Ukraine war – live: Russia calls anti-Putin ‘saboteur’ operations a distraction from Bakhmut

The Kremlin has described reports of an incursion into Russia’s Belgorod city by pro-Ukrainian “saboteurs” as a deliberate attempt to distract attention from the battle for Bakhmut, which Moscow claims to have won.

Anti-Kremlin militia launched a cross-border raid in the Russian city from Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrainian media reports and videos shared online, overrunning one Russian village and pushing on into others on Monday.

Two self-described Russian partisan groups carried out the attack, one of the largest such incursions since Russia invaded Ukraine, intelligence officials in Kyiv said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin has been informed about the territorial conflict in Belgorod, and that work was under way to drive out the “saboteurs”, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Reports suggest there is some residual fighting still going on in the outskirts of Bakhmut even after Russia claims it captured the city on Sunday, but that the Ukrainian forces have lost control of the last streets of multi-story buildings inside city limits.

Key Points

• Kremlin says Belgorod situation created to distract from Bakhmut loss

• Russia is not in control of Bakhmut, Volodymyr Zelensky insists

• Ukraine's strikes on Crimea are attacks on Russia, Moscow says

• Russia says F-16s to Ukraine would raise question of NATO involvement

• Eight hurt in overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Dnipro, according to reports

• Kyiv says Ukrainian troops advancing around Bakhmut as Russia brings in more forces

Russian investigators open 'terrorism case' over cross-border attack from Ukraine

09:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian investigators said on Tuesday they had opened a terrorism investigation after what they said was a cross-border attack on Russia‘s Belgorod region mounted by what they called Ukrainian armed groups.

Kyiv has denied involvement in the attack.

Fighting broke out in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, on Monday.

Five key takeaways from ‘historic’ G7 Japan summit

09:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries wrapped their three-day summit in Hiroshima, Japan, by further imposing sanctions on Russia, criticising China‘s aggression, and a surprise visit from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The leaders from the US, Canada, Britain, Italy, France and Germany attended the summit in prime minister Fumio Kishida‘s home constituency in the western city that was devastated by a US atomic bomb in August 1945.

The G7 “reached a consensus on the significance of the 77-year-old record of non-use of nuclear weapons and reaffirmed that there are no winners in a nuclear war”, Mr Kishida said, amid growing fears that Russia may use a nuclear weapon in its war in Ukraine.

Five key takeaways from ‘historic’ G7 Japan summit

Ukraine says it still holds part of Bakhmut, fighting decreases in city

08:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian forces still control the southwestern edge of the city of Bakhmut and fighting in the city itself has decreased, Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Tuesday.

She wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv’s forces had made some progress “on the flanks to the north and south of Bakhmut” and that Russian forces, which say they have taken the city itself, were continuing to clear areas they control.

Bakhmut has become a bloody symbol for both Ukraine and Russia – with the cost paid in human lives

08:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Claim and counter-claim are flying between Moscow and Kyiv over the eastern city, writes Kim Sengupta. But there is one undisputed fact – the massive death toll and pain felt by those who have called it home

Bakhmut has become a bloody symbol for both Ukraine and Russia | Kim Sengupta

Who are the Wagner Group and why are they so involved in Ukraine?

08:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime affiliate of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has proved indispensable, but an apparent power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin has led to the group having its wings clipped by Moscow.

All we know about shadowy Wagner group mercenaries helping Putin wage war on Ukraine

Putin has blown Bakhmut to smithereens. Why does he want it this badly?

07:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Even if Russia and its mercenary Wagner Group have finally captured the town, its loss will not be the moral nor strategic victory that Russia desperately needs, writes Kit Macdonald

Opinion: Putin has blown Bakhmut to smithereens. Why does he want it this badly?

Drones shot down over Belgorod, says governor

07:38 , Arpan Rai

An unspecified number of drones have been shot down over the Russian frontline Belgorod area by anti-aircraft weaponry, regional governor said today.

The region, which borders Ukraine, has been witnessing fighting since Monday, after what Russian officials called a Ukrainian “sabotage group” crossed the border.

