May 10, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Italy on Wednesday told its nationals still in Ukraine to leave the country "immediately" ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces.

"Rocket attacks on the whole country continue. All compatriots still present are advised to leave Ukraine immediately. Risk of collapse of energy infrastructure,” the Italian embassy in Kyiv said on its website.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured a counteroffensive “will happen,” while demurring on any exact start date.

Latvia and Canada will begin to train Ukrainian soldiers in Latvia starting on May 15, a statement from the Canadian government said on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the initiative was developed jointly between Canadian Armed Forces and the Latvian National Armed Forces and will see both forces deliver the training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine through Operation UNIFIER.  

This initiative is in addition to the other ongoing deployments through Operation UNIFIER in support of Ukraine, the statement said. 

Some background: About 800 Canadian Armed Forces members are currently deployed to Latvia, where Canada has served as Framework Nation of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia since 2017, the statement said.

Two Russian servicemen have been sentenced to 2.5 years for refusing to serve in Ukraine, according to the independent human rights monitor OVD-Info.

Both men — from the Kamchatka area in Russia’s Far East — were found guilty under the article on refusal to participate in hostilities, which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison, according to OVD-Info.

One of the soldiers, Alexander Stepanov, was sentenced on April 25, according to the case file. The press service of the court reports that on January 18, Stepanov refused to follow the orders of the commander of the military unit and refused to go to war in Ukraine during mobilization.

The second serviceman is Andrey Mikhailov, who was sentenced on April 27 under similar circumstances. Mikhailov refused to go to fight in Ukraine on January 21 — three days after Stepanov's decision.

The Russian courts have already received more than 500 cases against servicemen who directly refused to carry out orders to be sent to Ukraine or have deserted from the front, according to calculations by the independent media outlet Mediazona in March. But it added that most such cases were hidden from public view: sentences are usually not published and statistics are hidden or deleted.

In more than one-third of known AWOL convictions defendants receive suspended sentences, which means they can be sent to the front again, Mediazona reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday permitting the conscription for military training of citizens in the reserve, according to a document published on the government’s website.

Military training of Russian citizens in the reserve is an annual event.

The Russian military reserve consists of a special combat army reserve, which may number as many as two million, and a larger group of eligible reservists, estimated by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as almost 25 million people.

Some background: Russia’s move to send hundreds of thousands to fight on the battlefields of Ukraine has generated dissent and protest and prompted many Russians – young men in particular – to flee the country. In April, Putin signed a law that made the country’s conscription program more efficient, more modern – and harder to evade.

CNN's Rob Picheta contributed to this post.

While Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has frequently poured scorn on Russia’s Defense Ministry and its leadership, he has not previously accused Russian units of running from battle and allowing Ukrainian forces to recapture territory.

But in another expletive-laden tirade released on the same day that the Kremlin commemorated victory over Nazi Germany, Prigozhin said one Russian brigade had abandoned its positions south of Bakhmut, leading to many casualties among his fighters.  

In comments Tuesday, Prigozhin said “one of the units of the Ministry of Defense fled from one of our flanks, abandoning their positions. They all fled and [laid] bare a front nearly 2 kilometers [1.25 miles] wide and 500 meters [1,640ft] deep.”

Prighozhin said that the “72nd brigade f***ed up three square kilometers (1.1 miles) today, on which I had about 500 people killed. Because it was a strategic bridgehead. They just ran the hell out of there.”

The 72nd Brigade (or Separate Motorized Regiment as it is sometimes called) is part of the Russian military’s Western Military District.

As for soldiers fleeing, Prigozhin said: "The fish rots from the head. A soldier leaves the trenches because it is not necessary to die [as] useless. A soldier may die, but a soldier should not die because of the utter stupidity of his leadership.”

Speaking to Russian media, Prigozhin reiterated that Wagner had planned to leave the area because its units had inadequate ammunition – a decision postponed when a promise was made that supplies would be sent by May 9, he said.

“During the day of May 8-9, 2023, the required amount of ammunition was not issued,” Prigozhin said.

