On 9 May, Germany’s Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, announced that Germany would buy three additional HIMARS launchers from the US military stocks and give them to Ukraine. The Pentagon and SpaceX blocked Russia’s use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced changes within the Ukrainian military, appointing General Oleksandr Trepak as the new commander of the Special Operations Forces and relieving General Valery Zaluzhny from service due to health reasons. Zelensky also appointed Dmytro Hereha as the Commander of the Support Forces and dismissed Serhiy Ruda, the director of the State Security Administration. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dismissed Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Infrastructure, and Mykola Solski, Minister of Agriculture.

At 3:00 a.m. on 10 May, Russian forces launched a new offensive in the Kharkiv oblast, targeting the Volchansk and Kharkiv districts and pushing Ukrainian forces back 1 kilometre from the Russian-Ukrainian border. The attack, which included artillery and rocket fire, prompted the evacuation, especially of children, from Volchansk. The Russians occupied five border villages, while fighting continued in other towns. At least three civilians were killed and five injured. During a press conference, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces had responded with an offensive.

Preparations for the offensive began several weeks earlier, when Russian troops had conducted reconnaissance operations along the border, focusing on the Lypka and Volchansk areas to simulate a broader attack. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the offensive was intended to divert Ukrainian troops from other parts of the front. 

In the course of these military operations, Russian forces conducted seven missile attacks, 108 airstrikes, and 120 artillery shellings on Ukrainian positions and civilian areas, resulting in casualties and significant infrastructure damage. In Kharkiv, a rocket attack killed one person and injured four. Russian attacks hit 21 towns in the Kharkiv region. In Esman, the Sumy region, a 64-year-old woman was killed, and her 17-year-old granddaughter was wounded by artillery fire. In the Donetsk region, two people were killed, and two others injured in Chasiv Yar and Yelyzavetivka.

The United States announced a new $400 million military aid package to Ukraine. The package included Patriot and NASAMS missile system munitions, 3 HIMARS launchers, M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, M113 armoured personnel carriers, precision aircraft munitions, as well as Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger launchers and artillery missiles. France promised to deliver 40 SCALP-EG missiles, and Australia announced that it would provide Ukraine with RBS-70 NG air-defence systems and $100 million in military aid. The Czech Republic delivered the first F-16 fighter simulator to Ukraine.

On 11 May, a rocket strike targeted the Raj restaurant in occupied Donetsk, where Russian fighters were celebrating the 10th anniversary of the proclamation of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. The attack resulted in five deaths and six injuries. In Russia, drone strikes were reported in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, causing damage to dozens of homes and vehicles. Russian authorities reported that five people had been killed and nine injured. Ukrainian drones also struck an oil refinery in Volgograd, damaging processing facilities and causing temporary disruptions at the plant. 

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry announced that it had received emergency power supplies from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia to address ongoing energy shortages caused by a large-scale Russian attack on its energy infrastructure.

Illustrative photo. Generated by AI