Friday, May 10

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Protesters are seen at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland on May 9, 2024. Protesters interrupted Russia’s Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev’s visit to the monument with loud screams while wearing dresses with the names of bombed Ukrainian cities and covered in stage blood (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

EU Ambassador to Ukraine: Ukraine could join EU in 2030. 2030 is a very real date for Ukraine to join the European Union, Katarina Mathernova, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, said in an interview on May 9.

Zelensky: Ukraine expects EU accession negotiations to begin in June. Ukraine expects to begin accession negotiation to join the European Union in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 9.

Sweden to allocate 28 million euros for Ukraine’s defense. In March 2024, Sweden officially joined NATO after a lengthy application process triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was immediately vocal in its calls for other alliance members to do more.

Germany to buy 3 HIMARS for Ukraine. HIMARS, whose prowess became a popular motif of internet memes, was a game-changer for Ukraine when it first arrived in the summer of 2022, allowing Kyiv to target Russian forces behind the front lines far more accurately than they had previously.

Germany will provide Ukraine with 45 million euros for energy restoration. Germany will provide Ukraine 45 million euros ($48 million) in the form of a grant for energy restoration, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry announced on May 9.

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Source: SBU hits 2 oil depots in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) hit two oil depots in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai overnight on May 9, a source privy to the information told the Kyiv Independent.

Source: Ukraine strikes Russian oil refinery 1,500 kilometers from border. For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine attacked facilities in Bashkortostan, some 1,500 kilometers from the country’s border, according to the source.

Zelensky: Ukraine will regain battlefield initiative if more weapons arrive.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Kyiv with the European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, Zelensky said he was putting “maximum pressure” on partners to increase supplies.

Parliament votes to increase fines for draft evasion. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted in favor on May 9 of a draft law that increases the fines given to those who evade mobilization.

Two hydropower plants decommissioned after May 8 Russian attacks. Russia carried out a large-scale attack on May 8 against Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Vinnytsia oblasts, mainly targeting energy infrastructure.

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Ukraine war latest: Kyiv strikes Russian oil facilities, Germany to buy 3 HIMARS for Ukraine.

A long-range drone operated by Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) attacked an oil refinery, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan on May 9, an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent.

Photos: Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Russia’s highly-militarized Victory Day celebration has nothing to do with WWII

The legacy of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany feeds pro-war aggression in Putin’s Russia — and is celebrated with a religious fervor.

Photo: Host photo agency / RIA Novosti via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Nikopol kills 2, injures 8. A Russian attack on the Nikopol district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed two people and injured eight others, Governor Serhii Lysak reported on May 9.

Russia claims 8 injured in Ukrainian air strike on Belgorod Oblast. A Ukrainian air strike on Russia’s Belgorod Oblast injured eight people on May 9, Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed. Ukrainian authorities have not commented.

Russian attacks on Kharkiv Oblast injure 2. Russia has recently intensified attacks against the Kharkiv Oblast in which Kupiansk is situated, using missiles, glide bombs, and kamikaze drones to destroy energy infrastructure and kill civilians.

International response

Russia holds Victory Day Parade in Moscow. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that over 9,000 military personnel and over 70 pieces of equipment were featured in the Victory Day parade.

Slovak citizens raise funds to buy over 2,500 shells for Ukraine. A Slovak fundraising campaign for the Czech ammunition initiative has raised enough money to buy 2,692 shells for Ukraine, the Czech News Agency reported on May 8.

Lithuanian FM backs sending Western military trainers to Ukraine. Western military personnel training Ukrainian troops on the ground rather than in NATO countries would have practical advantages, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the Guardian in an interview published on May 9.

Czech president says first batch of shells to arrive in Ukraine in June. The first batch of ammunition purchased by allied countries under the Czech-led initiative is expected to arrive in Ukraine in June, Czech President Petr Pavel told German broadcaster ARD on May 8.

Border police: Number of Ukrainian men fleeing to Slovakia more than doubles. Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up for military service.

Orban says he supports the Chinese peace plan. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he supports the “Chinese peace plan” during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Budapest on May 9.

Bloomberg: Russian tycoons move assets home amid Western sanctions. Increasingly cut off from western banking and financial services, Russia’s wealthiest individuals are facing a dilemma when it comes to handing their fortunes to the next generation, according to Bloomberg.

In other news

Parliament dismisses Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted to dismiss Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on May 9.

Parliament dismisses agriculture minister. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, dismissed Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi on May 9.

Court arrests deputy agriculture minister in theft case. Dmytrasevych is one of the suspects in an embezzlement case involving Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi.

Bloomberg: Pentagon blocks Russian military from accessing Starlink in Ukraine. The U.S. Pentagon is preventing the Russian military from using Starlink internet terminals operated on the battlefield in Ukraine, John Plumb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, said in an interview with Bloomberg on May 9.

Kolomoisky remanded in custody until July 7 in murder case. On May 9, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced he was suspected of ordering the murder of the head of a law firm more than 20 years ago in Crimea.

Zelensky dismisses head of State Security Administration. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of Ukraine’s State Security Administration (UDO), Serhii Rud, according to a presidential decree published on May 9.

Zelensky signs laws on mobilization, extension of martial law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law the extension of martial law and general mobilization from May 14 to August 11.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Kateryna Hodunova, Chris York, Katya Denisova, Rachel Amran, Teah Pelechaty, Oleksiy Sorokin, Elsa Court, Oleh Sukhov, Dmytro Basmat, and Sonya Bandouil.

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