Russia massively shells Ukraine again, and the Rada adopts new laws: highlights of May 29

New laws

The Verkhovna Rada passed several important laws during the day:

• established the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II, to be celebrated on May 8. This day will be a public holiday;
• allowed the nationalization of banks owned by sanctioned persons;
• granted monthly pensions to political prisoners of the USSR;
• exempted imports of goods for the production of drones from customs duties and VAT;
• abolished the 2% tax for individual entrepreneurs from July;
• imposed sanctions against Iran for 50 years.

Shelling of Ukraine

On the night of May 29, the Russians launched a massive attack on Ukraine, including Kyiv. Overnight, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 36 of 40 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and 30 of 38 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs. Over the capital, the military shot down more than 40 enemy air targets.

In Odesa, debris fell on the port infrastructure, and in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Russians attacked an air base, disabling 5 aircraft. In the morning, another shelling took place, with explosions again in Kyiv and several other regions. In the capital, according to preliminary data, all air targets were successfully shot down.

In Kharkiv Oblast, a missile attack was launched on the village of Kivsharivka, Kupiansk Raion. Three elderly women aged 73, 85, and 90 were injured. In addition, a pregnant woman, a 14-year-old teenager, and a 10-year-old child were injured. The village of Hlushkivka, Kupiansk Raion, was also shelled, and a 60-year-old woman sustained shrapnel wounds.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Russian military attacked the Pokrovsk community: one woman was killed and 10 civilians were wounded, including an 11-year-old child. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian troops dropped bombs on Toretsk. A local gas station was hit, killing an employee and injuring 8 other civilians. A resident was injured by a second bomb.

Arrest of Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

Kyiv Solomianskyi District Court granted the prosecutor's motion and extended the house arrest of Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Prosecutor Yevhen Zavistovskyi noted that the pre-trial investigation is ongoing, so Metropolitan Pavlo (Petro Lebed) can influence witnesses.

Innovations from Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that legalizes deportations and elections during martial law in Russia. However, there is currently no martial law on the territory of Russia: the Russian administration has imposed it only on the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts. The head of the Ministry of Reintegration, Iryna Vereshchuk, commented on Putin's decision.

“They say that the occupiers are going to hold some kind of ‘elections’ in September in the temporarily occupied territories. I want to warn our citizens in the TOT once again: be careful and responsible. Do not let yourself be drawn into cooperation with the enemy. Because all collaborators will have big problems later. You do not need it!” emphasized Vereshchuk.

Situation at the front

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Eastern Military Group, said that the withdrawal of Wagner PMC forces from Bakhmut and their replacement by Russian army units is delayed.

“The enemy, the Wagner PMC, is now in Bakhmut. But they are actually in a kind of a mousetrap. And now Prigozhin is trying to withdraw his units and bring in army units. This process is being delayed. He makes various statements there. But we have only one task – to defeat the enemy, liberate the territory, move forward and to the borders,” noted Syrskyi.

He said that Ukrainian units and subdivisions are holding their lines and positions, repelling all enemy attempts to advance in the areas of Bilohorivka, Spirne, Novoselivske, and Torsk, inflicting significant losses in personnel and equipment on the occupiers.