US Secretary of State Blinken arrived in Ukraine for an unannounced visit. Germany and the Nordic countries have promised new arms deliveries in view of the Russian offensive. All news about the war against Ukraine in the news ticker.
Wednesday, May 15, 9:39 a.m.: In view of the latest Russian offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, the Ukrainian army says it has had to withdraw soldiers from individual positions there. Because of the worsening situation on the front, President Zelensky also canceled a planned trip abroad to Spain and Portugal.
“As a result of combat and offensive actions of the enemy, our units carried out maneuvers in certain areas in the Lukyantsi and Vovchansk regions and moved to more advantageous positions in order to save the lives of our soldiers and avoid casualties,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in Wednesday night on Facebook. The message also said: “The fighting continues.”
9:41 p.m.: According to official information, at least 21 people were injured in new Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. There were three children among the victims, the public prosecutor’s office in the region bordering Russia said on Telegram on Tuesday evening. Ukrainian authorities reported several airstrikes that rocked the city throughout the day and were also said to have hit a multi-story residential building.
In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again insisted on more international help with air defense, especially from Kharkiv. “If we had already gotten two Patriot systems for this region, then that would have made a difference to the overall situation in the war,” emphasized Zelensky, who met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to Ukraine, earlier in the day.
11:31 a.m.: Kyryl Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, commented on the situation at the front. In a video interview from a bunker in Kharkiv, he painted a terrible picture. “The situation is in jeopardy,” he told the New York Times. “Every hour the situation is moving towards critical.”
He assumes that Russia’s attacks in northeastern Ukraine serve to strain the already scarce soldier reserves. Attempts are being made to withdraw troops from other frontline areas to strengthen defenses in the northeast, but this is a difficult undertaking.
“All our troops are either here or in Chasiv Yar,” says Budanov. “I used everything we have. Unfortunately, we no longer have anyone in reserve.” Ukraine’s task is still clear. “Right now our job is to stabilize the line and then start pushing it back across the border.
That has already been achieved. Some Ukrainian reservists managed to “partially thwart their plans,” says Budanov. He also expects Russia to launch a new attack in Sumy, north of Kharkiv.
11.20 a.m.: According to media reports, a freight train was derailed by a drone attack in the Volgograd region of Russia. The drone crashed into a fuel cistern, the Baza news channel reported on Tuesday. Officially, the only reason given for the train accident was external influence. “According to preliminary information, there are no injuries,” the Russian Railways press service said. The derailed train caused 300 meters of rail damage in the town of Kotluban. The fire in the cistern and a wagon loaded with wood was extinguished. The region is more than 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Videos showed the derailed wagons scattered far along the tracks. Some of them were badly damaged. The route was only reopened to a single lane after several hours.
8:56 a.m.: Shortly after a corruption scandal and the dismissal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, another high-ranking general was arrested in Russia. The person affected is the head of the cadre administration at the ministry, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetzov, who is accused of a crime, the state news agency Tass reported on Tuesday. The agency did not provide any further information. Meanwhile, the military blog Rybar, which is well connected to the ministry, reported that investigators were interested in Kuznetsov’s activities in his previous post, when he was head of the service for the protection of state secrets. The police searched the officer’s office and home.
It was only at the end of April that a high-ranking general, Timur Ivanov, came into the investigators’ sights. The deputy defense minister responsible for construction projects was arrested over a bribery scandal. Ivanov was considered a close confidant of Minister Shoigu. President Vladimir Putin replaced Shoigu as defense minister as part of a government reshuffle. However, the 68-year-old got an honorable exit when he was appointed secretary of the National Security Council.
Experts also see the revelation of the scandals at the ministry against the background of the war of aggression against Ukraine. After more than two years, the results of the Russian invasion are still poor from the Kremlin’s perspective.
7:37 a.m.: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kiev for an unannounced visit. He arrived on a night train from Poland on Tuesday morning, as a journalist accompanying him reported to the AFP news agency. It is Blinken’s fourth visit to Kiev since the Russian war of aggression began in February 2022. Among other things, a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is planned.
Above all, the trip was intended to send a strong signal of support for the Ukrainians, who are clearly in “a very difficult” situation, a senior US government official told reporters during the train ride to Kiev. He referred to the fighting on the front in the east and the attacks on the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.
“However, we are very confident that the Ukrainians will be able to push back the Russians more and more effectively as our help arrives from the United States and other allies and partners,” the US official added.
The Ukrainian army is currently coming under increasing pressure from a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region. On Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged “tactical successes” by Russian troops in the region in northeastern Ukraine. According to Ukrainian information, the Russian army launched a ground offensive in the Kharkiv region from Russia on Friday.
The USA has announced several aid commitments to Ukraine in recent weeks. They came after the US Congress approved military aid worth $61 billion (around €56 billion) for Kiev in April after months of blockage.
In addition to the conversation with Zelensky, Blinken plans to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and representatives of civil society in Kiev. He also wants to give a speech on the topic “Ukraine’s strategic success”. Another topic of the visit is a bilateral defense agreement that the USA wants to conclude with Kiev before the NATO summit in Washington in July. Negotiations on the agreement are in the “final stages,” the US government official said.
3:20 a.m.: The new Russian attack will cause major problems for Ukraine in the coming months, the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) wrote in an analysis. In the analysis, the expert George Barros criticized Washington’s ban on Ukraine not being allowed to use weapons supplied by the USA against Russian territory. This limits Ukraine’s defense capability. For the Russian army, however, it creates a kind of reserve in which it can prepare its attacks unhindered. The Russian Air Force could launch glide bombs from its own airspace unhindered on the city of Kharkiv. The USA and Germany have imposed restrictions because they hope that this will avoid an escalation with Russia.
3:24 a.m.: In view of the Russian offensive in northeastern Ukraine, Germany and the Nordic countries promised additional weapons. “We are united in our support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian attack,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a meeting with the heads of government of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland in Stockholm. “We will continue to support Ukraine – for as long as necessary.”
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the situation on the battlefield was critical and it was time to respond and do more. “We don’t want to see a new Mariupol in Kharkiv. That is why every single country in the West, in the European Union, must immediately do everything they can.” However, there were no concrete new commitments at the meeting, for example for more Patriot air defense systems. The federal government is currently trying to organize additional Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine.
More about the Ukraine conflict on the next page.
