May 29, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Emergency workers extinguish a fire in a parked car caused by falling debris from an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, May 30.

One person has been hospitalized in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district after explosions were heard in the capital in the early hours Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Klitschko also reported that “all emergency services” are headed to Podilskyi district without providing any further details.

According to Klitschko, a private house in Darnytskyi district and three cars in Pecherskyi district of Kyiv caught fire as a result of falling debris.

Russia has been transferring its forces to Bakhmut to replace fighters from the Wagner group, said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during an interview with Ukrainian media on Monday.

Cherevatyi noted “all of these Russian units have been taking part in hostilities since 24 February 2022 and have sustained significant losses.”

He also said that Russia used “recently mobilized soldiers” to replenish those units.

In recent days, “the dynamics of combat clashes in the Bakhmut direction have been approximately the same,” Cherevatyi said.

Some context: Cherevatyi’s comments echoed those of Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, who said Russians are “replacing troops from Wagner with regular units and trying to stabilize the defense in this area.”

On Sunday, the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said the handover of his fighters’ positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.

Zelensky gives his nightly address on Monday, May 29.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a decision had been made on the timing of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in his nightly address on Monday. 

“As usual, the commander-in-chief and the commanders of the operational directions reported to the staff,” Zelensky said. “Not only the supply of ammunition, not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics. But also, the timing. This [the timing] is what is most important. The timing of how we will move forward. We will.”

Zelensky did not provide further details on when the counter offensive would launch.

One person was killed and several others were injured by shelling in the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region, the region’s governor said.

Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel on Monday that it was a “difficult day” and that there was “a lot of shelling.”

Gladkov noted that in recent days Belgorod region endured a “large amount of damage caused by hours of shelling” that caused the power, cell phone connection, heat and water to go off in numerous areas, which have now been restored.

The governor mentioned Novaya Tavolzhanka, Grafovka, Murom and Arkhangelsky being among the affected areas. 

A heavily damaged gas station is seen after a Russian air strike in Toretsk, Ukraine on May 29

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine released video Monday of the immediate aftermath of what it says was a Russian air strike on a gas station in Toretsk, a town near the eastern city of Bakhmut. 

At least two people were reportedly killed and eight were wounded in the strike, the unit said on Facebook, and three injured individuals were removed from the rubble.

Toretsk is regularly hit by Russian artillery as well as occasional air strikes. Earlier Monday, the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic accused the Ukrainians of shelling the occupied town of Horlivka from positions around Toretsk. 

European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday that he was “not optimistic” about how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will play out this summer.

Borrell added that he believes Russia will only negotiate if it wins the war.

Borrell’s remarks come as Moscow hit Kyiv with an array of missile fire Monday in a surprise daytime attack, hours after an overnight barrage of the Ukrainian capital and across the country.

A Ukrainian police officer guards a fragment of a Russian rocket in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday.

Russia launched a wave of attacks on Kyiv Sunday night into Monday, including a surprise daytime attack. More than 70 drones and missiles have been fired by Moscow since Sunday night, Ukrainian officials say, and many of the drones were shot down by the country’s defenses.

The Kyiv city military administration said the daytime barrage was the 16th attack on the capital since the beginning of the month. Ukrainian authorities are promising swift retaliation as the country’s counteroffensive looms.

Here’s what to know about the strikes on Kyiv and other top headlines:

People take cover inside a train station during a rocket attack in Kyiv on Monday.

On the battlefields in the east, Ukrainian defense forces had repelled 20 Russian attacks, most of them around the entirely ruined town of Marinka, near Donetsk city, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Here are the areas that the General Staff shared updates on:

Some analysts believe that Russian forces are restricting offensive action as they try to consolidate defenses in Bakhmut and elsewhere along the frontlines.

An explosion is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Monday.

The Ukrainian military says it destroyed the majority of Russian drones and missiles fired at the country on Sunday night and Monday.

