Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 447

World
By William

As the war enters its 447th day, we review key developments.

This is the state of affairs on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

To fight

  • Ukraine’s top military commander has hailed an advance in Bakhmut as “the first success” of offensive action in defense of the frontline city.
  • At least four people have been killed in a Russian missile strike in the Donetsk city of Avdiivka.
  • Russia’s defense ministry has claimed it has intercepted a British Storm Shadow long-range cruise missile for the “first time”. At a briefing, the ministry also said Russian air defense forces had shot down 10 HIMARS MLRS shells.
  • Russia’s defense ministry said it spooked a fighter jet on Monday after it detected French and German patrol planes flying into Russian airspace. France and Germany have said their planes were flying as part of a NATO exercise and were behaving in accordance with international law.
  • The Wagner group offered Ukraine Russian positions in exchange for a withdrawal around Bakhmut, according to US intelligence reports quoted by The Washington Post. The leader of the Russian mercenary group and Russia rejected the report.
  • Igor Kornet, the acting Moscow-appointed interior minister of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Luhansk province, was injured in an explosion in the city of Luhansk, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Diplomacy and economics

  • China’s top envoy for Eurasian Affairs has embarked on a trip to Europe to discuss a “political solution” to the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui begins his multi-country tour in Ukraine and ends in Russia.

  • According to the Reuters news agency, the Group of Seven (G7) countries are preparing to impose tougher sanctions on Russia’s energy sector and restrict trade that supports the Kremlin’s military. The measures are expected to be approved this week at the G7 summit in Japan.
  • The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) has confirmed that its army chief, Lawrence Mbatha, is in Moscow, where he will visit Russian military academies and hold talks with officials. The visit comes days after Washington accused South Africa of secretly supplying arms to Russia.
  • UN deputy chief Martin Griffiths has said talks to extend the Black Sea grain export deal will continue in the coming days. Russia has threatened to withdraw from the pact, which expires on May 18, over restrictions on grain and fertilizer exports.
  • The US claims it sees more evidence that Russia and Iran are expanding their defense partnership, which could help Moscow prolong its war in Ukraine and threaten Iran’s neighbors as well.
  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed at a summit in Lithuania in July that he expects the military alliance to agree on a “multi-year program” to help Ukraine reach NATO military standards.

  • The European office of the World Health Organization has decided to close a specialized WHO office in Moscow and move its functions to Denmark.

  • Ukraine’s security service has said it suspects tycoon Dmytro Firtash of embezzlement.

Weapons

  • The United Kingdom has promised more military aid to Ukraine, including hundreds of air defense missiles and drones, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron, who previously met Zelenskyy in Paris, has said his country has “opened the door” to train Ukrainian fighter pilots.

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