Here is the situation on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Fighting
- Russia has widened its ground assault on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, attacking new areas to try and expand the front and “stretch” Ukraine’s forces, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. He said about 5,700 people had been evacuated from in and around Vovchansk and urged the town’s remaining residents, about 300 people, to leave. The DeepState Telegram channel, which is close to the Ukrainian army, said Russia had taken territory of about 100sq km (39sq miles).
- Ukraine’s Security Council chief Oleksandr Lytvynenko told the AFP news agency that there was no imminent risk of a ground assault on Kharkiv, the country’s second-biggest city, despite the latest Russian offensive. Lytvynenko said there were “a lot” of Russians at the border and “more than 30,000” involved in the current attack, which began on Friday.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its army had improved its tactical position near four settlements in the Kharkiv region – Vesele, Neskuchne, Vovchansk and Lyptsi.
- Russia said its air defence systems destroyed 16 missiles and 31 drones that Ukraine launched at Russian territory, including 12 missiles over the border region of Belgorod. Five houses were damaged in Belgorod, but there were no injuries, according to Governor Vyacheslav 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 sanctions against Moscow.
- Ukraine said it thwarted a Russian plan to carry out bomb attacks on May 9 in the capital Kyiv and in the western city of Lviv. It said two Russian military agents had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot, and 19 explosive devices had been seized.
- A Russian-installed court on Ukraine’s annexed Crimean peninsula 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 United States was doing “everything” possible to rush weapons to Ukraine, and that some weapons were already on the battlefield. A new arms package would be announced “in the coming days”, he added.
- Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov had discussions with Sullivan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Charles Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We spoke about the situation at the front, as well the assistance that Ukraine needs on the battlefield,” Syrskii wrote on Telegram.