Russia will use Belgorod situation to back its ‘victim narrative’ in war — UK MoD

07:06 , Arpan Rai

The Kremlin will almost certainly use the incidents of security threats in border regions to support the official narrative that it is the victim in the war, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

The ministry pointed to a chain of events between 19 and 22 May wherein “Russian security forces highly likely clashed with partisans in at least three locations within Russia’s Belgorod oblast”, near the Ukrainian border.

The identity of the partisans remains unconfirmed, but Russian anti-regime groups claimed responsibility, the minstry said.

It added that the most serious incident took place near the town of Grayvoran. “As well as small-arms fire fights, there was an uptick in drone or indirect fire attacks near the incidents. Russia has evacuated several villages and has deployed extra security forces to the area,” the MoD said.

“Russia is facing an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions, with losses of combat aircraft, improvised explosive device attacks on rail lines, and now direct partisan action,” it said.

‘Counter-terrorism operation’ in Belgorod region continues, says governor

06:28 , Arpan Rai

The “counter-terrorism operation” in the Russian frontline city Belgorod was ongoing, regional governor said this morning.

He added that the defence ministry and law enforcement agencies are continuing “to clean up” the territory on the border with Ukraine.

“On the situation in the Graivoron district: the cleaning of the territory by the Ministry of Defence together with law enforcement agencies continues,” the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

“I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who... temporarily left their homes, it is not possible to return yet.”

The governor confirmed one woman died during the evacuation yesterday and reportedly two people were wounded but Russian security forces have not been able to reach them.

Anti-Putin militia claim to have stormed Russian villages in cross-border raid from Ukraine

06:22 , Arpan Rai

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region has accused a Ukrainian “sabotage group” of entering the town of Graivoron, about three miles (five kilometres) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Officials said anti-Kremlin militia are said to have launched a cross-border raid from Ukrainian territory – overrunning one Russian village and pushing on into others.

The town also came under Ukrainian artillery fire, he said.

The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed eight people were wounded and most residents has left the area but the situation remained “tense”.

A spokesperson for the GUR told Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne, that the two groups were conducting an operation in the Belgorod region to create a “security strip” to protect Ukrainian civilians. The incursion was being carried out exclusively by Russian citizens, the spokesperson added.

Anti-Putin militia claim to have stormed Russian villages in cross-border raid

Kremlin says Belgorod situation created to distract from Bakhmut loss

05:00 , Arpan Rai

The Kremlin has blamed the incursion in Belgorod as a move aimed to distract attention from the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.

Russian forces claim to have captured Bakhmut in its entirety after more than nine months of attritional fighting, while reports suggest there is some residual fighting seen in the outskirts of the city, but that the Ukrainian forces have lost control of the last streets of multi-story buildings inside city limits.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said president Vladimir Putin had been informed about the territorial conflict in Belgorod, and that work was under way to drive out the “saboteurs”, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“We understand perfectly well the goal of such a diversion — to divert attention from the Bakhmut direction and minimise the political effect of Bakhmut’s loss for the Ukrainian side,” Peskov was quoted as saying.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said the Belgorod operation would create a “security zone” to protect Ukrainians from attacks by Russia, reported the country’s outlet Hromadske.

Ukraine-based militia 'working in Russia's Belgorod to overthrow Putin regime'

04:45 , Arpan Rai

A group calling itself the Liberty of Russia Legion – a Ukraine-based militia led by Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev – says it is now working inside Russia to overthrow Putin.

The group took to Twitter and said it had “completely liberated” the border town of Kozinka. It said forward units had reached the district centre of Graivoron, further east.

“Moving on. Russia will be free!” it wrote.

The group also released a video showing five heavily armed fighters.

“We are Russians, like you. We are people like you. We want our children to grow up in peace,” one said, facing the camera. “It is time to put an end to the dictatorship of the Kremlin.”

In Kyiv, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: “Ukraine is watching the events in the Belgorod region of Russia with interest and studying the situation, but has nothing to do with it.

