Community Founders Amaterasu イタチ Posted May 20, 2023 Community Founders Share Posted May 20, 2023 According to Wagner, the battle for the city of Bakhmut has come to an end, as the Russian private military group claims that forces have taken complete control of the long-contested city in eastern Ukraine. CNN could not independently verify Wagner's claim, and a message from a Ukrainian defense official partially disputed it, saying Kyiv's troops still hold a small part of the city. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces will hand control of Bakhmut to the Russian military on May 25. The city's capture can be viewed largely as a symbolic target for Moscow, though it also provides important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka. Here's what else you should know in a day of major developments for the war in Ukraine: G7 summit: G7 members are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a surprise attendee. The G7 comprises the world’s most advanced industrialized democracies: the US, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Italy. Tokyo has also invited Australia, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, all rising economic powerhouses and key Asian regional players. At the summit, leaders decided on a plan to counter Moscow and agreed to "support Ukraine for as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression." The G7 also called on China to press Russia to "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine," and stop its military aggression. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with Zelensky at the summit, where he assured his country will do “everything we can” to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine. It was the first time the two met since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which Modi has not outright denounced, despite sending humanitarian aid. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized the decisions made at the G7 summit as cynical ploys to hold back Russia and China. On the ground: Russia launched another “massive drone attack” at Kyiv during the early morning hours Saturday, marking their 11th airstrike this month, the city's military administration said. Meanwhile, Russian troops in occupied Mariupol, a city in Ukraine's southeast, are receiving backup after explosions rocked a Russian base there Friday, a local Ukrainian official said. Military aid: Zelensky thanked the United Kingdom's 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. Russia's deputy foreign minister denounced the coalition, warning Western countries of “enormous risks for themselves" if Ukraine is provided with F-16 fighter jets, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday.“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. https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-05-20-23/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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