There have been two waves of strikes, the General Staff said in its daily update. The first had involved 40 air-launched cruise missiles and 38 Shahed attack drones — and Ukraine said only four missiles and eight drones penetrated Ukrainian air defenses.

“In the afternoon, the enemy used cruise and ballistic missiles from the Iskander tactical missile system against civilian and critical infrastructure in Kyiv. The Air Force of Ukraine destroyed 11 out of 11 missiles,” the General Staff said, confirming earlier Ukrainian assessments.

The overall tally of missiles is one of the highest daily counts in recent months.

The Kremlin said Monday that Russia’s recent denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) will not have direct consequences, but there is a “big vacuum” in the sphere of arms control that needs to be filled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law on Russia’s denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe earlier on Monday. Commenting on the decision on a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “There should be no direct [consequences of it] because, in fact, it was already a lifeless mechanism.”

More on the treaty: Russia unilaterally suspended the implementation of the treaty in 2007, a move that the US State Department said undermined trust-building and transparency. Both Moscow and Washington have long been at odds over arms control, and Putin has often described former US President George W. Bush’s decision in 2001 to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as a major grievance.  

The 1990 CFE Treaty regulates conventional armed forces in Europe and aims to prevent large-scale offensives by limiting the overall deployment of tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters.

CNN’s Nathan Hodge contributed reporting to this post.

An aerial view of a battle field near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 27.

Ukrainian officials have indicated there’s been little change in positions around the eastern city of Bakhmut — and the intensity of Moscow’s offensive has decreased as Russian regular units continue to replace Wagner fighters.

The official added: “Our troops are making this process much more difficult for the enemy… At the same time, the intensity of enemy artillery shelling has not decreased.”

Currently, Ukrainian units hold positions immediately to the south and west of the city itself. 

“To the south of Bakhmut, the enemy is attempting to reinforce and build up army units,” Maliar said. 

More background: The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Sunday that the handover of his fighters’ positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment of the situation that there is continuing evidence that Russian units are being transferred to Bakhmut from other areas of the Donetsk front lines, including Avdiivka.

It said Sunday that “the Russian transfer of these elements to Bakhmut may decrease the tempo of Russian offensive operations on the Avdiivka-Donetsk City front.”

ISW also said that “The tempo of Russian operations around Bakhmut remains notably low.” Ukrainian officials have said much of the same, with daily recorded clashes in the area falling into single digits. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a half-minute video of children running to a shelter in Kyiv Monday morning as an explosion is heard in the background.

Zelensky posted the video to his Telegram channel, with the caption, “Ukrainian children. Every time an air raid alert sounds. This is what an ordinary weekday looks like.”

He added, “Thank you to everyone in the world who helps protect people and our children from Russian terror!”

His wife, Olena Zelenska, reposted the video, adding, “Morning after sleepless night under fire. Anxiety once again…Children running and screaming for shelter to the sounds of explosions. But it should not be like this — anywhere and never.”

A drone explodes as it is shot down, during a Russian drone strike targeting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on May 28.

The head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence promised retribution “very soon” after the latest wave of Russian missile and drone attacks against Kyiv and other locations.

“All those in Russia who still believed, believe or maybe dream that they can frighten Ukraine, I want to disappoint you — this is not true. Everyone has been and is still at their workplaces and continues to do their jobs,” Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview Monday.

More than 70 drones and missiles have been fired by Russian forces since Sunday night, according to Ukrainian officials, who say the great majority were intercepted.

Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that the missile barrage Monday appears to have been largely with Iskander missiles, either in ballistic or cruise mode. Ballistic missiles travel faster and are more difficult to intercept, though the Ukrainian military insists all 11 missiles that were fired toward Kyiv in a rare daytime barrage were brought down.

Ihnat also noted on Ukrainian television that there’s a possibility that S-300 and S-400 missiles were used.

“The direction of the attack was from the north,” Ihnat said, without indicating whether the missiles were fired by Russian units based in southern Belarus or in Russia.

