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Ukraine war latest: Russia warns NATO over F-16 jets – as Zelenskyy insists fight for Bakhmut continues
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that although he cannot “share tactical views” of the Ukrainian military, Bakhmut is not occupied by Russia – disputing claims by Vladimir Putin that the key city has fallen. The Ukrainian president was speaking on the final day of the G7 summit in Japan.
Monday 22 May 2023 02:18, UK
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Key points
Zelenskyy says Bakhmut is not occupied by Russia View post | But Putin says battle for city is over and praises Wagner fighters View post
Russians have captured ‘99.9% of boundaries’ of Bakhmut View post
Will fall of Bakhmut be a turning point in the war? | Alex Rossi View post
Watch: Mercenaries raise Russian flag in Bakhmut View post
Western allies agree to give Ukraine F-16 jets – here’s why they will be ‘major concern’ to Putin View post
Your questions answered: Is Ukraine’s counteroffensive Kyiv’s last hope of winning the war? View post
Got a question about the war? Ask our experts
Live reporting by Samuel Osborne (now) and Lucia Binding (earlier)
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1h ago
21:17
Russia questions NATO over F-16 jets for Ukraine
Russia has warned the US and its NATO allies over their plans to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
The country’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, questioned whether the use of the powerful planes in the war would constitute direct Western involvement – claiming Ukraine does not have the required infrastructure or personnel to operate them itself.
Writing on the Russian embassy’s Telegram account, he said: “Every specialist knows that there is no infrastructure for the use of F-16s in Ukraine, and the required number of pilots and maintenance personnel is not there either.
“What would happen if American fighters take off from NATO airfields, operated by foreign ‘volunteers’?”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long pleaded with his Western allies to provide the jets, and got his wish at the G7 summit over the weekend.
But it will take months for Ukrainian pilots to be trained to use them.
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6h ago
16:30
In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers on frontline
These pictures show Ukrainian soldiers riding an APC on the frontline in the Luhansk region.
If Russian forces have taken the besieged city of Bakhmut, as Russia claims but Ukraine denies, they still face the enormous task of seizing the rest of the Donetsk region.
That area and neighbouring Luhansk make up the Donbas – Ukraine’s industrial heartland where a separatist uprising began in 2014, which Moscow illegally annexed in September.
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7h ago
15:20
Head of mercenary group claims Bakhmut
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has said his forces had captured all of the territory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
“Wagner has made no advances. Wagner today captured no territory. We have captured all the territory we promised to capture, right up to the last centimetre,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message on the Telegram messaging app.
He said his forces would leave the conflict zone later this week.
“As we stated yesterday. We are handing over our positions to (Russia’s) Defence Ministry and on the 25th (of May) we are leaving the conflict zone.”
Yesterday Mr Prigozhin said his forces had taken control of Bakhmut, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of Ukraine’s military have denied this.
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8h ago
14:31
In pictures: Devastation in besieged Bakhmut
These aerial pictures show destruction in the frontline town of Bakhmut.
Russia claims to have captured the city, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier today said it was “not occupied” by Moscow’s forces.
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8h ago
14:02
Zelenskyy ‘will be very pleased’ with G7 achievements, former British ambassador says
Volodymyr Zelenskyy “will be very pleased” about what he has achieved at the G7 summit in Japan, a former British ambassador to Russia has said.
The Ukrainian leader met with world leaders at the summit in Hiroshima, during which the US announced it was planning to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.
Asked about the development on Sky News, Sir Laurie Bristow said: “I think everybody has been very clear from the outset of this war that it’s in nobody’s interests there to be direct military confrontation between Russia and the West.
“But of course, the US and its allies do have a position on supporting Ukraine against Russia’s extreme and unwarranted aggression. So I think coming out of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, what we’re seeing is that Mr Zelenskyy will be very pleased with the achievements of the weekend.
“So it looks as if there is a political decision forming up to supply F-16s. That’s coming hard on the heels of the decisions on providing tanks and Storm Shadow and on other weapons systems that will allow Ukrainian forces to better defend Ukraine against Russia in Ukraine.”
He added: “But he’s also getting more than that.
“He’s got from the G7 over the weekend a broader range of weapons, a broader package of financial support, more sanctions against Russia. There’s a reconstruction conference coming up in London for Ukraine in the course of the next months.
“I think what all this points to is very clear signalling from the West, from Ukraine’s allies, that we intend to stay the course, that we intend to increase support to enable Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. And we’re not going to back all that.”
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9h ago
13:20
African leaders to hold peace talks with Ukraine and Russia
A delegation of six African leaders is set to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow which is hoped will “initiate a peace process”, according to a mediator who helped broker the talks.
Jean-Yves Ollivier told the Associated Press the African leaders would also broach the delicate issue of how a heavily-sanctioned Russia can be paid for the fertiliser exports Africa desperately needs.
