Russia's plan to destabilize Ukraine, changes in mobilization of civil servants: May 3 highlights
Ukrainian intelligence believes that in May Russia is preparing a "three-level" plan to destabilize Ukraine. According to the new mobilization rules, some categories of officials will be subject to military service. We have collected the main news for May 3.
Russia's plan to destabilize Ukraine
The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadym Skibitskyi said that in May Russia is preparing a "three-level" plan to destabilize Ukraine: military, disinformation, and isolation.
In particular, the disinformation component will be aimed at undermining Ukrainian mobilization and the political legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term tentatively ends on May 20.
Russian offensive on Kharkiv and Sumy
The commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Pavliuk said that the Russians really have a plan to capture Kharkiv or Sumy. But it is unclear how serious these plans are and whether the Russian forces are able to implement them with their available resources.
In addition, according to Pavliuk, solely the exhaustion of Russian troops on the battlefield will not put an end to the war. This requires a technological advantage over the aggressor and real isolation of Russia.
Actor Yevhen Shumilov died at the front
Theater and film actor, serviceman Yevhen Shumilov died at the front while protecting his wounded brother-in-arms. He was mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, where he served as a company medic in the Third Separate Assault Brigade.
As an actor, Shumilov is known for his roles in the following projects: Physical Evidence, Real Mystique, SydOrenky-SydorEnky, Fast, Agents of Justice and Department 44.
Changes in the mobilization of civil servants
The Ministry of Defense said that according to the new law on mobilization, some categories of officials will be subject to military service. In particular, some civil servants of the so-called category "B" and "V" can be mobilized.
At the same time, officials of the "A" category, that is, representatives of the so-called higher corps of the civil service, will be reserved.
A petition for weapons for Azov was rejected
A petition to help unblock the provision of weapons and aid to the 12th Azov special purpose brigade from the United States was rejected on the website of the President's Office.
The appeal supposedly "does not meet the established requirements" because it is not within the powers of the president. Meanwhile, the brigade stated that Russian propaganda continues to contribute to limiting access to Western weapons.
The incident between chef Klopotenko and Zaborona media
Chef Yevhen Klopotenko made public an excerpt from a conversation he allegedly had with the editor of the Ukrainian outlet Zaborona. He asks Klopotenko how much it will cost to record an episode with him, and he replies that it usually costs nothing. A minute later, the editor allegedly sends another message, apparently having mistaken the chats, where he writes: "This c**ksucker says it doesn’t cost anything."
Zaborona denies that any of the publication's employees communicated with Klopotenko, and suggests that this situation is a "directed strategy to incite hatred" towards the media.
Other news
- Czechia said it does not support Ukrainian conscripts who try to avoid mobilization.
- La Repubblica: Italy will hand over an air defense system to Ukraine in a new military aid package.
- Former SBU General Andriy Naumov was charged with illegal enrichment for more than 32 million hryvnias ($831,018).
- The mother of a top SBU official owns real estate worth 16 million hryvnias ($406,614), although she works as a teacher, according to investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is facing a new stage of the war.