[Korrespondent] 22:23 Japan will give Ukraine 100 trucks and 30,000 dry rations. In addition, Japan will for the first time accept the wounded Ukrainian military at the Central Self-Defense Hospital, the country's Foreign Ministry said.
21:19 Biden has not yet decided whether the United States will transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from its stockpiles, or will encourage allies to do so, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
21:16 Zelensky said in an evening video message, which he recorded on the plane after a visit to Japan, that there is mutual understanding with the world majority on every significant issue for Ukraine: "The world hears our position. Protection and security guarantees, the return of all our territories, all of our people, justice, the implementation of our peace formula... And together we will increase the Ukrainian potential."
20:09 The Russians launched a missile attack on the village of Tsirkuny, Kharkiv region. One of the missiles, previously S-300 air defense systems, hit the ground, another damaged a private residential building - one person was injured, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
19:18 Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat predicts that at first dozens of F-16 fighters may be transferred to Ukraine: "Of course, no one will transfer these aircraft individually. These aircraft will be transferred by units. Aviation units are at least a squadron. In our version, this is 12 plus aircraft. Western partners have more in the squadron - up to 18 aircraft. Thus, several dozen aircraft can be transferred to Ukraine to solve current problems."
18:11 The United States does not object to Ukraine using its weapons to strike at Crimea, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with CNN: "We said that we would not allow Ukraine to use American and Western weapons to strike Russia. And we believe that Crimea is Ukraine.
16:22 The Russians fired aiming at a residential building in Kazachy, Kherson region, one person died, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
15:48 Zelensky announced that he had met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and thanked for the invitation to take part in the G7 summit. "During the meeting, we discussed further steps to support Ukraine by the Japanese government, including with regard to strengthening the material and technical capabilities of the Ukrainian defense forces. We count on Japan's support for holding a global summit to implement the Ukrainian peace formula," the president said.
15:37 The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation filed "charges" in absentia with the prosecutor and the judge of the International Criminal Court, who sentenced Putin.
14:54 The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to move along the flanks in the suburb of Bakhmut and are actually approaching the capture of the city in a tactical encirclement , Syrsky said. According to him, thanks to this, the Ukrainian forces will be able to control all high-rise buildings occupied by the enemy and gradually destroy them. This deprives the Russians of control over the approaches to the city and gives the Armed Forces of Ukraine certain tactical advantages.
The commander of the Ground Forces also stressed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine now control an "insignificant part" of Bakhmut, but the importance of its defense does not lose its relevance: "This gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case the situation changes. And this will certainly happen."
14:19 The transfer of additional reserves by the enemy to the Bakhmut direction indicates the failure of their offensive actions, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate, said in a comment to Ukrinform. According to him, all the best trained reserves of the Russian army have already been used during a full-scale invasion: “Now the composition of the army is no longer fighting, which was at the beginning of the invasion. And the fact that these reserves are being transferred to the Bakhmut direction means that they will not be used in other areas of the front. And this is also one of the achievements of the Ukrainian defenders."
13:58 Biden said that he outlined to Zelensky the plans of the United States and allies to train Ukrainian pilots on Western fighters. He also said that he received assurances from Zelensky that Kyiv would not use F-16s to attack Russian territory.
In addition, Biden said that he did not expect the participation of the F-16 in the upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive. In his opinion, these fighters would not have helped Kyiv cope with the situation in Bakhmut. The American president also noted that Russia lost about 100,000 people in Bakhmut, and "it doesn't matter if it is occupied or not, it's still a ruined city."
13:51 Zelensky clarified the situation with Bakhmut: "I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut and why. I cannot share the tactical views of the military, but today we see that a country that is dozens of times larger than us cannot occupy us. We understand that a little more, and we will win... The military knows how to act, how to make sure that our people are not captured.Today, the military is performing a very important task, they are in Bakhmut, and this suggests that Bakhmut is not captured by the Russian Federation."
12:12 The Russians failed to surround Bakhmut, and they lost part of the dominant heights around the city, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. According to her, the ongoing advance of Ukrainian troops in the suburbs along the flanks makes it very difficult for the enemy to stay in Bakhmut.
"Our troops have taken the city into a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy. Therefore, the enemy in the part of the city that he controls has to defend himself. Our defenders retain control over the industrial and infrastructure facilities and the private sector of Bakhmut in the Airplane area," Malyar said. .
