Embassy of Ukraine in the USA
WAR BULLETIN
May 2, 7.00 pm EST
WAR ROOM
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 02.05 were approximately:
personnel - about 23800 (+300),
tanks ‒ 1048 (+22),
APV ‒ 2519 (+48),
artillery systems – 459 (+8),
MLRS - 152 (+1),
Anti-aircraft warfare systems - 80 (+0),
aircraft – 194 (+2),
helicopters – 155 (+0),
vehicles and fuel tanks - 1824 (+28),
boats / cutters - 10 (+2),
UAV operational-tactical level - 271 (+26).
special equipment - 38 (+6).
cruise missiles - 84 (+0).
Russian enemy suffered the greatest losses (of the past day) in the Izyum direction.
Data are being updated.
The sixty-eighth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion continues.
The enemy continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine and offensive operations in the Eastern Operational Zone.
Units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus have been identified in the Volyn and Polissya areas and continue to carry out tasks to cover the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in the Brest and Gomel regions.
The threat of missile strikes on military and civilian infrastructure from the territory of the Republic of Belarus by the enemy remains.
In the Siversky direction, the enemy fired mortars at the positions of Ukrainian troops in the Senkivka area of the Chernihiv oblast.
Intensified administrative-police and counter-intelligence regimes have been established in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. Checkpoints are located on the main roads and near the settlements.
In the Slobozhansky direction, the enemy group continues to shell the city of Kharkiv and the settlements of Uda and Prudyanka.
The enemy's offensive operations in the Izyum-Barvinkove and Izyum-Slovyansk directions continue in the Izyum direction. The enemy continued to fire on our troops.
In the Donetsk direction, a group of the occupying forces is conducting offensive operations along almost the entire line of contact.
In the Lyman direction, the enemy fired on the units of Ukrainian troops on the Lyman-Siversk border in order to oust them from their positions and create conditions for the attack on Slovyansk.
In the Severodonetsk direction, the enemy focused its main efforts on taking control of Rubizhne and preparing for the attack on Severodonetsk.
In the Popasna direction, the enemy tried to improve the tactical position in the Popasna area. the enemy strengthened its troops by moving one battalion tactical group from the Mariupol direction.
In order to increase the air defence system, the enemy deployed additional anti-aircraft missile systems in the temporarily occupied and temporarily beseted territories of Luhansk and Zaporizhia oblasts.
In the Tavriya and Pivdenny Buh directions, the enemy continues to try to improve its tactical position and shelling.
In the Tavriya direction, measures are being taken to regroup the enemy units, increase the components of the fire destruction system, and engineer equipment for replenishment of ammunition and fuel and oil.
In the South Bug direction, the occupiers are trying to reach the administrative border of the Kherson region, looking for weaknesses in Ukrainian defence. In the area of Mykolayiv the aggressor carried out air reconnaissance with use of three UAVs. He fired artillery at the positions of our units.
During the previous day, air defence units hit ten Orlan-10 UAVs.
The enemy suffers significant losses, especially in artillery and on land. In the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts only, ten attacks by the occupiers were repulsed in the past 24 hours, two tanks, seventeen artillery systems, thirty-eight units of armored combat vehicles and 10 units of enemy vehicles were destroyed.
The greatest activity of the invaders is observed in Slobozhansky and Donetsk's directions. In the Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and Mykolayiv areas, Russian enemy regrouped troops, and strengthened artillery units and air defense units. It is trying to establish a system of logistical support for the grouping of troops in these areas.
The enemy continues to launch missile and bomb strikes on targets in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The shelling of the city of Kharkiv continues in the Slobozhansky direction.
In the Izyum direction, the enemy continues to attack in the directions Izyum-Barvinkovo and Izyum-Slovyansk.
To strengthen the group, the occupiers moved to certain areas of the units of artillery and jet artillery.
In order to improve the transport infrastructure, the enemy built a pontoon-bridge crossing over the Siversky Donets River. the occupiers continue to shell the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian objects located a short distance from the state border of Ukraine from the territory of the Russian federation.
In the Belgorod region, the concentration of occupiers' reserves for fighting in the Eastern Operational Zone continues.
