As the war enters its 451st day, we review key developments.
Here is the state of affairs on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
To fight
- Ukrainian air defenses repelled another Russian airstrike on the capital Kyiv and other locations, destroying 19 of 28 drones and missiles launched, the Ukrainian military said. “Three caliber missiles launched from the Black Sea and 16 drones were shot down. The shelling continues almost daily,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.
- Russia has shifted the focus of its missile strikes to try to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military official said. Russia is attacking decision-making centers, supply routes and places where large numbers of troops are stationed and where ammunition, equipment and fuel are stored.
- Russian airstrikes hit several buildings in the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, the president’s office said in a statement.
- Russian forces have gained some ground in Bakhmut but are not in control of the battle-ravaged city, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said. “The pace of our troops’ advance in the outskirts of Bakhmut has slowed somewhat today. At the same time, the enemy is unable to regain lost positions – our soldiers repulse all enemy attacks in this area,” she said.
- Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of Wagner’s mercenaries, said Bakhmut is unlikely to fall in the next two days as Ukrainian troops have reinforced their positions in the south of the city. “There’s a neighborhood known as the ‘Airplane’ — it’s like an impregnable fortress from a bed of multi-storey buildings in southwest Bakhmut, where incredibly heavy fighting is going on,” he said.
- According to witnesses, Russian forces have been strengthening defense positions in and around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in recent weeks. New trenches have been dug around the city and more mines have been laid.
Military aid
- US President Joe Biden approved plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets. Biden gave the green light to the training at a meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan. Pilot training is likely to start in Europe in the coming months.
- Denmark will help train Ukrainian pilots on the US-made F-16 fighter jet, the country’s defense minister said, after Washington said it would support such an initiative.
Diplomacy
- Zelenskyy meets Biden at the G7 meeting, where the Ukrainian leader is expected to arrive on Saturday. According to media reports, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also meet Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit.
- During a surprise visit to the Arab League Summit, Zelenskyy sought support for his country in its war against Russia and said in a speech that some countries preferred to “turn a blind eye” to Moscow’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian lands .
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the summit that his kingdom is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba separately reiterated that any country could act as a mediator in the war between Moscow and Kyiv, but should follow what he called “fundamental principles” that “would lead to the full restoration of territorial integrity of Ukraine” and should follow. not “freeze the conflict”.
- An aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda said an object that entered Polish airspace last year and was found in April was a Russian-made missile. Polish defense officials were faced with questions about an object that crash-landed on Polish territory in December and parts of which were found in April.
- Poland called on China to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine during a meeting between two senior officials from both countries in Warsaw, Poland’s foreign ministry said. China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, is on a tour of European capitals and was in Kiev on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he discussed ways to end the war through a political settlement.
Sanctions
- Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was fined 260,000 rubles ($3,245) after being found guilty of “discrediting” the Russian military. Roizman — a former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city, Yekaterinburg — was arrested in August after calling Moscow’s actions in Ukraine a “war” in a YouTube video.
- The United Kingdom has published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminum and nickel. The UK also said it was imposing sanctions on 86 individuals and entities. The sanctions target Russia’s main energy and arms shipping companies, including those associated with Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom.
- The US announced new sanctions against Russia and is now targeting Russian sanction evaders, future energy revenues and military-industrial supply chains. The Treasury Department said it has imposed sanctions on 22 people and 104 entities involved in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions. The US State Department is targeting nearly 200 people, entities, ships and aircraft.
- Russia banned 500 US citizens from entering the country. Russia’s foreign ministry said former US President Barack Obama is one of 500 people exiled in response to new sanctions announced by Washington. Comedian Stephen Colbert is also on the list.
- Russia issued an arrest warrant for the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who in March issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes, Russian news agencies report.
- The Russian branch of the environmental campaign group Greenpeace says it will shut down after Russia’s attorney general labeled it an “undesirable organization,” a label that effectively criminalizes the group in Russia. “This decision makes it illegal for any Greenpeace activity to continue in Russia. Therefore, the Russian branch of Greenpeace has been forced to close,” the organization said in a statement.
- Moscow refused the latest U.S. request for consular entry to imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March on suspicion of espionage, which he and his newspaper deny.