May 20, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

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French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday it is “up to the Ukrainian authorities to state the developments of their forces on the ground,” following claims from the chief of Russian private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that his forces have taken complete control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The operation “shows the difficulty the Russian army had in advancing” on the city, Macron said.

CNN could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim, but an initial response from the Ukrainian side disputed it.

Ukraine’s 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.

Macron did not speak further on the Wagner claim, but said the presence of Zelensky at the G7 summit in Hiroshima is “important.”

The French president also said the G7 is an opportunity to “discuss, exchange views and convince partners” invited this year – including India, Indonesia and Brazil – regarding Ukraine.

“There will be the opportunity to explain the situation,” he told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he had discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “further cooperation” on security and defense, the situation on the front line and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.?

“Started another day of the G7 Summit with a meeting with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau,” Zelensky tweeted.?

“We discussed further cooperation in the security and defense sphere, the situation on the front line, training of Ukrainian officers within the UNIFIER Canadian training mission, the importance of implementing all points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration,” he wrote.?

Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which launched in 2015 and in 2022 was expanded and extended until March 2025.?

Zelensky also said that he was “grateful” to Trudeau and Canada for their assistance in de-mining its territories and for the?“prompt processing of our requests by the government of Canada and Canadian manufacturers.”

Zelensky is currently in Hiroshima, Japan, where he is joining G7 summit talks and meeting with G7 leaders on Sunday.?

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a press conference in Moscow on September 9, 2021.?

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday congratulated Wagner mercenaries and Russia’s armed forces after they claimed to have taken control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

“All distinguished fighters will be granted state awards,” the Kremlin added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks at a press conference in Moscow on May 17.

Police removed several people Saturday outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel?in the country of Georgia, where relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were reportedly staying, according to Georgian public broadcaster First Channel.?

The opposition United National Movement party held a protest outside the hotel in northeastern Georgia to express their anger following local media reports that Lavrov’s relatives were staying there.

Videos posted on social media showed violent scenes of police officers roughly grabbing protesters gathered outside the hotel. In one video, police officers can be seen holding a protester by the throat.?

Georgian media reported that Lavrov’s relatives had traveled to Georgia for the wedding of the brother of Lavrov’s son-in-law, Alexandre Vinokourov.?

Lavrov’s daughter, Ekaterina Vinokurova —?who is married to Vinokourov — has been sanctioned by the UK, the United States and Canada.

Police removed several people outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel in Georgia on May 20.

Tensions are already high this week, after direct flights between Russia and Georgia resumed Friday, lifting restrictions imposed in 2019.

The move was condemned by the country’s President Salome?Zourabichvili, who holds a largely ceremonial role and has opposed the government’s alignment with Russia.

Zourabichvili expressed disbelief Saturday that the Georgian government didn’t know that “the daughter of the highest-ranking official, from Putin’s immediate circle, who is under sanctions” had entered Georgia for the wedding, First Channel said.

The president said she had been informed by a government official that the family has now left the country, but she urged authorities to heed the lists of Russian individuals sanctioned by Georgia’s “partner countries.”

More about Georgia: Since winning its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia has played a balancing act between pro-European sentiment among its citizens and the influence of its powerful neighbor Russia. The country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, has faced repeated accusations of close ties with Moscow, most notably during efforts to pass a foreign agents bill in March, which critics said mirrored controversial Russian laws.?

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed Saturday that it has seized the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, echoing claims from the Wagner mercenary group that officials in Ukraine have so far disputed.

Calling the city by it’s Soviet-Russian name, the ministry said: “As a result of offensive actions by Wagner assault units, supported by artillery and aviation of the Yug Group of Forces, the liberation of Artyomovsk has been completed.”

Wagner’s chief claimed his troops had completely captured the city earlier Saturday, while Ukraine’s deputy defense minister insisted fighting continued, with Kyiv’s forces holding on to the city’s westernmost edge.

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield claims.

In recent reports from the front, Ukraine’s military had focused on progress made in areas surrounding the city, while Wagner forces had said they were consolidating territory closer to the city center.

International Criminal Court (ICC) leadership expressed deep concern over the arrest warrant issued by Russia’s government for one of the court’s prosecutors this week.

In a statement Saturday, the ICC called Russia’s actions against prosecutor Karim Khan, “acts of intimidation and unacceptable attempts to undermine the mandate of the International Criminal Court to investigate, sanction and prevent the commission of the gravest international crimes.”

