Day 74 of Putin's war. Ukraine’s army moves away from Popasna to stronger position, Zelensky reminds world of phrase ‘never again’

1925: Russia’s attacks are now focused on the destruction of airfield infrastructure in order to prevent Ukrainian aircraft operating in eastern Ukraine and in Black Sea zone, a summary of Ukraine’s General Staff released on May 8 reads.

1824: The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, known by the nom de guerre Kalina, says he cannot confirm that all civilians had been evacuated from the Azovstal plant.

"In the last three days, civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal plant,” Palamar said during an online briefing from Azovstal conducted on Zoom. “Has everyone evacuated? We can't say that for sure, because no international organization or government structure or our Ukrainian politicians have come here to the territory of Azovstal, there is no special equipment to dismantle all the blockages."

1706: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has visited Irpin, Kyiv Oblast, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushin wrote in Telegram.

"I just had the honor of speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” Markushin wrote.

“(Trudeau) came to Irpin to see for himself all the horror that the Russian occupiers had done to our city. And, of course, he was shocked."

1641: Reports of explosions being heard in Odesa.

1612: U.S. First Lady Jill Biden met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod on May 8 and visited Ukrainian internally displaced people, the press service of the Transcarpathian Regional Council reported on Telegram.

"First Lady of the United States Jill Biden is visiting Uzhgorod today, May 8. In particular, Ms. Biden met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska in Uzhhorod. It is noteworthy that it happened on Mother's Day," the statement reads.

1506: Invading Russian forces have killed 25,000 people during their siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Ilya Samoilenko, an intelligence officer, said during a press conference from the Azovstal plant in the city. He said the two-and-a-half-month long siege, with so many casualties among enemy soldiers and among the civilian population, has never been seen before in history.

1452: Ukrainian air defenses in Odesa Oblast downed an enemy cruise missile and Forpost reconnaissance drone. The South Air Command's public relations service said explosions heard by residents during an air raid at noon were the results of the successful work of an anti-aircraft missile unit.

1438: The soldiers of the Azov Regiment in Mariupol deliberately went in a position where they could be surrounded by overwhelming Russian forces commander of the Azov Regiment Denis Prokopenko said in an interview with Ukrainian media.

"We went to this cauldron quite consciously,” he said. “We realized that according to the defense plan, it would be necessary to conduct a circular defense in the city, and this is what happened.”

1438: Bono, the front man of the Irish rock band U2, has given a surprise concert in the Kyiv metro. Volunteers, terrorists, servicemen and residents of the capital came to listen to Bono (Paul David Huson) and guitarist The Edge (David Howell Evans) from U2. A video of the performance of musicians on the platform of the Khreschatyk station in Kyiv appeared has been posted on NV’s Telegram channel.

1254: The Russian military launched air strikes and used artillery on the town of Lysychansk in Luhansk Oblast on the morning of May 8, Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said.

1235: The Ukrainian counteroffensive northeast of Kharkiv has made significant progress and is likely to advance to the Russian border in the coming days or weeks, the U.S. think tank the Institute for War Studies said in a report.

1129: Ukrainian forces are carrying out successful counteroffensive actions in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the regional administration said. It said Ukrainian troops had “held their ground with dignity.”

1126: Approximate Russian losses since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s General Staff:

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personnel – about 25,500 (+400) soldiers killed in action;

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tanks – 1,130 (+8) units,

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armored combat vehicles – 2,741 (+28) units,

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artillery systems – 509 (+0) units,

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multiple rocket launcher systems – 179 (+7) units,

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air defense systems – 86 (+2) units,

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warplanes – 199 (+0) units,

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helicopters – 156 (+1) units,

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motor vehicles and tanker trucks – 1,961 (+27) units,

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ships / boats – 12 (+1) units,

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UAVs, operational and tactical level – 360 (+19).

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Special equipment – 39 (+1).

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Cruise missiles – 92 (+2).

1104: The Russian army is unable to quickly change tactics and respond to failures on the battlefield due to a large number of officers having been killed, the UK Ministry of Defense said in its intelligence update for May 8. The forward deployment of Russian officers in the war against Ukraine caused disproportionately high losses in senior ranks, the ministry said.

