Aftermath of a Russian strike on the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine, May 26, 2023
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Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1346 GMT:
The toll from today’s Russian missile strike on a hospital in Dnipro in south-central Ukraine has risen to two dead and 30 injured, including two young children.
UPDATE 1019 GMT:
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak say two boys, three and six years old, are among the 15 civilians wounded in a Russian missile strike on a hospital in Dnipro.
The boys are hospitalized with moderate injuries. Of 11 adults in hospital, two are seriously wounded.
One person has been killed and four are missing.
Ukraine First Lady Olena Zelenska tweeted:
Ukrainian medical facilities and civilian objects are again under attack. A terrible level of cynicism to hit a psychological dispensary in the Dnipropetrovs'k region with missiles. There are killed and wounded. My condolences to all those who suffered from this terrorist attack. pic.twitter.com/xTVgTMcu8b
— Олена Зеленська (@ZelenskaUA) May 26, 2023
UPDATE 0937 GMT:
Russian State TV host Vladimir Solovyov calls for the use of nuclear weapons to avoid Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine.
The panellists are not convinced.
It got pretty heated on Solovyov’s show last night
The host tried to convince his cronies that nuking Europe was the only way of convincing the West to stop helping Ukraine. He insisted the US wouldn’t respond but even regular panellist Andrei Sidorov thought he was deluded pic.twitter.com/1ZuTBph8hc
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) May 26, 2023
UPDATE 0840 GMT:
Russia has carried another wave of strikes on Dnipro in south-central Ukraine, hitting a hospital.
⚡️Zelensky: 1 killed, 15 injured in Russian strike on clinic in Dnipro.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the rescue operation is ongoing at the site of the missile strike that Russian forces launched on the morning of May 26.
Video: President's Office pic.twitter.com/AWoJfZa1J1
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 26, 2023
UPDATE 0721 GMT:
Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry has placed prominent economist Konstantin Sonin on its wanted list.
In March, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Sonin because of three of his posts on Telegram.
Sonin, now a professor at the University of Chicago, believes he is wanted for his comments about the mass killing of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, near Kyiv, or the destruction of the drama theater in Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine.
What I’m accused of is completely false. Of course I didn’t post any fakes. I only posted facts that are well-documented. It’s pointless to explain. The court will be a sham and the sentence will be passed.
Sonin was vice-rector at the Higher School of Economics, scientific director of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, and a member of the Russian Education and Science Ministry’s and Science’s Science Council. He was dismissed from HSE in summer 2022.
UPDATE 0714 GMT:
A Ukrainian military official says a naval drone attack damaged the Russian reconnaissance warship Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea on Thursday.
The official said that “the Russians are now hastily fixing” the ship.
A 14-second video on social media on Thursday showed a naval drone approaching the vessel under oncoming fire.
Three drones were reportedly used in the operation.
I posted yesterday about a Russian Black Sea Fleet ship Ivan Khurs that was attacked by unmanned drones.
Russia claimed "the ship continues to carry out its functions" without mentioning its state.
It seems the third drone did manage to damage the ship? pic.twitter.com/ZdYyQQq10f
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 25, 2023
UPDATE 0638 GMT:
Japan has announced additional sanctions on Russia in coordination with the other members of the G7 — the US, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the UK.
Tokyo will freeze the assets of another 78 groups and 17 individuals, including army officers in Russia. Exports are banned to 80 Russian entities such as military-affiliated research labs.
On Wednesday, a ceremony marked Japan’s donation of about 100 military vehicles to Ukraine, taking its contribution beyond provision of helmets and hazmat suits.
Today the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, condemned Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus: “As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during wartime, Japan never accepts Russia’s nuclear menace, let alone its use.”
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Air defenses have downed all Russian missiles and Iranian-made attack drones in the 13th attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in May.
The Ukraine Air Force said Russia launched 17 missiles and 31 drones between about 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Over Kyiv, 10 missiles from the Caspian Sea, 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones, and two reconnaissance drones were downed.
The Kyiv administration reported, “The attack was carried out by Tu-95MS strategic bombers, from the Caspian region, probably by X-101 cruise missiles.”
Officials said there were no casualties. falling debris damaged a house and the roof of a shopping center.
However, some drones and missiles landed in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine and the Kharkiv region in the northeast.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak said one civilian was injured amid damage to a residential house and transport facilities in Dnipro.
Aftermath of Russia's air attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
📷DSNS; Oblast Mil Administration pic.twitter.com/LEyGZJ8NLC
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) May 26, 2023
Facing an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russia has pursued the missile and drone strikes, trying to cluster the attacks to overcome air defenses.
However, the size of the assaults is far diminished from the more than 100 missiles and drones used in many waves of strikes since October.
And, with Ukraine’s defense bolstered by international supporters, Moscow has been unable to hit a single target in Kyiv this month. Elsewhere, only isolated missiles have struck in areas such as Odesa in the south of the country.
For the first time, Ukraine has been able to intercept hypersonic Kh-47 Khinzal missiles, using US-made Patriot air defense systems
See also Ukraine War, Day 432: Air Defenses Down 15 of 18 Russian Missiles