Ukraine – 5/8/2023 Sitrep
By: Robert Homans & Bohdan Chomiak
May 8, 2023
Preparations Continue
“Reporting From Ukraine” covers Ukraine’s continuing drone and rocket attack against Russian installations in Southern Ukraine, Crimea, and Southern Russia.
Apparently, Russian authorities are attempting to evacuate Ukrainians living in occupied Zaphrizhshia Region, near the “Zero Line.” According to reports they are having limited success in doing so. There are other reports of people finding discarded Russian uniforms along the roadside, possibly indicating Russian soldiers using the evacuations as an opportunity for desertion.
Increase in Russian Air Raids
Over the past couple of weeks, Russian air raides on civilian targets seem to be taking place almost nightly.
Here in Metro Washington, D.C., my wife has the same app on her I-Phone that provides Ukrainians with air raid warnings. A significant amount of information is provided to Ukraine, on a nearly real-time basis, by data from U.S. satellites and intelligence gathering aircraft flying over the Black Sea and over the territory of NATO members that either border Ukraine or border the Black Sea. It is possible to detect take-offs of various types of Russian aircraft used as launch platforms, as well as launches of Iranian drones and cruise missiles launched from ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The app is connected to Ukraine’s early warning system. For example, if a Russian Tu-95 bomber takes off and loiters over the Caspian Sea, or a Russian MiG 31 takes off from a base in Belarus or Southern Russia, there is an alert that shows up on the app, including a map of Ukraine showing the regions that are subjected to air raid warnings. The Tu-95 is presumed to carry cruise missiles; the MiG 31, one of Russia’s most advanced fighters, is presumed to carry the hypersonic missile such as the one that was recently destroyed by a Patriot missile.
The system also can report a missile launch from a Tu-95 over the Caspian Sea, giving people a warning of approximately 30 minutes, and the possible target, and course and speed. Warning times for drone attacks is probably a bit longer, but there is almost no warning of either a hypersonic missile or cruise missile launched from Belarusian airspace. Warning times of missile launches from ships In the Black Sea varies, depending on the location of the target, with Odesa getting very little warning.
Russia has also moved elements from their Baltic and Northern Fleets to the Russian naval base at Tartus, Syria. However, Turkey has banned the transit of naval combatants through the Bosporus. Missile launches from the Eastern Mediterranean are extremely unlikely, as they’d have to fly over territories of NATO member states to reach targets in Ukraine.
Judging from the air raid warnings showing up on the app in my wife’s smart phone, attacks normally take place during dinner in Washington, D.C., but around 3-4AM in Ukraine. The app has been a huge benefit to Ukrainians, giving them time to take shelter.
5/8/2023 Sitrep
From Bohdan –
“We have family from Canada with us over the next few days and at supper they asked what they should do if there is a rocket attack. My wife answered that you should roll over and continue sleeping because there is nothing you can do. So of course, Ukraine's armed forces shot down 30 Shahed kamikaze drones over Kyiv last night. The falling drone fragments caused damage but far less than if they had landed and blown up. I asked my family members whether they heard anything last night and they replied that they slept like babies. We always sleep well in Kyiv. My wife and I on the other hand woke up and then rolled over and continued sleeping.”
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon May 7 to 12:00 noon May 8, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Monday May 8
10:41 am: Due to an accident on the Hungarian railways, non-stop cars Vienna - Kyiv, which departed on May 7, are six hours late, - Ukrzaliznytsia.
· On Sunday morning, 9 cars of a Hungarian freight train with iron ore derailed. So far, the Hungarians have just begun lifting the cars — the restoration of the railway track and contact network will take at least a day.
9:43 am: "There are chances that the grain deal, which expires on May 18, will be extended."
· This was announced by the official representative of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ibrahim Kalin.
8:06 am: Japan and South Korea will join forces to counter threats from the DPRK, - Kyodo.
8:05 am: Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt, voted to return Syria to the bloc after a 12-year suspension due to the outbreak of the country's civil war.
