Guest of the G7 summit, the Ukrainian president arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, on board an official French plane.
The presence of Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7, in Japan, “is a unique opportunity” for Ukrainian diplomacy, launched Emmanuel Macron from Hiroshima, Saturday May 20. On the occasion of this new diplomatic effort, thehe Ukrainian president has worked to rally as many countries as possible to his cause, while on the front lines, uncertainty remains over the situation in Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting, in eastern Ukraine. While the Wagner Group has claimed responsibility for the city, kyiv says fighting continues. Here’s what to remember from the day.
Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 to meet with allies and meet with Southern leaders
Guest of the G7 summit, the Ukrainian president arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, on board an official French plane. According to an Elysian source at France Télévisions, it was kyiv who sought help from Paris on Wednesday. “We were able to convince the Japanese presidency” of the G7 “not only to invite President Zelensky to Hiroshima, but to allow him to exchange” with the countries of the South invited to the summit, during a session scheduled for Sunday, added this source, welcoming“a French initiative”.
Volodymyr Zelensky thus chained bilateral meetings with G7 officials, but also with the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This last, which retains strong military ties with Moscow and has never condemned the Russian invasion, assured him that India would do “everything possible” to settle the conflict.
The Wagner group announces that it has seized Bakhmout
Yevgeny Prigojine claimed on Saturday afternoon, in a video posted on Telegram, the total capture of the city. “The operation to take Bakhmout lasted 224 days (…) There was only Wagner here”he added, again reproaching the Russian general staff for the absence of regular troops on this front. “We did not only fight with the Ukrainian army in Bakhmout, but also with the Russian bureaucracy which hindered us”, he launched.
According to Yevgeny Prigojine, Wagner will withdraw his men from the city from Thursday, May 25, to leave the defense to the regular Russian army. “By May 25, we will completely search the city, create defensive positions and transfer it to the military to take care of it. On our side, we will return to the bases”he added.
kyiv concedes critical situation and assures that fighting continues
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar immediately denied the words of the leader of the Russian paramilitary group. On Telegram, she assured that the Ukrainian defenders were still in control “certain industrial facilities and infrastructure” as well as apartment buildings. She conceded, however, that “the situation is critical”.
Friday, Evguéni Prigojine, had deemed unlikely a quick take of Bakhmout. On Telegram, he explained in particular that a suburb named “Samolet” constituted “an impregnable fortress formed by rows of blocks of buildings”.
Moscow warns Westerners who will deliver F-16s to Ukraine
“We see that Western countries still adhere to the scenario of escalation.” In the aftermath of US President Joe Biden’s announcement allowing Western countries to deliver to Ukraine American-made F-16 fighter jets, Moscow reacted, through the voice of its deputy foreign minister. “It carries huge risks for them,” warned Alexander Grushko, quoted by the Russian agency TASS (in Russian). “In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the means necessary to achieve the objectives set”, he added.
Since the G7 summit in Japan, Joe Biden had said on Friday that Washington also supported a joint initiative by their allies to train Ukrainian pilots. During these long months of training, Westerners will decide on the schedule for the delivery of planes, their number and the countries that will provide them.