War in Ukraine: Russian soldiers encircle Ukrainian troops in Sievjerodonetsk even more

Created: 05/24/2022, 05:02

By: Marvin Ziegele

The situation in the Ukraine war is getting worse, both militarily and diplomatically: the news ticker on Monday, May 23.

• Belarus is gathering troops

  : According to Ukrainian information, the neighboring country is gathering soldiers at the border.

• Russia defends positions

  : At the same time, a new offensive against the city of Sloviansk is planned.

• This news ticker about the Ukraine conflict

  is constantly updated.

+++ 10:41 p.m .:

Russia is said to have abducted over 1.4 million people from Ukraine.

The Interfax agency reports, citing statements made by Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

More than 240,000 of them were children.

She also pointed out the need to resolve the issue of the return of these Ukrainian citizens at the interstate level.

War in Ukraine: Russian soldiers encircle Ukrainian troops even tighter in Sievjerodonetsk

+++ 8.30 p.m .:

Ukrainian forces, who have entrenched themselves around the city of Sievjerodonetsk, are increasingly being surrounded by Russian troops, a Western government official said, according to the BBC.

According to the report, Russian forces made "gradual progress" in encircling the Ukrainian resistance forces around the city.

According to the government representative, the continued resistance of Ukrainian soldiers serves the function of weakening Russian forces and "buying time" for the remaining Ukrainian forces in Donbass to prepare for further attacks.

A military vehicle is parked in the Azovstal Steelworks.

On May 20, 2022, the last 500 or so Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in Asovstal.

The plant was the last part of the strategically important city in south-eastern Ukraine that had not yet been completely under Russian control.

© Victor / dpa

The encirclement of Ukrainian troops around the city of Sievjerodonetsk is a "more achievable goal" for Russia.

The defense expert suggests that once Russia secures this area, it will try to advance towards the city of Kramatorsk (to the south-west).

Ukraine war: "assassination attempt" on pro-Russian mayor

+++ 4.45 p.m .:

According to several US officials, the Biden administration is toying with the idea of ​​sending special forces with a limited order to Ukraine to guard the US embassy in Kiev.

However, there is still no draft that could be presented to President Joe Biden, reports CNN, citing the anonymous sources.

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The embassy reopened last week after being closed for about three months.

US Marines typically guard US embassies around the world, but the consensus in Kyiv is that the typical Marine Corps embassy guards are inadequate for the uncertain security situation in Ukraine without additional forces.

The US does not believe that Russia would openly attack the embassy.

However, there is concern that Russian air defenses or missiles could accidentally target the site and the situation could escalate dramatically.

Moscow should be aware that the US has its embassies guarded around the world.

Despite this, the deployment of US forces in Ukraine could raise concerns, as Biden previously unequivocally stated that he would not deploy ground forces in Ukraine.

Ukraine-News: “Assassination attempt” on pro-Russian mayor?

+++ 4 p.m .:

In the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, the pro-Russian mayor Andrei Shevchik was injured in an explosion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov spoke of an "assassination attempt" carried out by Ukrainian "nationalists".

However, Shevchik and his two bodyguards are out of danger, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The mayor appointed by Moscow suffered "burns and injuries".

+++ 3:00 p.m .:

As announced by the Ministry of Defense in Minsk, the Belarusian armed forces are currently checking their combat readiness.

The tests should therefore include the military equipment as well as the logistics.

There has long been speculation about the country's active military involvement in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine-News: Russia Attacks Military Transport With 'High-Precision Missiles'

+++ 13.45:

Last week, a village in Ukraine was hit by a Russian air strike.

Now the number of original fatalities is rising dramatically, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on Monday in a video address to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

According to the leadership in Kyiv, 87 people have been killed in the village with a Ukrainian military base in the past week.

The local authorities had initially spoken of eight fatalities and twelve injured.

+++ 1:00 p.m .:

The Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol are to be brought before a court.

This is reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.

According to the report, Denis Puschilin, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, emphasized: "It is planned to set up an international tribunal on the territory of the republic." By this he means the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

On May 20, the Russian Defense Ministry released video footage of the surrender of the last group of Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the factory and the underground facilities of the steel mill had been completely taken over by the Russian army.

+++ 11.45 a.m .:

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian army bombed a military transport near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

"Weapons and military equipment of the 10th Ukrainian mountain assault brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk, which was to be taken to Donbass, were destroyed by sea-launched high-precision missiles near the Malyn railway station in the Zhytomyr region," the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said in a statement. Igor Konashenkov.

According to Ukrainian sources, one person died and four others were injured in the attack.

+++ 10.01 a.m .:

In an air raid on the city of Malyn in Ukraine, one person is said to have died and four others injured.

This is reported by the news portal Kiyv Independent. The mayor of the city reported that the local railway infrastructure, about 150 apartment buildings, several shops and cafes and industrial plants in the area were damaged in the attack.

The information cannot be independently verified.

Ukraine-News: Belarus is massing armed forces at the border

First report from Monday, May 23, 2022, 9:28 a.m.:

Kiev – The former Soviet Republic of Belarus, which has not yet actively participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war, is pulling together armed forces at the border, according to information from Kiev.

"The Belarusian armed forces are conducting increased reconnaissance and have set up additional units in the border area," the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Monday morning (May 23).

Accordingly, the danger of rocket and air attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory remains.

The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko did not take part with his own troops in the war against Ukraine that Russia started at the end of February.

However, Russian troops were allowed to use the country as a staging area for the attack.

Kyiv therefore does not see Minsk as neutral and fears that Belarusian soldiers could potentially intervene in the conflict on the part of Russia.

Lukashenko, who is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday, has always denied such intentions.

Ukraine-News: Russia defends positions

According to the general staff, there are few changes in the fighting in eastern Ukraine itself: the Russians are trying to defend their positions in the north of Kharkiv, and further south they are preparing a new offensive against the city of Sloviansk.

When trying to take the village of Dovgenke west of the strategically important road between Izyum and Sloviansk, the Russian military was repulsed, it said.

According to Ukrainian information, the night's attacks in the direction of Sieverodonetsk and Bakhmut were also unsuccessful.

In the area of ​​Avdiivka, Kurakhove, Novopavlivka and in the direction of Zaporizhia, hostilities have abated, said General Staff Spokesman Olexandr Stupun.

A total of eleven enemy attacks were repelled.

Because of the high losses, Russia now has to reactivate the decommissioned "T-62" tanks in order to equip reserve units.

The information could not be independently verified.

(marv)