The international negotiator, who has been working for six months to put the talks together, said they would also discuss the related issue of easing the passage of more grain shipments out of Ukraine and the possibility of more prisoner swaps.
He said the talks will likely begin next month.
Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have both agreed to host the delegation of presidents from South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zambia.
The talks also have the approval of the United States, European Union, United Nations, African Union and China, Mr Ollivier added.
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9h ago
12:52
Russia claimed Bakhmut ‘because they have not made military progress since Autumn’, Ukrainian MP says
Russia claimed the besieged city of Bakhmut because they have not made any military progress since Autumn, a Ukrainian MP has said.
“This is the seventh or eighth time when Russia reported they have captured Bakhmut,” Kira Rudik told Sky News.
“They desperately need a victory there because they did not have any military progress since last Autumn.
“This is why they continuously report that they have taken Bakhmut.”
She added: “I suggest that we all trust the international journalists and Ukrainian military who [have] reported only the truth in their reports and they have been reporting things that can be verified.
“You can never verify anything that Russia claims. And I, of course, believe President Zelensky and our military commanders that Ukrainian forces are still holding Bakhmut and are not leaving the city.”
It remains unclear whether Russian troops control the city.
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10h ago
12:02
Russia indicts ICC prosecutor and judge who issued war crimes warrant for Putin
Russia has announced indictments in absentia for an International Criminal Court (ICC) judge and prosecutor who issued a war crimes warrant for Vladimir Putin.
The Investigative Committee said the judge, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and British prosecutor Karim Khan were both charged with “preparing to attack a representative of a foreign country enjoying international protection in order to complicate international relations”.
Conviction could bring prison terms of up to 12 years.
The committee said other ICC officials are being investigated.
Karim Khan
Karim Khan
The warrant issued against Mr Putin in March accuses him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
The court also charged Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian presidential commissioner for children’s rights.
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11h ago
11:25
Top Ukrainian general visits frontline near besieged Bakhmut
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said he had visited frontline positions near the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi thanked troops defending the area.
In a post on Telegram he also said Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance along the flanks of the ruined city.
There are competing claims about whether Russian forces have taken control of the city.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said Bakhmut was “not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today”.
Hours earlier however, Russian state news agencies reported Vladimir Putin had congratulated “Wagner assault detachments, as well as all servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces units, who provided them with the necessary support and flank protection, on the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk” – Bakhmut’s Soviet-era name.
The fog of war has made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground.
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11h ago
11:17
South Korea planning to send Ukraine mine-removing eqiupment and ambulances
South Korea’s president has said he is planning to provide mine-removing equipment and ambulances for Ukraine.
Yoon Suk Yeol, who met Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time on the sidelines of the G7, said South Korea would “carefully review” a list of some non-lethal weapons requested by the Ukrainian leader.
South Korea signed an agreement with Ukraine earlier this week on its plan to provide a £130m (£104m) financial aid package a day after the visiting first lady of Ukraine asked for military assistance.
South Korea, a major producer of artillery shells, has said it was not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine because of its relations with Russia.
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11h ago
10:56
Zelenskyy can fly home from the G7 confident in the West’s support
Analysis by Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor
“Russia will feel it when our counteroffensive comes”: the warning from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has now completed diplomatic preparations for the long-awaited Ukrainian counterattack.
His whirlwind tour of allies that ended in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend has paid dividends. Finally, they have accepted the logic behind his demands for modern warplanes.
They won’t be there for months, possibly not even this year, but the significance is huge.
The West is now all in.
Read more here…
Volodymyr Zelenskyy can fly home from the G7 confident in the West’s support
Sky News
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12h ago
10:18
Mercenaries raise Russian flag in Bakhmut
Soldiers of the Wagner mercenary group have been filmed raising Russian flags in Bakhmut after claiming control of the city following months of fierce fighting that has left it in ruins.
Russia and Ukraine have given conflicting accounts of the situation in Bakhmut today, with Kyiv saying it still controlled a small part of the besieged eastern city while Moscow congratulated the Wagner private army and Russian troops for “liberating” it.
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12h ago
10:09
From hot dog seller to mercenary leader: The rise of Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, has become an increasingly important figure during the Ukraine war, his company playing a key role in Russia’s attempt to take Bakhmut.
Yesterday, he claimed his group gained full control of the eastern Ukrainian city – something Kyiv denies.
A Sky News Daily podcast uncovers some fascinating detail about the mercenary boss. Have a listen…
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12h ago
09:48
Pro-government rally in Moldovan capital draws tens of thousands
Tens of thousands of Moldovans are protesting in the capital Chisinau today to support their pro-Western government’s drive towards Europe amid what officials have said are Russian efforts to destabilise their country.
Moldova has been significantly impacted by Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which Chisinau has repeatedly condemned, and applied to join the European Union.
President Maida Sandu has accused Russia of attempting to sabotage its European integration by fuelling anti-government protests and propaganda, but Moscow denies meddling in Moldova’s affairs.
