Russian forces connect Dzharylhach Island to mainland, set up military training ground there

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported this on May 19.

“Invading Russian forces connected Dzharylhach Island with the occupied mainland of the Kherson region near the village of Lazurne, filling the ferry to the island with sand,” the report says. 

This was done in order to use the protected areas of the national park for military purposes. In particular, they set up a military training ground there.

Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes on Russian troops

Over the last day, Ukrainian aviation launched 12 strikes on the invading Russian troops' military positions, as well as 4 strikes on enemy anti-aircraft missile systems.

In addition, the Ukrainian military destroyed 3 Kalibr cruise missiles, 16 Iranian Shahed strike UAVs and 2 enemy reconnaissance UAVs of various types.

Missile and artillery units destroyed 1 control center, 6 weapons and military equipment concentration areas, 2 artillery units at firing positions, as well as 6 enemy electronic warfare stations.

Frontline situation

During this day, the Russian troops launched 6 missile strikes, 51 airstrikes, and over 30 attacks with multiple launch rocket systems.

In particular, the shelling of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region and Beryslav in the Kherson region resulted in civilian deaths and injuries and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings.

Invading Russian forces are attacking in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka directions. Over the last day, 70 combat engagements took place in these sectors. The most intense fighting continues in the Bakhmut and Marinka directions. 

The threat of further missile and air strikes across Ukraine remains high.

Near the state Ukrainian border with Russia and Belarus, the situation hasn't changed significantly, and no enemy offensive groups have been detected. 

At the same time, the Russian Federation continued shelling the border line: one settlement in the Chernihiv region, 4 settlements in the Sumy region, as well as 7 towns and villages in the Kharkiv region were attacked. 

Shelling of Ukrainian regions

In the Kupiansk direction, 16 settlements in the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions came under artillery shelling. 

In the Lyman direction, 6 settlements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions came under Russian fire. 

In the Bakhmut direction, 17 localities in the Donetsk region were attacked by the invading Russian troops. 

In the Avdiivka direction, 7 settlements of the Donetsk region came under artillery shelling. 

In the Marinka direction, 5 localities in the Donetsk region were shelled. 

In the Shakhtarsk direction, 9 towns and villages in the Donetsk region came under Russian fire. 

In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, over 10 towns and villages were subjected to numerous attacks by the invading Russian forces. 

Invading Russian forces continue to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield. As a result, the enemy continues to convert civilian educational institutions in the temporarily occupied territories into medical facilities. In particular, in the village of Holubivka, Luhansk region, the invading forces turned a local school into a military hospital. About 50 wounded soldiers were taken there for treatment.

• Ukrainian troops destroyed 6 Russian Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems and a munitions depot on the southern front.