Reports of “defensive breakthroughs” at various points along the line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian troops do not correspond to reality, says an official statement that Russia’s Defense Ministry put out on the evening of May 11. The ministry emphasized that “the general situation in the SVO [‘special military operation’] zone is under control.” The Defense Ministry adds that Russia thwarted three attempts at speculative fire and repelled eight attacks at the Donetsk front.

In Melitopol, an attempt was made on the chairman of the court of the annexed Zaporozhye region. This was announced by Russia-appointed "head" of the region Yevgeny Balitsky. The judge himself was not hurt. Two members of his security team were injured, and they are being treated now. Balitsky did not specify the severity of their condition. The “head” of the annexed Zaporozhye region accused Ukraine of the attempt and called it “another attempt to destabilize the situation” in the region.

Messages about the “breakthroughs of defense” in various sections of the combat contact line in Ukraine are not true, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, widespread on the evening of May 11, said in an official statement.

During the evening of May 11, pro-war Russian Telegram channels started reporting that the long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun. War blogger Evgeny Poddubny reported that Ukrainian troops “began their operation to encircle” Russian forces near Bakhmut. According to Poddubny, Ukraine’s Armed Forces managed to break through the front lines in the Soledar region.

In the naval Russian telegram channels on the evening of May 11, reports began to appear about the beginning of the Ukrainian counterattack. Thus, the “military” Evgeny Poddubny said that the Ukrainian military “began the implementation of the surgery through the environment” of the Russian forces in the Bakhmut direction. Also, according to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to organize a breakthrough in the Soledar region.

Pro-Ukrainian activists in Vilnius tried to disrupt the speech of writer Viktor Shenderovich. This is reported by Sota.

Russian authorities plan to add a “third parties” category to the law on “foreign agents,” reports TASS, referencing a report by Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko. Those considered to be a “third party” may be subject to a fine. According to Sviridenko, the “third parties” category will not apply to “foreign agents” or those affiliated with them, but would include those who assist current or future “foreign agents” — even unintentionally.

Businessman Elon Musk will step down as Twitter CEO. He wrote about this on his microblog. According to Musk, he has already found a new CEO. He did not name the successor, only noting that it was a woman. She will begin work in approximately six weeks. Musk himself will hold the positions of chairman of the board of directors and technical director of the company. The businessman did not specify the reasons why he is leaving the post of general director. Updated .

The soloist of the Bi-2 group Leva (Yegor Bortnik) wrote on his Instagram that he would not return to Russia. The musician announced this while answering a subscriber's question about the group's upcoming Russian concerts. In addition, Leva Bi-2 responded to several other comments.

Wagner Group founder Evgeny Prigozhin accused the regular army of the Russian Federation of giving up ground without a fight near Bakhmut. “The situation on the flanks is developing according to the worst predictions. The territories that our comrades gave their blood and their lives to win, gaining dozens or hundreds of meters daily, are today being lost without a fight by those who should be holding our flanks,” he said.

The founder of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused the units of the regular army of the Russian Federation of losing ground in the Bakhmut area without a fight. “The situation on the flanks is developing according to the worst of the predicted scenarios. Those territories that were taken with the blood and lives of our comrades for many months, passing tens or hundreds of meters every day, today are thrown without a fight by those who should hold our flanks, ”he said.

The Russian authorities intend to add the category of "third parties" to the law on "foreign agents", TASS reports citing a statement by Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko. According to Sviridenko, "third parties" are not "foreign agents" or persons affiliated with them.

The Russian-appointed authorities in annexed Crimea have seized the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s cathedral in Simferopol, reports local news outlet Krym.Realii, citing Andriy Shchekun, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Krymska Svitlytsia. Shchekun says that employees of Russia’s Ministry of Property and Land Relations for the Republic of Crimea and bailiffs are taking part in the action.

Russian State Duma Deputy Nina Ostanina, who heads the parliament’s Committee on Family Issues, submitted a bill to the State Duma that would admit those who fought in Ukraine to institutions of higher education without completing entrance examinations. An explanatory document says that the bill aims to support those returning from the war and help them adapt to civilian life.

Your Browser Does Not Support the Audio Element. Can we assume that the Ukrainian counterattack has already begun? We discuss the situation at the front with Dmitry Kuznets On May 7, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexei Reznikov, in a conversation with journalists, called the expectations from the impending counterattack of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces.