Russia sends more troops to Bakhmut after Putin declares victory
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Russia is bringing more forces into Bakhmut, Ukraine's deputy defence minister has said, after Vladimir Putin declared victory in Moscow's months-long campaign to capture the city.
Russia is bringing more forces into Bakhmut, Ukraine's deputy defence minister has said, after Vladimir Putin declared victory in Moscow's months-long campaign to capture the city.
Hanna Malyar, the deputy defence minister, on Monday said Kyiv’s troops were advancing to the north and south of the city, but admitted that the “intensity” of their movement had decreased.Meanwhile, Russian-installed leader of the eastern Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said the Kremlin's troops have begun the “preliminary demining” of Bakhmut.
A few dozen local residents remain in the ruins of the destroyed city, known in Russia as Artemovsk, a representative of Donetsk law enforcement agencies told state news agency TASS. However, the official warned that figure may change as the basements of homes are examined.
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At least four people have been injured during the alleged incursion in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor has said.
In his latest update on Telegram on Monday afternoon, Vyacheslav Gladkov said:
In Grayvoron there are three injured - two men and a woman with shrapnel wounds are in hospital in a state of moderate severity. All necessary medical help is being provided.
Also three private homes have been damaged by shelling, as a result of which they caught fire. There was also a hit on an administration building.
In the village of Zamostye a shell fell on a kindergarten, as a result of which it caught fire. A woman was injured with a wound to her hand, assistance is being provided on site. Information about the damage is being updated.
Adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine, Mykailo Podolyak, said that Ukraine "has nothing to do" with the events in the Belgorod region of Russia.
Mr Podolyak added: "The only driving political force in a totalitarian country of tightened screws is always an armed guerrilla movement."
Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed that two Russian volunteer battalions were behind the action in the region, which borders Ukraine.
A representative from the Ukrainian military intelligence has said that two Russian volunteer battalions have crossed into Belgorod "to create a security zone" to protect "Ukrainian civilians", and insisted that no Ukrainian personnel were involved.
Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske Television: "Russian nations, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Liberty of Russian legion have claimed responsibility for those actions.
"I think we can only welcome those decisive steps by opposition-minded Russian who have taken up arms to fight the criminal regime of Vladimir Putin that has usurped power in Russia."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the "sabotage" in Belgorod, the Kremlin has said, which it claims was done to "divert attention from the Bakhmut direction".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the defence ministry, FSB security service and the border service have briefed Mr Putin on the "attempt to break through into Belgorod Oblast by Ukrainian saboteurs", state news agency RIA Novosti have reported.
Mr Peskov said: "We understand perfectly well that the goal of such sabotages is to divert attention from the Bakhmut front line, to minimise the political effect of the Ukrainian side's loss of Artemovsk." Mr Putin said on Sunday morning that Bakhmut had been captured by Russian forces.
Ukrainian military intelligence has said that Russian citizens belonging to two paramilitary groups are behind the armed operation in Belgorod, according to Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske.
The governor of the Belgorod region of Russia has said that a Ukrainian army 'sabotage group' had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district, which borders Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement on Telegram that the Russian army and security forces were taking measures to repel the incursion. Two people have been taken to hospital with "mine explosive wounds", with one in a serious condition in intensive care, Mr Gladkov added.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the reports.
Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Energoatom has released a statement following the restoration of power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, blaming "Russian shelling" for the outage earlier on Monday morning. Energoatom said:
Ukrainian experts restored the operation of the Dniprovsk 750 kV high-voltage power transmission line, from which the temporarily occupied ZNPP supplies its own needs.
The risk of a nuclear and radiation accident is minimised, the situation is stable.
We will remind you that on the morning of 22 May, at 5.26am, this line was disconnected as a result of Russian shelling. Since it is the last one that powers the ZNPP, all backup diesel generators are automatically turned on. As a result, the station experienced a blackout for the seventh time since the beginning of the occupation.
Several dozen local residents remain in Bakhmut, a representative of Donetsk law enforcement agencies told the Russian state news agency TASS.
"So far there is the clear understanding that several dozen local residents remained in Artemovsk," the official said, using the name for Bakhmut often used in Russia. They added that the figure may change as the basements of homes are examined.
The official said that the evacuation of civilians to safe locations was continuing.
The Zaporizhzhia power plant has been reconnected to its external power supply after a brief outage that had left it reliant on emergency generators on Monday.
Back-up diesel generators had to be used earlier on Monday following a blackout at the Russian-controlled nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, to ensure fuel was kept cool and to prevent a potential disaster.
Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the outage. A Russian-installed local official said that Ukraine had disconnected a power line, while Ukrainian state–owned nuclear energy company Energoatom said that the issue had been caused by Russian shelling.
Ukrainian national grid operator said: “The station is switching (back) to power supply from the Ukrainian power system."
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog is pushing for a new proposal to reduce the risk of a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia power plant, as reports emerge of a seventh blackout at the facility.
Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi is to present a list of five principles for the UN Security Council to endorse later this month, The Washington Post reported, citing US and European diplomats.
Two diplomats familiar with the negotiations told the outlet that Mr Grossi’s five principles include: a ban on stationing heavy military equipment and military personnel at the plant; a ban on firing from and towards the plant, including a ban on attacking personnel at the facility; protection of all systems pertaining to safety and security; and protection of all external power lines.
