WAR IN UKRAINE: May 27, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 458
Russian mercenaries from the private Wagner Group have reportedly begun withdrawingfrom the eastern city of Bakhmut, according to senior Ukrainian officials and British intelligence. Meanwhile, Russia pounded the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of the war in Donetsk, and its surroundings with air strikes, Ukraine's military said on May 27, as fighting continued for control of the city - RFE/RL
Ukraine is ready to launch its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces, one of the country's most senior security officials has told the BBC. Oleksiy Danilov would not name a date but said an assault to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin's occupying forces could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week". He warned that Ukraine's government had "no right to make a mistake" on the decision because this was an "historic opportunity" that "we cannot lose".
At least two people were killed and more than two dozen wounded when a medical facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro was hit during another wave of Russian air strikes against Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called "another crime against humanity."
Officials in three Russian regions on May 26 reported attacks allegedly by Ukrainian forces, RFE/RL reported. The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram there were no casualties after four districts were shelled by Ukrainian forces overnight. The Rostov region governor, Vasily Golubev, said a Ukrainian missile had been shot down overnight over the city of Morozovsk, while the mayor of the southwestern city of Krasnodar, Yevgeny Naumov, said an office building and a residential building were damaged by an explosion early in the morning. Media reports say Krasnodar was attacked by drones. Ukraine has not commented on the allegations.
Russia wants Ukraine to give up occupied territories, NATO and EU membership to start peace talks. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said, in an interview with the Russian state-controlled TASS news agency, that Ukraine must recognize the "new territorial realities," meaning it should give up Russian-occupied territories. Ukraine should also not join NATO and the EU, according to Galuzin. President's Office Head Andriy Yermak said Kyiv would not hold any peace talks with Russia as long as Russian troops are on Ukrainian territory - Ukrainian media