May 25, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

More than 100 Ukrainians who fought in the Bakhmut area and were captured as prisoners of war have been released in a prisoner swap, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Thursday.

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said three bodies were also repatriated — two foreigners and a Ukrainian woman — during the exchange.

“All of the released defenders defended our country in Bakhmut direction; 68 of them were considered missing,” the coordination group said. 

The group said 98 of the POWs were from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 21 from Ukraine’s Territorial Defense. Seven border guards and one serviceman of the State Special Transport Service were also released, it said.

“At least seven of the rescued defenders sustained various injuries: bullet and shrapnel wounds, burns and fractures, and [had] exacerbated chronic diseases. The oldest of the rescued soldiers is 59 years old, the youngest is 21 years old,” it added. 

In total, 2,430 people have been returned home as a result of exchanges, the group said, adding among that figure are 139 civilians.

Some context: Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his fighters are withdrawing from the eastern Ukrainian city and will be replaced by Russian soldiers.

Ukrainian officials on Tuesday said part of the city remains under Ukrainian control. “If they [Russians] believe they have taken Bakhmut, I can say that this is not true. As of today, part of Bakhmut is under our control,” Ukrainian national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has said his fighters have begun to pull out of Bakhmut, handing the devastated Ukrainan city over to Russia’s military after a months-long slog to capture it.

Here are today's major developments:

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia knew “right away that the Kyiv regime” was behind the drone attack launched against the Kremlin on May 3.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Peskov said “in the end, it does not make much difference which of the units of the Kyiv regime."

Two drones struck the Kremlin on May 3 — just days ahead of the May 9 Victory Day celebrations. 

Kyiv has denied involvement in the alleged attack. At the time, a spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "We do not have information on so called night attacks on Kremlin, as President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its own territory, not to attack others."

US intelligence: US officials have picked up chatter amongst Ukrainian officials blaming each other for the drone attack earlier this month, contributing to a US assessment that a Ukrainian group may have been responsible, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

The intercepts include some members of Ukraine’s military and intelligence bureaucracy speculating that Ukrainian special operations forces conducted the operation.

The chatter, combined with other intercepted communications of Russian officials blaming Ukraine for the attack and wondering how it happened, has led US officials to consider the possibility that a Ukrainian group was behind the incident on May 3.

Ukraine's anticipated spring offensive won't be marked by a “single event,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office, said in a Twitter post Thursday.

"This is not a 'single event' that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon," Podolyak said.

Podolyak added that “intensive destruction of enemy logistics is also a counteroffensive.”

Ukraine’s counteroffensive: A series of cross-border drone attacks, intensified fighting in Zaporizhzhia, deploying Storm Shadow missiles, the destruction of Russian fuel depots and infrastructure — amid this recent flurry of activity, many have speculated whether Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had already begun.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine needs “more time” before launching the full attack.

But Podolyak’s comments are a reminder that the beginning of the counteroffensive will not be marked by any ceremony. Indeed, much of the confusion surrounding Ukraine’s counteroffensive may be part of the plan.

Soldiers from the Russian mercenary organization Wagner are being “replaced” by regular Russian troops on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut but, as of Thursday, Wagner fighters remain in the city itself, according to Hanna Mailar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister.

Mailar added that Russian forces are trying to stop the gains made on the flanks by Ukrainian troops over the last week with artillery shelling, and the Russians are reinforcing in those areas.

She maintained that Ukrainian forces still “control the outskirts of the city in the southwestern part of the 'Airplane' area.”

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier that the withdrawal of his fighters from Bakhmut had begun and would last until June 1.

On Saturday, Prigozhin claimed to have captured the city and announced that he would hand control of it over to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The frequency of attacks in the Bakhmut direction “has decreased,” according to Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Speaking to CNN, Cherevatyi said that this was “very unusual for this part of the frontline,” adding that a reason for this is the “significant exhaustion, losses and regrouping” of Russian units. 

“There were two combat engagements over the past 24 hours. Over the previous two days, there were three combat engagements each,” he said.

Speaking about the Wagner withdrawal from Bakhmut — which the organization's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says began at 5am local time on Thursday — Cherevatyi said “we cannot confirm that,” adding “we will be able to verify the details of which units will regroup and when. In any case we will take advantage of this.”

Some background: Prigozhin claimed on Saturday to have captured Bakhmut after months of brutal fighting, saying he would hand it over to Russia later in May.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky initially rebutted Prigozhin’s claims, telling the G7 summit in Japan that his forces were still fighting in Bakhmut. 

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said this week that Ukrainian forces still held a small part of the city, but also claimed that fighting inside the city has “decreased.”

Moscow and Minsk have signed an agreement on deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, statements from both countries’ defense ministries say.

At a bilateral meeting in the Belarusian capital, the defense ministers of Russia and Belarus, Sergei Shoigu and Viktor Khrenin, signed documents defining the procedure for storing Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in a specialized facility in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbor.

Shoigu said that the Belarusian side received the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system, capable of using missiles not only in conventional but also in nuclear equipment.

“Part of the Belarusian aircraft has been converted for the possible use of nuclear weapons. The servicemen have undergone appropriate training,” Shoigu added.

Some background: Belarus has been one of Russia’s most loyal allies since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.

While President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed there is “no way” his country would send troops into Ukraine unless it is attacked, Belarus has been willing to provide other means of support.

Lukashenko raised the possibility of Russia placing strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus during a national address in March, while baselessly accusing Western countries of “preparing to invade” Belarus and “destroy” it.

Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told CNN at the time of the initial talks that Russia’s decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in its neighbor “aims to subjugate Belarus.”

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group on Thursday said his fighters have started their planned withdrawal from the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin had announced Wagner's expected withdrawal at the weekend, saying his fighters would turn the city over to the Russian military after capturing it following a months-long bloody battle. Ukrainian officials have insisted this week, however, that pockets of resistance remain in and around the city.

In a video posted to his Telegram channel Thursday, Prigozhin is seen shaking hands with Wagner fighters and congratulating them.

Prigozhin said the withdrawal of Wagner forces was expected to be completed by next week.

Some context: The Moscow-backed acting head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic visited Bakhmut on Tuesday, saying it would now be known by its former Soviet name "Artemovsk."

But Ukrainian officials on Tuesday said part of the city remains under Ukrainian control. “If they [Russians] believe they have taken Bakhmut, I can say that this is not true. As of today, part of Bakhmut is under our control,” Ukrainian national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it has arrested two men in connection with foiled attacks on Russian nuclear power plants earlier this month, state news agency TASS reported. 

The FSB alleges the attacks were planned at nuclear power stations in the Leningrad and Tver regions ahead of Russia's May 9 Victory Day celebrations, TASS reported. 

The TASS report claimed the planned attacks were organized by the Foreign Intelligence Services of Ukraine. 

The FSB named the two men arrested as Maystruk Alexander and Usatenko Eduard. A third man, Kishchak Yuriy, is also wanted in connection with the alleged plot, TASS said.

The report did not state when the arrests were made.

Some background: Russia holds an annual military parade on May 9 marking the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.

In the run up to Victory Day this year, the Kremlin was targeted in an alleged drone attack. US officials have picked up chatter among Ukrainian officials blaming each other for the drone attack, contributing to a US assessment that a Ukrainian group may have been responsible, sources familiar with US intelligence have told CNN.