Ukraine – 5/19/23 Sitrep
By: Bohdan Chomiak & Robert Homans
May 19, 2023
“Russia Should Pay for Ukraine’s Reconstruction”/Timothy Ash
In his latest Substack blog, Ash suggests a couple of different ways that the West can repurpose approximately $400 billion in Russian Central Bank assets to help finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, in a way that would not infringe upon Russia’s property rights. He also argues that Russia has plenty of resources to finance reparations payments to Ukraine after the war is over.
If there is one thing that might unite Republicans and Democrats in Congress in supporting Ukraine, is the application of Russian State assets to help finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, along with a means to ensure Russia pays reparations.
Some from both Parties (not only Republicans) argue that American taxpayers have done enough to support Ukraine. Therefore, there should be unanimity of Congress doing both of the following:
· Lift Russia’s sovereign immunity, to allow access to frozen state assets residing in the United States.
· Allow plaintiffs, in this case individual Ukrainians and corporate entities that have suffered damages because of Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression on Ukraine, to either file suit against Russia in U.S. courts, allow plaintiffs who have obtained judgements in Ukrainian courts to enforce those judgements by filing claims in U.S. courts, or both.
The Council of Europe recently voted to set up a register, “to record and document evidence and claims for damage, loss or injury as a result of the Russian aggression. It invited the Secretary General to present modalities, including on complementarity with existing mechanisms, so that further consideration can be given to the possible establishment and functioning of such a register, in co-operation with Ukraine, under the auspices, or with the assistance, of the Council of Europe.” The register can serve as one resource for substantiating claims against the Russian Federation.
In 2016 the U.S. Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (“JASTA”), allowing victims to sue sponsors of terrorism for damages in U.S. courts. Subsequent legal cases have appeared to allow victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for damages, even though Saudi Arabia has not been declared by the U.S. as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Neither has the Russian Federation. One question that may need to be resolved is whether JASTA may be used to allow redress, when the instance of terrorism, in this case perpetrated by Russia, took place outside of U.S. soil.
I suspect that there is sufficient bipartisan support in Congress to do whatever is required to provide individual Ukrainians and Ukrainian legal entities standing to sue Russia in U.S. courts, and thereby attach Russian state assets, as there is to lift whatever immunity exists that shields Russian state assets from legal action by victims of the War in Ukraine along with methods to ensure Russian payments of reparations. There would have to be a determination made, as to what portion of Russian state assets could be claimed by individual victims, and what portion could be used to issue the type of securities that Ash describes, the proceeds of which will likely go to Ukraine to pay for public reconstruction (public buildings, large bridges, airports, etc).
“Can Ukraine’s Air Defense Systems Cope?”/Lawrence Freedman
Freedman’s latest Substack blog focuses on Ukraine’s air defense systems. His conclusion seems to be:
· Ukraine has established its ability to defend major Ukrainian cities against missile attacks, but the task is more difficult when Ukraine must defend cities located closer to the Front. My Partner Bohdan describes on a daily basis, the nearly constant Russian missile attacks on cities in Eastern and Southern Ukraine.
· Ukraine has increasing resources to launch air attacks against Russian assets, in the temporarily occupied territories including Crimea, and Russia itself.
He also addresses the origin(s) of the huge explosion in Khmelnytskyi, in Western Ukraine, last May 13th. He says –
“What had actually happened? One explanation is that this was a Soviet-era ammunition dump, of little current value. Hence the huge explosion. This does not preclude the possibility that material required for the current war might also have been stored there. A similar storage site in eastern Ukraine had been struck just less than two weeks earlier. This was a known Chemical Plant at Pavlohrad, which had been involved in work on missiles and rockets but had also stored rocket motors from old ICBMs and also old mines. What is clearly not the case is that with the latest attack destruction of depleted uranium shells led to radiation being released. To the extent that these shells are a hazard it is because of their chemical toxicity rather than radiation. The ‘radioactive spike’ that had supposedly resulted had appeared before the facility was attacked and was not even that high.”
Ukraine has been very careful to disburse its ammunition storage sites. Given their history of disbursing ammunition storage, there is no obvious explanation as to why Ukraine would make an exception in the case of the site at Khmelnytskyi.
