cypher

Fedorov names factors giving Ukrainian forces an advantage

Oleksandr Shumilin — 21 May, 12:36

Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov believes the disabling of Starlink for Russian forces and the use of middle-range strike drones have been important factors that have helped slow the advance of the Russians.

Source: Fedorov at a meeting with journalists on the results of the ministry's work

Quote: "In addition to the work of Ukrainian forces and other factors, the disabling of Starlink for the Russians in February 2026 played an important role. The Russians have still not been able to find a full replacement for it and this gives us a critical advantage on the battlefield.

Another important factor, among others, was the development of the middle-range strike capabilities. We began actively procuring middle-range strike drones and today this is one of the main technological advantages on the front. We deliberately placed our bet on this area and that is why we are seeing results. A clear pattern is already visible on the dashboards: the more the enemy is destroyed at operational depth, the fewer assault operations take place on the front."

Details: Fedorov said Ukraine has already managed to significantly slow the Russian advance and is "gradually seizing the initiative".

Quote: "Today, every kilometre of advance costs the enemy disproportionately heavy losses. In October, Russia was losing 67 troops per 1 sq km of advance. By January, this had risen to 165, then to 244 in February, 254 in March and 179 in April."

Ukrainska Pravda

quote:

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TACO will re-institute the waivers within two days.

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you called it...

US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver for 30 more days

Olha Kovalchuk, Anastasia Protz — 18 May, 19:57

The US Department of the Treasury has extended a temporary licence that allows certain countries to purchase Russian oil already at sea for another month.

Source: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Bessent said the temporary 30-day general licence will enable "the most vulnerable nations" to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea.

He said the measure will help stabilise global markets.

Quote: "This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide specific licences as needed. This general licence will help stabilise the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries."

Details: The decision was officially announced just two days after Washington reinstated sanctions on Russian oil by not extending the previous exemption.

Ukrainska Pravda

Ukraine's Security Service reports strikes on nine locations in Moscow Oblast and Crimea – video

Roman Petrenko — 17 May, 14:16

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), together with Ukraine's defence forces, struck a military facility and several oil infrastructure facilities in Moscow Oblast, as well as the Belbek military airfield in occupied Crimea on the night of 16-17 May.

Source: SSU in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Details: In particular, the Alpha Special Operations Centre and Ukraine's defence forces carried out strikes on several locations in Moscow Oblast.

The following targets were hit in Moscow Oblast:

the Moscow oil refinery
the Solnechnogorskaya oil pumping station
the Volodarskaya oil pumping station
the Angstrem plant, which supplies semiconductors for Russia's military-industrial complex and is under US sanctions.

In addition, according to the SSU, infrastructure and air defence assets at the Belbek military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea were struck, particularly the following:

a Pantsir-S2 anti-aircraft missile system
a storage facility containing radar equipment for an S-400 system
an Orion UAV control system and a ground control station for Forpost UAVs
a ground-to-air data transmission point
the air traffic control tower and a hangar at Belbek airfield.

Background: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the SSU and the defence forces for their precision strikes on Moscow Oblast.

Ukrainska Pravda

SPRAVDI - Stratcom Centre?
?@stratcomcentre.bsky.social?
· 1h
Ukraine's Military Intelligence warns that today's ongoing Russian drone attack is likely only the preparatory phase of a forthcoming larger missile attack in the coming hours.

Specifically, this attack is said to likely focus on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government buildings.

Magyar video explains the drone math....

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Putin’s War Comes Home to Moscow

He can no longer hide the consequences from the Russian public.

Four years ago, President Vladimir Putin offered Moscow and its business elite a de facto deal: support my war in Ukraine, and in exchange you won’t have to think about it. In the past week, that deal was broken.

The Atlantic (no paywall)

watch until the end...

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy /
@ZelenskyyUa
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36m
In recent days, there have been many appeals and signals regarding the setup for tomorrow in Moscow in connection with our Ukrainian long-range sanctions. The principle of symmetry in our actions is well known and has been clearly communicated to the Russian side. An additional argument for Ukraine in determining our position has always been the resolution of one of the key humanitarian issues of this war – namely, the release of prisoners of war. Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home.

That is why today, within the framework of the negotiating process mediated by the American side, we received Russia’s agreement to conduct a prisoner exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000. A ceasefire regime must also be established on May 9, 10, and 11. Ukraine is consistently working to bring its people home from Russian captivity. I have instructed our team to promptly prepare everything necessary for the exchange.

I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement. We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.
Glory to Ukraine!