Ukraine War: Zaporizhia hit by four rockets in the morning
Created: 05/25/2022, 07:10
By: Tobias Utz, Marvin Ziegele, Lucas Maier
The situation in the Ukraine war is getting worse, both militarily and diplomatically: the news ticker on Wednesday, May 25th.
Officer reproaches West:
"Demonization" of Russia
Loss to Russia:
High general shot down over Donbass
Situation in the Donbass "extremely difficult":
Zelenskyj with warning in the Ukraine war
Ukrainian troops encircled in Sieverodonetsk
: resistance to "buy time" for armed forces in Donbass
This news ticker about the Ukraine conflict is constantly updated.
Update from Wednesday, May 25, 7:15 a.m .:
According to the authorities, the city of Zaporizhia was hit by several rockets early on Wednesday morning.
"Today, May 25, at 05:13, Russian forces fired four ballistic missiles at Zaporizhia," the oblast administration announced on its Telegram channel.
One of the missiles was intercepted by air defenses.
The rescue workers are on site to get an idea of the situation, the damage and possible victims of the attack.
A Ukrainian soldier performs his combat duty in a combat position in the Zaporizhia region - The situation in eastern Ukraine is becoming increasingly critical.
© Dmytro Smoliyenko/Imago
War in Ukraine: Almost 4,000 civilian casualties in three months – UN publishes balance sheet
+++ 9 p.m.:
The war in Ukraine has been raging for three months now.
On February 24, Russia began its attack on the neighboring country.
The United Nations have now published a summary of the number of victims.
The United Nations Human Rights Office quoted tagesschau.de as saying that most of the civilian casualties can be traced back to the attack with explosive weapons with a broad impact.
This includes attacks with heavy artillery, for example.
The numbers at a glance:
Civilians killed:
at least 3942
Injured civilians:
at least 4591
Source: UN Human Rights Office
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However, the dark figures are likely to be significantly higher in the information.
According to tagesschau.de, news from the contested areas often arrives with a delay, and some information still has to wait for confirmation.
War in Ukraine: Russia attacks country's largest chemical plant
+++ 19:25:
In the Luhansk region, Russia attacked the chemical plant "Azot".
On Tuesday morning (May 24), the area in the city of Severodonetsk was shelled, said the head of the regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai.
The attack reportedly killed four people.
The information has not yet been independently confirmed.
There are said to be several air raid shelters on the site of Ukraine's largest chemical plant.
The industrial plant no longer poses a threat, since operations were already terminated at the start of the Russian attack.
The operator informed the news portal pravda.ua in March that it had also removed all the remaining substances from the factory.
Ukraine War: General shot down over Donbass
+++ 18:25:
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, a Russian Su-25 fighter jet was shot down over the small town of Popasna in the Donbass.
The shooting is said to have happened on Sunday (May 22nd).
According to a report by the British news channel BBC, Major General Kanamat Botashov was in the fighter jet.
Botashov is said to have died in the Stinger attack.
This has not yet been officially confirmed.
It would be the highest-ranking Russian air force officer to have been killed in the Ukraine war, according to the Tagesschau.
Ukraine war: “demonization” of Russia – officer makes serious accusations against West
+++ 16.45:
In the Ukraine war, 600 hospitals have already been destroyed or damaged.
100 of them are irreparable.
This was reported by Andriy Basylevych, board member of the Ukrainian Medical Association, on Tuesday (May 24) at the German Medical Association in Bremen.
Many doctors were also killed or wounded.
According to Basylevych, the medical conditions in the Ukrainian clinics are catastrophic.
+++ 16.15:
Russian forces have apparently conquered the city of Svitlodarsk in Donetsk Oblast.
This was officially announced by the head of the local military administration, Serhiy Hoshko, on Tuesday morning, as reported by the news portal Kyiv Independent.
A Russian flag was hoisted there on the city council building.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine War: Russian officer accuses West of 'demonization'
+++ 2.45 p.m .:
Nikolai Patrushev, Russian officer and Secretary of the Security Council, has accused the West of “demonizing” Russia.
The USA in particular is trying to discredit the Russian population under the guise of freedom and human rights.
In addition, the West is pursuing the doctrine of the "golden billion", a conspiracy theory according to which the world population is to be decimated and an elitist club determines politics.
Asked about the duration of the "special operation" in Ukraine, Patrushev said: "We don't stick to deadlines.
Either Nazism will be 100 percent eradicated, or it will reappear in a few years, and in an uglier form.”
+++ 2:00 p.m .:
The Kremlin distanced itself from the man after the termination of a Russian diplomat at the United Nations in Geneva.
"One can probably only say here that Mr. Bondarev no longer belongs to us - rather that he is against us," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday in Moscow, according to a report by the Interfax news agency.
