Timeline: day 72 of Ukraine's defense gainst russia's aggression
Today is May 6. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for more than 10 weeks. We're reporting on all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
"We call for everyone's cooperation and support. Everyone for whom freedom matters." In a joint evening video address to Ukrainians and the people of Great Britain, Volodymyr Zelensky called on the participants of the Brave charity evening to join the United24 initiative to help Ukraine.
"If everyone in the world, or at least the vast majority, were as steadfast, courageous, and leader-like as Ukraine and Britain, I am sure we would have ended this war and restored peace throughout our liberated territory for all our people. But we still have to fight," said the President.
In turn, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Johnson said that his country would continue to increase military aid to Ukraine as long as it needed it.
Zelensky said that during the full-scale invasion, russia fired 2014 missiles at Ukraine and caused $600 billion in damage.
However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not silent in response. On all fronts, our soldiers are destroying the occupiers and their equipment.
During the current 24 hours, May 5, the troops of the Joint Forces successfully repulsed 11 enemy attacks. Ukrainian defenders destroyed 8 tanks, 11 units of armored combat vehicles, and 5 cars.
Thanks to our soldiers' skillful actions, 6 armored combat vehicles, and 5 units of motor vehicles were destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia direction.
The air defense units of the Ukrainian army's Air Force and Land Forces hit 15 air targets: fourteen Orlan unmanned aerial vehicles and one aircraft.
During the day, fighter, bomber, and assault aircraft of the Air Force made dozens of flights. Attack groups of aircraft inflict missile and bomb strikes on occupying forces and ammunition depots.
The US Department of Defense said it was sharing intelligence with Ukraine on the situation on the battlefield, but didn't provide information on the whereabouts of russia's top military leaders. "The United States is providing intelligence on the battlefield to help Ukrainians defend their country. We have talked about this. We do not provide intelligence on the whereabouts of high-ranking military leaders on the battlefield and don't participate in decisions on the Ukrainian army's targets," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing.
The Pentagon spokesman noted that Ukraine was more informed about what was happening on the fronts than the United States.
In the 10 weeks of russia's full-scale invasion, National Police investigators have launched more than 10,000 criminal cases into war crimes committed by the russian occupiers. In total, during the total war, the police received and processed almost 1 million 900 thousand reports from citizens, Ihor Klimenko, head of the National Police, says.
The atrocities committed by the russian military in Ukraine are the result of the kremlin's long-term policy of dehumanizing the Ukrainian nation, says US Representative to the OSCE Michael Carpenter.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has confirmed reports of russia's possible intention to declare war on Ukraine on May 9. "According to the partner intelligence, russia intends to declare a full-fledged war on May 9. The top political leadership is discussing this possibility. We will see if this happens," he said during a briefing on his visit to Poland.
Zelensky invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit Kyiv on May 9 to celebrate the victory over Nazism in World War II and to show solidarity with Ukraine in the war against russian invaders.
May 9 will be a real "gift" for russia: On Monday, May 9, President Biden will sign the 2022 lend-lease law to protect Ukraine's democracy, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a May 6 briefing.
Another exchange of prisoners took place today. 41 people were returned, including 11 women. 28 military and 13 civilians are returning home, Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk reports. Among those released is the rector of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Ukrainian military awards. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi became the first cavalier of the Cross of Military Merit. Congratulations!
Humanitarian corridors
The Head of the President's Office, Adrii Yermak, said that almost 500 civilians had been evacuated from Mariupol, including Azovstal. The next stage of evacuation is currently underway.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that the evacuation in Mariupol will begin at 12 p.m. from the PortCity shopping center.
15:00 – During the ceasefire, russians shot a car down using an anti-tank guided missile on the territory of the Azovstal plant. The car was moving towards civilians to evacuate them from the plant. As a result of the shelling, 1 soldier died and 6 people were wounded. The enemy continues to violate all agreements and fails to comply with security guarantees during the evacuation of civilians," Azov said.
2,100 residents of Vysokopillia, Arkhanhelske, and Kniazivka of the Kherson region were able to walk to the Dnipropetrovsk region on foot and on their personal vehicles. Those who stayed need to be evacuated and get humanitarian aid, the Kherson Regional State Administration reports as of May 6.
Iryna Vereshchuk informs that today 50 women, children, and elderly people were evacuated from Azovstal. The evacuation will be continued in the morning. We hope that russia will not violate the agreement.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
About financial assistance, weapons, volunteer fighters
What the participants of the international donors' conference for Ukraine promised:
- The EU will allocate 200 million euros for internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
- Finland will provide Ukraine with 70 million euros in aid and additional military equipment.
- Austria will allocate another 41.96 million euros to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
- Sweden will provide an additional $23 million to support humanitarian organizations in Ukraine.
- Hungary is ready to take part in rebuilding the Kyiv region's infrastructure destroyed during the war and will accept Ukrainian soldiers for treatment.
- And that's not all! The United States has provided an additional $397 million in humanitarian aid. France will increase its total support to $2 billion.
