May 21, 2023 Russia-Ukraine war news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Paul Whelan, an American who the United States says is wrongfully detained in Russia, told CNN on Sunday that he feels confident his case is a priority for the US government but wishes it could be resolved faster.

“I remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. I just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly,” said Whelan, who called CNN exclusively from his prison camp in remote Mordovia.

Whelan said he does harbor concerns that he could be left behind again – particularly after the Russians detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a move the US has also said was unjustified.

“That’s an extreme worry for me and my family,” he said. The US was unable to secure Whelan’s release in prisoner swaps that brought home two other detained Americans last year: Trevor Reed in April and Brittney Griner in December.

The detentions have raised fears that Moscow could use detainees as pawns in the geopolitics surrounding the war in Ukraine.

Whelan said Sunday he has more confidence in the US efforts to get him home than he did when he spoke to CNN in December following Griner’s release.

“I have been told that I won’t be left behind, and I have been told that although Evan’s case is a priority, mine is also a priority, and people are cognizant of the fact that this is having an extremely negative impact on me and my family. And I’m told that the government is working tirelessly to get me out of here and to get me home so they can then focus effort on Evan and his case,” Whelan said.

Read more here.

The chief of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Sunday that his forces will leave the front line in eastern Ukraine on May 25 after “capturing all the territories they promised to capture, to the last square centimeter.”

Prigozhin said he is handing over his positions to the Russian Ministry of Defense after Wagner forces leave.

There has been no immediate public response from the defense ministry.

“We, as I said yesterday, are handing over our positions to the (Russian) Ministry of Defense and on the 25th we are leaving the combat zone,” the Wagner head said in an audio message on his Press Service Telegram page. “Therefore, all the tasks that will continue to be carried out are carried out by the brave units of the Ministry of Defense, and we go out to the field camps.”

“From June 1, not a single Wagner PMC fighter will be at the forefront until we go through reorganization and equipment and training,” Prigozhin added.

He also dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s insistence that the city of Bakhmut is not fully occupied by Russia as of Sunday. 

“There is not a single Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut,” Wagner’s chief claimed. “And this is why we stopped taking any more POWs.”

Keep in mind: Prigozhin has previously made brash or misleading statements about the war and his mercenaries’ role in it — and occasionally backtracked on them. He is also known to speak sarcastically.

More on Bakhmut: Prigozhin’s announcement comes one day after Russia declared victory in the long-contested eastern city. The mercenary group says it has seized complete control of the city after many months of fighting led by Prigozhin’s forces.

Ukraine, meanwhile, claims it is holding on to a small area in the western part of the city — and that its progress in areas surrounding the city has left it in a strong position.

Read more on the claims and counterclaims in Bakhmut here.

04:12 - Source: CNN

As their country fights to repel Russia’s forces, Ukrainian women are taking on roles and responsibilities previously unavailable to them, often in challenging and dangerous circumstances.

Thousands of Ukrainian men left their jobs to join the military and defend the country after Russia invaded almost 16 months ago. In their absence, Ukrainian women are stepping up.

Ukrainian law previously forbade women from holding jobs deemed too dangerous: underground mining, forging hot metals and operating heavy machinery, for example.

But when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law after Russia invaded, thereby suspending the country’s existing laws, Ukrainian women went to work.

Women have historically played a crucial role in the workforce during wartime, taking on jobs and responsibilities traditionally held by men – as happened during both World Wars.

Breaking gender norms is challenging, but these women are paving the way for greater equality and, they hope, empowering themselves and future generations.

Read their stories in detail here.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, visited troops on the front line near the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut.

Syrskyi “thanked and honored” the fighters in half a dozen brigades “who are destroying the enemy every day,” he said in a Telegram post Sunday. He did not specify exactly when he made the trip.

The commander said Ukraine remains on the defensive in the city of Bakhmut, but said his troops are making progress on the city’s flanks.

