May 20, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Heather Chen, Andrew Raine, Adrienne Vogt, Matt Meyer and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 10:53 AM ET, Sun May 21, 2023
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12:49 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Zelensky says Ukraine is coordinating on weapons, air defense and fighter jets with allies after G7 talks

From CNN’s Sugam Pokharel in London and Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Saturday, May 20.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Saturday, May 20. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his government is preparing “new joint steps” with its allies in response to Russia’s war. 

“We are coordinating our positions with our partners and preparing new joint steps. Defense: weapons, air defense, fighter jets. We engage as many countries and leaders as possible for the sake of Ukraine. The peace formula. Long-term programs to support Ukraine. Finance and economy,” he said in his daily video speech after holding meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.  

Zelensky said he held separate meetings with leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, India, Germany and the European Commission. 

The Ukrainian president also said he submitted Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula to the participants of the Arab League Summit on Friday. 

"And we will do everything to ensure that the world's involvement in our peace initiative is as high as possible," he added. 

Zelensky mentioned India in particular, saying that he believes the country "will take part in the restoration of the international order based on the rules that are obviously needed by all free nations." 

Zelensky met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. Modi – who has so far refused to condemn the invasion – said India would do "everything we can" to help end the war.

CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed reporting to this post.

12:47 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

France’s Macron meets with Zelensky at G7 summit  

From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu in Paris 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Saturday. 

The French president tweeted a video showing him holding a meeting with Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials. 

Macron can be heard in the video saying it was “a very good idea” that Zelensky went to Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit before coming to the G7 summit.

Zelensky arrived at the Hiroshima G7 summit on Saturday aboard a French government plane.  

12:11 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

CNN's Erin Burnett reacts to being banned from Russia, along with hundreds of other Americans

Prominent American figures — including US dignitaries, entertainment icons and CNN journalists — will no longer be allowed to enter Russia, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The list contains hundreds of names, ranging from former US President Barack Obama to late night television hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers, as well as former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, several US senators and the next expected chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.

CNN's Erin Burnett was among those included in the growing list of US journalists sanctioned by Moscow. She said Friday that the move by Russia is "why covering this war every night matters, and we will continue to do it."

"Something supremely important to all of us is happening in Ukraine and also inside Russia, where tonight Putin's allies are turning on their own and telling those who are critical of Putin's war to be quiet," Burnett said.

See her reaction here:

12:53 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Russian foreign minister: G7 decisions are intended to "deter" Russia and China

From CNN’s Sugam Pokharel and Darya Tarasova

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a press conference in Moscow on May 18.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a press conference in Moscow on May 18. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

The decisions made at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima were aimed to hold back Russia and China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday.

"Look at the decisions that are being discussed and adopted today in Hiroshima at the G7 summit and which are aim to deter Russia and the People's Republic of China," he said, speaking at the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. 
"It is not hidden that the existence of Russia as an independent center is incompatible with achieving the goal of the global dominance of the West," the Russian foreign minister added.

In a Saturday joint statement, the G7 leaders in Japan said they agree to "support Ukraine for as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression" and to "coordinate our approach to economic resilience and economic security."

The leaders also mentioned a series of positions related to China, including the need to counter "economic coercion" and protect advanced technologies that could threaten national security, while also stressing that cooperation with Beijing was necessary.

CNN's Sandi Sidhu and Simone McCarthy contributed reporting.

12:58 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Analysis: What Bakhmut means to Russia and Ukraine

From CNN's Rob Picheta and Thom Poole

A Ukrainian tank travels near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 12.
A Ukrainian tank travels near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 12. Libkos/AP

The Wagner Group's claim to have captured Bakhmut represents the rarest of things – a tangible battlefield gain for Russia after months of stasis and setbacks.

The city provides important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

But any celebrations are likely to be tempered by the manpower and resources Russia poured into capturing Bakhmut, and Ukraine's reports of continued fighting in areas immediately surrounding the city.

Taking a small city whose population has largely fled is also a long way from Russia’s original goals of capturing Kyiv and toppling the Ukrainian government.

Kyiv, too, is likely to face questions over its approach in Bakhmut. A Ukrainian defense official claimed Saturday that its forces are still clinging to a portion of the city, though she admitted the situation is "critical."

Just this week, Ukraine's military had claimed fresh advances in the area, suggesting continuing efforts in the city.

Speaking to CNN in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed reports of divisions among his commanders about the merits of fighting on in Bakhmut.

One of his advisers said Ukraine’s forces aimed at buying time to replenish their forces and inflicting losses on Russia.

In the interview, Zelensky warned that Russian troops would have an “open road” to capture key cities if Ukraine gave up Bakhmut, defending his decision to keep fighters there. 

Now, with a Ukrainian counteroffensive due, the question remains: Which side comes out stronger if the battle for Bakhmut has truly come to an end?

11:55 a.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Wagner chief claims complete capture of Bakhmut, but Ukraine says it still controls part of the city

From CNN’s Darya Tarasova, Yulia Kesaieva, Andrew Carey and Sugam Pokharel 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military group, holds a Russian flag in this image from a video released on May 20.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military group, holds a Russian flag in this image from a video released on May 20. Prigozhin's Press Service/Reuters

The chief of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Saturday that his forces have taken complete control of the long-contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. 

