Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian positions in northern Pokrovsk 'almost cut off' amid mounting Russian pressure
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Key developments on May 18:
- 'Hide-and-seek with death' — Ukraine details grim situation in Pokrovsk
- Ukraine claims control of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, military intelligence says
- Belarus starts nuclear drills with Russia days after Zelensky warns of attacks on Ukraine, NATO
- Ukraine develops 1st domestically produced guided glide bomb, ready for combat use
- Russia calls for Ukraine peace talks to resume after months of downplaying them
- At least 2 killed, 51 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day
Ukrainian troops are holding several positions in northern Pokrovsk that are "almost cut off" as Russian forces increasingly dominate the skies, logistics routes, and high ground around the embattled Donetsk Oblast city, Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps said in a detailed battlefield assessment published on X on May 18.
The statement offers a sobering picture of the deteriorating situation north of Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian troops say Russian drone superiority has made troop rotations, evacuations, and resupply missions nearly impossible.
According to the corps, Russian forces "control the high ground and the city's buildings," while deploying surveillance and electronic warfare systems that dominate the skies over northern Pokrovsk and nearby Hryshyne.
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, told the Kyiv Independent that the positions described by the corps "should have been withdrawn months ago."
"Keeping those soldiers there is frankly just a waste of good soldiers. There is no reason to try to cling on to those small positions just outside Pokrovsk. Maybe there are still some forces trapped inside the town itself, but their impact on the battlefield is very limited," Paroinen said.
The analyst added that Russian forces have already "practically gained control" over Pokrovsk and nearby Myrnohrad, though they have so far struggled to exploit those gains and push further.
According to Paroinen, Russian forces continue attempting to infiltrate westward past Pokrovsk toward Dobropillia and nearby villages such as Hryshyne, but those efforts have yielded only "very small incremental gains" against heavily fortified Ukrainian positions.
"Right now Russia has well enough trouble just basically trying to get forward at all in this direction," he said, adding that the last three to three-and-a-half months have been "really painful for Russians."
Pokrovsk has long served as a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, located at the intersection of major rail and highway routes. In a costly operation that has lasted more than a year, Russia has committed a large number of troops in an effort to capture the city.
Ukraine claims control of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, military intelligence says
Ukraine has pushed back Russian forces from the southeastern town of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) reported on May 18.
The Ukrainian advance was confirmed by footage of Ukrainian troop movements released by HUR, which shows soldiers from the "Artan" special unit of Ukrainian military intelligence engaging Russian forces in Stepnohirsk. The tactically significant town is located 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) south of Zaporizhzhia and sits along the important North-South E105 highway.
Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian armored vehicles operating at a crossroad on the highway as they transited to central Stepnohirsk, areas that had previously been assessed by Ukrainian battlefield monitoring map DeepState as firmly under Russian control.
"During the operation, which took place in close coordination with adjacent units, military intelligence special forces conducted a series of active offensive actions in order to oust the Russian occupiers from the town and stabilize the situation in the settlement," the Artan special unit said in a statement published on Telegram.
"As a result of fighting in difficult urban conditions, the Russian occupying forces were knocked out of fortified positions, and key locations in Stepnohirsk came under the control of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine", the statement continued.
Russian troops had never occupied Stepnohirsk, but their infiltration groups have regularly crept into the town, specifically from Kamianske, a town located five kilometers (about three miles) to the south along the highway, according to Vladyslav Voloshyn, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces.
Voloshyn said Russia has been trying to capture Stepnohirsk to advance closer to Zaporizhzhia, the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Belarus starts nuclear drills with Russia days after Zelensky warns of attacks on Ukraine, NATO
Belarus has begun nuclear weapons drills together with Russia "to improve the readiness of the armed forces to use modern means of destruction, including special ammunition," the country's Defense Ministry announced on May 18.
The exercises have added significance as they come amid growing warnings from Kyiv that Russia is trying to draw Belarus deeper into its war against Ukraine, while also expanding military infrastructure that could support future Russian operations against Ukraine or NATO's eastern flank.
The ministry said a key feature of the drills will be testing the military's ability to conduct combat operations from "unplanned" locations across the country.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned the exercises, calling Russia-Belarus nuclear cooperation "an unprecedented challenge to the global security architecture," adding that the drills violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by involving a non-nuclear state in preparations linked to nuclear weapons use.
