Date—May 16, 2022 (evening)

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Announcements

1. Putin: The autumn military exercises will be held in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in the Collective Security Treaty Organization framework. (Source: UP).

War

1. Russia claims the ceasefire deal was reached to evacuate Ukrainian wounded soldiers from Mariupol. Russia’s Defense Ministry said they would be evacuated to a hospital in the Russian-occupied Novoazovsk in Donetsk region. Ukraine said that it didn’t confirm Russia’s claim, and sending Ukrainian soldiers to Russian-occupied areas could put their life at risk as they may be captured or killed. More than 1,000 Ukrainian troops, including 600 wounded soldiers, are trapped in dire conditions at Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant. (Source: UP).

2. Kyrylenko: Russian troops blew up an ammonium nitrate warehouse in Kharkiv Oblast. The explosion does not threaten the local population, Donetsk region governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on May 16. (Source: UP).

3. Russian troops attempt to break through the Ukrainian border into Sumy Oblast. Russian troops used mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns, and assault rifles while sending a group of saboteurs into the region on the morning of May 16, the State Border Guard and Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said. The border guards managed to repel the attack, they said. (Source: UP).

4. Ukraine’s military: Russian forces not advancing in Kherson, Mykolaiv oblasts. According to a May 16 report by the Southern Operational Command, Russian forces are not conducting active offensive operations in Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. Instead, Russians continue to strengthen their positions in the already occupied areas. (Source: Facebook).

Economy, Social life, and Culture

1. UN: Prolonged conflict would push 9 out of 10 Ukrainians into poverty or near poverty. Buildings, roads, bridges, hospitals, and schools with an estimated value of $100 billion have been destroyed, according to the Ukrainian government. The war has caused half of the country’s businesses to shut down completely, while the other half are struggling, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said. (Source: UNDP).

Foreign news

1. Norway, Denmark, and Iceland give security guarantees to Sweden and Finland. The Scandinavian countries stand ready to assist their Nordic neighbors “by all means necessary should they be the victim of aggression” on their territory before obtaining NATO membership, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on May 16. The move follows Russia’s threats against Finland and Sweden, including a Russian official’s statement that they may become targets for a military attack. The statement also comes amid Ukraine’s quest to obtain Western security guarantees to repel Russian aggression in the future. (Source: TKE).

2. McDonald’s to sell all restaurants in Russia. It said on May 16 that it was exiting the country after more than 30 years. After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the world’s largest fast-food chain decided in March to close its 847 restaurants in Russia, taking a hit of $55 million per month. (Source: Reuters).

3. Germany to stop Russian oil imports by end of 2022 regardless of EU sanctions. Germany’s efforts to make an agreement with alternative suppliers are progressing and the government “is confident it can solve the remaining logistical problems within the next six to seven months,” reported media citing anonymous government officials. (Source: Bloomberg). 

Refugees

1. Mayor of Melitopol: Up to 50% of residents fled the occupied city. Ivan Fedorov said on TV that up to 65,000 residents have escaped Russian-occupied Melitopol. According to the official, nearly 70,000 remain in the city. “Only elderly people, those who have elderly relatives, or those who do not have the means and relatives in the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine did not leave the city,” he said. (Source: UP).