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy's main efforts were focused on establishing full control over the settlements of Rubizhne and Popasna and advancing in the directions of the settlements of Lyman and Siversk.
In the Tavriya direction, measures are underway to regroup units and engineering equipment positions. In particular, a barrel artillery unit was deployed at firing positions near the settlement of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia oblast. the enemy carried out artillery shelling of the positions of our troops in the area of the settlement of Orikhiv.
In the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, the enemy deployed a fuel and oil depot and a point for repairing and repairing damaged equipment.
In the South Buh direction, the enemy is fighting to improve its tactical position. It does not stop trying to reach the administrative border of the Kherson oblast, it continues to deploy jet and barrel artillery units to fire on the positions of Ukrainian troops.
The transfer of material resources from the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea with the use of Ukraine's railway infrastructure continues.
In the Bessarabian direction, the situation in the transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova remains tense. the enemy, through controlled media, continues to spread provocative reports about the growing threat to the population of transnistria from Ukraine.
In the Volyn, Polissya, and Siversky directions, the possibility of the enemy's demonstrative and provocative actions in the areas adjacent to the state border of Ukraine is not ruled out.
The threat of missile strikes on objects on the territory of our state remains.
Measures to strengthen the administrative-police and counter-intelligence regimes continue in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.
In the waters of the Black and Azov Seas, enemy ships are involved in missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine, perform the task of isolating the area of hostilities, and conduct reconnaissance.
The enemy continues to destroy Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. Inflicts rocket and bomb attacks and carries out artillery shelling of residential areas of the city of Mykolayiv, as well as settlements of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv oblasts.
In the temporarily occupied territories, the occupiers are artificially creating and exacerbating humanitarian and economic crises. There is a shortage of medicines in the settlements, the range of grocery stores is limited, and bank institutions do not function.
Ukraine's Defense Forces inflict losses on Russian enemy in all directions and are ready for any changes in the operational situation.
Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine
In March 2022 in Bucha, the commander of the Russian national guard unit Sergei Kolotsei brutalized civilians who were not involved in combat operations and had no weapons. Together with other Russian servicemen he killed four civilians. Their bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs and signs of torture.
It was also established that the Russian serviceman forced another victim to confess to subversive activities against the Russian army. For this purpose, he beat the man with the butt of his submachine gun, the knife handle, his hands and feet. He forced him to sniff a dead body and, imitating an execution, shot near the ear of an unarmed civilian.
The identity of the Rosgvardia soldier who killed people in Bucha was established thanks to the measures taken by prosecutors and the help of journalists from “Slidstvo. Info”. His involvement in the commission of other war crimes on the territory of the Kyiv region is still being verified.
https://www.facebook.com/pgo.gov.ua/posts/361688069327366
On May 2, the Russian Armed Forces, ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law, fired missiles at infrastructure facilities in the Synelniksvskyi district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. A grain storage facility and a farm were damaged.
https://www.facebook.com/pgo.gov.ua/posts/361696522659854
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights
The Russian Federation is torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
During a monitoring visit to one of the health facilities where the servicemen released from Russian captivity are located, during the conversation with them, the facts of torture and ill-treatment of our defenders were revealed.
Most Ukrainian prisoners of war were detained by the occupiers near Mariupol. They were placed in basements and outbuildings, and then transferred first to the guardhouse and pre-trial detention center in Donetsk, then to pre-trial detention centers in Russia.
During the transfer, prisoners of war wore a bag on their heads or wrapped their eyes in scotch tape and tied their hands.
Ukrainians were tortured in captivity - threatened with murder, beaten and humiliated. One of them was shot in the head with a machine gun. Another said that the Chechens forced him to sit for two hours with a sack on his head next to a chainsaw, which threatened to cut off his fingers and hands.
Another was shot in the head with blank cartridges imitating execution.
Under the beatings, the Russians forced Ukrainian soldiers to learn the Russian national anthem, the history of the creation of their flag and coat of arms.
Medical care was not provided to prisoners of war, even the wounded. The doctor examined them only before they were transferred to the POW camp in Sevastopol, where ICRC representatives provided assistance.
