Timeline: day 86 days of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Today is May 20. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 86 days. We're reporting on all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
The third month of the russian army's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is coming to an end. During this time, our lives have changed; we have re-evaluated many things and learned a lot about ourselves. The Ukrainian nation is stronger than it seemed. The enemy is not as terrible as propaganda portrays it. Belief in Victory is stronger than fear and despair. Today, Ukraine has a powerful army and the support of Europe and the world. We've learned to resist the enemy; we've learned not to be afraid of it, not to react to ruscists' lies and intimidation. Our Armed Forces are becoming one of the most effective armies of today. And not just on the training grounds, but in real combat. We're on the side of good and light, which means that we will win!
The Ukrainian army inflicts losses on the enemy. We gradually hold strategic heights and counterattacks. In 2 weeks our defenders liberated 23 settlements in the Kharkiv region!
After the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted attacks, another ammunition depot in the Kherson region, 2 T-72 tanks, 1 self-propelled artillery and howitzer, 2 Grad multiple rocket launchers and the TOR anti-aircraft missile system, armored vehicles and motor vehicles, as well as 40 occupiers were destroyed, the South operational command reports.
In the Donetsk and Luhansk directions, the Joint Forces servicemen in the past 24hrs destroyed:
- 8 tanks;
- 14 units of armored combat vehicles;
- 6 units of automotive equipment.
- Air defense units shot down an Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle in the skies of the Ukrainian Donbas.
Now the orcs are furiously advancing, trying to capture Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, but British intelligence is confident that the russians will face exhaustion in Donbas. According to them, the russian command is now under pressure; the russians are required to achieve operational goals. This means that the horde is likely to quickly redistribute its forces without proper training, which threatens further depletion.
Yesterday, at the invitation of the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer of the Royal Navy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, took part in a meeting of the NATO Military Committee at the level of Commanders-in-Chief with Ukraine. "We managed to take away the initiative from russia and force it to abandon the main goal," Zaluzhnyi said at a meeting of the NATO Military Committee.
The European Parliament supported the resolution calling on the EU to create a special tribunal for russian war criminals, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says. The Hague for Putin!
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky became the most influential person of the year according to Time readers. With more than 3.3 million votes, he took first place. In second place is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in third place.
"The decision to wage this war is the Kremlin's, and the Kremlin's alone. If Russia stopped fighting tomorrow, the war would end. If Ukraine stopped fighting, there would be no more Ukraine," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a UN Security Council meeting.
Humanitarian missions
Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Sviatoslav Palamar with the call sign "Kalyna" said that the command of the defenders of Mariupol was in Azovstal and a certain operation was ongoing: "I and the command are on the territory of the Azovstal plant, an operation is underway; I will not disclose the details. Thank you to the entire world and thank you to Ukraine for your support!" Palamar said in an evening video address on May 19.
"While I am in captivity, I will leave you photos of the best quality, and send them to all journalistic awards and photo contests. If I win something, it will be very nice after leaving. Thank you all for your support. See you," Azovstal soldier Dmytro Kozatskyi wrote, whose photo spread around the world.
Ukraine's talks with russia
Kuleba compared negotiations with russia to a burnt match: russia chose war over negotiations. We can make this conclusion if we look at the Ukrainian cities that have been shelled in recent days, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says. There was no moment when we just stopped negotiations. The talks were like a match. First, you light a match; it burns brightly, strongly. Then the more it burns, the smaller it becomes. And in the end, it disappears, leaving only a charred match, then thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot. We've seen a direct connection: the more aggressive russia is on the battlefield, the less interest they've shown in the negotiations. That's how the talks went out."
Who's coming to Ukraine?
On financial and information assistance, weapons and politicians
A former member of the Norwegian parliament is fighting for Ukraine. Sandra Andersen Eira arrived in Kyiv in early February. She serves as a combat medic.
Ukraine will receive an additional package of military aid of 1.3 billion pounds from Britain.
The G7 countries intend to allocate $18.4 billion as financial support to Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Very encouraging news from overseas: the United States is working to organize the supply of long-range anti-ship missiles to Ukraine to lift the blockade of the Black Sea, Reuters reports, citing US officials. With these missiles, Ukraine could shut down russia's largest ships, as they have nowhere to hide in the Black Sea. This will restore the supply of grain and other agricultural products around the world; the lack of supply is leading many countries to the brink of starvation.
Lend-lease for Ukraine has already been shipped, and almost all US Navy logistics vessels in the Atlantic have been involved. OSINTdefender provides a photo of the USNS Soderman ship to confirm this. It belongs to the Watson class and is designed to transport military equipment. This is a huge 290-meter ship with a displacement of 62.9 thousand tons. The total area of decks for cargo is 36,511 square meters.
The EU has transferred a new tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €600 million. According to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the EU has also offered an additional loan to Ukraine in the amount of €9 billion this year. "Besides aid, we will work on a recovery platform to help restore Ukraine as a free democracy," she said.
Spokespersons from both houses of the Irish Parliament arrived in Kyiv today.
Assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons
Ukraine's state budget received grant funds from the United States ($500 million) and the United Kingdom (24 million pounds), the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine says. These grants will be used for priority social and humanitarian expenditures, health care, and support for internally displaced persons.
News from partners
Gerhard Schröder and Matthias Warnig announced that their continuing their powers on the board of directors of Rosneft was impossible. After the start of a full-scale war, former German Chancellor Schröder was criticized for continuing to maintain ties with russia. The day before, the tabloid Bild reported that Schröder was deprived of an office in the Bundestag and employees paid from the budget because of these connections.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Finance of Germany offered to discuss the possibility of using russia's frozen state reserves in favor of Ukraine. The issue of possible confiscation of russian assets should concern only state funds, but not private property, the Finance Minister added.
