Russian forces conducted a limited series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of May 16 to 17 and individual missile strikes on May 17.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk reported that Russian forces launched 20 Shahed-136/131 drones from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai, and Kursk Oblast and that Ukrainian forces destroyed all 20 Shaheds over Kharkiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Mykolaiv oblasts on the night of May 16 to 17.[74] Odesa Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Kiper reported that Russian forces struck Odesa City with an unspecified number and type of missiles on May 17.[75]
understandingwar.org/...
Struggling to contain Russian advances on the battlefield, Ukraine is increasingly taking the fight to Russia beyond the front lines in an effort to disrupt its military operations and put pressure on its economy — targeting airfields, logistics hubs and critical energy facilities with missiles and drones.
That strategy was on full display early on Friday when a series of explosions struck fuel depots, oil facilities and a power station in southwestern Russia and Crimea, the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula. Just a day before, Ukrainian missiles hit an airfield in Crimea, destroying at least three jets.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones on Friday, a figure that would represent one of Ukraine’s largest air assaults against Russia in months. A Ukrainian security official said Ukraine was behind the attack.
Although the full extent of the damage was unclear, the Russian authorities reported that an electricity substation was hit in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, leading to rolling blackouts. Just 70 miles east of Crimea, on Russia’s Black Sea coast, fires broke out at several oil facilities, including in the port of Novorossiysk, which operates an important oil terminal. Crimea, which Russia illegally seized a decade ago, and nearby Russian Black Sea ports have long been a prime target for the Ukrainian military.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin framed Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast as part of Russian efforts to create a "buffer zone" to protect Russian border areas from Ukrainian strikes, confirming ISW's previous assessments. Putin responded to a journalist's question about Russian forces' objectives in the Kharkiv direction, stating that Russian forces are achieving success "according to plan" and that Russian forces have no immediate plans to seize Kharkiv City.[1] Putin stated that Russian offensive operations in the Kharkiv direction are aimed at creating a "buffer zone" to protect Russian border areas, including Belgorod City, from Ukrainian strikes. ISW previously assessed that Russian forces appear to be prioritizing the establishment of a "buffer zone" along the international border over setting conditions for deeper penetrations into northern Kharkiv Oblast.[2]
understandingwar.org/...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces have stabilized the front in northern Kharkiv Oblast and that Russian forces have not reached Ukraine's "concrete" and "most powerful" line of defense in the area.[3] Zelensky stated that Russian forces have currently reached the "first line" that Ukrainian forces built further from the border and that Ukrainian forces have also built a second and third line of defense. Zelensky described the third line of defense as the "most powerful" as it is further from the border and was not under threat of Russian shelling during its construction. Zelensky noted that Ukrainian forces have stabilized the situation in the area and that the deepest Russian forces have advanced is 10 kilometers, which is consistent with ISW's assessment of Russian advances near Lyptsi. Western and Ukrainian media reported on May 10 that Ukrainian military sources stated that Russian forces intend to establish a 10-kilometer-deep buffer zone along the northern border of Kharkiv Oblast, and Russian forces will likely prioritize leveling the front in northern Kharkiv Oblast at this depth over deeper penetrations.[4]
understandingwar.org/...
Last week, the Russian military opened a new front in its invasion of Ukraine.
Launching an offensive into the Kharkiv region, Russian forces quickly advanced several kilometers, managing to reoccupy several villages that were liberated during Ukraine’s successful offensive in September 2022. They have not yet reached the main line of defenses east of the city, which are held by brigades better equipped and more experienced than those closer to the border. But the situation is serious.
By threatening Ukraine’s second most populous city, Russia hopes to pin Ukrainian resources in the region, exposing the front elsewhere. Ukraine’s immediate priority is to stabilize the front line and prevent a major Russian breakthrough, which it may be able to do. But it is dealing with a series of challenges that have accumulated since last year and will not be quick to resolve. Despite the recent passing of the aid bill in Congress, which freed up billions in assistance for Kyiv, things are likely to get worse before they get better.
Russia’s aim is not to take Kharkiv, but to menace it by advancing toward the city and threatening it with artillery. While Russia lacks the forces to assault the city itself, the operation is designed to create a dilemma. Ukrainian forces are already stretched relatively thin; by drawing Ukraine’s reserves and better units to the defense of Kharkiv, the Russian attack weakens other parts of the front line. Russia remains focused on occupying the remainder of the Donetsk region in the east, looking to seize key transit hubs and population centers.
www.nytimes.com/…
We are back now dealing with one of the inanities of US escalation policy. That is that the US has been keeping Ukraine from firing US-supplied weapons onto Russian soil, even if the Russians are firing at Ukrainians from Russia. Its been a long-standing policy of the US in this war. Yes, I do know that Secretary of State Blinken used somewhat ambiguous words on this yesterday—but the fact is the policy remains. You want to know why I can say this? Because there are no Ukrainian attacks into Russia with US made weapons and the Ukrainians are still asking for that ability. If they had the green light to do so, they certainly would.
phillipspobrien.substack.com/...
- Russian President Vladimir Putin framed Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast as part of Russian efforts to create a "buffer zone" to protect Russian border areas from Ukrainian strikes, confirming ISW's previous assessments.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces have stabilized the front in northern Kharkiv Oblast and that Russian forces have not reached Ukraine's "concrete" and "most powerful" line of defense in the area.
- Russian forces will likely be able to stretch Ukrainian forces along a wide front and fix Ukrainian troops in the international border area even as the tempo of Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast slows.
- Russian forces reportedly leveraged notable electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to support tactically significant gains during the first days of their limited offensive operation in northern Kharkiv Oblast.
- Senior NATO military commanders confirmed ISW's prior assessments that Russian forces do not have sufficient forces to achieve a "strategic breakthrough" in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian forces conducted a series of large-scale aerial and naval drone strikes against Russian energy and port infrastructure in Krasnodar Krai and occupied Crimea on the night of May 16 to 17.
- US officials reiterated the White House's unwillingness to support Ukraine's use of US-provided weapons in strikes against military targets in Russia.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to further known Russian information operations intended to directly undermine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's legitimacy as president.
- Russian forces recently marginally advanced near Avdiivka.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the annual Russian-Chinese Expo and forum on interregional cooperation and visited Harbin Polytechnic University during the second and last day of his trip to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on May 17.
- Ukrainian and Western sources continue to report that Russian forces are committing war crimes in newly occupied areas of Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian forces reportedly advanced northwest of Svatove and south of Kreminna on May 17, although there were no confirmed changes to the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna front. … Russian forces continued offensive operations northeast of Kupyansk near Synkivka and Vilshana; northwest of Svatove near Ivanivka, Berestove, Kyslivka, and Stelmakhivka; west of Svatove near Myasozharivka; southwest of Svatove near Novoyehorivka; northwest of Kreminna near Nevske; and southwest of Kreminna near Dibrova.[52]