🔥 On the Pokrovsk front, Ukraine’s National Guard units stormed and captured a Russian position — with fire support from an armored personnel carrier.

After today’s UAV strike, the Strela plant in Russia’s Bryansk region has halted operations due to critical damage to its equipment.

Trump on peace deal for Ukraine: “We’re close with one side, not so much with the other.” He admits hatred runs deep between Zelensky, Putin, and their generals, but says: “I think we have a very good chance to make it happen.”

A Russian BMP-2 spotted completely wrapped in wire mesh — a desperate attempt to shield it from FPV drone strikes. The cage era continues.

Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses with infantry on motorcycles. The assault was repelled by the 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" and the 49th Separate Assault Battalion "Carpathian Sich" during a joint operation.

Zelensky is now holding a press conference with Petr Pavel. Statements to follow.

Aftermath of a failed Russian motorcycle assault: the result of desperate, disposable tactics.

This year, another 1.8 million shells could be supplied as part of the Czech initiative, says Zelensky. The president notes that the Czech artillery initiative is working very well.

🇺🇦 "Some in Europe are blocking Ukraine's EU path for a better spot at Red Square," Zelensky says.

He adds that Ukraine is ready to open the first negotiation clusters this year, but some individuals are hindering progress for personal political gain, not for the interest of their countries.

⚡️ Zelensky on potential Russian provocations in Moscow on May 9: "We know who they are and what they’re capable of. There's no trust, and while provocations are possible, it's on the Russians. If anyone still believes them, they can test it out themselves."

❗️ Zelensky: "Russians should know – we are counting on 3 million artillery shells. This doesn't mean we want a long war, we want it to end."

This statement comes in response to Putin's claim of "inevitable reconciliation" between Ukraine and Russia.

⚡️ Zelensky has announced the establishment of a Ukrainian-Czech F-16 school within the aviation coalition, to be located outside Ukraine due to security reasons.

"We’re working with partners to open these schools outside Ukraine as we continue to face daily Russian strikes," Zelensky said

https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/3989208-zelenskij-anonsuvav-stvorenna-ukrainskoceskoi-skoli-f16.html

Zelensky criticized Russia’s ceasefire promises, highlighting their broken commitments: "They talk about a partial ceasefire, but today’s assaults are the highest in months. We have no faith in Russia—they break promises to Kyiv and even the USA."

The 159th Battalion of the 118th Territorial Defense Brigade, operating in the Zaporizhzhia direction, destroying Russian equipment.

Rumors (unconfirmed) suggest Russia has deployed ~280 air defense units for the 9th May parade in Moscow, with additional systems from Kazan and Grozny. The defense includes "Don-2N" & "Nebо-M" radars, S-400s, and "Pantsir-S1" & "Tor-M2" on rooftops.

If true, this is panic mode.

The 412th Nemesis Regiment disabled 160 artillery systems, mainly in the Pokrovsk direction. They also destroyed over 110 reconnaissance and communication assets, including Starlink terminals and FPV drone positions. On the Kharkiv front, they thwarted Russian attempts to cross rivers by targeting crossings and boats.

Operators of the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade “Krila Do Pekla” struck 3 Russian artillery pieces, a truck carrying troops, and a quad bike.

They can't be serious.

President Zelensky met with Czech President Petr Pavel in Prague, thanking him for steadfast support. Talks focused on artillery aid (1.8M shells projected this year), defense cooperation, and a future Czech-Ukrainian F-16 training school abroad due to ongoing Russian strikes.