Kyiv Post Morning Memo – Everything You Need to Know on Monday, May 17

Good morning, Kyiv Post readers. Here’s your Morning Memo for May 17 to get you up to speed on events in Ukraine:

·      Latest Headlines

·      Military Situation Report

·      President Zelensky’s Message of the Day

·      FYI Kyiv Locals

·      Quote of the Day

·      Infographic of the Day

Latest Headlines

The Council of Europe’s first Summit in 18 years committed to a ‘register of damages’ from Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Government called this “the first real step… to compensate for atrocities and damages which Russia brings to Ukraine.”

The ‘jets coalition’ proposed by President Zelensky looks to take off with new commitments by the UK, France and the Netherlands. The initiative, according to No. 10 Downing Street would build Ukraine’s “combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from [pilot] training to procuring F-16 jets.”

US recognition of Russia as a ‘sponsor of state terrorism’ came closer, as US Secretary of State Blinken yesterday told a US Senate hearing “never say never.” At the same time, a resolution calling for a Special Tribunal to punish Russian war crimes was supported by the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Other Topics of Interest

Russian Troops Claim to Grab Ground in Surprise Assault, Threaten Breakthrough in Battleground Avdiivka

A few Russian milbloggers said the Ukrainian line was smashed and Kremlin troops are advancing unopposed. That turns out to be fake news. On Tuesday neither side owned the village.

As Ukraine’s counteroffensive looms, international delegations are headed to Kyiv to urge ‘peace’ talks, including representatives of the People’s Republic of China and six African nations. China, South Africa and other African nations have been officially or unofficially ‘neutral’ during Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Military Situation Report

The May 16 campaign assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) had the following key take-aways:

·      Russian forces are likely reinforcing their offensive effort in Bakhmut despite Ukraine’s limited counterattacks.

·      Russian reinforcements to Bakhmut suggest Russian forces are continuing to concentrate offensive capabilities there despite need to reprioritize for potential Ukrainian counteroffensives.

·      Russian forces made marginal gains within Bakhmut as of May 16 and continued limited ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line.

·      Russia is reportedly deploying additional manpower from Belarus to reinforce their positions in Luhansk Oblast.

·      Russian forces continued unsuccessful offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kremmina line.

·      Russian forces are “continuing to panic” about maintaining their positions in the east (left) bank Kherson Oblast ahead of anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensives.

The update at 06:00 on May 16 for the last 24 hours from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports:

·      31 Russian missile and rocket attacks, including S-300s, Kalibrs, Iskandrs, and Kinzhals. 25 missiles/rockets were destroyed.

·      57 Russian air assaults.

·      Combat action is centered on Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka where there were 55 combat engagements.

·      Russian forces are being transferred from training bases in Belarus to combat zones in Ukraine.

·      Population centers in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson oblasts sustained Russian artillery, mortar and/or aerial assaults.

·      Ukrainian air forces conducted 14 raids against Russian troop and equipment concentrations, and 4 raids against Russian missile/rocket systems [which is a continuation of sustained air raids for the last two weeks – Ed.]

President Zelensky’s Message

“We are constantly working on visits that will bring more opportunities, more Patriot, IRIS-T, Crotale, HAWK, NASAMS systems… We also have to remember how much effort it takes to get such weapons for Ukraine. How much time, energy, argument, meetings and information exchange allowed us to build such an air defense system. This is a tremendous job... We used to hear that Patriots were supposedly unrealistic... And now here they are, Patriots.”

FYI Kyiv Locals

Free training on how to give mental health support, as well as medical first aid training, is being made available from June in locations across the Kyiv area by the Kyiv City Administration. Classes can be registered for here.

Quote of the Day

“Last February 24, when war returned to Europe, it was like an ice bucket thrown in our faces. And, this ice bucket ripped us from our dreams of a post-national and post-historical Europe.” – Alexander Shallenberg, Austria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs

Infographic of the Day

Today’s infographic about companies continuing or stopping work in Russia is from TopLead based on analysis by the Yale School of Management.