Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

The Kremlin’s spokesperson acknowledged that the “special military operation” in Ukraine is complex, particularly in Bakhmut, but said he had no doubt that the besieged Donetsk town “will be captured and will be kept under control.”

“The special military operation continues. It is a very, very difficult operation and of course certain goals have been achieved in a year,” Dmitry Peskov told a Bosnian Serb television channel ATV on Wednesday in comments translated by Google.

The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces claimed Wednesday that Russian forces had been pushed back as much as 1.2 miles on certain parts of the front line around Bakhmut. Military analysts agree that Ukraine has “conducted successful limited counterattacks around Bakhmut” in recent days.

Even Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner Group, a private military company whose mercenary fighters are engaged in intense fighting in Bakhmut, said earlier this week that Russia’s 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade had abandoned positions on the southwestern outskirts of the town as he continued to plead for more ammunition for his troops.

Prigozhin has repeatedly complained his fighters weren’t receiving adequate support from Russia’s defense ministry, with whom he has a strained relationship, and has threatened to pull his troops out of the area. Prigozhin has made numerous statements criticizing the ministry and even appeared to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin the other day, a rare instance of a high-profile Russian doing so.

Commenting on the situation in Bakhmut, Peskov said “there are very heavy offensive operations going on there and it is a very, very powerfully fortified area.”

“Emotions are boiling over there. I will not mention anyone’s last name, but I will say that, regardless of what they say and what statements they make, this is about the armed forces of the Russian Federation. These are all Russian forces. They are all the same forces, which always follow the same goal. We have no doubt that Artyomovsk [Russia’s name for Bakhmut] will be brought under control, that it will be determined later,” he said.

– Holly Ellyatt

Russian troops have retreated to a distance of up to two kilometers (1.2 miles) on parts of the front in Bakhmut as a result of counteroffensives, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces said Wednesday.

The embattled town in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine has been at the center of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, many of whom are mercenary fighters in the Wagner Group, for many months.

“Thanks to the well-thought-out defense in Bakhmut direction, we are getting the results of the efficient actions of our units,” Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, posted on Telegram.

“Among other things, we carry out effective counterattacks. In some areas of the front, the enemy could not withstand the onslaught of the Ukrainian defenders and retreated to a distance of up to two kilometers,” he added.

Syrskyi said the competence of Ukrainian fighters “exhausted” mercenary fighters of the Wagner Group and “forced them to be replaced in certain directions by less well-prepared units of the Russian regular troops, who were defeated and left.”

The fight to capture (and defend) Bakhmut has been taking place for nine months, with the town reduced to ruins. Military analysts have been impressed by the fact that Ukraine has held on to the town despite semi-encirclement by Russian forces and the logistical challenges of getting supplies to its fighters.

“Despite the significant concentration of troops and the loud statements by Russian war criminals about their intention to capture Bakhmut by May 9, the enemy has been still unable to capture the Ukrainian city,” Syrskyi said.

“Our defense forces reliably hold the front and prevent the enemy from advancing. The battle for Bakhmut continues,” he added. Syrskyi praised “the work of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade which dealt a powerful blow to the enemy in battle and showed the strength of the Ukrainian army.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine unveiled a recent delivery of 100 exploding “Viy” drones to be used in its campaign against Russia.

These exploding drones have a 7-kilometer combat zone and are also resistant to enemy electronic warfare. They can carry both armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation shells.

The design and manufacture of the ‘Viy” drone are almost entirely Ukrainian.

— Pavlo Palamarchuk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The Russian 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade stationed on the frontlines of fighting near Bakhmut sustained heavy damage and fled the area, a Ukrainian military unit said, according to Reuters.

“The 6th and 7th squadrons of this brigade were almost entirely destroyed, brigade intelligence was destroyed, a large number of fighting vehicles were destroyed a considerable number of prisoners were taken,” Andriy Biletsky, a leader in Ukraine’s Third Separate Assault Brigade, said, according to Reuters.

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said Tuesday that the Russian 72nd Brigade “pissed away three square km,” and that his forces lost 500 men, the news wire reported.

Russia did not comment on the movement of its 72nd Brigade, Reuters said. A Ukrainian military leader said Russia was still trying to capture Bakhmut and the situation “remains difficult.” 

— Reuters

Russian forces plan to “evacuate” more than 3,000 workers from the town of Enerhodar that serves the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s state nuclear power company said Wednesday.

The move proved Russia’s “inability to ensure the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as there is now a catastrophic lack of skilled personnel,” Energoatom said.

The company said Russia planned to evacuate just over 3,000 people, including 2,700 who had signed contracts with the Russian-installed company in de facto control of the plant, Rosatom.

Energoatom said that information from Ukraine’s armed forces suggested “some families of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power professionals have already been taken from Enerhodar to the Rostov region of the Russian Federation.”

Energoatom said that it was “taking all possible measures to form the necessary number of professionals capable of ensuring the safe operation of the plant.”

Such a team will be formed on a rotating basis from ZNPP employees who are currently in the territory controlled by Ukraine, as well as specialists from other nuclear plants, it said.

Concerns over ZNPP’s fate have been rife since Russian forces started evacuating areas near the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The plant has often found itself at the center of fighting, with both Ukrainian and Russian forces accusing each other of shelling near it, creating the potential for a nuclear disaster.

Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last week that following reports of Russian evacuations, “the general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.”

“I’m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected.”

Energoatom has repeatedly called for the de-occupation of the ZNPP. It did so again today, and urged “the expulsion of the Russians from Enerhodar and the transfer of control over the power plant to its legitimate Ukrainian operator, Energoatom,” saying this was “the only way to end the Russian mess at the ZNPP and guarantee its future safety.”

— Holly Ellyatt

European Union states started discussions on new sanctions that would crack down on the circumvention of Russian trade curbs, but a quick deal was not expected, according to several diplomats that spoke to Reuters.

The proposed sanctions would target Chinese and Iranian firms and allow export curbs on other countries for breaking existing trade restrictions, Reuters reported.

The new sanctions would highlight that oil tankers are not allowed to offload in the high seas or arrive in ports with their GPS trackers off, an attempt to push back against Group of Seven nations’ Russian oil reading restrictions, according to Reuters’ sources.

The EU also would stop transit via Russia of more of its exports, including advanced tech products and aircraft parts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the Reuters report.

“If we see that goods are going from the European Union to third countries and then end up in Russia, we could propose to the member states to sanction those goods’ export. This tool will be a last resort and it will be used cautiously,” she said.

— Melodie Warner

Two Ukrainian drones attempted to attack a military facility in the Voronezh region in southwestern Russia, its Governor Alexander Gusev said Wednesday.

“Today, early in the morning, at a Voronezh military facility, an attempted attack by two enemy UAVs was intercepted. As a result of response actions, one of them deviated from its course and fell while another one was eliminated by fire,” Gusev said on Telegram, in comments translated by Russian news agency Tass.

Guzev said additional security measures would be implemented in the Voronezh region.

“Interaction with law enforcement and the military command continues … I am personally monitoring the situation,” Gusev added. CNBC was unable to verify the claims in the post and Ukraine has not commented on the claims.

Russia has recently experienced a series of alleged attacks on home soil. It accused Ukraine and the U.S. of trying to strike the Kremlin with drones last week (both vehemently denied the accusations) and has experienced several apparent drone attacks on an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, near the Kerch Strait and bridge to Russian-occupied Crimea.

— Holly Ellyatt