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May 6, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
By Sophie Tanno, Adrienne Vogt and Matt Meyer, CNN
Updated 2117 GMT (0517 HKT) May 6, 2023
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Chechen leader invites Wagner fighters to join his forces in Bakhmut
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ramzan Kadyrov, the notorious Chechen leader and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has invited fighters from the Wagner Private Military Company to join the forces of his Akhmat battalion in Bakhmut.
“The Wagner PMC has very good, courageous, necessary, necessary people, necessary to us, because they know the area,” Kadyrov said in a video message Saturday. “If you stay with us, I promise you that we will give you more, create better conditions, than you have today. We will try to make everything top notch for you.”
Kadyrov also posted an image of his letter to Putin “to issue combat orders on the removal of Akhmat units from other directions in order to hand Wagner positions in Bakhmut over to them.”
Some context: The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed he will hand over Bakhmut positions to the Chechen leader on May 10. He cited a lack of ammunition supplies, which Prigozhin blames on Russia's military command.
The Chechen leader said online Friday that he will be happy to take over "older brother" Prigozhin’s positions if Wagner decides to leave Bakhmut, and he reiterated that sentiment in another post Saturday.
About Kadyrov: Kadyrov's sizable paramilitary forces, while formally a part of Russian security structures, have personal loyalty to him.
They have been accused by international and independent observers of gross human rights violations.
Moscow blames Kyiv and Western nations for military blogger bombing, without providing evidence
From CNN's Mariya Knight
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson blamed Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom for the bombing of military blogger Zakhar Prilepin’s car in the city of Nizhny Novgorod on Saturday.
The ministry provided no proof for its allegations.
The Security Service of Ukraine, responding to online outlet Ukrainian Pravda, said of the incident: "Officially, we can neither confirm nor deny the involvement of the Security Service in this or that explosion that happens to the occupiers and their accomplices."
Russia blamed Ukraine for the death of another Russian military blogger in an attack last month at a St. Petersburg cafe. Kyiv previously denied any involvement.
The Russian Investigative Committee called the latest incident "a terrorist act" and said it plans to investigate the blast as such.
The committee also reported a suspect in the car bombing has been detained, claiming that during interrogation, he testified "that he acted on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services."
The suspect "planted an explosive device on the road along the route of Zakhar Prilepin's car, which he set off remotely," the committee alleged. "After that, he fled the scene, but was detained by law enforcement officers when he left the forest in another settlement."
The committee published what it claimed was a video confession of the suspect, but it was not clear under what circumstances he was interviewed and whether he was under duress in the video.
Russian pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported that Prilepin had surgery earlier on Saturday and is at the hospital in stable condition. His driver was killed in the blast.
The UK's foreign office declined to comment when contacted by CNN. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nizhny Novgorod region is located east of Moscow on the Volga River.
Russia's military bloggers: Recent blasts call attention to unique role of nationalist writers
From CNN staff
A car explosion wounded a Russian military blogger and left his driver dead Saturday, according to state media. It marked the second recent blast involving one of the country's nationalist writers, drawing further attention to the role they play in Moscow's propaganda machine.
The blogger wounded Saturday is Zakhar Prilepin, a former member of the State Duma whose Telegram channel has more than 300,000 subscribers. Last month, another military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg.
Writers like Prilepin and Tatarsky are just two examples of prominent voices in the murky world of Russia's "milbloggers."
Offering a rare critique: Unlike Russian state media, many of the most influential military bloggers have not shied away from criticizing Moscow for its battlefield defeats. That includes its retreat from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, which Prilepin called a "catastrophe" in a commentary last September. More recently, bloggers have criticized the stalling, drawn-out fight for Bakhmut.
Such commentary is especially rare since Russia forced the closing of any remaining independent media shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Pro-Kremlin commentators, who are sometimes called "voenkory" for “war correspondents," have filled some of this information vacuum.
"Military bloggers in Russia today provide a very cloudy service but a service nonetheless. They are really the only ones who are monitoring what’s happening on the front line," Candace Rondeaux, the director of the Future Frontlines program at the New America foundation, told CNN.
Uniquely well-sourced: Many of the bloggers have deep sources within the military, the Wagner mercenary group or among pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which gives them unparalleled access to information.
Tatarsky himself was born in Ukraine, reportedly fought with Russian separatists in the Donbas and had close ties to Wagner.
"Obviously, they have a very biased view of the war. But they are critical to understanding what’s happening at least on one side of the flux," Rondeaux said.
Wagner boss says he will transfer Bakhmut positions to Chechen leader’s forces
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Darya Tarasova
The head of the private Russian military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed he will hand over Bakhmut positions to the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s forces on May 10.
"I thank Ramzan Akhmatovich for agreeing to take our positions in Bakhmut and having, most likely, the opportunity to obtain everything necessary and all the needed resources. I am already contacting his representatives in order to start transferring positions immediately, so that on May 10, at 00.00, exactly at the moment when, according to our calculations, we will completely exhaust our combat potential, our comrades will take our places and continue the assault of Bakhmut," Prigozhin said on Telegram Saturday.
It was not immediately clear how serious Prigozhin, who often speaks sarcastically, is about the transfer to Kadyrov.