Embassy counselor Boris Bondarev resigned on Monday after 20 years in protest at Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Peskov said: "He condemned the actions of the Russian leadership - and the actions of the Russian leadership are supported by practically the entire population of our country.
This means that this gentleman spoke out against the generally prevailing opinion of our country.”
+++ 1:15 p.m .:
Russia plans to abolish the age limit for military service.
In this way, President Vladimir Putin apparently wants to compensate for heavy losses in the Ukraine war and recruit new soldiers.
+++ 12.30 p.m .:
The Ukrainian general staff reported the “successful” use of western weapons.
After initially using their own Soviet-era howitzers, they have been able to use modern artillery systems from allied nations on the front lines for several weeks, including US-supplied M777 howitzers, said Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian army.
"For the Ukrainians shooting the M777, it's like switching from a steam engine to an electric car," Pletenchuk said.
Ukraine War: Around 200 bodies found in Mariupol
+++ 11.45 a.m .:
Around 200 bodies were found in a vaulted cellar in Mariupol.
This is what Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, reports on Telegram.
The information cannot be independently verified.
+++ 10.45 a.m .:
The Kremlin has reported the shelling of a Ukrainian arms depot in the Donbass.
According to this, artillery shells for howitzers of the type "M777" from American production were stored there.
According to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, the camp was hit by rockets.
The information cannot be independently verified.
+++ 10.15 a.m .:
The British Ministry of Defense assumes, based on intelligence information, that Russia is currently increasing the intensity of the fighting in Donbass.
Specifically, it is apparently about the encirclement of the cities and regions, Severodonetsk, Lyshank and Rubizhne.
The British Ministry of Defense sees the city of Severodonetsk in the west of the Luhansk Oblast in a key position.
"With the capture of Severodonetsk Oblast by Russia, the entire Luhasnk Oblast would be placed under Russian occupation," the Tuesday morning report said.
Ukraine War: Russia Apparently Stations Iskander Missiles On Belarus Border
+++ 9:00 a.m .:
Russia has apparently positioned Iskander missiles in the border region between Belarus and Ukraine.
This is reported by the Ukrainian general staff in the morning situation report.
"From the territory of the Republic of Belarus there is a growing threat of missile and air strikes on our state's objects," it said.
Ukraine war: situation in Donbass according to Zelenskyy "extremely difficult"
+++ 08.00 a.m .:
According to the Ukrainian President Selenskyj, the situation in Donbass is “extremely difficult”.
Russia is trying to "eliminate all living people," as he explained on Tuesday night.
The Russian army is currently trying to occupy key strategic positions in eastern Ukraine.
Due to bombing, evacuations of the civilian population are currently not possible, according to Zelenskyj.
The assessment was confirmed by the head of the military administration of Bakhmut (Donetsk region), Serhiy Kalian: "We have reached a point where we are about to make evacuations mandatory." Serhiy Gaiday, governor of the Luhansk region, spoke of a similar situation : "Such a density of shelling will not allow us to calmly gather people and take them," he explained on Telegram.
Ukraine war: Selenskyj demands new arms deliveries
Update from Tuesday, May 24, 6:30 a.m .:
According to Ukrainian information, three civilians were killed and six other people injured in attacks in eastern Ukraine on Monday (May 23).
This was announced by the governor of Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko on Telegram.
In his video message on Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then called for further arms deliveries from the West.
Many people "would not have died if we had received all the weapons we ask for," he said.
Since the beginning of the war, his country has been the target of 3,000 airstrikes and nearly 1,500 rocket attacks.
The vast majority of attacks were aimed at civilian objects.
In many regions of the country - especially in central Ukraine and in the east - there were further airstrikes on Tuesday night.
+++ 10:45 p.m .:
Russia is said to have abducted over 1.4 million people from Ukraine.
This is reported by the Interfax agency, citing statements by human rights officer Liudmyla Denisova at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
More than 240,000 of them were children.
She also pointed out the need to resolve the issue of the return of these Ukrainian citizens at the interstate level.
War in Ukraine: Russian soldiers encircle Ukrainian troops even tighter in Sievjerodonetsk
+++ 8.30 p.m .:
Ukrainian forces, who have entrenched themselves around the city of Sievjerodonetsk, are increasingly being surrounded by Russian troops, a Western government official said, according to the BBC.
According to the report, Russian forces made "gradual progress" in encircling the Ukrainian resistance forces around the city.
According to the government representative, the continued resistance of Ukrainian soldiers serves the function of weakening Russian forces and "buying time" for the remaining Ukrainian forces in Donbass to prepare for further attacks.
The encirclement of Ukrainian troops around the city of Sievjerodonetsk is a "more achievable goal" for Russia.
