LIVETEXT War in Ukraine, Day 802 | Russians Force Breach On Front Northwest Of Avdiivka.

Russia attacked from the north and south with 24 Shahed-131/136 attack drones launched overnight from Saturday to Sunday from Russia’s Kursk region and Cape Chauda (Crimea), Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mikola said Olesciuk.

“The enemy’s air attack was repulsed by the anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force and the mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the combat operations, 23 attack drones were destroyed in the Kharkiv, Kherson and Dnipro regions,” Mikola Oleșciuk said.

Kristina Kimaciuk, a Ukrainian weapons inspector who works for Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an organization that recovers munitions used in war to learn how it was manufactured, studied the wreckage of a North Korean missile and concluded, after analyzing the hundreds of components, that it “has the latest Western technology, with parts produced in the US and Europe”, reports the BBC.

North Korea sells missiles to Russia and takes the opportunity to test its capabilities in a real war, the one in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military says dozens of North Korean missiles have been fired by Russia into its territory. They killed at least 24 people and injured more than 70.

More details: North Korean weapons with US and European components kill Ukrainians in Putin’s war. But the implications are much greater | Analyze

According to military analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian troops have seized a tactical advantage northwest of Avdiivka, where they continue to press, but the ultimate goal of the occupiers on this side of the front remains unclear, reports Ukrainska Truth.

On the night of May 3-4, Russian troops made a remarkable tactical advance to the northwest of Avdiivka in the Arkhangelsk district.

Experts suggest that Ukrainian forces may have decided to trade space for time, pending the arrival of massive US aid to the front in the coming weeks – an appropriate solution for an under-resourced force at risk of being overwhelmed.

However, ISW continues to assess that Russian forces are likely trying to take advantage of the limited time “window” before the arrival of Western military assistance by intensifying offensive operations, and that Russian forces may gain additional tactical steps in this direction in the near future.

Experts also say Russian troops appear to have taken advantage of the tactical situation northwest of Avdiivka, but their ultimate goal on this side of the front remains unclear.

The occupiers have decided to exploit the area where they are most likely to gain a tactical advantage in the near future, but it is unclear whether they will continue to push north towards Toretsk or return to their previous focus on the offensive northwest of Pokrovsk.

On the night of Saturday to Sunday, during Russian Shahed drone attacks, explosions were heard in the cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro.

“Kharkov explosions. Stay in shelters,” said the city’s mayor, Igor Terekov, who added that the Russians targeted the private sector in the Osnoviansk district.

According to Suspilny, at least one man was injured and several houses were damaged. “A car burned in the garage. In at least three private houses, windows were broken and roofs were destroyed,” the publication noted.

Also, the city of Dnipro was subjected to an aerial attack by Shahed drones, on the night of Saturday to Sunday.

According to local authorities, several explosions were heard in the city.

Russian forces bombarded Kharkiv again on Saturday evening, Ukrainian authorities announced.

“The occupiers hit Kharkiv again. Emergency services remained for checks,” Oleh Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv State Regional Administration, said on Telegram.

Ukrainian soldiers shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in the Donetsk region on Saturday, May 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address to the nation.

The Su-25 is used to provide close air support to Russian ground troops.

“Bravo. I thank all our soldiers at the front in combat missions,” Zelenskiy said.

Zelensky thanked all the soldiers, “who, despite strong Russian pressure, despite all the difficulties of the situation, are now destroying the occupiers.”