Ukrainian defenders and Russian aggressors continue to engage in heavy fighting in the east of the country. The news ticker on the Ukraine war.
- Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner boss accuses Russian troops of fleeing
- Losses for Russia in the Ukraine war: Kyiv publishes current figures.
- Wagner troupe: Yevgeny Prigozhin to receive ammunition from Russia.
- Here you can read the latest developments from the Ukraine conflict. The processed information on losses of the armies involved in the Ukraine war comes partly from the warring parties from Russia or Ukraine. Therefore, some of them cannot be independently verified.
Update from May 10, 3:45 a.m.: After the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has also warned against too high expectations of the expected spring offensive of the Ukrainian army. "Don't consider this counteroffensive to be the last, because we don't know what will come out of it," he told media on Wednesday, May 10. Only if this offensive succeeds in liberating the territories occupied by Russia will it be the last. "But if not, then it means that we need to prepare for the next counteroffensive."
Kuleba stressed that Ukraine needs significantly more armaments for its fight against the Russian occupying forces. "Because in order to win the war, you need weapons, weapons and more weapons," he said. Much depends on Germany, which has "a kind of titanium of the arms industry in Europe and probably in the world" with the armaments company Rheinmetall.
Ukrainian combat troops near the city of Bakhmut. © SERGEY SHESTAK/afp
In addition to ammunition, tanks and anti-aircraft systems, Ukraine needs fighter jets above all. Kuleba relied on help, while Berlin is relying on Kuleba to procure modern F16 fighter jets. Unlike the Leopard tanks, the decision here does not lie with Germany, but with the United States. "What we expect from Germany is to play an active role in building a coalition of countries: Who will convince the United States to press the green button?" Germany could do a lot here.
Ukraine-News: Heavy fighting in Bakhmut
Update from May 9, 20:10 p.m.: Ukrainian defenders and Russian aggressors continue to engage in heavy fighting in the east of the country. The focus of the action was once again the city of Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested for months, as the Ukrainian General Staff announced in its evening situation report. In addition to Bakhmut, Russian troops also advanced near Liman, Avdiivka and Maryinka. In total, around 30 attacks have been knocked off there in the past few hours.
The Ukrainian Air Force intervened in the fighting during the day and shelled Russian troop concentrations and anti-aircraft systems.
Meanwhile, AFP reported the death of its Ukraine correspondent Arman Soldin. According to his colleagues, he was killed by rocket fire in Chasiv Yar, a few kilometers from Bakhmut. Kyiv Independent reported one death as a result of Russian bombardments in the city.
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Update from May 9, 19:17 p.m.: France's parliamentarians want the Russian mercenary group Wagner to be classified as a terrorist organization because of the execution of civilians at EU level. The National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect in Paris. It calls on the French government to use diplomatic channels to classify Yevgeny Prigozhin's troops as a terrorist organization. However, the resolution is not binding on the government. The Wagner troupe is suspected of torturing and killing civilians in Ukraine, but also in Syria and several African countries.
Putin's Victory Parade: Ukraine sees as an "expression of contempt" - mystery about Lukashenko
Update of May 9, 16:56 p.m.: Kiev is upset that foreign leaders were also at the Russian military parade for "Victory Day". "We consider participation in the public event alongside a war criminal as an immoral and unfriendly step towards Ukraine and an expression of contempt for the Ukrainian people," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement now published.
Vladimir Putin was joined in the gallery by the head of government of Armenia and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko was not listed by the ministry. For what reason is unclear. Lukashenko left the celebrations in Moscow early for "health reasons" after the parade.
Ukraine-News: Russia calls missile strikes successful
Update from May 9, 16:29 p.m.: According to its own statements, the Russian Ministry of Defense has successfully combated the supply of the Ukrainian military during its nightly missile attacks. The Ukrainian leadership had previously said that 23 of the 25 Russian missiles had been intercepted.
The falling debris caused damage in the capital Kyiv, as well as in the Dniproeptrovsk and Cherkasy regions, the Ukrainian authorities said. So far, there is no information about possible victims. The information provided by both warring parties cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine-News: Wagner boss Prigozhin complains of "brazen deception"
Update from May 9, 14:29 p.m.: Yevgeny Prigozhin is now complaining about Moscow in particularly high tones in a Telegram post. "They simply and brazenly deceived us," the Moscow Times translated his message from Russian. Ukrainska Pravda added: "We have been deceived."
