May 22, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The Freedom for Russia Legion – a group that has claimed responsibility for an apparent incursion inside Russian territory – has one ambition. As “Caesar” says in a video statement he recorded with his comrades before joining a cross-border raid into his motherland: “Russia will be free.”

The group numbers a few hundred of diehard, battle-hardened Russian volunteers fighting their own people as part of the Ukrainian armed forces. Caesar is a former teacher, a father and has a wife living in Kyiv. He told CNN last year that he had dedicated his life to toppling Russian President Vladimir Putin and marching into Red Square and the Kremlin itself. 

Caesar is a devoted member of the Orthodox Church and is nostalgic for the Tsarist era that predated the Soviet Union. His unit is well-equipped with modern armored vehicles, gunsights and the latest automatic weapons. 

Previously engaged in bitter fighting south of Bakhmut, the Freedom for Russia Legion now claims to have crossed into Russia itself and, as of late afternoon on Monday, was continuing combat operations against Russian forces in areas close to the frontier.

In a Telegram post, the group said it had “liberated” a settlement in Russia's Belgorod region.

Ukrainian officials acknowledged that the unit crossed into Russia, but insist that members of the legion were operating independently as "Russian citizens."

The Legionnaires themselves have admitted that they’re often treated with suspicion by Ukrainian soldiers but hope to win them over with gallantry on the battlefield.

Their apparent incursion along a border that’s frequently used by Russian mortar teams and artillery as a firebase for attacks inside Ukraine will help further cement their reputation.

It also serves as part of ongoing psychological operations intended to undermine support for the war in Russia and the fighting spirit of Russian soldiers themselves – signaling that they could be attacked at any time and even by their own countrymen.

Russia has said it is fighting a group of saboteurs that crossed into its territory from Ukraine. 

State media TASS quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russian forces were working to push out the “sabotage and reconnaissance group” that had entered the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. 

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram: “The armed forces of the Russian Federation, together with the border service, the National Guard and the FSB, are taking the necessary measures to eliminate the enemy.” 

A group of Russian defectors called the "Freedom of Russia Legion" claimed on Telegram that it and the "Russian Volunteer Corps" were behind the attack in Belgorod. They said they had “fully liberated the settlement of Kozinka of Belgorod region” whilecthe “first groups have entered Grayvoron.”  

Aleksey Baranovsky, a representative of the Kyiv-based Russian Armed Opposition Political Centre – the political wing of the Freedom of Russia Legion – told CNN the operation had started last night and fighting was “ongoing.” He would not specify the number of fighters who had crossed the border into Russia. 

Baranovsky said the group wanted to “liberate our motherland from the tyranny of Putin." 

Some background: CNN interviewed members of the Freedom of Russia Legion fighting for Ukraine in its eastern Donetsk region in December. 

A Ukrainian defense intelligence official earlier told CNN that the Russian citizens were “part of the defense and security forces in Ukraine but said: “In Russia they are acting as independent entities.” 

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential administration, said on Twitter that Ukraine had “nothing to do with it.” 

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Monday that “a sabotage and reconnaissance group” of the Ukrainian army had crossed into Russian territory — and Ukraine confirmed the group was made up of Russian nationals.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said forces had entered the territory of the Graivoronsky district, which borders Ukraine.

“The armed forces of the Russian Federation, together with the border service, the National Guard and the FSB (Russia's security service), are taking the necessary measures to eliminate the enemy,” Gladkov said.

CNN is unable to verify the report.

Earlier on Monday, Gladkov claimed on Telegram that the district had been shelled by Ukrainian forces since 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), but added that no one had been injured.

The villages of Antonovka, Kozinka and Gora-Podol had been hit by shells or debris, Gladkov said.

What Ukraine says: A Ukrainian defense intelligence official has confirmed to CNN that a group of Russian nationals that crossed from Ukraine into Russia’s Belgorod region and attacked the town of Grayvoron were “part of the defense and security forces in Ukraine but acting as “independent entities” in Russia. 

Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, told CNN: “We can confirm that this operation was carried out by Russian citizens. These actions are the consequences of intensified Russian cross border attacks, which have led to victims and destruction.” 

Yusov said that the units that had crossed the border were, “part of defense and security forces” in Ukraine but said: “In Russia, they are acting as independent entities.” 

Groups called the "Freedom of Russia Legion" and "Russian Volunteer Corps" claimed the attack on Belgorod region. In a Telegram post, they said they had, “fully liberated the settlement of Kozinka of Belgorod region. [The] first groups have entered Grayvoron.

Border strikes increase: Strikes on the Belgorod region appear to have intensified in recent weeks, according to claims by Russian officials.

Earlier this month, Gladkov claimed two drones had detonated and fell over a residential area in the region. He added that no casualties were reported, but two residential buildings and a car were damaged.

Another drone was shot down by Russian air defense systems over the region, Gladkov said. The governor said there were no casualties and that response teams are assessing the aftermath on the ground.

Seldom in the history of warfare has so much been said, amid so much death, about a place that mattered so little – but that’s the Battle for Bakhmut for you. For now.

The leader of the Russian mercenary company Wagner claimed Saturday that his men had captured the town from Ukraine after “224 days of fighting.” Ukraine has denied the claim – and insisted that not only has Bakhmut not fallen but that it’s being flanked by Kyiv’s forces.

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, said Monday that Ukrainian forces are still in control of some buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut and that the two sides were still fighting for control of “the dominant heights on the flanks” north and south of the city’s suburbs.

