War between Russia and Ukraine: list of important events, day 436

As the war enters its 436th day, we review key developments.

This is the state of affairs on Friday, May 5, 2023:

To fight

• Russia launched new airstrikes against the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as well as cities such as Odessa and Zaporizhzhia. Attacks on Kiev continued into the evening.
• Ukrainian air defenses shot down 18 of 24 Russian drones, Kiev city government said.
• The death toll from Russian shelling near Kherson on Wednesday has risen to at least 23 people, the regional governor said. Oleksandr Prokudin said 46 people were injured in the attacks.
• A drone was shot down near an air base in Russia-annexed Crimea, Moscow-installed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev told Telegram.
• Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along key sectors of the frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. The heaviest fighting is taking place in Bakhmut and in Maryinka, further south in the Donetsk region, it said.
• The leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force complained that his repeated requests for ammunition were ignored. In an audio message published on social media by his press office, Prigozhin said the “active phase” of the counter-offensive could be “a matter of days”.
• Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, said a top US intelligence official, suggesting restraint by Moscow, even as it suffers heavy casualties.

Diplomacy

• The United States denied any involvement in an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin. “I can assure you that the United States was not involved. Whatever it was, we weren’t involved,” National Security spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC in an interview. “We had nothing to do with this.”
• The US said it was not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to attack beyond its borders after Moscow accused Washington and Kiev of being behind the Kremlin attack, which it claimed was an attempt on the life of Russian President Vladimir Putin was. Russia has provided no evidence that Kiev was involved.
• Former Russian president and deputy head of the country’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called the European Union’s foreign policy chief an “unashamed old fool” on Twitter after warning Moscow of an escalation of the war following the alleged drone attack.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a surprise visit to the Netherlands. During a visit to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Zelenskyy said a special tribunal should be set up to hold Russia accountable for its “crime of aggression”.
• Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said technical personnel from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations will meet on May 5 to discuss the Black Sea grain deal.
• Finland has received a diplomatic note from Russia complaining of vandalism at a Russian consulate in the Aland Islands, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said. On Wednesday night, Russia’s foreign ministry also said a group of people threw “an explosive sound device” at the building, causing damage.
• US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she discussed the war between Ukraine and Russia during a trip to Brazil, adding that peace negotiations “cannot be based on rewarding Russia”.
• US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited former US Marine Paul Whelan in Mordovia, a southeastern region of Russia.

Weapons

• Speaking at a joint press conference in The Hague with the Dutch and Belgian prime ministers, Zelenskyy said it was critical that Western governments deliver weapons to Kiev as soon as possible as it defends against Russian forces and prepares for a counter-offensive.
• Talks about a possible donation of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine progressed and there were “no taboos”, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
• The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel said an Israeli-designed missile detection system is being tested in Kiev and could be activated within two months.