Reports from Saturday detailed missile attacks and artillery shelling in the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, as well as the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa. Amidst the chaos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the successful downing of a Russian Su-25 fighter-bomber over the Donetsk region.
The regional governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synehubov, disclosed the grim outcome of the Russian shelling on the village of Slobozhanske, where a 49-year-old man was killed near his home. Tragedy also struck the city of Kharkiv, with an 82-year-old woman killed and two men injured. Synehubov added that a missile attack had ignited a fire at a civilian enterprise within an industrial district of Kharkiv city, injuring six employees in the process.
Further south, the governor of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, reported that a missile strike had injured three people in the city. The Ukrainian air force stated that 13 Shahed drones aimed at the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions were neutralized by air defenses. Despite this, falling debris from these drones injured four more individuals and caused a fire in an office building.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, stated that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter-bomber. Zelenskiy’s remarks came as he also noted that Russia had launched a combination of eight missiles and nearly 70 guided aerial bombs against Ukrainian communities and front-line positions during the day.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, near the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, regional governor Serhiy Lysak reported that shelling had injured a 57-year-old woman, damaged infrastructure in Nikopol, and wounded two others in a separate attack.
The intensification of Russian strikes coincides with an escalation in the war, with Ukrainian military acknowledging that Russia has gained a “foothold” in the Donetsk village of Ocheretyne. The region has been subject to heavy fighting, with drone footage revealing a battered landscape and the Ukrainian forces being overwhelmed by Russian artillery and drone strikes.
Ukraine dismisses Russia’s criminal charges against Zelenskiy as an act of “desperation,” in the backdrop of a forthcoming peace summit scheduled in Switzerland, which will proceed without Russian participation.
Relevant articles:
– Ukraine war briefing: Three Ukrainian regions attacked as Zelenskiy says Russian Su-25 bomber shot down , The Guardian, 05/05/2024
– Russia strikes Ukraine, Zelenskyy says Su-25 bomber downed, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 05/05/2024
– Russia hits Ukraine regions, Zelenskiy says Su-25 bomber downed, FBC News, 05/04/2024