As we enter the 805th day of the war, these are the most important developments.
Here is the situation as of Thursday, May 9, 2024.
Battle
- Three people were injured after Russia fired more than 70 missiles and drones at power plants and energy infrastructure in Kiev and six other cities. The attack, one of the largest in weeks, also led to power outages in nine Ukrainian regions.
- At least four children and three adults were injured after a Russian airstrike hit a school stadium in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two of the injured – two teenagers – were in hospital in serious condition.
- The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops continued to advance along the 1,000-kilometer front and took control of the village of Kyslivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and the village of Novokalynove in the Donetsk region.
- Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law that would allow some convicts to join the army in exchange for a chance at parole, bringing more men to the front and relieving strain on exhausted troops.
- Indian police said they had arrested four people on suspicion of luring young men to Russia with the promise of lucrative jobs or study places and then forcing them to fight in Ukraine. About 35 Indian men were deceived in this way, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in March.
Politics and diplomacy
- European Union countries reached a preliminary landmark agreement to provide Ukraine with billions in additional funds for arms and ammunition, taking advantage of windfalls from Russian central bank frozen assets held in the 27-nation bloc. Ministers still need to approve the text of the law, which would stipulate that 90 percent of the revenue would go to an EU-managed military aid fund for Ukraine and the rest would support Kiev in other ways, four EU diplomatic sources told Reuters.
- British Home Secretary James Cleverly said the U.K. would expel Russia’s defense attache, strip some properties of diplomatic status and introduce new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits in response to what he called Moscow’s “malign activities.” Cleverly said the attaché was an “undeclared military intelligence officer.” Britain has imposed several waves of sanctions on Russian companies and individuals since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia would respond “appropriately” to Britain’s move.
- The Kremlin said it had no comment on Ukraine’s claims that it had uncovered a plot by Russian agents to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Polish border guards said they had arrested a Russian defector who entered Poland illegally from Belarus, a staunch Moscow ally. Border guard spokeswoman Katarzyna Zdanowicz told the AFP news agency that the man “had his military papers with him.”
weapons
- Herman Smetanin, head of Ukraine’s state-owned weapons manufacturer, told ArmyInform, the defense ministry’s media outlet, that Ukraine now produces the same number of long-range attack drones as Russia. He didn’t provide any numbers.
- Hungary reiterated that it would not take part in a NATO plan to provide long-term military aid to Ukraine through a fund worth 100 billion euros ($107 billion). Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the plan was a “crazy mission.”