The ICC said in a separate statement Saturday that it is “aware and profoundly concerned about unwarranted and unjustified coercive measures reportedly taken against ICC officials, notably the Prosecutor of the Court and the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber II by the authorities of the Russian Federation.”

Some context: In March, the ICC — whose jurisdiction is not recognized by Russia — issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and another Moscow official, Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging they were involved in the deportation and “reeducation” of Ukrainian children in Russia.?

Later in March, Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the ICC judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Aytala, and Sergio Godinez, as well as Khan.?

On Friday, Russian state news agency TASS reported that Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs had issued an arrest warrant for Khan.

CNN’s Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting.

US President Joe Biden is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday, underscoring US support for Ukraine as top US officials herald a unified Group of Seven summit.?

Biden, the official said, “will continue to reiterate the United States’ firm and resolute support for Ukraine going forward.”??

The official pointed to a “powerful statement of unity” from the G7 countries standing against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at this week’s summit, including sanctions and the announcement of a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft — efforts that were “spearheaded” by US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Asked about the possibility of China playing a role in ending Russia’s war, the official said the US hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping views this week’s summit as a signal of “resolve.”?

Biden is also expected to have a trilateral meeting with South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida early Sunday afternoon local time. The official called the relationships a “priority” for Biden. The leaders will discuss security, economics and other topics.

Remember: The G7 comprises the world’s most advanced industrialized democracies: the US, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Italy. Tokyo has also invited several other rising economic powers and regional players to the meetings.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi speaks at the opening of the inter-religious meeting "The Cry of Peace" in Rome on October 23, 2022.

Pope Francis has entrusted Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, with leading a peace mission to address the war in Ukraine, according to the Holy See press office.

The mission is aimed to contribute “to an easing of tensions in the Ukraine conflict, in the hopes that this can initiate paths of peace, something never abandoned by the Holy Father,” Matteo Bruni, the director of the office, told journalists Saturday in the statement.

The statement added that the Vatican is still looking into how and when Zuppi will undertake the mission.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut on March 5.

Over the early part of 2023, the routes into the eastern city of Bakhmut had gradually come under the control of Russian forces, and the battle for the city turned into an inch-by-inch grind, with Ukrainian forces repelling dozens of assaults each day.

Rather than drive directly toward the city center, Wagner troops sought to encircle the city in a wide arc from the north.

In January, they claimed the nearby town of Soledar, and later took a string of villages and hamlets north of Bakhmut, making Ukraine’s defense of the city increasingly perilous.

But even as Moscow’s troops closed in and most residents fled through dangerous evacuation corridors, a small group of Ukrainian civilians remained in the ruined city. Before the war, around 70,000 people lived in Bakhmut. As of March, it stood at less than 4,000.

The battle has been likened to the kind of fighting seen in World War I. Pictures from the area showed soldiers wading through mud with trees mangled by artillery fire.

Now, after months of brutal fighting, the head of Russian private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Saturday that his forces have taken complete control of the city, while a top Ukrainian defense official said her country’s troops were holding on to Bakhmut’s westernmost edge.

Dmitrii Prishedko and Victor Bondar operate an evacuation train heading from Pokrovsk, Ukraine, to Lviv, Ukraine.

The evacuation trains began in the morning, just hours after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Overnight, railway workers became rescue workers. Tens of thousands of refugees were pouring into train stations from Ukraine’s east.

Photojournalist?Jelle Krings?spent about a week at one station in Lviv, watching those first trains come in.

Railway workers look to repair a stretch of tracks that was damaged by shelling the day before.

Since the Russian invasion began, Krings has been documenting these unsung heroes in a photo series he calls Iron People.

Ukraine’s railway system, with nearly 15,000 miles of tracks,?is the 12th-largest in the world. It has become an essential lifeline?during the war, helping millions of Ukrainians find safety.

Inside an evacuation train, families travel in a carriage reserved for children with special needs. They were heading to Chop, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border.

Krings explained that there are two basic ways that the railways have been indispensable for Ukraine in this war.

The first is, of course, the evacuation effort. At least 10 million Ukrainians — almost a quarter of the population —?have been forced to flee their homes, the head of the United Nations’ refugee agency said in March. Most of them have been internally displaced; others have found refuge in nearby countries such as?Georgia, Poland and Romania.

But the railway system has also made a huge impact on the battlefield, and in different ways, Krings said. There’s the logistical value, transporting massive military equipment to help in the war effort. And then there’s a more subtle benefit.

“Ukraine’s a huge country, and (the railway) is being used for military personnel to be able to travel around and go back to their families between their trips to the front lines,” Krings said. “This has been a huge morale booster.”

