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Morning Headlines
CNN: Satellite images exclusively obtained by CNN show three destroyed Russian jets and damaged buildings at Belbek airbase in occupied port city of Sevastopol on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Independent: Drones and missiles struck an oil refinery and seaport in the Russian city of Novorossiysk in the early hours of May 17, causing explosions and power outages.
Reuters: Russia's diplomacy with the West is in crisis management mode and is focused on trying to ensure that tensions do not spill over into a large-scale conflict, the TASS news agency on Friday reported a top diplomat as saying.
The Kyiv Independent: Drone attacks targeting the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea overnight on May 17 damaged a substation, causing blackouts that prompted occupation authorities to close schools.
ISW: Russian forces are reportedly able to conduct fixed-wing drone reconnaissance deep in the Ukrainian rear due to Ukraine's lack of air defense interceptors.
AP News: The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again denied Friday that her country has exported any weapons to Russia, as she labeled outside speculation on North Korea-Russian arms dealings as “the most absurd paradox.”
Reuters: After sealing pledges of a "new era" of strategic partnership with China's Xi Jinping, Putin on Friday is set to highlight the growing importance of trade near the Russian border in China's northeast.
More News
Reuters: Finance ministers from the Group of Seven major democracies meeting in Italy next week will back a European Union plan to use the income from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine's war effort, an Italian Treasury official said on Thursday.
POLITICO: Russia’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine doesn’t have the legs for a breakthrough, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe said Thursday. “They don't have the skill and the capability to do it, to operate at the scale necessary to exploit any breakthrough to strategic advantage," said the U.S. general.
AP News: Ukrainian units locked in street battles with the Kremlin’s forces in a key northeastern Ukraine town have halted the Russian advance, military officials in Kyiv claimed Thursday, though a senior Moscow official said the frontline push had enough resources to keep going.
Reuters: Ukrainian artillery on the Kharkiv frontline are facing a bigger threat than ever from Russia’s fleet of Lancet kamikaze drones, according to a howitzer crew fighting there.
Bloomberg: Russia’s state-owned uranium supplier Tenex has notified US customers they have 60 days to secure a waiver exempting them from a law recently signed by President Joe Biden that bars imports of the company’s nuclear fuel (archive).
Reuters: The United States announced sanctions on Thursday on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.
Critical Threats: Russia has reinforced its military presence in Libya and expanded military cooperation with former Portuguese colonies in West Africa as it continues to expand its influence in Africa.
The Insider: Following a series of high-profile failures and mass expulsions of uniformed “diplomats,” Russian intelligence has turned to more subtle methods, including leveraging scientific organizations with international ties.
The Moscow Times: Russia ordered the expulsion of the United Kingdom's defense attache in Moscow on Thursday, a move it said was direct retaliation for London expelling Russia's defense attache last week.
Reuters: Scrambles of NATO jets to intercept Russian aircraft approaching allied airspace over the Baltic Sea region went up 20% to 25% in the first quarter of 2024, a NATO source said on Thursday, with the increased Russian activity likely due to a hike in NATO drills.
The Kyiv Independent: The Danish government announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine on May 16 worth 5.6 billion Danish kroner ($815 million).
Reuters: Ukraine has sent reinforcements, including the legion and two other units made up of Russian nationals, to shore up its defence against a Russian ground incursion into the northern reaches of Kharkiv region that began nearly a week ago.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces are taking Ukrainian civilians captive and preventing their evacuation in the embattled northern part of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on May 16.
Reuters: Sri Lanka will dispatch a high-level delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of nationals reportedly fighting in the war in Ukraine, a top official said on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: Drones operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency hit production facilities of the state-owned Russian weapons manufacturing company "Basalt" in the city of Tula overnight on May 16.
AFP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday the military situation in the northeastern Kharkiv region was "extremely difficult," but still "under control," after a meeting with his military chiefs near the front line.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian troops have not lost ground near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Dmytro Lykhovii, the General Staff's spokesperson, said on national television on May 16. His statement came after the Russian Defense Ministry had claimed the capture of Robotyne the day before.
New Zealand has announced a new package of sanctions against 28 individuals and 14 entities over their support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon with potential nuclear capabilities in 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 16, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
worth mentioning
Russian gas tycoon hires Putin's daughter's beau for Murmansk LNG project
Moldovan parliament votes to hold referendum on EU membership on Oct 20
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