Wagner Group looking to bring military equipment from Mali to Ukraine, says US

04:26 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s Wagner Group is trying to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, the US State Department said.

Washington has been informed the mercenary force is seeking to move those acquisitions through Mali to aid Russia in its war and is willing to use false paperwork for such transactions, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing yesterday.

“There are indications that Wagner has been attempting to purchase military systems from foreign suppliers and route these weapons through Mali as a third party,” Mr Miller said.

“We have not seen as of yet any indications that these acquisitions have been finalised or executed, but we are monitoring the situation closely.”

Mr Miller said Washington has imposed sanctions on a number of people and entities that support Wagner’s military operations, and said the United States would have more to share soon.

Videos from inside Belgorod show fighting, inspection of captured vehicles

03:58 , Arpan Rai

A video posted late last night from Belgorod showed a fighter inspecting a captured armoured vehicle and another video showed what it said were fighters operating an armoured vehicle on a country road.

The video was posted by one of the two armed Russian opposition groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), carrying out the operations inside Moscow’s territory. Another group, the Liberty of Russia Legion, is also involved in attacking Russian forces in Belgorod, according to the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske which cited Ukrainian military intelligence.

Other videos posted on Russian and Ukrainian social media channels showed pictures and video of what were described as captured Russian servicemen and their identity documents.

The Telegram channel Baza, which has links to Russia’s security services, had earlier published aerial footage apparently showing a Ukrainian armoured vehicle advancing on the Graivoron border checkpoint.

There were indications of fighting in three settlements along the main road leading into Russia, according to Baza.

The Liberty of Russia Legion released a video showing five armed fighters.

“We are Russians, like you. We are people like you. We want our children to grow up in peace,” one said, facing the camera. “It is time to put an end to the dictatorship of the Kremlin.”

Wagner chief says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut after ‘capturing city’

03:00 , Joe Middleton

The leader of a Russian mercenary group has said he will pull its fighters from Bakhmut after claiming to have captured the Ukrainian city.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk-Oblast region, had been captured by his private army on Saturday afternoon - a claim Ukraine continues to dispute.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar instead claimed Ukrainian forces have partly encircled the besieged eastern city along the flanks and still control a part of the city.

Wagner chief says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut after ‘capturing city’

ICYMI: Biden pledges ‘shared and unwavering commitment’ to stand with Ukraine at G7 summit

02:00 , Joe Middleton

World summits' 'family photos' show Putin's isolation

01:00 , Joe Middleton

They’re known as “family photos,” the images of world leaders posed in faux relaxation during global summits.

And like portraits of a family that has isolated a dysfunctional member, recent “family photos” from the G7 and G8 — the world’s most industrialized nations — show how Russian President Vladimir Putin has been outcast.

The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation since his nation invaded Ukraine in February 2022. An International Criminal Court arrest warrant hangs over his head and clouds his prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow’s allies.

World summits' 'family photos' show Putin's isolation

Rare earths, Ukraine top agenda on French President Macron's historic visit to Mongolia

Monday 22 May 2023 23:59 , Joe Middleton

Access to rare earth minerals and Russia’s war against Ukraine topped the agenda on French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit to Mongolia.

Macron met with his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Sunday in the capital Ulaanbaatar and pledged cooperation on the extraction and trade of minerals used in satellites, cell phones and other key technologies.

The visit was the first by a French head of state to Mongolia, a landlocked democracy of 3 million people twice the size of Texas sandwiched between Russia and China.

Rare earths, Ukraine top agenda on French President Macron's historic visit to Mongolia

Who are the Wagner Group and why are they so involved in Ukraine?

Monday 22 May 2023 23:00 , Joe Middleton

Vladimir Putin has leant on military contractors to claim victories in Ukraine but their leader’s frank dispatches have increasingly rattled the Moscow establishment, writes Liam James.

