Russia said some of its troops had withdrawn “to more advantageous defensive positions” near a reservoir northwest of Bakhmut. Friday’s Defense Ministry statement was Moscow’s first admission that Ukraine is successfully retaking ground around the largely devastated eastern Ukrainian city that Russia has been attempting to capture for more than a decade.
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose troops have fought most of the fighting in and around Bakhmut, said what the Defense Ministry described was in fact an “escape.” that had seen troops flee. Speaking through his press service, he said that Ukraine has fully regained control of an important supply road connecting Bakhmut with the city of Khasiv Yar and has captured useful higher ground.
Russian officials stationed in Luhansk said rockets fired from Kiev damaged two closed factories and five houses in the capital of the eastern Ukrainian region, some 100 km (60 miles) behind the front lines. Luhansk authorities said on Telegram on Friday that two Ukrainian-made “Grom” tactical missiles damaged or destroyed administrative buildings at a packaging factory and a factory producing cleaning products. No casualties were reported.
Two Russian pilots were killed when a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter crashed on the annexed peninsula of Crimea, reported Russian news agencies, citing the Ministry of Defense. Tass reported that the cause of Friday’s crash was believed to be an equipment failure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for providing long-range cruise missiles. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had previously confirmed that the UK would deploy long-range cruise missiles.
Ukraine’s planned counter-offensive to recapture Russian-held territory has a good chance of success, but could incur heavy casualties if Russia uses its prepared defenses well, said Czech President Petr Pavel. The former NATO general said in an interview on Friday that Ukraine needs support to join NATO and the European Union, but that accession is a lengthy process, although talks on joining the EU could start later this year.
The police of the Russian city of St. Petersburg have set up an anti-drone unit to detect unmanned drones after an alleged attack on the Kremlin last week. The unit was launched on Tuesday during the annual Victory Day celebrations in World War II on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, the city’s Interior Ministry said.
South Africa’s State Department has summoned the US ambassador to allegations that the country had supplied arms and ammunition to Russia for his war in Ukraine. Reuben Brigety said Thursday that South Africa loaded arms and ammunition onto a Russian ship under sanctions at a naval base near Cape Town in December last year and that the arms were then shipped to Russia.
Vladimir Putin said Moscow has never rejected the “diplomatic way” to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, in a phone call with his South African counterpart, the Kremlin said. The Russian President said on Friday he supports South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proposal to include African leaders in talks on a peace process for Ukraine, according to the Kremlin’s statement on the call.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had been conducting “offensive operations” along the entire line of contact near Soledar, reported the ministry’s official news agency, Zvezda. More than a thousand soldiers and up to 40 tanks were deployed in Thursday’s attack, it said on Friday, adding that the attacks were “repelled”.
The UN nuclear regulator, Rafael Grossi, plans to present an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to protect the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to the UN Security Council later this monthFour diplomats told Portal that the deal was close. Grossi has been trying for months to reach an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic accident from shelling at the Russian-held nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
A Russian defeat in Ukraine will not threaten China’s rise, while relations between Beijing and the European Union will be “critically affected” if Xi Jinping does not urge Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops, European ministers have been told. The message comes in a paper authored by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who met the EU’s 27 foreign ministers in Stockholm on Friday to discuss how the bloc should “recalibrate” its policy towards Beijing.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed disappointment at the decision to block Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to speak by video at Saturday’s Eurovision grand final. The European Broadcasting Union, which produces the event, said the Ukrainian president had “laudable” intentions but rejected the request for fear it would politicize the event.
US President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reiterated their support for Ukraine during a White House meeting that also discussed migration and defense cooperation. During Friday’s Oval Office talks, Biden said that “together we support Ukraine,” and Sanchez blamed Vladimir Putin for the war.