Now that the war has entered its 440th day, let’s take a look at the major developments.
Here’s what happened on Tuesday, May 9, 2023:
Finding
- The Kiev mayor said Russia had launched 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, including 36 in Kiev, all of which were shot down. But at least four of his people were killed when debris crashed into his apartment and other buildings.
- In a statement, the Ukrainian military said more than 20 towns and villages had been hit by shelling in the central Zaporizhia region. The southern city of Kherson and at least seven other centers in the region were also shelled, it said.
- Yevgeny Baritsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the Russian-controlled area of Zaporizhia region, said about 3,000 civilians had been evacuated from areas near the front line that had been hit by artillery fire.
- According to a report by Russia’s state news agency TASS, Europe’s largest Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been shut down, Baritsky said.
- The Ukrainian Army General Staff said heavy fighting continued in Bakhmut and surrounding areas.
- Evgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group of mercenaries, said his troops are beginning to receive the ammunition needed to expedite their advance to seize long-besieged cities in eastern Ukraine.
- The British Ministry of Defense said Russia had started targeting Central Asians to participate in the war in Ukraine.
- The deposed Mariupol city council said it had received reports that Russia had begun mobilizing residents of the occupied southeastern city to serve in the army.
diplomacy
- Russia has effectively ended the Black Sea grain trade, which expires on May 18, by refusing to register incoming vessels, Ukraine’s Reconstruction Ministry said. The Russian government is threatening to scrap a deal to ease the global food crisis.
- Moscow is preparing for a military parade, a Victory Day staple across Russia, but at least 21 cities have canceled such events.
- Russia plans to build military installations in its Central Asian ally Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin said following talks between the two leaders in Moscow.
- Italy is “strongly” advising its citizens still in Ukraine to leave. Italy’s foreign ministry has issued a warning following “more intense missile attacks on Kiev and all of Ukraine”.
- A court in Berlin has banned the display of Russian flags and symbols around three Soviet monuments in the German capital during World War II.
- A spokesperson for the Turkish president, Ibrahim Kalin, declared that neither side “believes that the war in Ukraine can end with fragmentary gains”. it is,” he added.
- World Athletics said dozens of Ukrainian athletes and officials preparing for the world championships in August will be able to obtain funding for training camps. He added that he will invest $190,000 and prioritize the replacement of pole vaulters’ equipment.
A video caught a Ukrainian delegation punching a senior Russian official at a government conference in Turkey.
A Russian snatched the Ukrainian flag from a representative who was holding it up behind another Russian official during a video interview ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/DL7bxIozrN
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 5, 2023