All we know about shadowy Wagner group mercenaries helping Putin wage war on Ukraine

Head of Russia’s Wagner group claims to have captured Bakhmut

Monday 22 May 2023 22:30 , Joe Middleton

South Korea, EU agree to boost pressure on Russia, condemn North Korean missile tests

Monday 22 May 2023 21:45 , Joe Middleton

Leaders of South Korea and the European Union agreed Monday to increase pressure on Russia over its war against Ukraine and condemn North Korea’s ballistic missile tests.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Seoul after attending the weekend summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Hiroshima, Japan.

“We agree to maintain and increase the collective pressure on Russia, particularly through effective implementation of the respective restrictive measures,” they said in a joint statement. “We are committed to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction and remain resolved to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

South Korea, EU agree to boost pressure on Russia, condemn North Korean missile tests

Ukraine’s cultural counteroffensive: The rush to erase Russia’s monuments

Monday 22 May 2023 21:00 , Joe Middleton

The erasure of the past has prompted a debate not unlike one in the UK and US: how to contend with the physical monuments to a fraught history? Ruby Mellen, Zoeann Murphy, Kostiantyn Khudov and Kasia Strek report.

Ukraine’s cultural counteroffensive: The rush to erase Russia’s imprint

Fears after Ukraine nuclear plant left without power after Russian shelling

Monday 22 May 2023 20:00 , Joe Middleton

Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was left without power today after a barrage of Russian shelling, the UN nuclear watchdog has said.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made an appeal for the protection of the plant after warning the situation is “extremely vulnerable”.

He said the plant was forced to switch to emergency diesel generators after losing its external power supply for the seventh time since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.

Fears after Ukraine nuclear plant left without power after Russian shelling

Putin has blown Bakhmut to smithereens. Why does he want it this badly?

Monday 22 May 2023 19:15 , Joe Middleton

Even if Russia and its mercenary Wagner Group have finally captured the town, its loss will not be the moral nor strategic victory that Russia desperately needs, writes Kit Macdonald.

Opinion: Putin has blown Bakhmut to smithereens. Why does he want it this badly?

Attempts to freeze the conflict in Ukraine where it is are wrong, says Sunak

Monday 22 May 2023 18:29 , Joe Middleton

Attempts to “freeze” the conflict in Ukraine where it is are “absolutely wrong” and should be “called out”, the Prime Minister has said.

Rishi Sunak was answering former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who made the case for a ceasefire.

The PM said he could not disagree more with Mr Corbyn, an independent MP, and said a temporary suspension of fighting would not be a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine.

Attempts to freeze the conflict in Ukraine where it is are wrong, says Sunak

Monday 22 May 2023 17:44 , Laura Sharman

The flag of the Russian Freedom Legion was filmed flying over Moscow on Monday, carried by blue and white balloons.

The silk, a symbol of opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, has been used by Russian anti-war protesters.

Ukraine and Poland: More on historic mass murders

Monday 22 May 2023 17:37 , Laura Sharman

The massacre of Poles by Ukranians remains a sore spot between the two nations, despite their strong relations in the face of Putin’s war.

The World War II mass murders brought death to some 100,000 Poles while an estimated 15,000 Ukrainians died in retaliation.

Entire villages were burned down and all their inhabitants killed by Ukrainian nationalists and their helpers seeking to establish an independent Ukraine state.

Warsaw and Kyiv now have convergent views on regional security and Poland is among the strongest supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia‘s military aggression.The spat between Ukraine and its staunch ally began last week when Poland’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lukasz Jasina referred to the 80th anniversary.

He said Poland was expecting an apology from Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the 1943 to 1944 massacres.

Ukraine‘s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, reacted by saying that any suggestions of what Kyiv or Zelenskyy should do were “unacceptable and unfortunate” but later toned down his message by saying Ukraine was “open to dialogue” about history.

Ukraine and Poland spar over painful past that includes mass murder

Monday 22 May 2023 17:25 , Laura Sharman

Officials from the strategic partners unexpectedly exchanged bitter remarks in relation to their harrowing mutual past.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the massacres of tens of thousands of Poles by Ukrainians that Poland calls genocide.