Ukrainian serviceman Dima and his newly wedded wife, Veronica, are married during Dima’s break from the front line.

You can read more here.

Ukrainian troops are engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces in and around the long-contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said in its daily update Saturday.??

“Heavy fighting for the city of Bakhmut continues. In addition, during the day, the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Bila Hora,” it said, referring to a village to the southwest of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces have succeeded in regaining small pockets of territory there in the last fortnight.

Competing claims: Earlier Saturday, the chief of the Russian private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed his forces have taken complete control of Bakhmut after months of brutal fighting.

CNN could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim, and Ukrainian officials have disputed it, saying they are still holding territory on the western edge of the city.

Smoke rises from buildings in Bakhmut on April 26.

?Senior Ukrainian officers have, for at least the last seven months, questioned the military imperative behind their orders to hold the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Russia’s private military company, Wagner, now claims to completely control the city, though Ukraine has partially disputed the report, saying it clings to a portion of the city’s western edge.

If the fight for Bakhmut is indeed drawing to a close, it brings an end to a brutal, grinding campaign that dragged on for months.

Every single senior Ukrainian officer I have spoken to since October last year said the city has no strategic value. Some questioned even the morality of continuing to defend it, in the face of intense Russian attacks.

Others recognized the symbolic importance of taking a stand — particularly as it became such a focus of media attention — and a test of political will in Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelensky committed his country to an indefinite defense of it.

Once famous for producing the best sparkling wine in Ukraine, Bakhmut is now notorious, and described by fighting men on both sides as the “meat grinder.”

Ukrainian forces are now, from a military perspective, likely to be in a stronger position than they were before their withdrawal from the center of the town.

They control significant territory on Bakhmut’s northern and southern flanks, and the high ground to the west. Meanwhile, everything in what remains of Bakhmut — and that’s almost nothing — is now a free-fire zone for Ukraine.

Russian attempts to invest it with troops will make Putin’s soldiers easy targets for Ukrainian artillery and rocket attacks.

In short, Wagner’s declared “victory” in the small Ukrainian city may be pyrrhic —?won at too great a cost to be worthwhile.

According to Wagner, the battle for the city of Bakhmut has come to an end, as the Russian private military group claims its forces have taken complete control of the long-contested city in eastern Ukraine.

CNN could not independently verify Wagner’s claim, and a message from a Ukrainian defense official partially disputed it, saying Kyiv’s troops still hold a small part of the city.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces will hand control of Bakhmut to the Russian military on May 25.

The city can be viewed largely as a symbolic target for Moscow, though it also provides important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

Here’s what else you should know in a day of major developments for the war in Ukraine:

G7 summit: G7 members are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a surprise attendee. The G7 comprises the world’s most advanced industrialized democracies: the US, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Italy. Tokyo has also invited Australia, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, all rising economic powerhouses and key Asian regional players.

At the summit, leaders decided on a plan to counter Moscow and agreed to “support Ukraine for as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression.” The G7 also called on China?to press Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” and stop its military aggression.

Indian?Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with Zelensky at the summit, where he assured his country will do “everything we can” to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine. It was the first time the two met since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which?Modi has not outright denounced, despite sending humanitarian aid.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized the decisions made at the G7 summit as cynical ploys to?hold back Russia and China.

On the ground: Russia launched another “massive drone attack” at?Kyiv?during the early morning hours Saturday, marking their 11th airstrike this month, the city’s military administration said.

Meanwhile, Russian troops in occupied Mariupol, a city in Ukraine’s?southeast,?are receiving backup after?explosions?rocked a Russian base there Friday, a local Ukrainian official said.

Military aid: Zelensky thanked the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the leadership he says the UK has shown building an international coalition to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets. Russia’s deputy foreign minister denounced the coalition, warning Western countries of “enormous risks for themselves” if Ukraine is provided with F-16 fighter jets, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Saturday, May 20.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his government is preparing “new joint steps” with its allies in response to Russia’s war.?

Zelensky said he held separate meetings with leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, India, Germany and the European Commission.?

The Ukrainian president also said he submitted Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula to the participants of the Arab League Summit on Friday.?

“And we will do everything to ensure that the world’s involvement in our peace initiative is as high as possible,” he added.?

Zelensky mentioned India in particular, saying that he believes the country “will take part in the restoration of the international order based on the rules that are obviously needed by all free nations.”?

Zelensky met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. Modi – who has so far refused to condemn the invasion – said India would do “everything we can” to help end the war.

