The tempo of Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast continues to decrease after Russian forces initially seized areas that Ukrainian officials have now confirmed were less defended. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian military officials stated that Ukrainian forces have partially stabilized the situation in northern Kharkiv Oblast bordering Russia.[1] Ukrainian Khortytsia Group of Forces Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn stated that Russian forces are attempting to make tactical gains near Lukyantsi and Vovchansk to create footholds for future advances, but that Ukrainian counterattacks and artillery and drone strikes are preventing Russian forces from gaining a foothold in these areas.[2] Kharkiv Oblast Administration officials stated on May 15 that constant Russian shelling makes it impossible for Ukrainian forces to establish fortifications within three to five kilometers of the international border in Kharkiv Oblast and that Ukrainian forces constructed the first and second lines of defense about 12 to 13 kilometers and 20 kilometers from the international border, respectively.[3] ISW currently assesses that Russian forces have advanced no more than eight kilometers from the international border in northern Kharkiv Oblast. Russian forces operating in Russia could easily conduct artillery strikes against Ukrainian defensive positions close to the international border, and Western prohibitions on the use of Western-provided weapons systems for strikes against rear Russian areas across the border make potential fixed Ukrainian defensive positions close to the international border vulnerable and possibly indefensible. Russian forces have been able to make tactical advances in northern Kharkiv Oblast since May 10 in areas where Ukrainian forces purposefully did not establish significant defensive lines and currently appear to be prioritizing the creation of a "buffer zone" over a deep penetration into Kharkiv Oblast.[4]
www.understandingwar.org/...
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (as of 23:00 on May 14, 2024): 145x combat clashes, 3x missile attacks, more than 320 kamikaze drone attacks and 2,400 shellings on AFU positions.(https://facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua)
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote that the Russian advance in northern Kharkiv Oblast has slowed down over the past 24 hours. This, according to the institute, is consistent with an earlier assessment, that Russia is prioritizing the creation of a “buffer zone” rather than penetrating deeper into Ukrainian territory.(https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-14-2024…)
DeepStateUA reported that the Russian Armed Forces have advanced near Vovchansk (Kharkiv Oblast) and Kalynivka (Chasiv Yar).(https://deepstatemap.live/en)
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported having “partially expelled the enemy forces from the settlement [Vovchansk].”(https://facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid09XRXgQ8WbSkPwHxW2kPmusmvmvGt9QW21bpsAfk76JMENUjmRru1Ew1UyvYwXKE4l…)
The Presidential Office confirmed the deployment of reserves to Kharkiv Oblast, due to the Russian offensive.(https://t.me/s/OP_UA/12179)According to the Regional Military Administration, seven Russian air strikes on Kharkiv injured 20 civilians.(https://facebook.com/synegubov.oleg/posts/pfbid0zF1uYnkLTtGnNdvf9cusXvUhVQB5giYEi8EU97QkngsCfdmvbgTSDsKu1U6UQG8wl…)
In the early morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the Belbek military air base in temporarily occupied Crimea with ATACMS.Kremlin-appointed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, claimed that the Russian Armed Forces had intercepted 10 ballistic missiles. However, according to NASA FIRMS satellite images, large fires at the air base were visible.
