WAR IN UKRAINE: May 21, 2023
Independent Russian journalist Roman Badanin in conversation with Helena Lins of CNN Portugal at the annual conference of the Ukrainian Journalists Association of North America in New York on May 20, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 452
The chief of the Russian private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Saturday that his forces have taken complete control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after months of brutal fighting. “The operation to capture Bakhmut lasted 224 days,” he said in a video posted to Telegram, seeking to claim a final victory in the city. CNN could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim, but an initial response from the Ukrainian side disputed it. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, in a Telegram post less than an hour after the Russian mercenary’s claim was published, admitted the situation in Bakhmut was “critical” but said Ukrainian troops were still “holding the defense” in a district on Bakhmut’s western-most edge. “As of now, our defenders control certain industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area and the private sector,” she said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy adviser, also denied the Wagner claim, saying, "It is not the first time Prigozhin has said 'We seized everything and are dominating.'" He suggested that the Wagner chief's statement was aimed at drawing attention away from Zelenskyy's recent highly visible trips overseas, including the G7 summit - CBC
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine of up to $375m (£301m). The package will include ammunition, artillery, armoured vehicles and training - BBC
There are two Vladimir Putins independent Russian journalist Roman Badanin told the annual conference of the Ukrainian Journalists Association of North America: his pre and post czar self. “By the end of his 2nd term it was really possible to calculate the real amount of his wealth…but then he became a czar, a single owner of Russia. Which means he owns everything in site. He owns all the oligarchs with all the money they have.”
Russia has expanded its list of sanctioned Americans in a tit-for-tat retaliation for the latest curbs imposed by the United States. But what is particularly striking is how much President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is adopting perceived enemies of former President Donald J. Trump as his own. Among the 500 people singled out for travel and financial restrictions on Friday were Americans seen as adversaries by Mr. Trump, including Letitia James, the state attorney general of New York who has investigated and sued him. Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state of Georgia who rebuffed Mr. Trump’s pressure to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election, also made the list. And Lt. Michael Byrd, the Capitol Police officer who shot the pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, was another notable name. None of those three has anything to do with Russia policy and the only reason they would have come to Moscow’s attention is because Mr. Trump has publicly assailed them. The Russian Foreign Ministry offered no specific explanation for why they would be included on the list but did say that among its targets were “those in government and law enforcement agencies who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storming of the Capitol” - NYT
Katerina Vinokurova (Lavrova), daughter of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and her husband, who are under Western sanctions, have left Georgia, where they were to have attended a relative's wedding, amid a wave of protests in the country. Georgian opposition TV reported that according to Mtavari, Vinokurova and her husband were escorted by forces of the State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. They are believed to have crossed the border at midnight and are now in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Vinokurov's brother, his bride and other guests who were supposed to attend the wedding remained at the Kvareli Lake Resort hotel, Mtavari said.