1100: The Ukrainian military has withdrawn from Popasna to stronger positions, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said.

"Unfortunately, our troops have really moved away from Popasna,” he said. “Because, imagine, the city has been shelled for more than two months – as long as the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are bombs, missiles, mines and artillery – everything is destroyed there. Therefore, ours retreated to stronger positions that we prepared in advance.”

1054: The head of the German Federal Parliament, the Bundestag, arrived in Kyiv on an official visit. "President of the Bundestag Baerbel Bass begins a visit to Kyiv,” wrote Enrico Briss, the head of the Bundestag's secretariat. “Today, May 8, she will honor the memory of all the victims of the Second World War and Nazi tyranny, and hold political talks."

0956: Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, 225 children have died and another 413 have been injured, the Ukrainian parliament’s Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova said, referring to data from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.

0938: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 8 released a video address to mark the Ukraine’s Day of Remembrances and Reconciliation. It was filmed in Borodyanka, a suburban town near the capital city Kyiv that was heavily damaged by invading Russian forces. In it, he compares Ukraine’s fight against Russia to the fight against fascism in the Second World War. “Never again? Tell that to Ukrainians,” Zelensky says in the video. He said the word “never” was erased by bombs and missiles on Feb. 24, when Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

0914: On the night of May 8, Russian troops fired artillery at the village of Shipilov in Luhansk Oblast. As a result of the shelling, a two-story house was destroyed. According to preliminary information, 11 people were trapped beneath the ruins of the building.

0855: Evacuation corridors in Zaporizhzhya today will work exclusively for entry, and exit from the city is temporarily limited due to the tense security situation, local authorities said.

0811: During a meeting on May 7, the Cabinet of Ministers identified additional measures for the reconstruction period in Ukraine, one of which is targeted mobilization.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the government has supplemented the provisions on the unified state system of civil protection with a new clause, which defines additional tasks during the reconstruction of the country. These tasks included:

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targeted mobilization to eliminate the consequences of hostilities and emergencies;

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elimination of the consequences of hostilities in settlements and territories affected by destructive weapons;

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measures to restore critical life support infrastructure;

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identification of settlements and areas where humanitarian demining is required, the marking of dangerous areas, and the demining of territories;

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attracting international assistance to eliminate the consequences of hostilities.

0738: Sixty people were killed as a result of an air strike by invading Russian forces on a school in Bilohorivka on May 7, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said.

0732: In its morning update, Ukraine’s General Staff said invading Russian troops had seized the outskirts of a village in Donetsk Oblast, and that Russian troops and armed formations in the unrecognized Transnistria republic in Moldova had been put on full combat alert. The General Staff said the situation in Bessarabia in southern Ukraine, west of the city of Odesa, remains tense.

0642: In an interview with Fox News, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on rumors that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may officially declare war on Ukraine on May 9:

"For us, the war has been going on for eight years, (while) a full-scale war has been going on for more than 70 days… The Russians have destroyed a whole city, like in a bad Hollywood movie. "

0602: Adviser to the head of the President's Office Mikhail Podoliak responded to statements by Russian State Duma Vice Speaker Peter Tolstoy about Russia's plans to continue its full-scale invasion of Ukraine until the occupiers reach the "border with Poland."

"It just shows what the political elite of the Russian Federation thinks,” Podoliak said. “(Russian dictator Vladimir Putin doesn't just think about it, they think about it, they live by it, they cook by it. It is their blood vessels that carry these infectious bacteria wanting to destroy everyone. This is a direct indication that they want to destroy Ukraine as a state. This is genocide… in the sense of (killing) the nationality of Ukrainians."

0445: The Associated Press published satellite images of Snake Island in the Black Sea following attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russian troops occupying the Ukrainian island.

0344: The United Kingdom will hand over another $ 1.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported. The new aid package is worth almost double the previous ones. The UK government said it was its highest level of spending on defense since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

0254: Operational Command South gave details of Ukraine’s attack on enemy positions on Russian-occupied Snake Island in the Black Sea. It said a Serna-type landing craft with a Tor SAM system had been destroyed, as well as two Raptor-type assault boats. Another Raptor boat was also badly damaged, the military said.