CNN’s Simone McCarthy contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Saturday.?

The French president tweeted a video showing him holding a meeting with Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials.?

Macron can be heard in the video saying it was “a very good idea” that Zelensky went to Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit before coming to the G7 summit.

Zelensky arrived at the Hiroshima G7 summit on Saturday aboard a French government plane.??

Prominent American figures —?including US dignitaries, entertainment icons and CNN journalists — will no longer be allowed to enter Russia, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The list contains hundreds of names, ranging from former US President Barack Obama to late night television hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers, as well as former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, several US senators and the next expected chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.

CNN’s Erin Burnett was among those included in the growing list of US journalists sanctioned by Moscow. She said Friday that the move by Russia is “why covering this war every night matters, and we will continue to do it.”

See her reaction here:

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a press conference in Moscow on May 18.

The decisions made at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima were aimed to?hold back Russia and China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday.

In a Saturday joint statement, the G7 leaders in Japan said they agree to “support Ukraine for as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression” and to “coordinate our approach to economic resilience and economic security.”

The leaders also mentioned a series of positions related to China, including the need to counter “economic coercion” and protect advanced technologies that could threaten national security, while also stressing that cooperation with Beijing was necessary.

CNN’s Sandi Sidhu and Simone McCarthy contributed reporting.

A Ukrainian tank travels near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 12.

The Wagner Group’s claim to have captured Bakhmut represents the rarest of things – a tangible battlefield gain for Russia after months of stasis and setbacks.

The city provides important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

But any celebrations are likely to be tempered by the manpower and resources Russia poured into capturing Bakhmut, and Ukraine’s reports of continued fighting in areas immediately surrounding the city.

Taking a small city whose population has largely fled is also a long way from Russia’s original goals of capturing Kyiv and toppling the Ukrainian government.

Kyiv, too, is likely to face questions over its approach in Bakhmut. A Ukrainian defense official claimed Saturday that its forces are still clinging to a portion of the city, though she admitted the situation is “critical.”

Just this week, Ukraine’s military had claimed fresh advances in the area, suggesting continuing efforts in the city.

Speaking to CNN in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed reports of divisions among his commanders about the merits of fighting on in Bakhmut.

One of his advisers said Ukraine’s forces aimed at buying time to replenish their forces and inflicting losses on Russia.

In the interview, Zelensky warned that Russian troops would have an “open road” to capture key cities if Ukraine gave up Bakhmut, defending his decision to keep fighters there.?

Now, with a Ukrainian counteroffensive due, the question remains: Which side comes out stronger if the battle for Bakhmut has truly come to an end?

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military group, holds a Russian flag in this image from a video released on May 20.

The chief of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Saturday that his forces have taken complete control of the long-contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.?

“The operation to capture Bakhmut lasted 224 days,” he said in a video posted to Telegram, seeking to claim a final victory for the city.

CNN could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim, and a message from a Ukrainian defense official partially 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 the ‘Airplane’ district of the city,” which is on Bakhmut’s westernmost edge.?

While Russian forces have continued their slow street-by-street advance in the city itself for many months, Ukrainian forces have recently managed to re-capture small pockets of outlying territory to the northwest and southwest of the city.?

Prigozhin claimed his forces will hand the control of Bakhmut to the Russian military on May 25.

Background on Bakhmut: The eastern city has been the focal point of a grinding battle between Ukrainian and Russia fighters.

Stark satellite photos show how much it has changed over the past year, with the city in ruins in many areas.

The city sits toward the northeast of the Donetsk region, about 13 miles from Luhansk region, and has been a target for Russian forces for months. Since last summer, the city has been a stone’s throw from the front lines, so its capture would represent a long sought-after success for Moscow’s forces – and bring some limited strategic value.

The city has important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region: eastward to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

More from Prigozhin: In the video, the Wagner leader thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for giving his fighters the “honor to defend our Motherland,” but he also called out “the Russian bureaucracy” — as he has publicly and forcefully done in the past few months — particularly Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

They “turned the war into their own entertainment,” he claimed. “… Because of their whims, five times more guys died.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko speaks in Moscow, Russia, in February.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has warned Western countries of “enormous risks for themselves” if Ukraine is provided with F-16 fighter jets, Russian state media TASS reported Saturday.

“Movement is underway on the so-called escalation ladder,” Alexander Grushko was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a meeting of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.?

“We see that the Western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario. It involves enormous risks for themselves. In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the set goals,” Grushko added.