11:57 Zelensky, during his speech at the G7 meeting, said that he would like the peace formula summit to take place in July: "Soon - 500 days of a full-scale war, it will already be in July. And this is a symbolic period of time, a good month to convene the summit peace formulas - the world majority summit. The summit of all who respect honesty and want to end this war. I invite you to join the common effort."
11:26 Italy, together with its allies, is considering the possibility of training Ukrainian pilots on Western-style aircraft, Prime Minister George Meloni said. At the same time, she added that Italy does not have F-16 fighters, so it will not be able to transfer them to Ukraine.
11:19 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the statements of the Russian Federation and Prigozhin about the alleged capture of Bakhmut are of no strategic importance, since the exhausted Russian forces will still not be able to create a springboard for further offensive operations.
11:08 Zelensky denied the information that the Russians allegedly captured Bakhmut. Russian media reported today that Zelensky allegedly admitted that Ukrainian forces had lost the city. However, presidential spokesman Sergei Nikiforov said that this was not the case: “As for the answer of the President of Ukraine to the question about Bakhmut.
Reporter's question:
- Russians said they have taken Bakhmut. (The Russians say they captured Bakhmut).
President's reply (president's answer):
– And think no. (I think no).
Thus, the president refuted the capture of Bakhmut."
10:51 Biden announced a new $375 million military aid package for Ukraine. In particular, it included additional ammunition for HIMARS, artillery shells, TOW anti-tank guided missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems, bridge systems, and armored medical vehicles.
10:39 Zelensky said that he met with Biden in Japan: "Great gratitude from our people for providing powerful financial assistance to Ukraine from the United States, which totals $ 37 billion, as well as for a new military aid package worth $ 375 million. We discussed further cooperation to strengthen the defense capabilities of our state, as well as the implementation of the Ukrainian formula for peace. We exchanged views on projects for the reconstruction and restoration of Ukraine."
09:53 The Russians attacked the Dnipropetrovsk region with strike drones at night - all enemy targets were shot down, the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak, said. The Air Force specified that four Shahed-136/131 UAVs were destroyed.
09:15 Zelensky said that he had met with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yun Seok Yel, thanked for the humanitarian and non-lethal assistance to Ukraine, in particular, for the provision of vehicles for demining territories and protective equipment.
08:47 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed (in Predtechino), eight more were injured. In the Kherson region, two people were killed and two more were injured, according to the IVA.
08:36 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 21.
- personnel - about 203,160 (+730) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3783 (+2),
- armored combat vehicles - 7398 (+16),
- artillery systems - 3258 (+29),
- MLRS - 564 (+0),
- air defense systems - 327 (+2),
- aircraft - 308 (+0),
- helicopters - 294 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2822 (+21),
- cruise missiles - 1011 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 6115 (+12),
- special equipment - 425 (+2).
08:29 The Russian army continues to focus its main efforts on the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. Over the past day, there have been 53 combat clashes in the indicated sectors of the front, Bakhmut and Marinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities, the General Staff said in a morning report . The battles for Bakhmut do not stop, the General Staff stressed.
05:38 Zelensky said that he had a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo: "He informed about the course of hostilities in Ukraine. He focused on the shelling of our country's civilian infrastructure. He called on to contribute to Ukraine's efforts to return illegally deported children. We discussed the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula."
04:55 Zelensky said that he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Hiroshima: "We discussed further cooperation in the field of security and defense, the situation at the front, the training of Ukrainian officers as part of the Canadian UNIFIER training mission, the importance of implementing all points of the Ukrainian peace formula and Euro-Atlantic integration Ukraine".
01:13 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that "as a result of the offensive actions of the Wagner assault detachments with the support of artillery and aviation of the Southern Group of Forces," the capture of Bakhmut was allegedly completed. The Kremlin said Putin congratulated the Wagner group and the Russian Armed Forces on the "liberation" of the city.
00:21 Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat is convinced that Ukraine will win the war when it receives F-16 fighters. He explained that the territory of Ukraine and the length of the state border is large, and the front line, taking into account Belarus, Transnistria and the Black Sea coast, is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers. Therefore, even with systems such as NASAMS, IRIS-T, Patriot and SAMP / T, as well as air defense of the ground forces, only air defense systems will not be able to block the entire territory.