War in Ukraine, day 799. Huge fire in Odessa, after a Russian ballistic missile attack

The most important events of the last 24 hours:

• The toll of the rocket attack on a post office in Odessa has reached five dead
• Ukraine is preparing to conclude a bilateral agreement with the US, before joining NATO
• On International Labor Day, over 100 fights took place in Ukraine
• Huge fire in Odessa, after a Russian attack with ballistic missiles
• The United States imposes sanctions on some entities from China and Turkey for the aid given to Russia in the war in Ukraine
• Rescue mission in Ukraine. Three Ukrainian children were taken from Russian-controlled areas
• Tanks and other Western armored vehicles captured in Ukraine are on display in Moscow
• An American admitted to trying to sell drone components to the Russians
• The death toll after the April 29 attack on Odessa has reached six

Update 12:00 Five people died and 20 others were injured following the Russian attack in Odessa.

The target was the warehouse of a major courier company in Ukraine, which was engulfed in flames in the attack.

In recent days, several Russian missiles have hit Odessa, killing at least eight people.

Update 10:00 Ukraine is working on seven new bilateral agreements, including with the United States of America.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that he is working with a team on the specific details of these documents and noted that some preliminary texts have already been completed.

Since January, Kyiv has already signed agreements with the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland and Latvia.

The agreements are intended to provide support and security guarantees to Ukraine while the country awaits NATO membership, Zelenskiy explained.

“Obviously, any means of increasing our protection against Russian terror has a special priority,” he stressed.

Update 09:00 Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed 121 times in a single day, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The balance sheet was recorded on May 1, according to the quoted source.

In total, Russia launched five missiles, carried out 63 airstrikes and 72 attacks with multiple launch missile systems against Ukrainian positions and some localities.

The Ukrainian General Staff claims that its forces repelled 59 Russian attacks in the Donetsk region, of which 39 were in the direction of Avdiivka, and 20 in the direction of Bahmut.

The intensification of fighting in the Avdiivka area is significant, because north of this city, captured in February by Moscow troops, is the city of Ceasiv Yar, apparently the new objective of the Russian army.

Update 08:00 A Russian ballistic missile hit a postal warehouse in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, injuring 14 people.

The regional governor Oleg Kiper stated that the attack also started a massive fire.

The director of the post and courier company Nova Poșta, Volodimir Popereșniuk, announced on Facebook that all 18 employees on duty headed to an air raid shelter before the missile hit a section of the warehouse.

Odessa is a frequent target of Russian attacks, and in the past two days rockets have hit several areas of the city, killing eight people.

Update 00:01 The United States accuses Russia of violating the international ban on the use of chemical weapons

The United States on Wednesday accused Russia of violating an international ban on the use of chemical weapons by deploying chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents “as a method of war” in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely driven by the desire of Russian forces to remove Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and make tactical gains on the battlefield,” the State Department said in a statement.

Chloropicrin is listed as a banned substance by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was created to implement and monitor compliance with the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

War in Ukraine, May 1, 2024 | Russia claims it hit the Ukrainian Army’s Southern Group Command in the Odesa attack

War in Ukraine, April 30, 2024 | The US urges its allies to supply Ukraine with Patriot anti-aircraft systems

War in Ukraine, April 29, 2024 | ISW: Russia does not have the forces to capture the city of Kharkiv

War in Ukraine, April 28, 2024 | A hotel in Nikolaiev was hit by a drone launched by the Russians

War in Ukraine, April 27, 2024 | Ukraine says it shot down 21 of 34 missiles fired by Russia overnight