4:03 p.m
Kyiv: critical situation for Bakhmut
“Heavy fighting in Bakhmut. The situation is critical. At the same time, our troops maintain defense in the area (district) “Litak”. Currently, our defenders control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in this area, as well as the private sector.” Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar writes on Telegram.
3.50 p.m
Kiev: “It’s wrong, our units are fighting in Bakhmut”
The Ukrainian military denied that Wagner mercenaries took complete control of the town of Bakhmut and said his troops were continuing to fight. “It’s false. “Our units are fighting in Bakhmut,” military spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty said, quoted by Sky News, after the head of the Russian mercenary group Prighosin said his troops had taken full control of the city.
3:23 p.m
Prigozhin: Wagner leaves Bachmut on May 25 “to rest”
The Wagner mercenaries will leave Bakhmut on the 25th “to rest”, Evgeny Prigozhin expected, specifying that the city, over which he announced full control today after more than seven months of fighting, will then pass under the control of the Russian Defense Ministry.
3:11 p.m
Prigozhin: Russian forces have taken control of Bakhmut
Russian forces took control of the city of Bakhmut. This was claimed by the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, quoted by Interfax. “Today (…) Bakhmut was completely trapped,” the Prigozhin press service said in a statement.
12:21
Moscow: Enormous risks from sending F-16s to Ukraine
Western countries have taken “colossal risks” in supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, according to the TASS news agency. Grushko’s speech follows US President Joe Biden’s statement to G7 leaders yesterday that Washington will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation aircraft, including F-16s.
09:05
Russian bombs on the Zaporizhia region
Nine civilians were injured in yesterday’s Russian shelling in the Zaporizhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Yuriy Malashko, told Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform. Injuries were reported in Mala Tokmachka, Tavriiske and Verkhnia Tersa. According to the military administration, Russian troops yesterday launched 92 attacks on 16 settlements in the region.
07:43
ISW: Ukrainian forces avoid Russian encirclement in Bakhmut
Ukrainian counterattacks in recent days near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region have most likely made Russian encirclement in the region impossible, although Moscow is concentrating its reserves for combat around the city, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW ) in his daily newspaper report on the course of the conflict. The counterattacks “probably avoided the threat of Russian encirclement of Ukrainian forces at Bakhmut and forced Russian troops to use scarce military resources in defense against a limited and localized offensive, as the Ukrainian command likely intended,” the statement said. US study center report. Between Thursday and Friday, Ukrainian troops gained up to 500 meters of territory in some areas of the Bakhmut front line, Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Army’s Eastern Task Force, said yesterday. Also yesterday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that Russian forces had concentrated the bulk of their reserves around Bakhmut, slowing the pace of Ukraine’s advance: although according to ISW, “Russian forces on Bakhmut’s flanks are likely to remain weak”.
07:36
Kiev: Massive drone strike repelled, capital damage
Kiev’s armed forces said they repelled a “massive” Russian army drone strike overnight that caused some damage and brought down debris in the Ukrainian capital. This was announced by the head of the military administrator in Kiev, Serhiy Popko, via telegram. “Tonight the attacker again carried out a massive drone attack. “All detected air targets were destroyed by our air defense forces and means,” he explained that the debris caused a fire in a building in Darnytskyi district. The flames were extinguished with no casualties, he added.
07:36
Kiev: A base with 150 Russians is attacked in Mariupol
Advisor to the mayor of the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Petro Andrushchenko, announced that Ukrainian forces had attacked a Russian base on the outskirts of the city in the evening, where 150 residents were staying. In addition, this facility was systematically used to install air defense systems. The UNIAN website reports on this while adding that “the Russians are lying about the location of the explosions”. Andryushchenko previously reported that there were loud explosions on the outskirts of Mariupol, which were heard by townspeople.