Ukrainians were not given water, only 1.5 liters per 30 people, in fact one sip, restricted in food - in the so-called "DPR" daily diet was a piece of bread and lard, in hygiene products, not allowed to wash. Not the slightest opportunity to contact relatives was provided.
The POW cards for informing his family of the Central Agency for Prisoners of War, provided for in Article 70 of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which must be sent immediately after capture, were completed only immediately before the exchange.
Russia grossly violates the requirements of Articles 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24-27, 29-31, 46, 48, 69-71 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Russian occupation forces are deliberately taking measures to cause a famine in Ukraine.
During the monitoring of social networks, satellite images of Planet Lab were found, which show that powerful Russian bombs were dropped on the territory of Golden AGRO LLC in Rubezhnoye. The elevator complex opened in 2020 was completely destroyed.
The company has installed a laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment, including an express analyzer that provides accurate and fast analysis of all crops, a grain dryer with a capacity of 1,500 tons per day, a separator, scales, and an automatic sampler.
The elevator complex could store 30,000 tons of grain at a time.
There are more and more videos showing the occupiers taking agricultural machinery out of the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
The first cases of theft of equipment were recorded in mid-March. Later, with the help of GPS services, the equipment was found in the Republic of Chechnya.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region in the Synelnykivskyi district, a rocket hit the warehouses of agricultural enterprises. One is empty, the other with grain. They are destroyed.
The destruction and export of grain and agricultural machinery in the occupied territories violates Article 55 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
The Security Service of Ukraine
SSU identifies nearly 900 Russian invaders who committed crimes against civilians in Kyiv region.
The Security Service of Ukraine has all the information on the occupiers, as well as evidence of their atrocities. Currently, we are verifying data on the involvement of over 2,500 russian soldiers, whose units were based in Kyiv region.
The SSU continues to document every Russian invader. The SSU’s investigative and operational units have interviewed almost 7,000 witnesses of enemy’s atrocities.
The SSU also exposed about 100 collaborators who assisted the enemy in Kyiv region.
In order to continue effective documenting of the occupiers’ war crimes, the Security Service of Ukraine has opened a special hotline.
The SSU has conducted a multi-stage special operation to neutralize a deeply placed enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group. Agents of the general staff of the Russian armed forces were preparing a terrorist attack - shooting down a passenger plane over the territory of Russia or Belarus.
The occupiers intended to groundlessly accuse Ukraine and our partners of attacking the aircraft. To carry out the provocation, the perpetrators wanted to fire at a civilian aircraft from a portable anti-aircraft missile system (MANPADS) Stinger.
Russian special services instructed their agent group to steal and smuggle a foreign-made MANPADS.
The enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group consisted of two individuals with dual citizenship and an accomplice they had recruited. Their activities were coordinated by a Russian, Olexander Tyuterev, who is a staff member of the general staff of Russian armed forces, with a call sign ‘Morpekh’ [marine].
It was established that he had previously participated in organization of a series of terrorist attacks in Odesa region, for which he is wanted.
Following his instructions, enemy agents tried to establish contacts with representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posing as patriotic volunteers. In order to gain ‘trust’, they passed to the Ukrainian military truthful information on the positions and movements of the occupation units of the so-called ‘kadyrovites’.
Further, Russian agents planned to use the established contacts to illegally obtain foreign-made MANPADS and hand them over to the aggressor state.
During the special operation, the SSU detained all members of the occupiers’ group.
Investigative and operational activities are underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring its organizers to justice.
POLICY
President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark Jeppe Kofod.
The Head of State noted that Ukraine highly appreciates the support of Denmark, and reminded that he had a fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Kyiv recently.
"It is important that the cooperation between our countries is really dynamic and fruitful," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed and praised the resumption of the work of the Danish Embassy in Kyiv.
The President stressed that Ukraine now needs maximum defense assistance.
"I know that Denmark has already done a lot in this matter and continues to do so," he said.
The Head of State stressed the importance of coordinated counteraction to the aggressor on the sanctions track. According to him, Ukraine appreciates Denmark's active position on EU restrictive measures against Russia and looks forward to Copenhagen's continued active role in sanctions pressure.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed his belief in Denmark's support for Ukraine's path to EU membership.
