LIVETEXT War in Ukraine, Day 801 | Drone Attack on the City of Kharkiv. Russia Claims It Shot Down

Since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Lithuanian companies have delivered at least 130 million euros worth of dual-use civil and military goods to Russia’s neighboring countries, and part of these goods later reached the Russian military industry, reveals an investigation by the Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT), reports EFE, according to Agerpres.

According to the investigation, dual-use goods, including microchips, electronic products, electrical appliances and machinery that can be used to manufacture civilian products or military weapons and systems, were sent by Lithuanian companies to Central Asian countries, but in fact have finally arrived in Russia.

“Deliveries are made through countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The Lithuanian companies involved in the export claim that they did not know that the dual-use goods and technologies would eventually end up in Russia,” states LRT.

According to LRT, more than 70 Lithuanian companies have contributed to sending dual-use items to Russia on several occasions.

The LRT investigation points out that the European Union does not prohibit the shipment of dual-use products to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and other countries. However, Lithuania implemented such a nationwide ban in 2023.

The LRT investigation was published around the same time that Latvia-based investigative journalism group Re:Baltica reported that certain companies with ties to Latvian politicians, including a member of the Riga Parliament, were involved in shipments of manganese ore to Russia. Manganese is used in the manufacture of tanks and other armored vehicles.

“Overall, Latvia and Estonia, which have become the EU’s largest exporters of manganese ore to Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, delivered 1.9 million tonnes to Russia last year,” industry sources say.

A percentage of 78% was transported through Latvia, 22% through Estonia, where a company with ties to former Prime Minister Tiit Vahi handles this cargo in the port of Sillame, writes Re:Baltica.

A Russian citizen was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday for setting fire to a recruitment center in the city of Khabarovsk, in the far east of Russia, writes RIA Novosti, quoted by EFE and Agerpres.

According to the sentence, given by a military court, the man, whose identity was not revealed, was found guilty of the crimes of terrorism, vandalism, hooliganism, desecration of graves and dishonor to the national flag.

The investigation determined that the accused, who was opposed to recruitment for the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, set fire to the enlistment office in Khabarovsk’s Industrialni district with two Molotov cocktails last fall.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Saturday that its air defense systems shot down four long-range ATACMS missiles fired by Ukrainian forces at the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in March 2014.

The Ministry of Defense in Moscow did not give details, while the leadership in Kiev has not yet commented on this claim.

A US official said last month that the US had secretly delivered long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.

The ATACMS missiles, with a range of up to 300 kilometers, were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, being launched against a Russian airfield in Crimea, which was about 165 kilometers from the Ukrainian front line , the American official said.

The Pentagon initially opposed the deployment of ATACMS to Ukraine due to fears that they could be used against targets inside Russia.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced on Friday that the war with Russia is entering a new stage amid the planned offensive of Moscow’s forces, Ukrainska Pravda reports.

“We are now facing a new stage of the war. The occupier is preparing for attempts to expand his offensive. And all of us together, all Ukrainians, our soldiers, our state, our partners, must do everything to disrupt the offensive plan of the Russians,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.

More details: Volodymyr Zelensky: Ukraine is facing a new stage of the war, the occupiers are preparing for an offensive

The United States has already given Ukraine small batches of the first military aid from the €61 billion package, which was announced after the funding was unblocked in Congress, but the main batch of weapons from the big aid packages will reach Kiev “in a few months” , state high-ranking military sources, quoted by the New York Times.

One reason is logistical: combat vehicles, boats, modern guns, launchers and air defense systems often have to be transported by sea and heavily guarded trains because of their size.

A US official told the NYT that most of the major weapons, and even some of the ammunition, will be shipped from the US and “probably won’t arrive until mid-summer, if not later.”

More details: Most US aid to arrive in Kiev ‘within months’: ‘Main batch of weapons after mid-summer, if not later’

The Air Force of the Ukrainian army transmitted, in a statement, that on the night of Friday to Saturday, the Russians launched 13 kamikaze drones over Ukraine, which the anti-aircraft defense destroyed.

“On the night of May 4, 2024, the enemy attacked with 13 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs and four S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles. All launches were conducted from the Belgorod region, Russian Federation. As a result of the combat operations of the anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force and the mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, the 13 attack UAVs were destroyed in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions,” the report said.

In Kharkiv, two Shahed drone strikes were recorded on Saturday morning, as a result of which four people were injured.

“Two flights of Shaheds into the city, both on the civil infrastructure of the Osnoviansk district. A large-scale fire broke out at the site of one of the strikes. At this moment, we know of one injured person”, announced the mayor Igor Terekov.

Later, the local authorities announced that as a result of the air attack, at least four people were injured, including a child.

“Three victims, including a child. Also, another call was received from a 52-year-old woman who was injured but did not require hospitalization,” said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the regional military administration.

According to the Ukrainian military official, a two-story civilian office building in Kharkiv’s Osnoviansk district caught fire as a result of falling debris from the downed drones.

The Russians launched 5 rockets and 105 airstrikes, fired 91 rocket salvos at the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas, and 119 clashes took place on the front, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on Saturday.

Most frontline clashes occurred in the Avdiivka area on the 34th and near Bahmut on the 27th.

Local authorities in Kyiv are urging residents to attend Easter services online rather than going to church for security reasons, according to a statement from the city’s military administration, cited by the Kyiv Independent.

On May 5, the first day of the Orthodox Easter, security measures will be strengthened in Kyiv. Authorities will impose a state of siege from midnight until 05:00 in the morning, and more than 23,000 police officers will be on duty to monitor and enforce order.

Despite this, local authorities are urging people not to go to church, but to watch the Resurrection service online.

More details: Kiev advises people not to go to church on Easter, fearing a Russian attack. “Don’t forget the country is at war”