Live blog: Moscow vows 'extremely' harsh responce to Ukrainian incursions

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Russia has threatened Kiev it would respond "extremely" harshly to all future incursions after Moscow deployed jets and artillery to fight off an armed group that crossed over from Ukraine.

As Russia took stock following the most serious attack on its soil since Moscow's offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group said 10,000 prisoners he recruited died in Ukraine.

"We will continue to respond promptly and extremely harshly to such actions by Ukrainian militants," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told military officials after two days of fighting in the southern region of Belgorod.

On Wednesday, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the territory was targeted overnight by numerous drones. Regional authorities said that 13 people had been injured as the region came under sustained artillery and mortar fire.

Moscow said that Russian forces had killed "more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists" and had destroyed several armed vehicles during the skirmishes, but AFP was unable to independently verify the claims. Russia said that the remaining fighters had been driven back across the border.

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1811 GMT — Ukraine's membership amid war 'not on agenda': NATO chief

Ukraine's NATO membership in the middle of the war is "not on the agenda," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg's remarks came during the annual Brussels Forum organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

He recalled last year's commitment in Madrid that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance, adding that the decision was first made in 2008.

"The most urgent and important task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation," he said.

"Because if Ukraine doesn't prevail, then there's no membership issue to discuss," he stressed.

1753 GMT — Ukraine FM urges African nations to end 'neutrality' over war

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for certain African nations to end their "neutrality" over Russia's offensive on his country.

Fifteen months into the devastating war, Kuleba was in Ethiopia on a regional tour to drum up African support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's "aggression".

"We speak with our African friends, trying to explain to them that neutrality is not the answer," he said in English at a press conference in Addis Ababa, home of the African Union.

"By being neutral towards the Russian aggression against Ukraine, you project your neutrality to the violation of borders and mass crimes that may occur very close to you, if not happen to you."

1724 GMT — White House says it is looking into reports about Ukraine's use of US vehicles in Russia

The White House is looking into reports that American-made vehicles were used by Ukraine inside Russia.

"We've been pretty darn clear that we don't support the use of US-made equipment ... for attacks inside Russia," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said when asked about the reports.

"I think we've been nothing but consistent about our concerns in that regard," he added.

One woman died and 12 people were injured in an attack by Ukraine on Russia's Belgorod region, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

1717 GMT — Over 20,000 pro-Russian Wagner troops died in Bakhmut battle

The head of the Russian private army Wagner has said his force lost more than 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, with about 20 percent of the 50,000 Russian convicts he recruited to fight in the 15-month war dying in the eastern Ukrainian city.

The figure was in stark contrast with widely disputed claims from Moscow that it lost just over 6,000 troops in the war, and is higher than the official estimate of the Soviet losses in the Afghanistan war of 15,000 troops between 1979-89. Ukraine hasn't said how many of its soldiers have died since Russia's full-scale offensive in February 2022.

Analysts believe the nine-month fight for Bakhmut alone has cost the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, among them convicts who reportedly received little training before being sent to the front.

1639 GMT — Russia questions fate of US arms supplies to Ukraine

Russia urged the US State Department to address the issue of the proliferation of arms supplied to Ukraine, which Moscow claims immediately finds its way into the black market.​​​​​​​

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned at a press conference in Moscow whether the US is aware of the fate of the weapons transferred to Ukraine.

"The State Department should be asked whether the US is aware of the proliferation of weapons, which they supply, as they call it 'help' to the Kiev regime, which immediately goes to the black market.

1339 GMT — Russia to try five foreigners for fighting alongside Ukraine

Russia announced that a court in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don will try five foreign men, including three British nationals, accused of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Moscow.

The trial will begin on May 31 on terror-linked and other charges. The men are believed to face trial in absentia.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said the three British men, a Swedish national and a Croatian man have been accused of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces - including the Azov regiment, which battled Russian forces during the siege of the southern port city of Mariupol.

1316 GMT — Russian spy chief tells 'meddling West' to go to the devil, forecasts its demise

One of Russia's top spy chiefs said the West had sown the seeds of its own destruction by turning away from what he called its core traditions and told it to "go to the devil" and stop interfering in global affairs.

In remarks at a security forum outside Moscow attended by foreign security officials, Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, made some of his most anti-Western comments yet, underlining the depth of enmity Moscow harbours towards the West over its support for Ukraine.

"The Anglo-Saxons might be advised to attend to their own internal civil conflicts. Better still, to clear off to their acquaintance, the devil," said Naryshkin, who like other Russian officials refers to Britain, the United States and other English-speaking countries in the West as "the Anglo-Saxons".

