Thursday, May 15. News And Information From Ukraine

Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 446.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation.

Kharkiv region. A farm in the Izyum area in eastern Ukraine was shelled by Russian forces on May 12, authorities said. According to preliminary reports, a 30-year-old civilian lost his life in the bombing. Subsequently, on May 15, the front-line settlement of Dvorichna near the city of Kupiansk was bombed, killing a 65-year-old woman and a man, Regional Governor Oleg Synehubov wrote in a social media post. A third victim of the attack was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, he continued.

Ternopil region. The town of Ternopil in western Ukraine came under fire in the early morning hours of May 13, authorities said. Russian forces hit warehouses owned by several commercial facilities and religious organizations, injuring two civilians, the notice continued. The overnight shelling took place moments before the Ukrainian band Tvorchi, who happen to be from Ternopil, were about to take the Eurovision stage in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Khmelnytskyy region. According to the regional state administration, a critical infrastructure facility in the Khmelnytskyy area in western Ukraine was targeted with an attack drone on May 13. More than 20 civilians were injured.

Donetsk region. Regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko says the town of Kurakhove in southeastern Ukraine was attacked with “Uragan” (Hurricane) Multiple Rocket Launch Systems on May 14. The resulting fire damaged as many as eight residential buildings and injured three people, including a boy. The heat distribution network was reportedly also damaged in the attack.

On May 13 President Volodymyr Zelensky set off for his “jets mission,” starting with the Italian capital, Rome. There, he and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed the matter of supplying weapons and air defense systems to Ukraine and signed a joint declaration cementing Italy’s approval of Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO. Zelensky had the additional honor to of seeing Pope Francis during his visit, and asked His Holiness to promote Ukraine’s peace formula as the only acceptable resolution to the conflict. “Since the war is on the territory of Ukraine, the peace plan can only be Ukrainian,” he explained.

On May 14, President Zelensky arrived in Berlin to hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and subsequently visit a military base in the town of Aachen, where Ukrainian troops are currently undergoing intensive training. There, Zelensky was presented with the Charlemagne Prize for promoting European unity. The meeting unfolded as the German federal government announced it would be sending the biggest military aid package yet to Ukraine, worth over 2.7 billion euros ($2.94 billion). It is slated to include 18 self-propelled howitzer cannons, four IRIS-T Shoulder Launched Munition (SLM) air defense systems, 30 Leopard 1 battle tanks and artillery rounds.

In the evening of May 14, President Zelensky was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where they issued a joint declaration, with France pledging to train and supply several Ukrainian battalions with tens of armored vehicles and light tanks, including the French AMX-10RC type, in the weeks to come. Further, the French Republic is reported to have set an ambitious goal of building Ukrainian air defense capacities to ensure the safety of the Ukrainian population.

Amid President Zelensky’s meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on May 15, the latter announced that London would be delivering air defense missiles and unmanned aerial systems, among them modern long-range drones, “over the coming months,” news agency Reuters reported. “Glad to meet again with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak,” said President Zelensky on arriving in the British capital. “We continue our work for Ukraine’s victory.”

Various non-state media channels confirmed the downing of four Russian combat aircraft over the Bryansk region of Russia by its own air defenses on May 13. Specifically, the aircraft accidentally shot down by Russian air defenses were two Mi-8 helicopters as well as Su-34 and Su-35 warplanes. Reportedly, none of the crew members of the four aircrafts crashing today in the Bryansk region managed to survive.

Leaked U.S. intelligence papers disclose that Yevgeniy Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, had made a stunning offer to Ukraine’s military command as the intense battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut raged on, The Washington Post reported. Prigozhin is said to have proposed that if Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city’s vicinity, he would provide Kyiv with the positions of Russian regular forces, thus enabling Ukraine to carry out attacks. Two Ukrainian officials revealed that Kyiv turned down Prigozhin’s offers due to mistrust of the Kremlin ally.

By Daria Dzysiuk, Karina L. Tahiliani