- Germany is rapidly preparing a loan of 150 million euros, as well as an additional 125 million euros for humanitarian aid and another 140 million for development.
- And Japan will provide $300 million in financial support.
In total, the International Donors' Conference in Warsaw raised $6.5 billion to help Ukraine.
And this money is not for Ukraine, but still in our favor: Google has allocated $10 million to counter the spread of false information about the war in Ukraine. Before that, Google had donated $55 million to help victims of the war in Ukraine. According to Matthew Brittin, the company has allocated funds to combat misinformation, because its spread during the war can be a "matter of life and death."
Germany will hand over seven PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery units to Ukraine. An agreement has been reached. This was stated by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht during a visit to Slovakia, Deutsche Welle reports. According to her, Ukraine will receive vehicles that are currently under repair, and the Bundeswehr doesn't need them urgently. The Minister also stated that Germany would teach the Ukrainian military how to handle these units. PzH 2000 – 155-mm artillery unit with automatic loading system with ammunition for 60 shells and 228 modular metal charges. Equipped with an accurate ground navigation system. The range of the shot is 30 km.
Today, the Baltic Foreign Ministers arrived in Kyiv on a visit. They discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine and its status as an EU candidate.
"The last of the 20 Bushmaster armored personnel carriers donated to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, along with several M777 howitzers, has left Australia," said Australian Ambassador to Ukraine Bruce Edwards. We'll win together!
News from partners
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden do not recognize the legitimacy of changing Ukraine's borders as a result of the war, Reuters reports following a telephone conversation between the two leaders. According to media reports, the leaders agreed on the need for substantial and continuous support for Ukraine. Olaf Scholz also said that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Ukraine shortly.
The Central Bank of Estonia plans to issue a €2 coin dedicated to Ukraine. The supervisory board has already approved the design of the coin. And now it has to be approved by the European Commission and the EU countries. Euro coins have a common reverse for all participating countries and the obverse has a unique national design. At the same time, coins of the same denomination with various design options are in circulation. €2 is the coin of the largest denomination. Its reverse has Europe without borders.
New polls in the EU say that most Europeans agree with Ukraine's accession to the EU as soon as it is ready – 71%. Most of them are in Portugal (87%), Estonia (83%), Lithuania (82%), and Poland (81%). And most dissenters live in Luxembourg (38%), Greece (37%), and Hungary (36%).
93% of Europeans approve of providing humanitarian aid to war victims. 88% of Europeans approve of the idea of accepting refugees into the EU. 80% approve of Ukraine's financial support.
About two-thirds of EU citizens approve of the supply of military equipment to Ukraine.
The European Parliament calls on russia to return the stolen planes immediately. "We regret that russia, in gross violation of the rules of international civil aviation, forced aircraft leased from foreign companies to re-register in the russian list of planes," the website of the institution said. This civilized call is likely to go unanswered because russia never returns the stolen of its own accord.
The UN Security Council will convene for an extraordinary meeting today, May 6 at 22:00, the media report. The topic is the russian-Ukrainian war.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
The full embargo on russian oil will be imposed by the European Union in 9 months, EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said.
Shell closes its gas stations in russia and sells all gas stations.
russia lost more than 130 billion rubles of oil and gas revenues in April, according to the russian Ministry of Finance.
The White House has promised new sanctions against russia, additional sanctions against individuals, and companies, as well as measures to prevent circumvention of sanctions by companies.
Life considering hostilities
Famous Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko's painting "Flowers grew around the fourth block" was sold for $500,000 at an auction; the money will go to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The painting was bought by a Ukrainian from abroad. The starting price of the lot was $5,000. The artist's family supported the charity auction and renounced royalties in favor of the army.
Kyiv and the region
Very nice news from the Kyiv region: Dobropark landscape park near Kyiv will open today.
It had previously suffered significant damage from a missile. But the tulip fields have survived and now they are in full bloom. Online ticket sales have been launched in the park. They will be valid throughout the year. Instead, the proceeds will help rebuild what was destroyed.
On May 6, the Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia visited Irpin. The head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Pavliuk and the curator of the humanitarian direction, Oleksii Kuleba, told the delegations about the liberation of the city and plans for its reconstruction.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
810 apartments and 25 people were injured in yesterday's missile strike on Kramatorsk. 32 high-rise buildings, six private houses, two schools, kindergartens, a medical institution, a boiler house, and several enterprises, and trade establishments were damaged, Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration said. "This is a deliberate attack on civilians, which could have resulted in a huge number of casualties, but a timely evacuation saved dozens of lives. There are no casualties, but there are 25 injured." Five high-rise buildings have no electricity and 15 houses have no gas supply. Specialists are already working on the restoration.
Over the past 24 hours, the occupiers fired on residential neighborhoods and infrastructure facilities in Sievierodonetsk 16 times; two people were killed, 12 houses, an electric substation, and a complex of commercial buildings were damaged.
