Timeline: day 70 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Photo by Reuters
Today is May 4. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 10 weeks. We're reporting on all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
Yesterday, the occupiers hit six railway stations in central and western Ukraine. Ukrzaliznytsia railway claims that the damage to the infrastructure is severe. The russians are afraid of new weapons being supplied to us; they are afraid of us and are trying to cut the transport arteries.
But the weapons will come. Ukraine will win. We are fighting for our land! We are creating a new history. And that is why the entire world helps us.
On the evening of May 3, 18 Tu-95 or Tu-160 bombers fired 18 missiles. The enemy fired from the Caspian region. Approximately the russians fired 18 missiles. Ukrainian air defense shot down at least 8 enemy cruise missiles.
In Donbas, in one day, the Ukrainian army repulsed 12 attacks by russian troops.
Ukrainian soldiers destroyed:
- 6 tanks;
- 5 artillery systems (3 of them MLRS);
- 15 units of combat armored vehicles;
- 9 enemy cars.
Air defense units shot down in the sky of Donbas:
- cruise missile;
- 3 drones of the Orlan-10 type.
In the southern direction, the enemy lost 47 personnel and 15 units of equipment in one day. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 7 warehouses and a column of russians with ammunition, fuel, and lube.
During the full-scale war, the russian army lost 24,500 occupiers and 1,077 tanks. The occupiers suffered the greatest losses in the Izium and Novopavlovsk directions. There will be more to come.
US President Joe Biden called the war in Ukraine "a turning point in history that happens every 6-8 generations."
And the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov, said that the possibility of transferring the war to russia would depend on many factors: "putin said that the military commissary is in every city. As I understood it appeared in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk. People's republics may appear there. As for our independence, after putin has done, we will defend it as we see fit, and we will not ask anyone, including him," Danilov declared.
The second stage in the russian-Ukrainian war began. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized this, speaking at the session of the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit. According to him, the main task of Ukraine at this stage is to oust russia from our territory as much as possible, as the advance of the enemy army has already been stopped.
Humanitarian corridors
A humanitarian operation is underway to evacuate Mariupol residents to safety. Today it is planned to evacuate to Zaporizhzhia from four points:
- Mariupol (near the Port City shopping center) – 08:00.
- Lunacharske ring (near Berdiansk) – 10:00.
- Tokmak – 15:00.
- Vasylivka – 16:00.
Also today, May 4, there will be an evacuation corridor from the temporarily occupied Enerhodar to Zaporizhzhia via Vasylivka-Kamianske and via Tokmak-Orikhiv and vice versa. It will be possible to evacuate only by personal transport, the mayor of Enerhodar Dmytro Orlov reports.
At the same time, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration sadly announces that the locals don't want to evacuate. "There are almost no people willing to leave. Only 29 people were evacuated from Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk." For about two weeks, the evacuation bus from the regional center runs almost empty every day. The shelling and lack of communication don't seem to frighten people.
The opposite situation is in Rubizhne and Popasna. Hundreds of people want to leave, but because of the density of shelling, evacuation is impossible. Food and water in these cities remained for only a week.
Ukraine's talks with russia
Zelenskyy said Kyiv wouldn't agree to a frozen conflict with Moscow. He said this during a speech at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit. "We will not agree to a frozen conflict. I came to the presidency when there were Minsk-1, and Minsk-2, there were relevant documents that were raised, so I can say that these were not serious documents. There were agreements on paper. It was a frozen conflict. I am against it. We will definitely not have such a document," Zelenskyy said.
The President added that Ukraine didn't violate the Minsk agreements and didn't withdraw from the negotiation process. "We didn't leave Minsk now. The russian leader left it on February 24, he said it publicly, and they launched a 'military operation,' although we understand that this is a war, a full-scale invasion. That is why they left, and Ukraine won't agree to this diplomatic swamp," Zelenskyy said.
putin believes that the West can help end the war in Ukraine if it increases pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and stops supplying weapons to his troops. He made this statement yesterday, during the first telephone conversation in a month with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
About financial aid, weapons, and volunteer fighters
Johnson announced the transfer of "heavy combat drones" to Ukraine. Most likely, it will be Malloy Aeronautics drones.
In addition, Boris Johnson announced his intention to transfer £300 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine. According to preliminary information, the aid package will include:
- means of electronic warfare
- counter-battery radar system
- GPS silencers
- thousands of night vision devices
- more than a dozen specialized Toyota Landcruisers for the evacuation of civilians in eastern Ukraine
The UK is also handing over another batch of mobile generators for the needs of Ukrainians. The generators will be used to power hospitals, shelters, communication stations, water supply, etc. Britain handed over the first part of 570 generators – almost 200 – to Ukraine in April.
