Russian troops launched a rocket attack on Sloviansk at night. At least three people were killed and six others were injured.

***** In Severodonetsk, the Russians carried out an airstrike during which they hit a tank with nitric acid. People were asked not to leave the shelter because it is very dangerous.

 In the Luhansk region, the evacuation of residents was stopped. The armored transport, which was headed to Lysychansk for civilians, was fired upon by the Russian military. French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff had been killed as a result of the shelling. He was 32 years old.

 At morning, the Russians shelled the residential area of Mykolaiv. As of 4:00 p.m., two wounded people are known. Another person had been killed.

***** The Russians ldid a missile attack on a solar power plant in the city of Merefa, Kharkiv region. There were no soldiers there. The station was shot only to destroy it and cause economic damage to the region.

***** The Russians periodically block the car smovement that want to leave in the direction of Zaporizhzhia to the territory controlled by Ukraine. Convoys of 300-400 cars are stopped for 4-5 days. The occupiers sometimes demand money for travel and make problems to leave the occupied territory.

 In the Melitopol district, the Pryazovsky police department completely switched over to the side of the Russians. 35 employees of the department headed by the chief and his deputy agreed to cooperate with the enemy. Interesting, that among the traitors there are members of the ATO, which fought against the Russians after 2014. Perhaps this action by the policemen was caused by psychological and possibly physical pressure on them and their families.

*** Three missile strikes on Kryvyi Rih.

***In the Kherson region, due to the offensive of the Ukrainian army, the Russians suffered losses, and took up the defense on unfavorable frontiers.

***There is a threat of missile and air strikes on the territory of Ukraine in the Volyn and Poliske directions.

 In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a Russian Iskander missile hit the training ground of the National Guard of Ukraine. 10 people died, about 30 were injured.

**** The city of Liman in the Donetsk region is mostly controlled by Russian troops. The Russians are gradually advancing.

 The Russians shelled the center of Kharkiv. Seven civilians had been killed, 17 were wounded. Among the wounded is a 9-year-old child.

*** Russia continues its massive offensive on Severodonetsk near Bakhmut and push out Ukrainian troops south of the city Liman.

*** Near the border of Ukraine, the Belarusian army has training, which can very quickly turn into aggression. Russia has placed its missiles on the border with Ukraine.

*** The shortage of salt arose because the "Artemsil" enterprise was in the war zone. The saltmine is hited, railway tracks are being shelled. The management of the plant reported, that the entire stock of salt was taken to warehouses in the controlled territory of Ukraine. Logistics does not have time to deliver salt to consumers via new routes.

**** Today, I accidentally bought 2 kg of salt at UAH 30/kg in a small store in our area.

 Salt suddenly disappeared in stores. There is an empty shelf in the store closest to us. Usually all kinds of salt were laid out there - rock, "Extra", iodized and others. I went to ask about salt in another store. The seller said that there is no salt and it is unknown when it will appear. She also said that salt is now sold for UAH 95 per kilogram in Ternopil. That's more than three dollars. Previously, salt cost UAH 6-7/kg.

         I've bought two packets of sea salt at a pharmacy for UAH 32/kg.

 British intelligence reports that Russian units are slowly but advancing towards each other with the aim of encircling Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. According to the information of the General Staff of Ukraine, the Russians want to reach the border of the Luhansk region.

       ****** During the air alert, I was outside and heard the sound of a flying missile, but I did not see the rocket itself. I think it was a missile because the sound was different than the sound of a military jet.

 After rocket attacks of Malyn last night, the Russians hit Korosten, Zhytomyr Region. One rocket was shot down and the body-block simply fell on a residential area. The second rocket damaged the railway infrastructure. The head of the Zhytomyr regional administration, Vitaliy Bunechko, said that as a result of yesterday's attack on Malyn, nearly 150 houses, a shop and a school were damaged.

**** The monitoring group learned that the night attack on Korosten was carried out by a jet from Baranovichi, Belarus.

  **** President Voldymyr Zelenskyi said today that 87 people died under the rubble in Desna, Chernihiv region. Desna was shelled on May 17. This is one of the largest one-time losses of Ukraine in this war, which were officially reported by the state leaders. The day before, the president announced that now, every day, 50-100 Ukrainian soldiers die in the war.

 The commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of Ukraine Serhiy Volynskyi "Volyna" left the territory of "Azovstal" in Mariupol. On May 16, almost 300 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from Azovstal. 53 seriously wounded soldiers were transfered to the hospital in Novoazovsk, and another 211 were brought to Olenivka through the humanitarian corridor. An exchange procedure is planned for their subsequent return home. The Committee of the Red Cross has begun to register servicemen who leave Azovstal. The Russians call the number of Ukrainian soldiers who left Azovstal - 2,439 soldiers.