The parties paid considerable attention to the issue of financial assistance to the economy of our country. The President praised the readiness of the Danish side to play a leading role in the reconstruction of Mykolaiv together with other international partners.
The President noted the assistance of the Danish government in clearing and rebuilding the liberated Ukrainian cities by transferring the relevant construction equipment. The given step is one of the results of an agreement reached during recent talks with the Prime Minister of Denmark.
The parties also discussed further joint work on bringing the aggressor to justice for crimes committed in our country.
Frankly - about the war with Russia. Interview of Volodymyr Zelensky to the journalist of the 60 Minutes project of the Australian TV channel Nine Network.
Watch in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSmpeKOIUQc
Address by the President V.Zelenskyy to Ukrainians
The 68th day of our strong defense is coming to an end. The 68th day of self-destruction of Russia. Self-destruction in every sense of the word. If this country once had what is called a reputation, now Russia does things on a daily basis that simply preclude any adequacy.
Yesterday, for example, Russia's foreign minister openly and without hesitation said that the biggest anti-Semites were allegedly among the Jews themselves. And that Hitler allegedly had Jewish blood. How could this be said on the eve of the anniversary of the victory over Nazism? These words mean that Russia's top diplomat is blaming the Jewish people for Nazi crimes. No words.
Of course, there is a big scandal in Israel today as regards these words. However, no one hears objections or excuses from Moscow. There is silence. Hence, they agree with what their foreign minister said. After the Russian missile attack at Babyn Yar in Kyiv, after the Menorah damaged by shelling at the site of the mass executions in Drobytsky Yar near Kharkiv, after the deaths of ordinary people who survived the Nazi occupation and Nazi concentration camps from Russian shelling, such an anti-Semitic thrust by their minister means Russia has forgotten all the lessons of World War II.
Or maybe they never studied those lessons. So the question is will the Israeli ambassador stay in Moscow knowing their new position? Will relations with Russia remain as usual? Because it's not accidental. The words of the Russian foreign minister - a "great connoisseur of Hitlerism" - are not accidental.
It is no coincidence that the Russian occupiers are creating so-called "filtration camps" on Ukrainian land through which thousands of our Ukrainian citizens are passing. Where our people are killed, tortured and raped. It is no coincidence that the occupiers capture civilians and take them hostage or deport them as free labor.
It is no coincidence that they are waging a so-called total war to destroy all living things, after which only the burned ruins of entire cities and villages remain.
To do this, one must completely reject the moral and achievements of the victors of Nazism. But if such people are in the Russian leadership, it does not mean they can judge others in Europe or in the world according to themselves.
If they send tens of thousands of their citizens to die in a foreign land and do not even take the bodies of those killed from the streets, roads, fields, it does not mean that everyone else is like them.
If there are people among them who come from Ukraine but support the extermination of Ukrainians and everything Ukrainian, it does not mean that everyone else has abandoned normal human morality.
Today, Russian troops launched another missile strike at Odesa. Destroyed the dormitory. A 14-year-old boy was killed. A 17-year-old girl was wounded, she has a shrapnel wound. What is it? For what? What did these children and the dormitory threaten the Russian state with? And that's how they fight. That's all.
A gymnasium founded over a hundred years ago burned down in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, due to Russian shelling. It was built by the Belgians for this city. It withstood two world wars. But, as we see, this gymnasium turned out to be a terrible threat to modern Russia.
220 Ukrainian children have been killed by the Russian army since February 24. And we still don't know about everyone, because we don't have access to the temporarily occupied areas of our state. 1570 educational institutions were destroyed or damaged by shelling. It's in a little over two months!
That is why the whole free world united so that no one justifies Nazism, kills children or destroys peaceful cities as Russia does.
Today in Kyiv I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. We discussed the whole range of issues of our bilateral relations, especially defense, financial and political cooperation. I see progress in implementing the agreements reached during the talks with the Prime Minister of Denmark. I am grateful. I received good signals.
Plans to rebuild Ukraine after the war were also discussed. And support for our movement towards the European Union. I am grateful that Denmark resumes the work of its embassy in our capital. This is already the 29th foreign mission that returned to Ukraine.
