Editor's word: This can be a creating story and is being up to date.
President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned on Might 3 that Ukraine's navy destroyed a second Russian navy plane inside a 24-hour time interval, having struck a navy airfield in occupied Crimea.
The strike follows the downing of a Russian Su-30 fighter jet earlier on Might 3 by a sea drone, Ukraine's navy intelligence (HUR) mentioned. The assault marked the "world's first destruction of a fight plane by a naval drone," HUR claimed.
The multi-role Su-30 fighter, valued at roughly $50 million, was reportedly hit in midair and crashed into the ocean.
"I thank our guys who’re rising Ukrainian long-range capabilities – each within the sky and at sea. The capturing down of a Russian navy plane by our naval drone was sensible – proof of Ukrainian capabilities," Zelensky said throughout his night handle.
Zelensky didn’t present extra data on the newly destroyed plane, solely including that that navy depots had been additionally destroyed within the assault. Ukraine's navy has not publicly launched particulars on the assault.
Ukraine launched a sequence of drone assault in the direction of occupied Crimea on Might 3, with Russia's Air Pressure claiming it had intercepted 89 drones over the area, in addition to one other 23 drones over the Black Sea.
Kyiv often launches drone and missile assaults in the direction of occupied Crimea, a area that Moscow annexed within the midst of the EuroMaidan revolution of 2014.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down the second Russian aircraft over Crimea in a day – Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the destruction of the second enemy plane in occupied Crimea. Army warehouses had been additionally destroyed, and preventing continues in Donetsk area.
Visiting Washington through the Worldwide Financial Fund and World Financial institution Spring Conferences this April felt surreal. The climate was good, however the air was heavy with the uncertainty of the tariff struggle, President Donald Trump's administration’s criticisms of worldwide establishments, and the way more quick rigidity of geopolitics between Ukraine and the U.S.
As reported by the Guardian, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva quoted the film Bridge of Spies, emphasizing the necessity to keep calm and centered amid chaos. A U.S. lawyer within the film tells a Soviet spy that he has been appointed to defend him, and that he’ll most likely be executed. “You don’t appear alarmed,” he says, to which the spy replies, “Would it not assist?” The metaphor additionally matches Ukraine’s state of affairs completely: in 2025, it’s as soon as once more navigating perilous waters, perhaps even worse than a 12 months earlier than.
For Ukraine, this 12 months's IMF conferences weren’t heart stage, however fairly the backdrop for 2 monumental, intertwined developments. First, there was the vital minerals settlement — a deal that would form Ukraine's financial future by anchoring its useful resource sector to the U.S.’s sphere of affect. Second, there have been ongoing negotiations in the direction of a peace settlement with Russia, the place Trump has actively performed an middleman function. Regardless of developments, in each situations, relations remained strained.
These developments far overshadowed the standard Spring Assembly enterprise, a minimum of for the Ukrainian delegation. For Ukraine, Washington 2025 was due to this fact much less about public speeches and extra about navigating a fancy maze of alliances, negotiations, and backroom offers.
The progress on the vital minerals deal introduced cautious optimism. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal acknowledged that the most recent draft (signed on April 30) higher aligns with each Ukrainian and EU priorities: crucially, earlier Western assist to Ukraine received't be retroactively counted as debt, and no current Ukrainian income streams will probably be diverted to fund new initiatives. However recollections of the final draft's public leak hold everybody on edge.
The peace deal, nevertheless, stays the foremost stumbling block in Ukraine-U.S. relations. Whereas Donald Trump seems decided to finish the struggle at any price, it’s the Ukrainian people who find themselves anticipated to bear that price, and they’re removed from prepared to take action. The complexities of the connection have been even spotlighted at a particular occasion on the Spy Museum, the place former Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson Emily Horne remarked, “We should not have a robust monitor document of appeasing dictators” — a sentiment that resonates deeply with most Ukrainians.
By the weekend, nevertheless, all conversations turned to the extraordinary scene that had unfolded: after a scandal on the White Home, a swiftly organized assembly between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump at Pope Francis's funeral grew to become the brand new point of interest. The symbolism was too wealthy to disregard, and it fuelled new hopes in numerous hearts.
Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was additionally in Washington, pursuing the duty of securing exterior funding for 2026. His mission as soon as once more underscored Kristalina Georgieva's steadfast dedication to a “no-alarm” method. As common, the IMF emphasised the acquainted chorus: the necessity for stronger income era and disciplined fiscal coverage. Whereas important, these prescriptions have turn into an virtually ritualistic a part of Ukraine’s dialogue with worldwide lenders.
In the meantime, considerations over Ukraine's debt sustainability proceed to loom massive, threatening to slim the area for added assist. True to kind, each the IMF and the World Financial institution stay skeptical about confiscating frozen Russian property. With new grants more and more scarce and debt sustainability considerations limiting entry to extra loans, advancing the trouble to grab Russian property stays a vital activity Ukraine can not afford to let slip.
Lastly, the Innovation Days at Ukraine Home unfolded in stark distinction to the grim actuality again residence. Beneath the brilliant Washington solar, with inexperienced lawns and simple conversations, Ukrainian officers and company networked and took part in panels.
But at the same time as concepts have been exchanged and alternatives mentioned, many attendees stored refreshing their telephones: that very morning, Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, had endured a lethal Russian assault. Whereas bombs fell on those that remained at residence, Ukraine’s delegation in Washington tried to steadiness hope for the long run with the horror unfolding in actual time.
This text was ready with the assist of the European Union and the "Renaissance" Worldwide Fund throughout the framework of the joint initiative “European Renaissance of Ukraine." The article represents the place of the authors and doesn’t essentially mirror the place of the European Union or the Worldwide Renaissance Basis.
The enemy struck 3 settlements in Donetsk area: not less than 2 individuals died and 1 was injured
On Could 3, Russian troops shelled 3 settlements in Donetsk area. Two individuals had been killed in Myrnohrad and Komar, and one particular person was injured in Kostyantynivka.
On Could 2, 2014, a tragic incident occurred within the southern Ukrainian port metropolis of Odesa, turning into one of the extensively exploited narratives in Russian propaganda.
That day, as greater than 1,000 Ukrainian activists gathered within the metropolis to indicate assist for the Ukrainian authorities, a bunch of pro-Russian protestors confirmed as much as meet them — many armed with golf equipment, axes, and weapons.
They started violently attacking the Ukrainian activists, two of whom have been shot and killed because the occasions unfolded. The activists and people outraged by the assault started to combat again.
"It started with them throwing cobblestones at us," Victoria Sybir, a former secretary of a volunteer civilian protection group shaped in Odesa to repel assaults on protesters, informed the Kyiv Impartial, recalling the occasions again then.
"We fought again as we might, however then two (Ukrainian activists) have been killed after being shot," she stated.
As tensions mounted, the Ukrainian activists dismantled a tent encampment arrange by the opposite aspect, forcing the pro-Russian group to barricade themselves in Odesa's Soviet-era Commerce Unions Constructing.
It was from there that the pro-Russian protestors started throwing Molotov cocktails and explosives to combat off these standing outdoors, the European Courtroom of Human Rights (ECHR) present in an investigation following the occasion. The activists started launching Molotov cocktails on the constructing in response.
The constructing caught hearth, ensuing within the deaths of 42 folks, most of them pro-Russian protestors. One other six folks have been killed that day in the course of the clashes.
Because the hearth, Russia has continued to make use of the tragic occasions in its propaganda. From the beginning, Russian media alleged that the true variety of casualties within the hearth was a lot larger, and plenty of conspiracy theories have been circulated to use the tragedy, a 2014 Parliamentary Meeting of the Council of Europe (PACE) committee report discovered.
The occasions of Could 2, 2014, additionally determine in Russia's justification for its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, falsely portraying the occasions as a "bloodbath, throughout which aggressive 'Ukrainian Nazis' had locked peaceable pro-federalists within the Commerce Union Constructing and had burnt them alive," the European courtroom stated in its findings of the occasions.
A scene from the lethal clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists in Odesa, Ukraine, on Could 2, 2014. (Maksym Voytenko/Anadolu Company/Getty Photographs)
A standard chorus in Russian propaganda used to legitimize its aggression towards Ukraine is the baseless and fabricated notion that Ukrainians are "Nazis" and that the Ukrainian authorities is a "Nazi regime."
