Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 433

As the war enters its 433rd day, we take a look at the main developments.

A Ukrainian soldier fires an RPG during his training at a front-line position near Vuhledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 1, 2023.
A Ukrainian soldier training at a front-line position, as the war enters its 433rd day [Libkos/AP]

Here is the situation as it stands on Tuesday, May 2, 2023:

Fighting

  • The White House has estimated that 20,000 Russian soldiers have died in the past five months of fighting.
  • Russia’s defence ministry has said it carried out overnight missile attacks on Ukrainian military sites, including weapons depots and ammunition factories.
  • The Ukrainian air force has shot down 15 out of 18 missiles fired across Kyiv and Dnipro in the early hours of Monday, the military said.
  • Missile attacks on the eastern city of Pavlohrad have killed two people and injured 40, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The president said a 14-year-old boy was also killed close to his school when it was hit by a bomb in the Chernihiv region, close to the Russian border.
  • The US ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, has condemned Russia’s missile attacks as “barbaric”.
  • The head of the Wagner Group has appealed to Russia’s defence ministry to increase ammunition shipments to his troops fighting in Bakhmut, Ukraine. In a video posted on his Telegram channel, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he needed at least 300 tonnes of artillery shells a day in his bid to take the city.
  • General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, has said the situation in Bakhmut remained “difficult”, but soldiers had launched a counterattack in some parts of the ruined city.

Diplomacy

  • Pope Francis has disclosed the Vatican is involved in a secret peace mission to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
  • Zelenskyy has spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and discussed defence cooperation and increased sanctions.
  • Zelenskyy has thanked New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins for participating in training the Ukrainian military.
  • Ukraine’s grain exports totalled 3.62 million tonnes last month compared with 923,000 tonnes in April 2022, when all the country’s Black Sea ports were blocked because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.
  • Ukrainian players have said they would not participate in this month’s World Judo Championships in Qatar following the International Judo Federation’s decision to readmit Russians and Belarusians as neutrals.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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