For months Ukrainian commanders in charge of troops on the ground, and the troops themselves, have scratched their heads over why Russia was prepared to invest so much materiel, and spend so many Russian lives, on trying to capture a town that has no obvious tactical, let alone strategic, value.

Wagner, and whoever is paying the company’s bills, were profligate with its people.

In December, a member of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, fighting in a group of about a dozen men to the south of the town, called from the front line.

“It’s incredible,” he told me. “Those Wagner guys come in waves of, like, 40 at a time. We kill 35. Five get into a trench or a house, then they send another 40 and we shoot another 35 or so. We’re just cutting them down like grass.”

It was assumed the “musicians,” as pro-Russian groups like to call the mercenaries, were largely prisoners. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the company, likes to call them “recidivists.” These convict recruits, some of them facing long sentences, were offered freedom if they survived six months at the front.

Clearly many did not. Instead, they were thrown into what both sides call the “meat grinder.”

“They’re coming at us all the time. We don’t know why they value Bakhmut so much but we know where they are and we know where to kill them,” said a brigade commander at the end of last year.

Read the full analysis here.

Who controls Bakhmut? It depends who you ask. According to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, his troops have captured “all the territories they promised to capture, to the last square centimeter.”

But according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar, Ukrainian forces still occupy “a small part of the city” and are advancing on Bakhmut’s flanks. Images show the devastation inflicted on the city following months of brutal fighting.

Here’s what you need to know:

Russian forces in Bakhmut are starting to demine the city, according to the acting head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

“The Russian forces that liberated the city are checking buildings for explosives. It is important for us to carry out a complete, thorough demining. This is very painstaking and difficult work, given the scale of the hostilities that took place there.” 

The head of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirmed on his Telegram channel that a demining operation had begun.

Conflicting claims: Prigozhin claimed Saturday to have taken complete control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, after a grinding, months-long offensive.

The next day, he claimed that his forces will leave the front line in eastern Ukraine entirely after “capturing all the territories they promised to capture, to the last square centimeter.”

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

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 Bakhmut has left it in a strong position.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been reconnected to the Ukrainian power grid, national energy company Ukrenergo said in a statement Monday.

Earlier Monday, Ukrenergo said the plant – currently occupied by Russian forces – had been cut off from the grid after the high-voltage line that supplies it was one of those damaged by a Russian attack on the Dnipro region, to the north of Zaporizhzhia, in the early hours of the morning. 

“As a result of damage to the high-voltage line, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost power from the power system and operated from diesel generators,” it said on Telegram. 

Military and infrastructure facilities in Dnipro were attacked by Russian missiles and drones early on Monday, according to a Telegram post by the Ukrainian air force.

“Unfortunately, the energy infrastructure was damaged,” Ukrenergo said.

It said the power supply to people in Zaporizhzhia had been cut off. It's now been restored but Ukrenergo appealed for “economical consumption,” especially in peak hours.

Some context: The Zaporizhzhia NPP is the largest in Europe and has been the site of intense shelling since the start of the war. Held by Russian forces, it's mostly operated by a Ukrainian workforce.

Concerns around nuclear safety flared up again this month after Russia began a large-scale evacuation of the area, amid rumors of Ukraine’s looming counteroffensive.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been involved in intense negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to agree on “a set of principles” to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident at the plant, the agency said. 

Ukrainian forces are still in control of some buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, two days after Russia claimed to have captured the city, according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister.

Hanna Maliar also claimed that Kyiv’s troops are advancing on the city’s flanks.

“Yesterday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retained control of certain industrial facilities and private houses in the southwestern area, the area where the aircraft [monument] is,” Maliar said on Ukrainian television, referring to a monument of an MiG-17 in Druzhba Square.

Maliar said Russia had deployed “most of its forces” in the Bakhmut area.

In a separate post on Telegram, she said the two sides were still fighting for control of “the dominant heights on the flanks” north and south of the city’s suburbs.

Ukraine’s advance on the flanks had allowed it to shell the Russian troops in the city, she said.

Maliar added that because Ukrainian troops “moved along the flanks and took the dominant heights there, our Armed Forces made it very difficult for the enemy to be in the place itself. In fact, we continue to advance. The intensity is somewhat reduced. At the same time, we continue to move along this path.”

She claimed that Russian troops are looking for any “sabotage groups” who might resist the occupation of the city in the areas they control.

Lithuania’s foreign minister has praised the growing F-16 international coalition as an "important step forward," but urged allied nations to remember Kyiv also needs more of the Western weaponry that it is already receiving.

Arriving at the meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Gabrielius Landsbergis urged allies not to allow the focus on jets to distract them from sending Ukraine the weaponry they have already provided it in its defense against Russia, like howitzers, Stinger missiles and HIMARS.

Also speaking to journalists on arrival at the meeting in Brussels, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said he hoped Ukraine could be provided with F-16s soon.

Borrel said it was “good” that the G7 “finally decided to prepare the ground in order to provide Ukraine with the jet fighters they need.”

Jet talks gather pace: Ukraine’s quest for US-made F-16 fighter jets received a big boost over the weekend when US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Kyiv’s pilots to be trained to fly them. 

Biden’s comments at a summit with G7 leaders in Japan came days after Britain and the Netherlands said they were building an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure F-16s as it seeks to improve its defenses against Russian air attacks.

The F-16s would be an upgrade to the largely Soviet-era aircraft currently in Ukraine’s fleet. President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Biden’s decision, saying in a tweet, “this will greatly enhance our army in the sky.”