May 29, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

One person has been hospitalized in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district after explosions were heard in the capital in the early hours Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Klitschko also reported that "all emergency services" are headed to Podilskyi district without providing any further details.

According to Klitschko, a private house in Darnytskyi district and three cars in Pecherskyi district of Kyiv caught fire as a result of falling debris.

Russia has been transferring its forces to Bakhmut to replace fighters from the Wagner group, said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during an interview with Ukrainian media on Monday.

"Yes, [Russia] is currently rotating its units [in Bakhmut] – primarily in light of the significant losses the Wagner Group has suffered. They are forced to do it, not for any other reason,” Cherevatyi said. “Units of airborne forces and motorized infantry units of are entering [Bakhmut]. We know what units they are; we know their commanders and their combat capabilities."

Cherevatyi noted “all of these Russian units have been taking part in hostilities since 24 February 2022 and have sustained significant losses.”

He also said that Russia used “recently mobilized soldiers” to replenish those units.

In recent days, “the dynamics of combat clashes in the Bakhmut direction have been approximately the same," Cherevatyi said.

On Sunday, the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said the handover of his fighters' positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.

“As usual, the commander-in-chief and the commanders of the operational directions reported to the staff,” Zelensky said. "Not only the supply of ammunition, not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics. But also, the timing. This [the timing] is what is most important. The timing of how we will move forward. We will.”

Zelensky did not provide further details on when the counter offensive would launch.

One person was killed and several others were injured by shelling in the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region, the region's governor said.

Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel on Monday that it was a "difficult day" and that there was "a lot of shelling."

Gladkov noted that in recent days Belgorod region endured a “large amount of damage caused by hours of shelling” that caused the power, cell phone connection, heat and water to go off in numerous areas, which have now been restored.

The governor mentioned Novaya Tavolzhanka, Grafovka, Murom and Arkhangelsky being among the affected areas. 

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine released video Monday of the immediate aftermath of what it says was a Russian air strike on a gas station in Toretsk, a town near the eastern city of Bakhmut. 

At least two people were reportedly killed and eight were wounded in the strike, the unit said on Facebook, and three injured individuals were removed from the rubble.

Toretsk is regularly hit by Russian artillery as well as occasional air strikes. Earlier Monday, the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic accused the Ukrainians of shelling the occupied town of Horlivka from positions around Toretsk. 

European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday that he was “not optimistic” about how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will play out this summer.

Borrell added that he believes Russia will only negotiate if it wins the war.

“I am not optimistic about what will happen in Ukraine this summer. I see a concentration of troops on both sides, I see Russia's clear intent to win the war, (Russia) will not go into a negotiation if it doesn't win the war,” he said, speaking in Barcelona, Spain.  

• Overnight attacks: Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 67 out of 75 "air targets" launched overnight on Kyiv, the commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Monday. Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said 37 cruise missiles, 29 Shahed drones and one reconnaissance drone were shot down. Police confirmed that “almost all enemy targets were destroyed,” but some buildings were damaged.
• Rare daytime attacks: Just hours later, Kyiv came under an unusual daytime attack. Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv city military administration, said this attack shows "the enemy changed its tactics – after prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day when most residents were at work and outside.” Kyiv’s armed forces said it downed 11 Iskander missiles launched by Russia in the daytime raid. One man was hospitalized.
• Attacks across other parts of Ukraine: The country's defenses destroyed 77 out of 89 Russian drones and missiles fired at various places in the country on Sunday night and Monday, the Ukrainian military said in an update Monday. The overall tally of missiles is one of the highest daily counts in recent months. 
• Ukraine vows to respond: The head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence promised retribution "very soon" after the latest wave of Russian attacks. "Our response will not be delayed. Everyone will see everything soon," the official said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a half-minute video of children running to a shelter in Kyiv Monday morning as an explosion is heard in the background. "Thank you to everyone in the world who helps protect people and our children from Russian terror!" the president said.

• What Russia is saying: The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces hit Ukrainian airfields, destroying all targets. The strike hit "command posts and radar posts, as well as aviation equipment, storage facilities with weapons and ammunition," the defense ministry said.
• Ukraine's looming counteroffensive: The commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, told troops near the eastern city of Lyman on Monday that the time will “soon come” to take offensive actions against Russian forces. His comments came shortly after Gen. Zaluzhnyi hinted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is imminent. Meanwhile, Zelensky said Monday on Telegram that he met senior military commanders and there are "answers" about the timing of the next phase of the conflict. He gave no further details. 
• Battle in Bakhmut: Ukrainian officials have indicated that there's been little change in positions around the eastern city of Bakhmut. The intensity of Moscow's offensive has decreased as Russian regular units continue to replace Wagner fighters, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister said. The head of the Wagner Group said Sunday that the handover of his fighters' positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.

On the battlefields in the east, Ukrainian defense forces had repelled 20 Russian attacks, most of them around the entirely ruined town of Marinka, near Donetsk city, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Here are the areas that the General Staff shared updates on:

• Lyman: Russia had not conducted ground assaults in the eastern town but continued air strikes and artillery fire.
• Bakhmut: Russian forces did not carry out offensives but shelling continued.
• Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions: Ukrainian military reported widespread Russian shelling in settlements close to the front lines in these regions where many observers expect a Ukrainian counteroffensive to be concentrated.

Some analysts believe that Russian forces are restricting offensive action as they try to consolidate defenses in Bakhmut and elsewhere along the frontlines.