These are the key events on day 1,163 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is where things stand on Friday, May 2:
Fighting
- Russia accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians during a recent drone attack that killed at least seven people and wounded more than 20 on Thursday morning in partially occupied Kherson.
- The drone strike hit a market in the town of Oleshky in Russian-controlled Kherson at approximately 9:30am local time, when many people were outdoors due to the May 1 public holiday, the region’s Moscow-appointed governor said.
- Ukraine’s military said the attack targeted Russian troops, and only military personnel were killed, although the claims by either side have not been independently verified.
- A Russian strike on Ukraine’s Odesa killed two people, and a Russian drone attack in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia set a building on fire on Thursday night, injuring 14 people, with no fatalities.
- Ukraine’s SBU Security Service said it has thwarted the attempted murder of Sergiy Sternenko, a prominent activist and video blogger, and also detained a suspect. Sternenko has been heavily involved in anti-Russian activism since 2014.
Diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described his country’s landmark mineral deal with the US as a “truly equal agreement that creates an opportunity for quite significant investment in Ukraine”.
- The European Union is preparing new sanctions on Russia, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. This would be the 17th round of sanctions from the 27-member bloc.
- United States Senator Lindsey Graham has become one of the loudest Ukraine supporters in Washington, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive report. Graham, a close Trump ally, is pushing for new sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy and uranium.
- US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that the war in Ukraine is “not going anywhere” and it’s “not going to end any time soon” during an interview. It’s “going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other’s terms for peace are”, Vance said.
- The Trump administration has put forward a Russian-speaking career diplomat, Julie Davis, as their choice for the top US envoy to Ukraine. Davis, whose career experience includes the former Soviet Union, will take up the post as charge d’affaires in Kyiv. She will need to be approved by the Senate to become the ambassador.
- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he will follow through with his promise to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, even if it angers his EU neighbours.
- Russia is holding celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
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