Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 05-12-2024

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Russian forces have, in recent days, made small but significant gains right along the border in the Kharkiv region. Their advances are only a few miles deep but have swallowed up around 100km (62 miles) of Ukrainian territory. In the more heavily defended east of Ukraine, it’s taken Russia months to achieve the same. Commander of a Ukrainian Special Reconnaissance Unit, Denys, wants to know what happened to Ukraine’s defences. “There was no first line of defence. We saw it. The Russians just walked in. They just walked in, without any mined fields” he says. He shows me video from a drone feed taken a few days ago of small columns of Russian troops simply walking across the border, unopposed. He says officials had claimed that defences were being built at huge cost, but in his view, those defences simply weren’t there. “Either it was an act of negligence, or corruption. It wasn’t a failure. It was a betrayal”. - BBC

Russia is blaming a Ukrainian strike after an entire section of an apartment building collapsed following an explosion in Belgorod. CCTV from the scene shows a large blast near the base of the 10-storey block and then the building falling in. The regional governor said two bodies had been pulled from the rubble. At least 19 people have been injured. The Russian city is near the border with Kharkiv in Ukraine, where Moscow's troops launched an offensive on Friday. The Belgorod region has often been targeted by Ukrainian forces since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but previously Ukrainian officials have said cross-border strikes do not target civilians.

Roughly 350 million eligible voters in 27 countries will elect a new EU Parliament in a month's time. Commentators are sceptical about the next EU legislature.

More indecisive than ever

The EU is above all full of contradictions, Avvenire sighs:

Ukrainian intelligence reported being aware of Russian plans to launch an offensive in the Kharkiv region. The HUR says that Russian troops are suffering heavy losses.

The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleh Synegubov, said during a telethon that both the “gray zone” and the number of settlements experiencing fighting with Russian troops have increased in the region.

“The enemy continues its efforts to advance deep into the Kharkiv region,” Synegubov reported.

The Russian Ministry of Defense accuses Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” in Belgorod, while the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation suggests an internal explosion.

Explosions rang out in the Russian border city of Belgorod on Sunday, May 12, followed by the collapse of the entrance of a high-rise building from the tenth to the first floor.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine became the largest importer of weapons in Europe, but Ukrainian weapons makers feel they could become one of the world’s top ten weapons exporters.

In the first part of this two-part series, Kyiv Post focused on how it's possible for a country desperately in need of arms for its defense to, simultaneously, export other weapons.

In this second part, we examine the potential for Ukraine to offer weapons for export.

Ukrainian pilots are reportedly using so-called “wild weasel” tactics to entice Russian air defense radars to switch on before hitting them with Western-supplied anti-radar missiles.

The US Business Insider website reported on May 11 that Ukraine’s pilots are adopting a high-risk tactic first used by the US Air Force, helping to compensate for their numerical disadvantage in the face of Russian aviation assets.

It essentially involves pilots flying in an area they know to be covered by Russian air defenses and tempting them to switch on their target acquisition radars.

The Friendship Games are slated to take place in Russia on September 15-29, around a month after the Olympics end, with medals and money on offer to the winners.

Russia's plan to host a rival event to the Paris Olympics in September proves "it disregards the principles of Olympism" and just wants to use sport as propaganda, Ukraine's Acting Sportstviy BidMinister Manyi has told AFP.

The Friendship Games are slated to take place in Russia on September 15-29, around a month after the Olympics end, with medals and money on offer to the winners.

October to November 2023 – Russian Shahed drones terrorize Ukraine’s civilians, but Kremlin uses all weapon types on border and frontline hamlets, giving up pretense it only hits military targets.

Please find the previous parts of the digest below:

February to March 2022

Ukrainian drones attacked the Volgograd oil refinery for the second time in the last two days. Today's attack was confirmed by regional governor Andrii Bocharov.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (HUR) was behind the overnight attack on two oil refineries and a metallurgical plant in Russia, sources within the special services told Kyiv Post.

