DUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not made a clear statement on whether Russian troops have fully captured the city of Baghmut. In a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima on Sunday, a reporter asked Zelensky if the city in eastern Ukraine was still in Ukrainian hands. The journalist added that the Russians claimed they had captured Pakmut. In response, the Ukrainian president said, “I don’t think so.”
Zelenskyj insisted that the city was almost completely destroyed. There were no more buildings “and a lot of dead Russians”. He continued: “It’s a tragedy.” But today Bachmut is “only in our hearts”. Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian soldiers there for their dedication.
An hour later, Zelenskyy’s spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov spoke on Facebook and insisted that Zelenskyy had not confirmed the capture of the city. The reporter’s question: “The Russians say they took Pakmuth” — and “The president’s answer: I don’t think so.” In this way, the President denied the capture of Pakmut by Russian troops, the spokesperson added. The General Staff in Kiev wrote in its morning situation report: “The battle for the city of Pakmut continues.”
Russia earlier announced that it had won the month-long battle for Baghmuth and fully captured the city in eastern Ukraine. The Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Sunday night that the private army Wagner, with the help of artillery and air support from the Russian Armed Forces, had fully captured the city. Yevgeny Brigoshin, head of Wagner’s mercenaries, announced that the city would be captured after months of fierce fighting and in the meantime completely destroyed.
Then Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin congratulated the Wagner soldiers and the Russian army. Russian armed forces would have guaranteed Wagner the necessary flanking protection, Putin said, according to his news service. “All the best fighters are honored with state awards.”
The capture of Bagmut — which Russia refers to as the Soviet-era city of Artemovsk — was Moscow’s first major victory in more than a decade of war. The city, fought at great cost, has great symbolic value for both sides.
Current developments In live ticker:
09:59 – London: Russia uses surveillance drones to prepare for attack
Russia is increasingly using surveillance drones to prepare for its air strikes on Ukraine, according to British intelligence agencies. According to the Ministry of Defense in London, these are mostly Russian-made planes called Supercam, which are relatively cheap and have enough range to fly over potential attack targets. Experts estimate that the drones can stay in the air for four to five hours and fly as high as five kilometers.
This tactic will enable Russia to quickly assess battle damage and improve accuracy. “The Russian military’s slow and inefficient targeting process is a major weakness of the operation in Ukraine,” it said in London. “However, slower surveillance drones are more vulnerable to Ukrainian air defenses.” Russian missile strikes are now focused on hitting Ukrainian air defenses.
08:11 – US President Biden sent new weapons to Ukraine
In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden announced a new major arms shipment to Ukraine. The package includes “munitions, artillery and armored vehicles,” Biden said on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima. Just two days ago, Washington approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev by its Western allies.
07:54 – Macron: Zelenskyy’s meeting with the BRICS countries prevents the “division of the world”.
France hopes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the G-7 summit will make Ukraine’s position more understandable to countries like India and Brazil. Asked about a French government plane taking Selenskyj to the Arab League and then to the G-7 meeting in Hiroshima, Macron said it was about building peace and finding solutions.
Interests of France and the UN Its role as a permanent member of the Security Council should allow Zelenskyy to “expose himself in front of many world powers, sometimes they are only exposed to a speech,” Macron said on the sidelines of the summit. . He was referring to the upcoming gathering of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as the BRICS nations. “This is very important for us because it prevents the division of the world – between those who clearly support Ukraine and those who support peace, who sometimes don’t know what that means.”
4:40 am – Scholz downplays Ukraine’s rapid NATO accession hopes
President Olaf Scholes has played down hopes that Ukraine will soon join NATO. In an interview with “Welt TV”, Scholz says that the military support for Ukraine in the defensive struggle against Russia is currently a priority. For the post-war period, one needs to clarify how security guarantees can work for the country. Ukraine primarily seeks Western weapons. At the NATO summit in Bucharest, Ukraine was given a perspective. “But it’s always a decision where everyone is clear that it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” he adds. Ukraine cannot currently meet many of the conditions for accession.
“Borders should not be crossed by force of arms”
China has expressed displeasure with the joint statement issued by the G-7 countries. In an interview with WELT-TV Editor-in-Chief John Philip Burkhardt, Chancellor Scholz had clear words about China’s Taiwan policy. Force of arms shall not be used to move boundaries or change the status quo.
03:45 – Report: Brazil under pressure with Zelensky’s arrival
According to media reports, the Brazilian delegation at the G-7 summit was upset over the sudden visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky. It is not yet known whether President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will grant Selenskyj’s request for a bilateral meeting in Hiroshima, Brazilian news website “G1” reported citing Foreign Ministry sources.
The background is that the delegation is irritated by pressure on Brazil and India to take a position more closely aligned with the Ukrainian view of the Russian war of aggression.
Financial news agency Bloomberg quoted Brazilian officials as saying that Zelensky’s visit had worried the delegation and that they were now under pressure to agree to a face-to-face meeting with Lula. Lula is still undecided on this question.
03:35 – Japan announces Zelenskyy’s speech
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will address the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Sunday at 7.15pm local time (12.15pm German time), the Japanese government announced. Zelenskyj was in Japan to attend the summit and meet with various heads of state and government there.
US President Joe Biden (left) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Credit: AFP/SUSAN WALSH
3:22 am – Scholz is watching The fighter jet program as a message to Russia
Chancellor Olaf Scholes (SPD) does not expect modern fighter jets to be delivered to Ukraine in the near future. “Relating to the training of the pilots is a long-term project. The US has not yet decided “what will be at the end of the training,” he said Sunday on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
The plan is a message to those who initially attacked Ukraine: The president insisted that Russia should not count on waning support for Ukraine as the war drags on. “There’s news: Russia must withdraw troops.”
01:30 – Ukraine relies heavily on F-16 fighter jets
According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Col. Yuriy Ignat, Ukraine can win the war with F-16 fighter jets. Speaking to Ukraine’s Espresso TV channel, he said the fighter jets will protect areas outside the range of anti-aircraft missiles. “By deploying F-16s, our ground forces can quickly liberate occupied Ukrainian territories by targeting enemy command positions, military groups and logistics supply chains,” he added.
Ukraine has yet to receive a commitment to deliver F-16 jets. However, according to government sources, US President Joe Biden has suggested training Ukrainian pilots in these fighter jets. Russia warned Western countries against supplying such machines to Ukraine.
9:53 pm – Zelenskyj and Biden meet for discussion
US President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Zelenskyj arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday for a summit of seven leading democratic industrial nations. There he plans to discuss new military and economic aid with government and government leaders.
8:40 pm – Pope Francis entrusts peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to Cardinal Juppi
The first details are known about Pope Francis’ planned peace mission to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. The Vatican has announced that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi will lead the special delegation. Zuppi is Cardinal of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. This work is done to ease the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
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