Published on May 15

Christine Stuermer

From the FB page; The Heartbeat of Ukraine

WAR UPDATE 5/14/23

▶️Day 445 of a 3-day war. Kyiv still stands and Russia is still a terrorist state.

▶️198,880 (+620) terrorists eliminated not including Wagner scum.

▶️Number of days since Russia has committed a war crime = 0

✅What’s going on in Bakhmut?

📌According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces continued counterattacking around Bakhmut on May 14. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar reported that Ukrainian forces captured over 10 Russian positions on the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut over the course of the day on May 14. Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian troops attacked towards Berkhivka, Klishchiivka, and Kurdiumivka and took up new unspecified positions near the settlements and additionally advanced towards Yahidne from the direction of Bohdanivka. Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that Ukrainian forces did not conduct any attacks on the night of May 13 to 14, however. ISW has not observed visual confirmation of new Ukrainian positions around Bakhmut. Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty emphasized on May 14 that Ukraine’s main goal in Bakhmut is to destroy Russian concentration areas and encircle the city, not to conduct frontal assaults. Cherevaty noted that Ukrainian forces have recently advanced up to 300m in some areas, and Malyar reported that Ukrainian forces are advancing in two directions in the suburbs of Bakhmut.

📌Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have reported that, according to their data, the Ukrainian military liberated 16.85 square kilometers on the Bakhmut front during their recent counterattacks.

📌The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is attempting to distract from recent Ukrainian successes near Bakhmut by praising Russian defensive efforts against the Ukrainian counterattacks.

✅The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the death of two of its colonels in a day on 13-14 May in the Bakhmut region. Source: Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti with reference to the Russian Defense Ministry. It is noted that the commander of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade, Colonel Vyacheslav Makarov, and the deputy commander of the army corps for military-political work, Colonel Yevgeny Brovko, allegedly died “while repelling attacks.”

Sounds like they weren’t repelling much of anything. 😏

🔘ISW also reported that increasingly regular series of Russian drone and missile strikes are likely a part of a new Russian air campaign in Ukraine aimed at degrading Ukrainian abilities to conduct counteroffensive offensive operations in the near term. Russian forces have conducted at least 10 series of strikes throughout Ukraine, particularly in rear areas, since April 19. Russian forces have used significantly fewer high precision missiles in these latest series of strikes in comparison to their failed campaign against Ukrainian critical infrastructure from the fall of 2022 through the winter of 2023. ISW previously assessed that Russian forces likely expended a significant proportion of their precision missiles in the previous air campaign, and the current Russian air campaign may be using far fewer of these missiles in an effort to conserve the limited remaining stocks. Russian forces have instead relied heavily on launching large numbers of Iranian-made Shahed drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, although Ukrainian forces have been more effective in shooting down Russian precision systems than during the previous Russian air campaign.

✅The drones that the Russians launched towards Kyiv on the night of 13-14 May were destroyed by air defence forces long before entering the city, and no cruise missiles were spotted in the airspace around the capital after midnight on Sunday. Source: Serhii Popko, Head of Kyiv Oblast Military Administration “It was the seventh air attack on the capital since the beginning of May! According to preliminary information, before midnight, the Russians launched reconnaissance drones into the airspace around the capital.

✅Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, believes that the eventual liberation of the eastern city of Bakhmut will be a “prelude” to the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. Source: Podoliak in an interview with Bild, a German media outlet. “Ukraine has seized the initiative. It doesn’t mean that Bakhmut will be liberated tomorrow, but fierce fighting will continue, and Russia’s combat capability will continue diminishing.

✅Operational Report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

👉On Sunday, 14 May, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations on the Kupiansk front. Ukrainian forces also repelled numerous Russian assaults near Marinka. Fighting for the city of Bakhmut continues.

👉Over the course of today, Russian forces conducted six missile strikes, targeting the city of Kharkiv and the village of Zolochiv, among other settlements. Russian forces also carried out 27 airstrikes and deployed multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to conduct around 20 attacks on positions of Ukrainian forces and civilian settlements. Several civilians were injured; a number of private houses and other civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged or destroyed. There is an ongoing threat of further missile strikes and airstrikes across Ukraine.

👉Russian forces are continuing to focus their main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts. Over the course of the day, around 30 clashes took place across these four fronts, with the cities of Bakhmut and Marinka still at the epicenter of hostilities.

👉There is no evidence that Russia is forming offensive units on the Volyn and Polissia fronts, and the operational situation there remains much the same as before.