Defense News
Tank tactics – Yesterday, on the daily Ukraine blog of the “Daily Telegraph,” one of their correspondents, former tank commander, commented on videos he has seen on Ukrainian tank operations. He was impressed, and he said it bodes well for the upcoming offensive that will include the use of Western main battle tanks. He said that Ukrainian tankers are clearly proficient in combined arms operations. He saw a Ukrainian T-72 tank operating with Ukrainian infantry fire a round, and then immediately move so as to make it more difficult for Russia to achieve a firing solution on the tank. He also said that the tank appeared to be in immaculate condition, with all components and accessories in order.
The weakness of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile – A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) studied the trajectories of the missile, and he predicted that the Kinzhal could be shot down by a Patriot missile. His prediction turned out to be correct. He said that the vulnerability of the Kinzhal takes place when it slows down upon re-entering the atmosphere, and slows down further in its terminal stage, in the seconds before hitting the target. It is possible that the Patriot missile destroyed the Kinzhal right before it was to hit the target, likely the Patriot battery itself. This would possibly explain why the Patriot battery was damaged from falling missile debris.
Daily Telegraph’s “Defense in Depth” and “Reporting From Ukraine” - Both videos cover Bakhmut and should be viewed together. “Defense in Depth” focuses on Prigozhin, and “Reporting From Ukraine” covers continuing advances by Ukraine on the flanks, north and south of Bakhmut.
F-16s – Just now, the U.S. announced that they would support an international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 fighter. This would make Ukraine acquisition of F-16s virtually certain, and several European countries have formed a coalition to provide Ukraine with F-16s that reside in their respective inventories.
5/19/23 Sitrep
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon May 18 to 12:00 noon May 19, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Friday May 19
12:12 am: The authorities of the Russian Federation may be planning attacks on the critical infrastructure of Western countries. To implement these plans, it has special submarines and spy ships.
● This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Great Britain, Ben Wallace, in a comment to foreign journalists, The Guardian reports.
● He claims that Russia has a special naval program aimed at surveillance or attack against the critical infrastructure of its adversaries.
● "They have a number of submarines and other pieces of equipment, spy ships and everything else specifically designed for these purposes," Wallace emphasized.
12:36 am: The US can train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 in four months instead of 18. This assessment was given by the Pentagon after two Ukrainian pilots passed a two-week test on flight simulators.
● Ukraine sent two pilots — MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. Before that, they had no F-16 training, just a brief introduction. Both Ukrainian pilots were evaluated by four experienced US Air Force instructors, each of whom had flown thousands of hours in the F-16. They concluded that the Ukrainians were able to perform several "technical maneuvers" as well as simulated attacks.
7:55 am Bloomberg: Volodymyr Zelenskyi will personally come to the G7 summit in Japan.
● The President of Ukraine will fly to Japan on a US military plane after stopping in Saudi Arabia to participate in the summit of the League of Arab States.
8:33 am: The 49th G7 Summit begins today in Hiroshima, Japan, - Kyodo News.
8:34 am: The US will use every diplomatic tool to hold Russia accountable for its crimes, US Deputy Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya said.
8:37 am: The death toll in Italy's worst floods in a century has risen to 13, - The Guardian.
10:35 am: Great Britain introduced additional sanctions against Russia.
● The list includes 86 Russians and companies, in particular, "Rosbank" and "Tinkoff Bank", 9 organizations related to "Rosatom" and the founder of "Russian Copper Company" Ihor Altushkin, reported on the website of the British government.
● Britain also announces an embargo on the import of diamonds, copper, aluminum and nickel from Russia.
Thursday May 18
1:44 pm: Six countries, including 1 EU member, did not sign the declaration on creating a register of damages to Ukraine from Russian aggression at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik.
● Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Iryna Mudra informed about this.
● Countries that did not sign the agreement: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia and Turkey.
2:16 pm Reuters: G7 leaders will discuss the idea of holding an international peace summit on Ukraine during a meeting in Japan.
