Day 444 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• A Russian Mi-8 helicopter and a Su-34 jet exploded 50 km from the Ukrainian border
• Germany has prepared a package of military aid for Ukraine for 2.7 billion euros
• Ukraine announced that it has regained territories in Bakhmut
• The Russians are fleeing Bakhmut while the real Ukrainian offensive has not yet begun
• Explosions in Luhansk and Melitopol, a Russian MP was injured
• Zelensky will meet the Pope in Rome
• Kyiv's air defenses are 100% effective
• In Russia, they want criminal liability for Russophobia
• Dozens of Russians said goodbye to their "golden" passports from Cyprus and Malta

A Russian Mi-8 helicopter and a Su-34 jet exploded 50 km from the Ukrainian border

A Mi-8 helicopter crashed near the town of Klintsy, Bryansk region of Russia. Judging by the video posted on social networks, the helicopter was shot down. The two pilots died.

Klintsi is located 50 km from the Ukrainian border.

In the video circulating on the networks, the helicopter can be seen exploding in the air and falling vertically down in a ball of fire.

BREAKING: A russian Su-34 jet and a MI-8 helicopter has reportedly been shot down over Russia's Bryansk region. 2 confirmed dead in helicopter crash. pic.twitter.com/Hb4fa1JOLj

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) May 13, 2023

Social media users suggested that the helicopter was probably shot down by Russian anti-aircraft artillery. TASS and "Komsomolskaya Pravda" claim that the engine was ignited.

The mayor of Klintsi, Sergey Evteev, told TASS that there was no damage to the ground as a result of the accident.

"There is no destruction. The rest of the information will come later," says Evteev.

However, RIA Novosti claims that the debris damaged several buildings.

A 51-year-old woman was injured in a helicopter crash in the Bryansk region. Valentina B. was walking along the street when parts of the crashed helicopter hit her. The woman suffered burns. She is being treated by doctors, Baza reports.

Geolocation on the videos indicates that the Mi-8 crashed within the town or somewhere near its southwestern outskirts.

This is the second aircraft to crash in a few hours. Before that, a Su-34 also crashed in the Bryansk region. The plane exploded 40 km from the place where the Mi-8 fell.

Mash points out that an "Interception" plan has been put into action on the territory of the Bryansk region and a search has begun for saboteurs involved in the explosion.

Later, the Russian military channel Telegram "Rybar" announced that two Mi-8 helicopters and two Su-34 and Su-25 aircraft were shot down. Two versions are being worked on - that a saboteur group has infiltrated the territory of the Bryansk region and that Ukraine has received a new and unknown type of ammunition, with which it fires from the Sumy region.

Germany has prepared a package of military aid for Ukraine for 2.7 billion euros

The German government has prepared yet another aid package for Ukraine, with the aid mainly in the form of weapons. This is reported in the latest issue of "Spiegel" magazine.

According to the Ministry of Defense, in the coming weeks and months, Ukraine will receive additional weapons worth about 2.7 billion euros from Germany.

"With this valuable contribution of urgently needed military materials, we once again show that Germany is serious in its support," Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a special statement.

"We all want a quick end to this terrible war waged by Russia against the Ukrainian people, which is in violation of international law. Unfortunately, this cannot yet be achieved, which is why Germany will provide all the help it can, as long as necessary," Pistorius said.

The aid list also includes 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 18 wheeled howitzers, 15 Cheetah anti-aircraft gun mounts, 200 reconnaissance drones, four additional IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems, ammunition and more than 100 combat and logistical armored vehicles.

This is the largest arms package so far provided by Germany to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces since the start of the war in February 2022.

According to Spiegel, the package will be announced as a symbol of German solidarity with Ukraine alongside the presentation of the Charlemagne Award to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday in Aachen. It is possible that Zelensky himself will arrive in Germany for the award ceremony.

Ukraine announced that it has regained territories in Bakhmut

Ukraine said it had retaken territory in the eastern city of Bakhmut after months of fierce fighting with Russian forces. Moscow claims its army is regrouping.

So far, however, there is no indication of the start of a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive.

According to Kyiv, the army has advanced about two kilometers in the past few days. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War also confirmed that Ukrainian units had regained territory in Bakhmut.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry claims that its troops have taken up new defensive positions in the area of the Berkhiv reservoir north of Bakhmut.

The leader of the private group "Wagner", Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that this is not regrouping, but retreat. According to him, only yesterday the Ukrainians seized 5 square kilometers.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities in Luhansk reported explosions and destruction from Ukrainian shelling, possibly with Grom cruise missiles. Damage was caused to administrative buildings in abandoned industrial enterprises. No casualties were reported.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky approved another package of sanctions against Russian companies in Ukraine. Zelensky noted that the package of restrictions included companies linked to Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk, as well as pro-Russian economic entities with significant assets in Ukraine.

The Russians are fleeing Bakhmut while the real Ukrainian offensive has not yet begun

Ukrainian armed forces have achieved success northwest of Bakhmut in local counterattacks, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports in its daily report. The institute's analysts refer to a video published on Friday, which has been confirmed to have been filmed on the southern bank of the Berkhiv Reservoir. The footage shows Russian soldiers fleeing their positions to escape Ukrainian artillery fire.

