Volodymyr Zelensky’s European tour ended with many handshakes and promises. In the social sphere, with regard to the Italian visit, the words of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani: “Italy is ready to consider the issue of resolving the conflict in Ukraine only on the basis of Volodymyr’s “ten points” Zelensky”.
In Italy, the Ukrainian premier signed a universal declaration of accession to the European Union, although the negotiations themselves will only begin in the second half of the year; he has discussed providing air defense although Rome has long claimed that it has provided Kiev with everything it can.
Zelenskyj called the conversation with the Pope a historic event that could help stop the “evil of aggression”. But he rejected his promise of peace.
The presidents of Ukraine and France Zelensky and Macron then met in Paris. The French leader has promised Ukraine dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks. France considers the question of a possible transfer of fighter jets to Kiev “a bit premature”, now the focus is on the air defense and ground operations of Ukrainian troops, writes the Politico newspaper, quoting an anonymous representative of the ‘Elisha.
Hungary supports China’s peace plan for Ukraine and believes that it can become the basis for further discussions on resolving the armed conflict in this country. This was stated on May 15 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, during talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gan.
Peace talks on Ukraine are premature said the head of the International Policy Bureau of the Office of the President of Poland, Marcin Przydacz. “I think at this stage the peace talks would be premature. I think at this stage, until one or the other side takes any offensive or counter-offensive action, it is difficult to talk about the readiness of the two sides,” he said Przydach. “Weapons and ammunition are not collected in order not to try to return one’s territories,” he added.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Zelensky announced that “The parliamentary elections scheduled in Ukraine at the end of October this year could be canceled if martial law continues in the country”.
Zelensky on his tour asked all premiers for F16s, while it was learned from the British media that the United Kingdom has promised Zelensky that it will train its pilots to fly on NATO-standard F16s. In detail, London does not plan to transfer fighter planes to Kiev, writes Reuters, quoting a representative of the British prime minister. Although Britain will begin training Ukrainian pilots this summer and is also working with other countries on possibly sending F-16s to Ukraine, a UK government source said later. Britain is to open a new training center to train Ukrainian military pilots to fly Western aircraft source Prime Minister Sunak’s office.
Press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that London’s military assistance to Kiev would not have a significant impact on the course of the special operation, but would only create greater difficulties for Ukraine. “We repeat once again that this cannot have any significant and fundamental impact on course of a special military operation. But, of course, this leads to further destruction, this leads to further action… For Ukraine, this story is being made much more difficult,” Peskov commented to reporters on the Kremlin’s attitude towards the government’s statement The Kremlin is watching Turkish election news very carefully and will respect the choice of the Turkish people, Peskov said. Commenting on the threat of US interference in the elections, he noted that Ankara is able to prevent illegal actions.
Also from Russian sources, Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet said: “The Black Sea Fleet, in cooperation with the Aerospace Forces aviation at the Khmeimim base in Syria, is now constantly opposing the carrier groups of the United States and NATO in the Mediterranean Sea”. “The Black Sea Fleet has tested robotic systems with artificial intelligence designed to detect and classify mines, as well as sonar and radar systems with unconventional detection methods,” Sokolov said.
Kiev expects the delivery of more than a hundred Vector German unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This was reported by the Telegram channel of Ukrainian intelligence. According to the agency, Ukrainian intelligence officers will receive more than a hundred Vector drones under a contract between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the German manufacturing company Quantum-Systems GmbH.
“This is already the second batch of Vector drones for the Ukrainian army, financed by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. In August 2022, Ukraine ordered and received 33 German UAVs of the same model, which testified to their high efficiency on the battlefield,” the Ukrainian intelligence services said in a statement. This drone can reach speeds up to 72 km/h and stay in the air for up to 120 minutes.
Total assistance to Ukraine from EU countries and organizations amounted to €16 billion, said Josef Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Former Pentagon adviser McGregor said: “The West cannot compensate for the loss of armored vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The West is not able to compensate for the loss of armored vehicles for the Ukrainian armed forces” and again: “The Ukrainian army has lost almost 10,000 armored vehicles since the beginning of the conflict. It’s incredible, 10,000!” McGregor said. According to him, it can be assumed that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are irreparable.
