Timeline: day 97 of Ukraine's defense against russian aggression
Photo: Facebook/Kyrylenko
Today is May 31. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 97 days. We're reporting on the current news. The article will be updated.
What about today?
Key points
The EU has agreed on the long-awaited sixth sanctions package! European Council President Charles Michel announced it. The sanctions package includes a ban on russian oil exports by sea. The sixth sanctions package also includes:
- disconnecting the most prominent Russian bank Sberbank from SWIFT;
- banning three more russian state broadcasters;
- new sanctions against those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
Unfortunately, russian oil export through pipelines is still preserved. The EU hasn't been able to agree on a ban on this.
At the same time, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that thanks to this sanctions package, oil imports from russia to the EU would be reduced by about 90% by the end of the year.
"In any case, Europe will have to give up russian oil products. Because it is the independence of Europeans themselves from russian energy weapons," Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new address.
Ukrainians are doing their work and beating the ruscists on all fronts!
Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine's defenders have destroyed dozens of occupiers and enemy equipment in the country's east. The East Operational and Tactical Group reports. On May 30, they destroyed:
- personnel – up to 50 soldiers
- tanks – 1
- IFV – 1
- self-propelled artillery – 1
- mortars – 3
- UAV – 1
On May 30, the Air Force combat aircraft fired on the occupying forces in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. Anti-aircraft missile units destroyed the X-59MK air-to-surface missile in the Donetsk region and the X-22 cruise missile in the Odesa region, with a warhead of about a ton (X-22 in the photo).
Earth and air turn into fire for the invaders.
According to the morning report of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the occupiers continue to storm Ukraine's positions but have no success.
- In the Sloboda direction, the enemy continues to prepare for the offensive.
- In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy fired on settlements of Terny, Lozova, Protopopivka, Rudneve, Sokolivka and others.
- In the Pivdennyi Buh direction, the enemy fired in the areas of Oleksandrivka, Prybuzke, Posad-Pokrovske, Novohryhorivka, Osokorivka, Kniazivka and Trudoliubivka.
- In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy's primary efforts fired on the settlements of Dovhenke, Virnopillia, Hrushuvakha and Velyka Komyshuvakha. There was an attempt to storm in the area of Dovhenke; the enemy was unsuccessful.
- In the Donetsk direction, the enemy's primary efforts are to establish control over the city of Sievierodonetsk. The enemy conducts assault operations in the areas of Sievierodonetsk and Toshkivka; fighting continues.
Ukraine's application for EU membership will be considered at the next summit in June. "The European Council takes note of the preparation of the Commission's conclusions on the application for EU membership of Ukraine and Moldova and Georgia and will return to this issue at its June meeting," the document reads.
Humanitarian missions
The exchange of prisoners of war will be handled by the head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. He was appointed head of the Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Previously, this position was held by the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
On financial and information aid, weapons and politicians
The United States will transfer high-precision MLRS and missiles to Ukraine. The co-chair of the international working group on sanctions against russia, Michael McFaul, announced it. But he clarified that these were MLRS with a range of 70 km, not 300 km. They're not designed to strike deep into russian territory.
The EU will provide 9 billion euros in financial assistance to Ukraine and G7 partners.
NATO has adopted a declaration supporting Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic course, the Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada's press service reports. The NATO declaration calls for:
- supporting Ukraine on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration
- increase the supply of heavy weapons, including air defense, missile defense, anti-ship systems, and artillery
- strengthen the exchange of intelligence.
The official visit of the Slovak Armed Forces delegation, headed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, General Daniel Zmeko, has ended. Meeting his Slovak counterpart, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, noted that the arrival of good friend Daniel Zmeko in Ukraine at this difficult time for our country was a testament to the enormous support and solidarity in the war against russia.
News from partners
The activists protected the monument to Shevchenko in the Czech Republic with sandbags. Thus, the artists wanted to draw attention to the problem of the destruction of the Ukrainian cultural heritage by the russian army. Czech cultural leaders have also announced a fundraiser to protect Ukrainian art.