Supplies of russian gas to Finland will stop at 07:00 on May 21, the Finnish Gasum said.
Kyiv and the region
A special mobile police group has identified 13 victims of sexual crimes in the Kyiv region. The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports it. It is noted that law enforcement officers interviewed about 340 people in 21 settlements. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into two criminal cases of rape by russian invaders.
Zhytomyr region
9:10 – the air raid alarm sounded across the country twice this morning. Three hits in the town of Malyn, Zhytomyr region, have been reported. The information is being clarified.
13:30 – three civilians are wounded after a missile attack on Malyn of the Zhytomyr region, the mayor reports. Infrastructure and more than 100 residential buildings were damaged.
Poltava region
The second trial of russian servicemen who invaded Ukraine is taking place in the Poltava region. Two russians, Oleksandr Bobykin and Oleksandr Ivanov, are accused of shelling the Kharkiv region. Both face up to eight to 12 years in prison. Bobykin and Ivanov fully pleaded guilty and agreed to testify.
14:00 – a missile hit the infrastructure object in the Poltava region. The head of Poltava Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Lunin announced this.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Bakhmut is under constant fire from russian aircraft. Just yesterday, the city suffered several missile strikes. A high-rise building, a technical school building, and private houses were destroyed.
On May 19, two people died in Bakhmut and one each in Krasnohorivka, Avdiivka, and Khrestyshche. Six more people were injured. The exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha is currently impossible to establish, the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko says.
The situation is very tense in Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, the region recorded 12 dead, and more than 60 destroyed houses in the Luhansk region, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhii Haidai reports.
Today, the russians fired artillery at a school in Sievierodonetsk, where more than 200 people and many children were hiding. At least three adults were killed.
There are no surviving buildings in Rubizhne, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration reports. Before the war, Rubizhne was home to more than 60,000 people who worked in the public sector, factories, and small businesses. Now Rubizhne has fully shot and looted concrete boxes (former residential buildings); yards turned into cemeteries. Residents who remained in the city are hiding in basements from the atrocities of the Kadyrovites.
Kharkiv region
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are liberating towns and villages in the Kharkiv region, and over the past week, most calls to the ombudswoman have come from there: from the victims themselves and their relatives. In one hour, more than 10 people, including raped minors, reported sexual violence. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Liudmyla Denisova says that both a one-month-old baby and elderly people became victims of russian rapists. Children were raped in front of their mothers, and old people were mocked to death.
Yesterday, the enemy fired on the Kharkiv region again: one person was killed and five were wounded. In the morning the enemy fired on the Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv, and the medical institution's boiler room was damaged. At about 12:00, the Pivnichna Saltivka district was shelled, and one person was wounded. During the day, the occupiers fired on Velyki Khutory, where a woman and a 13-year-old child were injured. As a result of the shelling of the Chuhuiv district, a 17-year-old boy was injured, and a woman was injured in the Balakliia community. A 64-year-old man died in Tsyrkuny.
Dnipropetrovsk region
The night was calm in most areas. But in the Kryvyi Rih district, it's again alarming. The occupiers fired on Velyka Kostroma twice. Windows are broken in several houses. People were not injured, the Head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional state administration, Valentyn Reznichenko reported.
Zaporizhzhia region
The occupiers blocked more than a thousand cars with Ukrainians trying to evacuate to Zaporizhzhia. This was reported by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration. People trying to evacuate from southern Ukraine were forced to stay in front of a russian checkpoint in Vasylivka. Most of the blocked cars are evacuating women and children. People's food supplies are almost exhausted.
The State Emergency Service workers protested in Enerhodar. The reason is yesterday's kidnapping of the first state fire and rescue detachment chief Vitalii Troian. At first, his office was searched, and later he was taken away in an unknown direction. Mayor Dmytro Orlov announced the use of force against firefighters and damage to cars!
12:30 – the occupiers dispersed the protest of SES officers in Enerhodar and detained the acting chief of the unit.
Kherson region
Ukraine will be able to conduct a successful counteroffensive in the south and liberate Kherson from the russian occupiers. This opinion was voiced by Conflict Intelligence Team researcher Kyrylo Mykhailov in an interview with Radio NV. He called the information that the occupiers began to dig in the Zaporizhzhia direction and prepare for the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces unexpected. According to the expert, they previously expected that this would be part of a major russian offensive to take the Ukrainian group into the cauldron. "This means that the Muscovite army doesn't have enough forces to conduct an offensive in these areas as well," he said. Speaking about the forthcoming counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south, the analyst stressed that it would be easier to carry out in the Kherson direction.
"It is radically important for me to liberate the Kherson region, and make it as hard as possible for both collaborationists and the russian military. Zaporizhzhia region. We need the waters of the Sea of Azov. I want the word "russians" to be forgotten in the Kharkiv region. For the word "russian" to be forgotten in Luhansk and Donetsk regions and that criminal elements who call themselves the authorities shouldn't be physically eradicated," Podoliak, advisor to the President's Office said of the counteroffensive in the Kherson direction.
russian troops blocked exits from the Kherson region into Ukrainian-controlled territory. This was stated by the spokesperson of the South operational command Vladyslav Nazarov. Those wishing to leave the region are sent to Crimea. In Kherson itself, patrols have been stepped up and the number of checkpoints has increased, Nazarov added.
In addition, russian security forces find Kherson people who write badly about russia on social media and force them to apologize. Videos with "apologies" are spread on social media to intimidate citizens. In one of them, a woman apologizes for calling the russian military orcs, and her husband wished death to these killers.
West of Ukraine
The missile was spotted in the Lviv region at a visual observation post. Air defense performed, the head of the region, Maksym Kozytskyi, reports.
