Four Russian military offices across the Putin-led country have recently been hit by arson attacks, reports reveal. The most recent of these incidents was reported to have unfolded early on May 15, when a Volgograd office was hit with an apparent Molotov cocktail at around 2 a.m. “The fire engulfed 20 square meters,” according to a statement reported on by Ukrinform, a Ukrainian government information source.
Other recent arson incidents targeting Russian military offices took place in the Ryazan and Rostov regions. Per Ukrinform, Molotov cocktails were hurled at such offices in the Russian cities of Gukovo and Omsk in the Rostov region in the darkness of May 13, and in a later incident, “someone tried to set fire to the doors and window frame of a military draft office in the village of Pronsk.” Per Ukrinform, there have been reports since the start of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine of arson attacks targeting Russian military offices in the Cherepovets, Nizhnevartovsk, Moscow, Voronezh, Mordovia, Sverdlovsk, and Ivanovo regions. Previous reports indicated that “Young men subsequently detained [after arson incidents] in Sverdlovsk and Ivanovo said they sought to disrupt the recruitment campaign in protest of Russia’s war in Ukraine.” Thousands upon thousands of people have demonstrated around Russia against the war.
⚡️ Finance minister: Ukraine needs $5 billion per month to finance social and humanitarian aid.
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said on May 19 to G7 finance ministers that frozen Russian assets should be used to rebuild Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 19, 2022
In the most recent arson incidents, there’s no apparent info at this point regarding perpetrators, although Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty notes the fires as “a possible sign of protest against the war in Ukraine.” In Ukraine, there have seemingly been large numbers of Russian casualties, something ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman said earlier in the war was “going to cause shockwaves in Russia.” In just a single recent confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, personnel defending Ukraine appear to have wiped out dozens of Russian military vehicles and wounded or killed more than 400 Russian troops. The Russian forces were gathered around a portion of the Siverskyi Donets River, which partly runs through Ukraine’s eastern regions. Russian forces have failed to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and U.K. officials believe Putin has fired the lieutenant general whose forces were involved in that failure. In the past roughly two weeks, Ukraine has liberated 23 settlements in the Kharkiv region, per Ukraine’s Brig. Gen. Oleksiy Hromov. That significantly lessens the pressure on Kharkiv.
⚡️ Germany to allocate 1 billion euros to support Ukraine's budget.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced the new assistance package during a G7 finance minister meeting. According to Lindner, the U.S. wants to mobilize $7.5 billion to help Ukraine’s short-term budget.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 19, 2022