Denmark refused to pay for russian gas in rubles. A leading Danish company, Orsted, has said it will cut off gas supplies as the deadline is May 31. In its press release, the company points out that despite the demands of russia's Gazprom to pay for gas in rubles, there are no such legal obligations under the contract. "We will continue to pay in euros. If Gazprom stops supplying gas to Orsted, it will violate the agreement in our understanding," the company said.
Following Denmark, the Netherlands also refused to pay for russian gas in rubles.
Today, Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to the Netherlands (GasTerra) as they refused to switch to payments in rubles, according to russian media. Earlier, russia cut off supplies of russian gas to Finland, Bulgaria, and Poland, which also refused to pay for it under the scheme proposed by russia.
France is demanding an investigation into the death of journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff as soon as possible. The country's Foreign Ministry made the relevant statement. A man died of a fatal neck injury during the enemy shelling of the Luhansk region. Leclerc made a piece on the evacuation of civilians.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
russia will lose about $22 billion due to the EU embargo, Bloomberg writes. The ban on oil supplies via the sea will lead to a loss of $10 billion in exports from russia. Companies will be forced to sell oil to Asia, where a barrel of russian Urals oil is $34 cheaper than a barrel of Brent.
russia will lose another $12 billion due to the cessation of oil supplies to Poland and Germany. The aggressor country will continue to earn only in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The profit from this will be only 6 billion dollars.
Several EU leaders have said they will not discuss a gas embargo in the following sanctions package against russia. Politicians believe that negotiations on russian gas will be more complex than on oil. "Gas cannot be part of the next sanctions. It is much easier to compensate for russian oil, and gas is completely different," said the Austrian Chancellor.
Canada has imposed sanctions on putin's alleged mistress Alina Kabayeva and 21 other individuals. The government reported this. The updated list includes the daughters of Alfa-Bank founder Mykhailo Fridman Larisa and Katerina, seven members of the VTB Management Board, and three former and one current member of the Sberbank Management Board.
Sanctions against russia will last for a very long time, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. "Let's not be mistaken: these sanctions will last for a very, very, very long time. So all tradelines will be changed, for many years, if not forever," he told a news conference after a special European Council meeting in Brussels.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
The occupiers fired a missile at Sloviansk. Three people were killed, and six were injured. The Donetsk Regional State Administration head, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said that the school and at least seven high-rise buildings were damaged. Rescue operations are currently underway. The exact number of victims is still being determined. "I repeat that there are no safe places in the Donetsk region, so I urge you again: evacuate and save your lives. putin is waging a war to exterminate Ukrainians," Kyrylenko urged.
Bakhmut and the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road are under constant enemy fire. Civilians are trying to evacuate the city while our military maintains the settlement and the highway. The regional administration says that the russians are currently pushed back almost 50 kilometers from this road.
russian troops control part of Sievierodonetsk, and the city continues street fighting. Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, announced it. According to Haidai:
- The occupiers cannot move freely through the city; Ukrainian fighters remain in the settlement.
- The enemy plans to mop up the surrounding villages.
- The wounded volunteers were taken out of Sievierodonetsk.
In Mariupol, the russian occupiers began accepting documents to obtain local russian passports. First, people must obtain a certificate of registration in Donetsk, then submit papers for a passport in Novoazovsk to the so-called migration service of the Donetsk People's Republic. Mariupol mayor's adviser Petro Andriushchenko reports about it.
In addition, russian looters in Mariupol have finished loading rolled steel on their ship and plan to export the looted cargo to russia.
Not only steel products are stolen, but also children who have lost their parents or whose parents died, the mayor's adviser Petro Andriushchenko. About 15 children sheltered by Mariupol residents were taken away by ruscists in an unspecified direction. "We are currently working on establishing a place for the deportation of children," Andriushchenko said.
According to Andriushchenko, russia keeps 540 orphans from Mariupol, Volnovakha, and other settlements of the Donetsk region in a sports and recreation complex in the Rostov region. According to him, children are being prepared for a simplified procedure for granting russian citizenship. The trial is being overseen by Maria Lvova-Belova, russia's ombudsman for children's affairs.
The occupation of the entire Luhansk and Donetsk regions is russia's political goal. But to achieve this, russia will need to capture other complex targets outside of Sievierodonetsk, particularly the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnieper-Donetsk main road, British intelligence reported.