As an occasion for his, the Wagner boss cited the fact that not only the ammunition promised by Russia is missing, but that the Russian Ministry of Defense is also threatening him and his mercenaries with a charge of "high treason" in the event of a possible withdrawal from Bakhmut.
Ukraine-News: UN Secretary-General considers peace negotiations currently impossible
Update from May 9, 12:25 p.m.: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has rejected hopes for an early end to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. "I believe that, unfortunately, peace negotiations are not possible at the moment. Both sides are convinced that they can win," Guterres said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País (Tuesday, May 9).
According to him, Russia "is not ready to withdraw from the occupied territories at the moment." And "I believe that Ukraine has the hope of recapturing them." However, he described the probability of the use of nuclear weapons as "very low". "The Chinese initiative was very important to emphasize that nuclear escalation is unacceptable."
Ukraine-News: Wagner boss accuses Russian troops of fleeing
Update of May 9, 11:20 a.m.: The head of the Russian mercenary force Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has accused Russian troops of fleeing their positions amid the fierce fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. "Today, one of the units of the Ministry of Defense fled from one of our flanks," Prigozhin said in a video message on Tuesday (May 9). The Wagner boss denounced that the Russian soldiers in Bakhmut had left their positions, leaving the front unsecured.
Prigozhin also harshly questioned the Russian state's ability to defend the country as Ukraine prepares for a spring offensive. "Why is the state not able to defend its country?" Prigozhin asked in the video posted on Telegram, adding that Ukraine is "successfully" attacking Russian border regions. Russian soldiers would "flee" from the army, because "instead of fighting, the Ministry of Defense is engaged in intrigues all the time." According to him, the Russian military leadership wants to "deceive" Putin.
Ukraine-News: Russia fires 25 missiles at Ukraine
Update of May 9, 10:50 a.m.: Russia fired about two dozen missiles at Ukraine on the night of the so-called "Victory Day", dedicated to the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. However, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, 25 of a total of 23 missiles were intercepted on Tuesday. The authorities of the capital Kiev, as well as the Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions, reported damage from rocket debris. Initially, nothing was known about possible victims.
May 9 is a holiday in Russia that traditionally commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. This year, Russian soldiers who fought in the war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than 14 months, also marched in the big military parade on Red Square in Moscow. In view of this, the adviser to the Ukrainian president's office, Mykhailo Podolyak, spoke of a "parade of murderers".
Ukraine-News: Kyiv reports latest figures on Russian losses
Update of May 9, 8:15 a.m.: The Ukrainian General Staff has published new figures on Russia's losses in the Ukraine war. According to the report, about 650 Russian soldiers were killed or injured in the fighting within one day. The information cannot be independently verified.
- Soldiers: so far a total of about 195,620 (+650)
- Armored fighting vehicles: 7257 (+4)
- Tanks: 3734 (+4)
- Artillery systems: 3031 (+13)
- Unmanned aerial vehicles / drones: 2618 (+4)
- Vehicles and fuel tanks: 5969 (+11)
- Source: General Staff of Ukraine on Facebook of May 9, 2023
Ukraine-News: von der Leyen visits Kyiv
Update from May 9, 7:40 a.m.: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning (9 May) for a visit. The top German politician wants to celebrate Europe Day together with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital. Political talks are also planned. Among other things, they are to deal with ammunition deliveries for the defensive war against Russia as well as further financial support and preparations for EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.
"Ukraine is part of our European family," von der Leyen said on arrival. The fact that she is in Kyiv on Europe Day is a symbol, but it also shows that the EU is already working hand in hand with Ukraine in many areas.
Ukraine-News: Moskau feiert
Update vom 9. Mai, 5.20 Uhr: Russland feiert am heutigen Dienstag (9. Mai) den Jahrestag des sowjetischen Sieges über Nazi-Deutschland im Jahr 1945. Die Feierlichkeiten werden – wie schon im Vorjahr – überschattet vom Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine. Gekämpft wird auch um die Deutungshoheit dieses Ereignisses. Der Kreml rechtfertigt seinen Angriffskrieg als Abwehr einer westlichen Bedrohung und eines angeblich nazistischen Regimes in Kiew. Der ukrainische Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj hingegen stellt die Verteidigung der Ukraine in eine Reihe mit dem Kampf gegen Nazi-Deutschland im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Zur Feier des Europatags wird EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen an diesem Dienstag in Kiew erwartet.