In 1943 to 1944, Ukrainian nationalists and others massacred some 100,000 Polish people in Volhynia and other regions.

Then part of eastern Poland, under Nazi German occupation, they are now part of Ukraine.Seeking to calm emotions, an aide to Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said on Monday that the Poles only wanted the truth and respect for the tens of thousands of Polish victims.

“We are only expecting the truth and respect for the victims and we will be... working on this theme in order to have a full clarification of the subject and respect paid to possibly all the victims,” Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz told Polish state TVP1.

Tory MP says we have “failed to suffocate the financial war machine” in Putin’s war

Monday 22 May 2023 17:13 , Laura Sharman

Alicia Kearns has called for a military-style “economic Ramstein” on Ukraine to “make a meaningful different and end this war sooner”.

Ramstein is a US military base in Germany, where members of the Defence Contact Group have met on numerous occasions to discuss arms and supplies for the Ukrainian military.

The Conservative MP, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, added: “Can I urge the creation of an economic Ramstein on Ukraine that mirrors that of the military because we have failed to suffocate the financial war machine that is allowing Putin to continue with this war.”

Russia’s violent resistance is emerging from underground, says senior aide

Monday 22 May 2023 16:46 , Laura Sharman

Zelensky’s senior aide said Kyiv had nothing to do with the incursion in Russia‘s Belgorod region, putting it down to Russia’s “violent resistance movement”.

Russia announced on Monday that it is battling a cross-border incursion by saboteurs who burst through the frontier from Ukraine.

The incident appears to be one of the biggest attacks of its kind since the war began last year.

But Ukraine‘s military intelligence service attributed the operation to “opposition-minded Russian citizens”, Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske said.

In a written statement, senior Zelenskiy aide Mykhailo Podolyak echoed Ukrainian military intelligence.

“The violent Russian resistance movement, whose architects are exclusively citizens of Russia itself, is gradually coming out of the underground. They are independent in their decisions, have certain experience, and are free from fear.”

Rishi Sunak says the UK will stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”

Monday 22 May 2023 16:21 , Laura Sharman

The Prime Minister has today said the UK and its western allies will stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes’’.

Rishi Sunak referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appearance at the G7 summit during Wednesday’s PMQs at the Commons.

He told MPs: “Russia‘s military is failing on the battlefield, their economy is failing at home as we tighten the stranglehold of sanctions...

“The image of the G7 leaders standing shoulder to shoulder with President Zelensky in Hiroshima sent a powerful message to the world: we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Zelensky aide says Ukraine has nothing to do with Belgorod events

Monday 22 May 2023 15:14 , Martha Mchardy

A senior aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had nothing to do with an armed operation in Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday.

“Ukraine is watching the events in the Belgorod region of Russia with interest and studying the situation, but it has nothing to do with it,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.

“As you know, tanks are sold at any Russian military store, and underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens.”

In a written statement to Reuters, Podolyak said Ukraine’s military operates only on Ukrainian territory and echoed Ukrainian military intelligence in blaming Russian partisans for the incursion.

“The Russian liberation movement can become something that will contribute to the correct end of the war in Ukraine and significantly speed up the beginning of transformational events in the Russian political elite,” he said.

“The Russian violent resistance movement, whose architects are exclusively citizens of Russia itself, is gradually coming out of the underground. They are independent in their decisions, have certain experience, and are free from fear.”

Podolyak said Russia’s war on Ukraine was “gradually returning to Russia itself.”

“The authorities are losing control over the regions and the situation in general. And this is a window of opportunity for any internal protest movements,” he said.

Governor of Russia’s Belgorod says three people injured in cross-border attack

Monday 22 May 2023 15:13 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Monday that at least three people had been injured and three houses and a local administrative building damaged during a cross-border attack from Ukraine.

Denmark offers to host Ukraine peace talks, wants India, China, Brazil to attend

Monday 22 May 2023 13:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Denmark would like to host a summit in July aimed at finding peace between Ukraine and Russia, but such a meeting would need engagement from India, China and Brazil, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday sought global support at the G7 meeting in Japan for Kyiv’s plan to end Russia‘s war in Ukraine and proposed to hold a global summit in July.

