Smoke rises from the oil refinery in Syzran in Russia’s Samara region following a Ukrainian drone strike, May 21, 2026

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: From St. Petersburg to “Peace”, Zelensky Outmaneuvers Putin

Tuesday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Tide Is Turning In Our Favor

UPDATE 1040 GMT:

Ukraine’s military reports attacks on the Russian-occupied port city Mariupol in the southeast of the country.

Electrical substations, radar equipment, repair infrastructure, a control tower, and tanks with fuel and lubricants were struck. The sanctioned dry cargo ship Lady Augusta, part of the Russian shadow fleet, was hit.

Mariupol was overrun by Russia in spring 2022 after 12 weeks of airstrikes, ground assault, and siege that killed thousands of civilians.

UPDATE 1007 GMT:

Six civilians were murdered and 60 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 181 of 207 drones launched by Russia overnight, but at least 21 struck 14 locations.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one person was killed and 17 injured, including 12 in Kharkiv city.

In the neighboring Sumy region, two civilians were murdered and five injured.

In the Donetsk region in the east, three civilians were slain and seven injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

UPDATE 1002 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Ukrainian-made FP-5 Flamingo missiles were used in strikes on the military manufacturing facility in Russia’s Chuvash Republic overnight (see Original Entry).

UPDATE 0713 GMT:

Russian military official Damir Davydov, responsible for supplying missile and artillery ammunition to the frontlines, was killed in a car bombing on Tuesday.

The explosion occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time in the city of Balashikha, around 10 km (6.2 miles) east of Moscow, as a BMW X3 was moving near an apartment building. Russian authorities confirmed that a man was killed but did not officially disclose his identity.

A Russian Telegram channel reported that an explosive device placed beneath the driver’s seat had a yield equivalent to 300 to 400 grams of TNT.

Davydov headed a department within Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU).

UPDATE 0707 GMT:

Germany is contributing an additional €300 million ($346 million) to the Czech-led initiative supplying artillery ammunition to Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the support, sufficient for around 50,000 rounds of long-range ammunition, during talks with his Czech counterpart Jaromir Zuna in Berlin on Tuesday.

The initiative was launched in early 2024 as Ukraine faced severe shortages of ammunition. Around 1.5 million rounds were delivered in 2024 and 1.8 million in 2025. Czechia has contracts in place to supply around 1 million additional rounds in 2026.

UPDATE 0653 GMT:

Attending the Nordic-Baltic Eight summit in the Estonian capital Tallinn, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a drone cooperation agreement with Latvia and a defense cooperation declaration with Estonia on Tuesday.

Zelensky posted after the meeting with Latvia’s new Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs:

The declaration with Estonia, confirmed in a meeting with Prime Minister Kristen Michael formalizes collaboration in areas such as defense industry development, air defense, and the exchange of military experience.

Zelensky set the summit in the context of other international gatherings and support as Ukraine moves from resistance to strength against Russia’s invasion.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In its latest strikes inside Russia, Ukraine has hit a major oil refinery and a manufacturing plant.

The Kuybyshevskiy oil refinery in Samara, one of Russia’s largest, was again set on fire overnight. It is located around 800 km (500 miles) from the border.

Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev had announced an air raid alert earlier in the night.

Ukraine missiles targeted the research and manufacturing site is in Cheboksary, the capital of the Chuvashia region in western Russia, around 1,000 km (620 miles) from the border. The plant supplies Russia’s defense industry, including parts for Orion drones and Iskander missiles.

The company running the facility, VNIIR-Progress, is under European Union and US sanctions.

Ukraine also set ablaze the Vtorovo oil pumping station in Russia’s Vladimir region. The facility was also struck by drones on May 24.