● The summit will take place from May 19 to 21 in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
o Among the participants of the summit:
▪ Canada - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau;
▪ France - President Emmanuel Macron;
▪ Germany - Chancellor Olaf Scholz;
▪ Italy - Prime Minister George Maloney;
▪ Japan - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida;
▪ Great Britain - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak;
▪ USA - President Joe Biden;
▪ EU - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
4:29 pm: From 3 to 5 thousand Ukrainian military personnel underwent training in Sweden and have already returned to Ukraine, — Expressen.
● According to the publication, the military trained on Stridsvagn 122 tanks, Stridsfordon 90 BMP and Archer artillery installations.
5:40 pm: Kyiv and Moscow have responded with agreement to Pope Francis' offer to host his special envoys to discuss a truce, Vatican news portal Il Sismografo reported.
5:57 pm: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi will probably not go to Hiroshima for the G7 summit, which will be held on May 19-21, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, writes The Guardian.
● The head of the Japanese government noted that the Ukrainian president will participate in the meeting of the leaders of the "Big Seven" in an online format on Sunday, May 21.
6:56 pm Reuters: NATO is preparing for a possible conflict with the Russian Federation and is developing a specific defense plan for the first time since the Cold War.
● According to the publication, the document may be approved at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.
7:15 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants of the second Strategic Ark – an important dialogue on world security.
● "This forum is held on a significant date. On May 18, 1792, a hundred thousand Russian army crossed the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and invaded its land. The Russian-Polish war began, the consequences of which we all remember," the president said.
7:37 pm: Norway will deliver eight long-range M270 MLRS to Ukraine, Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said.
● Also, together with Great Britain, the country will hand over three ARTHUR counter-battery radars to the Armed Forces.
9:21 pm: The Patriot air defense system, which was damaged in Ukraine, has already been repaired and is fully operational, press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a briefing.
10:25 pm: The EU does not plan to include Rosatom in the 11th package of sanctions, CNN reports
● A high-ranking EU official noted that although the bloc's member states are reducing their dependence on Russian energy, "the European Union will not formally target Rosatom in the future package."
● He added that at the end of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the group's permanent commitment to independence from Russian nuclear energy sources will be outlined.
11:30 pm: The Pentagon has overestimated the cost of weapons sent to Ukraine by about $3 billion, Reuters reports, citing an aide to a senator and representatives of the US Department of Defense who spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity.
● According to their information, after the adjustment of weapons estimates, the USA will have the opportunity to send additional aid to Ukraine. A Pentagon official said the figure could rise as the department is now "examining the situation more closely".
NATIONAL
Friday May 19
7:10 am General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Over the past 24 hours, the Russians have launched 39 missile and 39 air strikes, as well as 50 strikes from multiple rocket launchers.
● Russian troops will continue to concentrate their main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka areas - 29 combat clashes took place in the specified areas of the front in the past day. The hottest battles are fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka.
● In connection with large sanitary losses, Russians are increasingly using civilian medical facilities in populated areas for their own purposes,
● In particular, in the temporarily occupied Luhansk, the Railway Hospital is used by the Russians as a military hospital, where wounded servicemen of the Russian Federation and mercenaries from the "Wagner" PMC are treated.
● Over the past day, the Air Force of the Defense Forces has struck 7 areas where Russian personnel and military equipment are concentrated. During the past day, 21 cruise missiles were destroyed, as well as 8 UAVs of various types.
● Units of missile troops and artillery struck the area of concentration of weapons and military equipment, an ammunition warehouse, 3 artillery units in firing positions, an anti-aircraft missile complex, 7 electronic warfare stations and a radar station.
8:17 am: On the night of May 19, 3 cruise missiles and 16 attack drones were destroyed - the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● In total, the Russians launched 22 Shahed drones and 6 Kalibr missiles over Ukraine.
10:03 am: Another child abducted by the Russian Federation has returned to Ukraine
● "14-year-old Veronika, who ended up in the Russian Federation after a terrorist country invaded Ukraine, is now at home. Her grandmother remembers with horror and tears in her eyes what she had to go through to return her grandson to his native land," said human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets.
● The child will undergo rehabilitation and receive the necessary medical and humanitarian assistance.