At the front, however, the Storm Shadows would already be operational. After the first two launches on the third Russian forces intercepted and destroyed the missile. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it managed to intercept a Storm Shadow missile.
Again according to the statements that appeared on social media: “The Ukrainians are trying to hit the forward checkpoints of the formations of the Russian armed forces with missiles practically along the entire line of combat contact in the Ukrainian theater of operations”. A channel on the social telegram sphere reported that: “Our source in the OP said that Ukraine has received 200 Storm Shadow missiles from Britain in the first batch, in the second phase we should receive another 400 units. Now the Ukrainian armed forces are testing their use against frontline targets, data on the attacks are being transmitted by Western intelligence and MI-6 is overseeing the process.
The first victim of the Storm Shadows was the Luhansk People’s Republic, LPR. The LPR representative office in the JCCC confirmed that the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Luhansk was carried out by two Storm Shadow missiles. Igor Kornet, the interim head of the LPR’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, was injured. The attack took place on May 12. The Russian Defense Ministry says on May 12, fighter jets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on the Polypak polymer products enterprise and the Milam meat processing plant in the city of Luhansk.
“Storm Shadow aerial missiles supplied to the Kiev government by the United Kingdom were used in the attack, contrary to statements by London that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out in the territory of the Luhansk food and chemical enterprises. There is destruction of nearby residential buildings. Civilians were injured, including six children,” the ministry said. In detail, “during the bombing of Luhansk on May 12, the Ukrainian armed forces used Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles and a US-Made,” source LPR Representative Office
In response, the Russians on the night of May 13 struck warehouses and stations in Khmelnitsky, Lviv, Kiev. Ammunition hit after drone strikes exploded for several hours. A concentration of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Bachmut area, as well as warehouses with ammunition and other military goods in the central and western regions of Ukraine were hit. In addition, due to the night attacks, there was a breakdown in railway communication in several directions.
In Khmelnytsky, the Russians probably hit the missile depot. The sounds of the secondary detonation, according to local residents, were heard until the morning. Railways of Ukraine reported that due to shelling in the Khmelnytsky region, rail traffic in the region was temporarily limited and some of the trains were sent along a detour. This could mean that the attack on critical transportation infrastructure has achieved its goal. Arrivals of “geran-2” were also noted in the Zapoprozhzhia and Depropetrovsk regions. The forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are concentrated there, intended for an offensive towards Energodar and Melitopol.
The explosions also shook the Nikolaev region on the right side of the Dnepr. Maybe they hit the forces that will force the Dnieper to attack the Crimea. In recent days, the Ukrainian armed forces have intensified their offensive against Bachmut. In a number of areas they managed to advance several hundred yards. For an offensive in this direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine gathered a large group in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. During the night, these forces came under fire. The goal is to destroy equipment and ammunition in the Ukrainian rear, maximally weaken the offensive capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bachmut and deprive them of the opportunity to transfer reserves to the front line. The Aerospace Forces will help frontline troops contain the “offensive”. Also because otherwise the Russian troops would be surrounded in Bachmut.
On May 14 at 5 in the morning, another rocket attack was carried out on Ternopil. Thus, there were two cruise missile attacks in total: the first at 22:00, the second at 5:00. In the first case, the local authorities have reported arrivals in the industrial area and in the warehouses, there are no precise data on morning arrivals. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in a statement dated May 14 said: “The Russian Armed Forces in the Ternopil and Petropavlovka regions, Dnepropetrovsk region struck at the deployment points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and at warehouses, the strike objective has been achieved
In Khmelnitsky, after the attack of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the ammunition for the Leopard and Marder tanks were destroyed. There was also cargo from Denmark, Germany, Italy and Japan for 200-220 million euros. Furthermore, in addition to munitions, satellite communication systems, military tablets and data encryption systems were destroyed for a value of 83 million euros. According to the Ukrainians, the Russian cruise missiles would have hit the warehouses of commercial companies and a religious organization.