“Despite the fact that we now control the outskirts of the city, the importance of its defense remains. In the future, this will provide us with opportunities to enter the city when the operational situation at the front changes,” he added.

Remember: While Russia and the Wagner private military company have declared victory in Bakhmut, Ukraine claims it is holding on to a small area in the western part of the city — and that its progress in areas surrounding the city has left it in a strong position.

Read more on the claims and counterclaims in Bakhmut here.

Since Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed Saturday that his forces had completely seized the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, there have been claims and counterclaims from both sides.

While CNN cannot independently verify battlefield accounts, here’s what the wartime officials are saying:

• Zelensky’s denial: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his soldiers are still in Bakhmut, despite what Prigozhin says. “Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today. There are no two or three interpretations of those words,” he said while attending the G7 in Japan on Sunday.
• A small foothold: The commander of Ukraine’s army acknowledged the area his fighters still claim within city limits is “insignificant.” The territory is located on the city’s westernmost edge, according to the country’s deputy defense minister.
• Advances on the outskirts: However, the same two officials said Ukraine has made significant progress in the Bakhmut suburbs and other areas immediately outside the city. The commander, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said his troops have advanced along the city’s flanks and are now approaching the “tactical encirclement” of Bakhmut.
• Putin’s congratulations: Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, hailed Wagner for the “completion of the operation to liberate” Bakhmut. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow echoed the president’s praise, declaring victory in the city.
• Bakhmut’s significance: Bakhmut is located in the northeastern portion of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, about 13 miles from the Luhansk region, and has long been a target for Russian forces. If confirmed, Russia’s capture of Bakhmut would mark the country’s first major gain in months, but experts say the city’s symbolism always outweighed its strategic importance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that now is a critical moment to secure peace for his country, during a meeting Sunday at the G7 summit.

“Now is a crucial moment for the fate of peace in Ukraine and for the future of the rules-based world order. It is extremely important that the world has the opportunity to hear Ukraine’s voice in Hiroshima,” Zelensky said, according to a readout of the meeting.

Zelensky also praised Kishida’s leadership in rallying international support for Ukraine and thanked him for the financial assistance the country has provided.

The Ukrainian president also met with US President Joe Biden during the summit in Hiroshima. Biden announced a new aid package for the country Sunday.

Ukrainian servicemen load a rocket near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 19.

Ukraine’s military does not control much of the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine’s army commander said Sunday, but its units are holding on to positions surrounding the city.

“Despite the fact that we now control an insignificant part of Bakhmut, the importance of its defense remains. It gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case the situation changes, and this will certainly happen,” Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, said in a statement shared by Ukraine’s military media center. 

Syrskyi said his troops have been advancing along the city’s flanks and are now approaching the “tactical encirclement” of Bakhmut. “This will allow us to control all high-rise buildings occupied by the enemy and gradually destroy them,” he said. 

“We are continuing our defense. The situation is difficult but under control,” Syrskyi continued. 

Some background: The chief of the Russian private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Saturday that his forces had taken complete control of the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Kyiv officials have insisted Russia does not entirely occupy Bakhmut, saying Ukraine’s military is holding on to a small area on the city’s westernmost edge.

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield developments.

In reports from the front leading up to Wagner’s claim Saturday, Ukraine’s military had focused on progress made in areas immediately surrounding the city, while Wagner forces had said they were consolidating territory closer to the city center.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the G7 summit on May 21, in Hiroshima, Japan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would like Japan and South Korea to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine but he understands “there are legislative and constitutional difficulties.”

He said regarding diplomatic pressure on Russia and certain formats of diplomatic resolution of the war in Ukraine “the key is respect for the UN Charter and international law.”

“Russia has no chance for any diplomatic paths as long as its troops are on our territory in violation of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he told a news conference at the G7 summit in Japan.
“We all understand that no one will have anything to do with Russia as long as its troops are on the territory of Ukraine.”

