Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy says Ukraine will regain momentum

A Russian missile strike destroyed a number of homes in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday.

Russia also reported that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil refinery in the Kaluga region.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy new arms deliveries from Ukraine's allies would help the country regain ground on the battlefield ahead of a predicted Russian offensive.

Here's a look at the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine on Friday, May 10:

05/10/2024May 10, 2024

Oil refinery hit as Russia and Ukraine trade strikes

Russian state media said on Friday that a Ukrainian drone hit an oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga region.

The RIA Novosti news agency said the attack caused a fire at the Pervyi Zavod refinery that consumed three containers with diesel and one with fuel oil.

Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said there were no casualties and that the blaze was promptly extinguished.

Ukraine typically does not claim responsibility for attacks on Russian soil.

Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv set three houses on fire on Friday.

Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday morningImage: Anadolu/picture alliance

Two people, including an 11-year-old child, were shell-shocked, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched two S-300/S-400 missiles at the region overnight, and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed that an S-300 missile crashed into the city, damaging more than two dozen buildings.

Ukraine also intercepted 10 Russian directed at the regions of Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson, while Russia said it intercepted a drone south of Moscow.

05/10/2024May 10, 2024

Zelenskyy sacks bodyguard chief after alleged assassination plot

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the head of the department that is responsible for his personal security, days after two of its officers were detains over an alleged assassination plot.

Ukraine's SBU security service announced Tuesday it had detained two colonels who were allegedly part of a Russian plot to assassinate Zelenskyy and other senior officials.

Late on Thursday, Zelenskyy issued a presidential decree to "dismiss Sergiy Leonidovich Rud from the post of head of the State Protection Department of Ukraine."

No successor was named.

rc/zc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

05/10/2024May 10, 2024

Zelenskyy says Western weapons will reverse battlefield fortunes

Ukraine intends to regain momentum on the battlefield with the delivery of Western weapons President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"We are putting maximum pressure on our partners to increase weapon deliveries," Zelenskyy told a press conference in Kyiv alongside European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

"If the delivery of weapons is increased, we will be able to stop (Russian forces) in the east, where they have the initiative."

Air raid sirens went off during the press conference — a reminder of the persistent threat of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Meanwhile, Metsola said European Union needs to take responsibility for supporting Ukraine on the battlefield.

"We are painfully aware that Ukraine urgently needs more equipment and air-defense systems to defend itself against the aggressor," she said.

Russia outnumbers Ukraine in terms of troops and ammunition, and is pressing hard in parts of eastern Ukraine to penetrate deeper into the Donetsk region that it partly occupies.

Zelenskyy said Russia is gathering troops in this region ahead of a major offensive, but he added that not everything was going as well for the Russians as they thought, without providing details.

"It's not that I'm trying to lift your spirits. This is the reality," he said.