Separately, a prominent Russian military blogger, Anastasiya Kashevarova, has reported a complete lack of communication in the Bakhmut area between Wagner and Russian regular forces (72nd Brigade.) 

She wrote on Telegram: “The 72nd has a ban on working with the ‘orchestra’ [Wagner] and Wagner is too proud.”

Often, she added, a brigade does not know who is on its right or left. “There is no single command that would be respected by all without exception, “ she added. “Complete disunity of the front…the enemy is using it.”

The Ukrainian military has confirmed that its forces have made gains south of Bakhmut – a dramatic turn of events in an area where gains and losses have usually been measured in several feet.

The Ukrainian Third Assault Brigade, which has advanced in the area, spoke of eliminating dozens of Russian soldiers, and released video showing its tanks, supported by infantry, overrunning Russian trenches.

Some background: In an explosive, expletive-laden rant last week, Prigozhin appeared in front of dozens of his dead soldiers and blamed Russia’s military leadership for “tens of thousands” of Wagner casualties.

In late April, he threatened to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut if Moscow didn’t provide more ammunition. Prigozhin later backtracked on his threat after receiving promises of more ammunition.

Russian soldiers are preventing employees of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from evacuating a nearby frontline town with their families, Ukraine's military said Wednesday. 

Russia-backed authorities have ordered the evacuation of thousands of civilians along the southern front as a Ukrainian counteroffensive looms.

Enerhodar, where most of the nuclear plant’s staff live, was among 18 settlements whose residents were evacuated over the weekend. The evacuees were moved to recreation centers and hotels in the southern towns of Berdiansk and Kyrylivka, while others were taken to Russia's Rostov region, Ukraine's military said.

Remember: The Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe’s largest nuclear power station and has been held by Russian forces since early in the invasion last year. It is mostly operated by a Ukrainian workforce.

The plant's position on the front lines means shelling in the surrounding towns and near the facility is common. The UN's nuclear watchdog again raised concerns earlier this week about safety at the plant, describing the situation as being "increasingly unpredictable."

The Russian defense ministry claimed on Wednesday that Russian forces had hit the ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 65th mechanized brigade in the Zaporizhzhia region – an area that has seen a rise in shelling by both sides in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. 

"An ammunition depot of the 65th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed near the village of Preobrazhenka, Zaporizhzhia region," said the ministry in its daily briefing. There’s been no word from the Ukrainian side.

In addition, the ministry said that Russian assault detachments continued to move further into the northwestern and western outskirts of Bakhmut, while Russian airborne forces were "suppressing enemy actions on the flanks."

Some context: The ministry’s version of events around Bakhmut is at odds with that of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who says he lost 500 fighters because one Russian army unit had abandoned its positions south of Bakhmut, allowing Ukrainian forces to take a swathe of territory.

In an angry video message, Prigozhin said Russian units were “running away.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is informing China’s calculations on a possible invasion of Taiwan, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN Wednesday.

“What happens in Europe matters for Asia, and what happens in Asia matters for Europe,” Stoltenberg told CNN.

China’s foreign minister has warned against an "emotional" view of the war in Ukraine, saying on a visit to Germany that "the only way out is to remain calm and rational and create conditions for a political solution."

Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin on Tuesday. 

Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing Wednesday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Qin used the trip to state that "China is neither a conflict maker nor a participant in the conflict, but an advocate of peace and a promoter of peace talks."

The ministry said Qin urged Germany to "play a leading role and put forward concrete proposals for the construction of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework."

On Tuesday, Baerbock called on China to promise it will not help Russia avoid European sanctions.

"It is particularly critical if Russian weaponry companies obtain war-related goods," she said, adding that all countries — China included — should take action to oblige their companies. "Neutrality means taking the side of the aggressor," Baerbock said. 

Some background: Beijing has provided Moscow with a diplomatic lifeline as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen Moscow sanctioned by Western governments. China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion or make any public call for Russia to withdraw its troops. Its officials have instead repeatedly said that the "legitimate" security concerns of all countries must be taken into account and accused NATO and the US of fueling the conflict.