Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news

Explosions and fire confirmed near Belgorod. Authorities say fire broke out at a Russian Defence Ministry facility in the Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine. This was announced by Belgorod Region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. 

Bellingcat founder: Russian servicemen, beware! You will be found out and punished. Eliot Giggins wrote this in a Radio Svoboda column. It says that radio communications of the Russian military are recorded not only by special services, but also by enthusiasts all over the world - in order to make the collected data the material for war crimes investigations.

Units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces wounded Russian Chief of General Staff Gerasimov, who had come to lead an offensive on Slovyansk. According to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the head of the Interior Ministry, around 12 noon it was possible to confirm yesterday's explosion in Izyum near the headquarters of the 2nd Army of the occupants, where Gerasimov was staying.

Ukrainian National Guard rapid response brigade reveals how Russians 'went to hell' (VIDEO)

Wealthy Russians are looking for ways to circumvent sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are trying to swap their high-end properties in London for homes in Dubai, looking for ways to circumvent financial restrictions. This was reported by the Financial Times.

Agriculturalists of Poltava region are holding the "food front". They have already sown 611 thousand hectares of crops in the region. They have fully completed the sowing of sugar beet and spring rape. Earlier they have completed the sowing of early grain crops. This was announced by the head of Poltava RMA.

The Russia Freedom Legion has arrived in Donbass: "Here begins Russia's deliverance from Putin and his gang," they wrote in their Telegram channel.

65% of the citizens of Poland believe that NATO countries must provide Ukraine with heavy weapons (tanks, artillery). Only 12 % are against it. The poll was performed by Rzeczpospolita, a Polish newspaper.

Russian troops do not stop artillery and mortar shelling of Ukrainian positions in the Kherson region and continue to conduct air reconnaissance with the help of UAVs. Today the AFU subdivisions destroyed a Russian "Orlan-10", the "Pivden" Operational Command informs.

Currently, there are no more men on the streets of the occupied territories of the Luhansk region, local hospitals are overcrowded with wounded "mobilized" men from temporarily occupied territories with severed limbs, the head of Luhansk RMA Serhiy Haidai states in his interview with Obozrevatel.

US President Joe Biden during his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner paid tribute to Ukrainian and American journalists who died during the full-scale Russian invasion. He also mentioned the producer of Radio Svoboda, who recently died as a result of a missile strike on Kyiv.

The head of Chernihiv RMA Vyacheslav Chaus publishes a video of Tovstolis residents speaking about the atrocities of the Russian occupants.

In the Dnipro region Russian invaders "demilitarized" warehouses in the Synelnykove district with missiles again. One of the warehouses contained grains. No casualties among the population. The information is provided by the head of Dnipro RMA Valentyn Reznichenko.

Ukrainians return from Russian captivity after an exchange with severe injuries, sepsis, and amputated due to frostbite limbs. Ombudswoman Lyudmila Denisova reported on the torture and abuse of Ukrainian citizens by the occupants.

Occupational forces in Mariupol settle unknown people in the homes of Mariupol citizens. Residence permits are issued by the occupying "authorities" of the so-called DPR. There are cases when "new residents" do not give things to the owners when they come for them, Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova informs. She also states that "these facts witness the domination of total arbitrariness and lawlessness on the occupied territories".

Ukrainian soldier with the call sign "Buhai" sings the "Chornobaivka" song in Rubizhne, the Luhansk region. The Ministry of Defense of the aggressor country lied three times about capturing the city. Russian occupational forces still try to assault Ukrainian city.

The German government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, lacks the courage and imagination and it is well able to justify its inaction during the war in Ukraine, Ambassador of Ukraine in Berlin Andriy Melnik states in his interview with German Bild.

Evacuation from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia might be performed today. The gathering is at 16:00 near the "Port City" shopping mall. The official statement was published by Mariupol City Council.

Ex-President of Poland Lech Wałęsa states in his interview with Espreso Channel that he believes Poland should have waited and joined the UN and NATO together with Ukraine and Belarus. The Polish politician said that there was such an opportunity and he believed that he would be able to do it during the second term, but "fate wanted otherwise."

"Angelina Jolie is traveling to Ukraine in her personal capacity and UNHCR has no involvement in this visit," UN spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh said in his commentary for CBC News.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection developed a Methodology to assess the environmental impact and damage to the country due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For example, when burning 1 hectare of forest, the damage only from emissions of pollutants into the air may amount to more than UAH 1.3 million. When burning 100 tons of diesel fuel, the damage may be estimated at more than UAH 3.6 million.

Ambassador of Ukraine in Berlin Andrij Melnyk in his interview with Bild states that the ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is "a foreign body in German society" and "the embodiment of political corruption". Melnyk states he cannot understand why this Social Democratic Party is so tolerant of a person who causes such serious damage to the party in particular and to the FRG in general.

The SESU publishes a photo of an "Orlan" UAV brought down in the Donetsk region and ridiculed the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia for sending drones to Ukraine while their Siberia is on fire.