Ukraine-News: Gegenoffensive verzögert sich
Update vom 8. Mai, 22.09 Uhr: Neue Regenfälle haben nach Angaben der russischen Besatzungsbehörden in der Südukraine den Beginn der erwarteten Offensive Kiews verzögert. „Wieder hat instabiles feuchtes Wetter Einzug gehalten. Der Boden muss zehn bis zwölf Zentimeter durchgetrocknet sein, damit die Technik darüber rollen kann“, sagte am Montag der Verwaltungschef des von Moskau kontrollierten Teils von Saporischschja, Jewgeni Balizki, im russischen Fernsehen. Trotzdem könne die Gegenoffensive „jeden Moment beginnen“, warnte er.
Russland startet offenbar Zwangsmobilisierung in besetztem Mariupol
Update vom 8. Mai, 18.26 Uhr: Im von Russland besetzten Mariupol beginnt offenbar die Mobilisierung der Einwohner. Das berichtet der Kyiv Independent unter Verweis auf die Stadtverwaltung. „Die Einberufungen haben in Mariupol begonnen. Die Besatzer sind bereits auf der Suche nach Bürgern, die ihre ‚Wehrpflicht‘ nicht erfüllt haben. Der Feind plant, die Männer bis August einzuziehen. Russland tötet weiterhin friedliche Ukrainer“, sagte demnach der im Exil lebende Bürgermeister Vadym Boichenko.
Update vom 8. Mai, 16.28 Uhr: Er wird zu den „Königen der russischen Immobilien“ gezählt – und kritisiert nun den Kremlchef: Der Oligarch Andrey Kovalev hat wegen der Folgen für seine Heimat den Überfall auf die Ukraine verdammt. Das berichtete CNN und berief sich dabei auf einen Telegram Eintrag Kovalevs.
Der Geschäftsmann erklärte dort am Montag (8. Mai), dass er zunächst glaubte, Russland werde Kiew in höchstens drei Wochen einnehmen. Doch nun sei er überrascht, dass dies nicht gelang, übersetzte CNN. Kovalev – auch Vorsitzender der Allrussischen Unternehmerbewegung – wies dabei auf die schweren Verluste Russlands hin.
In einem zweiten Video zeigte sich Kovalev laut CNN zurückerhaltender: Er schlug Wladimir Putin vor, „den Dienst der souveränen Unternehmer in Anspruch nehmen“, um zu helfen, „den Kriegssieg zu sichern“. Im Jahr 2012 hatte Forbes Russia ihn laut dem Bericht wegen seines 55-Millionen-Dollar-Vermögens in sein Ranking aufgenommen.
Ukraine-News: Russland reagiert mit neuer Rekrutierung auf hohe Verluste
Update vom 8. Mai, 15.30 Uhr: „Diese Rekruten werden wahrscheinlich an die Frontabschnitte in der Ukraine geschickt, wo die Verlustzahlen extrem hoch sind“: Moskau lockt Einwanderer aus Zentralasien mit hohem Soldaten-Sold und einem Schnellverfahren zur Einbürgerung – und sind damit zumindest teilweise erfolgreich. Das schätzen britische Geheimdienste in ihrem jüngsten Ukraine-Bericht, den das Verteidigungsministerium in London veröffentlichte.
Anwerber seien in Moscheen und Immigrations-Zentren unterwegs. Angeboten werden demnach Vorab-Prämien von umgerechnet 2165 Euro und eine Besoldung von bis zu 3770 Euro im Monat. Ziel sei es, so 400.000 Freiwillige für den Einsatz im Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine zu gewinnen. Warum bemüht sich das russische Verteidigungsministerium derartig? „Die Behörden versuchen ziemlich sicher, jegliche offene Zwangsmobilisierung zu verzögern so lange es geht, um Unzufriedenheit im eigenen Land zu minimieren“, hieß es in der Mitteilung der Briten.
