Key developments on May 10:
- Zelensky: Russia launches new offensive in Kharkiv Oblast
- Media: Fighting ongoing near several Kharkiv Oblast villages, Russia storming Pletenivka
- Military: Russia unsuccessfully tries to break through in Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts
- Commander: 'Critical phase' in Russia's war to come in next 2 months
- Biden approves $400 million defense aid package for Ukraine
- Source: Military intelligence drones strike oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga Oblast
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 10 that Russian forces had begun a new offensive operation targeting Kharkiv Oblast.
"Russia began a new wave of offensive actions in (Kharkiv's) direction. Ukraine met (Russian forces) there with our troops, brigades, and artillery," Zelensky said during the press briefing with Slovak President Zuzana Caputova in Kyiv.
Moscow recently intensified attacks against Kharkiv amid reports that Russia might plan to attack the city as part of a wider offensive in the coming months.
The Defense Ministry earlier in the day reported that the Russian military attempted a breakthrough of Ukraine's line of defense in Kharkiv Oblast.
Zelensky said that Russian troops could mobilize assault units further in the region. The president added that the Ukrainian command had known about a potential offensive in this direction and had been preparing.
"Now, there is a fierce battle going on in (Kharkiv's) direction," Zelensky said.
As of 1:30 p.m. local time, at least two people were killed, and five were injured amid intense Russian attacks in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defense lines at around 5 a.m. local time, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Russian attack has been held off, but the battles of varying intensity have continued, the ministry's statement read.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said earlier the attack "does not pose a threat" to the regional center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
Russian forces failed to take Kharkiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion despite the fact the city lies less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
Alexander Khrebet
Media: Fighting ongoing near several Kharkiv Oblast villages, Russia storming Pletenivka
Russian troops are storming the outskirts of the border village of Pletenivka in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported on May 10, citing an undisclosed military source.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported earlier in the day that Russian forces launched an attempt to break through in Kharkiv Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelensky later confirmed that Russia was carrying out new offensive operations in the area.
Pletenivka lies around 2 kilometers from the border with Russia. Ukrainian soldiers are also blocking the advance of Russian troops near the village of Hatyshche while active fighting continues, according to Ukrainska Pravda's source.
"Active firefights are ongoing near the village of Krasne. The Defense Forces are inflicting fire on the enemy in this combat area," the source told Ukrainska Pravda.
When asked by the Kyiv Independent about the situation near these settlements, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, said he could not confirm or deny these reports.
"I cannot say any more information now in the interest of operation. There will be information, but later," Voloshyn said.
After reports that Russian troops had allegedly captured several villages in Kharkiv Oblast as they attempt to push toward Vovchansk, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that border settlements are in a "grey zone" and hostilities are ongoing but that no ground was lost at that moment.
Martin Fornusek
Military: Russia unsuccessfully tries to break through in Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts
Russian forces are unsuccessfully trying to break through near the Serebryanskyi forest and in the Lyman area in northeastern Ukraine, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, said on national television on May 10.
The Russian military constantly attempts to storm the village of Nevske and the area of the Serebryanskyi forest in Luhansk Oblast and shells the city of Makiivka in Donetsk Oblast, trying to gain better positions for further attacks, according to Voloshyn.
"(Russian forces) are trying to break through to the city of Siversk (Donetsk Oblast) in order to cut off the Siversky ledge and enter the Ukrainian rear in the Serebryanskyi forest," Voloshyn said.
"The enemy is trying to break through the line of defense of the Ukrainian defenders in the Terny and Nevske settlements in order to go further into the Lyman area, but they are not succeeding," he added.
Igor Kossov
Russian troops carry out from 10 to 20 assaults per day, mainly using their infantry, sometimes with the assistance of heavy weaponry, according to Voloshyn.
The spokesperson said that Ukrainian forces are currently trying to push the Russian troops back from elevated areas to prevent further drone attacks.
The settlements of Nevske, Makiivka, Terny, and Siversk are located nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russia captured in June 2022.
Russian forces recently intensified offensive operations around these settlements to advance further in the direction of the Kramatorsk agglomeration.