How did the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war change in the approximate daily timeline:

A day by day timelapse of the approximate situation of the war in Ukraine so far.

The situation at 00:00 UTC each day. pic.twitter.com/3t0EZ9KWOd

— Ukraine War Map (@War_Mapper) May 1, 2022

Russian saboteurs planned to shoot down a passenger plane and blame Ukraine for it. they wanted to fire on a civilian plane from the Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile system. The Security Service of Ukraine neutralized the SRG threat.

Mariupol City Council will not comment on the situation with evacuation and asks everyone to refrain from providing this information today, Advisor for the Mayor Petro Ansryushchenko informs.

Kharkiv RMA calls on the residents of northern and eastern districts of Kharkiv to remain in shelters during the day even in the absence of air alarms due to the intense shelling of Saltivka.

The SESU shows how a dog named Patron continues to demine the territories near Chernihiv. In the last 24 hours he together with the pyrotechnics has destroyed 262 explosive devices in the region.

Minister of Defense Oleksiy Ryeznikov visited the liberated villages of Yahidne and Lukashivka, and rewarded the defenders of Chernihiv with "awards and valuable gifts".

The head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation informs that the works to restore the connection in the Kerson region and a part of the Zaporizhzhia region are already being carried out, and the connection will be restored. The occupants damaged fiber-optic trunk lines and disconnected equipment of operators from the power supply in these regions.

Germany has "clearly" called for an embargo on Russian oil during the negotiations on imposing the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, the occupant country. The information is provided by the European diplomats in Brussels for the dpa journalists, according to Deutsche Welle.

The National Guard shows new trophies for Ukrainian fighters: a light armored towing vehicle, "Kamaz" and "Ural" vehicles, and also a "Tornado" armored vehicle.

 Yesterday the occupants fired at Kharkiv three times with artillery and multiple rocket launchers, the head of Kharkiv RMA Oleh Synyehubov informs. Saltivka, Pyatykhatka, and the airport district were damaged. Two people were injured in the region.

Today an enemy UAV was brought down in the Dnipro region, the head of Dnipro RMA Valentyn Reznichenko informs on Telegram.

In the last 24 hours the AFU has liquidated 300 more occupants. During the entire period of Russia's war on the territory of Ukraine, the enemy lost 23,500 personnel. More details on the losses of the occupants below:

Turkey will maintain contacts with the Russian authorities, as Ankara believes that the Kremlin should be "brought to peace" through negotiations, press Secretary of the Turkish President İbrahim Kalın states after visiting Kyiv, according to Anadolu State Agency.

Occupants in unrecognized Transnistria try to involve "the armed forces of the PMR in the actions of the Russian army", and hand out leaflets with agitation, the MDI MD informs. "mobilization points" are being opened for recruiting volunteers to fight in the Transnistrian army.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi with The Order of Princess Olga.

Ukrainian Special Forces destroyed an enemy IFV-2 together with its personnel and brought down a tank in the Izyum region.

An occupant UAV was shot in Odesa sky. "Our AAW sent that irrevocably at the known route", the OC "Pivden" informs.

One more tank is brought down with ATMS "Stuhna-P" in the Donetsk region. The video is provided by the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade.

Explosions were heard in Odesa. According to preliminary information, it's the work of the air defense system, the spokesman of the Regional Military State Administration Serhiy Bratchuk said on the air of the national telethon.

Vitaly Kim showed the aftermath of missile strikes in Mykolaiv oblast: "Invaders against the Ukrainian fertilizers". He added that the air quality is currently being checked.

The Russian invaders cut off mobile communications and the Internet connection in Kherson and part of Zaporizhzhia oblasts yesterday, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine reports.

Russia is using other countries to circumvent EU economic sanctions, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

• plans to re-export its goods under the guise of Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani products to third countries. More than 200 companies have already been established;
• manufacturer of air defense "Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant" attracts Kazakhstan to purchase German-made equipment;
• plans to organize in the CSTO countries the production of components for Russian military and dual-use products.

Russia wants to maintain its political and economic influence in the temporarily occupied Kherson for a long time. This will increase the ability of the Russian army to move north and west and strengthen control over Crimea, according to British intelligence on Twitter.

Zelensky had a meeting with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in Kyiv.

Fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed another Russian reconnaissance and attack helicopter Ka-52 "Alligator" with the anti-tank guided missile system "Stugna-P". The video was shown on Telegram by the journalist Roman Bochkala.

"Cyborg" Ruslan Borovyk died in the east of Ukraine. The defender of the Donetsk airport was a fighter of the Air Assault Forces. The friends of the soldier informed about his death on his Facebook page on the night of April 30 to May 1.

Ambassador of Ukraine in Berlin Andriy Melnyk in his interview with Bild am Sonntag states that the decision of Germany to provide self-propelled anti-aircraft guns Gepard is the right direction but is now enough, according to DW.