Russia-Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy to meet Biden at G7 in Japan
President’s first visit to Saudia Arabia takes place during week in which he also visited the UK, France and Germany.
This blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, May 19.
This blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, May 19.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a surprise trip to Saudi Arabia, where he addressed an Arab League summit urging leaders to help protect Ukrainians and the Muslim community in Crimea.
- Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin says Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken “either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow” because Ukrainian soldiers have created an “impregnable fortress” in the southwest of the city.
- Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says Russian forces are trying to recapture land they have lost around Bakhmut as Kyiv’s forces continue repelling their attacks in the bloody battle for the eastern city.
- Four witnesses in Zaporizhzhia say Russian military forces in recent weeks have been enhancing defensive positions in and around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where many expect an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive to start, the Reuters news agency reports.
Zelenskyy to meet Biden at G7 in Hiroshima: Ukrainian chief of staff
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US President Joe Biden “in the coming days” at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, his chief of staff has said on television.
The two leaders will discuss a series of topics including the international fighter jet coalition, thanks to which “Ukraine will very soon have everything it needs to protect our skies, our cities and our citizens,” Yermak said.
Yermak confirmed that Zelenskyy, who on Friday addressed the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia, would go to Japan for the G7.
Ukraine says Russian forces do not control Bakhmut despite gaining ground
Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar has said Russian forces gained some ground inside Bakhmut but did not control the city.
“Extremely fierce fighting continues in the area of Bakhmut. The enemy cannot win with quality, so he tries with quantity,” she said in a Telegram post. Russia had boosted its number of troops and amounts of ammunition, she said.
“The rate of our troops’ advance in the suburbs of Bakhmut today is somewhat reduced. At the same time, the enemy is unable to regain lost positions – our soldiers repel all enemy attacks in this area,” she said.
Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut as an important part of a campaign to capture the rest of the Donbas region.
Denmark to help train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets
Denmark will help train Ukrainian pilots on the US-made F-16 fighter jet, the country’s defence minister has said, after Washington said it would back such an initiative.
The Scandinavian country “will now be able to move forward for a collective contribution to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s”, said acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Denmark will prioritise working with its allies to support the scheme, he added, hailing Biden’s decision to approve the plan.
Lund Poulsen did not say if Denmark would be among those countries delivering the fighter jets to Ukraine.
Denmark’s air force has some 40 F-16s, about 30 of which are operational. It recently began taking delivery of the newer F-35 fighters.
UK to ban imports of Russian diamonds
The United Kingdom has published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel.
Washington also imposed sanctions on gold producer Polyus and the Russian business of its peer, Polymetal, which would further damage Russian gold sales already hit by Western sanctions and restrictions.
The UK import ban, however, will only have a muted impact as Russian exports of those commodities to the UK have already dropped after the imposition of tariffs.
“We will legislate later this year to ban imports of Russian diamonds, and end all imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
Data shows the UK imported only a small proportion of its aluminium, nickel and diamonds from Russia.
Comedian Stephen Colbert among 500 Americans banned entry by Russia
Comedian Stephen Colbert is on the list Russia announced banning 500 Americans from entering the country.
The ban also includes 45 members of the US House, Senators JD Vance, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt, and two former ambassadors to Russia.
The list released Friday by Russia’s foreign ministry did not specify complaints against each individual.
But the ministry said the offences included spreading Russophobia, supplying Ukraine with arms, and officials “who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called ‘storm of the Capitol’.”
Rundown of sanctions imposed on Russia by US, UK, Canada
The US, Canada and the UK have issued new sanctions on Russia. Here are the main ones announced during the G7 summit in Japan:
US Department of the Treasury
Twenty-two people and 104 entities with touchpoints in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions.
US Department of State
Almost 200 individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft targeted and sanctions imposed on Polyus and the Russian business of its peer, Polymetal – the largest gold producers in Russia; 18 entities involved in expanding Russia’s future energy production and export capacity; subsidiaries of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.
US Department of Commerce
Seventy-one companies added to a Department of Commerce list that bars suppliers from selling them US technology without a hard-to-obtain licence.
UK
Eighty-six individuals and entities as part of a new crackdown on what it called “shady individuals and entities” connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain.