10:19 am: The Ukrainian military used the Patriot complex to shoot down a Russian bomber.
● This was reported by unnamed representatives of the Pentagon and the US Congress in a comment to CNN.
● As noted, the Russian plane targeted by the Patriot was about to launch missiles at Ukrainian targets.
Thursday May 18
12:08 pm: At night, the Russians hit energy infrastructure facilities, the press service of the Ministry of Energy reports.
● "Due to shelling, overhead power lines in Khmelnytskyi region were disconnected. Power was cut off in 3 settlements in the region, and 1.7 thousand consumers were left without electricity," the message says.
12:39 pm: Due to a technical failure, the Novaya Poshta mobile application and the authorization service are temporarily down, the company's press service reports.
● "Therefore, it is now impossible to use the post office and all services from the program.
● At the same time, you can get all services for sending parcels and cargo, as well as financial services at any of our branches," the message reads.
1:11 pm: There are 4 enemy ships on combat duty in the Black Sea, according to the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● "Among them is 1 Kalibr cruise missile carrier, a total salvo of up to 4 missiles," the report says.
1:29 pm: Zelensky can personally visit the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, if the situation at the front allows.
● This was stated by the deputy head of OP Ihor Zhovkva in a comment by Kyodo.
● According to him, the president will certainly take part in the G7 summit, but it is not yet known in what format.
1:59 pm: The Supreme Council of Justice gave its consent to the detention of the ex-head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Knyazev, — Public.
● 14 out of 14 VRP members voted for the decision. The day before, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office addressed the council with a corresponding request.
● We will remind that Knyazev is suspected of receiving a bribe of $2.7 million.
4:10 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyi honored the memory of the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.
● "Everyone in Ukraine now recognizes this evil. Years later, having changed its symbols, but not changing its essence, evil has returned.
● To destroy people in the same way. But this time we will destroy it. We must do it," the president wrote.
6:11 pm General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: During the day, the enemy launched 36 missile and 23 air strikes, as well as about 30 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas.
● Also, 17 combat clashes took place during the day, the hottest battles are fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka.
● 6:17 pm: the Russians continue to put pressure on the local population in the temporarily captured territories of the Kherson region, in particular the Heniche region. Thus, by threatening deportation, the occupiers force Ukrainian citizens to obtain Russian passports,
● the enemy intensified counterintelligence measures in the temporarily captured Kherson district,
● The number of roadblocks has significantly increased on the roads between populated areas, meticulous checks of vehicles and documents are carried out, and special attention is paid to the contents of telephones.
● Aviation of the Defense Forces per day carried out 6 strikes on areas of concentration of enemy personnel and military equipment,
● Units of missile troops and artillery struck the area of concentration of weapons and military equipment, an ammunition warehouse, 3 artillery units in a firing position, an anti-aircraft missile complex, 7 electronic warfare stations and a radar station of the occupiers.
9:16 pm: The commander of the separate tactical air reconnaissance group S.A.R.G. BIRDS OF MADYARA showed how his unit destroys a Russian tank.
11:16 pm: The court chose a preventive measure for the ex-head of the Supreme Court, Knyazev, who is suspected of receiving a bribe of 2.7 million dollars — detention until July 14, with the possibility of bail in the amount of more than 107 million hryvnias.
11:45 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy created a council on the liberation of Crimea, including:
● Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.
● Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
● Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine - Andriy Yermak.
● Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the NSDC.
● Head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk.
Mordor - russia
Thursday May 18
2:30 pm: Russia began preparations to invade Ukraine back in 2007.
● This was stated by the head of the State Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.
● "I will say this: if the events of 2014 had not happened, it would not have changed anything. The war between us was inevitable. In 2014, they took advantage of a convenient moment for them," said Budanov.
2:51 pm: Russians are trying to create reserves from local residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and Russia.
● This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar.
● "By the end of May, the number of personnel in the camps is expected to increase with the arrival of two more batches of prisoners from Russia, convicted mainly for committing murders with particular cruelty," Malyar said.
7:19 pm Social Networks: Explosions were heard in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
8:15 pm: The Russian military attacked Bakhmut all day today — the Defense Forces repelled all attacks, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said.
