As the war enters its 813th day, these are the main events.
Here is the situation on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Struggle
- Visiting Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the northeast was “extremely difficult” but “under control” after the army partially halted a Russian advance, notably thwarting an invasion of Vovchansk, 5 kilometers away ( 3 miles) from the border with Russia. .
- Sergiy Bolvinov, head of police investigations in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, accused Russia of taking “30 or 40” civilians captive in Vovchansk to use them as “human shields” near its command center.
- Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's top allied commander in Europe, said he did not believe the Russian military had the number of troops needed to make a strategic breakthrough in the Kharkiv region and was confident Ukrainian forces would hold their lines there. .
- Ukraine's General Staff said Russia was directing its most intense attacks on the front line near the towns of Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, where the Russian offensive has been relentless for months.
- An airstrike alert in the northeastern Kharkiv region remained in effect for more than 16 and a half hours amid Russian drone and missile attacks. Authorities said five drones attacked parts of the city of Kharkiv and started a fire. There were no reports of casualties. The alert was lifted early Friday morning.
- Vyacheslav Gladkov, regional governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said a woman and her four-year-old son were killed when their car was hit by a Ukrainian drone. Two other people traveling in the vehicle were injured.
Politics and diplomacy
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two had conversations, walked in a park and drank tea. Xi said the deepening relationship between the two countries was a “stabilizing force” in the world and that he hoped the war in Ukraine could be resolved peacefully. China has not condemned the large-scale invasion of Moscow. Putin said he was grateful for China's efforts to resolve the crisis.
- Russia expelled Adrian Coghill, the UK defense attaché, from Moscow, a week after Britain ordered Russia's defense attaché to leave London for being an “undeclared military intelligence officer”. UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Moscow's move was because Coghill “epitomized the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine”.
- Sri Lanka said it would send a high-level delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of citizens who reportedly fought in the Ukraine war. The Defense Ministry said social media campaigns via WhatsApp have targeted former military personnel with promises of lucrative salaries and citizenship in Russia, warning its citizens not to be fooled.
Weapons
- The United States announced sanctions on two Russian citizens and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Russia had already used at least 40 ballistic missiles produced by North Korea against Ukraine.
- Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, denied that Pyongyang was selling weapons to Russia, saying it was a “most absurd theory,” according to state media. UN observers have found remnants of North Korean missiles in Ukraine.
- Denmark said it would send Ukraine a new military aid package, mainly air defense and artillery, worth about 5.6 billion Danish crowns ($815.47 million).
