As the war enters its 810th day, these are the main events.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Struggle
- Russia has expanded its ground attack in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, attacking new areas to try to expand the front and “stretch” Ukrainian forces, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. He said some 5,700 people had been evacuated from Vovchansk and its surroundings and urged the city's remaining residents, about 300 people, to leave. The DeepState Telegram channel, close to the Ukrainian military, said Russia had taken territory of about 100 square kilometers (39 square miles).
- The head of Ukraine's Security Council, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, told the AFP news agency that there was no imminent risk of a ground attack on Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, despite the latest Russian offensive. Lytvynenko said there were “many” Russians on the border and “more than 30,000” involved in the current attack, which began on Friday.
- Russia's Defense Ministry said its army had improved its tactical position near four settlements in the Kharkiv region: Vesele, Neskuchne, Vovchansk and Lyptsi.
- Russia said its air defense systems destroyed 16 missiles and 31 drones that Ukraine launched at Russian territory, including 12 missiles over the Belgorod border region. Five houses were damaged in Belgorod, but there were no injuries, according to Governor Viacheslav Gladkov.
Politics and diplomacy
- Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic expressed support for Ukraine in its war against Russia after meeting visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, but stopped short of committing to imposing sanctions against Moscow.
- Ukraine said it foiled a Russian plan to carry out bomb attacks on May 9 in the capital, kyiv, and the western city of Lviv. He said two Russian military agents had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot and that 19 explosive devices had been seized.
- A court set up by Russia in the Crimean peninsula, annexed to Ukraine, jailed five Ukrainian citizens for between 11 and 16 years after they were found guilty of sharing military intelligence with kyiv. The men were charged with treason and espionage.
Weapons
- US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US was doing “everything” it could to send weapons to Ukraine and that some weapons were already on the battlefield. A new arms package will be announced “in the coming days,” he added.
- Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held talks with Sullivan, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Charles Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We talked about the situation on the front, as well as the help Ukraine needs on the battlefield,” Syrskii wrote on Telegram.