The defense expert suggests that once Russia secures this area, it will try to advance towards the city of Kramatorsk (to the south-west).
Ukraine war: "assassination attempt" on pro-Russian mayor
+++ 4.45 p.m .:
According to several US officials, the Biden administration is toying with the idea of sending special forces with a limited assignment to Ukraine to guard the US embassy in Kiev.
However, there is still no draft that could be presented to President Joe Biden, reports CNN, citing the anonymous sources.
The embassy reopened last week after being closed for about three months.
US Marines typically guard US embassies around the world, but the consensus in Kyiv is that the typical Marine Corps embassy guards are inadequate for the uncertain security situation in Ukraine without additional forces.
The US does not believe that Russia would openly attack the embassy.
However, there is concern that Russian air defenses or missiles could accidentally target the site and the situation could escalate dramatically.
Moscow should be aware that the US has its embassies guarded around the world.
Despite this, the deployment of US forces in Ukraine could raise concerns, as Biden previously unequivocally stated that he would not deploy ground forces in Ukraine.
Ukraine-News: “Assassination attempt” on pro-Russian mayor?
+++ 4 p.m .:
In the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, the pro-Russian mayor Andrei Shevchik was injured in an explosion.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov spoke of an "assassination attempt" carried out by Ukrainian "nationalists".
However, Shevchik and his two bodyguards are out of danger, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The mayor appointed by Moscow suffered "burns and injuries".
+++ 3:00 p.m .:
As announced by the Ministry of Defense in Minsk, the Belarusian armed forces are currently checking their combat readiness.
The tests should therefore include the military equipment as well as the logistics.
There has long been speculation about the country's active military involvement in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine-News: Russia Attacks Military Transport With 'High-Precision Missiles'
+++ 13.45:
Last week, a village in Ukraine was hit by a Russian air strike.
Now the number of original fatalities is rising dramatically, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on Monday in a video address to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
According to the leadership in Kyiv, 87 people have been killed in the village with a Ukrainian military base in the past week.
The local authorities had initially spoken of eight fatalities and twelve injured.
+++ 1:00 p.m .:
The Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol are to be brought before a court.
This is reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
According to the report, Denis Puschilin, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, emphasized: "It is planned to set up an international tribunal on the territory of the republic." By this he means the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
On May 20, the Russian Defense Ministry released video footage of the surrender of the last group of Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the factory and the underground facilities of the steel mill had been completely taken over by the Russian army.
+++ 11.45 a.m .:
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian army bombed a military transport near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
"Weapons and military equipment of the 10th Ukrainian mountain assault brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk, which was to be taken to Donbass, were destroyed by sea-launched high-precision missiles near the Malyn railway station in the Zhytomyr region," the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said in a statement. Igor Konashenkov.
According to Ukrainian sources, one person died and four others were injured in the attack.
+++ 10.01 a.m .:
In an air raid on the city of Malyn in Ukraine, one person is said to have died and four others injured.
This is reported by the news portal Kiyv Independent. The mayor of the city reported that the attack damaged the local railway infrastructure, about 150 apartment buildings, several shops and cafes, as well as industrial plants in the area.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine-News: Belarus is massing armed forces at the border
First report from Monday, May 23, 2022, 9:28 a.m.:
Kiev – The former Soviet Republic of Belarus, which has not yet actively participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war, is pulling together armed forces at the border, according to information from Kiev.
"The Belarusian armed forces are conducting increased reconnaissance and have set up additional units in the border area," the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Monday morning (May 23).
Accordingly, the danger of rocket and air attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory remains.
The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko did not take part with his own troops in the war against Ukraine that Russia started at the end of February.
However, Russian troops were allowed to use the country as a staging area for the attack.
Kyiv therefore does not see Minsk as neutral and fears that Belarusian soldiers could potentially intervene in the conflict on the part of Russia.
Lukashenko, who is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday, has always denied such intentions.
Ukraine-News: Russia defends positions
According to the general staff, there are few changes in the fighting in eastern Ukraine itself: the Russians are trying to defend their positions in the north of Kharkiv, and further south they are preparing a new offensive against the city of Sloviansk.
When trying to take the village of Dovgenke west of the strategically important road between Izyum and Sloviansk, the Russian military was repulsed, it said.
According to Ukrainian data, the night's attacks in the direction of Sieverodonetsk and Bakhmut were also unsuccessful.
In the area of Avdiivka, Kurakhove, Novopavlivka and in the direction of Zaporizhia, fighting has abated, said General Staff Spokesman Olexandr Stupun.
A total of eleven enemy attacks were repelled.
Because of the high losses, Russia now has to reactivate the decommissioned "T-62" tanks in order to equip reserve units.
The information could not be independently verified.
(marv/tu with dpa/AFP)