Ukrainian troops retreated in late April west from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast.
The Khortytsia Ggroup of Ukraine’s Ground Forces said that Russian forces also managed to break in and gain a foothold in a part of the village of Ocheretyne in the region.
Russia aims to completely occupy Donetsk, Luhansk, and, if possible, Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2024, according to Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine’s Ground Forces commander.
Commander: 'Critical phase' in Russia's war to come in next 2 months
The "critical phase" in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine will come in the next two months, Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine's Ground Forces commander, said in an interview with The Economist published on May 10.
Pavliuk's statement echoed President Volodymyr Zelensky's words that Ukraine is facing a "new stage" in the all-out war as Russia is preparing to expand its offensive. Russian forces began a new offensive operation on May 10, targeting Kharkiv Oblast, Zelensky said.
Russia is likely trying to take as much territory as possible before the impact of the recently passed U.S. aid bill for Ukraine can be felt on the battlefield.
"Russia knows that if we receive enough weapons within a month or two, the situation could turn against them," Pavliuk said.
Chasiv Yar, a town in Donetsk Oblast, remains one of Russia's key targets as it could facilitate further advances toward the nearby cities of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk.
Russia aims to completely occupy Donetsk, Luhansk, and, if possible, Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2024, Pavliuk said earlier.
Pavliuk told The Economist that Russia could continue to focus on Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts and is testing the stability of Ukraine's defense lines before choosing "the most suitable direction."
Francis Farrell
Biden approves $400 million defense aid package for Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden on May 10 authorized a $400 million defense aid package for Ukraine, according to a statement on the White House's website.
"I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State... to direct the drawdown of up to $400 million in defense articles and services of the Defense Department... to provide assistance to Ukraine," the statement read.
The Pentagon unveiled the content of the new package, namely ammunition for Patriot and NASAMS air defenses, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, HIMARS systems and ammunition, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, and equipment to integrate Western launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukrainian systems.
The package further contains Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M113 armored personnel carriers, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, trailers, TOW missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank launchers, precision aerial munitions, and High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs).
It also contains small arms and small arms ammunition, demolition munitions, coastal patrol boats, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protective equipment, spare parts, and other ancillary equipment.
Ian Bremmer
In April, the U.S. passed a long-awaited $61 billion aid package, with much of it covering military aid.
The Pentagon announced on April 26 that it was ready to move forward with sending $1 billion worth of weapons to Kyiv from U.S. stockpiles.
Russia has taken advantage of Ukraine's growing battlefield ammunition shortages, taking the city of Avdiivka in February. Russian troops also continue to intensify attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure this spring.
Source: Military intelligence drones strike oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga Oblast
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) was behind a May 10 attack on the oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga Oblast, a source in the agency confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
Kaluga Oblast Governor Vladyslav Shapsha claimed earlier in the day that a falling drone caused a fire in the Dzerzhinsky district overnight.
The governor did not specify the facility being attacked, but locals reported the fire at the Pervyy Zavod plant, the largest petrochemical enterprise in Kaluga Oblast, according to the Russian Telegram channel Mash.
The oil refinery, located nearly 350 kilometers (around 220 miles) from Ukraine's border, specializes in the processing of commodity oil and gas condensate.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed later that Russian air defenses downed a drone heading toward the Russian capital.
No casualties or damage were reported by the mayor.
The source confirmed for the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine's military intelligence agency was involved in the attack. The strike reportedly was carried out with kamikaze drones.
Ukrainian forces previously struck the Pervyy Zavod plant on March 15.
Ukraine has launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia's oil industry this spring.
On May 9, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attacked an oil refinery, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, and two oil depots in Krasnodar Krai, according to a source interviewed by the Kyiv Independent.
Strikes against Russian energy targets have prompted criticism from U.S. officials, who have made it clear that Washington does not support Ukraine's attacks on oil refineries, citing fears that it could threaten the global energy market.
In response, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv has the right to use its own weapons with retaliatory strikes on Russian oil refineries.