Seven more houses were destroyed in Rubizhne, two were damaged in Novodruzhesk. There are destructions in Lysychansk, Orikhovo, Hirske, and Popasna, the Head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration reported.
Serhii Haidai also said that there were no surviving gas stations left in the Luhansk region. Yesterday at about 18:00 enemy shells hit one of the last gas stations in the Luhansk region and Sievierodonetsk's nearby railway firm Azot. Railroad ties and grass on a total area of 400 square meters caught fire.
According to the General Staff, the occupiers continue to blockade the Ukrainian military in the Azovstal area in Mariupol. In some areas, with the support of aircraft, the russians resumed the assault, trying to take control of the plant.
However, russia withdrew most of the ground troops that were sent to Mariupol to the north. A "couple of battalion tactical groups" remain in the city, according to the Pentagon.
In Popasna, a 15-year-old girl drove a car with her legs shot to evacuate severely injured adults. The girl drove about 30 km. And she was able to save herself and others.
The first use of the Switchblade-300 kamikaze drone has been recorded. "Thus, with the help of a tactical strike drone complex, we encouraged the occupiers, who were so zealously preparing to strengthen their positions," the 53 Mechanized Brigade said on its Facebook page.
18:00 – russian troops are trying to force the Siverskyi Donets River near Kreminna. The captured city is teeming with russian military equipment. Fighting is taking place on the outskirts. The occupiers are trying to force the river. The city has a difficult humanitarian situation, and no food. There is no electricity, no mobile service either, said Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration.
Kharkiv region
As a result of a missile strike by the occupiers in the Lozova district on May 5, an 87-year-old woman, a resident of a village in the Nadezhdivka area, was killed, Lozova Mayor Serhii Zelenskyi said.
The occupiers set up a hospital, based on the Kupiansk City Hospital in the Kharkiv Region. There are up to 300 wounded there, the General Staff of the Armed Forces reports.
Oleh Synehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, reports on the situation in the city: The occupiers struck 3 times in one day with MLRS and 2 times with artillery in Kyivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of Kharkiv. This night and this morning, the enemy struck 2 MLRS and artillery strikes at Pivnichna Saltivka. In the region, Zolochiv, Chuhuiv, Lozova, Derhachi are shelled. It is still dangerous to be on the streets!
The counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv direction continues. Our soldiers in the Kharkiv region regained control over the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Fedorivka, Ukrainka, Shestakovo, Peremoha, and part of the village of Cherkaski Tyshky.
In the Kharkiv region, we captured 11 russian snipers, who fired on the positions of the Armed Forces. The speaker of the Security Service Artem Dekhtiarenko announced this. In total, since the beginning of the war, the SBU has eliminated more than 140 enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups and exposed 4,000 collaborationists.
Zaporizhzhia region
The occupiers are taking away people's land in Chernihivka, the Zaporizhzhia region, Regional Military Administration reports. russian orcs are forcing villagers to fill out a form by May 8 stating how much land the owner has and how much is leased. Only then will a processing license be issued. Land not specified in the papers will be confiscated.
The russian occupiers intensified the use of aircraft and artillery in the Zaporizhzhia region. The spokesperson of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Ivan Ariev reported.
Today, russian troops fired on the village of Novotavrycheske in the Komyshuvakha community. Almost 20 houses were destroyed. No one was injured among the locals.
Kherson region
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports the situation in the South as of 06:00: In the north of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, the russian military fired at the settlements which they left. russian military air reconnaissance was observed in the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Serhiivka, and Volodymyrivka.
Departure/entry to Kherson from Daryivka as of 09:00 remains blocked. Instead, the russian military opened a passage in the direction of Oleshky, according to bus stations in Kherson and the region.
Residents of occupied Kherson and Nova Kakhovka intend to hold a rally in support of Ukraine on Victory Day. This was reported by a local correspondent on the air of the telethon UA Together.
15:30 – Mobile and home internet disappeared again in Kherson. Currently, only Kyivstar is working, Suspilne correspondents report.
Mykolaiv region
The divisions of Mykolaiv City defense forces are being trained at one of the ranges in the south of Ukraine. For the first time, territorial defense fighters got acquainted with some samples of foreign-made weapons. Among the foreign weapons are small arms and anti-tank grenade launchers.
Dnipropetrovsk region
On the night of May 5-6, russian troops shelled the Kryvyi Rih and Synelnykove districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Grad MRLS hit the villages of Zelenodolsk and Shyroke communities. No one was injured. In the Pokrovske community, a rocket hit the field. People were not affected.
"The situation in Kryvyi Rih and Kryvyi Rih district is stable and fully controlled by the Ukrainian Army and the Military Administration. The line of combat clashes is located 50 kilometers from the city, in the Kherson region. The defense of the city is being strengthened on all perimeters," Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration, said at the briefing.
In the Kryvyi Rih district, the Ukrainian military shot down three russian drones.
Odesa region
22:00 – The head of the Odesa regional state administration reported that in the evening the occupiers fired a missile at the Odesa district with two missiles. There are no victims.