Zelensky made the comments as part of a series of in-person appeals to fellow leaders gathered in Japan to remain united against Russian aggression.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday, May 21. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the pictures of ruined Hiroshima he saw on his visit to the Japanese city “really remind” him of the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and other similar settlements or towns. 

“Just the same, nothing alive left, all of the buildings have been ruined,” Zelensky said at a news conference.

The city, which Ukraine denies Russia controls, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the G7 summit on May 21, in Hiroshima, Japan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again denied that Bakhmut is occupied by Russia, saying Ukrainian soldiers remain in the city. 

“We are keeping on, we are fighting,” Zelensky said at a news conference at the G7 in Japan.

“I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I can’t share the tactics of the military, but a country even bigger than ours cannot defeat us. A little time will pass and we will be winning. Today our soldiers are in Bakhmut. I will not share the locations,” Zelensky said.

“Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today. There are no two or three interpretations of those words,” he added.

There are conflicting reports about who controls Bakhmut and CNN is unable to independently verify battlefield claims.

Zelensky’s comments come after Russia’s Wagner mercenary group on Saturday claimed to have finally taken the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the scene of bitter fighting for months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said what he has seen in Hiroshima, Japan, is similar to “the ruins of (Ukrainian) cities which have been burned to the ground by Russian bombs and artillery.”

Speaking during a news conference at the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Sunday, he said Hiroshima is now a rebuilt city and Ukrainians “dream of rebuilding all our cities that are now in ruins, and every village where not a single house is left intact after Russian strikes.”

“We dream of returning our territories, just as we have regained our northern territories which were occupied by Russia. We must regain our eastern and southern territories of Ukraine. 

“We dream of returning our people who are now in Russian captivity. These are prisoners of war and civilians, deported adults and also abducted children. We dream of winning, we dream of peace after our victory,” Zelensky said.

Some context: G7 talks culminated Sunday with a series of dramatic, in-person appeals from Zelensky as he pressed leaders gathered in Japan to remain united against Russian aggression.

Zelensky’s decision to travel halfway across the world to deliver his entreaties to the world’s major industrial democracies in person underscored both the unity and the uncertainty leaders find themselves in fourteen months since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine began.

An armored infantry carrier is seen driving to the front line south of Bakhmut on May 17.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Sunday it continues to hold a number of buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, after Russia’s Wagner Group claimed to have taken the city Saturday. 

“We have strongholds in the southwestern part of the city. Our units are in the city. We continue efforts to counterattack the enemy,” Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told CNN. 

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also reiterated Sunday that Ukrainian forces were holding the defense, posting on Telegram that the “enemy failed to encircle and they lost some of the dominant heights around the city.”

She said Ukrainian forces were still making advances in the suburbs around the city, which “makes it very difficult for the enemy to remain in Bakhmut.”

“Our defenders retain control over industrial and infrastructure facilities and the private sector of Bakhmut in the ‘Airplane’ district,” Maliar said.

CNN cannot independently verify these battlefield claims.

The Group of Seven nations strives to bring “just and lasting peace to Ukraine as soon as possible,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday, following talks between G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima.

Kishida said the summit was held in the midst of “challenges to principles that our predecessors had forged and defended over the years,” including respect for sovereignties and territorial integrity, and that inviting Zelensky showed the “unwavering solidarity” between the G7 and Ukraine. 

The Japanese prime minister, who hosted the event, also highlighted the multiple crises facing the global community, including climate change and the pandemic, as well as the impacts of the war in Ukraine. 

“If we do not show a willingness to listen to the voices of countries and people and cooperate on a wide range of urgent issues, our claim to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law could become futile,” Kishida said in his remarks. 

Kishida also highlighted an action plan endorsed by G7 leaders to work toward global nuclear disarmament.

The document, known as the Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament, is of “historical significance,” Kishida said.

Zelensky and Biden shake hands in Hiroshima on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Biden Sunday for the “powerful” financial assistance provided by the US, which totals $37 billion, and for the new military assistance package, according to a readout from the president’s office.

