Wednesday, May 8

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian duo Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil, representing Ukraine with the song “Teresa & Maria,” perform on stage during the first semi-final of the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) at the Malmo Arena, in Malmo, Sweden, on May 7, 2024. (JESSICA GOW/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin inaugurated for 5th term in office in ceremony largely boycotted by West. The inauguration was attended by representatives from six EU countries: France, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus.

SBU says it foiled Russia’s plot to assassinate Zelensky, 2 Ukrainian colonels detained. The Security Service of Ukraine claimed on May 7 that it had uncovered a network of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) agents who were preparing the assassination of President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-ranking officials in Ukraine.

Media: Russian Su-30 producer buys back over $400 million of own equipment in past 2 years. A Russian Su-30 fighter jet producer bought back its own equipment previously sold to foreign partners worth over $400 million in 2022 and 2023, the Russian independent outlet Moscow Times reported on May 7, citing customs data.

Source: Military intelligence carries out cyberattack on Russia’s 1C Company. Based in Moscow, 1C Company is a software developer, distributor and publisher best known for its widely used business software.

Ukraine qualifies for Eurovision 2024 song contest finals. With their song “Teresa & Maria,” Ukraine’s Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil qualified for the Eurovision finals in Sweden’s Malmo, successfully passing the semi-finals on May 7.

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Military intelligence: Ukraine constantly inventing new ways to sink Russian ships. Andriy Yusov said Russia has been taking steps to counter the attacks including trying to hide ships and build protective barriers, but said HUR was “finding new ways to show that HUR and Magura work extremely efficiently.”

Watchdog: Russian, Ukrainian accusations of chemical weapons use ‘insufficiently substantiated.’ Hundreds of cases of Russia using suffocating and tear gas grenades usually dropped from drones have been recorded since the start of the full-scale invasion, with the number of incidents increasing significantly in 2024.

Reuters: Half of North Korean missiles fired by Russia blow up in mid-air, Ukraine’s top prosecutor says. While the number of missiles Pyongyang has given to Moscow remains a tiny percentage of Russia’s overall stockpiles, Ukraine and its allies are concerned about the growing ties between the two countries.

Government backs decree on unmanned systems Armed Forces branch. The government supported on May 7 a draft decree by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the creation of a separate Armed Forces branch dedicated to unmanned systems, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

Bloomberg: Russia uses TikTok content to undermine Ukrainian leadership, Kyiv says. “Russia is dominating us on TikTok due to the scale” of its operation, said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of a department countering disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: 2 Ukrainian colonels detained in Russia’s plot to assassinate Zelensky, SBU says

The Security Service of Ukraine claimed on May 7 that it had uncovered a network of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) agents who were preparing the assassination of President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-ranking officials in Ukraine.

Photo: Presidential Office

Opinions and Insights

Opinion: The REPO Act hasn’t won the war for Russian assets

“While the decision to confiscate Russian assets under the REPO Act cannot be subject to appeal by Russia as a state in U.S. courts, individuals and legal entities still have the right to do so,” writes Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine, in this guest op-ed.

Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Opinion: Will the renewed US support for Ukraine be enough?

“The U.S. aid package provides a lifeline that can keep the Ukrainians in the fight through the end of 2024,” writes Ian Bremmer, Founder and President of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, in this guest op-ed.

Photo: Wojciech Grzedzinski/Anadolu via Getty Images

Human cost of war

2 Georgian volunteers fighting for Ukraine killed in combat. Two Georgian volunteers fighting for Ukraine, David Gogadze and Beso Lomidze, have been killed during hostilities in the Avdiivka sector, the Black Eagle unit said on May 7.

Man dies at military enlistment office in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast due to ‘rapid health deterioration.’ A man of draft age died on the territory of the Saksahanskyi military enlistment office in the city of Kryvyi Rih on May 5 due to the “rapid deterioration of his health,” the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast military recruitment center reported.

