May 23, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his men are the strongest fighters but acknowledged that the Ukrainian army has also put up a fierce fight, particularly in Bakhmut.

“Now I can judge it according to my own experience, I know how different countries fight [..] today Wagner PMC is the best army in the world, and after it of course I have to say it should be Russian army in order to be politically correct, but I believe Ukrainians today are one of the strongest armies in the world,” Prigozhin said Tuesday in an interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a pro-Russian blogger, for his Telegram Channel blog “Dolgov speaks."

Over the weekend the private military Wagner group claimed they had taken all the territories they planned on and would leave the frontline in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, leaving the fighting to the Russian Defense Ministry.

But Prigozhin said Tuesday that the Ukrainians are “highly organized, highly trained and their intelligence is on the highest level, they can operate any military system with equal success, a Soviet or a NATO one." 

Separately, when asked about the recent cross-border incursions in Belgorod claimed by anti-Putin Russians, Prigozhin said “Russian Volunteer Corps groups are shamelessly entering Belgorod region” and Russian defense forces are “absolutely not ready to resist them in any shape or form.” 

Questions linger about the groups behind the cross-border attack that anti-Putin Russians say they launched from Ukraine, how it took place, and what it means for the war: Was this a classic piece of a military sleight-of-hand, a brief show of force meant to confuse and distract Russian commanders? Does it signal the emergence of serious armed opposition inside Russia? Or are there murkier forces at work?

Here’s what you need to know.

What has happened in Belgorod? A group of anti-Putin Russian nationals, who are aligned with the Ukrainian army, claimed responsibility for an attack in Russian’s southwestern region of Belgorod, which borders north-eastern Ukraine. Two areas of the region were then hit by unmanned aerial vehicles, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, causing two houses to catch fire. One civilian from the village of Kozinka has died as a result of the cross-border fighting, Gladkov said on Tuesday. About 100 others were evacuated from the Russian border settlements of Glotovo and Kozinka in the Belgorod region, local authorities said.

What did the attackers do? The attackers appeared to have achieved surprise, apparently taking control of a border post and giving the world dramatic images of Russian nationals actively taking up arms against the Kremlin. Smoke was also seen rising from apparent explosions in the regional capital of Belgorod, where local authorities confirmed what they described as two drone strikes.

Which groups are involved? The Freedom for Russia Legion said on Telegram early on Tuesday that it and another group, the Russian Volunteer Corps, “continue to liberate the Belgorod region!” The post described the groups as “patriot volunteers” and claimed that Russia was vulnerable to attack as “Russia has no reserves to respond to military crises. All military personnel are dead, wounded or in Ukraine.”

How is the incident playing out in Russia? As Russian officials condemned the attack, analysts noted widespread confusion in Russia’s information space about how the attack was allowed to take place and how Moscow should respond. It has the potential to be embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin, who has for 15 months been leading an invasion he baselessly claimed was needed to keep Russia safe. With limited returns on the battlefield, Putin may now face discontent that the war is disrupting life at home.

Read more here

An anti-Putin Russian group, which claimed to have crossed the border from Ukraine and attacked Russia’s Belgorod region, said its goal is the “complete liberation of Russia."

The Freedom for Russia Legion called the attack in the Belgorod region a "peacekeeping operation" on Telegram Tuesday. It said the goal was to create a "demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, to destroy the security forces that serve the Putin regime and to demonstrate to the people of Russia that it is possible to create pockets of resistance and successfully fight against the Putin regime." 

“These goals of the operation were successfully achieved,” it added.

Here are more of the latest headlines from Russia's war in Ukraine:

• Russia says its jets intercepted 2 US Air Force aircraft in Baltic Sea: Two US Air Force aircraft were intercepted by Russian jets in the Baltic Sea near the Russian border, the Russian Ministry of Defence said Tuesday. The Pentagon, meanwhile, downplayed the incident saying it was a “safe and professional interaction."
• Russian court extends Wall Street Journal reporter's detention by 3 months: The Lefortovsky District Court of Moscow on Tuesday extended the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich for three months to August 30, Russian state agency RIA Novosti reported citing the court. "The court granted the investigator's request to extend the measure of restraint in the form of detention until August 30," the court said, according to the state media.
• White House reiterates that US reporter being held in Russia "shouldn't be detained at all": The White House is reiterating that American journalist Evan Gershkovich “shouldn't be detained at all” following news that the Wall Street Journal reporter’s pre-trial detention in Russia had been extended for three months. John Kirby of the US National Security Council told CNN’s Kate Bolduan he was learning the news of that extension at that moment, saying, “I don't know if I have an official reaction by the White House on this except to say that he shouldn't be detained at all.”
• NATO says training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s does not make it party to conflict: Supporting Ukraine by training pilots on F-16 fighter jets “does not make NATO and NATO allies party to the conflict,” the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU defense ministers meeting, the alliance chief welcomed the decision by several NATO allies to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
• Part of Bakhmut still under Ukrainian control, top national security official says: Part of the beleaguered city of Bakhmut remains under Ukrainian control, the country’s national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN on Tuesday. “If they [Russians] believe they have taken Bakhmut, I can say that this is not true. As of today, part of Bakhmut is under our control,” Danilov told CNN Tuesday. “I can't say that all of it, but part of Bakhmut is still under our fire.”