The scene — whereas a flashpoint within the political chaos in Ukraine on the time — was no remoted occasion. As Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution advanced from a small protest motion to a full-blown rebellion from late 2013 via the early months of 2014, Russia seized on the tense second to sow unrest within the nation.
From the outset of the revolution, the Russian-linked violent teams that might grow to be often known as the "AntiMaidan" started showing at protests, each in Kyiv, the epicenter of the EuroMaidan, and in different cities throughout Ukraine, together with Odesa, the jap cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the northeastern metropolis of Kharkiv.
Russia was discovered to be behind a few of the AntiMaidan teams across the nation, based on a PACE fact-finding mission in 2014.
The revolution reached a bloody climax in February 2014, when safety forces backing pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych opened hearth on protestors, killing over 100 folks.
Yanukovych shortly thereafter fled to Russia, and Moscow shortly capitalized on the ability vacuum by annexing Crimea and arming Russian-controlled proxy forces in Ukraine's jap Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
Russia equally tried to foment anti-government, Russia-sympathetic protest actions in Kharkiv and Odesa within the months after the revolution, however to little avail. Native activists shaped civil protection teams that fought again towards — at occasions violently — Russia's strikes to recreate its success in Donetsk and Luhansk with the assistance of proxies and native collaborators.
Moscow's makes an attempt in Odesa weren’t insignificant. The Kremlin had deployed its brokers to undermine native authorities, backed road clashes, and fueled the unfold of disinformation in regards to the revolution. On the time, roughly 30% of Odesa's inhabitants recognized as ethnic Russians. Some native officers additionally held sympathetic views towards Russia.
In an interview with Radio Svoboda, Serhii Dibrov, a Ukrainian reporter and professional from the general public group "The Could 2 group," stated the Russian consulate in Odesa was one of many largest on the earth, used as a getaway for Russian cash lobbying its pursuits within the oblast via native political events, media, and NGOs.
The European Courtroom of Human Rights concluded in a 2025 ruling that pro-Russian activists in Odesa have been aided by some native authorities and police in the course of the assault on the rally.
The position of the native authorities within the day's occasions
In the course of the clashes in Odesa on Could 2, dozens of policemen have been discovered to have stood idly by in a line with their backs to the attackers, enabling them to drag out firearms freely, the courtroom dominated..
Some police even ignored the truth that protestors had been shot.
"A professional-Russian activist carrying a balaclava, who was standing behind and, at occasions, subsequent to the police, was seen firing quite a few photographs within the path of pro-unity supporters" across the time when the primary pro-Ukrainian activist was shot, based on the ECHR investigation.
After the fires within the constructing began, the native State Emergency Service division ignored quite a few calls to the constructing for about half an hour per their chief's order, who was current on the scene.
As a substitute of ready for first responders to reach on the scene of the fireplace, some activists jumped out of the constructing's home windows. Others have been evacuated with the assistance of activists outdoors.
After the fireplace was extinguished, the native police arrested sixty-three individuals who have been nonetheless within the constructing.
Two days later, on Could 4, a number of hundred pro-Russian activists stormed the native police constructing the place the arrested protesters have been held. The performing regional police chief, who helped the pro-Russian motion and subsequently fled to Russia, ordered their quick launch.
Worldwide observers discovered that Ukrainian authorities, lots of whom have been a part of Yanukovych's pro-Russian Celebration of Areas, did little on the time to analyze the occasions and prosecute these accountable, partly defined by Ukraine's tumultuous transition after the revolution.
The ECHR dominated on March 13, 2025, that the Ukrainian authorities failed to stop and correctly examine the deaths of 48 folks within the clashes.
The courtroom discovered that there was not sufficient conclusive proof to show that Russia had orchestrated the clashes — "particularly given the covert nature of the alleged involvement." It acknowledged, nonetheless, Russia's involvement in instigating the violence via info warfare and, probably, Russian-controlled saboteurs on the bottom.
"The related (Ukrainian) authorities failed to indicate enough thoroughness and diligence in initiating and/or pursuing the investigations (of the clashes)," stated a 2015 report of the Worldwide Advisory Panel of the Council of Europe cited by the courtroom.