1300 GMT — Russian attacks on Ukraine healthcare slammed at WHO

WHO member states voted overwhelmingly to condemn the devastating health impacts triggered by Russia's offensive in Ukraine, exactly 15 months into the war.

A resolution adopted at the World Health Organization's annual decision-making assembly in Geneva demanded that Moscow immediately cease all attacks on hospitals in Ukraine and voiced concern for wider health impacts in the region.

Member states backed the text by 80 votes to nine, with 52 abstentions.

The assembly voted "to condemn in the strongest terms the Russian Federation's continued aggression against Ukraine, including attacks on health care facilities".

0900 GMT — Older people account for a third of Ukraine's war victims: UN

Older people have suffered and died at a disproportionately high rate since Russia's attack on Ukraine, a UN report showed, with some perishing because they were barred from fetching medicines or leaving basements.

The report compiled by UN human rights monitors showed that about a third of the civilians killed in the first year of the conflict, or 1,346 of 4,187 documented victims, were over 60. The toll only includes individuals whose age is known and the real number of victims is much higher, the UN says.

About a quarter of Ukraine's population is elderly. Russia, meanwhile, denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.

0844 GMT — World's biggest aircraft carrier sails into Oslo for NATO exercises

The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, sailed into Oslo, a first for such a US ship, in a show of NATO force at a time of heightened tension between NATO and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

The ship and its crew will be conducting training exercises with the Norwegian armed forces along the country's coast in the coming days, the Norwegian military said.

Norwegian media reported the aircraft carrier would sail north of the Arctic Circle. The Russian embassy in Oslo condemned the aircraft carrier's Oslo visit.

0831 GMT — Russia set to terminate agreement on military visits: Finland

Russia has informed neighbouring Finland that it will terminate a bilateral agreement on mutual visits to military installations, the Finnish defence ministry said.

The bilateral agreement, signed in 2000, provided for one annual Russian assessment visit to Finland and a similar visit by Finland to the Leningrad Military District in north-west Russia, the Finnish ministry said in a statement.

Finland last month joined the NATO military alliance in response to Russia's military action against Ukraine, drawing a threat from Moscow of "counter-measures."

0500 GMT — Ukraine announces creation of Marine Corps

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the creation of Marine Corps during his visit to the frontline in Donetsk. At the same time, he congratulated the Marines on their holiday and presented them with awards.

"Today, exactly on the frontline, it was the right thing to announce the creation of a Marine Corps in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in his fresh address. "New marine brigades will be added to our existing units, and we will provide them with modern weapons and equipment."

Zelenskyy said their key purpose is to strengthen Ukraine, bolster its defence and increase the capabilities of its fighters.

0400 GMT — Russia says will achieve all its goals in Ukraine

Russia will achieve all its goals in Ukraine either through its special military operation or through all other means, the state TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

"Russia is taking under consideration only the completion of its special military operation: ensuring its interests, achieving Russia's goals either through the special military operation, or by other available means," Peskov told TASS, answering a question on whether Russia would consider the possibility of freezing the conflict.

Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation," while Kiev and its Western allies call it an unprovoked aggression to grab land.

2326 GMT — Russia, China set to ink bilateral pacts

Russia and China are set to sign a set of bilateral agreements during the Russian prime minister's trip to Beijing as the two giant neighbours pledge closer cooperation even as the West remains critical of their ties amid the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin — the highest ranking Russian official to visit Beijing since Moscow sent thousands of its troops to Ukraine in February 2022 — was holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, according to the Russian government.

"As a result of the talks, a number of bilateral agreements is planned to be signed," the Russian news agency Interfax reported, without elaborating.

2302 GMT — Russia claims it repelled one of major cross-border attacks

Russia's military has said it quashed what appeared to be one of the most serious cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began, claiming to have killed more than 70 attackers in a battle that lasted around 24 hours.

Moscow blamed the raid that began Monday on Ukrainian military saboteurs. Kiev portrayed it as an uprising against the Kremlin by Russian partisans.

It was impossible to reconcile the two versions, to say with certainty who was behind the attack or to ascertain its aims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to say how many attackers were involved in the assault or comment on why efforts to put down the attackers took so long.

1934 GMT — Japan's Uniqlo to exit Russia

Japanese brand Uniqlo has decided to leave Russia after suspending its operation there last year, opening the path for a sale of the business, the daily Izvestia cited Russia's deputy trade minister as saying.

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing suspended the clothing brand's operations in Russia in March of 2022, joining scores of international companies, after Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine, calling it a "special military operation."

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov said the company has decided to completely leave Russia but is yet to submit an application to the government, which means the chain has no buyer yet, Izvestia reported.

For our live updates from Tuesday (May 23), click here.