7:17 am: 35 Russian Shahed strike UAVs destroyed the Ukrainian Air Force overnight.
· "This night, our air defense destroyed 100 percent of the "shaheds" who attacked the Kyiv region!" - Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk.
12:52 am: French journalist Armand Soldin and his team found a weakened hedgehog in a trench. They immediately gave him a drink and took him with them to go out.
Sunday May 7
7:51 pm: "I will not sing on the same stage with Russian terrorists who are killing Ukrainian children. I hope there will be no terrorist country on this stage next year."
· This was stated by 14-year-old singer from Ukraine Sofia Samoliuk during a performance at the famous festival Sanremo Junior 2023 in Italy. She refused to participate and from the stage emotionally explained why a terrorist country does not belong here.
· The girl recalls that she was asked "not to interfere" with the process, so she did not warn about her speech. After that, Sofia received support in society, but the organizers of the contest did not comment on the situation.
7:30 p.m.: The International Olympic Committee is working to bring Russian and Belarusian athletes back to international competitions in neutral status.
· It is reported by Xinhua with reference to a statement by IOC President Thomas Bach.
5:35 pm: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi met with the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer.
· "I described the situation at the front and told about the preparation of the Security and Defense Forces for future actions to liberate our territory.
· I expressed hope that in the future all our partners will make the right decision and Ukraine will receive F-16 aircraft," Zaluzhnyi wrote.
03:59 pm: Ukraine has begun receiving radars for a new missile threat warning system. The radars are produced by the Israeli company RADA Electronic Industries, according to Israel Defense.
· Ukraine should receive a batch of 16 radars RADA. They will be used to detect and warn of missile attacks. The publication notes that the transfer of such radars requires the approval of the Ministry of Defense of Israel.
3:28 pm: Turkey refused to transfer the S-400 air defense system to Ukraine at the request of the United States, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu told Haberturk television.
· The United States offered Turkey to transfer the complexes to Ukraine to protect the sky, but the proposal was rejected. In addition, Turkey also refused to give the United States access to systems for their study.
2:06 pm: In Turkey, after the devastating earthquakes on February 6, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, more than 33 thousand tremors were recorded.
· It is reported by the Turkish Directorate for the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters and emergencies (AFAD).
NATIONAL
Monday May 8
9:11 am: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada proposing to establish May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II.
7:33 am General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Russians are concentrating their main efforts on the Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions
· Heavy fighting continues for the cities of Bakhmut and Marinka. In total, over the past day, 55 attacks were repulsed in these sectors of the front.
· Russians are conducting the so-called evacuation of local residents from the temporarily occupied Tokmak, Zaporizhzhia region, towards the settlement of Berdyansk
· Representatives of the so-called local "authorities", collaborators, children, teachers and educators are subject to this procedure. At the same time, parents of children are threatened not to credit the school year in case of refusal to "evacuate" the child.
· There are queues for fuel at gas stations, all drivers have been informed that no new fuel supplies are planned.
· In the village of Vesele, Zaporizhzhia region, the local Russian police department is closed and does not function. The day before, the destruction of the documentation of this institution was observed.
Sunday May 7
11:47 pm: The Armed Forces of Ukraine became the first army in the world to shoot down a hypersonic missile using the Patriot air defense system," Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said during a telethon.
· "The Patriot has never hit targets like the X-47 Kinzhal before," Ignat said.
9:52 pm Operational Command North: Russians again shelled the border of Chernihiv and Sumy regions, more than 50 "arrivals" were recorded.
· "There was no information about casualties among the local population or damage to civilian infrastructure," the report said.
9:01pm The Independent: Russia will panic when Ukrainian counteroffensive begins, Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir Gavrilov said.
· "They still don't understand that (ed. - their) propaganda demonstrates a false picture of what is really happening on the ground. This war will be won on the ground, not on TV screens, not on the Internet," he said.
· According to Havrylov, holding Bakhmut was a key moment in Ukraine's preparation for a counteroffensive.
