Global Courant 2023-05-13 17:21:27
Ukrainian troops advance along parts of the frontline against Russian forces near the war-torn eastern city of Bakhmut.
“Our soldiers are moving forward in some parts of the front and the enemy is losing equipment and manpower,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian ground forces, said on social media on Saturday.
“The defensive operation towards Bakhmut continues.”
Russia acknowledged on Friday that its troops had fallen back north of the devastated city in eastern Ukraine in a retreat that the head of Russia’s Wagner private army called a “rout” and not a “regrouping”.
In its latest bulletin, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces have taken control of another bloc in Bakhmut.
“The units of the Airborne Forces provided support to the attack units and pressed the enemy on the flanks,” it read.
The ministry often uses the term “assault units” to denote Wagner’s private militia, which led the assault on Bakhmut with high casualty losses.
Aircraft shot down
Videos posted on Russian social media, meanwhile, showed a helicopter apparently shot down over Russia’s Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine.
The state news agency TASS quoted an emergency services official as saying preliminary information indicated the engine caught fire before the crash near Klintsy, 40 km (25 mi) from the border.
However, a video posted to Russia’s pre-war Telegram channel Voyenniy Osvedomitel showed a helicopter exploding high in the sky and then crashing to Earth in flames.
A Russian Su-34 fighter jet also crashed in Bryansk, TASS reported. It was unclear what brought him down.
Russia said Ukraine used British-made long-range missiles to strike civilian sites in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, injuring six children.
The United Kingdom on Thursday became the first country to supply Kiev with long-range cruise missiles, capable of hitting Russian troops and resupplying dumps far behind the front lines.
“Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied by Britain to the Kiev regime were used for the attack, despite statements from London that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets,” the Russian defense ministry said.
It added that Russia downed two Ukrainian aircraft – a Su-24 and a MiG-29 – that launched the missiles.
‘Historical shame’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Rome on Saturday for talks with government officials and Pope Francis.
In April, the pope announced that the Vatican was involved in a peacekeeping mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but declined to give further details. Both Moscow and Kiev publicly expressed surprise at his comments at the time.
It will be Zelenskyy’s first trip to Italy since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of the Scandinavian countries in Finland. He also visited the Netherlands, where he gave a speech at the World Forum.
In Italy, he will meet separately with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before heading to the Vatican. He is also expected to be a guest on a popular Italian TV talk show before heading to Germany.
Germany’s defense ministry said the country is preparing a new arms package for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion), reportedly Berlin’s largest since Russia invaded last year.
Kiev said the massive new weapons package was another sign that Russia would lose its war against Ukraine. “States are declaring large defense aid packages for Ukraine,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy.
The aid signaled that Russia was “obliged to lose and sit on the bench of historical disgrace,” he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he discussed the next arms shipments with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I have paid close attention to the importance of supplying Ukraine with F-16s and the steps required to start training Ukrainian pilots.”
Zelenskyy spoke to Meloni at a meeting with EU leaders in February (Johanna Geron via Reuters)
Zelenskyy to meet the Pope
The meeting with the Pope is expected to be the most important part of Zelenskyy’s time in Italy. He previously met the pope at the Vatican in 2020, and the two have had several phone conversations since the start of the war.
At the beginning of the war, the pope tried to take a balanced approach in the hopes of becoming a mediator, but he later began to strongly condemn Russia’s actions, comparing them to some of the worst crimes committed against Ukraine during the Soviet era.
Francis met with Russia’s outgoing ambassador to the Vatican this week, Alexander Avdeyev, and Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that the Vatican may have given the envoy a letter for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Francis has repeatedly called for peace and has repeatedly expressed a desire to act as a mediator between Kiev and Moscow. His offer has so far not led to a breakthrough.
Zelenskyy and his team have been promoting Kiev’s 10-point peace plan and urging world leaders to hold a Global Peace Summit based on the proposals.
It calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities. Zelenskyy has said repeatedly that the plan is non-negotiable.
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