he was declassifying new intelligence to reveal the “quite significant” development and called on the world to “wake up” to the threat.
Photo: Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images
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On a knife-edge: Slovak PM shooting widens societal rift, feeds disinformation
In an unprecedented and shocking event, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was grievously injured when an attacker fired several shots at him in the town of Handlova after a government meeting on May 15.
Photo: AFP via Getty Images
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Human cost of war
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 3, injure 19 over past day. Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts — Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.
Minister: Russian drone attacks police car near Vovchansk, kills officer. Russian forces launched a drone at a police car during evacuation efforts near Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, killing one officer and injuring another, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on May 22.
Authorities say Russian guided munitions attack on Kharkiv injures at least 12, including 16-year-old boy. Russian troops attacked the city of Kharkiv with guided munition on May 22, injuring at least 10 people, according to preliminary information by the local authorities.
General Staff: Russia has lost 496,370 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,300 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Opinions and insights
Opinion: Navigating the ‘Zelensky Legitimacy Question’
“Claims put out by Russia and its allies’ propaganda machines aim to discredit Zelensky internationally, particularly in the so-called Global South. Ukrainian authorities will have yet another problem to manage if these narratives gain traction,” KI Insights researchers Jakub Parusinski and Olena Yermakova write.
Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images
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Opinion: The West should launch an economic Cold War against Russia
“Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to revive the Soviet Union, but two can play this game. To complete the Kremlin’s grotesque historical reenactment, the West should launch a new economic Cold War in response,” writes Roman Sulzhyk, former executive at JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank.
Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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International response
Sweden plans to allocate $7 billion in military aid to Ukraine between 2024-2026. “Sweden will increase the support, as the framework amounts to 75 billion Swedish krona in military support for the years 2024–2026, which is 25 billion Swedish krona ($2.3 billion) per year,” according to the statement.
China sanctions 12 US military companies over Taiwan, war in Ukraine. China sanctioned 12 American military companies and 10 defense executives on May 22 in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and sanctions against Chinese firms the U.S. has accused of aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Speaker Johnson says Ukrainians should be allowed to fight war as ‘they see fit.’ “(Ukraine needs) to be able to fight back. And I think us trying to micromanage the effort there is not a good policy for us,” said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
54 delegations IAEA conference call to punish Russia for jeopardizing global nuclear security. Fifty-four delegations supported Ukraine’s statement that Russia is jeopardizing global nuclear and radiation security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna on May 22, the Energy Ministry reported.
Romanian president outlines condition of sending Ukraine Patriot system. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stated that supplying a Patriot system to Ukraine must be approved by the Supreme Council of National Defense, and must not compromise Romania’s air defense.
Zelensky’s term would have ended by now. Is he still legitimate?
In other news
FT: EU countries push for visa-free travel suspension, other sanctions against Georgia over ’foreign agents ’ law. Estonia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are among several EU countries pushing for sanctions against Georgia in response to its government’s passing of the controversial “foreign agents” law, the Financial Times (FT) reported on May 22, citing official sources.
Ex-deputy head of Presidential Office Smirnov charged with illicit enrichment. While Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) did not say the name of the suspect, Ukrainska Pravda reported earlier in the day, citing undisclosed law enforcement sources, that it was Andrii Smirnov.
PM Sunak announces UK general election. Sunak’s opponent, Labour MP Keir Starmer, is widely expected to win the July 4 vote. Starmer has pledged to continue the UK’s support for Ukraine if elected.
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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Denisova, Nate Ostiller, Chris York, Lili Bivings, Kateryna Hodunova, Sonya Bandouil, and Abbey Fenbert.
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