Asked whether recently received US Patriot missile batteries had been in action, Ihnat said: “I think you can guess, if Iskander-M missiles were shot down, then one can conclude what kind of means were used to hit such targets, ballistic targets.”

The Kyiv city military administration, said the daytime barrage was the 16th attack on the capital since the beginning of the month. “Thus, the enemy changed its tactics — after prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day, when most residents were at work and outside. In other words, the Russians are clearly demonstrating that they are aiming to destroy the civilian population,” it said.

Russian forces hit Ukrainian airfields, destroying all targets, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Monday.

“Tonight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike with long-range precision air-launched weapons against enemy targets at airfields,” the defense ministry said. 

What Kyiv is saying: Earlier on Monday, Ukraine claimed that Russia launched a widespread missile and drone attack on its territory overnight. Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 67 out of 75 “air targets” launched on Kyiv.

Khmelnytskyi regional military administration said Russia had attacked a military facility, in the western region overnight, damaging five aircraft.

Police officers inspect a fragment of a Russian rocket after an attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, May 29.

Ukraine downed 11 Iskander missiles launched by Russia in a daytime attack on Monday, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Monday.

“At about 11:30am, it attacked Kyiv region with ballistic and cruise missiles from the Iskander missile system,” Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.

“A total of 11 missiles were fired: ‘Iskander-M’ and ‘Iskander-K’ from the northern direction. All targets were destroyed by air defense forces and means,” he added.

People rush to take shelter during a Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, May 29.

The sounds of air raid warnings and explosions have been heard most nights in Kyiv this month. Often these explosions are evidence that the Ukrainian capital’s shields are working – the vast majority of Russian drones and missiles have been shot down by Kyiv’s US-made Patriot defense systems.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Kyiv suffered another bombardment – its 15th attack of the month according to city officials. But few expected the 16th to follow so swiftly afterwards – until air raid warnings began around midday local time after Russia launched a rare daytime attack on the capital.

Here are the latest developments:

Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui is pictured during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on May 26.

China on Monday responded to Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporting that its special envoy of Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, proposed a ceasefire plan to European officials that would have Russia retain control over the parts of Ukraine it currently occupies. 

“The Foreign Minister of Ukraine has publicly stated that he has made his contacts with all parties, and none of which indicated that Special Envoy Li Hui made the representations reported by the Wall Street Journal,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said when asked to comment on the WSJ story. Mao was speaking at a regular press briefing.

Li elaborated on China’s position and “forged more international consensus” while meeting with the parties relevant to the Ukraine crisis, Mao added.

On Friday — as Li ended his nearly two-week tour of Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, the European Union’s Brussels headquarters and Russia — the WSJ reported that he proposed an immediate ceasefire that would allow Russia to retain possession of the parts of Ukraine it now occupies.

Tracks and white smoke are seen in the sky during a Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, May 29.

The air raid warning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv has ended, after the city came under an unusual daytime attack just hours after more than 60 drones and cruise missiles launched at it were shot down overnight.

Popko said “preliminarily, all air targets were successfully hit by our air defense forces and means” and no hits have been reported on facilities in Kyiv.

Debris from intercepted missiles fell in three parts of the city – Obolonskyi district, Desnianskyi and Dniprovskyi, he said.

He did not mention Podilskyi district where officials said earlier that debris fell on the roof of a building and one man had been hospitalized.

Ukrainian forces are shelling several settlements in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders north-eastern Ukraine, according to its governor.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post Monday that two industrial facilities had been attacked in the town of Shebekino. He said four people were injured after the shelling of building containing “paint and varnish liquids”.

CNN cannot independently verify his claims.

Some background: Reports of Ukraine’s shelling of Belgorod comes after a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals, who are aligned with the Ukrainian army, claimed responsibility for an attack in Russian’s southwestern region of Belgorod last week.

The so-called Freedom for Russia legion launched a cross-border attack on Belgorod, which Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday designated a “terrorist act.”

The Ukrainian government distanced itself from the Russian fighters, saying “in Ukraine these units are part of defense and security forces. In Russia they are acting as independent entities.”