WAR IN UKRAINE: May 20, 2022 — Michael Bociurkiw

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 86

Russia has started moving an armoured fighting vehicle nicknamed the "Terminator" around a Ukrainian city which shows their "determination" to capture the area, a military expert has told Sky News. The vehicle has an unmanned turret armed with four launchers and can engage with other tanks and artillery, including low-flying helicopters. Full story here
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian forces have "completely destroyed" the eastern Donbas region. Describing the region where Russia has focused its offensive, he says: "It is hell there, and that's not an exaggeration" - BBC
Russia’s defense minister has reported to President Putin that everybody has been removed from the Azovstal steel plant and that the sprawling facility is under complete control of the Russian Armed Forces. The capture of Mariupol theoretically allows Russia to establish the coveted land corridor linking mainland Russia with illegally annexed Crimea.
The upcoming negotiations over the release of the hundreds of captive soldiers from Mariupol is currently one of the most discussed topics in Ukraine at the moment. Wives of the captive soldiers are in Turkey appealing for their release. Some Russian lawmakers have said members of the Azov Battalion - which represents most of the captive soldiers - be tried for war crimes and one has said they should face the death penalty.
US senators approve nearly $40bn in aid for Ukraine - the largest package of support since Russia invaded. The vote comes after a slight delay caused by Republican opposition. The money will only cover about five months of support, after which new authorization will be needed.
The Russian-installed governor of occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine has said the region will soon be fully integrated into Russia. Volodymyr Saldo, who was installed by Russian forces after they took control of the area in early March, wrote on Telegram that it would become the “Kherson region of the Russian Federation”. His deputy, Kirill Stremousov, wrote that residents would be able to apply for Russian citizenship in the coming weeks when the situation stabilises - BBC
The village of Desna in the Chernihiv region was hit with Russian missiles Thursday that left many dead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Thursday. I was in the area a few weeks ago and documented the massive Russian destruction from early in the war. Many families had fled ahead of the Russian aggression, but many older folks stayed behind.
The UK’s foreign secretary supports the idea of an international criminal tribunal over Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We are very clear that Putin and all of those who’ve been behind the appalling war crimes that are being committed in Ukraine need to be held to account, and we’re working very closely with the international criminal court” - The Guardian
Russia’s army is in a woeful state: The fiasco in Ukraine could be a reflection of a bad strategy or a poor fighting force. Full story in The Economist here