The Kremlin has expressed outrage over the invitation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the parade in Nice Britain.
The Kremlin expressed dissatisfaction with the invitation of Ukrainian troopers to the parade for Victory Day over Nazism in Nice Britain. Peskov referred to as it disrespect for World Struggle II veterans.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Ukraine can’t assure the protection of international officers planning to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on Could 9, warning that any incidents on Russian territory fall solely underneath the Kremlin’s management, Interfax Ukraine reported on Could 3.
“Our place may be very easy for all nations touring to Russia on Could 9: We can’t be held answerable for what occurs on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky mentioned throughout a briefing with journalists. “They’re answerable for your security. We is not going to present any ensures, as a result of we have no idea what Russia would possibly do on these dates.”
Zelensky cautioned that Russia may orchestrate provocations, together with “arsons, explosions, or different actions,” after which try to blame Ukraine. He mentioned Kyiv has suggested visiting delegations accordingly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authorities has reportedly invited quite a few international leaders to attend commemorative occasions marking the eightieth anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Among the many invited friends are leaders from EU member Slovakia, EU candidate Serbia, in addition to China, India, and Brazil.
“I informed the international minister that when nations attain out to us, we should clearly state: ‘We don’t advocate visiting Russia from a (safety) standpoint. And if you happen to select to go, that’s your private resolution — don’t ask us for ensures,’” Zelensky mentioned.
The Ukrainian chief emphasised that Ukraine has proven respect towards nations which have remained impartial or aligned with Russia because of historic ties, together with China, and that Kyiv continues to have interaction in diplomatic dialogue with these states.
“However Ukraine bears no duty for what occurs inside Russia. That could be a truth,” Zelensky added. “Furthermore, I’m certain that different nations have interaction in the identical diplomacy with the Russians after they come to us, and expertise reveals that we now have had many various leaders, and through their visits there have been varied codecs of assaults, assaults, intimidation.”
In March 2024, Russia launched a missile strike on Odesa throughout a go to by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, killing 5 individuals. The explosion occurred simply moments after Greek PM and President Zelensky toured town’s port.
Russia celebrates the top of World Battle II in Europe on Could 9, marking the event with pompous navy parades. Most different European nations, together with Ukraine, mark Could 8 as Victory in Europe Day.
123 fight clashes came about on the entrance, 46 of them within the Pokrovsk route – Basic Workers
Throughout the day, 123 fight clashes came about on the entrance, 46 of which had been within the Pokrovsk route. Fierce preventing continues, Ukrainian troops are holding the road.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned his current assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump on the Vatican was the most efficient dialog the 2 have needed to date, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Might 3.
Chatting with journalists in a closed-door session, Zelensky described the April 26 assembly, which passed off throughout a go to to pay respects to the late Pope Francis, as “maybe the shortest, however essentially the most substantive.”
Zelensky reportedly urged Trump to return to his authentic proposal of an unconditional ceasefire as the place to begin for peace talks, a transfer Kyiv has supported however Moscow has rejected.
The dialogue marked the primary in-person assembly between the 2 leaders since their tense February encounter within the Oval Office, throughout which Trump and Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Zelensky over what they described as “an absence of gratitude for U.S. help.”
"With all due respect to our groups, the one-on-one format, in my view, labored. We had the suitable ambiance for the dialog," Zelensky mentioned.
Zelensky added that he believes the assembly could have shifted Trump’s perspective.
"I’m assured that after our assembly within the Vatican, President Trump started to take a look at issues a bit in another way. We’ll see. It’s his imaginative and prescient, his alternative in any case. I feel we behaved constructively and with integrity, and that issues," Zelensky mentioned.
Beforehand, Ukraine's president mentioned that the signing of a long-awaited U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal was the primary concrete results of his current assembly with Trump within the Vatican, calling it a “historic” end result of their April 26 dialog.
A person has been arrested in Greece for spying for Russia
A 59-year-old Georgian native is on trial in Greece for accumulating knowledge within the port of Alexandroupolis, which is vital to serving to Ukraine. He allegedly transmitted info to the GRU by a Georgian citizen in Lithuania.
The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir
