Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:05 During the day on May 17, Russia attacked the Odessa region with three ballistic missiles (probably Iskander-M) and three Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles, actively using reconnaissance drones throughout the southern direction, the Air Force reported. In total, air defense in the southern direction destroyed three X-59 guided aircraft missiles in the Odessa region, two ZALA reconnaissance UAVs, an attack Lancet and one UAV of an unknown type in the Kherson region, as well as one UAV of an unknown type in the Kirovograd region.
21:36 The Leningrad Military District of the Russian Federation stated that the cause of the explosion on the economic territory of the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications in St. Petersburg was the “arbitrary detonation” of 76-mm ammunition from the Second World War. Seven soldiers were injured.
21:08 The Russians dropped explosives from a drone on Stanislav, Kherson region - the car in which the head of the Novotroitsk SVA, Sergei Peretyatko, was traveling was hit, he was wounded, said the head of the SVA, Alexander Prokudin. According to him, the community headed by Peretyatko is under Russian occupation, so he helped his colleagues from Stanislav.
21:04 Russian public pages write about an explosion at the Military Academy of Communications in St. Petersburg, which injured seven people. She was allegedly attacked by a drone.
20:53 The death toll as a result of today's attacks on Kharkov has increased to three, 28 people were injured , said the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov.
20:37 The Tuapse oil refinery stopped after an attack by a Ukrainian drone, Reuters writes, citing sources. According to the publication, drones hit a liquefied petroleum gas production plant in Tuapse, while a crude oil processing plant remained undamaged.
20:02 As a result of today's Russian shelling of populated areas in the Donetsk region, three people were killed and three were wounded, the prosecutor's office reported. In particular, two people died in the city of Krasnogorovka, another in the city of Chasov Yar. Two people were injured as a result of an air bomb attack on the cities of Selidovo and Liman, and one in the village. Bogatyr of Volnovakha district.
19:54 As a result of today's Russian strike on the Odessa region, one person was killed, the number of wounded increased to eight, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OVA.
19:50 Ukraine and Slovenia are completing work on a bilateral security agreement within the framework of the G7 declaration, Zelensky said following a telephone conversation with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob. He also thanked for confirming his participation in the Peace Summit in Switzerland.
In an evening video message, Zelensky said that he had a “very detailed and lengthy” conversation about the protection and restoration of energy, the overall situation in the energy sector: “Now, after Russian attacks, our energy sector has lost a significant part of generation. And it takes time to restore. A lot of effort is needed for further development of energy - new energy that will be able to operate despite the threats of Russian terror. Plus, we are already preparing for the next heating season, and this involves, in particular, planned repairs and preparation of nuclear generation. Therefore, now there is again a need for very rational, thoughtful consumption. electricity."
19:41 There are no preliminary plans for restrictions on electricity supplies for Saturday, May 18, DTEK reported. At the same time, they added that “the situation is extremely changeable” and called for using light sparingly. Today from 19:00 to 00:00 the schedules for Kyiv, Kyiv, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions are applied.
18:13 The Washington Post writes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Starlink terminals failed on the day of the Russian troops’ offensive in the Kharkov direction. Because of Russian electronic warfare equipment, the terminals were completely out of order for the first time. On the morning of May 10, communication with the drones “simply disappeared,” all video channels were lost, the unit commander said. The military did not see how the Russian Armed Forces were moving and worked only with radios or telephones.
18:07 The Russians launched a missile attack on the Odessa region. In the Odessa region, there was a strong fire at the site where one of the missiles hit, and civilian infrastructure was damaged. Currently, five casualties are known, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Kiper.
17:54 As a result of today's strikes on Kharkov, two people were killed and 19 were injured , said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
17:42 The European Union has banned the broadcasting of RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Voice of Europe.
16:51 Russia suffered the largest drone strike since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Behind him are the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Although Kyiv, of course, does not officially deny or confirm these strikes. Read more in the article Rain from drones .
16:29 The Russians launched two KAB attacks on Kharkov, including the Kholodnogorsk region. One person was killed and five were injured, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Sinegubov.
15:35 Zelensky signed the law on the mobilization of convicts.
14:54 Zelensky signed a law increasing fines for evading military registration. For violation of military registration rules during martial law, the fine will range from 17,000 to 25,500 hryvnia. Fines can also be imposed in absentia.
14:48 The Ministry of Defense announced the launch of the Reserve+ mobile application for military personnel, conscripts and reservists. The department recalled that from Saturday, May 18, a new law on mobilization comes into force, according to which all men 18-60 years old must update their credentials within 60 days - until July 16 inclusive. When updating the data, a referral to the VLK will not be issued - it can be issued later if necessary.
You can update your data online - through the Reserve+ application, which will be available for download on smartphones through the App Store and Google Play Market from May 18; or offline at Territorial Acquisition Centers and Administrative Services Centers throughout the country.