● According to her, Ukrainian forces now control the southwestern part of the city, there is an advance in some areas of the suburbs: 500 meters — on the outskirts in the north, 1 kilometer — in the suburbs in the south.
9:54 pm: Belarus is building fortifications near the border with Ukraine, monitoring group "Belarusian Gayun".
● "10 kilometers from Gomel, near the M8 highway in the direction of the border with Ukraine, a line of anti-tank fortifications - the "dragon's teeth" - appeared. In addition, very close to the "teeth" construction work on the construction of, presumably, fortifications is ongoing. - says the message.
10:41 pm: Russia convened a meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the provision of western weapons to Ukraine.
● "The people of Lavrov demanded the convening of the UN Security Council to whine about the fact that their miracle waffles fail every night in the sky over Ukraine," Serhiy Kyslytsia, the representative of Ukraine at the UN, commented on the convening.
KHARKIV
Friday May 19
11:32 am Kharkiv RMA: Over the past day, the Russians shelled at least 17 settlements in the Kharkiv, Kupyan and Chuguyiv districts of the region.
● As a result of a rocket attack on the village A 52-year-old civilian man was killed in the circus, and 2 more men, 41 and 57 years old, were injured. In the village, 2 private houses were destroyed, 13 more houses were damaged.
Thursday May 18
12:24 pm Kharkiv RMA: Over the past day, the Russians shelled at least 20 settlements in the Kharkiv, Kupyan and Chuguyiv districts of the region.
● "Last night, the Russians launched a missile strike, previously from the S-300 air defense system, on the village of Tsyrkuny. The missile hit the ground. Previously, there were no casualties and large-scale destruction," Sinegubov wrote.
2:56 pm: The head of the Kharkiv OVA Oleg Sinegubov confirmed the explosions in the region.
● "Don't ignore the alarm signals. Stay in shelters!" he wrote.
3:13 pm Kharkiv RMA: According to preliminary information, the "arrival" was in the village of Circuses of the Kharkiv district.
● "A private residential building was hit. A person may be under the rubble," he wrote.
3:33 pm: The Security Service exposed a cleric of the UOC (MP) who consecrated Russian soldiers during the occupation of Izyum, the press service of the SBU reports.
● The cleric publicly stated that the local religious community is subordinated exclusively to the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, he repeatedly appeared before the cameras of Kremlin propagandists.
● Based on the collected evidence, he was informed of the suspicion. The perpetrator faces up to 8 years in prison.
3:50 pm Kharkiv RMA: As a result of a Russian missile attack on the village of One person died in circuses.
● "Two more civilians were injured. Doctors are providing them with all the necessary assistance," Sinegubov wrote.
DONETSK
Friday May 19
11:41 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Slovyansk, Donetsk region,
Thursday May 18
4:38 pm: The 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out offensive actions on the western outskirts of Bakhmut, creating a springboard for a further counteroffensive.
● The brigade itself reports on Telegram.
● "The width of the breakthrough strip was 2,000 m, and the depth was 700 m. Previously, the enemy had at least 50 "200s" and up to a hundred "300s". As of now, 4 more Russians are in captivity," the message says.
4:56 pm: The commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, published a video of the work of the Ukrainian military near Bakhmut.
5:11 pm Institute for the Study of War: Russian forces are losing the initiative in the Bakhmut area, despite the limited nature of the defenders' counterattacks.
● Also, according to ISW, Prigozhin hopes to remove Shoigu from the position of Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation after the "decisive victory in Bakhmut".
ZAPORIZHIA
Friday May 19
10:47 am Zaporizhia RMA: 80 shellings were fired by the Russians at 17 front-line towns and villages.
● A 57-year-old man in Gulyaipol was injured in his home during a Russian attack. During the day, another 25 civilian objects were damaged: Russian troops destroy residential quarters.
Thursday May 18
10:08 pm: Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the temporarily occupied Melitopol, said that residents of the TOT of the Zaporizhzhia region are faced with a choice - either a Russian passport or existence beyond the limit of survival.
