Russia targeted a total of eight Ukrainian oblasts — Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter three regions.
Vladimir Putin appears to have tellingly renewed his favor for his former bodyguard, Tula Oblast Governor Alexei Dyumin, according to the latest report of the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War released on May 2.
Russian losses in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine have reached approximately 500,000, a substantial military toll highlighted by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné during a May 3 interview with Novaya Gazeta.
In addition to “riot control agents,” the State Department said it has evidence that Russia is using chloropicrin, a banned chemical agent first used in WWI.
While Russian troops have intensified assaults near Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, they still appear to lack the manpower to open a new front in the oblast, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on May 3.