6:27 pm Update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on May 7:
· "During this day, the enemy launched 8 missile strikes, in particular, 2 S-300 missiles hit a civilian enterprise in Balakliia, Kharkiv region, as a result of which 5 civilians were wounded.
· In addition, the occupiers fired 5 Russian Kh-22 missiles at civilian objects in the Mykolaiv region and one Kh-22 missile at Kherson region, without losses."
· "The enemy also inflicted 22 air strikes and carried out more than 10 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region.
· Unfortunately, there are civilian deaths and injuries, a multi-storey building, private dwellings and other civilian infrastructure have been damaged."
· "The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions.
· There are heavy battles for the cities of Bakhmut and Marinka. During the day, the enemy carried out 39 attacks."
· "The Russian occupiers continue, under the pretext of evacuating civilians, to take out looted property from the frontline settlements of the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region.
· Thus, in Mykhailivka, the evacuation of all property was recorded together with employees of enemy financial institutions in cars stolen from local residents."
· "15 buses have arrived in Dniprorudne, Zaporizhzhia region, to evacuate representatives of the Russian occupation administration and the so-called "people's militia" together with their families.
· Servicemen of the Russian occupation forces are massively robbing shops with office equipment and stealing cars."
· "Aviation of the Defense Forces during the day inflicted 6 strikes on areas of concentration of enemy personnel and military equipment, as well as a strike on an enemy anti-aircraft missile system.
· Missile troops and artillery units hit 2 control points, 2 areas of concentration of enemy weapons and military equipment, as well as 3 ammunition depots of the enemy."
06:00 pm: The commander of the Eastern Group of Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, visited positions in Bakhmut and awarded Ukrainian soldiers.
· "As of today, the Defense Forces manage to disrupt the enemy's plans in the Bakhmut direction
· But the Russians still hope to capture the city by May 9. Our task is to prevent this," Syrsky wrote.
4:28 pm Operational Command South: The Russians are using a variety of tactics to circumvent and deplete Ukrainian air defenses, but do not have a steady stock of means to operate.
· "High-precision weapons are being saved a little, others are still being used, thanks to which they are testing and verifying where exactly that air defense system is.
02:59 pm: 11 enemy ships are on alert in the Black Sea, including 4 carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles, with a total salvo of up to 32 missiles - the Ukrainian Navy.
1:40 pm Yahoo News Military Intelligence Ukrainian Armed Forces: The attack on the Kremlin will be shown to Russians as a "victory,” despite the fact that it sounds like a joke.
· The head of the DIU noted that Russia knows how to act in the information space, so even an imaginary attack on the Kremlin will be shown as a "victory", claiming that in this way the largest catastrophe in the history of mankind was prevented.
· Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov commented on the alleged involvement of Ukrainian special services in the liquidation of a number of Russian public apologists for the war against Ukraine.
· "Do not continue this topic. All I will comment on is that we killed Russians and will kill Russians anywhere in the world until Ukraine wins completely," Budanov said.
12:17 pm Air Force spokesperson: It's too early to rejoice at the downing of the Dagger, we still don't have enough weapons capable of doing so.
· "The Russians learned about this successful work early. We should be glad that we have such weapons, but it is too early to rejoice, because they are not enough, we need much more of these systems to protect our large cities, protect infrastructure and nuclear energy," Ihnat said.
Mordor - russia
Monday May 8
8:31 am Institute for the Study of War: Prigozhin and Kadyrov want to drop responsibility for failures in Bakhmut on the Russian Ministry of Defense.
· According to analysts, if the Russian Ministry of Defense does not allow the Akhmat forces to replace the Wagnerites, Prigozhin and Kadyrov will probably state that if the Ministry of Defense supported this strategy, the Kadyrovites would quickly manage to capture Bakhmut.
· Analysts at the Institute of War note that Russia is not capable of conducting coordinated defensive operations along the entire front line.
Sunday May 7
8:37 pm: Russia is engulfed in large-scale forest fires: Kurgan, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions are on fire, - Russian media.
