Ukraine Daily

Monday, 16 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

This photo released on May 10, 2022 by the Azov regiment shows an injured Ukrainian serviceman inside the Azovstal iron and steel works factory in eastern Mariupol, Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. (Photo by Dmytro ‘Orest’ Kozatskyi)

Official: Russia drops either incendiary shells or phosphorus bombs in Mariupol. Petro Andriushchenko, aide to the mayor of Mariupol, said specialists will make conclusions but the Russians themselves claim that they used incendiary shells. They have a combustion temperature of about 2,000-2,500 degrees Celsius, causing a fire that is “almost impossible to stop,” he said. Andriushchenko posted a video of the bombing of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant on Telegram. There are about 1,000 soldiers, including hundreds of wounded, still holed up at Azovstal, Ukraine’s last stronghold in Russian-occupied Mariupol.

In intercepted phone call, Russian soldier says Russians use forbidden weapons. “Phosphorous bombs, cluster munitions – they have allowed us to use everything that is banned by international conventions,” a Russian serviceman says to a friend in a call that was intercepted and published by the Ukrainian Security Service, apparently referring to his commandment.

Luhansk Oblast Governor: fighting continues in villages near Sievierodonetsk. Ukraine’s Armed Forces control Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk, and the outskirts of Rubizhne, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk Oblast, said on May 15. Ukraine controls 10% of Luhansk Oblast, the governor added.

Russia shells Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with rocket launchers. Russia used BM-27 Uragan multiple rocket launchers to shell the village of Shyroke in the region’s Kryvy Rih District, Governor Valentyn Reznychenko said. Only windows of several houses suffered damage, and no injuries were reported, he said.

Russian missile targeting Kropyvnytsky shot down by air defense. Head of the Kirovohrad Oblast Administration Andriy Raikovych said that the missile was downed over the Kirovohrad Oblast in central Ukraine overnight before it reached Kropyvnytsky, the regional capital of 226,000 people.

Governor: Russia shells Sieverodonetsk 11 times over past 24 hours, 9 people injured. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai reported on May 15 that Russia attacked the city of Sieverodonetsk 11 times from the artillery systems over the past 24 hours. Nine people were injured and are now being treated in a “ruined hospital.”

Governor: Russian missile completely destroys military infrastructure facility in Lviv Oblast. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytsky said that the Russians launched four missiles early in the morning on May 15 at the facility in the region’s Yavoriv District near the Polish border. He added that there were no casualties.

Ukraine’s military: Russians shell 23 settlements in Donbas. Russian troops destroyed and damaged 32 houses, Ukraine’s military reported on May 15. Ukrainian soldiers repelled 17 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours, the military reported.

Ukraine’s Air Force: 11 Russian aerial targets destroyed on May 15. The press center of Ukraine’s Air Force said anti-aircraft missiles shot down two cruise missiles, three Orlan-10 UAVs, and one Ka-52 helicopter. Ukraine’s air defense also shot down an Mi-28 helicopter and four Orlan-10 UAVs, the press center reported. The Air Force says the operations prevented a river crossing of Russian forces across the Inhulets River located in central-eastern Ukraine.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia has likely lost one third of its ground forces in Ukraine. Russia’s Donbas offensive has lost momentum and is unlikely to accelerate its pace in the next 30 days, the ministry said. Despite minor advances at the beginning, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining big losses, falling significantly behind schedule, according to the ministry. In addition to the continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness, problems will continue to grow amid the loss of critical enablers such as bridging equipment and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones, the ministry said.

General Staff: Russian troops staffed at less than 20% of full capacities in certain areas. Near Popasna, units of Russia’s airborne troops are forced to join forces with Russian mercenaries to continue fighting, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. In Kharkiv Oblast, Russia continues to use soldiers mobilized in the Kremlin-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the General Staff reported.

ISW: Russian forces making tactical mistakes in east, results in south uncertain. A failed attempt by Russian troops to set up a pontoon bridge across the Siversky Donets River on May 11 “showed a stunning lack of tactical sense” and allowed “Ukrainian artillerymen to kill hundreds and destroy scores of vehicles with concentrated strikes,” the Institute for the Study of War said. The report also added that rumors about a planned referendum to annex Kherson Oblast to Russia suggest “considerable confusion within the Russian leadership at various levels” about what is the best way to move forward and its prospect of securing the occupied territories.

