Global Courant 2023-05-24 08:29:18
As the war enters its 455th day, we review key developments.
Here is the state of affairs on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
To fight
Russia has blamed Ukraine for an attack in the border town of Belgorod, saying it killed dozens of attackers in a “counter-terrorism operation”. Ukraine has denied Russia’s allegations, with Ukrainian military intelligence saying two armed Russian opposition groups – the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps, made up of Russian citizens – were responsible. Ukrainian forces still control the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut, and fighting in the city itself has eased, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said. Bakhmut, a salt mining town that once had a population of 70,000, has been the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago. Three villages in Russia’s Kursk region, bordering Ukraine, were without power on Tuesday after a drone dropped explosives on an electrical substation, the region’s governor said. The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) has launched a criminal investigation into Andrey Ruzinsky, a Russian commander who helped lead the military occupation of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops on the frontline in Donetsk after returning from a trip to Japan and Saudi Arabia last weekend.
Diplomacy
Hungarian Viktor Orban has told a forum in Qatar that Ukraine’s troops are unlikely to win the war against Russia and that the conflict represents “the failure of the world”. The attorney general’s office in Ukraine has said it is investigating Belarus’ alleged role in the forcible transfer of children from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. President Joe Biden is deeply concerned about Russia’s intelligence agency’s decision to extend the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said. The Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi has halted operations as Russia does not allow ships to enter the port, jeopardizing the promised safe transport of grain exports under the Black Sea Agreement, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Renovation Yuriy Vaskov said. to Reuters news agency. Czech state-owned company Mero has said it has signed a deal to end the country’s dependence on Russian oil. Mero will finance a $73 million expansion of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), which supplies oil from the Italian port of Trieste to central Europe. The Russian embassy in Norway has criticized a planned US aircraft carrier visit to Oslo as an “illogical and harmful” display of force. The 337 meter long USS General Ford will dock in the Norwegian capital this week. Sanctioned Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has visited Saudi Arabia.
Weapons
Poland is ready to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany was exploring options to support a coalition of countries planning to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. European Union countries have sent 220,000 artillery shells and 1,300 missiles to Ukraine under a plan agreed by ministers in March, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Western powers not to send more weapons to Ukraine as shipments increase the risk of a “nuclear apocalypse”. (TagsToTranslate)News