The Spy Dossier Telegram channel reported the following losses: One MiG-31 and three MiG-27s damaged, two S-400 air defense missile launchers and one radar “92N6E” destroyed, fuel and lubricants warehouse, 19 casualties, incl. 7 killed.(https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukrainian-troops-strike-belbek-military-air-base-in-crimea/…, https://t.me/razvozhaev/6406, https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@33.58,44.68,14.00z…, https://t.me/s/dosye_shpiona/528…)
According to Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev, two drones hit an oil depot in the Oblasts Proletarsky district.A HUR source told the Kyiv Independent that the HUR was behind the attack.(https://t.me/astrapress/55497…, https://kyivindependent.com/sources-hur-drones-strike-oil-depot-in-russias-rostov-region/…)
The Sri Lankan government reported that around 280 citizens have been recruited to fight alongside the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.(https://barrons.com/news/sri-lanka-says-around-280-citizens-recruited-for-russia-ukraine-war-bc4fa218?refsec=topics_afp-news…)______________________________
Ukraine The Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said there were no plans to evacuate Ukraine’s second-largest city, amid continuing Russian strikes.(https://kyivindependent.com/no-plans-to-evacuate-kharkiv-says-mayor/…)
So far, 8,000 civilians have been evacuated from northern Kharkiv Oblast due to Russia’s renewed offensive.(https://t.me/synegubov/9501)
Due to the current battlefield situation, President Zelensky has canceled his Spain and Portugal visits, scheduled for this week. During the trip, Zelensky was supposed to sign a bilateral security agreement with Spain.(https://cnnportugal.iol.pt/volodymyr-zelensky/guerra-na-ucrania/volodymyr-zelensky-cancela-visita-a-espanha-e-portugal/20240514/6643b0b8d34ebf9bbb3d8786…, https://elpais.com/espana/2024-05-13/zelenski-y-sanchez-suscribiran-en-madrid-un-acuerdo-bilateral-de-seguridad-entre-espana-y-ucrania.html…)
Government officials have requested the US to lift the ban on using US-supplied weapons to strike Russian targets within Russian territory. According to the officials, the ban prevented the Armed Forces of Ukraine to pre-emptively attack the Russian Armed Forces that had been amassing on the Kharkiv Oblast border to Russia.(https://politico.com/news/2024/05/14/ukraine-weapons-russia-00157970…)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) dampened its growth forecast and said the intensification of war is increasingly threatening Ukraine’s economy.(https://theguardian.com/world/live/2024/may/15/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-moscow-volodymyr-zelenskiy-vladimir-putin-latest-live-updates?page=with:block-664476f38f0818dde2142d30&filterKeyEvents=false#liveblog-navigation…)
Ukrenergo: "Today, on May 14, from 21:00 to 24:00, Ukrenergo is forced to implement controlled emergency shutdowns for industrial and household consumers in all regions of Ukraine.”(https://facebook.com/npcukrenergo/posts/pfbid0GenRbVoUUadpNbZFV6eLM3Rubfyg55KBaTmavUp8gJVYgJymqjQKzGDuGhngoTosl…)
The Ministry of Justice announced that the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has seized two aircraft belonging to the Russian JSC Ilyushin Finance Co.(https://minjust.gov.ua/news/ministry/vaks-zadovolniv-pozov-minyustu-schodo-styagnennya-rosiyskih-aktiviv-v-dohid-derjavi-32632…)
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) arrested 6 individuals for allegedly having coordinated a Russian double-tap Iskander missile strike on a residential building in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, that killed 10 and injured over 80.(https://kyivindependent.com/sbu-detains-6-alleged-russian-agents-says-they-directed-mass-casualty-strike-on-residential-building/…)
The SBU uncovered “an underground cell of the pro-Kremlin political project Other Ukraine in Kyiv. In Russia, this organisation is run by Viktor Medvedchuk, who is accused of treason [in Ukraine] and coordinates his activities with [Russia's] Federal Security Service (FSB).”(https://ssu.gov.ua/novyny/sbu-zatrymala-u-kyievi-soratnykiv-medvedchuka-yaki-pratsiuvaly-u-proiekti-druhaia-ukrayna…)
The National Resistance Center reported that the occupation officials have increased the number of morgues in the temporarily occupied territories, primarily in Luhansk Oblast, in order to cope with the number of fatalities and “in order not to ‘traumatize’ the residents of Belgorod.”(https://sprotyv.mod.gov.ua/en/occupants-deploy-additional-morgues-in-the-tot/…)______________________________
Russian contradiction to the reality on the battlefield, recently appointed Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov said that his main priority is to win the war “with minimal human losses.”“The key task, of course, remains achieving victory. Ensuring the achievement of the military-political goals of the special military operation [...].”Over the past day alone, the Russian Armed Forces suffered 1,510 casualties, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.(https://reuters.com/world/europe/belousov-says-russia-must-win-ukraine-while-minimising-troop-losses-2024-05-14/…, https://facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid0S3xf7yoK4H6n7mTW7ZwMiWoNx1KCSys4vAceMHSxcYgtLuJMvnsFrv1M3Xb1VPNDl…)