????Meanwhile, the occupiers had a negative attack near the Berkhiv Reservoir, which no longer exists

Grab some popcorn pic.twitter.com/utw9mMUd9D

— Malinda ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@TreasChest) May 12, 2023

The video confirms the testimony of numerous Russian pro-military bloggers that the AFU is successfully operating in the northwestern part of Bakhmut. Yesterday, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, stated that the Ukrainian military advanced 2 km in the direction of Bakhmut. And the head of PMC "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin invited the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu to Bakhmut to "assess the current situation for himself".

Russian pro-war bloggers and other prominent supporters of the war in the information space reacted to counterattacks by Ukrainian armed forces with varying degrees of alarm, the report noted. Many believe that the latest Ukrainian military activity near Bakhmut is the beginning of a major Ukrainian spring counter-offensive.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian as well as US officials say that Kyiv’s planned counteroffensive has not yet begun. Hanna Maliar pointed out that Ukrainian armed forces are still conducting defensive actions, which sometimes include counterattacks. An anonymous senior US military official and another Western official were quoted by CNN as saying someting in a similar vein.

Explosions in Luhansk and Melitopol, a Russian MP was injured

A Russian deputy from the ruling United Russia party was wounded by shelling in Luhansk, according to the authorities of the unrecognized Luhansk People's Republic annexed by Moscow, Interfax reported.

Viktor Vodolatsky is the first deputy chairman of the Duma committee on Commonwealth of Independent States and Eurasian integration. According to the authorities in the unrecognized LPR there are also injured children. There are also claims from the Russian side that Ukrainian-made cruise missiles were also used in the attack.

Also in the evening, an explosion was reported in Melitopol, located in the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region. In addition to RIA "Novosti", the news was also confirmed by the elected Ukrainian mayor of the city, Ivan Fyodorov. Melitopol is considered one of the directions of Ukraine's future counter-offensive, about which more and more divergent signals have been coming in recent days.

Ukraine previously said it had retaken territory in Bakhmut, which has been largely unheard of in recent months as forces from Kyiv and Moscow have battled over the city. The Ukrainian army talks about an advance of 2 km in a week, the Russians - about regrouping in an area around the city. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War spoke of similar progress.

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Viktor Vodolatsky came under fire in Russian controlled Luhansk. pic.twitter.com/UA0bAmOVX0

— NOELREPORTS ???????? ???????? (@NOELreports) May 12, 2023

Zelensky will meet the Pope in Rome

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Rome today for a meeting with Pope Francis, who announced at the end of April that the Holy See was participating in a peace mission to end the war with Russia, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

The trip will be Zelensky's first visit to Italy since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, but has not been officially confirmed for security reasons.

Zelensky is expected to meet separately with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before heading to the Vatican.

The Ukrainian president will also be a guest on a popular Italian television talk show, after which he will travel to Germany.

Kyiv's air defenses are 100% effective

Since the beginning of the war, there have been 740 air raids on Kyiv. All alarms lasted 851 hours and 38 minutes, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported, as quoted by the "Gordon" website.

In the spring of this year, the capital's air defense demonstrated 100% efficiency.

"The defenders of the Kyiv sky have been working for more than two months - not a single missile or unmanned aircraft has reached its target," the ministry stated.

It is confirmed that a few days ago, the anti-aircraft defense forces shot down a hypersonic "Kinzhal" missile over Kyiv region.

According to statements by the Ukrainian military, the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense is approaching 90%, while in December 2022 it was 80%.

In Russia, they want criminal liability for Russophobia

The deputy of the Russian Duma Irina Yarova proposes to introduce criminal responsibility for the manifestation of Russophobia. This is reported by the Russian version of "Free Europe".

She made her statement at a legal forum in St. Petersburg.

"We are obliged in our legislation to give a precise definition of Russophobia as a human-hating ideology and to introduce an independent criminal liability for Russophobia," Yarova said.

The Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia Andrey Loginov supported the proposal of the deputy. He believes that the concept of "Russophobia" should be introduced in the Russian legislation and responsibility for "Russophobic activity" should be established.

Tatiana Moskalkova, who is responsible for human rights in Russia, said that last year the manifestations of Russophobia increased fivefold. And she noted that, in her opinion, Russophobia is a separate crime - regardless of the fact that the subjects of this crime will, as a rule, be foreign citizens living in other territories.

At the end of February, the head of the presidential council for the development of civil society and human rights, Valeri Fadeev, made similar proposals. According to him, in the future, people living in other countries should be punished under such a legislative text.

Dozens of Russians said goodbye to their "golden" passports from Cyprus and Malta

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union member states Cyprus and Malta canceled several dozen of the so-called "golden passports" that they had issued to Russian citizens, DPA reported, citing a statement from the European Commission.

The so-called "golden passports" refer to the controversial practice of selling citizenship to residents of non-EU countries, mostly in exchange for investment.

Cyprus has revoked the Cypriot citizenship of 43 people, the EC announced in response to a question from a German MP.

Two Russians have also reportedly lost their Maltese citizenship. One of them is subject to sanctions by the EU, and the other is sanctioned by the US.

The EC has repeatedly called for an end to the practice of issuing "golden passports" since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, Cyprus had stopped issuing "golden passports" even before the start of the war.

Individual EU member states can decide on the granting of citizenship or residence permits. However, the EC sees this as a threat to the security of the Schengen area, for example in terms of security, money laundering, non-payment of taxes and corruption.

Cyprus and Bulgaria no longer issue "golden passports" at all, and Malta no longer provides them to Russians and Belarusians, recalls DPA, quoted by BTA.

There are currently legal proceedings against Malta at the Court of Justice of the European Union over this controversial practice.

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