Hellfire has been unleashed upon Ukraine's remaining portion of Bakhmut, and that's hardly an exaggeration. Russia dumped large numbers of thermite munitions over a small area, causing much of western Bakhmut to be bright as day despite it being night. I am frankly quite amazed that Ukrainian troops are still holding onto this spot of land, and still, mostly, holding back Russian troops. Thermite munitions will burn through concrete, though fortified positions and buildings with multiple floors serve as adequate protection from the chemical agents. However, heat and smoke are very real concerns. This is where western aid which has dramatically improved and modernized the typical kit of a Ukrainian soldier plays a pivotal role, as having adequate breathing protection is what enables Ukrainian troops to continue fighting on. Russia's bombardment did assist them with taking a few blocks today, but Prigozhin is literally measuring PMC Wagner's advance in dozens of meters.
Outside of Bakhmut, a bridge crossing the canal near Chasiv Yar was destroyed. The Kremlin declared that Russian troops destroyed a bridge in the general area, but it's unclear if it was the same one, particularly as Russian milbloggers asserted that Ukrainian troops blew the bridge to prevent a further Russian advance. The destruction of the bridge has two very different implications depending on who was responsible. If it was Ukraine, it shows that they are under the impression that their defenses in Bakhmut, Ivanivske, and Khromove are about to collapse. If it was Russia, it's a sign that they don't think that they will be able to advance to Chasiv Yar, and are instead more concerned with delaying Ukrainian reinforcements from reaching the Bakhmut area.
The feud between Prigozhin versus individuals such as Shoigu and Gerasimov remains quite public and bitter. Prigozhin is going all in and doubling down on his criticisms of the Kremlin, though he is still stopping short of criticizing Putin. Prigozhin has threatened to pull out of Bakhmut on May 10th if his demands for additional support and munitions are not met, and sign over responsibility for this front to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Prigozhin's threat was instead answered by Kadyrov, who has offered to take over for PMC Wagner in Bakhmut. This is, of course, presuming that the city is still contested and that Prigozhin's threat to abandon the city is followed through, both of which are significant assumptions. If Ukraine can hold on until then, and if Wagner does pull out, there will be a narrow window of opportunity for Ukraine to try to reclaim lost ground in and around Bakhmut or to at the very least wreak havoc on Russian troops rotating in and out of the front.
I personally hold Kadyrov's troops in fairly low esteem. Much of their combat videos are editorialized or outright faked, and many of the casualties they gave sustained have been from HIMARS strikes against their barracks. That said, the bulk of PMC Wagner troops fighting in Ukraine have been poorly trained and poorly equipped convicts, rather than the elite core of PMC Wagner. All in all, I don't think that the Kadyrovites will cause much of a notable change in the battle for Bakhmut, should it still be ongoing. They will be fresh, unlike the exhausted Wagner forces, but that will change rapidly.
Russia has ordered the civilian evacuation of eighteen settlements in an arc through the northern portion of the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia oblast. It stretches from west of Enerhodar, which hosts the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, almost all the way to the border with Donetsk oblast in the east. It closely resembles a major line of defenses that Russia has established. This is one of the strongest indications yet that Ukraine's offensive will be in the area, and that Russia expects that their defensive line will be able to absorb the blow, at least for a bit. Russia's governor of Zaporizhzhia oblast also said, on air, that he expects Ukraine's offensive in the area to begin within the next few days, possibly in a matter of hours.
Ukraine has seemingly shot down a hypersonic Kinzhal ballistic missile over Kyiv, though they denied that they have done so. Many weapons experts have identified the missile remnants as a Kinzhal; missile remnant IDing is not a strong suit of mine, so I will defer to them on this. The Kinzhal has been hyped up much by Russian propagandists for being an invincible weapon; its high speeds made it allegedly quite difficult to intercept. Ukraine intercepting one of course shatters that illusion. They are expensive and difficult to produce for Russia compared to their other missiles, and I imagine Russia seeing a Kinzhal intercepted will probably pour more money into refining the Kinzhal while manufacturing more cheaper missiles. Trying to encourage Russia to focus in Kinzhals (which would mean overall fewer missiles being lobbed at Ukraine) may be one reason why Ukraine denied that they intercepted one. But I think a far simpler explanation is that Ukraine only has a few individual air defense batteries that are plausibly capable of being able to intercept these missiles, and Ukraine doesn't want Russia to know where these batteries are. Kyiv is of course the most obvious choice, and I would question Ukraine's military planning if they didn't at least have some there as they need to guarantee continuance of governance. But if there was any suspicion in the Kremlin that Ukraine might have repositioned them for their upcoming offensive, it is to Ukraine's benefit to nurture that suspicion.
Ukraine has arrested an American blogger, Gonzalo Lira. Residing in Kharkiv, he is notorious for his espousal of pro-Putin views, supporting the war against Ukraine, as well as a number of bigoted beliefs. Quite infamously, he claimed in February 2022 that Putin wasn't going to invade Ukraine, days before he did. He has been arrested for calling for attacks against Ukraine and for spreading Russian propaganda.
Ukraine also arrested the mayor of Odesa, who was later released on bail. He has been accused of embezzlement after he purchased a factory for the city at a dramatically inflated price. At least publicly, there hasn't been major anti-corruption crackdowns recently, so it's good to see that efforts are still underway to reign in corruption.