As we enter the 801st day of the war, these are the most important developments.
Here is the situation as of Sunday, May 5, 2024:
Battle
- After multiple attacks by Russia on Kharkiv, at least two people died, including a 49-year-old civilian in Slobozhanske, a village northeast of the city.
- Four other people were injured in the attack in Kharkiv, including a 13-year-old who was injured by falling debris. A two-story civilian building was damaged and set on fire, officials say.
- Three people were injured in the Black Sea port of Odessa after Russia launched missile attacks on “civilian infrastructure,” officials say.
- Ukraine, meanwhile, said it shot down 13 Shahed drones targeting Dnipro and Kharkiv, as well as a Russian Su-25 fighter-bomber over the eastern Donetsk region. An electrical substation in Dnipro was damaged in the drone attacks.
- According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia fired a total of eight rockets and almost 70 guided aerial bombs.
- Russian state agency RIA Novosti claimed troops had attacked a drone camp in Kharkiv that had been used by Ukrainian troops overnight.
- A major fire has destroyed a warehouse on the outskirts of the Russian-annexed Crimean city of Simferopol, Russian officials said. It is unclear what was being stored in the warehouse, but several rescue workers were dispatched to extinguish it.
- Five people were injured and hospitalized after a powerful explosion in Belgorod, Russia, on Saturday, officials say. Around 30 residential buildings were damaged. It is unclear what caused the explosions. Russian journalists speculated on Telegram channels that a bomb that was supposed to be fired at Ukraine exploded accidentally.
politics
- Russia is opening a criminal case against Zelensky and has put him on its wanted list, officials say. Ukraine officials called the decision “meaningless” and reminded Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the International Criminal Court (ICC) wanted list.
- A Moscow spokesman said separately that Russia would respond with “asymmetric measures” to the “hostile line” taken by the Baltic countries of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which led them to sever ties with Russia, which once had significant influence over them .
- Just last week, Estonia accused Russia of violating international airspace regulations by jamming GPS signals. NATO officials also said last week that the Baltic countries are among those “deeply concerned” about activities they describe as “Russian espionage” on their soil.
Business
- New measures from Ukraine’s central bank will come into force from May 14, aiming to ease strict restrictions on businesses imposed after Russia’s invasion. Measures to be relaxed include restrictions on imports of goods and services and foreign exchange transfers.