Extract from ABC News
Russia's Wagner mercenary group has started withdrawing its forces from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and transferring its positions there to regular Russian troops, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video published on Thursday.
Key points:
- The Wagner group announced the capture of Bakhmut on Saturday after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war
- Ukraine secured the release of 106 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Russia
- Russia and Belarus signed a deal formalising the procedure for deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory
"We are withdrawing the units from Bakhmut. From today at five in the morning, May 25 until June 1, most of the units will rebase to camps in the rear. We are handing our positions to the military," he said.
The video was posted on Telegram by his press service, and showed Mr Prigozhin dressed in battle gear and standing beside a war-damaged residential block.
Mr Prigozhin announced the capture of Bakhmut on Saturday after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
In the latest video Mr Prigozhin, who has repeatedly voiced public criticism of senior Russian defence officials, said his forces would be ready to return to Bakhmut if the regular army was unable to manage the situation.
Russian forces carried out drone attacks on Kyiv, Wednesday night officials said, continuing a month-long campaign of air strikes against the Ukrainian capital.
Military chiefs said Kyiv's air defences destroyed all of the drones during the three-hour air attack, the 12th this month.
Serhiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, said in a message on Telegram that Russia "again attacked Kyiv from the air".
"The attack was massive," the statement added.
"The enemy continues to use attack tactics in several waves, with intervals between groups of attacking drones."
He added that "all detected air targets moving in the direction of Kyiv were destroyed" by Ukrainian air defence systems.
The attacks were carried out using Iranian-made Shahed drones, the statement added, citing preliminary information.
Air alerts were also reported in the cities of Kharkiv and Chernivtsi.
More than 100 prisoners of war released
Ukraine secured the release of 106 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff said.
The soldiers, including eight officers, were captured fighting in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut that Russia says it has captured, but where Kyiv's forces say they still have a small foothold.
"Every one of them is a hero of our state. Many of the ones we are returning from captivity were considered missing. The relatives of these people have gone through a difficult time," said the senior official, Andriy Yermak.
There was no immediate information about the forces Russia received from Ukraine in exchange.
Ukrainian military intelligence says that 2,430 Ukrainians have been freed in prisoner swaps, including 139 civilians.
Deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarus territory
Russia and Belarus signed a deal on Thursday formalising the procedure for deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Control of the weapons will remain with Moscow.
The move formalised the deal agreed on earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Mr Putin previously announced in March that his country planned to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The inking of the deal comes as Russia braces for Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive.
Both Russian and Belarusian officials framed the step as driven by hostility from the West.
"Deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us," Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said in Minsk during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
"In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus, a decision was made to take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere," Mr Shoigu added.
Belarus's Ministry of Defence said the agreement refers to a "special storage facility on the territory of the Republic of Belarus".
No detail was announced regarding when the weapons would be deployed in Belarus, but Mr Putin previously said that the construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would be completed by July 1.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya condemned the move.
"We must do everything to prevent Putin's plan to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, as this will ensure Russia's control over Belarus for years to come," Ms Tsikhanouskaya said.
"This will further jeopardise the security of Ukraine and all of Europe."
Russia summons diplomats over Nord Stream explosions
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Sweden and Denmark to protest over what it said was the "complete lack of results" in an investigation to identify who blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.
Several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible. The two countries and Germany are investigating the incident.
Russia's Foreign Ministry in a statement accused all three of deliberately dragging their feet and of trying to conceal who was behind the blasts.
It said it was unhappy about what it called the opaque nature of the investigation and its refusal to engage with Russia.
"It has been noted that these countries are not interested in establishing the true circumstances of this sabotage. On the contrary, they are delaying their efforts and trying to conceal the tracks and the true perpetrators of the crime behind which we believe are well-known countries," it said.
"It is no coincidence that 'leaked' improbable versions [of what happened] are dumped in the media to try to muddy the waters."
The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have called the incident "an act of sabotage". Moscow has blamed the West. Neither side has provided evidence.
The ministry said Moscow would keep trying to ensure that Germany, Denmark and Sweden conducted what it called an objective investigation with Russia participating too.
Six drones shot down in Crimea
Six drones were downed or blocked overnight in Russian-annexed Crimea, the region's Moscow-appointed governor said on Thursday.
"During the past night, six drones were shot down or blocked … in different parts of Crimea," Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram, adding "there were no victims or injured".
Regional authorities said 13 people had been injured as the area came under sustained artillery and mortar fire.
Moscow subsequently said its forces had killed "more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists" but AFP was unable to independently verify the claims.
Ukraine has denied responsibility.
The alleged perpetrators of the incursion hailed the "success" of the operation, telling Ukrainian media on Wednesday that they had highlighted the weakness of Russia's defences.
"I want to prove to them that we can fight against tyrants and that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's power is not unlimited," said Denis Kapustin of the Russian Volunteer Corps, which claimed the sortie.
Mr Kapustin, nicknamed "White Rex", is well known in far-right circles in Russia.
AFP/Reuters/AP
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