“The operation to capture Bakhmut lasted 224 days,” he said in a video posted to Telegram, seeking to claim a final victory for the city.

CNN could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim, and a message from a Ukrainian defense official partially disputed it. 

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, in a Telegram post less than an hour after the Russian mercenary’s claim was published, admitted the situation in Bakhmut was “critical” but said Ukrainian troops were still “holding the defense in the 'Airplane' district of the city,” which is on Bakhmut’s westernmost edge. 

“As of now, our defenders control certain industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area and the private sector,” she said.  

While Russian forces have continued their slow street-by-street advance in the city itself for many months, Ukrainian forces have recently managed to re-capture small pockets of outlying territory to the northwest and southwest of the city. 

Prigozhin claimed his forces will hand the control of Bakhmut to the Russian military on May 25.

Background on Bakhmut: The eastern city has been the focal point of a grinding battle between Ukrainian and Russia fighters.

Stark satellite photos show how much it has changed over the past year, with the city in ruins in many areas.

The city sits toward the northeast of the Donetsk region, about 13 miles from Luhansk region, and has been a target for Russian forces for months. Since last summer, the city has been a stone’s throw from the front lines, so its capture would represent a long sought-after success for Moscow’s forces – and bring some limited strategic value.

The city has important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

More from Prigozhin: In the video, the Wagner leader thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for giving his fighters the "honor to defend our Motherland," but he also called out "the Russian bureaucracy" — as he has publicly and forcefully done in the past few months — particularly Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

They "turned the war into their own entertainment," he claimed. "... Because of their whims, five times more guys died."

1:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Russia warns West of “enormous risks” if Ukraine supplied with F-16 jets 

From CNN’s Darya Tarasova, Natasha Bertrand and Kevin Liptak

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko speaks in Moscow, Russia, in February.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko speaks in Moscow, Russia, in February. Dmitry Dukhanin/Kommersant/Sipa/AP

Russia's deputy foreign minister has warned Western countries of “enormous risks for themselves" if Ukraine is provided with F-16 fighter jets, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday.

"Movement is underway on the so-called escalation ladder," Alexander Grushko was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a meeting of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. 

"We see that the Western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario. It involves enormous risks for themselves. In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the set goals," Grushko added.

US President Joe Biden informed G7 leaders Friday that the US will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced aircraft, including F-16s, a senior administration official told CNN. 

Biden reversed his previous objections to providing the fighter jets because he believes in equipping the country for a long-term fight against Russia, his top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters Saturday in Japan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has framed his pitch for Western fighter jets as a matter of his country's survival, now more than one year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

8:46 a.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Russia hits Kyiv with its 11th airstrike this month

From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv and Duarte Mendonca in London

A residential building is seen damaged by remains of a Russian drone shot down by Ukrainian Air Defence Forces in Kyiv on Saturday.
A residential building is seen damaged by remains of a Russian drone shot down by Ukrainian Air Defence Forces in Kyiv on Saturday. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Russia launched another “massive drone attack” at Kyiv during the early hours of the morning, marking their eleventh airstrike this month, the city's military administration said Saturday.

“The enemy is doing its utmost to strike key targets in Kyiv city and simultaneously deplete our air defense resources,” the local military said in a statement.

“In this way, Russians are aiming at putting the civilian population under deep psychological stress. That is why they attack Kyiv from the air almost daily,” the statement added.

The air raid alarm in the Ukrainian capital has only been silent for four days in May due to the regular attacks in the region.

Russia used 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones and one of its Merlin reconnaissance UAVs in the latest assault, according to the statement. The Ukrainian Air Force identified and destroyed all of them, the military claimed, and no one was hurt or killed.

The attack did not significantly damage any major infrastructure, the Ukrainian officials added added.

Bombardment earlier this week: Tuesday morning similarly saw an aerial attack on the city, which Russia claimed to have destroyed a US-made Patriot air defense system, despite the Ukrainian military saying all 18 Russian missiles launched were intercepted and destroyed.

Two components of a Patriot battery were damaged in the attack but the system “was never offline," according to a US official familiar with the matter.

8:16 a.m. ET, May 20, 2023

Zelensky thanks UK prime minister for leadership on international jet coalition

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London and Maria Kostenko in Kyiv

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20. Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the leadership he says the UK has shown building an international coalition to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets.  

The pair met during a bilateral meeting on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan, during the G7 summit, according to a readout from the Ukrainian Presidency. 

Earlier this week, the UK and the Netherlands announced plans to build an "international coalition" to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets "at this pivotal moment in the resistance to Putin’s invasion," a Downing Street readout said Tuesday. 

Getting hold of F-16 fighter jets has been a key focus for the Ukrainian leader of late, emphasizing in a taped address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Monday that F-16s would help Ukraine in, “defending freedom.”  

On Friday, US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that he will support the joint effort and train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircrafts including F-16s, a stark turnaround from the US leader.