● In particular, the Russians oblige people to renegotiate contracts with the captured energy supply company, which can only be done if they have passports, in captured schools they promise to issue a certificate only to those who have issued a passport.
● Moreover, the invaders promise to make those who do not receive a Russian passport by September 1 foreigners in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
DNIPRO
Friday May 19
8:06 am Dnipro RMA: That night, several explosions rang out in Kryvyi Rih. the Russians hit a private industrial enterprise. A 64-year-old woman was injured, in serious condition.
● There is significant destruction of workshops, destroyed equipment. Immediately several buildings were occupied. Due to an enemy attack, a fire also broke out infour-story administrative buildings A 45-year-old man received minor injuries.
KHERSON
Friday May 19
9:32 am Kherson RMA:Over the past day, the Russians carried out 57 shellings, firing 287 shells from heavy artillery, "Grads", tanks, UAVs and aircraft. The city of Kherson was shelled 2 times (11 shells).
● The troops of the Russian Federation aimed at the residential quarters of the population centers of the region; in 2 healthcare institutions and one cultural institution in the city of Kherson. Two people were injured.
KYIV
Friday May 19
1:38 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kryvyi Rih.
1:56 am: Chairman of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council Oleksandr Vilkul confirmed the explosions in the city.
12:46 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the Kyiv region. Previously - air defense work.
2:13 am: KMVA reports on the work of air defense around the airspace of Kyiv.
5:19 am: All detected air targets moving in the direction of Kyiv were destroyed by air defense forces, KMVA.
10:58 am: Explosive objects will be liquidated in the Buchansk district today, - KMVA.
● The sounds of explosions will be heard on the northern outskirts of Kyiv.
Thursday May 18
7:55 pm: The Kyiv City Council renamed 26 city objects in eight districts in the capital, the mayor of the capital Vitaliy Klychko said.
● In particular, the metro station "Friendship of Peoples" was renamed to "Zvirinetska" station, the "Lev Tolstoy Square" station to "Ukrainian Heroes Square", the "Prospekt Pravdy" metro station project to "Varshavska" station.
● In total, 314 city objects have already received new names in the capital.
CHERNIHIV
Friday May 19
12:17 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Chernihiv region. Previously - air defense work.
SUMY
Friday May 19
Thursday May 18
11:00 pm: Sumy OVA reports that the Russians fired 10 rounds during the day. 62 explosions were recorded.
● Settlements of Yunakivska, Bilopolska, Novoslobidska, Myropilska, Esmanska, Krasnopilska communities came under fire.
● A residential building in the village was damaged. Myropyllya and in the village Studenok shelling damaged a private residential building, an outbuilding, a tractor, a field sprayer, and 2 civilians were injured.
CHERNIVTSI
Friday May 19
11:47 am: The SBU detained a Russian agent in Chernivtsi who was spying on units of the Armed Forces, the Security Service and border guards
● The attacker collected intelligence for the Russians about the locations of the Defense Forces and critical infrastructure facilities in the eastern and western regions of Ukraine.
● SBU employees detained a Russian agent in Chernivtsi during his covert photo-fixation of a military facility.
POLTAVA
Thursday May 18
12:55 pm: The Security Service detained in Poltava the leader of the fake "people's government" who called for the seizure of government institutions of Ukraine, the SBU press service reports.
● In his self-recorded video comments, he regularly repeated the Kremlin's narratives, in which he called the armed aggression of the Russian Federation a "civil war in Ukraine."
● The court chose a preventive measure for him in the form of detention without bail. An investigation is ongoing to bring to justice all participants in illegal activities.
RIVNO
Friday May 19
3:37 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the Rivne region. Previously - air defense work.
VOLYN
Friday May 19
3:37 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Volyn.
LV’IV
Friday May 19
9:50 am Lviv RMA:Between 03:00 a.m. and 05:00 a.m., defenders over Lviv region destroyed 5 combat drones of the "Shaheeds".
● Another one was eliminated over another region in the west of Ukraine. There were no casualties or damage in the Lviv region.
4:06 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Lviv.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://espreso.tv/
https://cutt.ly/Blyskavka
The 400 billion should go back to every American taxpayer that has worked and paid for this war.