Also targets companies connected to Rosatom, and the owner of Russian Copper Company, Igor Altushkin.
Canada
Seventeen individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russia’s armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite; and sanctions on 30 individuals and eight entities involved in Russia’s continuing human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia.
Zelenskyy welcomes ‘jet coalition’ to support ‘army in the sky’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed pledges from the UK and the Netherlands to help build a “jets coalition”, although leaders from both countries stopped short of saying they will send planes.
I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2023
President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, senior US officials said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK would work with the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark “to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs.”
Denmark’s defence ministry said it was ready to support the training.
Ukraine-Russia mediator must follow ‘fundamental principles’: Kuleba
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that every country could act as a mediator in the war between Moscow and Kyiv, but would have to follow what he called “fundamental principles”.
Speaking at a news conference in Lisbon alongside his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho, Kuleba said mediation efforts should “lead to the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity” and should not “freeze the conflict”.
“Everybody can play a role if he or she respects these two principles and acts in good faith,” Kuleba said when asked what he thought of an offer earlier on Friday by Saudi Arabia to “continue mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine”.
Video: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy makes surprise visit to Saudi Arabia
Direct flights resume between Russia and Georgia amid protests
Direct flights have resumed between Russia and Georgia amid protests and sharp criticism from the South Caucasus nation’s president.
The move on Friday came just over a week after the Kremlin unexpectedly lifted a four-year-old ban despite rocky relations.
Protesters gathered at Tbilisi airport to meet the first flight arriving from Russia since July 2019.
They held signs and shouted slogans criticising Moscow and what they said were the Georgian government’s attempts at rapprochement.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Georgia joined international resolutions condemning the war, provided Kyiv with humanitarian aid and took in thousands of refugees. However, its authorities stopped short of supplying Ukraine with weapons, citing the need to maintain neutrality.
Georgia’s pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, said last week, “Resuming direct flights … is unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression on Ukraine.”
Object that entered Poland airspace last year was Russian-made rocket: Official
An aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda says that the object that entered Poland’s airspace last year and was found in April was a Russian-made rocket.
The aide told a radio station on Friday that the nose of the rocket had been found and that it is made of concrete and is being examined.
He said it was “Russian technology” intended to give weight to the nose of the rocket, adding that there were no explosives in it.
Poland’s defence officials had been facing questions about an object that crash-landed on Polish territory in December and whose parts were found in April.
Russia bans entry to 500 US citizens, including Barack Obama
Russia’s foreign ministry has said former US President Barack Obama was among 500 Americans citizens who would be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.
This move was triggered by the US refusal last month to give visas to media travelling with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the United Nations, it said in a statement.
“Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile attack on Russia will go unpunished,” it added.
Earlier on Friday, the United States announced punitive measures against more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented.
Moscow again refuses US request for consular access to WSJ’s Gershkovich
Moscow has refused the latest US request for consular access to detained reporter Evan Gershkovich, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.
Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was arrested on March on suspicion of spying, which he and his newspaper deny.
Another American man, Paul Whelan, is also imprisoned.
Whelan, a former marine, was arrested in December 2018, held for 18 months in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, and sentenced for 16 years in June 2020 on spying charges.
He, too, has denied the accusations, and Washington has designated both men as “wrongfully detained”.
Biden approves plan to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16s: Report
President Joe Biden has approved plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter.
That news came as Biden huddled with allies at the G7 summit on how to bolster support for Kyiv against Russia’s invasion.
The two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden announced he green-lit the training, which is likely to be conducted in Europe over the coming months, during the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan.
Biden told the leaders that decisions on when, how many and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets to Ukraine will be made in the months ahead while the training is under way.
Greenpeace Russia to shut down after ‘undesirable organisation’ designation
The Russian arm of the environmental campaign group Greenpeace says it will shut down after the prosecutor general designated it an “undesirable organisation”, a label that effectively criminalises the group in Russia.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Greenpeace Russia said: “We express our categorical disagreement with the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office. This decision makes it illegal for any Greenpeace activity to continue in Russia. Therefore, the Russian branch of Greenpeace is forced to close.”