One of youngest Azovstal defenders killed on front lines. Twenty-one-year-old Ukrainian soldier Nazarii Hryntsevych, also known under the call sign “Hrinka,” was killed on the front lines, the Contact 12 special forces group of the Azov Brigade said on May 7.

Russian strikes on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injure at least 6. At least six people, including a six-year-old girl and a 91-year-old woman, have been injured during an intense day of Russian strikes in Nikopol, in the south-east of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, authorities reported on May 7.

International response

UK and allies sanction leader of Russian ransomware group. The U.K., U.S., and Australia announced sanctions on the Russian leader of the cyber-crime gang, LockBit, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced on May 7.

President Iohannis: Romania open to discussing sending Patriot to Ukraine. Speaking in Washington after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Klaus Iohannis said he would discuss the matter with his Supreme Defence Council.

Spanish, Belgian, Latvian, Finnish leaders confirm participation in peace summit. The event will be centered around Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula, a plan first outlined by President Volodymyr Zelensky in fall 2022 that calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian lands.

Denmark donates $33 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The Danish Foreign Ministry announced on May 7 a new 250 million kroner ($33.2 million) humanitarian aid package for Ukraine.

Italian FM: Rome sends Ukraine weapons only for use within its borders. Italy supplies Ukraine with weapons only for use within the country’s borders, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on May 7, according to the ANSA news agency.

Bloomberg: EU planning restrictions on 11 vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet. The shadow fleet refers to aging and largely uninsured oil tankers that Russia uses to transport oil above the $60 per barrel price cap that the EU, the U.S., and the Group of Seven (G7) countries imposed in December 2022 as part of the effort to cut Moscow’s fossil fuels revenue.

Zelensky: Ukraine, Spain conclude talks on security agreement text. Ukraine and Spain finalized negotiations on the text of a bilateral security agreement, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 7 after a call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Tusk: Europe must spend ‘big money’ so ‘no world power will dare raise a hand against it.’ Speaking at the European Economic Congress in the Polish city of Katowice, Donald Tusk called on countries to increase defense spending and once again raised the idea of building a common European air defense system.

Hungarian official says ‘positive signs’ in talks with Ukraine on national minorities. There have been “positive signs” regarding Ukraine’s fulfillment of Budapest’s demands on national minorities issues in recent weeks, Hungarian State Secretary Tristan Azbej said on May 7.

Bugging devices found in room where Polish government was scheduled to meet. Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for the Polish security service, said that the devices had been found and dismantled in a meeting room in Katowice.

Estonian parliament declares Russian Orthodox Church ‘sponsor of Russian military aggression.’ Patriarch Kirill, the head of the church, is a staunch backer of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been accused of using his subordinates in Ukraine and other countries to spread Russian propaganda.

In other news

Russia declares US-based NGO Freedom House ‘undesirable’ organization. Russia’s “undesirable organization” law was adopted in 2015, effectively banning cooperation with about 160 organizations included on the list since then.

Belarus announces snap inspection of tactical nuclear delivery capabilities. “A unit of Iskander operational-tactical system and a squadron of Su-25 aircraft are being prepared to carry out their intended tasks,” Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.

European Parliament lawmakers call for suspension of Georgia’s EU candidate status. The letter said the “continued undemocratic behavior of the Georgian authorities, in particular their aggressiveness in pushing through a ‘Russian-style’ law on foreign agents, silencing and using force against peaceful demonstrators, has crossed the line.”

Media: UK Defense Ministry hit by cyberattack from China-linked hackers. The latest cyberattack was reportedly directly attributed to the Chinese state, according to Sky News. It targeted the payroll system of defense ministry employees and resulted in the breach of an unspecified amount of personal data.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Chris York, Nate Ostiller, Toma Istomina, Katya Denisova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Rachel Amran, and Dmytro Basmat.

Francis Farrell, Kateryna Hodunova, Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Denisova, Chris York, Olena Goncharova, and  Abbey Fenbert.

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