5/14/24-5/15/24 Ukrainian General Update LanguageLearner

5/14/24-5/15/24 Update, day 811-812 of Russian invasion.


Belarus/Western Border:

Slovakian PM Robert Fico was shot 5 times following a government meeting. He is currently in critical condition undergoing a lengthy emergency surgery, with reportedly significant abdominal bleeding. His shooter was reportedly politically motivated. World leaders condemned the violence on the right wing politician who had recently resumed power at the end of last year.

Hungary will reportedly block any EU sanctions on RU gas, claiming a stance against raising energy prices in Europe.


Kyiv/Central Ukraine:

UA intercepted 18/18 Shahed drones on May 14th, and 0/1 ballistic missile.

Rolling emergency blackouts have commenced in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Donetsk oblasts. Lviv will also have blackouts beginning at midnight tonight. This is primarily driven by unseasonably cold weather across the country.

UA reportedly has 11,000 generators allocated for its healthcare system, which are designed to have enough fuel for 5 days in reserve.

Zelensky has postponed or cancelled all planned international events on his schedule until the situation at the frontline (mostly Kharkiv) have stabilized.

UA has modified its food catalog for the armed forces, seeking to reduce excess spending and improve the selection.

The US will provide UA with an additional $2 billion USD in aid, aimed at investing in UA military production.

RU has increased its volume of cyber attacks on UA servicemember's cell phones, especially with spyware and malicious software on messenger apps.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv, where he reaffirmed the US support for expanding UA grain export operations.


Northeast Ukraine/Kharkiv city:

RU forces continue efforts to create a buffer zone around Vovchansk and Lyptsyi, utilizing the same "cockroach tactics" of small 5-10 person groups independently assaulting and holding temporary positions, before reinforcing with additional small groups for larger assaults. While this is effective when UA has insufficient ammo to respond to these smaller groups, it also leads to very high losses whenever RU forces actually are engaged due to a lack of support.

RU has further contested N Vovchansk, advancing into the NW edge of the residential district and along the forest belt. Further SW, RU has advanced through forested regions towards Buhruvatka.

TO the area NE of Kharkiv, RU is allegedly pushing closer to Lyptsi with fighting in the forests near Hlyboke and Oliinykove

RU reportedly lost some 60 soldiers and 19 pieces of equipment over 10 assaults towards Kharkiv, as of this evening.

Approximately 300 people remain in Vovchansk, as RU raiding groups have entered the northern part of the town and are actively engaged by UA artillery and drones. RU is still believed to be broadly attempting to pull UA forces from other areas of the frontline.

Kharkiv military officials stated that all 2023 defensive line projects have been fully completed, and that the pictures on social media of several hundred "dragons tooth" concrete pyramids strewn alongside a street is a single instance where items were removed at a specific brigades request.

RU struck a residential district of Kharkiv with missiles, wounding 2 men in their apartments. Another S-300 missile failed to detonate and crashed in the yard of an apartment building in Saltivka.

At least 12 people have been killed and 40 injured in the last week in Kharkiv.

Despite potential RU goals to launch an assault on Sumy oblast, RU has not yet created an assault group to prosecute said goals. At this time, UA forces are monitoring said groupings for any potential assault operations, and preparing defensive forces as such.

RU attacked a fire station in Chernihiv oblast with drones.


Kupyansk/Lyman:

UA repelled some 28 attacks over the past day in this direction. RU and UA drone strikes have increased to the NE of Kupyansk.


RU launched 2 attacks out of Kreminna and towards the forests.


Kramatorsk/Bakhmut:

RU launched some 9 assaults W of Bakhmut, and 10 to the NE near Siversk.

Some 670 people remain in Chasiv Yar, with most of the population evacuated to Kyiv.

RU has increased its drone strikes SW of Ivanivske as they seek to contest additional territory near Kliischivka. RU strikes in the fields E of Siversk have also notably increased.

Over the last day, RU shelled Donetsk some 1998 times.


Avdiivka/Pokrovsk:

RU continues to focus on this area, launching some 31 assaults to the W of Avdiivka. The front lines do not appear to have materially changed in the last 96 hours, as RU continues efforts to push NW of the city via Arkangheleske have not progressed.

UA withdrew from Ocherytne to allegedly better defensive positions.

UA arrested 6 RU agents in Pokrovsk who coordinated double tap missile strikes in Pokrovsk.


Donetsk city/Occupied regions:

RU launched 20 assaults to the NW and SW of Marinka, including further contesting central Krasnohorivka and broadly assaulting from the industrial southern portion into the residential N.

RU is reportedly deploying additional morgues to Luhansk, to store bodies and not overwhelm local mortuary services in Belgorod oblast. This is keeping in practice with past RU activities during high casualty events in Syria that they sought to reduce the impact of on RU citizens public consciousness.


Zaporizhia/Southern Axis:

RU launched 22 assaults towards Staromaiorske and Robotyne. RU launched 268 attacks on 6 settlements, 94x with drones and 164x with artillery.

UA stated there is no credence to RU claims about seizing Robotyne, drawing reference to previously short-lived assaults which drop a flag for propaganda purposes.

RU struck Dnipro with a missile, killing two people at an infrastructure site.


Kherson:

RU launched 5 assaults on the UA bridgehead at Krynky.


Odessa/Black Sea/Crimea:

UA reportedly struck the Belbek airbase in Crimea multiple times with ATACMS, destroying 2 S-300/400 batteries, a fuel depot, and damaging multiple aircraft.

RU continues to not deploy ships to the Black sea.

A UA military recruiter allegedly beat a woman in Odesa on video, and the MoD of UA has promised an investigation.


Russia:

RU arrested the head of the MoD personnel department, under allegations of corruption.

RU's Minister of Internal Affairs has claimed there is a shortfall of 152,000 RU policemen, or about 20%. Moscow is understaffed by approximately 75%. Additionally, there is an ongoing need for approximately 30,000 doctors across the country.

UA drones hit a RU oil depot in Rostov.


General:

Over the last day UA forces conducted 12 airstrikes and RU forces conducted 114 air strikes (including drones), and 84 MLRS strikes.

Yesterday Ukrainian forces eliminated:

1510 x soldiers (Total 484,040 day avg 1359 new 1-day max]
48x APC
14x Tank
23x Artillery (4xMLRS)
48x vehicles
30x UAV

estimated cost: $84.6 million USD

total estimated cost- $85.7 Million/day per last 30 days, $2.6 Billion USD over last 30 days.


Overseas:

On May 15, the Parliament of Estonia passed a law that allows the use of frozen assets of Russia to compensate for damages caused to Ukraine as a result of the war.

Australia will provide additional river combat boats to UA in its next aid package.

The US is reportedly considering sending another Patriot battery and radars to UA.

Croatia will help UA in demining territories, following a bilateral agreement signed today.

The Minister of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, stated that the idea of ​​sending military personnel of Western countries to Ukraine has not gained any development either at the level of Estonia or at the level of the European Union

US President Joe Biden signed a law banning the import of uranium from Russia. Washington seeks to reduce dependence on Russian nuclear fuel. There's numerous loopholes until 2028.

Georgia has reportedly passed its controversial "Foreign influence" law which has been derided as an RU backed suppression measure amid heavy protests.