· It is reported that in the Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions introduced an emergency regime, residents of several settlements of the Kurgan region were evacuated.
· The authorities block the highways, in some neighborhoods of Kurgan power is cut off. Warehouses with gunpowder located in the Sverdlovsk region are also burning.
5:06 pm: A fire broke out in Moscow at the construction site of the residential complex "Nove Ochakovo".
12:57 p.m.: A drone with a camera was found on the territory of an aircraft plant in Novosibirsk. They produce elements of Su-24 bombers, according to Russian media.
12:27 pm Social Networks: Explosions were heard in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
KHARKIV
Monday May 8
10:51 am Social Networks: Explosions in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.
Sunday May 7
11:16 pm Kharkiv RMA: Russians shelled Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region
· The shelling of the village of Buhaivka, Chuhuiv district, occurred around 14:00. As a result, a 67-year-old woman was injured and hospitalized.
LUHANSK
Sunday May 7
12:36 pm Luhansk RMA: Over the past day, the occupiers fired 103 times at our settlements. There are no dead or wounded among the civilian population.
· Also, the head of the RMA said that Russians exert social pressure on people during forced passportization, and children from Luhansk region are forced to go to Russia for rehabilitation.
DONETSK
Monday May 8
10:58 am Donetsk RMA: At night, Russians fired 6 missiles at the industrial zone of Kramatorsk - no casualties.
· Kurakhovka, Kurakhove, Marinka, Kostiantynivka, Shcherbynivka, Nelipivka, Petrivka, and Toretsk hromada were under fire. Damaged private houses.
· In just one day, Russians wounded 2 residents of Donetsk region.
8:38 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Sloviansk, Donetsk region.
12:35 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region
Sunday May 7
04:56 pm: Due to constant shelling, it is almost impossible to evacuate civilians from Chasiv Yar (a city near Bakhmut), said Serhiy Chaus, head of the city's military administration.
· According to him, the evacuation is also complicated by the blown up bridge.
1:16 pm: In recent hours, the intensity of movement of Russian military equipment through the temporarily occupied Mariupol has increased, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the city's mayor.
· "Once again, a large replenishment of tracked vehicles through Mariupol towards the Zaporizhia region. Every day the intensity is increasing," Andryushchenko wrote.
ZAPORIZHIA
Monday May 8
9:58 am: Russian shelling caused a fire in a village in Zaporizhzhia district.
· SES officers curbed the fire, rescued a person from under the destroyed structures and removed the body of the deceased.
8:47 am Zaporizhia RMA: 99 strikes withstood 21 peaceful settlements of Zaporizhia region: 89 artillery shelling, 7 with MLRS, 2 aviation and 1 with UAV.
· Huliaipole, Novodanylivka, Tavriyske, Novoyakovlivka were under fire again. New destruction is recorded.
· In Komyshuvas, a family was wounded: a woman born in 1952 and a man born in 1982.
2:56 am Social Networks: Explosion heard again in Zaporizhzhia area
2:23 am Social Networks: Explosion heard in Zaporizhzhia.
1:27 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Zaporizhia region
DNIPRO
Sunday May 7
10:27 pm Nikopol RMA: there is movement of equipment on the opposite bank of the Kakhovka reservoir, and UAVs are also recorded in the air. There is a threat of shelling.
12:40 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region.
KHERSON
Monday May 8
11:54 am Kherson RMA: The death toll from the Russian terrorist strike on Kherson has risen to twenty-four.
· This morning, the heart of a 54-year-old woman who was seriously injured during the Russian shelling of the city on May 3 stopped in hospital. For five days, doctors fought for the life of the victim, but the injuries were too serious.
11:08 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson region.
10:00 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson.
Sunday May 7
10:18 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard again in Kherson
9:45 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson.
9:25 pm Kherson RMA: Russians hit Kizomis with guided aerial bombs.