During the operation, the Volgograd Oil Refinery was targeted by a drone strike, resulting in a subsequent fire.

Nataliia Feshchenko, a Ukrainian artist from Kyiv, is currently a refugee in Barcelona. She recently opened an art studio. Kyiv Post's Chief Editor Bohdan Nahaylo interviewed her outside her gallery.

Over 4,000 people evacuated in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.

Thousands of people been evacuated from border areas in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as Russia kept up constant strikes on a key town as part of a cross-border offensive, officials said Sunday.

The surprise Russian attack across Ukraine's northeastern border began on Friday, with troops making small advances in an area from where they had been pushed back nearly two years ago.

The Palestinian push for full UN membership comes seven months into a war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday (10 May) overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably.”

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member – a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state – after the United States vetoed it in the UN Security Council last month.

Now that the cheering has subsided over the $61 billion aid for Kyiv, Europe and Ukraine may face a future without America’s reassuring support. The following eight months are crucial.

In a previous opinion piece (Ukraine in the Post-America Era), I outlined potential scenarios for Ukraine if Congress failed to provide additional appropriations. Despite the recent approval of an extra $61 billion, the situation is not as promising as it may seem. Ukraine and Europe must urgently prepare for a future without further US funding or support from a new administration that may turn its back on Europe. Even if the current administration continues in office, the likelihood of congressional approval of additional funding will likely be slim. This ushers in a pressing “post-American era” that demands immediate attention.

Europe must seize the next eight months to further decrease its dependency on the US. America will remain a significant force in the world but may no longer wish or afford to be Europe’s backstop. Europe has enjoyed nearly 80 years of American protection, but the time has come for Europe to transition to complete reliance on itself for regional security. A new neo-nazi/neo-bolshevik “Axis of Evil” has arisen, consisting of states sharing a solid aversion to democracy and human rights. By assuming more of America’s burden in its own defense, Europe will enhance America’s ability to meet this global challenge in more distant places.

Ukrainian champion boxer Vasyl Lomachenko clinches the IBF lightweight world title.

Ukrainian boxing great Vasyl Lomachenko clinched the IBF lightweight world title on Sunday after producing a supreme performance to stop Australia's George Kambosos in the 11th round in Perth. 

In the main event at a sold-out 15,000 RAC Arena, heavy favourite Lomachenko defied the rowdy home crowd and dominated throughout.

Ukraine’s HUR has published a list of 36 members of the Russian aerospace forces and the serial numbers of 11 MiG-31K aircraft responsible for launching Kinzhal missiles against Ukraine.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (HUR) said on May 11 that it has identified the Russian unit and its base location along with the aircrews and aircraft used to launch the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (Dagger) high speed missiles (NATO: AS-24 Killjoy) against Ukraine.

According to the information posted on Telegram, the unit responsible is the 44th separate special purpose aviation regiment, formed on Dec. 1, 2021. The Russian aerospace unit is based at the Savasleika airfield located about 1,000 kilometers northeast of Kyiv in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Zelensky highlighted the urgency of disrupting Russian offensive strategies and urged allies to expedite arms deliveries.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday that Ukrainian troops had been carrying out counterattacks in border villages in the Kharkiv region.

“Disrupting Russian offensive plans is now our number one task,” he said.

Ukraine’s representatives, Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil, performing the song “Teresa & Maria,” clinched third place with a total of 453 points.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest 2024, hosted at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, concluded with Switzerland’s Nemo emerging victorious with the song “The Code.”

Nemo garnered 591 points from both the audience and national juries.

Olga Shapoval, executive director of the Kharkiv IT Cluster, told Kyiv Post how tech companies in Kharkiv have learned to leverage their proximity to the front to their advantage.

Amidst the constant bombardment and regular blackouts, Kharkiv’s tech sector stood strong.

Situated just 30 kilometers south of the Russian border, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has borne the brunt of Russia’s full-scale invasion – but the local tech companies have learned to adapt and overcome the adverse conditions, Olga Shapoval, executive director of the Kharkiv IT Cluster, said.