   *** This morning there was an air alarm because was bombing our Rivne region, on a military infrastructure object. Six people were injured, in which place, and what exactly was bombed is not reported. Most likely, it was a military training camp in Tuchyn.

 Refueled my car to a full tank. At the OKKO gas station, gasoline and diesel were sold at 15 liters per car. The price of gasoline was UAH 52 per liter.

*** The Russian authorities announced the withdrawal of about 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, calling it a "surrender." Soldiers are being held on territory not controlled by Ukraine.

*** The Russians struck the Malyn railway station in the Zhytomyr region with three cruise missiles. Three civilians were injured. About a hundred houses were damaged

 Wounded Ukrainian soldiers from "Azovstal" were transported by the Russians to prisons in the border regions of Russia.

 Russia offers Ukraine to buy electricity generated by the nuclear power plant it seized in the city of Energodar, Zaporizhzhia region.

*** The Mariupol City Council reports that the bombing of "Azovstal" could have damaged a technical facility that holds thousands tons of concentrated hydrogen sulfide solution. The leakage of this liquid will kill the flora and fauna of the Sea of Azov. The dangerous substances can reach the Black and Mediterranean seas also. 

*** The Rivne and Vohlynia region residents telephone conversations can be listened to by the military of Belarus. Currently, the activity of the mobile radio monitoring complex in the border zone was recorded. It works to monitor cellular networks.

 At night, the Russians launched a massive missile attack on the Lviv region. Our air defense managed to shoot down three missiles. As a result of the rocket attack, the railway infrastructure in the Yavoriv district was damaged. The place of the missile attack is located 20 km from the Polish border.

***The Russians launched a missile attack on the village of Desna, Chernihiv region. Many wounded and dead.

*** Five rockets were fired at Okhtyrka, Sumy region, as a result of which five people were injured. Many private houses were damaged. The blows fell on the central part of the city and the "Dachny" residential area.

**** In the Mykolaiv region, a Russian missile was shot down, which was flying in the direction of the western regions of Ukraine. The cruise missile was fired from a strategic bomber in the Caspian Sea region.

  *** As a result of the attack on Desna, 8 people died and 12 more were injured.

    ***Wounded fighters of the Azov regiment began to be taken out of the "Azovstal" plant in Mariupol. It is reported that they are being taken to the territory not controlled by Ukraine in the Donetsk region. More than 260 people have already been evacuated, about 50 of them are seriously injured.

 The Russians hit Odesa and Mykolaiv regions with missiles from airplanes. There are casualties and destruction of civil infrastructure. 4 people were injured, one of them a child. One car and tourist infrastructure were damaged.

**** The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it has agreed to evacuate the wounded with representatives of the Ukrainian military blocked at Azovstal in Mariupol. Wounded soldiers are supposed to be taken to a hospital in Novoazovsk, a territory not controlled by Ukraine. Ukrainian officials do not comment on the information.

   *** In Rivne, there are huge queues of 100 or more cars at gas stations where there is gasoline.

   *** Two Russian sea mines were neutralized on the Odesa coast.

 For the first time since May 8, there was an air alarm at night. The Russians launched a missile attack on a military facility in the Lviv region. The news reported that the missiles were launched from submarines in the Black Sea. There is no information about the victims. Two missiles were shot down by our anti-aircraft defense, four missiles were destroyed by the object in the Yavoriv district.

 The Azov regiment reports that Russian troops are continuing their assault on the territory of the Azovstal plant.

  *** The Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian pontoon crossing and part of a Russian armored convoy during an attempt to cross a river in Donbas. The battalion-tactical group could be part of the Russian 74th separate motorized rifle brigade and lost about 50 units of armored vehicles out of 70.

 At early morning, I switch on PRIDE from WOG and saw that there is gasoline for sale at the gas station on the way out of the city, along the Kyiv-Chop highway. I immediately gone there. The line of cars was not very long. I was about 12th in the queue. In the PRIDE application, it was indicated that for one car you can buy 20 liters of A-95 gasoline. Ahead of me in the queue was an Audi-A5, in which there were two men. It seems to me that they poured 40 liters of fuel into the tank, instead of 20. Now, with all these restrictions, cars are refueled like this. When you drive up to the gas station one by one, the gas station attendant inserts the gas gun into the tank of the car. You go to pay at the cash register and after that they fill you car with gas. At the cash, your QR-code is scanned from a smartphone, according to which the next time, at another WOG gas station, you can to buy fuel after three hours, but no more than 3 times a day. Those two men from Audi went both to the cash desk, meaning they had two PRIDE apps on their smartphones. When they filled their tank with gasoline, they tipped the gas station attendant. It is possible that they also tipped the cashier to scan two QR-codes, supposedly two cars were filled. But this is just my guess only. 