US President Joe Biden informed G7 leaders Friday that the US will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced aircraft, including F-16s, a senior administration official told CNN.?

Biden reversed his previous objections to providing the fighter jets because he believes in equipping the country for a long-term fight against Russia,?his top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters Saturday in Japan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has framed his pitch for Western fighter jets as a matter of his country’s survival, now more than one year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

A residential building is seen damaged by remains of a Russian drone shot down by Ukrainian Air Defence Forces in?Kyiv on Saturday.

Russia launched another “massive drone attack” at Kyiv during the early hours of the morning, marking their eleventh airstrike this month, the city’s military administration said Saturday.

“The enemy is doing its utmost to strike key targets in Kyiv city and simultaneously deplete our air defense resources,” the local military said in a statement.

“In this way, Russians are aiming at putting the civilian population under deep psychological stress. That is why they attack Kyiv from the air almost daily,” the statement added.

The air raid alarm in the Ukrainian capital has only been silent for four days in May due to the regular attacks in the region.

Russia used 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones and one of its Merlin reconnaissance UAVs in the latest assault, according to the statement. The Ukrainian Air Force identified and destroyed all of them, the military claimed, and no one was hurt or killed.

The attack did not significantly damage any major infrastructure, the Ukrainian officials added added.

Bombardment earlier this week:?Tuesday morning similarly saw an aerial attack on the city, which Russia claimed to have destroyed a US-made Patriot air defense system, despite the Ukrainian military saying all 18 Russian missiles launched were intercepted and destroyed.

Two?components of a?Patriot battery?were damaged?in the attack but the system “was never offline,” according to a US official familiar with the matter.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the leadership he says the UK has shown building an international coalition to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets.??

The pair met during a bilateral meeting on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan, during the G7 summit, according to a readout from the Ukrainian Presidency.?

Earlier this week, the UK and the Netherlands announced plans to build?an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets “at this pivotal moment in the resistance to Putin’s invasion,” a Downing Street readout said Tuesday.?

Getting hold of F-16 fighter jets has been a key focus for the Ukrainian leader of late, emphasizing in a taped address to the Copenhagen?Democracy Summit on Monday that?F-16s would help Ukraine in, “defending freedom.”??

On Friday, US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that he will support the joint effort and train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircrafts including F-16s, a stark turnaround from the US leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20.?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured his country will do “everything we can” to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The pair met on the sidelines of the Hiroshima’s G7 summit Saturday, for the the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.?

“The war in Ukraine is a big issue for the whole world. It has also had many effects on the whole world. But I don’t consider it to be just an issue of economy or politics. For me, it is an issue of humanity,” Modi said.

“I will assure you that India and I, personally, will do everything we can to resolve it,” he added.?

Zelensky briefed Modi “in detail on the Ukrainian Peace Formula and invited India to join the implementation of this initiative,” a Ukrainian readout of the meeting said.??

The background: India has strong ties to Russia dating back to the Cold War, and remains heavily dependent on Moscow for its military equipment. More recently, the country ramped up purchases of Russian energy.

Although New Delhi has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine throughout the course of the war, it has abstained from UN resolutions calling for its withdrawal and condemning its invasion.

Last year, Modi spoke to Putin of the need to?“move onto a path of peace”?during a face-to-face with the Russian leader on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan in September.

A series of Russian rocket strikes across Russian-held Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday has lead to fatalities and damaged infrastructures across the region, the head of the Donetsk region military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

“Two people died in the Chasiv Yar community. One person was wounded in Toretsk, four buildings were damaged as well as an infrastructure facility,” Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

Kyrylenko added that Vuhledar was also targeted by a dozen of artillery shelling, while two buildings were damaged in Bohoyavlenka.????

The village of Poltavka was also struck by a Russian rocket attack, damaging a utility space and several buildings.???

Last week, Russia’s Defense Ministry said two senior Russian military officers had been killed in the region.

To the north of Donetsk, Ukrainian counterattacks in Bakhmut are reducing Russia’s offensive potential and gaining time for planned attacks, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.

Russian troops in occupied Mariupol, a city in Ukraine’s?southeast,?are receiving “backup” to strengthen their defense and help relocate military equipment after explosions at a Russian base on Friday,??according to an adviser to the elected mayor of Mariupol.

“Starting 8am there’s active relocation of helicopters from Berdiansk direction towards Mariupol along the coastline,” Petro Andriushchenko said Saturday.?

According to footage posted on social media and residents’ accounts, there had been at least two explosions in the Russian-occupied city Friday evening. On the day, Andriushchenko said on Telegram that the base attacked housed around 150 troops and was primarily used for air defense support.

