Live blog: Air force, artillery wipe out border attackers, Russia claims

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Russia said that it had deployed jets and artillery to destroy an armed group that penetrated its border from Ukraine, while the Kremlin ordered its military to prevent any repeat attack.

The defence ministry's announcement of use of its air force and artillery on Russian territory confirmed an unprecedented use of force domestically since the offensive began.

"In the course of the counter-terrorist operation, the nationalist formations were blocked and destroyed by air strikes and artillery fire," the ministry said.

"The remaining (fighters) were driven back to the territory of Ukraine, where they continued to be hit by fire until they were completely eliminated," it said.

Authorities said 13 people had been injured as the Belgorod region came under sustained artillery and mortar fire during the fighting. They also reported that one woman died during evacuations on Monday and that a civilian was killed in the village of Kozinka.

Moscow said Russian forces killed more than 70 Ukrainian fighters.

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1855 GMT — Ukraine investigating role of Belarus in transfers of children - prosecutor

Ukraine is investigating the alleged role of Belarus in the forced transfer of children from Russian-occupied territories, the office of the prosecutor general told Reuters.

The announcement came in response to a report by the exiled Belarusian opposition alleging that 2,150 Ukrainian children, including orphans aged six to 15, were taken to so-called recreation camps and sanatoriums on Belarusian territory.

The National Anti-Crisis Management, a group of political opponents to the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, said in its preliminary report that the children were taken to at least three locations in Belarus.

1817 GMT — US demands release of WSJ reporter after detention extended in Russia

The US has demanded the release of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich after his detention in Russia was extended for three months.

"We continue to call for his immediate release as well as for the immediate release of Paul Whelan," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news conference.

He said claims against the reporter are "baseless" and urged Russia to comply with its obligation to provide consular access.

Gershkovich was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Yekaterinburg in late March and has been detained on espionage charges, a claim the WSJ "vehemently” denied.

1813 GMT — Ukraine launches investigation into Russian commander

Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) said it has launched a criminal investigation into Andrei Ruzinsky, a Russian commander Reuters identified last year as helping lead the military occupation of eastern Ukraine.

Ruzinsky was commander of the Russian Baltic Fleet's 11th Army Corps, which crossed into Ukraine in early 2022 and took control of a chain of towns south of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The SBU said in a statement that it had served notice on Ruzinsky, who is on Russian soil, that he was suspected of entering into a conspiracy to conduct acts of military aggression.

It said he had ordered attacks using heavy weapons on populated areas, and that he had given orders to the military commandant in the town of Balakliia, where there were multiple cases of civilians being detained and tortured, according to Ukrainian officials and residents.

Russia withdrew from the area in September last year.

1703 GMT — Russian villages bordering Ukraine lose power after drone attack -governor

Three villages in Russia's Kursk region bordering Ukraine were left without power after a drone dropped explosives on an electrical substation, the region's governor said.

"Repair crews are currently carrying out restoration work. None of the residents were injured," Governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russian regions near the Ukrainian border have repeatedly reported drone strikes on their civilian infrastructure.

Moscow says Kiev is directly responsible for attacks inside its territory but Ukraine denies this.

1757 GMT — Social Democrats to strongly support Ukraine’s freedom: Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that his party, the Social Democrats (SPD), will strongly support Ukraine’s freedom and its efforts to become a member of the EU.

"We will support the Ukrainian nation, their struggle to defend their freedom, with all our might," Scholz told a party conference in Berlin, marking the 160th birthday of the centre-left SPD.

Scholz accused Russia of waging an "imperialist war" against Ukraine and argued that the war is also an “attack on values and principles” defended by Social Democrats for decades.

"Russia should not win this war, and it will not win this war," he stressed, and reaffirmed that Germany will continue delivering weapons to Ukraine to defend its territory, "as long as it takes."

1744 GMT — Ukraine allies slam Russia's 'cynical' WHO draft resolution

Kiev's allies condemned Moscow for proposing a "cynical" draft resolution on the "health emergency in and around Ukraine" at the World Health Organization's annual meeting.

The draft resolution, brought jointly by Russia and Syria, is set to vie with another submitted by Ukraine and its allies which denounces Russia's offensive and attacks on healthcare facilities.

The latest Russian draft resolution does not mention the year-long war in Ukraine launched by Moscow.

France's envoy Jerome Bonnafont said the draft was a "new cynical attack against the truth," adding: "According to the WHO, there are over 20,000 civilian victims, health centres and workers have been targeted, there have been numerous cases of sexual assault".

1455 GMT — Anti-terror regime lifted in Russian region bordering Ukraine: governor

Russian authorities said they had lifted a counter-terrorism regime introduced this week in the southern region of Belgorod to counter a sabotage group that had crossed from Ukraine.

"We took the decision to lift the legal counter-terrorism regime in the territory of the Belgorod Region," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Telegram.

1450 GMT — Russia's FSB requests extension of WSJ reporter's detention

Russia's security service has asked a Moscow court to extend the detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich held on espionage charges, Russian media reported.

Citing spokespeople for Moscow's Lefortovo district court, Russian news agencies said that FSB investigators had asked for an extension of his arrest until August 30. A court hearing was expected to take place.