An explosive device that fell from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) damaged a car in Russia's Belgorod region late Tuesday, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

"In Belgorod, an explosive device was dropped onto the roadway from a UAV," Gladkov said in a Telegram post. "According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. There is damage to the car. Operational services are working on the spot."

The acting head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic visited the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Tuesday, saying it would now be known by its former Soviet name "Artemovsk."

“Bakhmut had the misfortune to be Ukrainian. Now it’s not Ukraine, it’s Russia. And it’s not Bakhmut — it’s Artemovsk,” Denis Pushilin said in a video posted on Telegram.

The video showed Pushilin walking the streets of the heavily damaged city in military uniform and putting up the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic on a building.

In the video, he also claimed that the capture of Bakhmut would open up a route for Russian forces to make further gains in Ukraine. 

Pushilin vowed that the “city will be renewed,” promising new homes, workplaces and schools.

Two US Air Force aircraft were intercepted by Russian jets in the Baltic Sea near the Russian border, the Russian Ministry of Defence said Tuesday. 

The Pentagon, meanwhile, downplayed the incident saying it was a “safe and professional interaction."

“On May 23, 2023, Russian airspace control over the Baltic Sea detected two air targets approaching the State Border of the Russian Federation,” the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation said in a statement on Telegram.

“To prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation, a Su-27 fighter from the air defense forces of the Baltic Fleet was taken into the air,” it continued. “The crew of the Russian fighter classified the air targets as two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers and occupied the established air watch zone.”

The Russian MOD said the operation was carried out “in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace."

The Pentagon confirmed that there was an “interaction” between two of its B-1 bombers and the Russian jets.

 

An anti-Putin Russian group, which claimed to have crossed the border from Ukraine and attacked Russia’s Belgorod region, has said its goal is the “complete liberation of Russia."

The Freedom for Russia Legion called the attack in the Belgorod region a "peacekeeping operation" on Telegram Tuesday. It said the goal was to create a "demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, to destroy the security forces that serve the Putin regime and to demonstrate to the people of Russia that it is possible to create pockets of resistance and successfully fight against the Putin regime." 

“These goals of the operation were successfully achieved,” it added.

The Legion, which is aligned with the Ukrainian army, also claimed it had destroyed a motorized rifle company of the Russian Army on Tuesday, destroying armored vehicles. CNN has not verified this claim.

It was not immediately clear whether the Legion claimed to have struck the Russian forces inside Russian or Ukrainian-held territory.

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a second anti-Putin Russian group that has also claimed to have been involved in cross-border attacks, posted videos to Telegram on Tuesday showing their fighters inside Belgorod region. CNN cannot verify when these videos were filmed but has geolocated them to the Belgorod region.

A caption to a video purporting to show RDK fighters riding a vehicle at a border point said, “The situation on the small but now our own little piece of our homeland is still disturbing, and it wouldn't hurt to clean it up.” 

The US embassy in Moscow said it was “deeply concerned” by a Russian court’s decision on Tuesday to extend the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich by three months. 

“We are deeply concerned by today’s Russian court decision to prolong the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by an additional three months.  This follows last week’s denial of the Embassy’s request for a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, marking the second time Russian authorities have unjustifiably denied consular access in this case,” the embassy said in a statement.   

“The United States strongly objects to Russia’s ongoing denial of consular access to Mr. Gershkovich.  We reiterate that the claims against him are baseless and call for Mr. Gershkovich’s immediate release,” it added. 

The Kremlin has so far not commented on Washington alleging Moscow of denying the embassy’s consular access to Gershkovich. 

When asked by CNN about this topic during a regular briefing with journalists earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “No, we are not dealing with this issue.”