        I bought gasoline at the price of UAH 39.57/liter. Paid UAH 791.4 hrn. In US dollars it will be $1.25/liter approximately $25.05US for 20 liters

 It is impossible to buy gasoline at gas stations. More precisely, cars are refueled using special coupons, but buying coupons is a problem if there are no acquaintances in that system.

       Our neighbor M. suggested that it is possible to buy gasoline at WOG gas stations if you install the PRIDE program from WOG on your smartphone.

 Closer to midnight, the Russians struck Odessa again. 7 rockets were fired from the planes, which hit the shopping center and warehouse of ready-made consumer goods. These objects were not related to military infrastructure, and were not warehouses of weapons or ammunition.

*** On May 9, US President Joe Biden signed the law on lend-lease military weapons for Ukraine. The last time a similar procedure was used during the Second World War.

*** Leonid Kravchuk (1934 - 2022), the first president of Ukraine, died. He was 88 years old.

 60 people died as a result of an airstrike on a school in Bilogorivka, Luhansk region.

*** Iryna Vereshchuk said yesterday that it was possible to evacuate all civilians from Azovstal - women, children and the elderly.

**** At night, the Russians shelled the Luhansk region. Four houses were damaged in Rubizhny, nine in Severodonetsk, two in Lisichansk.

 OKKO gas station, there is fuel, but not for everyone, so the prices are indicated by zeros. There it is possible to refuel special transport, - police, ambulance, buses, or corporate customers who have special cards.

     Ukrnafta gas station. There is no fuel at all, so prices are not shown even at zeros. 

    Today, the government announced that fuel prices cannot be higher than 37-40 hryvnias per liter, but people say that at some gas stations it is possible to fill up a car at a price of 60-70 hryvnias/liter ($1US = 29UAH), but you need to know where these gas stations are located.

    Called to the "Olas" gas station. Earlier they've said that gasoline might be available this afternoon. Today they informed that there will be no gasoline. It is unknown when it will appear.

      *** The Russians fired missiles at the eastern regions of Ukraine. Odessa was heavily bombed. Air alarms throughout the country.

 The problems with gasoline will continue for two to three months, and not for a couple of weeks, as the authorities assure. I think so.

 Today I've monitored online gas stations in internet where is possible to buy gasoline for money, not for special coupons. It is possible to do with gas stations of the "Olas" network. I've called to our town gas station and asked is it possible to refuel the car? They replied that they don't have gasoline now, but it might be available on Saturday, in the afternoon.

A line of cars before the OKKO gas station

The price is shown as zero. It is means there is no gasoline at the station, but line of cars is very long.

 It was always unclear to me how the soldiers of the "Azov" regiment could fight in a complete siege for two months?

       Today I saw an interview of one of the leading managers of the "Azovstal" plant from Mariupol. He said that the plant was built in the times of the Soviet Union, during the Cold War, and a system of underground storage facilities was built there for the plant's workers. After the annexation of Crimea, the local authorities and the management of the plant decided to renew the protective bomb shelters. Air ventilation and water supply systems were renewed. Food warehouses were also replenished to feed 10,000 people for two weeks, i.e. all the plant's worker.

     At the beginning of the encirclement, civilians with children joined the soldiers. Everyone had three meals a day. Now, at the end of the siege and complete encirclement, three meals a day were left only for the children. Soldiers and adult civilians have one meal a day only.

 I got to the Ukrnafta gas station by bicycle. I wanted to find out from them on the spot when, on which day and time it is better to drive up to refuel the car and not drive in vain? They explained to me that it is impossible to refuel the car for money. They sell gasoline only with special coupons, which can be bought only at the office of the Ukrnafta company in Rivne.

*** In the evening, the Russians launched a missile attack on Odesa. Later, conflicting information about the victims appeared. The regional military administration reported that a 13-year-old girl was killed, while the press center of the defense forces said that a 15-year-old boy was killed and a minor girl was hospitalized.

 I planned to refuel the car in the morning, but there was no fuel at the gas stations. At the "Ukrnafta" gas station, where I always fill up, everything is zero. Only diesel fuel was sold at the OKKO gas station at UAH 42.50/liter. Neighbor Slavik said that they sold only 5 liters of disel per car. It was necessary to pay only by bank card. Diesel fuel was not sold for cash at all. 10 liters of disel could be purchased if you paid with a branded OKKO gas station card.

        In the TV news yesterday, the owner of a gas station chain said that the government has introduced a limit on the price of gasoline at no more than UAH 40/liter. But the cost price of gasoline is now UAH 45/liter, so no one will sell fuel at a loss.

*** About 100 women and children were evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. It is reported that the evacuation will continue tomorrow. The military is informed that approximately 500 people and wounded soldiers must be evacuated.