‘Moving forward’: Ukraine claims gains on Bakhmut front | Russia-Ukraine war News

Ukrainian forces are advancing along parts of the front line against Russian troops near the war-torn eastern town of Bakhmut.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, said on social media on Saturday: “Our soldiers are moving forward in some areas of the front, and the enemy is losing equipment and manpower.

“The defensive operation in the direction of Bakhmut continues.”

Russia admitted on Friday the force has decreased again north of the ruined eastern Ukrainian city in a retreat that the head of Russia’s private army Wagner called a “retreat” rather than a “regroup”.

In the latest news, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces have taken control of another blockhouse in Bakhmut.

“Units of the Airborne Forces supported the assault units and took down the enemy on the flanks,” it said.

The ministry often uses the term “assault units” to refer to the Wagner private militia, which led the assault on Bakhmut with heavy casualties.

The plane was shot down

Meanwhile, videos posted on Russian social media showed a helicopter apparently shot down in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.

State news agency TASS quoted an emergency services official as saying that preliminary information indicated the engine caught fire before the crash near Klintsy, 40 kilometers from the border.

However, a video posted on Russia’s pro-war Telegram channel, Voyenniy Osvedomitel, shows a helicopter in the sky exploding, then crashing to the ground in flames.

A Russian Su-34 fighter jet also crashed in Bryansk, TASS reported. It’s not clear what brought it down.

Russia says Ukraine used long-range British-made missiles to target civilian sites in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, injuring six children.

The United Kingdom on Thursday became the first country to supply Kiev with long-range cruise missiles, allowing it to strike Russian troops and supply sites far behind the front lines.

“storm shadow The Russian Defense Ministry said air-to-air missiles supplied by Britain to the Kiev regime were used for the attack, despite London’s statement that these weapons would not be used against targets. civilian spending.

It added that Russia shot down two Ukrainian planes – a Su-24 and a MiG-29 – that launched missiles.

‘Historical Shame’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Rome on Saturday for talks with government officials and Pope Francis.

In April, the pope announced the Vatican was engaged in a peace mission tried to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine but declined to provide further details. Both Moscow and Kiev openly expressed surprise at his comments at the time.

This will be Zelenskyy’s first trip to Italy since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of the Nordic countries in Finland. He also visited the Netherlands, where he, among other things, gave a speech at the World Forum.

In Italy, he will meet privately with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before heading to the Vatican. It is expected that he will also be a guest on a famous talk show on Italian television before going to Germany.

Germany’s Defense Ministry says it is preparing a new arms package for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion), said to be Berlin’s biggest arms package since Russia invaded in 2014. last.

Kiev says the massive new weapons package is another sign that Russia will lose its war against Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said: “Countries announced massive defense aid packages to Ukraine.

The aid, he said, showed that Russia “will inevitably lose and sit on the bench of historical shame”.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he discussed the next weapons supply with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I pay close attention to the importance of supply F-16 to Ukraine and the necessary steps to start training Ukrainian pilots.”

Zelenskyy meets the pope

The meeting with the pope was arguably the most important part of Zelenskyy’s time in Italy. He previously met the pope at the Vatican in 2020, and the two have had several phone conversations since the war began.

At the start of the war, the pope tried to take a balanced approach in hopes of becoming a peacemaker but then began to strongly condemn Russia’s actions, comparing them to a number of crimes. worst for Ukraine during the Soviet era.

This week, Pope Francis met with Russia’s outgoing ambassador to the Vatican, Alexander Avdeyev, and the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that the Vatican may have given the envoy a letter to the Russians. President Putin.

Francis has often repeated his calls for peace and has frequently expressed his desire to act as a mediator between Kiev and Moscow. His offer has so far produced no breakthrough.

Zelenskyy and his team promoted Kyiv’s 10-point peace plan and called on world leaders to hold a Global Peace Summit based on the proposals.

It called for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and an end to hostilities. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that the plan is not ready for negotiations.