The plan is less ambitious than the UN nuclear chief's original plans to establish a fully-fledged protection zone around the plant, however Kyiv is reportedly reluctant to let world powers broker any deal concerning the plant other than Russia's total surrender of the plant and the withdrawal from the city of Enerhodar where it is located.
A spokesperson for the IAEA said that Mr Grossi “remains engaged in intense negotiations with all the involved parties to secure the protection of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. In this context, the Director General is also in close contact with members of the U.N. Security Council.”
The head of the Wagner Group has said that his mercenary fighters will leave Bakhmut by June 1, transferring control to the Russian army.
Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on Saturday that the eastern city had fallen to his fighters, who have been spearheading the campaign to capture Bakhmut for several months. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Bakhmut had fallen to Russia, however Kyiv denies this and says battles are ongoing.
Mr Prigozhin announced in an audio recording on Telegram on Monday morning: “Wagner will leave Artemovsk from May 25 to June 1.” Artemovsk is the name Russian forces often use for Bakhmut, and was the former name of the city before Ukraine renamed it.
Mr Prigozhin added that mercenaries had set up “defence lines” on the western outskirts of the city before a planned transfer of control to the Russian army.
“If the ministry of defence does not have enough personnel, we have thousands of generals.”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykailo Podolyak has said that "the liberation of Crimea using any military force and means is the only rational way to stop 'Russian aggressions'", in an apparent response to comments made by Russia's ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov.
Mr Antonov had said in comments published on the Russian embassy in Washington's Telegram channel: "Strikes on [Crimea] are considered by us as an attack on any other region of the Russian Feferation. It is important that the United States is fully aware of our response".
Mr Podolyak wrote on Monday that "Crimea is an indisputable and inseparable part of Ukraine. It was, it is and it will be".
Crimea is an indisputable and inseparable part of Ukraine. It was, it is and it will be. The liberation of Crimea using any military force and means is the only rational way to stop "Russian aggressions" and bring the world back to international law. It is Ukraine's direct…
The meat grinder, hell on earth, the fortress, a blackened nightmare, and now Europe’s Hiroshima.
The small eastern city has undoubtedly been the site of the bloodiest fighting since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. It is also likely the longest battle since the Second World War.
Ukrainian troops continue to advance on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut, although the “intensity” of the movement has decreased as Russia brings in more forces, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister has said.
In televised comments on Monday, Hanna Maliar said that Ukraine had a small foothold inside the city itself, as she denied Russia’s assertion that it has established full control in the front line eastern city.
Vladimir Putin claimed his first battlefield victory in a year on Sunday, with the capture of Bakhmut, which has been at the centre of the bloodiest fighting of the war for nine and a half months.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has confirmed that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "lost all external electricity for the [seventh] time during conflict" on Monday morning.
Mr Grossi, who has tried to negotiate with both sides to reach a deal on the safety of the plant, said that the nuclear safety situation at the plant is "extremely vulnerable" and said "this situation cannot continue".
Vladimir Putin has claimed his first battlefield victory in a year with the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, writes James Kilner.
Ukraine has denied that Bakhmut has fallen but Russian propagandists have started celebrating “one of the greatest battle victories in the 21st century”.
Emergency service facilities were struck in the Russian attacks in Dnipro, injuring one rescue worker and destroying three buildings and 20 pieces of equipment, officials have said.
In a statement posted to the Telegram messenger service, Serhiy Krusk of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said: “At night, the enemy insidiously fired at the emergency rescue unit. Three buildings were destroyed, more than 20 pieces of equipment were destroyed. One lifeguard was injured.”
Mr Krusk added: “Destroying State Emergency Service units is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention.”
Pictures uploaded by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine purportedly of the attack show several destroyed red emergency vehicles and debris surrounding heavily damaged buildings with the windows smashed.
Ukraine’s state energy company Energoatom said that there was a power outage at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Energoatom told Reuters news agency: “Yes, we have the seventh blackout since the start of the (Russian) occupation."
A Russia-installed official had previously said that the plant was switched to standby and emergency power supply.
In its latest daily intelligence update, the UK ministry of defence has said that it believes Russia is "highly likely creating a new 'elite' attack aviation group" to operate over Ukraine.
It added: "Credible Russian media reports suggest that the Russian MoD aims to attract highly skilled and motivated pilots by offering large pay incentives and opening recruitment to retired aviators.
"The creation of the group highlights how Russian assesses its regular air force squadrons have severely underperformed in their core function of conducting airstrikes on Ukrainian lines."
A protester wearing a dress in the colours of the Ukrainian flag was removed by security after pouring fake blood over herself on the stairs of the Festival Palace in Cannes during the Cannes Film Festival in the south of France.
The woman staged her protest, an apparent show of solidarity with Ukraine, ahead of the screening of the French film Acide, by director Just Philippot.
Russia’s ambassador to the US has suggested that any transfer of F-16 jets to Ukraine would raise the question of NATO involvement in the war.
Anatoly Antonov said in remarks shared by the embassy’s Telegram channel: “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’?”
The ambassador's comments come after the US indicated that it would allow allies to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and back efforts to train Kyiv’s pilots.
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