Russian forces launch five missiles overnight at Mykolaiv Oblast

Russian fighter jets launched five Kh-22 missiles at the settlements of Olshanske and Kostiantynivka in Mykolaiv Oblast overnight on May 7, Governor Vitalii Kim reported, citing Ukraine's Southern Operational Command.

According to the governor, the attack hit an industrial enterprise, causing a fire outside the facility. The fire was extinguished by State Emergency Service personnel.

Kim said there were no casualties. He did not provide further details.

Explosions were also reported near the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight on May 6.

Kim said on Telegram that three incoming aerial attacks had occurred around the city.

Russian forces attacked multiple locations in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv Oblast in the early hours on April 27. At least 15 people were injured, and one person was killed in the attack.

Mykolaiv, a shipbuilding center and a port on the Southern Buh River, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks. Two teenagers were killed in a large attack on April 16.

Prigozhin claims Moscow promised Wagner Group 'as much ammunition and weapons as needed'

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military company Wagner Group, claimed on May 7 that Russia's Defense Ministry has promised to provide "as much ammunition and weapons as needed" to continue the Russian offensive against Bakhmut.

"They promise that everything necessary will be put up on the flank so the enemy does not cut us off," Prigozhin said, adding that he was told Russian forces in the area could act "as they see fit."

Prigozhin noted that Russian General Sergey Surovikin was appointed to "make all decisions" regarding the Wagner Group's combat operations in cooperation with Russia's Defense Ministry.

His claim comes two days after he announced that the Wagner Group would leave Bakhmut on May 10 due to a lack of ammunition. He also recorded an insult-laden address to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Prigozhin said Wagner's offensive resources ended in April, resulting in their losses "growing exponentially daily."

"I am withdrawing Wagner units from Bakhmut because, in the absence of ammunition, they are doomed to a senseless death," Prigozhin said.

On May 6, he said that Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov's forces would replace Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut.

The Russian military leadership has struggled to respond to Prigozhin’s public insults and appealed to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to intervene, leaked U.S. intelligence documents show, the Washington Post reported on May 5.

Prigozhin’s rants suggest that the pleas have fallen on Putin’s "deaf ears," according to the report.

The threat to withdraw the mercenaries from Bakhmut is a "last-ditch effort to cling to a prominent role in the invasion," the Washington Post reported. Bakhmut has been the epicenter of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces for the past nine months. Wagner mercenaries have served as the primary shock troops in Russia's attempts to expand its control over Donetsk Oblast. However, in the past nine months, they have only made incremental gains, with Ukraine still holding parts of the city.

Russian troops attack Zaporizhzhia Oblast 75 times over the past day

Russian forces launched 75 attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast over the past 24 hours, Governor Yurii Malashko reported on May 7.

According to Malashko, 16 settlements near the front line were under fire from Russian Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) and artillery.

There were no casualties, the governor said. However, the attacks damaged residents' homes, cars, and property.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast has been subject to frequent attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russian forces currently occupy a part of the oblast, including the city of Enerhodar, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

Earlier in the day, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Russia is forcibly evacuating residents of Enerhodar to the Russian-occupied cities of Prymorsk and Berdiansk.

The General Staff said that Russia is primarily relocating Ukrainians who have taken Russian passports since the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Romanian Defense Ministry: Russian fighter jet intercepted Polish aircraft over Black Sea

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet intercepted an L410 Turbolet aircraft belonging to the Polish Border Guard around 60 kilometers east of Romanian airspace at approximately 1:20 p.m. on May 5, the Romanian National Defense Ministry said in a press statement.

According to the ministry, the Polish plane was conducting a routine patrol mission coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, or Frontex, in international airspace over the Black Sea.

"The aggressive and dangerous maneuvers repeatedly performed by the Russian Federation fighter aircraft in the vicinity of the Polish aircraft generated a high level of turbulence and caused major difficulties in controlling the Polish aircraft," the press statement said.

As a result, the ministry said that two aircraft from the Romanian Air Force and two from the Spanish Air Force designated for Air Police missions were "pre-alert" by the NATO Combined Air Operations Center in Torrejon, Spain.

"While the four aircraft were prepared to intervene at any moment, their intervention was unnecessary," the statement added.

The Romanian Defense Ministry noted that the Polish crew "acted calmly and professionally in the situation irresponsibly created by the Russian pilot," managing to land safely at the Kogălniceanu International Airport in Romania. None of the crew members aboard the Polish aircraft were injured.

"The aggressive behavior of the military aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation against an unarmed aircraft carrying out a Frontex mission to monitor the migratory risk in the Black Sea basin is completely unacceptable," the ministry said. "This incident is further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea."

Romanian authorities are reportedly contacting their Polish counterparts and Frontex to further investigate the incident.

On March 14, A Russian fighter jet forced down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over international waters of the Black Sea.

According to an unnamed U.S. official quoted by CNN, a Russian Su-27 Flanker jet deliberately flew ahead of the drone and released fuel in its path "several times" before damaging its rear propeller. The Reaper drone was then forced to come down in international waters.

Earlier in February, three Russian military aircraft were intercepted over Poland.