A QR code will also appear in the Reserve+ application, by scanning which government officials will be able to instantly obtain information about the status of a person liable for military service, a conscript or a reservist.
14:22 About 4,500 prisoners in Ukraine agreed that a law on parole through concluding a contract for military service is needed. The Ministry of Justice conducted such a survey in April, said Deputy Minister of Justice Elena Vysotskaya. She clarified that those convicted under articles of the Criminal Code were not interviewed, some of whom are currently not subject to mobilization. Also, when preparing these statistics, experts immediately discarded about 4,000 prisoners who were diagnosed with diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. As of May 15, there were 27,471 convicts in Ukrainian colonies, including 1,538 women.
13:43 Russia is ready to participate in peace negotiations on Ukraine, but it is not invited to the conference in Switzerland, Putin said. He also noted that before the invasion of Ukraine he was in constant contact with Zelensky. Now Moscow will proceed “from real conditions” when resolving the conflict, the head of the Kremlin added.
Putin also said that the issue of Zelensky’s legitimacy is important for Russia if documents have to be signed. At the same time, he believes that the question of Zelensky’s legitimacy, given the cancellation of the elections, “should be answered by the legal and political system of Ukraine.”
13:17 Putin said that Russia currently has no plans to capture Kharkov, and the Russian offensive in the region is “the fault of the Ukrainian authorities” and “a response to shelling of the regions of the Russian Federation.” According to him, Russia is “forced to create a sanitary zone” due to the shelling of Belgorod.
Putin also said that Russia is analyzing “who it can deal with in Ukraine and who it can trust.” According to him, “in general, there is a basis for the negotiation process, these are the Istanbul agreements.” He also noted that China “sincerely strives to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.”
13:13 In the Vinnytsia region, as a result of falling debris from an enemy drone, the equipment of one of the energy facilities was damaged, the Ministry of Energy reported. More than 23 thousand subscribers in four settlements lost power, most of them have already been connected.
13:01 Lithuania has sent Ukraine a new batch of military and humanitarian aid, Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said. The package included, inter alia, reconnaissance drones, counter-UAV systems, as well as ammunition, generators and folding beds.
12:55 The government has allocated more than 1.5 billion hryvnia for the restoration of the Zmievskaya Thermal Power Plant in the Kharkov region and the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kiev region, Shmygal said.
12:42 Hungary vetoed the Council of Europe resolution recognizing the lack of alternative to Zelensky’s peace formula, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said: “The Council wanted to adopt a resolution today in which it wanted to recognize only and exclusively the peace plan of President Zelensky as the peace formula that should be consider and support. This is unacceptable for us. Other countries have also developed peace plans that are no worse than the plan of the Ukrainian president. I asked that other peace plans be included in the Council of Europe resolution. Therefore, I vetoed it. did not become a decision of the Council." Szijjártó also called for the start of “real peace negotiations” with the participation of the Russian Federation.
12:26 Starting Saturday, May 18, an e-office will be launched in Ukraine, in which men of military age will be able to update their data, said Dmitry Lazutkin, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. According to him, at first it will be a version with a minimum set of functions, and then additional options will appear in the electronic account. In the meantime, this will be an opportunity to update your data - email, phone and place of residence.
In addition, from May 18, CNAPs will also accept those liable for military service to update data, said Natalya Shamray, director of the CNAP department in Kyiv. According to her, 300 administrators of central administrative centers are connected to the accounting system; they will work from 9:00 to 18:00.
12:17 The Russian Army has expanded the active combat zone by almost 70 km, thus trying to force the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use additional brigades from the reserve, said Syrsky, who has been working in units in the Kharkov region for several days in a row. According to him, the enemy concentrated his main efforts on the direction of Strelechk-Liptsy and on the capture of Volchansk, followed by access to the White Well and the deployment of an offensive to the rear of the Ukrainian troops. For this purpose, the Russian Federation created and significantly strengthened the operational-tactical group of troops North, which included combat units of the 6th Army, 11th and 44th Army Corps.
The commander-in-chief said that the enemy launched an offensive much earlier than planned when he noticed the transfer of Ukrainian troops, but he was unable to break through the defenses. “However, we understand that there will be heavy fighting ahead and the enemy is preparing for this. In such circumstances, we must prevent further advance of enemy troops, inflict maximum losses on them, and also create conditions for defeat by the actions of mobile assault groups and units by attacks on the flank and rear from different directions,” added Syrsky.
11:39 Zelensky said that for the first time in the war years, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have enough artillery: “Not a single brigade is complaining that there are no shells. And this has been happening in the last two months.”
11:35 In the Kharkov direction, since the beginning of the day, there has been one military clash in the area of the village of Staritsa, the General Staff reported. The situation in Volchansk is under control. Measures are continuing to strengthen the positions of the Defense Forces and improve the tactical situation in certain directions. In the Kupyansky direction, Ukrainian troops are conducting assault operations in order to improve the tactical situation in the direction of Sinkovka-Olshana.