ISW: “The Russian MoD is reportedly coercing Russian citizens and migrants into Russian military service through false job opportunities, likely as part of ongoing crypto-mobilization efforts.”(https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-14-2024…)
The European Commission predicted a 2.9% growth in Russian GDP for 2024.(https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/forecasts/2024/spring/spring_forecast-2024_ru_en.pdf…)
New York Times: “Putin Is Selling Victory, and Many Russians Are Buying It: Vladimir Putin’s message to his country appears to be taking hold: that Russia is fighting against the whole Western world — and winning.”(https://nytimes.com/2024/05/15/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-victory-moscow.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare…)______________________________
OtherIn Handlova, Slovakia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an apparent assassination attempt. According to Slovak media, the wounds to his abdomen, chest and extremities are life-threatening. The PM was airlifted to Banská Bystrica. “The next few hours will [be decisive],” his official Facebook account reads.(https://tasr.sk/tasr-clanok/TASR:2024051500000281…, https://dennikn.sk/minuta/live/20748/premiera-fica-v-handlovej-postrelili…, https://facebook.com/robertficosk/posts/pfbid0EnzcChX21jDQeWBw3SQy939exqAucVZiRPYCRFSiqaPig22NfJFae1pPrFZQP78Wl…)
Blinken: “We've not enabled or encouraged strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately, Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it's going to conduct this war.”(https://kyivindependent.com/blinken-up-to-ukraine-if-it-decides-to-use-us-weapons-to-strike-inside-russia/…)
France will transfer an unspecified number of Aster missiles for the SAMP/T air defense system and additional military aid in the coming days and weeks, French DefMin Lecornu told the Assemblée national on Tuesday.(https://reuters.com/world/europe/france-send-extra-military-aid-ukraine-shortly-says-elysee-2024-05-14/…)
During his visit, the US Secretary of State announced an additional $2bn in military financing to Ukraine.(https://kyivindependent.com/blinken-us-to-give-ukraine-additional-2-billion-in-military-aid/…)
Australia will transfer Sentinel 830R RHIBs (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats) to Ukraine as part of an A$100m military aid package.(https://sentinelboats.au/ukrainian-ambassador-inspects-sentinel-vessels-destined-for-frontlines/…)
Latvia allocated another $10.8m for the purchase of artillery ammunition for Ukraine.(https://ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3863782-latvia-allocates-eur-10m-for-artillery-ammunition-for-ukraine.html…)
The Pentagon spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said “it was not helpful to have this pause [Congressional hold up] in security assistance” and that Ukraine faced “a challenging situation on the battlefield right now.” Therefore, the Pentagon is doing “everything [they] can to get them [Ukraine] the critical munitions and supplies they need.”(https://defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3775180/pentagon-press-secretary-air-force-maj-gen-pat-ryder-holds-a-press-briefing/…)
The US may transfer an additional Patriot battery to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.(https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/us-considers-sending-another-patriot-missile-battery-to-ukraine…)
“Croatia will help demine Ukraine. A respective memorandum was signed between the Center for Improvement of Mine Action and Environmental Safety and the Croatian Mine Action Center – Center for Testing, Development and Training (HCR-CTRO).”(https://facebook.com/nmaa.ukraine/posts/122143866032141732…)The UK Secretary of Defence said that the UK government would not push Ukraine towards an unjust peace (giving up territories) in order to sign a peace agreement with Russia.(https://politico.eu/article/britain-wont-force-ukraine-accept-peace-says-uk-defense-chief-grant-shapps/…)
The Netherlands and France support EU sanctions against any financial institutions that support the Russian Armed Forces. The next round of sanctions, the 14th package, is expected to be introduced in June.(https://reuters.com/world/europe/french-dutch-seek-eu-sanctions-financial-institutions-helping-russia-military-2024-05-14/…)
The next NATO meeting at the defense ministerial level will be held on June 13-14 with a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting on the 13th of June.(https://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_225365.htm…)
Ukrainian DefMin Rustem Umerov and his Turkish counterpart, Yaşar Güler, discussed pathways on how to deepen cooperation in the military sphere.(https://facebook.com/rustemumerov.ua/posts/844328394182169…)
Europe editor of RFE/RL, Rikard Jozwiak, wrote on Twitter: “EU ambassadors just agreed to a Europe-wide broadcast ban on Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestija and Rossiiskaja Gazeta.”(https://twitter.com/RikardJozwiak/status/1790665413778391457…)
The US Treasury warned Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) of potentially restricting access to the dollar system if the bank continued to conduct business in Russia.(https://reuters.com/business/us-warned-raiffeisen-access-dollar-system-could-be-curbed-over-russia-source-2024-05-15/…)