About Kadyrov: Notorious Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and leads sizable paramilitary forces that — while formally a part of Russian security structures — have personal loyalty to him.
Kadyrov has been accused by international and independent observers of gross human rights violations.
The Chechen leader said online Friday that he will be happy to take over "older brother" Prigozhin’s positions if Wagner decides to leave Bakhmut, and he reiterated that claim in another post Saturday.
"The fighters are on alert; we are only waiting for the order," Kadyrov said in a video message. "We have already begun to develop our strategy of action in this area together with the Russian Ministry of Defense, taking into account the enemy's tactics and the resources at our disposal. And believe me, the tactics will yield positive results."
What Prigozhin has said about the withdrawal: Prigozhin said Friday that Wagner will leave the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, citing a lack of ammunition supplies that Prigozhin blames on Russia's military command.
He also claimed that "a little more than two square kilometers" (less than 1 square mile) in Bakhmut remain to be taken by Russian fighters.
Ukraine said earlier Saturday that Russian troops have not made any breakthrough in Bakhmut, waving off Prigozhin's ammunition shortage claims as a "bluff."
Ukrainian first lady says sirens are part of everyday life now, according to US counterpart
From CNN's Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein
Far from the front lines, US first lady Jill Biden was seated next to Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine, during King Charles III's Coronation Day in London.
"I sat next to her today and we were talking about the war, and she was saying how really, the sirens are now just commonplace every day. It’s a big part of her life," Biden told CNN in a phone interview after the crowning ceremony.
The US first lady said Zelenska also thanked the US for its support of Ukraine.
The Princess of Wales, Kate, met Biden and Zelenska during the Reception of Heads of State at Buckingham Palace on Friday evening.
Zelenska met her British counterpart, Akshata Murthy, in London on Thursday.
The Ukrainian first lady previously visited London in November 2022, giving an address to British lawmakers that highlighted the issue of sexual violence toward women and children in wartime Ukraine.
CNN's Max Foster and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.
Official: 45 prisoners of war, including those who defended Mariupol steel plant, return to Ukraine
From CNN’s Maria Kostenko and Alex Hardie
Forty-five prisoners of war have returned to Ukraine, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram Saturday.
"Great news today. We are returning home 45 our people. 42 men and 3 women defenders of Azovstal," Yermak said, referencing the Azovstal steel plant, which for weeks was the last major holdout in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol following Russia's full-scale invasion.
The returning POWs include 35 privates and sergeants, plus 10 officers, Yermak said.
The official's post did not include details about how Ukraine secured the prisoners' release, but prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine have happened periodically throughout the conflict.
Heavy fighting in Bakhmut continues with no breakthrough by Russian forces, Ukrainian military says
From CNN's Stephanie Halasz
Heavy fighting in the battered eastern city of Bakhmut continues Saturday, with a Ukrainian military spokesperson calling Wagner head Yevegny Prigozhin's tirade against a lack of ammunition a "complete bluff."
"We control part of the city. Nothing has changed there, the positional war continues. The enemy has not achieved any kind of major breakthrough," Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told CNN.
Cherevatyi dismissed Prigozhin's claims about a diminishing stock of ammunition, saying Russian forces had fired thousands of shells along front lines during the last 24 hours.
"Now they are firing more than 20,000 shells a day. That’s why (Prigozhin's remarks on ammunition starvation) is a complete bluff," he said.
Some context: Prigozhin has said he is pulling out of Bakhmut on May 10.
In an expletive-filled tirade, he blamed Russia's military leadership for “tens of thousands” of Wagner casualties, specifically calling attention to what he described as a lack of ammunition.
The mercenary said he had only 30% of the supplies he needed in the eastern city.
Analysis: Ukraine's claim that it shot down a hypersonic missile casts doubt on Russia's arsenal
Analysis by CNN's Tim Lister
Ukraine’s assertion that a US Patriot defense battery took out one of Russia’s most modern ballistic missiles is a notable moment in the conflict, now in its 15th month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military have touted the Kinzhal, or Kh-47, as an example of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal, claiming that its hypersonic speed makes it extremely difficult to intercept.
The missile travels 10 times the speed of sound and has a range of some 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles), and so can be fired far from the battlefield.
Putin has said the weapons could “overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems."
Several Kinzhal missiles were launched at Ukrainian targets in March, but it’s not clear what damage they did or whether they all reached their targets.
Analysts have questioned the Kinzhal’s capabilities during the final phase of its flight, suggesting it may not be as maneuverable or as fast as it approaches a target.
A new line of defense: In April, Ukraine’s defense ministry said Patriot systems had arrived from the US, Germany and the Netherlands.
The addition of Patriot batteries was a welcome one for Ukraine, who had repeatedly asked for the air defense capability. But experts warned the systems would not be a game changer overnight, because of the significant training and logistical requirements that go along with them.
Today's developments: If one of the new Patriot systems has now destroyed a Kh-47, as the Ukrainians say, it calls into question the capabilities of one of Russia’s new generation of weapons.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Inhat said Saturday that the Russians “were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon, and Russian weapons are the best in the world.”
“Well, there is confirmation that it effectively works against even a super hypersonic missile,” Ihnat said, adding that intercepting the Kinzhal is “a slap in the face for Russia.”
