Antony Blinken in his visit to Kiev stressed that: “Ukraine itself must decide to start negotiations with Russia, the United States will support Kiev anyway” and on the use of American weapons on Russian territory: “The United States allows all ‘Ukraine to decide for itself how to conduct military operations against the Russian Federation.’ The White House’s policy towards the use of weapons against Moscow therefore changes. Not only that, new arrivals of patriots are expected who this time will not be deployed in Kiev to defend the city but in Kharkiv, Blinken specified. The United States has always said it does not want a direct confrontation with Moscow.
The Estonian Parliament has adopted a law allowing frozen Russian assets to be sent to Kiev, local media reported. The Council of the European Union expects to finally approve next week the decision on using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets for military assistance to Ukraine.
It is learned that deputies of the Verkhovna Rada went to Washington to persuade the US authorities to lift the ban on targeting Russian territory with American-made weapons, Politico reports. Lawmakers plan to get congressional support to put pressure on the White House. According to them, the impossibility of using American weapons to strike Russian territory “shackles” Kiev.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Dmitry Lazutkin reported that the reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were brought to the border town of Vovchans’k in the Kharkiv region. “(The enemy) is trying to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city, small groups of infantry are entering there, trying to get in… Reserves have been brought in… near Vovčans’k, but some groups of (Russian) infantry have entered in the city,” Lazutkin said.
Commenting on the Russian advance in Kharkiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “When the Ukrainian army has everything it needs, we win, when there are delays in supplies and shortages of ammunition, we do not win.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, during a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyj, discussed the details of the provision of military aid to Kiev; The Elysée reported that: “The French president has explained the details of supplies in the coming days and weeks to support Ukraine’s military efforts,” the French president’s office said in a statement. Macron assured Zelenskiy of the availability of Paris and its partners to provide Kiev with “any necessary support”. The French president also stressed that “every useful diplomatic initiative should be taken for negotiations, respecting international law and Ukraine’s legitimate interests.”
From Moscow, General Surovikin’s entourage states that the general “has not been to Moscow. Now the general is working in Algeria”. Among the latest appointments to take into account in the Kremlin’s legislative system Valery Pikalev is the head of the customs service federal. That is, the one who will have to manage parallel imports and make up for Western sanctions.
On Putin’s day in Beijing, a draft was presented to the State Duma on the right of heads of secret security units to check stamps in foreign passports of those holding secret information.
The day before going on an official visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared during the Defense Minister’s Council introducing the new minister Andrei Belousov: “The more effectively the army acts, the sooner the conflict in Ukraine can be resolved peacefully“; “the appointment of Belousov as Minister of Defense is due to the fact that military expenditure is growing and Belousov understands how to “fit” the economy of the army and the defense industry into the overall economy of the country”. 2024 total spending on defense and security will be 8.7%, maybe something more.” “As for the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces – there are no changes here and they are not expected.” acting commander of the Southern Military District, General Sanchik – of the Eastern one.
Putin instructed to “open” the Russian Ministry of Defense as much as possible so that it absorbs all the best and modern practices. Putin also noted: we must be “one step ahead” in the issue of mastering the latest weapons, and personnel movements around the security bloc should not be formal, they should ensure success in the Northern Military District.
Finally, the Federal Service for military-technical cooperation will closely interact with the new assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Alexei Dyumin, who will supervise defense industry issues, said the head of the service Dmitry Shugaev.
And now a look at the front line updated at 17:00 on May 16th.
According to the Russian social sphere for the second night, Ukrainians attacked Crimea and Sevastopol with missile weapons. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that five ATACMS were shot down, according to field tests there were up to 12 explosions. One of them in the area of the Belbek military airfield and footage of a heavy fire was published online. On May 14, the indicated object was also the Ukrainian target. Off the northwestern coast of Crimea, a clash with enemy MBECs was reported to have occurred.
According to another account, the Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of the first 11 drones southwest of Sevastopol, then information appeared about another unmanned surface ship destroyed near Crimea. Together with yesterday’s USV near Chornomorske, a total of 13 units were hit.
We add that these are the same two groups of drones that left yesterday around midnight towards the Black Sea. They were observed near Tarkhankut, but then turned around and left for the waiting area in the western part of the sea area.
On May 16 at around 1pm two groups of USVs, totaling 24 units, headed towards the Crimean peninsula, but their movement was detected early. Naval aviation helicopters were sent to intercept them.
For several hours the helicopter crews fired at the maneuvering drones, thus frustrating the Ukrainian plan. It is not entirely clear where the drones were headed, but the possibility of the Crimean bridge is not excluded.
What is new is that Russian units were able to detect the impending attack and subsequently destroy half of the USVs, which indicates an increase in capabilities both in terms of drone search and drone destruction, despite various modifications.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the group of North Russian troops continues its offensive. In the direction of Lyptsi, they took Luk’yantsi. Russian troops entrenched themselves on the southern outskirts of the Hlyboke village and advanced from 500 meters to 1.2 kilometers in depth towards the Lyptsi settlement. The Ukrainians launched counterattacks three times. In Vovčans’k, the Russian armed forces advanced to a depth of 1 kilometer.
In the Pokrovs’k direction (west of Avdiivka) battles are taking place on the Ocheretyne ledge near Novooleksandrivka, Umans’ke, west of Orlivka, Russian troops are trying to level the front.
On the Vremivka ledge, the Russian armed forces assault Staromaiors’ke.
On the Zaporozhzhie front, small Russian assault groups have expanded the control zone in Robotyne, but soldiers report that it is too early to talk about complete control over the populated area, despite declarations and “good reports”.
In the Belgorod region, at night, in Shebekino, shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. FPV drones attacked the village Tsapovka and surroundings of Berezovka, Borisov district, Novostroevka-Pervaya, Grayvoronsky urban district. An FPV attacked a car between the villages of Nekhoteevka and Zhuravlevka, Belgorod district, the driver and two passengers were injured. In the village A Zozuli, Borisov district, an explosive device was thrown on a car, civilians injured; the same in Gruzskoye, Borisov district. Similarly in Novaya Tavolzhanka, Shebekinsky urban district, a car was damaged.
In the Kursk region, in the Glushkovsky district, an explosive device was dropped from an armed forces drone on construction workers who were restoring houses in the village of Vesyoloye, one of the workers was injured. The village of Kurilovka, the villages of Sverdlikovo and Guevo, the village of Oleshnya in the Sudzhansky district, the checkpoint “Tyotkino”, the villages of Tyotkino and Novy Put, the village of Elizavetovka and the village of Vesyoloye in the Glushkovsky district, the village of Sadovyi in the Rylsky district. In the village of Kurilovka, Sudzhansky District, Ukrainian drones damaged a house, a car and a truck. During the day, several Ukrainian UAVs were shot down in the region.
Near the Sudzha checkpoint, 8 explosive devices were dropped from helicopters, 5 near the village of Volfino and the village of Tyotkino, Glushkovsky district, 2 near the villages of Troitskoye and Gordeevka, Korenevskij district, 1 near the village of Kozino, Rylsky district. There were no casualties. Electronic warfare suppressed Ukrainian drones near the village of Oleshnya and the village of Gornal in the Sudzhansky district, the village of Urusy in the Glushkovsky district and the village of Troitskoye in the Korenevsky district.
Graziella Giangiulio
