May, 06-08

Hostilities were reported across various front lines over the weekend. Recent developments include:

Troops of the Russian Federation (hereinafter: Russia) established control over the town of Popasna in the Luhansk oblast and managed to damage bridges close to Kharkiv in an attempt to stall the advances of the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian troops launched a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and regained control of nearly 10 settlements in the Kharkiv oblast. Furthermore, Ukrainian troops managed to destroy Russian ships and military equipment stationed in the Black Sea and on the Snake Island. 

Settlements and urban centres in Odesa, Bohodukhiv, Mykolayiv, Kramatorsk, and Lysychansk have been subject to airstrikes and shelling. A school located in the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk oblast was destroyed by an airstrike on Saturday 7^th. Almost all of the residents of the village were sheltering in the basement of the school and 60 individuals were reportedly killed in the strike. 

The Hryhorii Skovoroda museum carrying the name and commemorating the legacy of the renowned Ukrainian philosopher has been destroyed. Ukraine is celebrating the philosopher’s 300th anniversary this year. 

Multiple forest fires caused by shelling have been reported in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts. Incessant strikes have rendered controlling the fires impossible. 

Russian troops have continued to regroup and station additional military reserves on the Crimean peninsula and Belgorod oblast, presumably, in preparation of a new offensive. 

The Kyiv city administration has recommended that residents gradually return to the city if hostilities do not intensify on the Russian Victory Day celebrated on Monday 9^th. Residents were previously advised to leave the capital in fear of attacks related to the celebrations.

Approximately 500 individuals, most of whom women, children, and elderly, were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol over the weekend. Despite the successful evacuation operation, several civilians and wounded Ukrainian soldiers remain on the premises of the plant. The implementation of the operation was hampered by the Russian troops who, for example, made evacuees pass through filtration camps located on territories controlled by Russia. 

Russian forces continue to terrorize residents in the areas they control. Furthermore, agricultural products continue to be stolen, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have been forced to register their businesses according to Russian legislation, and monuments have been subject to vandalism in the territories occupied by Russia. 

Access to the internet in Melitopol is now being provided through Crimea, and discussions regarding the imposing of Russian SIM cards in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts are ongoing.

All occupied territories are seeing filtration measures carried out by Russian forces. The measures seek to identify individuals with links to the Ukrainian military and resistance movements. An example of ongoing filtration activities is the census carried out by Russian forces in Berdyansk.

Residents of Mariupol have been forced to clear debris and dead bodies across the city. No pay nor psychosocial support has been provided to these individuals.

The forceful relocation of Ukrainians living in the occupied territories to Russia continues. Individuals deported to Russia have been barred from re-entering the territory of Ukraine. 

According to estimates, 115 religious buildings and over 50 sports facilities have either been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of hostilities.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, wished Ukrainian citizens a happy Victory Day on Sunday 8^th emphasising that revenge on behalf of those defeated in the Great Patriotic War was unacceptable. 

Russian sources have continued to disseminate anti-Ukrainian narratives paving the way for a further escalation of hostilities. The Vice-Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Pyotr Tolstoy, made a statement on Saturday underscoring that the Russian military operation would end only once Russian troops had reached the border of Poland. Mr Tolstoy also noted that Russia will respond to attempts by western nations to deepen anti-Russian sentiments in Ukraine. 

The Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, talked about hostile forces seeking to conquer Russia in his Sunday sermon. The Patriarch delivered the sermon in the main cathedral of the Armed Forces of Russia. 

 In a post shared on his Telegram channel, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, underscored that Russia would not remain silent despite the blindness of western countries to see the revival of neo-Nazism in Ukraine. 

The number of Russian authorities voicing threats related to the use of nuclear weapons has increased. For example, the General Director of Russia’s national space corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, stated that in the case of a nuclear attack, Russia would destroy NATO states in half an hour. Mr Rogozin called on the western nations not to let such a scenario unfold. 

Russian sources have interwoven the so-called special military operation in Ukraine into the Russian Victory Day celebrations. The Russian Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoigu, awarded participants of the operation with the golden “Hero of the Russian Federation” medal on Sunday. According to Minister Shoigu, the individuals participating in the operation are descendants of those who fought for the freedom and independence of Russia in 1945. 

 Russian official sources continue to discredit the Ukrainian army and spread narratives undermining the aid Ukraine has received from European nations and the United States. As per Russian sources, western nations have delivered low-quality weapons which cannot be maintained nor repaired by the Ukrainian forces once damaged. 

Russian news platforms continue to report on the humanitarian operation conducted by Russia in the occupied territories in Ukraine. The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Marat Khusnullin, visited Mariupol and Volnovakha on Sunday, reportedly to assess the scope of the needed rebuilding measures. According to the Head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, the port of Mariupol will be used to provide building materials for the city.

Russian officials have announced that Russian passports will be issued to residents living in the occupied territories of the Kherson oblast.