According to Andriushchenko, Russia activated their air defense system on Saturday morning and launched multiple rockets and the Shaheds (Iranian-made attack drones] from Yeisk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk over the coastline villages towards Zaporizhzhia.

This week marks one year since the?strategic port city?of Mariupol fell to Russian control.

World leaders are seein Hiroshima on Saturday.

The G7 leaders have agreed to “support Ukraine for as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression,” according to a joint statement Saturday.

“We commit to intensifying our diplomatic, financial, humanitarian, and military support for Ukraine, to increasing the costs to Russia and those supporting its war efforts,” the group said, while affirming “unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to bring a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace.”

The leaders also called on China to press Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” and stop its military aggression.

“We encourage China to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, including through its direct dialogue with Ukraine,” the communiqué said.

Some context: China has sought to portray itself as a peacemaker in the conflict, but is yet to call on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.

While Western leaders have hoped Chinese leader Xi Jinping might use his close rapport with Putin to end the war, analysts say that outcome is unlikely at this stage, given Beijing’s interests in maintaining its relationship with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky started his appointments at the Hiroshima G7 summit Saturday with a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister?Giorgia Meloni.

His diplomatic sprint continued with a one-on-one meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Zelensky remained in the room following his conversation with Meloni, with Sunak entering later and greeting Ukraine’s premier with a hug.

World leaders are seen at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on Saturday.

Leaders of the G7 nations have decided a plan to counter risks such as Russia’s “weaponization of energy,” according to a joint statement Saturday.?

G7 members are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a surprise attendee.

“We will work together to ensure that attempts to weaponize economic dependencies by forcing G7 members and our partners, including small economies, to comply and conform will fail and face the consequences,” the statement said.?

“Drawing lessons from recent incidents of weaponizing energy and other economic dependencies, we stand firmly against such behavior,” it added.?

What this all means: Russia has long been accused of “weaponizing” energy, manipulating prices and supply as a means to gain political leverage.

Europe in particular has sought to wean itself off Russian energy since the Ukraine war began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tweeted about “important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine” following his arrival in Japan, where he is expected to join world leaders attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Hiroshima for the G7 Summit on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in Japan, where he is to meet world leaders at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

A French government plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr?Zelensky?arrives at Hiroshima airport for his attendance to the G7 leaders' summit on Saturday.

A French government plane has landed in Hiroshima, as seen on a live feed from Japan’s Public Broadcaster NHK.

Earlier Saturday, a diplomatic source told CNN that Zelensky would arrive at the Hiroshima G7 summit on a French government plane.

Russia is banning “500 Americans” from entering the country.

The move is in response?to the “regularly anti-Russian sanctions” imposed by the US administration,?according to a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

The rambling, indiscriminate list of names includes former President Barack Obama, former US Ambassador John Huntsman, several US senators and the next?expected?chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Charles Q. Brown Jr. Also included is?CNN anchor Erin Burnett.

Hours earlier, at the Group of Seven summit, the Biden administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Here are other headlines to know:

Zelensky heads to Japan: President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel in person to Japan for the?G7 summit, according to officials familiar with the planning, a stark display of confidence and Western solidarity as Ukraine’s wartime leader tries to keep crucial support from allied nations flowing. The surprise trip – which?would be the Ukrainian president’s first to Asia since?Moscow’s invasion?of his country last February – comes as Kyiv is preparing a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russia and building pressure on partner governments for more military aid amid intensifying aerial attacks.

Arab League meeting: Zelensky told Arab leaders Friday in Saudi Arabia that “here among you” are people who “turn a blind eye” to Ukraine’s suffering, urging them to “take an honest look.” Syrian President?Bashar al-Assad attended the?Arab League summit?for the first time in a decade and was seen on camera in the conference room minutes ahead of Zelensky’s speech. Syria was only one of only two countries in the world (along with North Korea) to recognize Russia’s claimed annexations last year of four Ukrainian regions.

On the ground: There were at least two explosions Friday night in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, according to social media video and the accounts of residents on community channels. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine claims?the explosions took place at a base for Moscow’s forces. CNN cannot independently verify the officials’ claims, and the local Russian-installed administration has not yet commented on the explosions or what caused them

Meanwhile, the pace of Ukrainian counterattacks around Bakhmut slowed down Friday, but “very fierce fighting continues” in the eastern city, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. Ukrainian forces?have claimed advancements?in several areas in recent days, despite coming under heavy fire from Russian troops. But Maliar acknowledged that Russian forces had made advances within the city limits.

