In Ukraine on Thursday, May 18, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported destroying of two ammunition depots in the south. In the east, Russian troops continued to advance with air support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Cannes Film Festival, Belarusian Nexta TV, Ukrainian public broadcaster Ukrinform and American Radio Free Europe report.
American military institute The Study of War noted that Ukraine has ended the defence of the besieged Azovstal steel works and the surrounding strategic city of Mariupol. Russia continued to evacuate the wounded and other troops of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment to an occupied part of the Donetsk Region on Tuesday, May 17. The Kremlin has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has guaranteed the safety of the soldiers, as Kyiv seeks to exchange them to Russian prisoners of war.
Situation in the south
The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported than during the last 24 hours to the morning of Wednesday, May 18, fighting continued in the south of Ukraine on the line of contact in Mykolayiv and Kherson areas.
The Southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that Russian troops were still deprived of the opportunity to advance, so they reinforce their positions and defend themselves, trying to gain a foothold. At the same time, mortar and artillery attacks on Ukrainian troops were ongoing.
To respond, the missile and artillery units and aircraft of the Southern Operational Command launched 110 attacks on the Russian positions during the day. As a result, the enemy lost 130 personnel and 26 units of equipment, including an airborne self-propelled artillery piece, three modernized T-72B3 tanks, ten armoured personnel vehicles, and 12 vehicles.
In the area of Pyatykhatka and Stepanivka, Kherson region two Russian ammunition depots have been destroyed, the report says. It is also noted that Ukraine’s Security Service operatives neutralized a Russian agent network, which had facilitated the penetration of enemy sabotage groups to Mykolayiv city.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, between February 24, 2022 and May 18, 2022, the Russia’s total combat losses included also 1,235 tanks (+16 over the past day), 3,009 armoured fighting vehicles (+34), 586 artillery systems (+8), 199 multiple launch rocket systems (+1), 91 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+1), 202 aircrafts (+1), 167 helicopters (+0), 2,137 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+28), 13 boats/cutters (+0), 441 unmanned aerial vehicles (+5), 43 special equipment units (+0). A total of 102 enemy cruise missiles (+5) were shot down.
Invaders advance on Donbas front
Ukrinform reports that in Bakhmut and Sievierodonetsk directions in Luhansk region, the Russian forces amassed up to 15 helicopters to provide air support for the offensive.
«The enemy is firing along the entire line of contact and into the depths of the Ukrainian troops in Donetsk operational area and in Slovyansk direction, taking measures to strengthen the offensive group,» the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on Facebook.
Twelve enemy attacks were repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk directions over the past 24 hours to Wednesday morning. Three enemy tanks, three artillery systems, six armoured combat vehicles, and seven vehicles were destroyed, the General Staff noted keeping silent about possible Ukrainian losses.
In Donetsk Region’s Slovyansk direction, the invaders attacked the village of Dovhenke. Rocket and tube artillery units were deployed to support the offensive. In order to ensure logistics and replenish the units that suffered casualties, Russian troops moved weapons and military equipment from the territory of the Russia.
In Donetsk direction, the invaders continued to advance in the directions of Lyman, Sievierodonetsk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Kurakhove directions. Russian forces also launched an offensive to establish full control over Drobysheve and block Lyman from the north.
Zelenskyy addresses former cinema colleagues in Cannes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian, delivered a video conference speech to open the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Watch the address delivered on Tuesday with English subtitles:
Day 83 of war in Ukraine: Defence of Azovstal ended, Ukrainians destroy Russian ammunition depots, Zelenskyy addresses Cannes Festival