Ukraine-News: Putin will sich auf Militärparade in Moskau zeigen
Update vom 8. Mai, 14.15 Uhr: Will der Kreml Stärke demonstrieren? Russische Medien berichteten, dass in mehr als 20 russischen Städten die Paraden zum 9. Mai abgesagt seien – wegen Sicherheitsbedenken. Nichts da, Wladimir Putin wird an dem Tag auf dem Roten Platz in Moskau erscheinen. „Morgen bei der Parade wird es den Auftritt des Präsidenten wirklich geben“, betonte sein Sprecher Dmitri Peskow nun der Agentur Interfax zufolge.
Moskau erinnert alljährlich am 9. Mai an den Sieg über Nazi-Deutschland. Neben dem Drohnen-Vorfall am Kreml häuften sich in letzter Zeit auch in anderen russischen Regionen mutmaßliche Partisanenanschläge etwa auf Gütertransporte und Öl-Raffinerien.
Ukraine-News: Von der Leyen reist zu Gesprächen mit Selenskyj nach Kiew
Update vom 8. Mai, 13.00 Uhr: EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen will am morgigen Dienstag (9. Mai) zum fünften Mal seit dem Beginn der russischen Invasion die ukrainische Hauptstadt Kiew besuchen. Sie werde dort am Europatag Wolodymyr Selenskyj treffen und noch einmal die uneingeschränkte Unterstützung für die Ukraine in ihrem Abwehrkampf gegen Russland bekräftigen, sagte ein Sprecher am Montag in Brüssel.
Anlass der Reise ist unter anderem, dass in der Ukraine künftig am 9. Mai auch immer der Europatag gefeiert werden soll. Der Tag markiert den Jahrestag der sogenannten Schuman-Erklärung. Sie wurde am 9. Mai 1950 vom damaligen französischen Außenminister Robert Schuman vorgeschlagen, um einen neuen Krieg zwischen den Nationen Europas undenkbar zu machen. Schumans Vorschlag gilt als Geburtsstunde dessen, was heute Europäische Union genannt wird.
Ukraine-News: Feierlichkeiten in Moskau finden statt
Update vom 8. Mai, 12.30 Uhr: Die jüngste Serie mutmaßlicher Sabotageakte und Angriffe auf russischem Territorium hat die Vorbereitungen für Moskaus alljährliche Feierlichkeiten zum Sieg über Nazi-Deutschland überschattet. Die Vorbereitungen gingen dennoch weiter – die große Militärparade auf dem Roten Platz an diesem Dienstag (9. Mai) findet statt. Auch Kreml-Chef Putin soll dabei sein.
Die Ukraine übernahm für keinen der von Moskau vermeldeten Angriffe die Verantwortung. Die Mehrzahl davon richtete sich aber offenbar gegen Lieferketten der russischen Armee in Grenzregionen zur Ukraine und auf der von Russland annektierten Krim-Halbinsel.
Diese Angriffe seien verübt worden, „um eine Offensive vorzubereiten“, sagte Experte Mychailo Samus, Vizedirektor des Zentrums für Armee-, Konversions- und Abrüstungsstudien in Kiew. Er zeigte sich überzeugt, dass die „Intensität“ solcher Angriffe noch zunehmen werde. Die ukrainische Armee bereitet sich seit Monaten auf eine Frühjahrsoffensive gegen die russischen Truppen vor.
Ukraine-News: Selenskyj weiter vom Sieg überzeugt
Update vom 8. Mai, 10.30 Uhr: Der ukrainische Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj hat sich anlässlich des 8. Mai zuversichtlich mit Blick auf einen „Sieg“ seines Landes über Russland geäußert. „Wir werden siegen“, sagte der ukrainische Staatschef am Montag (8. Mai) anlässlich des internationalen Gedenktages zum Sieg der Alliierten über Nazi-Deutschland im Zweiten Weltkrieg. „All das alte Böse, das das moderne Russland“ zurückbringe, werde „auf die gleiche Weise besiegt werden, wie der Nationalsozialismus besiegt wurde“.
Kyiv will also "liberate" the territories occupied by Moscow, Zelenskyy said in a speech recorded in front of the Kyiv Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II and circulated online. "Just as we destroyed evil together then, so now we are destroying a similar evil together," Zelenskyy said. This is "different" today, but has "the same goal: enslavement or destruction". The contribution of the Ukrainian people to the victory over Nazism will "never be forgotten," Zelensky said. May 8 is the anniversary of the surrender of the German Wehrmacht in World War II.