“If Ukraine finds that the time has come to have such a meeting, that would be fantastic. And then Denmark would obviously like to host the meeting,” Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

A proposal in December by Ukraine to hold a peace summit in February this year never materialized.

“For starters, we need to put some effort into creating a global commitment to organise such a meeting,” Lokke Rasmussen said, adding that a summit should not just be attended by Ukraine‘s allies.

“It is necessary to build interest and involvement from countries like India, Brazil and China,” he said. “It is hard for me to see” Russia taking part, he added.

Zelensky last year proposed a 10-point peace plan, which calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and to respect Ukraine‘s territorial integrity.

The details of its implementation should be discussed at the proposed peace summit, Zelenskiy’s administration said in a statement on Sunday.

Lokke Rasmussen said he welcomed a decision by Washington to support joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

“It makes sense to begin training of Ukrainian pilots as soon as possible,” Lokke Rasmussen said, adding it was too early to say if Denmark would supply F-16s to Ukraine.

Putin informed of attacks in Russia's Belgorod region - RIA cites Kremlin

Monday 22 May 2023 13:42 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed of attacks by a “Ukrainian sabotage group” in Russia‘s southern Belgorod region, the RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying on Monday.

Peskov was cited as saying that Russian forces were working to eject and eliminate the group, RIA reported.

Russia claims eastern city of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian military leaders say battle isn't over

Monday 22 May 2023 13:23 , Martha Mchardy

Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine‘s eastern city of Bakhmut after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over.

Ukrainian officials acknowledge they now control only a small part of Bakhmut. Deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said Monday that Ukrainian troops hold some areas in its southwestern outskirts, while fighting continues for the strategic heights in the northern and southern parts of the suburbs.“

The offensive potential of the enemy has been significantly reduced. Huge losses have been inflicted on the enemy. We have gained time for certain actions, which will be revealed later,” Maliar said.

Ukraine says their fighters’ presence has played a key role in their strategy of exhausting Russian forces. And they say their current positions surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the 400-year-old city.

“Despite the fact that we now control a small part of Bakhmut, the importance of its defence does not lose its relevance,” said Col.-Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who commands Ukraine‘s ground forces. “This gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case of a change in the situation. And it will definitely happen.

”The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation inside Bakhmut. Russia‘s Defense Ministry said fighters of the Wagner private military contractor, backed by Russian troops, had seized the city. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said the city was not being fully occupied.

In a video posted on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed the city came under complete Russian control about midday Saturday. Holding a Russian flag before a group of at least nine masked fighters in body armour with heavy weapons, Prigozhin proclaimed: “This afternoon at 12:00, Bakhmut was completely taken.”

Who are the Wagner Group and why are they so involved in Ukraine?

Monday 22 May 2023 13:08 , Martha Mchardy

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime affiliate of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has proved indispensable, but an apparent power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin has led to the group having its wings clipped by Moscow.

Liam James reports:

All we know about shadowy Wagner group mercenaries helping Putin wage war on Ukraine

Governor of Russia’s Belgorod says Ukrainian ‘sabotage group’ crossed border

Monday 22 May 2023 12:38 , Martha Mchardy

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Monday that a Ukrainian army ‘sabotage group’ had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district, which borders Ukraine.

In a statement on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the Russian army and security forces were taking measures to repel the incursion.

Earlier, the Telegram channel Baza, which is linked to Russia’s security services, had published footage apparently showing a Ukrainian tank attacking a Russian border post.

The reports have not been independently verified.

In pictures: Destruction in Dnipro after overnight Russian air strikes

Monday 22 May 2023 11:28 , Martha Mchardy

Two women hospitalised after shelling in Ukrainian city Kupiansk - Suspline

Monday 22 May 2023 11:03 , Martha Mchardy

Two women have been hospitalised after shelling in the Ukrainian city Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspline is reporting, citing Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleh Synyehubov.

Private houses and civil infrastructure were damaged by shelling, according to reports.