US diplomatic appointment: US President Joe Biden formally nominated James O’Brien to serve as the top State Department official for European affairs — a key role for guiding Washington’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood first reported that O’Brien was expected to be tapped for the role. He currently serves as the head of the sanctions coordination office at the State Department.

Secret shipments: The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group has been working to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by trying to source the materials from Mali, where the group has a strong foothold, a US official told CNN. There are no signs yet that Wagner has successfully procured the equipment, but the group has continued working to procure mines, drones, radar and counter-battery systems from contacts in Mali for use in Ukraine, the official said.

US assistance for pilots: President Joe Biden on Friday told G7 leaders the United States will support an effort to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced aircraft, including F-16s, a senior administration official tells CNN. The joint training effort is not expected to happen in the US, the official said, and will likely happen entirely in Europe. But US personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners, the official said. It is expected to take several months to complete.

NATO developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden’s NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country. “As long as Sweden continues to allow the offshoots of terror groups in Turkey to roam free in Sweden, in the streets of Stockholm, we cannot look favorably on Sweden’s membership in NATO,” Erdogan said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive at the Hiroshima G7 summit aboard a French government plane, a diplomatic source confirmed to CNN Saturday.

The source declined to comment on when Zelensky would arrive in Hiroshima.?

Zelensky traveled to the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday also aboard a French government plane, according to the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed the in-person attendance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and indicated that President Joe Biden will meet with him.

He added that he did not have a formal announcement on a meeting to share at this time, but that Biden “looks forward to the opportunity to be able to sit down face-to-face” with Zelensky.

Sullivan did not provide details on Zelensky’s travel to Japan, but said the US was “not the party – the country – that flew him?here.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed Zelensky’s attendance.

Kishida said in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement that Japan’s government has decided to hold a session on Ukraine with G7 leaders on Sunday, which is the last day of the summit.

The statement confirmed that Kishida and Zelensky also plan to hold a bilateral meeting on Sunday.?

Kishida reiterated that “the situation in Ukraine” is one of the main agenda items of the G7 Hiroshima Summit and that it “is important to reflect the voice of Ukraine.”

Some context: Zelensky’s in-person participation seemed more in flux Saturday morning in Japan, leaving open the possibility he could ultimately join only virtually. The sensitive nature of his security arrangements meant officials were wary of saying exactly how he would participate in the meeting.

CNN’s Junko Ogura in Hiroshima, Japan, contributed reporting.?

President Joe Biden on Friday told G7 leaders the United States will support an effort to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced aircraft, including F-16s, a senior administration official tells CNN.

The joint training effort is not expected to happen in the US, the official said, and will likely happen entirely in Europe. But US personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners, the official said. It is expected to take several months to complete.

The official repeated a US refrain on the subject of military assistance for Ukraine, saying it has been primarily focused thus far on preparing Kyiv with weapons, equipment and training it needs immediately to fight its anticipated counteroffensive.

“Discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force reflect?our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense,” the official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is on his way to the G7 summit, said he welcomes the United States’ “historic decision” to support “an international fighter jet coalition.”

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, said the president would discuss the issue in detail when he meets with Biden.

“Ukraine will very soon get everything necessary in order to protect our Ukrainian sky, our cities and our citizens,” Yermak told Ukrainian television.

The push for fighter jets: Top Ukrainian officials have escalated their public lobbying campaign for US-made F-16s in recent months, arguing they need them urgently to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks.

The?Biden administration has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to?export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN, though the US remains reluctant to send any of its own F-16s to Kyiv.

In March, the US hosted two Ukrainian pilots at a military base in Tucson, Arizona, to evaluate their skills using flight simulators and to assess how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s. Congress set aside money in the 2023 budget for such training.

A spokesperson for United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier this week that the UK and the Netherlands were looking to form an “international coalition” not only to procure the jets for Ukraine but also to train Ukrainian pilots on the fourth generation fighters, which are more advanced than the Ukrainian fleet.

CNN’s Yulia Kesaieva contributed reporting to this post.

Russia is banning?“500?Americans,” including many prominent figures of US executive power,?from entering the country “in a response?to the regularly anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration,”?according to a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

The list includes former President Barack Obama, former US Ambassador John Huntsman, several US senators and the next?expected?chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Charles Q. Brown Jr.

The rambling, indiscriminate list of names also includes late-night television hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers.?