· "As a result of the hit, a gas pipeline and about seven local dwellings were damaged, three of them were completely destroyed. No civilians were injured.
· Also, Russian artillery struck near the village of Yantarne, which injured a 62-year-old woman," Prokudin wrote.
4:08 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson region.
ODESA
Monday May 8
11:22 am Operational Command South: The body of a security guard was recovered from the rubble of a warehouse in Odesa region.
10:15 am Odesa RMA: 3 people wounded as result of Russian shelling of a warehouse in Odesa region, one person is missing.
· On the night of May 8, the Russian military fired up to eight Kh-22 cruise missiles at the region, some of them flew to the Odesa region, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said.
2:45 am: In Odesa region, X-22 missiles hit a warehouse of one of the food enterprises and a recreational area on the Black Sea coast.
· Rescuers are working to extinguish fires. Data on casualties were not reported. The information is being clarified.
12:24 am Odesa RMA: an enemy missile attack took place in Odesa region.
Sunday May 7
11:53 pm: Fire breaks out in Odesa region after Russian attack. This is reported by Suspilne correspondents.
11:30 pm Social Networks: Explosions also heard in Odesa
11:28 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Odesa region
KYIV
Monday May 8
11:36 am: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that last night the Russians staged the most massive attack with kamikaze drones.
· Almost 60 "shaheds" were launched. 36 of them flew to the capital. All were shot down by air defense forces.
· Five people were injured in two districts of the city. Three of them are in a high-rise building. Two victims were hospitalized, one of them was operated on.
7:10 am: 5 people were injured in Sviatoshynskyi district. 7 cars were damaged and 1 more car was on fire. Debris fell on a residential building - Kyiv City Military Administration.
· In Solomianskyi district, a tank (5t) with a leakage of diesel fuel (without fire) was damaged. 15 trucks and 5 cars were damaged in the parking lot. Also, probably due to debris, a high-pressure gas pipe was damaged, followed by burning of the gas torch, the gas was blocked, the fire was extinguished.
3:29 am: In the Solomyanskyi district, debris probably damaged a tank with a fuel capacity of 10 tons, there is a leak, no fire, SES squads sent - Kyiv City Military Administration.
3:28 am: In the Shevchenkivskyi district of the capital, a high-pressure gas pipe with a burning gas torch was damaged. A portable carriage barrel is working, the flames have been shot down, the State Emergency Service and the gas service are working. Information on trainees is being clarified - Kyiv City Military Administration.
2:54 am: Kyiv City Military Administration reported that debris likely fell on a separate 2-storey building in the Shevchenkivskyi district of the capital. SES outfits are working.
2:36 am: In the Solomenskyi district of Kyiv, debris fell on the runway of Zhulyany airport. No fire – Kyiv City Military Administration
2:34 am: Vitali Klitschko said explosions were heard again in Kyiv. The fall of UAV wreckage on a two-story building in Sviatoshynskyi district. Services are heading to the site.
2:20 am: Vitali Klitschko said that two victims in the Sviatoshynskyi district were hospitalized by doctors.
2:12 am: The head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, said that according to preliminary information, as a result of falling debris on a parked car in the courtyard of a residential building, a car caught fire.
· There is a recorded fall of debris on a residential building, on the roadway.
2:07 am: Vitali Klitschko reports three casualties at the site of an explosion in the Solomensky district and one in Sviatoshynskyi. Medical assistance is received on the spot.
1:57 am: Vitali Klitschko reports that UAV wreckage has fallen in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv. All services are heading to the site. Information about the damage and victims is being clarified.
1:22 am: Kyiv City Military Administration confirms air defense operation in Kyiv
1:15 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kyiv. Probably, the work of air defense.
12:12 am: Air defenses are operating on the outskirts of Kyiv, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.
12:05 am Kyiv RMA: there is a threat of UAV attack in the region. Also, RMA is working for air defense forces in the Kiev region.
Sunday May 7
11:55 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kyiv region.
CHERNIHIV
Saturday May 6
12:36 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Chernihiv region.
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