British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, is selling the famous mantles and donating the money to Ukrainian families.
Bulgaria's parliament has voted to help Ukraine, including repairing Ukrainian military equipment.
And Moldova will help Ukraine to clear the liberated territories, the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosso said.
In turn, the Netherlands is considering supplying more heavy weapons to Ukraine. This was stated by Prime Minister Mark Rutte after a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine. He also noted that the Netherlands was sending a forensic team to Ukraine to gather evidence to investigate war crimes.
90% of the American howitzers promised to Ukraine are already in place, said a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, CNN reports. "More than 90% of the 90 howitzers promised to Ukraine in the last two aid packages are actually in Ukrainian hands," the official said. According to him, almost 90,000 of the 144,000 howitzer shells are now also in Ukraine.
News from partners
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz visited Irpin and met with President Zelenskyy and Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klychko. The head of the Christian Democratic Union said he "was and remains completely shocked. These are not images you hastily forget. You can't just watch them on TV. To realize the tragedy of these attacks, you have to see it with your own eyes." Friedrich Merz said that he would inform Olaf Scholz about his trip. "The chancellor is right: it is not just Ukraine that is being defended here, but democracy and freedom, the way of how we live in Germany."
And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called "problematic" the refusal of the Ukrainian authorities to accept the visit of President Steinmeier. According to the Chancellor, Zelenskyy's reluctance to see Steinmeier is a notable event. Scholz believes that the Ukrainian authorities are doing the wrong thing. He noted how much economic and military assistance Ukraine received from Berlin.
To recap, Scholz himself is not going to go to Ukraine until Steinmeier is received there. In turn, Steinmeier stated his readiness to negotiate with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The case is at the invitation of the Ukrainian side.
Hungary will block the EU's plan to completely ban russian oil. Even with exceptions for it and Slovakia, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said, "We see no guarantee in either the governance proposal or Hungary's energy security," he said. Apparently, they are still hoping for some "guarantees" from putin.
Instead, Slovakia's economy minister said his country supported a ban on oil imports from russia but asked to be given a three-year transition period, according to Reuters.
The EU is considering providing additional military support to Moldova to prevent russian aggression from spreading. This was stated by the President of the European Council Charles Michel, who is on a visit to Moldova. The statement came amid recent explosions in unrecognized Transnistria.
And residents of Tampere (Finland) record the transfer of military equipment to the border with Muscovy. These are mostly Leopard tanks.
Later, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen denied information about the transfer of equipment to the border with russia. Tanks and armored vehicles are intended for Arrow 22 military exercises, which began today.
Muscovy tried to sell stolen grain to Ukraine. The ship "Matros Pozynych" loaded 27 thousand tons of grain stolen in Ukraine and headed to the port of Alexandria. Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko stressed that Ukrainian diplomats prevented Muscovy from delivering the cargo to Alexandria. Egypt did not accept the plundered grain. Now the robbers plan to go to Lebanon and Syria. Our Foreign Ministry has already informed the special authorities of these countries that they will arrest the stolen cargo if the ship enters their ports.
What's in russia?
A "doomsday plane" was spotted over Moscow. This is putin's plane, also known as the "Flying Kremlin." The specially re-equipped IL-80 should enable the head of state to control the country from the air in the event of a nuclear strike on the ground. The plane has been flying for several days. russian authorities report its participation in the victory parade on May 9. But since the Flying Kremlin last took part in a 2010 parade, experts suggest that putin is sending a signal to the West about the seriousness of his intentions to use nuclear weapons. The only question is: where is he going to fly in the event of a nuclear war? The IL-80 will definitely not reach Mars.
russian lies
russian mass media accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of using black magic. No medication will help here.
Sanctions on the aggressor!!
The sixth package of sanctions against russia will be presented today. This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. russia's Sberbank will be subject to new EU sanctions. The sixth package of restrictions will also include a ban on a number of russian TV channels. In addition, the European Commission will propose to ban all imports of russian oil to the EU. This will happen within 6 months.
70 russian politicians and more than 30 so-called ORDLO officials are under sanctions in Australia because of russia's aggression against Ukraine, said Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. This is a travel ban on entry. In total, since the beginning of russia's full-scale offensive, Australia has imposed sanctions on 812 individuals and 47 legal entities.
Life considering hostilities
In Ukraine, fines for using obscene language in public places increased from UAH 170 to 510; the punishment may also include community service from 20 to 40 hours, or correctional work from 1 to 2 months with a deduction of 20% of earnings, or administrative arrest for up to 10 days.
