Events on May 29 in Babelʼs review: the Russians fired on Mykolayiv again, protests against occupation continue in Melitopol, Poland transfers self-propelled artillery to Ukraine

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Babel has been conducting daily online text events and promptly informing the main news on the Telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the highlights of the day in case you havenʼt been able to follow online.

In the morning the Russians fired at Sumy Oblast. About 20 explosions were recorded. The missiles were launched in the territory of the Russian Federation in the direction of Boyaro-Lezhachy. No one was injured. Besides, occupants fired at Mykolayiv, the residential quarter appeared under fire, it is known about one lost and two wounded. Due to the power outage in Kramatorsk and surrounding villages, 115 miners in two mines in Toretsk remained trapped underground. The administration is currently working to move them up.

In Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, the Ukrainian military is in a "difficult defensive position". Fighting is taking place on the outskirts of the city, near the Mir hotel and the main bus station. The city is under constant fire — the humanitarian headquarters are unable to operate, there is no water and electricity.

In Mariupol, the occupiers set up a corpse dump in the premises of the Shchyry Kum supermarket. The Russians are taking the bodies of the exhumed and the dead, who were washed from their graves while trying to restore water supply.

The pro-Ukrainian rally Yellow Ribbon was held in occupied Melitopol. People came with Ukrainian flags and sang the anthem of Ukraine.

The Russian occupiers at the checkpoint in Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, donʼt allow passing of hundreds of cars trying to leave the occupied territory. About 400 cars have already gathered in the queue, people have been standing for several days.

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kharkiv. According to him, 2.2 thousand houses in the city were damaged as a result of the Russian shelling.

The Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that currently 35% of the economy in Ukraine is not working due to the war. "According to various estimates, various experts have lost between 30% and 50% of the economy today. The forecast for falling GDP is also 30-50%. On average, about 35% of the economy is not working today," he said. Shmygal explained that the state budget is executed at the level of 50-70% of the prewar level.

The Polish government has has decided to transfer 18 units of Krab ACS to Ukraine. This is a Polish self-propelled artillery installation with a caliber of 155 millimeters. The range of the shot is 40 km.

The European Commission has sent to the EU governments a revised proposal for the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. It is proposed to exclude the Druzhba oil pipeline from the draft embargo (due to Hungaryʼs position). It is also proposed to ban the sea transportation of oil from Russia.

Despite the promises, Germany did not provide weapons to Ukraine for 9 weeks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made many statements of support, but in fact between March 30 and May 26, only two "light" consignments of ammunition arrived in Ukraine from the German government.