Victorious news of 821st day of war: Ukrainian gains near Kreminna, Russian troops’ evacuation from Dzhankoi, new military aid from Germany

Ukraine's Defense Forces make progress near Kreminna

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported the information.

It noted that Ukrainian forces have recently made a small advance south of Kreminna. Geolocation footage released on May 23 shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are also making progress north of Bilohorivka, south of Kreminna.

Drone attacks in Crimea, Belgorod region

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the alleged elimination of three maritime drones and five air targets over the Belgorod region and the temporarily occupied Crimea.

"Last night, a number of attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using American ATACMS tactical missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the Russian Federation were stopped," the statement said.

It is noted that Russian Air Defense Forces allegedly destroyed three ATACMS tactical missiles over the territory of occupied Crimea, as well as two drones over the Belgorod region.

In addition, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, three maritime drones headed for Crimea were allegedly destroyed in the Black Sea.

Plays about Putin's mock trial and full-scale war in Ukraine win awards in US

The plays The Hague and My Mother and the Full-Scale Invasion by Ukrainian Sasha Denysova received The 2024 Elliot Norton Awards and The Helen Hayes Awards in the United States.

This was reported by Ukrinform.

On May 20, two plays about the war in Ukraine received prestigious awards in the United States. The Hague, directed by Sasha Denysova, was awarded the 2024 Elliot Norton Award by the Boston Theater Critics Association.

The Hague was staged at the Arlekin Players Theater in Boston. The play shows an imaginary trial of Vladimir Putin, told by an orphan girl from Mariupol. In her fantasies, the Russian dictator's criminal associates appear, from Kadyrov to Kovalchuk. A record number of artists took part in the production - 18 actors from New York, Los Angeles, and Boston.

The Hague has already been staged in Poland, the United States, Bulgaria, and France, and productions are currently being prepared in Romania and the Netherlands.

"This play ran, like everything else in America, for three weeks, and then for another three weeks on stream, in a virtual version made by Goliak, and a huge number of viewers could watch it," Denysova explained.

The virtual performance was watched by viewers across the country thanks to the director of Ukrainian origin, Igor Golyak.

Sasha Denysova's play My Mother and the Full-Scale Invasion won the Helen Hayes Award for Best Play of the Year. The play tells the story of the playwright's 82-year-old mother. It was staged at two of the largest theaters in the United States, the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington, D.C., and The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia.

The set designers also won both awards. Both performances received high-profile reviews in the Washington Post, The New Yorker, and the Guardian.

"Ukraine has won on the theatrical front: telling the terrible truth about Russia's crimes on Ukrainian soil and the incredible resistance of Ukrainians through theatrical means," commented playwright Sasha Denysova on the awards.

Russians evacuate military from Dzhankoi

Guerrillas in the temporarily occupied Crimea claim that Russians have begun evacuating their military from Dzhankoi and actively restoring airfields in the depths of the peninsula

The military movement of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars Atesh reports this.

Agents of the movement from various units of the Russian armed forces report that the occupiers have begun evacuating some of their personnel from Dzhankoi. At the same time, the restoration and probably modernization of airfields in the depths of Crimea, such as Kirovske in the Feodosia area and Baherove in the Kerch area, has begun at an active pace.

First group of Ukrainian pilots completes F-16 training in United States

The first group of Ukrainian pilots completes training on F-16 fighter jets at a military base in Arizona, USA. Ukrainian Air Force officials say that even two of these aircraft can significantly strengthen the Ukrainian army.

Politico reports. 

According to Erin Hannigan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Air National Guard, the Ukrainians completed training at a military base in Arizona. She called it a decisive step towards the emergence of modern fighter jets in the skies of Ukraine.

The pilots were trained at the 162nd Air National Guard Base in Tucson. The number of soldiers and the exact date of their graduation were not disclosed for security reasons.

According to Politico, the pilots are now heading to Europe for additional training.

Leopard tanks, bridge-laying tank, drones, ammunition: Germany announces new aid package for Ukraine

This was reported on the German government's website.

The German government also noted that about €5 billion has already been allocated for military assistance to Ukraine in 2023 and about €1.6 billion in 2022. In addition, an additional €2.9 billion was allocated in the first two years of the full-scale war for supplies that will be delivered only in 2025-2028.

The new military aid package includes:

• 10 Leopard 1 A5 battle tanks (jointly with Denmark);
• Bergepanzer 2 ARV armored recovery vehicle;
• Bridge-laying tank Beaver;
• Pionierpanzer Dachs armoured engineering vehicle;
• 16 Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks;
• 4 Wisent 1 engineering vehicles;
• 34 RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones;
• 20 VECTOR reconnaissance drones with spare parts;
• 8,500 rounds of ammunition for 155 mm artillery;
• 1.75 million rounds of ammunition for firearms;
• 111 Haenel CR308 rifles, 80 Haenel HLR338 sniper rifles, 540 Haenel MK556 assault rifles;
• 20 MG3 machine guns for Leopard tanks, Marder armored personnel carriers and engineering vehicles

The government also said that since the beginning of the great war, Germany has supplied €5.2 billion worth of material from the Federal Armed Forces' stockpile. 

One of Germany's federal states introduces Ukrainian language in schools

The federal state of Hesse in Germany is introducing Ukrainian as a second foreign language in schools to make it easier for children from Ukraine to pass their final exams. This was reported by n-tv.

According to the publication, Ukrainian children have to learn not only German, but also English and another foreign language to be able to pass the Abitur final exams. 

From now on, Hesse will be the first federal state to simplify this procedure for refugees from Ukraine and introduce the study of Ukrainian as a second foreign language in schools.

Businesses from three countries to allocate $300,000 for film about Oleksandr Dovzhenko

This was reported by Ukrinform.

Director of the Odesa Film Studio Andrii Osipov said that companies from Turkey, Moldova and Romania will allocate about $300,000 for the creation of the film The Director about the life of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, which will begin shooting in the second half of summer in Odesa. Osipov clarified that 5 international partners planned to provide financial support before the full-scale invasion.