If you still want to swear, for example, when you can not refuel the car, calm down. In a few days, there will be no shortage of gasoline in Ukraine, which is observed now. This was stated by the First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko, the press service of the parliament reports. Kornienko added that there would be different prices, but there would be an opportunity to buy fuel for vehicles.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has launched new chatbots
- Chatbot @Traitor_Search_bot: you can send information about traitors and collaborationists, as well as Internet agents who "merge" important information to the enemy and distribute content in support of the invaders.
- Chatbot @stop_marauder_ua_bot collects information about looters who steal someone else's property during the war.
All data will be checked and posted on the SBU website. All collaborationist, looters, and "agents of the Kremlin" will be brought to justice!
Kyiv and the region
A bronze mini-sculpture in honor of the Ghost of Kyiv will appear in Kyiv as part of the Search project. The project is dedicated to the history of Kyiv, its interesting locations, and outstanding figures.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Brief summary of the past 24 hours, May 3.
- There are no safe places in the Luhansk region. The flashpoint in the region is Popasna. Evacuation of people from there is impossible.
- By May 9, the ruscists will try to make breakthroughs in three directions: Rubizhne, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk. Attacks and shelling will intensify.
Over the past 24 hours, the russians hit 34 times in residential areas of the Luhansk region. 2 people died, and 45 houses and other objects were damaged, the Head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhii Haidai reports.
Kharkiv region
British military intelligence reports that russia has concentrated 22 battalion tactical groups (700-900 people) around Izium. From Izium, these forces intend to move to Kramatorsk and Sievierodonetsk, but they fail to break through the Ukrainian defenses. If the orcs take these cities, they will become a springboard for the encirclement of the Ukrainian military. Well, we'll see.
Sumy region
The russians fired on a school in the Sumy region. The head of the region, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi reported about it. According to him, the shelling took place at about 3 am on the territory of the Esman community. "Two shots from a helicopter, two from the ground hit the school and infrastructure. Between 6 and 7 am, artillery shelling took place from Grad MRLS along the border near Yunakivka. There were also several helicopter shots in the area near Mohrytsia."
Zaporizhzhia region
In Tokmak, the Zaporizhzhia region, which was seized by the ruscists, the russian military began to sew uniforms of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and change into them, according to the South Operational Command. "It is possible that provocative actions by such 'uniformed' units to compromise the Ukrainian military in the occupied territories and attacks by the sabotage and reconnaissance groups on the line of contact," the command said.
Kherson region
Explosions and shelling continued throughout the region throughout the night. The occupiers continue to loot. Stably critical situation.
As a result of the evening shelling of the settlements of the Kochubiivka community in the Kherson region, one person was killed and four were injured.
The russian occupiers have already taken away about 400,000 tons of grain from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine's four regions, including Kherson.
Mykolaiv region
At night the enemy fired at one of the areas of Mykolaiv. There are no victims. Residential buildings were not destroyed.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces returned 4 settlements in the south of Ukraine. This was reported in the South operational command. According to the military, control of the territory was made possible by the successful actions of mobile anti-tank groups. The liberated settlements are located near the administrative border of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Their name has not yet been made public.
Chernihiv region
In Chernihiv, a man lived in a street toilet in the yard for a month, because there was nowhere else to go, Suspilne reports. A russian shell hit Vasyl Primachenko's house in the Bobrovytsia district on March 20. The man just went to the toilet and it saved his life. Not wanting to bother the neighbors, he decided to stay in the only surviving building in the yard. He slept in the toilet, listened to the radio, and read books. He cooked food on the fire and washed himself with rainwater. Volunteers persuaded him to leave the toilet and move to kindergarten.
Western Ukraine
Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi reports on the consequences of the missile attack: Two people were injured. There's damage to public infrastructure. There are interruptions in water supply and electricity.
Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration also reported details of the night strike of russian missiles in the region. The goal is also a railway connection. The rocket hit one of the railway substations near the station in Volovets: "… Windows were broken on objects within a radius of 500 m, fragments of the rocket damaged cars nearby."
The number of people killed in road accidents in the Rivne region has increased from 17 to 26. This is the largest accident in the region. To recap, on the night of May 3 on the route Kyiv – Chop, the fuel truck, the minibus, and the car collided.
In Kalush, with the support of the Eastern Europe Foundation and the European Union, the Kalush Community Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons is conducting training for IDPs. "Transform your anger into plans" is aimed to plan their lives in war and post-war times. What a wonderful name, many destructive emotions can be transformed into many plans. We all need such training!