Ukrainian military publishes audio from sinking of Moskva cruiser. In the audio, a crew member says that the ship has been hit twice and that it is tilting on its side. He also says that the crew must be saved. Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, sank on April 14. Ukraine said that it had hit the ship with two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Russia claimed the ship sank after a fire. Moskva is the largest Russian warship to be sunk since World War II and the first Russian flagship sunk since the 1905 Russo-Japanese War.

Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling Belgorod Oblast again. Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed that the village of Sereda in the region’s Shebekino District was shelled from the territory of Ukraine, saying that one civilian received a shrapnel wound. Previously Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied shelling Russian regions.

General Staff: Russia plans to send up to 2,500 reservists to Ukraine. The new recruits are being trained at training grounds in Russia’s Voronezh, Belgorod, and Rostov oblasts, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.

Zelensky: Russia’s ‘special operation’ already failed. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian soldiers who brought evil to Ukraine would bring it back to Russia. “They will bring it to Russia because they will retreat,” he said.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Wives of besieged Azovstal garrison: ‘We need to save heroes’ lives, not give posthumous awards’ The wives of the last Ukrainian soldiers left in Mariupol, the southern city that is mostly occupied by Russians and 90% destroyed after weeks of constant Russian shelling, called on the world to help save their husbands. Read the full story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Luhansk Oblast Governor: Russian shelling kills 2 in Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops targeted a residential building, according to Governor Serhiy Haidai.

Prosecutor General: Russia war has killed 227 children, wounded 421. As of May 16, at least 140 children have either been killed or injured in Donetsk Oblast, 100 in Kharkiv Oblast, 68 in Chernihiv Oblast, 48 in Kherson Oblast, 45 in Luhansk Oblast, 44 in Mykolaiv Oblast, 28 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 17 in Sumy Oblast, 116 in Kyiv Oblast, 16 in the city of Kyiv, and 15 in Zhytomyr Oblast, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. It also said 1,748 educational institutions have been damaged, of which 144 have been completely destroyed.

Ukraine’s General Staff: 27,400 Russian troops killed since Feb. 24. The General Staff said that Russia had also lost 1,220 tanks, 2,958 armored fighting vehicles, 555 artillery pieces, 195 multiple launch rocket systems, 89 surface-to-air missiles, 164 helicopters, 200 airplanes, 416 drones, and 13 boats.

International response

Stoltenberg: ‘Ukraine can win this war.’ NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on May 15 that Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as the Kremlin had planned. “Russia failed to take Kyiv. They’re pulling back from around Kharkiv, their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives,” Stoltenberg said.

Finland officially announces that it will apply for NATO membership. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference. The Finnish parliament is expected to consider the decision in the coming days. Finland and Sweden have been considering joining NATO to boost their defense since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February.

Sweden confirms it will apply to join NATO. Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party announced on May 15 that it supports NATO membership.

Kuleba to Germany: Ukraine will be in EU anyway, but you can lead accession process and make history. During his visit to Berlin, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he told his German counterparts that Germany must make a choice. “Either you lead this process (of Ukraine accession) and write your names into history books, or it will happen without your leadership,” Kuleba is quoted by Ukrainska Pravda as saying.

Blinken: US embassy will resume operations ‘very soon.’ Speaking in Berlin on May 15 during meetings with NATO, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. embassy is taking all necessary precautions, but that work is underway to resume operations in Kyiv very soon. Blinken also said “NATO is stronger, more capable, more unified than ever.”

In other news

Ukraine’s men’s football wins gold medal at Summer Deaflympics. Ukraine beat France in the final at the Summer Deaflympics 2021 that took place this year from April 30 to May 15 in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil to become tournament champions for the first time in 13 years. Ukraine holds the record for number of medals at the Deaflympics with a total of 137 medals by the 14th day of events.

Culture minister: Ukrainian jury giving zero points to Poland, Lithuania at Eurovision is ‘a shame.’ Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said it was “very embarrassing” that the Ukrainian jury gave zero points to Poland and Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest. “It in no way reflects our real attitude towards you, our closest friends in Europe,” Tkachenko wrote on Facebook. The Ukrainian public vote, however, gave Poland 12 points, the highest possible score.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Asami Terajima, Thaisa Semenova, Sergiy Slipchenko, Oleksiy Sorokin, Oleg Sukhov, Olga Rudenko, and Lili Bivings.

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