“Moldova does not want to be blackmailed by the Kremlin,” Sandu said at the rally, which was organised by her government
and packed a central square.
Police said more than 75,000 demonstrators were present.
“We don’t want to be on the outskirts of Europe anymore,” she said, pledging that Moldova would become an EU member by 2030.
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12h ago
09:44
German police investigating possible poisoning of two Russian exiles
German police are investigating the possible poisoning of two Russian exiles who attended a conference in Berlin at the end of April organised by a critic of the Kremlin.
Local media reports said one of the women was a journalist and her symptoms may have appeared before the conference on 29 and 30 April. She went to the Charite hospital in Berlin.
The second woman was Natalia Arno, director of the NGO Free Russian Foundation.
She wrote on her Facebook that she had found the door to her hotel room ajar, adding: “I woke up at 5am, suffering sharp pain and strange symptoms.”
Several poisoning attacks have been carried out abroad and in Russia against opponents of the Kremlin in recent years. The event was organised by Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
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13h ago
09:25
Zelenskyy thanks Japan for $7.6bn financial package in its fight against Russia
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Japan and its prime minister for a $7.6bn (£6.1bn) package of financial assistance it has given Ukraine as well as for the “decision to accept wounded Ukrainian servicemen for treatment and for 100 additional trucks”.
The Ukraine leader said he briefed Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, on the situation on the frontline and emphasised the importance of maintaining sanctions policy towards Russia.
Mr Kishida has been the driving force behind Hiroshima’s selection for the G7 venue, with a unique dilemma. On the one hand, he is keen to promote the vision of a world without nuclear weapons, which has long been a cornerstone of his political rhetoric.
On the other, he is mindful of the widespread domestic worry over aggression by nuclear-armed neighbours. The Japanese leader’s difficult balancing act could be clearly seen in the G7’s overwhelming focus on building support for Ukraine’s defence against nuclear-armed Russia’s invasion, highlighted by Mr Zelenskyy’s personal appearance in Hiroshima.
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13h ago
09:06
Russia calls G7 summit incubator for anti-Russian and anti-Chinese ‘hysteria’
The Russian foreign ministry has dismissed the G7 summit in Hiroshima as a “politicised” event that it said had pumped out anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements and accused the forum of undermining global stability.
Moscow lashed out after the leaders of the world’s richest democracies, including Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak, said they would not back down from supporting Ukraine, in a warning to Vladimir Putin as he claimed to have taken the eastern city of Bakhmut, something Kyiv denied.
The ministry said on Telegram that the G7 had “irreversibly deteriorated” and that the forum had become an “incubator” where, under the leadership of the Anglo-Saxons, destructive initiatives that “undermine global stability are prepared”.
The statement also accused the G7 of fanning anti-Russian and
anti-Chinese “hysteria”.
Russia used to be a member of the G7 club of industrialised
democracies, which was previously known as the G8, until Moscow was excluded after its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014.
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13h ago
09:01
Zelenskyy’s news conference in full
If you’re just catching up, here is Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s full address at the G7 summit in Hiroshima today.
The Ukraine leader stressed that Kyiv’s troops remained in the besieged city of Bakhmut after claims that Russia had taken control.
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14h ago
08:37
Fall of Bakhmut is a blow to Ukraine – but will it be a turning point in the war?
Analysis by Alex Rossi, international correspondent in Ukraine
It appears for all intents and purposes that Bakhmut has fallen.
There has been an inevitability about its capture by Wagner and Russian regular forces for weeks.
I last managed to get inside the city at the end of January and the situation then was desperate.
Ukraine’s defence of it has been hanging by a thread for a long time.
It’s estimated that for the past few weeks, it only controlled a few buildings – less than five per cent.
This is a significant moment in this war but not for the reason that Moscow will present.
Yes, it has won but this massive battle is only really a small victory.
It’s taken months of fighting, huge amounts of materiel and the lives of tens of thousands of its soldiers to take a minor Ukrainian city.
Read that sentence again, and then reflect on the fact that when Putin’s forces invaded they intended to take the capital Kyiv, and it puts it all into perspective.
The self-proclaimed world’s second-most powerful army has really struggled to accomplish its mission.
Bakhmut is not of no strategic value, but its worth as a conquest is limited – in that context, its capture for Russia is a pyrrhic victory.
The fall of the small coal mining town is undoubtedly a blow to Ukraine – it has poured a huge amount of resources into its defence.
Ukrainian forces will console themselves that they did effectively turn it into a “kill box”, causing a significant drain on Russia’s war machine.
But for all the fanfare from the Wagner paramilitary group, the capture of Bakhmut is unlikely to be a turning point in this war – it will almost certainly not be decisive.
The focus now will turn to Ukraine’s looming counteroffensive.
Its success or failure is far more likely to have an effect on how this terrible conflict eventually ends.