1355 GMT — F-16 training doesn't make it party to Ukraine conflict: NATO

Training Ukrainian pilots on Western F-16 fighter jets does not make NATO a party to the conflict, its chief Jens Stoltenberg said, as allies pledged to speed up preparations to start lessons.

Stoltenberg said Ukraine had the right to defend itself.

"We help Ukraine to uphold that right," he told reporters in Brussels. "That doesn't make NATO and NATO allies a party to the conflict."

Senior Russian diplomats on Monday said the transfer of F-16 jets to Ukraine would raise the question of NATO's role in the conflict.

1230 GMT — Russia fights alleged Ukrainian incursion, reports drone attacks

Several drones struck Russia's border region of Belgorod overnight, a day after an armed group infiltrated the area from Ukraine, the local governor said.

The drones struck houses and a government building. One woman died and eight other people were injured, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Belgorod governor, wrote on Telegram.

Gladkov said another woman is in intensive care in serious condition after being injured in an attack by Ukrainian "saboteurs" who launched their offensive the day before.

The Russian military and law enforcement continue fighting on the territory of the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region with a "sabotage group" of Ukraine's armed forces, he added.

1055 GMT — Hungary's prime minister criticises EU's sanctions policy targeting Russia

Criticising the EU's sanctions against Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Urban said, "sanction policy of EU simply does not work."

It is not reasonable to introduce sanction packages for the 11th time hoping that the outcome will be different, Urban said at Qatar Economic Forum.

After the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, the Western world, especially Europe, tries to paralyse the Russian economy by implementing sanctions, such as export bans and prohibitions to provide strategic products.

He stressed that instead of getting involved in the war, escalation should be stopped.

0942 GMT — Ukraine F-16 training begins in Poland: EU's Borrell

The training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets has begun in Poland, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, after the United States gave its green light.

"I am happy that finally the training of the pilots for the F-16 has started in several countries. It will take time, but the sooner the better," Borrell said at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels. "For example in Poland," Borrell said when asked to specify where it had begun.

A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP news agency the training had started in Poland. The defence ministry in Warsaw declined to comment.

0937 GMT — 'Ukrainian militants' still active in Belgorod: Kremlin

The Kremlin said "Ukrainian militants" were still active in Russia's border region of Belgorod, a day after local authorities declared a counter-terrorism operation there to repel what they called a sabotage group from Ukraine.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine had been launched to prevent such incursions and that more efforts were needed from the Russian side to prevent such incidents.

Kiev has said it is watching the situation in Belgorod closely but "has nothing to do with it".

0908 GMT — Zelenskyy visits Donetsk frontline in east Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited Ukrainian troops on the frontline in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russian forces have concentrated their efforts to capture territory.

"On his return from a foreign visit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Vugledar-Maryinka defence line in Donetsk region," the presidency said in a statement.

Ukrainian troops held back Russian forces around Vugledar during Moscow's winter offensive that gave the Kremlin only limited gains in the battle-scarred Donetsk region.

0600 GMT — Ukraine courts Africa and 'Global South' as peace plans proliferate

Ukraine's foreign minister began a tour of African countries this week, stepping up wartime Kiev's diplomatic push to challenge Russian influence in the "Global South" and cement the vision laid out by Ukraine as the only path to peace.

Top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba said his main priority was to get African countries to endorse President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan as he travelled to Morocco on his second tour of Africa since Russia attacked Ukraine in February last year.

"Important negotiations lie ahead with African leaders and business," he wrote on Instagram, saying he aimed to win support for the uninterrupted flow of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea and secure new openings for Ukrainian business.

0552 GMT — Russian PM arrives in China for talks with Xi, business forum

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow's foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade.

He will take part in a Russian-Chinese Business Forum and visit a petrochemical research institute in Shanghai, the Kremlin said, as well as hold talks with "representatives of Russian business circles".

That forum has invited a number of sanctioned Russian tycoons –– including from the key fertiliser, steel and mining sectors –– as well as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who handles energy issues, Bloomberg reported.

0516 GMT — Russia's sanctioned interior minister visits Saudi Arabia

A top Russian official who faces sanctions in the West over Moscow's war on Ukraine visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with his counterpart in the kingdom, state media reported.

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev's visit to Riyadh came just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed an Arab League summit held in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Friday.

The visits underline how the kingdom and Gulf Arab states, traditionally the security clients of the United States, have been maintaining their relations with Moscow amid the Ukraine war.

0135 GMT — EU urges Western Balkan countries to follow Ukraine's path for membership process

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Western Balkan countries to take Ukraine's path and pace towards EU membership as an example and criticised Serbia's close ties with Russia.

''We want to advance on enlargement, and we sent a strong message that they need to seize the momentum in the enlargement process created by the swift progress of Ukraine. Ukraine is progressing," said Borrell.

"They (also) have to follow this path at the same pace. Now is the time for them to speed up reforms, to align with the European Union’s standards and to prepare their societies for accession. There is an opportunity, a unique opportunity. They have to use it."

For our live updates from Monday (May 22), click here.