"Turning Belarus into its nuclear bridgehead near NATO borders, the Kremlin is effectively legitimizing the spread of nuclear weapons globally and creating a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes," the statement read.
Ukraine develops 1st domestically produced guided glide bomb, ready for combat use
Ukraine has developed its first domestically produced guided glide bomb which is ready for combat use, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on May 18.
The development is significant as glide bombs are a primitive yet highly destructive weapon widely used against front-line areas. Russia has continuously modified the bombs to increase their range and destructive power, turning them into one of the biggest threats to both Ukrainian troop positions and civilians near the front line.
According to Fedorov, the Ukrainian-made glide bomb carries a 250-kilogram warhead and took 17 months to develop. The Defense Ministry has already purchased an initial experimental batch, while pilots are currently rehearsing combat scenarios and adapting the weapon for use in real wartime conditions.
"This is not a copy of Western or Soviet solutions, but an original development by Ukrainian engineers designed to effectively strike fortifications, command posts, and other enemy targets dozens of kilometers behind the front line after launch," Fedorov said.
A glide bomb is a conventional air-dropped bomb fitted with wings and guidance systems, allowing it to travel long distances after being released by an aircraft instead of falling directly onto a target.
Up until now, Ukraine has relied on Western-supplied Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits to modify so-called dumb bombs into glide bombs.
Russia calls for Ukraine peace talks to resume after months of downplaying them
U.S.-mediated peace talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine are currently on pause, but Moscow hopes the process will resume, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 18.
The statement marks a shift in Moscow's rhetoric, following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's April 18 statement that negotiations with Ukraine were not Russia's top priority.
"We expect that (the peace process) will be resumed after all. And we expect our American colleagues to continue their peacemaking and mediation efforts in this regard," Peskov said.
The change in tone comes as Ukraine is increasingly seen as regaining the initiative both on the battlefield and in long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.
The latest trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. took place on Feb. 16. A follow-up meeting initially planned for late February and later postponed to early March was canceled shortly before U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran shifted Washington's focus toward the Middle East.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged both Washington and Moscow to restart negotiations, saying he does not believe the peace process has reached a dead end.
At least 4 killed, 60 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least four people and injured 60 others over the past day, regional authorities reported early on May 18.
Russia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles, including 14 ballistic missiles, Ukraine's Air Force said. Of them, 503 drones and 4 missiles were shot down. Direct hits by 18 missiles and 16 drones were recorded at 34 locations.
One person was killed, and nine others were injured in Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. The attacks targeted critical infrastructure and civilian areas, damaging at least 15 houses, a shop, a bus, and several cars.
In Sumy Oblast, Russian attacks killed one person and injured four others, according to local authorities. Russian forces carried out 50 strikes, focusing on residential infrastructure.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was among the hardest hit regions, with 28 people wounded in the regional capital, Dnipro, following a Russian attack on the night of May 18, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
In Kryvyi Rih, two men aged 36 and 40 were also injured. A 74-year-old woman in Kamianske and a 65-year-old man in Synelnykove district were also wounded overnight on May 18, according to the local authorities.
Meanwhile, the day before, two civilians were killed in Russian attacks in Nikopol district, while four others were wounded. In Synelnykove district, Russian strikes wounded a 41-year-old man, Hanzha said.
Russian attacks across Donetsk Oblast injured four people and heavily damaged residential areas, local authorities reported. At least 24 houses and six apartment buildings were damaged, alongside civilian infrastructure, shops, warehouses, and vehicles. Russian forces struck populated areas in the region 24 times in total.
Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast injured three people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said. Russian troops carried out 756 strikes on 42 settlements.
Russian forces launched a mass drone attack against Odesa, injuring two people, an 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man, local authorities said. Drone strikes hit three residential buildings, completely destroying one of them.
Russian drones also struck two civilian vessels flying the flags of Guinea-Bissau and the Marshall Islands. The latter owned by a Chinese company and carrying a crew of Chinese nationals. The vessels were traveling through Ukraine's maritime corridor toward the ports of Greater Odesa. No casualties were reported, and both vessels continued toward port.
A 63-year-old woman was injured in a Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. In total, eight settlements were damaged in the attacks.
