This week, battles continued to rage all along the front lines. Russia has significantly increased the intensity of fighting across the front lines despite its claims of readiness to cease fire for the May holidays, Ukraine’s army chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Wednesday. In the region of Kharkiv, Russia has changed its tactics, but not the goals. According to the Guardian’s reporting, the Russians are trying to expand a bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River. Their goal is to encircle the city of Kharkiv.
Russia continued to strike Ukrainian cities and towns far behind the front lines with missiles and drones. A Russian drone attack on Odesa overnight on Thursday killed two and injured 15 others. Ukraine continues to launch long-range strikes, targeting military sites deep inside Russia. On Wednesday, Ukrainian drones struck an instrument-building plant in Russia’s Murom.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time the deployment of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Russia’s demands for engaging in peace talks with Ukraine not only run counter to the position of Ukraine and the EU, but also contradict the U.S.-proposed peace plan, a Russian news site observes.
Putin declared another unilateral ceasefire between May 8 and May 10. “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in response to the announcement. “Why wait until May 8th?” “Ukraine is ready to support a lasting, durable, and full ceasefire. And this is what we are constantly proposing, for at least 30 days,” he added.
Almost 90 per cent of Ukrainians do not trust Trump, a poll finds.
Major Russian drone strike on Zaporizhzhia injures 29, damages infrastructure facility.
A Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia late on Thursday set buildings ablaze and injured 29 people, including a child. Head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said Russian forces made at least 10 strikes on the city, damaging more than two dozen apartment buildings, private homes, a university and an infrastructure site.
Ukraine’s state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia said the attack on Zaporizhzhia also damaged its locomotive repair plant, a civilian enterprise which specializes in the repair of passenger electric locomotives.
As of Friday morning, six people remain in hospital, including two in serious condition, Fedorov said.