“A huge gratitude from our people. I am glad that we have such strong relations,” Zelensky said, adding, “We discussed further cooperation to bolster the defense capabilities of our country.”

Biden earlier announced the military assistance package, worth $375 million, which includes ammunition, artillery and vehicles, as he met with Zelensky in Japan at the G7 summit.

“The United States continues to do all we can to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” Biden said, citing his recent decision to allow F-16 fighter jets to go to Ukraine and to train Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft in the United States.

Biden said new sanctions on Russia would “ensure that we keep pressure on Putin to hold his backers accountable.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a “clear global leadership of democracy” in remarks delivered in person at a session of the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday, according to a readout from the president’s office.

Zelensky emphasized the importance of having air defense systems to protect all cities of Ukraine, saying that “we decide – not our enemy – what the sky security will be like.”

“Together we have proven that the question is not how many missiles our common enemy has, but how many air defense systems we have,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky also thanked leaders who helped Ukraine with air defense and said he was grateful for the decision to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircrafts. 

This week US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Ukrainian pilots to be trained to fly F-16s, reversing his previous position.

“When our pilots know the F-16 and when these aircraft appear in our skies, it will matter not only for Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “This will be a historic moment for the entire security architecture in Europe and the world.”

Zelensky said on Saturday that his government is coordinating on weapons, air defense and fighter jets with its allies in response to Russia’s war.

The G7 are seeking common ground on a host of global issues, including how to confront Beijing’s growing military and economic assertiveness as well as the war raging in Europe.

G7 member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, include the largest backers of Ukraine’s defense.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denies claims that the city of Bakhmut has fallen to Russian forces, spokesperson Sergiy Nykyforov said Sunday. 

“I think no,” Zelensky told reporters, when asked both whether he thinks the city is still in Kyiv’s control and about claims Russia captured the city. 

His office later told CNN the president was referring specifically to Russia’s claim. 

“The president has denied Bakhmut has been taken over,” Nykyforov said.

Zelensky also mentioned the city during an appearance with US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where the two later held a one-on-one meeting.

The Ukrainian leader also thanked his country’s fighters in Bakhmut, saying “we appreciate them for their great job.”

US President Joe Biden announced a new security assistance package to Ukraine as he met with the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Japan on Sunday.

It was their first face-to-face meeting since Biden visited Kyiv in February, and came amid Zelensky’s historic visit to the G7 summit in Japan.

“The United States continues to do all we can to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” Biden said, citing his recent decision to allow F16 fighter jets to go to Ukraine and to train Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft in the United States.

Biden said new sanctions on Russia would “ensure that we keep pressure on Putin to hold his backers accountable.”

The new security assistance package, which a senior US administration official said earlier would total $375 million, would include ammunition, artillery and vehicles, Biden said.

He voiced support for a “just peace” in Ukraine and said the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty was “non-negotiable.”

“Together with the entire G7, we have Ukraine’s back and I promise we’re not going anywhere.”

Biden recounted hearing air raid sirens blaring while the two men were walking through the Ukrainian capital during Biden’s visit earlier this year.

“We kept walking. You don’t care about the sirens. I don’t care about the sirens,” Biden said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends a press conference at tthe G7 summit in Hiroshima on Sunday.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has underscored his country’s support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia, saying “Ukraine’s security is our security.”

The United Kingdom will begin training Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets “this summer” to “support Ukraine’s air force with what it needs for the future,” Sunak said in remarks delivered Sunday in Hiroshima, Japan.

Sunak welcomed the “very tangible progress on providing further support,” made at the G7, most notably US President Joe Biden’s support for an “international coalition” of countries to provide the advanced fighter jets to Ukraine.

Sunak lauded Zelensky’s presence at the G7 in Hiroshima as a “very powerful moment.” The pair held a bilateral meeting Saturday.

“To see President Zelensky standing shoulder to shoulder with his G7 allies I think sends a message to Russia and the world, that we are united behind President Zelensky and his people and will continue to support him for as long as it takes,” Sunak said.