We are working on new sanctions against Russia. We expect a new package from the European Union in the near future. This package should include clear steps to block Russia's energy revenues. We truly believe in this. So that the terrorist state is not given a billion euros a day for fuel.
But it is also worth preparing for the next sanctions steps now. In any case, we will have to block all export-import operations with Russia. Because that's what they make money on in Moscow. And they do not even understand that international law and peace in Europe must be respected.
We continue to do everything to save our people from Mariupol. The evacuation operation continues. Tomorrow we also expect movement through humanitarian corridors from Berdyansk, Tokmak, Vasylivka.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine heroically repel the occupiers' attempts to advance. Kharkiv direction, Donbas, the south of the country - everywhere the situation remains extremely difficult. But I am grateful to each and every one of our defenders who are holding the defense.
I have just signed a large decree to award our military. 438 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were awarded state awards.
The title of Hero of Ukraine was awarded to Senior Lieutenant Dmytro Ruslanovych Todorov for his personal courage and extraordinary efficiency in the battles against the occupiers in the Donetsk region.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Anti-Semitic Attacks by the Russian Foreign Minister Serhiy Lavrov
The anti-Semitic attacks of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Serhiy Lavrov on the President of Ukraine and the Jews are absolutely unacceptable. Russia is already too deeply bogged down in uttering nonsense aimed at justifying barbaric aggression against Ukraine.
In fact, the Russian Foreign Minister questioned the existence of not only the Ukrainian nation but also the Holocaust. Lavrov deliberately insulted the memory of millions of Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the World War II. The Israeli Government has already called Lavrov's statements a "terrible historical mistake."
“The deep-rooted anti-Semitism of Russia's elites demonstrates to the world that putin's Russia is purposefully cultivating "Russian supremacy" and hatred of other peoples. We must stop Russia together now, until its aggressive policy has led to even more catastrophic consequences”, stressed Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
We express solidarity with the Jewish people. We call on the governments of all countries to give a decisive response to Russia: further isolate it, impose an embargo on Russian oil and gas that will deprive the Russian military machine of financial resources, increase military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, whose people are now heroically resisting Russian evil.
ECONOMY
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine
Ukraine Will Receive Additional EUR 495 million Grant Funds From the World Bank Trust Fund.
Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and the World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji signed an amendment to the grant agreement, which will be provided to Ukraine from the World Bank's Trust Fund within the Second Loan Facility Program for Development Policy in Economic Recovery. Under this additional agreement, Ukraine will receive grants from Norway, Austria and the United States of America (within one grant) in the amount of EUR 495 million.
The grant will be directed to the general fund of the State Budget of Ukraine to provide priority social, humanitarian expenses, healthcare expenses, and support for internally displaced persons.
The Trust Fund was created by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Norway, Austria and the United States have already made contributions to the fund.
Last week, 738 soft loans totaling UAH 3.09 billion were issued within the framework of the State Program "Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%".
Since the start of the Program, as of May 2, 2022, business entities have received 38,462 loans from authorized banks for a total amount of UAH 102.6 billion.
Of those:
- UAH 10.2 billion issued to entrepreneurs for investment purposes;
- UAH 57.7 billion as anti-crisis loans;
- UAH 24.8 billion as refinancing of previously received loans;
- UAH 9.3 billion - loans for agricultural producers, in particular for investment purposes.
Under conditions of martial law, one of the priorities of the Ministry of Finance remains state support for business development, which is carried out, including through the program Affordable Loans at 5-7-9% initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Hence, in March this year to support agricultural producers in order to ensure the spring sowing campaign, as well as to support and intensify entrepreneurial activity during martial law, the Government has made a number of changes to the State Program Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%. The changes provide for significant simplifications for lending, in particular, the possibility of obtaining soft loans at 0% per annum with a guarantee from the Government of Ukraine at the level of 80%.
The Ministry of Finance calls on business representatives and banking institutions to actively participate in the implementation of innovations. The program is implemented by the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF). The only participant of the EDF is the Government of Ukraine, represented by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, which coordinates all aspects of the Fund's activities.
To date, the EDF has concluded cooperation agreements with 42 banks under the State Program Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%.