G7 summit: Zelensky and Fumio Kishida lay wreaths at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima
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Ukraine has denied Russian claims that it captured Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated his troops after the Wagner Group claimed its mercenaries seized the key battleground town in eastern Ukraine on Saturday afternoon. Kiev has denied that the city has been captured.
There was confusion on Sunday morning amid reports that Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to confirm that the city had been captured by Russia while speaking at the G7 summit. But his spokesman later clarified that the Ukrainian president had not said the city had fallen.
Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelensky said the Russians had destroyed “everything” in Bakhmut.
“You have to understand that there is nothing,” he said. “For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing in this place.”
Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, posed with the fighters on Saturday after claiming to have captured the city. Ukraine denied the city had been taken but said the situation was “critical”.
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Official stationed in Russia says Kiev hit port city with British Storm Shadow missiles
An official stationed by Russia in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region said on Sunday that Kiev had struck the Russian-held port city of Berdyansk with British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
In a statement on Telegram, Vladimir Rogov said seven missiles had been fired at the city, four of which were Storm Shadow missiles.
He said six of the missiles had been intercepted and one had landed on the edge of the city, but had caused no casualties.
The claims could not immediately be independently verified.
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 11:40 am
“Putin will not break our resolve” – Biden
Vladimir Putin will not break the West’s revolution in his support for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has said.
He made the remarks in a speech at the G7 summit in Japan, which has been dominated by Russia’s illegal invasion of its neighbor.
“Russia started this war and Russia can end it today by withdrawing its troops from internationally recognized borders,” Biden said.
“This morning I again shared and assured President Zelensky that we will not hesitate.
“Putin will not break our decision, as I thought he might two years ago, almost three years ago.”
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 11:28 am
Kyiv – Ukrainian troops have partially surrounded Bakhmut, still control part of the city
Ukrainian forces have partially encircled the flank-besieged eastern city of Bakhmut and still control part of the city, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Wagner’s mercenary force and the Russian military on Sunday, a day after Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his group had captured the city.
But Maliar said Ukrainian troops are continuing their advances on the outskirts of Bakhmut and have reclaimed some of the heights overlooking the city.
“Our forces have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“Therefore, the enemy must defend himself in the part of the city he controls.”
Maliar added that Ukrainian troops are still defending industrial and infrastructure facilities in Bakhmut, as well as a private sector of the city.
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 10:52 am
Russian parliament head proposes ban on Polish trucks, says Warsaw owes Moscow billions
Russia’s top lawmaker on Sunday called for a ban on Polish trucks traveling through Russian territory and for Poland to financially compensate Moscow for what he said was the Soviet reconstruction of the eastern European country after World War II.
In a statement, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said Poland should be punished for “betraying the historical memory” of the country’s liberation by Soviet Union of Nazi Germany with a series of hostile acts. acts against Moscow.
In comments sure to deepen a feud with Warsaw, Volodin said Poland only existed as a state “thanks to our country”, said Warsaw would have to pay Russia more than $750 billion to compensate it for the Soviet investment in the country after World War II.
He said Poland should also return the territory it received after the war.
There was no immediate reaction to his comments from Warsaw.
(The State Duma, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation)
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 10:20 am
The head of the UN says it is time to reform the Security Council and Bretton Woods
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday it was time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to align with the “realities of today’s world”.
Speaking at a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where the G7 summit had been held, Guterres said both institutions reflected the power relations of 1945 and needed to be updated.
“The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” he said. “Faced with the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has failed to fulfill its basic function as a global safety net.”
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 10:15 am
The Wager-linked company shares a photo of troops raising the Russian flag in Bakhmut
This video capture is taken from a material material published on May 20, 2023 on the Telegram account of the press service of Concord, a company linked to the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
It purports to show members of the Wagner Group flying a Russian national flag and the Wagner Group flag on the roof of a damaged building in Bakhmut, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Prigozhin says Wager has claimed control of Bakhmut; Ukraine denies it.
(AFP)
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 09:45
UK support for Ukraine ‘will never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky
The prime minister said he was pleased the group of allies had agreed on the importance of providing the Ukrainian president with the advanced military equipment he needs as he powers up F-16 fighter jets.
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 09:14
Zelensky calls for G7 support for Kiev’s “peace formula”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday sought global support for Kiev’s plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, telling G7 leaders it was “an obvious expression of rationality”.
Zelensky, who is personally attending the G7 summit in Japan, has been pushing what his administration has described as a “peace formula” in recent months.
“We are united by one more principle of rationality,” he said in a speech to the leaders, the text of which has been posted on the president’s website.
“We always act practically protecting our values. And the Ukrainian Peace Formula is an obvious expression of rationality. I thank you for supporting our Formula.”
In a separate post on social media, Zelensky said he had presented the plan to G7 leaders at the Hiroshima summit.
“We have developed the peace formula in a way that ensures that each of its points is supported by UN resolutions,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“And in a way that everyone in the world can choose the track they can contribute to. From Japan to the Arab countries, from Europe to Latin America, we find support for our Formula.”
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 08:43
Zelensky seems to confirm that Russia has taken Bakhmut
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have confirmed that Russia has taken control of the city of Bakhmut after a bloody eight-month battle by Moscow’s Wagner Private Army.
Zelensky said he thought Ukraine had lost the city, but added: “You have to understand there is nothing,” and said of the Russians: “They destroyed everything.”
“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” he said. “There is nothing in this place.”
Zelensky was speaking alongside President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Zelensky with Biden at the G7 summit in Japan
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 07:53
Russia takes control of Bakhmut – Wager Group
Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, marking the end of the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.
The assault on the largely leveled city was led by troops from the Wagner mercenary group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area of the city.
Taking Bakhmut – which Russia refers to by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk – would represent Moscow’s first major victory in the conflict in more than 10 months.
“As a result of the offensive actions of Wagner’s assault units, with the support of the artillery and aviation of the Southern Forces Group, the liberation of Artyomovsk has been completed,” said the Russian Ministry of Defense in a statement.
Russian media reported that President Putin had congratulated his troops.
Matt MathersMay 21, 2023 07:50
