This is what happened on Thursday, May 1:
struggle
- The governor of the region said Russian drones hit Ukraine's Black Sea port earlier on Thursday, triggering fires, destructive housing and infrastructure.
- The mayor of Kharkif, the second largest city in the northeastern region of Ukraine, said another Russian drone hit a gas station in the city center, causing a fire.
- Ukraine's SBU Security Agency claims to be responsible for the drone strike at its Russian defense manufacturing plant. The region's governor reported that a strike at the Murom Instrument construction plant, 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Moscow, triggered a fire and damaged two buildings.
- Russian news agencies reported that Russian air defense forces destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones, citing the country's defense ministry.
- Ukraine's top military commander Oleksandr Syrskii said that despite Moscow's announcement of a three-day ceasefire from May 8 to 10, the intensity of Russian troops' combat activities in eastern Ukraine has been greatly increased.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said some Ukrainian soldiers are still flooded in the basement and hiding places in the Kursk region in western Russia. Moscow claims it deported Ukrainian troops over the weekend.
- The Kremlin said at least 288 civilians were killed during Ukraine's months-long invasion of Kursk.
- South Korean lawmakers, citing its National Intelligence Agency, said about 600 North Korean troops were fighting Russia with 15,000 troops deployed in total.
- U.S. lawmakers have asked the State Department to introduce them to Russia's use of Chinese combatants in the Ukrainian war, saying Moscow can only hire Chinese mercenaries in Beijing's "Tasit approval."
diplomatic
- The United States and Ukraine have signed a long-awaited agreement to allow Washington to acquire Kiev minerals in exchange for Ukrainian investment in defense and reconstruction.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said that despite recent attacks on troubled countries, Putin still hopes to stop Russia's war in Ukraine.
- "If it weren't for me, I thought he wanted to take over the whole country," Trump told ABC News Broadcasting. "I'll tell you that I was upset when I saw Putin shoot missiles into several towns."
- Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin is open to Ukraine’s peace and the United States is doing strong work, but the conflict is so complex that Washington wants to make rapid progress.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Putin expressed his willingness to negotiate directly with Ukraine, but Kiev has not yet received any answers.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded that Ukraine is ready to conduct peace talks in any format if Moscow signs an unconditional ceasefire. Putin had previously welcomed the idea in principle, but said that many problems need to be addressed in practice before such a ceasefire can be agreed.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and stressed Canada's commitment to supporting Ukraine in achieving lasting peace and security.
- The European Union is preparing for how to impose economic sanctions on Russia if the Trump administration abandons peace talks in Ukraine and seeks reconciliation with Moscow, the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Financial Times.
- The EU said 16 member states are seeking exemptions from the group's public debt rules so that they can increase their defense spending after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Trump's stance on European security.