0222: Invading Russian troops in Zaporizhzhya Oblast are trying to organize photo opportunities for the Russian media on May 9, according to the Zaporizhzhya Regional Military Administration.

According to the administration, in Energodar, the occupiers confiscated documents from local residents and promised to return them on May 9, hoping that Ukrainians would gather in one place and they would be able to create a picture for Russian propaganda media:

"True, they’re not calling their parade in the city a parade, but an ‘action of the Immortal Regiment,’ but this does not change things,” the administration said. “In order to hold a celebratory event, in Energodar (the occupiers) are blocking traffic in parts of the city and exits from the yards. In Kamianka-Dniprovska, people are being forced to come to work on Monday and take part in the parade. "

0210: Air raid sirens are sounding in almost all regions of Ukraine.

0152: The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine announced that the World Bank will provide a loan of U.S. $1.5 billion, which will be used to replenish losses in the payroll to public sector employees.

The government on May 7set up a delegation to negotiate an agreement with the World Bank for the Public Expenditure Support project to ensure sustainable public administration in Ukraine.

As part of the project, the World Bank for Reconstruction and Development will direct money to reimburse state budget expenditures to pay employees of state bodies and budgetary institutions in the education sector at the national and regional levels.

0134: Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 14 more enemy air targets, the Ukrainian military said.

The military said that the Russians were attacking Ukraine with cruise missiles from Tu-95 or Tu-160 strategic bombers, which are in the Caspian Sea region. During the day, the enemy fired about ten cruise missiles across Ukraine, probably of the X-101 type. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed two of them. In total during the day Ukraine destroyed:

· one helicopter (Mi-28H);

· 11 drones (nine Orlan UAVs and two Outpost UAVs);

· two cruise missiles.

0120: A video of Ukrainian Su-27 fighter/bombers attacking Russian occupation forces on Zmiiny Island (Snake Island) has been released.

0110: CIA Director William Burns says Western intelligence sees no sign that Russia is ready to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine or its allies.

"As an intelligence community, we do not see any practical evidence that Russia plans to deploy or even potentially use tactical nuclear weapons," Burns told the Financial Times.

0050: In the village of Mangush near Mariupol, invading Russian troops demolished a monument to Hetman Sahaidachny, the famous 17^th century Ukrainian Cossack leader, who participated with his army in a Polish-led campaign against the Tsardom of Russia.

0027: Russia has claimed that on May 8 “Ukraine will strike missiles on the Lviv and Volyn areas”. The Russian military said that on May 8, "the Ukrainian military would fire Tochka-U ballistic missiles on crowds of civilians in Lviv and Volyn regions."

"On May 8, during the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation in the western regions of the country, the Kyiv regime plans to carry out another subtle provocation with the death of civilians to further accuse the Russian Armed Forces of indiscriminate missile strikes," the Russian said.

The Russian military said the strikes would be carried out by Tochka-U missiles, "as has already been done at Kramatorsk railway station."

In fact, this attack on civilians was carried out by Russian forces.

The Russians said, "the Ukrainian authorities are preparing these provocations with the approval of Western curators."

There is no evidence that these allegations are true, and many in Ukraine fear that Russia is actually preparing a propaganda narrative to cover its own planned missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians

0025: Adviser to the head of the President's Office Oleksiy Arestovich said that reports of the destruction or damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet frigate the Admiral Makarov were false. He confirmed that the Armed Forces managed to sink an amphibious landing craft.

"No, the Makarov was not sunk, of course… It was a misunderstanding," Arestovich said.

He suggested that reports about an attack on the frigate could have been "thrown in" by the Russian military itself from the information and psychological operations forces in order to discredit the Ukrainian and Western media.

0012: Fires have engulfed forests near the villages of Heroyske and Ivanivka on the Kinburg Spit in Kherson Oblast, but Russian invaders are threatening to ban locals from putting out the fire.

"It's a cry of the soul of the people, because there are children, old people who are threatened with death by fire or smoke. I’m asking for help,” said Oleksandr Musienko, head of the Chulakiv Territorial Community.