11:08 Zelensky claims that partners are not pushing Ukraine to negotiate with Russia, although “there is this in the atmosphere of peace.” In his opinion, if a large number of countries attend the Peace Summit in Switzerland and the corresponding communiqué is adopted, this will become a diplomatic advantage for Ukraine. The President also believes that before communicating with Moscow, a detailed plan should be created, agreed upon by the whole world. At the same time, Zelensky added that Putin does not benefit from dialogue with the whole world, “because even China will tell him: explain the seizure of territories. Because China stands for the territorial integrity of any state.”
Zelensky called Macron’s idea of a truce for the duration of the Olympics “dead history,” since there was already a ceasefire experience.
10:43 As a result of a night attack in Novorossiysk, the Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal and the Importpischeprom terminal were damaged - in the latter, drones hit two fuel tanks, reports the opposition Russian publication Astra. In addition, the Gazprom oil depot in the village of Kirilovka and the Grushovaya Balka oil depot of Transneft were hit. There were no casualties.
10:37 High-quality satellite images of the Belbek airfield in Crimea after the Ukrainian attack on May 15 have appeared online. NYT investigator Christian Triebert suggested that two MiG-31 fighters and one Su-27 were completely destroyed, and the MiG-29 was damaged.
10:34 In the Kharkov region, the Russian army has advanced a maximum of 10 km, Zelensky said: “Today, our Defense Forces have stabilized the Russians where they are now. The deepest point of their advance is 10 km. There is no advance in the directions of some enemy brigades and did not have". According to the president, the Russians managed to break through the border due to a lack of air defense.
Zelensky added that the enemy reached the first line of defense, but “no one reached the concrete line of defense.” According to him, the first and second lines were built by the military, and the third, most powerful, by local authorities. At the same time, the president explained that it is the strongest, since it was not created under constant shelling.
10:29 Stabilization power outages today from 19:00 will be applied in Kiev, as well as in the Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, DTEK reported.
10:25 Brazilian President Lula da Silva will not participate in the Peace Summit in Switzerland, since “there is no point in participating in a summit that does not involve both sides to resolve the conflict,” CNN Brasil reports, citing Brazilian diplomatic sources. A Brazilian delegation will attend the summit, but it is not yet known who will lead it.
09:52 In the Kherson region, as a result of Russian shelling over the past 24 hours, two people were killed and six were injured, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. Four high-rise buildings and seven private houses, a medical facility and a store were damaged.
09:27 In the Donetsk region, as a result of Russian shelling over the past 24 hours, five people were wounded - in Mikhailovka, said the head of the OBA Vadim Filashkin.
08:56 In Kharkov at night, a Russian UAV hit an open area - the glazing of the windows of a five-story residential building and the city district administration building were damaged, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. Another drone also hit an open area, damaging three houses. In the Nemyshlyansky district of the city, an S-300 missile hit an open area, without destruction or casualties.
In the village Sinelnikovo, as a result of shelling from the MLRS, one person was killed and two were wounded. In the village Krasnoye, Kharkov district, one person died as a result of an ammunition drop from a drone.
08:31 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 17:
- personnel - about 489,870 (+1410) people,
- tanks - 7547 (+18),
- armored combat vehicles - 14,552 (+14),
- artillery systems - 12 603 (+38),
- MLRS - 1071 (+1),
- air defense systems - 800 (+2),
- aircraft - 353 (+2),
- helicopters - 326 (+1),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 10 073 (+45),
- cruise missiles - 2200 (+0),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 17,104 (+56),
- special equipment - 2062 (+7).
08:18 Ukraine can use weapons from the United States only within its territory, Pentagon Speaker Sabrina Singh said: “We have not changed our position. We believe that the equipment, the capabilities that we provide to Ukraine, which other countries provide to Ukraine, should be used to return Ukrainian sovereign territory."
07:57 Air defense at night destroyed all 20 attack UAVs of the Shahed-131/136 type, which Russia attacked from Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk, the Air Force reported. The drones were destroyed within the Kharkov, Poltava, Vinnitsa, Odessa and Nikolaev regions.
07:40 Sevastopol was attacked by drones at night. “Governor” Mikhail Razvozhaev said that as a result of the attack, the work of the substation was suspended, there were spot power outages in the city, and classes were canceled in all schools, secondary education institutions and kindergartens.
In Novorossiysk, local residents counted at least 35 explosions overnight. According to them, the local port and oil depot were attacked. After the explosions, the port and part of the city were cut off. Authorities also said that public transport had been suspended. In addition, as a result of a night drone attack, a fire occurred at the Tuapse oil refinery. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that during the night the air defense allegedly destroyed and intercepted 102 drones: 51 over Crimea and 44 over the Krasnodar Territory, six over the Belgorod region and one over Kursk. In addition, six drone boats were allegedly destroyed in the Black Sea.