From the posted photos you can see a Ford pick-up that looked like a military truck, and a KamAZ that looks military.
Also on May 14, the Ukrainians attacked near Bachmut, killing Russian commanders, according to the Defense Ministry. Among them were Commander Makarov, who led the battle in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Krasnoe settlement, who died after being wounded during a repulse of an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine; eventually the Ukrainians would be pushed back. In the battle, the deputy commander of the army corps for military-political work, Colonel Brovko, also died. All attacks by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Soledar-Bachmut direction were repulsed, breakthroughs in the defense of Russian troops were not allowed; according to the social sphere in the direction of Soledar the Ukrainians advanced. North and south of Bachmut, the Armed Forces of Ukraine made massive attempts to break through the defenses of the Russian troops; Russian and DPR motorized riflemen repulsed six attacks east of Bogdanovka in the DPR, they involved assault groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to unverifiable sources, the number of Ukrainian casualties over the weekend in the Soledar-Bachm,ut direction would amount to 400 soldiers. Fights still ongoing. There is no data on how many Russian soldiers are dead or wounded.
According to the information gathered from various areas of the line of contact, there is activation of Ukrainian troops along the entire front line, but this is not yet a counter-offensive, in general the situation is under control, reported the interim chief of the DPR Pushilin
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have begun bringing equipment in the Krasnolimansk and Kupyansk directions, and have also intensified in Donetsk, according to Ukrainian social media sources, and are preparing to launch a counter-offensive. Data confirmed to TASS by former lieutenant colonel of the LPR people’s militia, Andrey Marochko.
The situation at the front at 14.00 on 15 May 2023 is as follows.
On May 14, a Russian assault group attacked the village of Masyutovka north of Kupyansk and captured it. There have been practically no active battles in this area over the past few months, the sides periodically exchanged shelling and attacks by reconnaissance groups.
The settlement itself is not of particular importance in tactical terms, as it is located on a plain. But to the west of Masyutovka, on the opposite bank of the Oskol River, there was a stronghold of the 20th Infantry Battalion with three 100-mm MT-12 Rapira guns.
From these heights, Ukrainian formations easily fired through positions in the village area, which did not allow Russian fighters to advance further.
According to the sources of the military blogger Romanov, as a result of one of the sorties, the Russian GDR crossed the Oskol and, unexpectedly for the Armed Forces and Ukrainians, struck the stronghold, establishing control and holding it until forces approached Masyutovka and the surrounding area.
Over the past two days, units of the 20th OSB of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to counterattack, but the RF Armed Forces held their positions. At the same time, the forces of the 28th Specialized Security Service and the 14th Specialized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kupyansk and Dvurechnaya were brought into full combat readiness.
According to intercepted conversations between members of the 14th brigade, the Ukrainian command plans to cross the Oskol River in the Dvurechnaya area using pontoon crossings, which are expected to be installed in the near future.
The creation of a bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskol is a significant achievement that will allow putting pressure on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansky sector. But to gain a foothold on it, strikes are also needed in other directions, which, judging by the negotiations, are expected at the headquarters of the 14th Ombr.
Russian troops have established fire control on the highway near Avdiivka. The Russian military has taken a section of the highway near the village of Novokalinovo near Avdeevka under full fire control. A special forces soldier from the Southern Forces Group told the military officers about this. “We are located on the section of the H20 road, the area of \u200b\u200bthe settlement of Novokalinovo. We have mortar fire teams here, AGS, ATGMs,” he said.
According to the fighter, there are few forest belts in this direction of the front, flat terrain is clearly visible. Novokalinovo is located about seven kilometers north of Avdiivka, one of the main fortified areas on the territory of the DPR, which so far remains under the control of Kiev.
The information from Bachmut remains conflicting where Wagner’s number one fears encirclement and the Russian Defense Ministry continues to speak of attacks on the flanks of the settlement.
We close with a piece of news from Bryansk: 9 pilots died over the weekend. Two fighter planes and two helicopters were shot down in the same area. The Russians are looking for the culprits.
Graziella Giangiulio
