May 4, 2022 | Daily briefing

00:00 

One hundred fifty-six people, including a six-month-old baby, have been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks plant in Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia. Some citizens spent more than two months in the plant bunkers. Ukraine will continue its efforts to evacuate civilians and military from Mariupol, surrounded by Russian troops, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

01:00

The State Border Service of Ukraine reports that in the past 24 hours, 34 thousand Ukrainians crossed the border with Moldova and the EU. At the same time, 26 thousand citizens returned to the country, and 3 thousand foreigners arrived. Also, 200 trucks with humanitarian aid have made it to Ukraine.

03:00 

 The Russian military used helicopters and multiple rocket launchers based on Russian territory to shell a school and civilian infrastructure in the Esman municipality of the Sumy Region, reports the head of the Sumy Administration, Dmytro Zhivytsky.

06:00

The Russians shelled Ukrainian border villages Yunakivka and Mogrytsi (Sumy Region) from «Grad» multiple rocket launchers.

08:00 

On May 3, Russian aggressors shelled 14 settlements in the Donetsk region. Thirty-five civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged. Since the start of the war, the National Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have documented more than 9,000 crimes committed by Russians against civilians.

09:00

Ukrainian Interior Ministry updated data on the losses sustained by the Russian Federation. According to the Ukrainian side, the Russians lost 24.5 thousand troops, 1,077 tanks, 2,610 combat vehicles, almost 500 guns, 194 aircraft, 155 helicopters, 163 multiple rocket launchers, 303 drones, and 81 anti-aircraft systems, 388 special equipment units, 1,867 motor transport vehicles.

9:30 

Russia shelled residential areas in the city of Slovyansk, Donetsk region, reports the mayor Vadym Lyakh. The shelling damaged a school and a high-rise building. There were no casualties among the population, but Slovyansk residents are being urged to evacuate the city.

10:00 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that Russian armed aggression has already killed 220 children in Ukraine.

10:45

Shelling of the Mykolaiv region by Russian troops on May 3 wounded 11 people. A total of 137 people who suffered from the armed aggression of the Russian Federation are being treated in local hospitals.

11:00 

Since the beginning of the war, the Russian military has damaged 400 hospitals, 40 of which were completely destroyed and cannot be repaired. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have lost access to primary health care. This was announced by the Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko during a meeting with Amnesty International.

11:30

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke online at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit session. During his speech, the President of Ukraine outlined three main steps that the world community must take to stop Russian aggression. These are the complete economic isolation of Russia, sufficient aid to Ukraine to resist military invasion, and the restoration of civilian infrastructure.

11:45

Over the past 24 hours, the occupation troops launched two strikes on Kharkiv with multiple rocket launchers and artillery and shelled six nearby villages. The shelling left eight wounded and one dead. This was reported by the head of the Kharkiv Administration, Oleh Sinehubov.

12:00

Rocket attack on the western city of Lviv on April 3 injured two people. City infrastructure sustained severe damage, according to the Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyy.

12:30

EU Sanctions on Russia:

1) Hungary opposes Russia’s oil embargo, even if both Hungary and Slovakia are granted an exception by 2023

2) Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for the EU to abandon its unanimity requirement on foreign policy decisions so that Hungary cannot block sanctions if a majority of EU members agree upon them;

14:00

Russian bombing of the Mariupol theater killed 600 peopleAP.

The news agency gathered evidence to support this data with the help of Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov, who worked from Mariupol.

14:30

The Sweden ambassador Tobias Thyberg announced that the embassy has returned to Kyiv.

“The embassy team is back where we belong: in Kyiv, supporting Ukraine and its heroic citizens as they defend the freedom of their country and freedom in Europe.”

The founder of the non-profit World Central Kitchen Jose Andres attended the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, one of the most popular American TV shows, wearing a t-shirt saying Fight Like Ukrainians

Andres said his team has already served more than 17 million meals to Ukrainians, and the partner restaurant in Kharkiv has resumed work after the missile strike.

15:00

Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu visited Bucha, the site of one of the worst atrocities committed by Russians: “This war must be stopped and war crimes investigated and punished.”

Latest UK Defence Intelligence update on Ukraine

15:30

According to the Main Directorate of Ukraine, the unrecognized breakaway state Transnistria in Moldova has at its disposal no more than 300 really combat-ready and motivated personnel – they guard ammunition depots.

More than half of all ammunition in the depots located in Kovbasna village has expired and cannot be transported, and Russia is artificially escalating the situation in Transnistria to disperse the Ukrainian army’s forces.

16:00

FILM.UA Studio presented a documentary about Ukrainians who survived the occupation.

This is a series of documentary videos, “The Face of Resistance,» a collaboration of the British journalist Emile Ghessen and Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Tolmachov. In each episode, Ukrainians tell their story of the war and how it affected them.

▫️There are now two videos available, featuring stories of life under occupation by residents of the Chernihiv region and Bucha, Irpin, and Borodyanka in the Kyiv region. One of the episodes tells the story of a 20-year-old animal rights activist Anastasiia Tykha. The girl walked 15 homeless dogs out of besieged Irpin.

Watch it here and here.

17:30

Belarus made attempted acts of terrorism punishable by the death penalty. The newly introduced terrorism-related articles are:

 ▫️ attempted murder of a representative of a foreign state to provoke international ramifications or war;

  ▫️an attempt to commit an act of international terrorism, in particular involving radioactive substances or nuclear materials or chemical or biological substances;

 ▫️attempting to assassinate a government or public figure in connection with their government or public activities.

18:00

❗️ The Defense Ministry does not rule out a provocation by Russia and an increase in Russian shelling before May 9 – because Russia would like to achieve its strategic goals by this date, but it would not succeed.

new service has been launched to simplify the customs clearance of humanitarian cargo.

A customs e-declaration for humanitarian cargo has been launched today. Service is available here.

Source 

19:00

The United Kingdom has handed over 570 mobile power generators to Ukraine.

The generators will be used for sustainable power supply of hospitals, shelters, communication stations, and water treatment plants, the Ministry of Energy reported.