The situation with the ammonia leak in the Bakhmut district is under control. The administration head says the only place where information about ammonia smell comes from is Travneve, located in the zone of active hostilities. If the situation worsens, SES rescuers are ready to work on the ground.
Kharkiv region
On May 30, 1,500 people were evacuated from the territories of the Kharkiv region temporarily occupied by the russians, the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Synehubov, said. Women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities were taken away by buses and rail.
The russian military continues to fire on the settlements of the Derhachi district from multiple rocket launchers, tanks, and artillery. The village of Tsupivka is almost destroyed, the head of the community, Viacheslav Zadorenko, said. Part of the community remains occupied.
The court found two russian servicemen guilty of violating the customs of war and sentenced them to 11.5 years in prison. Grad driver-charger Aleksandr Bobykin and gunner Aleksandr Ivanov fired on the Kharkiv region due to which civilian objects were destroyed.
Dnipropetrovsk region
At night, the occupiers fired again at the Kryvyi Rih district, the head of the regional military administration Valentyn Reznichenko. The Zelenodolsk community was hit.
The Babusia [granma – ed.] volunteer battalion works in Kryvyi Rih. The participants prepare and hand over food to Ukrainian soldiers from the first days of the full-scale invasion. They also collect things and help the displaced.
Sumy region
Also, at night, the ruscists launched a missile strike on the Sumy region, the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, says. Immediately after that, russians began shelling with self-propelled artillery. No one was killed.
The occupiers continue to fire on the border settlements of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. So, starting from 9:10, observers recorded about 8 explosions (hits) in the direction of Fotovyzh, Sumy region. There are no casualties among personnel and equipment.
Chernihiv region
At 1:10 p.m., 4 explosions (hits) were recorded near Leonivka, Chernihiv region. There are no casualties among personnel and equipment. There were no reports of casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure.
Zaporizhzhia region
The occupiers plan to confiscate the harvest of Melitopol black cherries. The city mayor Ivan Fedorov reports about it. The city has started harvesting for sale, but the occupiers want to sell the fruit themselves, not with the help of farmers. "Many farmers are terrified because they have invested in growing cherries, caring for these trees, and today there is no guarantee that the occupiers will give money to them for the berries. So the collection has begun, but today there is a big threat to farmers," said Ivan Fedorov.
Kherson region
Chronicles of the Kherson region resistance: in Ozeriany, Sokolohirne, and Novohryhorivka of the Henichesk district, no teacher agreed to work under the russian program. Despite the occupiers' numerous negotiations and persuasions of teachers to cooperate, promises of high salaries, and retraining in Crimea, the educators rejected all "proposals." Teachers say it is better to live off growing food in the garden than taking money for betraying their students.
In Kherson, the russian military launched an agitation car with a loudspeaker through the city streets. It is saying false messages: "Ukraine has given you up," "the government has given you up," "Ukrainian authorities have cut off mobile service in the city," and "soon russia will launch its mobile service and save from Ukrainian propaganda." On the evening of May 30, mobile service disappeared throughout the Kherson region.
Last week the russian invaders broke the electricity supply in the territory of base stations for mobile communication, so the blame for the lack of communication lies with them. Ukrainian operators are now doing everything possible to restore service in the temporarily occupied Kherson region.
Mykolaiv region
Yesterday in Mykolaiv, the russian military aimed at the private house where there were two children and their grandmother with the grandfather, the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration reported. An elderly man with a mine injury is in hospital. The children were not injured but had severe psychological trauma. The house was destroyed, and ten more homes were damaged.
The Mykolaiv commandant's office recommends leaving for several days from the specified city districts to avoid casualties among the civilian population.
Odesa region
Night in the city and region passed without shelling. One ship in the Black Sea, a carrier of cruise missiles, and several ships of the enemy grouping retreated to the area of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Receiving heavy weapons from Ukraine from the allies causes panic in the swamps, the spokesperson of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Serhii Bratchuk, said.
West of Ukraine
On International Children's Day, a sapper dog, Patron, will be brought to Lviv. He will be a guest at a holiday organized for children forced to leave their homes because of the war.
