Wagner forces begin Bakhmut ‘evacuation’

[Dalton elijah]

• Wagner forces have begun withdrawing from Bakhmut and will hand over positions to the Russian army, says the mercenary group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, having claimed to have captured Ukraine’s eastern city.
• Russia’s security service announces the arrest of two Ukrainians suspected of planning to target nuclear power plants in the country.
• The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus have signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
• A drone attack on the Kremlin this month was probably orchestrated by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units, the New York Times reported.

Russia expels five Swedish diplomats​

Russia says it will expel five Swedish diplomats in a retaliatory measure for Sweden’s “confrontational course” in relations with Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the move was in response to the expulsion of five diplomatic staff from Sweden last month, which is said was an “openly hostile step”.
The ministry added that ties between the two countries had “reached an unprecedented low”.
Relations have worsened since Sweden last year announced its intention to join NATO.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to Iran: Why support Russia and ‘terror’?​

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Iranians to reconsider the supply of deadly drones to Russia in order to stop their slide into “the dark side of history”.
Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones supplied to Moscow have played a major role in Russia’s attacks on cities and infrastructure, though Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s air defences are now skilled at downing them – about 900 of 1,160 drones aimed at Ukrainian targets were shot down.
“The simple question is this: what is your interest in being an accomplice to Russian terror?” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
“What is the benefit to Iran of such cynical killing? By Russian hands, but with your weapons, your weapons… Your Shaheds, which terrorise Ukraine every night, mean only the people of Iran are being driven deeper and deeper into the dark side of history.”

The West is forcing Ukraine to demonstrate success, says Russia​

Russian Defence Minister, Sergey Shoigu, says the West, by pumping Kyiv with weapons, is forcing Ukraine to show success on the battlefield, which only drags out the conflict, TASS reported.
“The most tense situation today has developed in the Eastern European region. The West is forcing the Kyiv regime, regardless of losses, to demonstrate tactical successes and readiness to fight” to the last Ukrainian, pumping him up with weapons. Military-technical assistance to Kyiv has already exceeded $65 bn,” said Shoigu, speaking at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) defence ministers in Belarus.
Shogiu added that the US and its allies were causing tension near the borders of member states.

Ukraine probably behind Kremlin drone strike: Report​

A drone attack on the Kremlin this month was probably orchestrated by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units, assessments by US spy agencies show.
The New York Times reported the attack appeared to be part of a series of covert operations that have made officials in the United States – Ukraine’s biggest supplier of military equipment – uncomfortable. The US assessment was based on intercepted Russian and Ukrainian communications, the newspaper said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of trying to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin in the attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promptly denied any Ukrainian involvement.

Expect more Russian-boder raids, leader of anti-Putin force says​

The Russian commander of fighters who conducted a raid on a Russian border region said his group would soon launch more incursions into Russian territory from Ukraine.
Denis Kapustin, the self-described commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, spoke to reporters on the Ukrainian side of the border, a day after Moscow said it had repelled an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region that lasted almost 24 hours.
“I think you will see us again on that side,” said Kapustin, who is known as an extreme right-wing Russian nationalist who introduced himself to reporters by his call sign “White Rex”. “The operation is ongoing.”

Russia arrests Ukrainians accused of targeting nuclear power plants​

Russia’s security service has announced the arrest of two Ukrainians who targeted nuclear power plants in the country.
“A sabotage group from the Ukrainian foreign intelligence service … tried to blow up some 30 power lines of nuclear power plants in Leningrad and Kalinin” in early May with the aim of stopping the nuclear reactors at the plants, Russian news agencies quoted the Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying in a statement.
The aim was to cause “serious economic harm to Russia and damage its reputation”, it said. The men had brought down “a pylon carrying a high-voltage line and planted mines in four pylons carrying high-voltage lines from the Leningrad nuclear power station”.
Explosives were also planted near seven similar pylons linked to the Kalinin nuclear plant, it added. The FSB also said it was looking for a third man with Ukrainian-Russian nationality, adding 36.5kg of explosives and about 60 detonators were found in the homes of the suspects and their alleged accomplices.





The defence ministers of Russia and Belarus have signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.
Separately, Russian media reported citing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu the West was waging an “undeclared war” against Russia and Belarus.
The close allies agreed earlier this year to deploy part of Moscow’s tactical nuclear arsenal in Belarus.

hdrawing units from Bakhmut: Prigozh
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has started withdrawing its forces from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said.
A video posted on Telegram by his press service showed Prigozhin dressed in battle gear and standing beside a war-damaged residential block when making the statement.
“We are withdrawing the units from Bakhmut. From today at five in the morning, May 25 until June 1, most of the units will re-base to camps in the rear. We are handing our positions to the military,” he said.
Prigozhin announced the capture of Bakhmut on Saturday after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. He said his fighters would pull out and regular Russian troops would move in to replace them.

Zelenskyy says Russia ‘terrorising’ Ukraine as 36 drones downed​

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “terrorising” Ukrainians as his military announced it shot down 36 Iranian-made attack drones deployed by Moscow’s forces.
“The enemy continued to terrorise Ukraine by launching 36 Shaheds. None reached their target,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post after the Ukrainian military said it had downed more than two dozen drones.

Six drones downed in Crimea, no victims: Governor​

Six drones were downed or blocked overnight in Russian-annexed Crimea, the region’s Moscow-appointed governor Sergey Aksyonov said.
“During the past night, six drones were shot down or blocked … in different parts of Crimea,” Aksyonov wrote on Telegram, adding, “there were no victims or injured.”
The incident comes after Moscow deployed jets and artillery against an armed group that crossed from Ukraine in the most serious attack on its soil since the Russian offensive began in February 2022.



sources Al Jazeera