Russia issues arrest warrant for ICC prosecutor
Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) head prosecutor, who issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, Russian news agencies report.
The British judge, Karim Ahmed Khan, was also added to the interior ministry’s wanted list, according to a Russian media report citing the ministry.
The ICC warrant orders the arrest of Putin and Russia’s ombudsman for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for war crimes charges relating to the abduction of Ukrainian children.
US announces new sanctions on Russia
The US has announced new penalties on Russia, adding to the most severe sanctions ever implemented.
Washington is targeting Russia’s sanctions evasions, future energy revenues and military-industrial supply chains in Friday’s action.
“Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
The Department of the Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on 22 people and 104 entities with involvement in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions while the Department of State has targeted almost 200 people, entities, vessels and aircraft.
Earlier on Friday, Britain also announced further penalties on Russian companies that circumvent Western sanctions.
Russia has shifted the focus of it missile attacks: Ukraine
Russia has shifted the focus of its missile attacks to try to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official said.
“Previously, they failed to knock out our energy system, and now they have completely different priorities – to disrupt our plans and preparations for active [military] action during the spring-summer campaign,” Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of the defence ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate told the RBK-Ukraine news portal.
He said the Russians were attacking decision-making centres, supply routes and places where large quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel or troops are.
“The enemy began to pay special attention to the areas where our air defence equipment is located,” Skibitskyi added.
Russia labels Greenpeace as an ‘undesirable organisation’
Russia declared the environmental group Greenpeace an “undesirable organisation”, effectively banning it from operating in the country.
In a statement, the prosecutor general said Greenpeace had tried to “interfere in the internal affairs of the state” and was “engaged in anti-Russian propaganda” by calling for sanctions against Moscow.
The label “undesirable” has been applied to dozens of foreign groups in Russia since it started using the classification in 2015.
Zelenskyy: Some countries took a ‘blind eye’ to Ukraine
During Zelenskyy’s Arab League speech, he said some countries preferred to “turn a blind eye” to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian land.
“Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here, among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations,” Zelenskyy said, urging leaders “take an honest look” at the war.
“Ukrainians has never chosen the war. Our troops didn’t go to other lands. We do not engage in annexation and plunder of other nation’s resources. But we will never submit to any foreigners or colonisers. That’s why we fight.”
Zelenskyy also highlighted how the war in Ukraine had affected Muslims in Crimea.
“Crimea was the first to suffer under the Russian occupation and until now most of those who are subjected to repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims,” he said.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 450
Click here for a roundup of the war’s key events from day 450.
KEEP READING
Poland calls on China to put pressure on Russia
Poland calls on China to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine during a meeting between two top officials in Warsaw, the Polish foreign ministry said.
China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, is on a tour of European capitals and was in Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he discussed ways to end the conflict through a political settlement.
“Deputy Minister Gerwel recognised China’s responsibility as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, and expressed the hope that China … will condemn Russia’s aggression, and exert pressure on Russia to return to compliance with the principles of international law,” said a statement issued following talks between Li and Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wojciech Gerwel.
Poland is also concerned by Chinese declarations that it wants to strengthen bilateral ties with Russia, the statement said.
Putin says the West is trying to split the country
Putin says the West is trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia and break the country into dozens of states.
He said the more sanctions the West hits Russia with, the greater the level of cohesion within Russian society.
Saudi Arabia is ready to mediate between Russia, Ukraine: MBS
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the Arab League summit that his kingdom is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
He also added that he hopes Syria’s return to the Arab League will end its crisis.
Putin ally says US and Ukraine coordinated to kill nationalists
An ally of President Vladimir Putin says the US coordinated with Ukraine to kill two pro-war nationalists in Russia and carried out attacks on critical infrastructure.
Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, was killed in a car bomb in August, and pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb last month.
Nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was also wounded in a car bomb earlier this month.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev was cited by the TASS news agency as saying all the attacks “were planned and carried out with the coordination of the US special services”.
“The terrorist attacks committed in Russia are accompanied by an information campaign prepared in advance in Washington and London, designed to destabilise the sociopolitical situation, and to undermine the constitutional foundations and sovereignty of Russia,” said Patrushev.