May 18, 2022 | Daily briefing

00:05

The evacuation of the Ukrainian military from Azovstal continues. The most influential international mediators are involved in this process, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an appeal following the 83rd day of the war.

02:00

The Russians fired phosphate munitions at a school in Avdiivka,Donetsk region, as a result of which the building burned down completely. In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russians in the Donetsk region have damaged and destroyed 416 educational institutions, including 181 kindergartens, 191 schools, 23 vocational schools and 21 universities.

05:30

In the evening, Russian troops fired artillery and mortar shells at the border areas of the Sumy region. The village of Dmytrivka in the Sumy region was also shelled. No one was injured, but the shell hit a private home.

07:25

Russian troops attacked the city of Dnipro. One missile destroyed transport infrastructure, and the wreckage of another fell on a private yard. Two women and a man were injured. Everyone is in the hospital.

08:00

On the morning of May 18, after an enemy missile strike, destruction occurred and a fire broke out in the private residential sector in the Ingul district of Mykolayiv. It is known about 1 victim who received shrapnel wounds.

08:20

The Russians continue to shell Severodonetsk, as well as the surrounding villages with mortars and volley fire systems. About 50,000 civilians remain in the settlements of the Luhansk region.

09:40

During the war with Ukraine, the racists lost more than 28,000 troops. Ukrainian defenders also destroyed 1,251 tanks, more than 3,000 combat vehicles and 2,137 units of motor vehicles.

09:50

The Russians launched another attack on the Odesa region from the Black Sea. The aggressor is deliberately continuing his attempts to destroy infrastructure and put psychological pressure on civilians by attacking the region’s settlements in the morning. According to preliminary information, there is no significant damage or casualties.

10:40

In Kharkiv, the past day passed peacefully, but the settlements of the region came under fire: Tsyrkuny, Rusky Tyshky, Cherkasy Tyshky, Pytomnyk, Pechenigy. On the morning of May 17, enemy troops fired heavily on Merefa, damaging more than 30 homes, a high-voltage line, and civilian cars. No one was injured.

11:00

Mass burial sites around Mariupol continue to increase. Satellite images show that the graves of civilians have increased from 200 m to 340 m in length. In this way, the Russians are trying to hide the traces of their crimes against the civilian population.

Mariupol, 12th May

Mariupol, 9th May

12:00

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 959 Ukrainian defenders left the Azovstal plant, including 80 wounded. They will be taken to the village of Olenivka, Donetsk region (occupied territory controlled by the unrecognized republic of the DPR), where Ukrainian soldiers will wait for an exchange.

13:00

More than 4,500 private and multi-storey residential buildings were destroyed in the Kyiv region due to fighting, the regional military administration reports.

The major destructions are found in Bucha, Irpin, Gostomel, Borodyanka, Makarov, Velikodimersk and Piskiv territorial communities.

14:05

The Armed Forces destroyed the command post of the Black Sea Fleet brigade, so the Department of Strategic Communications.

According to preliminary information, the artillery strike killed 3 Russian officers and wounded 14 others.

15:05

The largest fire since the beginning of the year occurred in the Chornobyl zone on May 18, according to the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management.

1,500 hectares are burning in the area of ​​the “Zelenyi my” checkpoint in Opachych forestry. Extinguishing the fire is complicated by the wind and limited technical resources after the occupation, as well as the threat of mine explosions.

The radiation conditions are under control, but the movement of the smoke towards Vyshhorod and Kyiv is possible

15:40

Three people died due to the shelling of a convoy of cars with civilians in the Kherson region. At least six people have been injured to varying degrees, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

According to the investigation, Russian troops near the village of Davydiv Brid fired a system of volley fire “Hail” at a convoy of civilian cars with people trying to drive to the Beryslav district of the Kherson region.

16:40

Russian invaders are hesitantly shooting civilians trying to leave the temporarily occupied territories, according to a conversation intercepted by the Security Service of Ukraine.

I do not feel sorry for them, not even the civilian population. Everyone who wanted to leave has already left. So we are just killing and we don’t care”, – the Russian occupier speaks to his wife.

17:10

Due to the bombing of Azovstal, the Sea of ​​Azov is in danger of extinction, the Mariupol City Council writes.

As a result of the fighting, a technical facility holding back tens of thousands of tons of concentrated hydrogen sulfide solution could be damaged. Leakage of this liquid will completely kill the flora and fauna of the Sea of Azov, then hazardous substances can get into the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

According to the mayor, international experts and the UN should be allowed in Mariupol to study the situation and prevent a world-class environmental catastrophe.

17:30

The Etnodim brand has created a collection of embroideries based on paintings by Kazimir Malevich, Alexandra Exter and other Ukrainian artists.

The art collection includes seven embroidered dresses, six embroideries and a linen vest. It was created for Vyshyvanka Day, which is celebrated on May 19.

The Etnodim art collection can be purchased on the brand’s website and in the store at Verkhniy Val, on 58/28. Part of the brand’s profits will go to help the Armed Forces.

18:45

The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the settlement of Dementievka in the Kharkiv region, the General Staff reported.

20:10

The shelling of the border areas of Sumy and Chernihiv regions by the Russian Federation does not stop, the State Border Guard Service writes.

Today, the Sumy region was shelled five times by Russia whereas the Chernihiv region was shelled twice. The enemy used large-calibre machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, barrel and jet artillery

20:50

As a result of yesterday’s airstrikes on Bakhmut, a 2-year-old child died. Her body and the woman’s body were pulled from the rubble of an apartment building.

Two men were also killed. Four other people, including children aged 9, 12 and 17, were injured.

22:00

The occupiers have already stolen about 400,000 tons of grain from Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which could lead to famine in these areas in the future.