Destruction of Russian minesweeper, search for Iran president after helicopter crash: May 19 highlights
The Ukrainian military destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet minesweeper Kovrovets. The helicopter carrying the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, crashed; the search for him is still ongoing.
Destruction of a Russian minesweeper
Overnight, the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the minesweeper of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, project 266-M Kovrovets.
Before that, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel wrote that the previous night in occupied Sevastopol, there were three hits to one site – to one of the ships in the Inzhenerna Bay area. There was reportedly a column of black smoke.
Attack on Kharkiv Oblast
On the morning of May 19, the Russian troops attacked the recreation center on the shore of the reservoir in the village of Cherkaska Lozova, where local residents were resting.
Among the six dead is a woman in her 7th month of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the number of casualties reached 27 people, including an 8-year-old child, as well as two policemen and an ambulance paramedic, who came under repeated fire.
Later in the day, the Russians also struck the villages of the Kupyansk district: two women and three men were killed. There were also nine wounded.
Two more Russian missiles flew over the central part of Kharkiv: they hit a cemetery and a place of rest for Kharkiv residents. One woman experienced an acute stress reaction.
Due to increased attacks on the region, as a result of which a total of 11 people died, May 20 was declared a day of mourning in Kharkiv Oblast.
Victory of Usyk
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, in a match with Briton Tyson Fury, defended the title of the world champion in heavyweight, retaining all four championship belts.
The bout lasted all twelve rounds, the judges gave the victory to Usyk by split decision — 115:112, 113:114, 114:113. Thus, the Ukrainian became the first absolute champion in the heavyweight division since 1999.
The accident of the helicopter of the president of Iran
Iran's state media reported that a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi may have crashed near the Azerbaijani city of Julfa. The Iranian leader was just returning from Azerbaijan, where he had a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev.
Three helicopters were in the convoy, two of which—with ministers and officials—arrived at their destination. The rescue forces have launched a large-scale operation to find the third helicopter, in which the president and the foreign minister were flying.
Due to adverese weather conditions and difficult terrain where the accident occurred, the search lasted for several hours. As of 11 p.m., it is still unknown whether Raisi survived the accident.
Attack on the Russian refinery in Vyborg
Russian Telegram channels reported explosions in Vyborg, in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast. A fire apparently broke out in the area of the local oil refinery. Later, the governor of the region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, claimed that the information about the drone attack on the Vyborg oil depot is not true.
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View in Telegram.However, even later, hromadske’s intelligence source confirmed the explosions at the refinery: three explosive devices hit vertical fuel tanks there. Representatives of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine organized the operation.
Other news
- Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk won the WBO lightweight world title.
- Drones engaged the Kushchevskaya airfield, home to dozens of Russian aircraft.
- Poland wants to get a European loan for the construction of the "iron dome".
- Israel's war cabinet minister issued an ultimatum to his government.
- A satellite recorded the consequences of the drone strike on Novorossiysk port.
- In Lviv, blogger Nicholas Karma was sprayed with pepper spray. The attacker also shouted homophobic phrases.