Kuleba says upcoming Ukraine counteroffensive 'should not be seen as final'

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged not to think about Ukraine's expected counteroffensive as the last one "because we don't know what will come out of it."

"If we succeed in liberating our territories with this counteroffensive, you can say it was the last one, but if not, that means we have to prepare for the next counteroffensive," said Kuleba.

According to the Washington Post, top Ukrainian officials fear the much-anticipated upcoming Ukrainian offensive may not meet expectations.

"The expectation from our counteroffensive campaign is overestimated globally," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the Washington Post. "Most people are … waiting for something huge," he said, which could lead to "emotional disappointment."

The outcome of Ukraine's counteroffensive is expected to be a critical turning point in the war that will determine whether Ukraine reclaims more of its territory or is pressured by allies to meet with Russia at the negotiating table. Western weapons supplies are critical to Ukraine's ability to launch a successful counteroffensive.

Kyiv has repeatedly vowed to liberate all Ukrainian territories within the 1991 borders, including the Crimean peninsula and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts occupied since 2014.

The US will not follow the UK in sending Ukraine long-range missiles

The Biden administration has no intention of following Britain's lead in sending Ukraine long-range missiles, Politico reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials. Some of those officials said the U.S. hopes the U.K.'s planned delivery will silence those demanding Biden send long-range missiles to Ukraine.

The U.K. appears ready to send Ukraine long-range missiles that can hit targets 300 kilometers away, the Washington Post reported on May 9, citing a procurement notice by the U.K.-led International Fund for Ukraine.

No final decision has been made, according to an unnamed U.K. official, who refused to provide further details on the type and quantity of the missiles and delivery time, the Washington Post reported. The notice is seen, however, as a significant step towards the U.K. giving such munitions to Ukraine.

One U.S. official who spoke to Politico anonymously said, "Our policy on ATACMS has not changed." The long-range missiles the U.K. may provide to Ukraine have the same range as the American-made Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, that the U.S. has so far refused to provide Ukraine.

The official added that instead, the U.S. would continue to focus on providing Ukraine with air defense capabilities like Patriots, ammunition, and armored vehicles, Politico wrote in its National Security Daily newsletter.

Politico also reported that Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told Defense One in March that the U.S. has "relatively few ATACMS" to give up.

Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast kills woman

Russian shelling has killed a woman in Kherson Oblast’s Kakhovskyi District, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on May 10.

Russian forces reportedly shelled the district at around 5 p.m. The attack also damaged residential buildings and farms in the area.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, including the regional capital, in November 2022. Since Russian troops fled to the east bank, they have relentlessly shelled Kherson and the west bank.

On May 8, Russian troops struck the village of Stanislav in Kherson Oblast on May 8, injuring six civilians, including a nine-year-old child.