The Ukrainian military continues to hold on to Bakhmut.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has seen the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, as a success for his country. “The focus was on Ukraine, the respect for all Ukrainians was special,” said Zelensky in his evening video address on Sunday. As evidence of international support, he cited meetings with other leaders at the Hiroshima summit.
Washington wants to release the deliveries of Western fighter jets that Kiev has long been demanding. US President Joe Biden also announced the release of another aid package for Ukraine. However, Moscow criticized the G7 resolutions as anti-Russian.
The EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday. Here, too, it is about help for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. Meanwhile, around 15 months after the Russian war of aggression began, the situation in the hard-fought city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine remains unclear.
Dispute over the capture of Bakhmut
Moscow and Kiev take opposing positions on the question of whether Bakhmut was conquered by the Russians or not. On Saturday, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigoschin, announced the capture. Later, the regular military also announced the conquest. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the distribution of medals.
However, the Ukrainian leadership disputes Moscow’s military success. Selensky, who had initially fueled speculation about the conquest of the city with misleading statements, later rejected the complete capture of Bakhmut by Russian troops. “Bachmut was not occupied by Russia today,” he said in Hiroshima.
The Ukrainian military is also sticking by Bakhmut – at least rhetorically. “Our soldiers are holding fortifications and some premises in the south-west of the city,” Army Group East spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyy said on Ukrainian television on Sunday. However, he admitted that the situation was critical and that there was heavy fighting. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be verified independently.
Ukraine reports land gains near Bakhmut
Later, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar announced that Ukrainian troops had made further advances on the flanks. The military has taken over several mountain ranges, making it difficult for the Russians to stay in Bakhmut. The Ukrainian forces have already formed a semicircle around the city, she wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
Cherevatyj also spoke up again on Sunday evening. According to him, the military has advanced further near Bakhmut. “Especially in the last 24 hours, we advanced about 200 meters in some sections,” Cherevatyj said on Ukrainian television. The Ukrainian military has been advancing in the vicinity of the city for the whole week.
According to the military administration, several residential buildings were damaged in Russian attacks in the Sumy region in north-eastern Ukraine on Sunday. A 61-year-old man was injured in an explosion in the Kharkiv region in the east, the Ukrainian emergency services said on Telegram.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
The meeting with US President Biden at the G7 summit “as always” led to a strengthening of Ukraine, said Zelensky, who recorded his daily video on Sunday on the plane shortly before departure for Kiev. In fact, at the summit, Biden announced the release of another $375 million aid package for Ukraine. In addition, Washington wants to release the deliveries of Western fighter jets that Kiev has been demanding for a long time.
Selenski also referred to meetings with the summit participants from Vietnam and Indonesia. So far, neither country has been a supporter of Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine are seeking international support for their position. Selenskyj spoke again of a “Ukrainian peace formula” that provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied areas of Ukraine as a prerequisite for negotiations.
Ukraine expects dozens of Western fighter jets
After the US government gave in on the fighter jet debate, Ukraine is now counting on dozens of machines from the West to defend against Russia’s war of aggression. “The aircraft will not be handed over piece by piece, but in units. An air unit is at least one squadron, in our case it is currently more than 12 aircraft, in our western partners up to 18 aircraft,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on Ukrainian television on Sunday. In this way, “several dozen fighter jets to solve upcoming tasks” could be handed over to Ukraine at the beginning.
Biden announced the release of another aid package for Ukraine at the G-7 summit.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
US President Biden had previously given in to months of pressure and in principle cleared the way for the delivery of American fighter jets to Ukraine. At first, the United States refused. The country is now supporting the training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 machines, as was announced at the G7 summit. In addition, it should be decided together with other partners who will deliver how many aircraft and when. However, there are no concrete figures yet.
Moscow criticizes G7 resolutions as anti-Russia and anti-China
While Ukraine is happy, Russia has criticized the decisions of the G7 summit of the leading democratic industrial nations in Hiroshima at the weekend. Its most important result was a “collection of statements filled with anti-Russian and anti-Chinese passages,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Moscow on Sunday. The decisions of the group of seven (USA, Great Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and Germany) were aimed at deepening the dividing lines in international politics.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the G7 of seeking a “full-scale confrontation” with Russia. The Western sanctions are just as much part of a “hybrid war” as arms deliveries to Ukraine. The Russian government also blamed the G7 for the recent spike in food and energy prices.
>> Read here: China calls in Japanese ambassador after G7 summit
The situation around Bachmut remains unclear. Heavy fighting continued, especially on the flanks. In addition, the attacks on Russian-occupied hinterland are increasing, which is an indication of the upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive.
However, Kiev is also turning its attention to the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will be connected to the event via video.
More: Current news on the development of the Ukraine war can be found in our news blog