Also included is CNN anchor Erin Burnett. It is an update of a previously published longer list of sanctioned individuals that includes CNN’s chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh and CNN contributors Bianna Golodryga and Timothy Naftali.?While the list was labeled “500 Americans,”?Paton Walsh is a British citizen.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified the publication of the list in a statement on its website, saying, “It is high time for Washington to learn that not a single hostile attack against Russia will go without a strong reaction.”

Russia’s MFA did not specify complaints against each individual or explain what the sanctions would mean beyond a ban from entering the county.

In addition, the MFA said it is continuing to deny a US embassy request for consular access to US journalist Evan Gershkovich “due to the failure to issue visas to Russian journalists from the?Lavrov?pool,” referencing the visit to the United Nations last month by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Some background: The Biden administration on Friday unveiled new sanctions targeting Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on “22 individuals and 104 entities, with touchpoints in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions,” the agency said in a news release.

A Ukrainian armored infantry carrier travels along a road near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

The pace of Ukrainian counterattacks around Bakhmut slowed down Friday, but “very fierce fighting continues” in the eastern city, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.

In an update, Maliar claimed the Russians had “increased the presence of troops in the Bakhmut sector by several thousand people and is trying to use its advantage in heavy artillery and the number of shells.”?

Maliar added that Ukraine’s defense of Bakhmut was reducing Russia’s offensive potential and was gaining time for “other planned actions.”

She said Russians were reducing buildings in the city to ashes.

But Ukrainian troops were still holding an area near the city’s airplane monument and remained in the vicinity of the monument in the far-southwest corner of Bakhmut, she added.

The State Border Guard Service, which has units in the Bakhmut area, said enemy infantry was repelled and had taken casualties.

A commander in the Ukrainian military’s Third Assault Brigade, Andriy Biletsky, said over the past two days, two companies of the Russian 72nd?Brigade had been defeated and retreated. On Thursday, the Brigade said it had gained an area two kilometers wide and 700 meters deep.

But Biletsky noted that “the offensive does not come at small price for us.”

Ukraine's Anhelina?Kalinina?celebrates after winning her semi final match against Russia's Veronika?Kudermetova?on Friday, May 19 in Rome.

Ukrainian tennis player Anhelina Kalinina refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent following her victory in the semifinals of the Rome Masters in Italy on Friday.?

“We didn’t shake hands because the girl is from Russia basically. It’s no secret why I didn’t shake, because this country actually attack Ukraine,” Kalinina told reporters?after the match against Russian player Veronika Kudermetova.

Kudermetova, when asked about her relationship with Kalinina and the influence of “political overtones,” said, “Here we’re athletes. We’re here, and we love what we do here. Doesn’t matter from which country you are. We’re athletes and that’s it. We are here to play tennis.”

Kalinina denied the idea that her opponent’s nationality influenced the topsy-turvy nature of the match, describing Kudermetova as “a top player, a very great player. It was about tennis.”

Kalinina, who came into the tournament ranked 47th in the world compared to Kudermetova at 12th, won in three sets.?

The 26-year-old Ukrainian said a bomb exploded near the tennis academy where her parents work in Kyiv. She also said her grandparents had moved away from Nova Kakhovka, her hometown, after an explosion near their house.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks with CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden’s NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

Erdogan can’t look favorably on Sweden’s membership bid, “as long as Sweden continues to allow the offshoots of terror groups in Turkey to roam free on the streets of Stockholm,” he said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Key context: Erdogan has long accused Sweden of harboring militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, a designated terror group in?Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe.

Erdogan says he would like these individuals extradited, but Stockholm has made clear this won’t happen. The stalemate has blocked Sweden’s accession to NATO even as fellow Nordic country Finland moved ahead in the process and officially joined the alliance last month.

Some Western officials and Middle East observers have suggested the terrorism claims provide cover for Erdogan not to engage with the NATO question and potentially anger Russian President Vladimir Putin at a politically inconvenient time.

Russia provided an economic lifeline to Turkey after other nations imposed sanctions on Ankara, and Putin remains an attractive partner in the country’s post-earthquake rebuilding efforts, Gonul Tol, an academic with the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, told CNN in March.

What it means for the war in Ukraine: Finland’s acceptance into the US-led security alliance dealt a blow to Putin, who has?long sought?to undermine NATO. Before invading Ukraine, he demanded the bloc refrain from further expansion.

The invasion instead drove non-aligned Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutrality and seek protection within NATO.

If Sweden eventually succeeds in joining the alliance, it will vastly change the security landscape in northeastern Europe, adding significantly to NATO’s frontier with Russia.