👉On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, Russian forces are continuing to maintain their presence in areas near the Russian-Ukrainian border. Throughout the day, they deployed mortars and artillery to fire on Hirsk, Leonivka and Popivka (Chernihiv Oblast); Volfyne and Sadky (Sumy Oblast); and Oleksandrivka and Starytsia (Kharkiv Oblast).

👉The Russians conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the vicinity of Masiutivka and Synkivka on the Kupiansk front. They carried out airstrikes on areas near Vilshana and Kyslivka and deployed mortars and artillery to fire on Kamianka, Topoli, Krasne Pershe, Fyholivka, Novomlynsk, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Kindrashivka and Tabaivka (Kharkiv Oblast) and Stelmakhivka (Luhansk Oblast).

👉Russian forces did not undertake offensive operations on the Lyman front, but conducted airstrikes on areas in and around Yampil, Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamianske and Spirne (Donetsk Oblast). Several settlements were shelled: Makiivka (Luhansk Oblast) and Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamianske, Spirne and Berestove (Donetsk Oblast).

👉On the Bakhmut front, Russian forces are continuing to carry out offensive operations. Fighting for the city of Bakhmut continues. Over the course of today, the Russians made unsuccessful attempts to advance on Hryhorivka, Bohdanivka and Predtechyne. Russian aircraft struck areas in and around Ivanivske and Stupochky. Hryhorivka, Bohdanivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Chasiv Yar, Chervone, Kostiantynivka, Druzhba, Pivnichne, Toretsk and Shumy (Donetsk Oblast) came under Russian fire.

👉Russian forces conducted an airstrike on areas in and around Avdiivka and Novokalynove on the Avdiivka front and shelled Stepove, Lastochkyne, Avdiivka, Tonenke, Netailove, Karlivka and Pervomaiske (Donetsk Oblast).

👉On the Marinka front, Ukraine’s defence forces repelled numerous Russian assaults near the city of Marinka. Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Marinka, Novomykhailivka and Pobieda in Donetsk Oblast came under Russian fire.

👉Over the course of today, Russian forces did not undertake offensive operations on the Shakhtarsk front, though they shelled Vuhledar, Novoukrainka and Prechystivka.

👉Russian forces are on the defensive on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts. They conducted airstrikes on areas in and around Kizomys and Stanislav (Kherson Oblast). They also shelled around 30 civilian settlements, including Vremivka and Novopil (Donetsk Oblast); Huliaipole, Zaliznychne, Bilohiria, Mala Tokmachka and Kamianske (Zaporizhzhia Oblast); and Zolota Balka, Vesele, Lvove, Antonivka, Dniprovske, Kizomys and the city of Kherson (Kherson Oblast).

👉The Russian Defense Ministry continues to undertake measures to integrate illegal armed groups subordinated to the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) into the Russian Armed Forces. A brigade within the 1st Army Corps of the Russian Armed Forces received an order that requires former members of the DPR forces to obtain new military IDs from the Russian Armed Forces and to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence for a minimum period of two years. In case of refusal, these individuals will be deployed to participate in assault operations on the most dangerous fronts as part of frontline units.

👉Over the course of today, Ukrainian aircraft carried out 12 airstrikes on areas where Russian military personnel and equipment were concentrated.

👉Ukraine’s defence forces downed three Russian reconnaissance drones, including two Orlan-10 drones and a Supercam drone.

👉Units of Ukraine’s Rocket Forces and Artillery struck a Russian command post, six areas where Russian military personnel and equipment were concentrated, two field artillery units, and one other critical military target.

🛑As a result of shelling by the Russians, two civilians died in the village of Starytsa, Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv Oblast. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration, on Telegram. #WarCrimes

🛑Russians attacked Zaporizhzhia Oblast, injuring civilians. Source: Office of the President of Ukraine. It is noted that one man was injured in a private house as a result of an attack on the village of Prymorske, carried out with Grad multiple-launch rocket systems.
Russians also attacked a secondary school in Prymorske. It is known that three civilians and an ambulance driver were injured. #WarCrimes

🛑Russian occupiers attacked Kherson Oblast, killing a 64-year old man in his garden. Source: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration “Russian artillery attacked a residential building in the village of Respublikanets. #WarCrimes

✅President Zelenskyy said he believed in the success of the agreement to supply Ukraine with fighter jets as he visited European capitals. Source: Zelenskyy at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, reported by European Pravda
“Partly, my visits to European capitals are aimed at this very thing [the formation of a “coalition of fighters” – ed.]. I think we will be successful. Today, I will also appeal to the German side to support Ukraine in this coalition. It is very important for us.” “We are not talking about superiority; today Russia has the advantage in the Ukrainian sky. But our task is to be powerful in airspace,” Zelenskyy said.

