May, 19-22

Intense hostilities continue in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. Troops of the Russian Federation (hereinafter: Russia) have maintained attempts to seize the towns of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the biggest towns in the Luhansk oblast which are controlled by Ukraine. Russian forces managed to destroy a bridge linking the two on Saturday 21^st. Despite the destruction, connections between the towns remain intact.

The Russian army has continued to test the durability of Ukraine’s defence across front lines. Recent conflict developments include:

Rubizhne town in the Luhansk oblast has been nearly destroyed by Russian shelling.  

The situation around Kryvyi Rih town remains tense.

The Ukrainian army has successfully halted the Russian troops from constructing a temporary bridge across the Siverskyi Donets river near the Serebryanka village. Several Russian military items were destroyed in the attack targeting the bridge. Furthermore, an Orthodox monastery located close to the river has been subject to shelling and the Ukrainian military is currently conducting evacuation operations to transport the monks residing in the monastery to safety. 

According to the Ukrainian government, over 29 000 Russian soldiers have died since the beginning of the invasion.

Russian military equipment and missiles continue to be relocated to Belarus and stationed along the Ukrainian border.

Several settlements have been targeted by shelling and strikes during the reporting period. These include:

Mykolayiv

Pavlohrad

Malyn

Orikhiv

Derhachi

Severodonetsk – A local school sheltering 200 civilians has been damaged

Bakhmut

Lozova – A local recreational center has been destroyed resulting in 10 injuries, including children

Svyatohirsk – A music school has been destroyed

Avdiivka and other settlements located along the Russian border 

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, Russian troops have destroyed or damaged more than 353 objects of Ukrainian cultural heritage since the beginning of hostilities.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service has completed its demining operations in the Kyiv oblast. According to preliminary estimates, Ukraine will need 5 to 7 years to fully demine its territories.

The death toll of civilians killed during the occupation of the Kyiv oblast has reached 1290. The figure is expected to increase as missing bodies are located and identified.

The evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol has been completed and the steel plant has been seized by the Russian forces. Evacuated soldiers are being held in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts (TOTDLO) and in Russia, and negotiations regarding exchanges of prisoners of war are ongoing. No agreements regarding exchanges have been reached.

In a recent interview, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, shared that several Ukrainian pilots were killed while delivering ammunition, food, and medicines to the soldiers and civilians located in the  Azovstal steel plant.

Russian forces continue to terrorise and conduct hostilities against residents of the territories it occupies. According to recent reports, civilians have been subjected to filtration procedures and additional checks, schools have been forced to switch to the Russian curriculum and use Russian as the language of instruction, and the confiscation of valuable equipment from Ukrainian hospitals has continued. Furthermore, businesses operated by Ukrainian residents are being expropriated by the occupying forces.

Russian troops have reportedly continued to plant mines in the territories under its control. The mines are being planted in preparation for expected counteroffensives conducted by the Ukrainian army.

Russian forces have halted and banned attempts to repair the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station, resulting in flooding in the settlements located along the Dnipro river. Heavy rains seen in the past days are feared to cause flooding damaging mass graves in Mariupol, potentially exacerbating the current epidemiological situation. 

According to Russian sources, more than 1.37 million Ukrainian citizens have been relocated to Russian territories and the TOTDLO. Some have been forcibly deported and transported through or kept in filtration camps. 

The mayor of the occupied town of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia oblast, Andriy Shevchyk, was the target of a murder attempt. The mayor appointed by the Russian administration has now been taken to the intensive care unit. In addition, the head of the local fire brigade and rescue team, Vitaliy Troyan, remains in Russian detention, despite repeated rallies of his subordinates calling for his release. 

Despite their limited scope, civilian evacuations from territories close to the front line in the Luhansk oblast continue. Evacuation operations in several occupied territories, including Kherson and Donetsk, are experiencing severe challenges due to restrictions imposed by the Russian forces. For example, the Russian military has prohibited the residents of the Kherson oblast from entering territories controlled by the Ukrainian government. A humanitarian corridor was opened on Saturday 21^st near the village of Kamyanske in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast enabling citizens to return to government-controlled territories. The corridor has since been closed.

According to the advisor of Mariupol’s mayor, Petro Andryushchenko, the forcible relocation of Ukrainians to Russia continues. Civilians relocated from Mariupol and placed in filtration camps include children.

According to the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s aggression on Ukraine was triggered by Ukraine due to its failure to comply with a UN Security Council resolution regarding Donbas. Specific resolution was not mentioned. In an announcement made on Saturday 21^st, Minister Lavrov underlined that orders coming from the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, such as preventing direct threats from Ukraine jeopardising the safety and security of Russia, will be followed and completed. 

As per a statement delivered by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, the possibility of resuming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine has not been ruled out. According to the Chairman, the continuation of negotiations relies on the composition of the Ukrainian delegation. In addition, the Press Secretary of President Putin, Dmitry Peskov, made a statement noting that conducting negotiations within the framework of the Normandy format is no longer relevant due to the termination of the Minsk-2 agreement. 

Russian officials have continued to issue Russian passports for Ukrainian citizens forcibly relocated from the TOTDLO or other Ukrainian regions to the Rostov oblast in Russia. 

Russian officials have spoken about the willingness to annex the city of Kherson and Kherson oblast under the Crimean scenario. The so-called Head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, expressed his confidence regarding the plan underscoring the positive experiences of “Crimean Parliamentarism” and the suitability of the Crimean model for Kherson. According to Mr Aksyonov, the future of Crimea, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia is within the borders of a single state. 

Russian media outlets continue to disseminate information regarding crimes allegedly committed by the Ukrainian army and the ongoing shelling of civilians in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.

Official Russian sources have constructed and spread narratives according to which the evacuation of the Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant is a victory over anti-Russian sentiments orchestrated by the West in Ukraine. The messages disseminated by the Kremlin have been coupled with claims stating that the situation in Mariupol will deteriorate the public image of President Zelensky, whose team has reportedly called for the eradication of anything linked to Russia from Ukraine.

Russian sources continue to disseminate reports of Ukraine shelling Russian territories in border regions. According to the Kremlin, Russian officials have restored damaged infrastructure in locations that have come under attack, particularly in the Belgorod oblast. 

Narratives regarding Russia’s unparalleled military capabilities in regard to threats posed by other countries are being spread across Russian platforms. The narratives underscore that Russia is the most battle-worthy state in the world.  

Reactions to ongoing conflict developments vary across Russia. News of a pro-Ukrainian post shared by a Russian girl in Dagestan drew relatively significant amounts of attention on several Telegram channels. However, following the spread of the video, the girl posted a follow-up clip where she apologized for her behaviour. 

Russian sources have shared distorting content regarding President Zelensky’s initiative to grant Polish citizens the right to study and receive medical treatment in Ukraine announced prior to the visit of Poland’s President to Ukraine. According to Russian reports, Ukraine is planning to conscript Polish individuals into the Ukrainian army in order to make up for the country’s depleted resources. According to the content circulating in Russian channels, up to 100 000 Polish citizens may join the fight against Russia in Ukraine.