✅German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the withdrawal of Russian troops is a prerequisite for peace in Ukraine. Source: Scholz at a joint briefing with President Zelenskyy in Berlin on Sunday, reported by European Pravda “Ukraine is ready for peace, but Ukraine, quite understandably and justifiably, wants this not to mean any kind of freezing of the war and dictation from Russia. We are talking about an imperialist, aggressive attack on Ukrainian territory, and therefore the peace and security of Europe are under threat.”

✅During his visit to Germany, President Zelenskyy said that this year it is time to determine the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Source: He said this at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, reports the correspondent of European Pravda. “The time for action is now. We all want this war to finally end, but to end in a just and honest peace. Ukraine and the whole of Europe should be free… Now, this year is the time for us to determine the end of this war. This year we can make the defeat of the aggressor irreversible,” Zelenskyy said.

✅President Zelenskyy has reacted to the Washington Post’s report on Ukraine’s plans to occupy Russian villages, saying that Ukraine is “not infiltrating anything”. Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Germany. A journalist asked whether it was true that Ukraine was planning to infiltrate Russian territory to gain a better position in the war.

“As for ‘infiltration’…As the president of Ukraine, when I want to go somewhere, I go officially, and I don’t infiltrate anywhere.”

✅Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, will encourage world leaders to provide more support for Ukraine when he attends international summits next week. Source: UK Prime Minister’s Office, as reported by European Pravda

✅The Group of Seven (G7) countries and the European Union are planning to ban Russian gas imports via routes where Moscow has previously cut supplies. Source: Financial Times referring to officials taking part in negotiations, as reported by European Pravda

😒There is a consensus among the 31 NATO members that the Alliance will not grant Ukraine an official invitation to join the summit on 11-12 July, but there are differences of opinion among member countries on specific steps for Ukraine’s integration into NATO. Source: The Washington Post, citing representatives of NATO countries who spoke on condition of anonymity

✅But Eastern European nations are pushing for concrete steps toward that goal, including potential commitment to a timeline for Ukraine’s accession, even as the United States and some Western European nations advocate smaller steps that could include a bureaucratic upgrade to a NATO-Ukraine body or a decision to further expand NATO’s technical support to Ukraine’s defense sector.

🛑In Poland, additional soldiers of the territorial defence were recruited to search for an object that flew into the country’s airspace from Belarus on Friday. Source: RMF24 reports this, “European Truth” writes. The search for the object – probably an observation balloon – is concentrated in the area of Rypin settlement in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. About a hundred members of the territorial defence are involved in the search for the object; the work has been going on since dawn.

✅Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Affairs, said that the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is sick, but he does not have Covid. Source: Zatulin in the commentary to the publication Podyem. Zatulin told Podyem that he knew what Lukashenko was ill with, but did not name the diagnosis. “There’s nothing so supernatural there, it’s not Covid. A person just got sick.

🍿The Russians are batshit crazy and morally bankrupt! Tonight’s theme: Crimea referendum BS/People-haters

🔘Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Crimea — an unalienable part of Russia — reunited with the Motherland by popular vote in 2014.
Yet it has become a target of mass disinformation campaign launched by the West. The “25 Questions about Crimea” handbook debunks Western myths & fakes” 🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥

As if anyone is going to believe anything Russia has to say about Crimea. The world knows Crimea is Ukraine!!!

🔘Maria Zakharova: “Nationalistic, people-hating ideology has infected official & pro-government Ukrainian media. The West does not denounce them for publishing stories and editorials openly calling for murder of public activists & journalists. Kiev regime & its Western patrons see this as normal.”🤡💩🖕

Consider the source. Maria has been drinking too much vodka again.

That’s it for tonight folks. Keep those words of support and prayers coming for our Ukrainian friends. Find ways to help! #SlavaUkraini #StandWithUkraine #braveukraine #UkraineWillWin #russiaisaterroriststate #RussiaIsCollapsing #PutinIsaWarCriminal #FuckPutin #fuclukashenko #fuckIran #fuckOrban #fuckmedvedev #FuckLavrov #fuckshoigu #fuckzakharova.

Reported by Christine Stuermer