Ukraine-News: Moscow attacks Kyiv and Odessa
Update from May 8, 6:45 a.m.: At the beginning of the week, Ukraine reported Russian air strikes on several parts of the country – including again on the capital Kyiv. There, at least five people were injured by the nightly shelling, Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Monday morning. Drone parts had fallen there, among other things, on a residential building. In total, according to the military administration, 30 of the unmanned aerial vehicles were detected and shot down in the airspace of the capital.
Also in Odessa, the Ukrainian authorities reported shelling - by Russian Ch-22 cruise missiles. A food warehouse caught fire there.
Ukraine-News: "Will launch counteroffensive"
Update from May 8, 5:25 a.m.: The offensive of the Ukrainian military to recapture occupied territories, which is expected in the near future, will "panic" Russia, in the words of Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov. The Russians have still not understood that their propaganda shows them a false picture of the situation, said Havrylov on Sunday in an interview with the British newspaper "The Independent". "This war will be won on the ground, not on TV screens or on the Internet."
Havrylov did not want to name a date for the long-announced and expected offensive. "We will launch our counteroffensive – when and where is not important at the moment."
Ukraine-News: World must learn truth about Russian terror
Update from May 7, 21:53 p.m.: The world, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, needs to know "all the facts of Russian terror" against Ukrainians. "It is important for the world to talk about what the terrorist state is doing and how we are protecting lives," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. He spoke of Russian artillery raids on Kherson or Kharkiv, as well as "the terror against villages in the border areas of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, hell in the Donetsk region."
Ukraine-News: Russia evacuates zone around occupied nuclear power plant
Update from May 7, 18:36 p.m.: According to Ukrainian data, Russian troops are evacuating the city of Enerhodar, on the site of which the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which they occupy, is located. People would be transported to the cities of Berdyansk and Prymorsk, both of which are located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, the Ukrainian General Staff said. The first residents to be taken away are those who took Russian citizenship at the beginning of the occupation.
Update from May 7, 16:39 p.m.: "Tense, but under control." This is how a Ukraine commander describes the situation on the Eastern Front. According to the commander-in-chief responsible there, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian military have recently increased the intensity of shelling with heavy weapons, deployed more modern equipment and regrouped their troops. "This suggests that the enemy is not going to change his plans and is doing everything possible to establish control over Bakhmut and continue his offensive."
Update from May 7, 13:43 p.m.: Does Russia have no strength for a major offensive? "Today, Russia does not have the potential, either militarily, economically or politically to launch another attempt at a serious offensive anywhere in Ukraine," said Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence.
However, Russia is still strong enough to organize the defense of the occupied territories, Budanov estimated in an interview published on Yahoo News on Saturday evening (May 7). "That's the problem we're facing right now." According to the editors, the conversation took place on April 24.
Ukraine-News: Wagner troupe under Prigozhin to receive ammunition from Russia
Update from May 7, 12:27 p.m.: The Wagner mercenaries are now to receive the required ammunition from Russia – at least according to their boss. "We were promised as much ammunition and weapons as necessary to continue hostilities," Yevgeny Prigozhin's press service said on Telegram.
General Sergei Surovikin is responsible for coordinating the mercenaries with the regular units – "the only person with a general's star who knows anything about fighting," Prigozhin said. Most recently, Prigozhin had announced the withdrawal of his mercenaries from Bakhmut, justifying this with the imminent danger of wearing down his troops.
Ukraine war news: UK expects Russian economic crisis
Update from May 7, 11:09 a.m.: The losses for Russia are also of an economic nature: Partly because of the Ukraine war, the country's economy is threatened with a severe crisis. That's what experts in the UK appreciate.
Russia is facing the worst labor shortage in decades, the Ministry of Defense in London has now announced, also citing data from the Russian Central Bank. "Over the past three years, Russia's population has reportedly shrunk by up to two million more people than expected due to Corona and the war in Ukraine," it said in London. In 2022 alone, up to 1.3 million people left the country, including many young and well-educated people from high-quality sectors such as the IT industry.
Ukraine-News: Contradictory figures on Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut
Update from May 6, 21:30 p.m.: The number of independently verified losses of Russia in the Ukraine war has apparently risen again: journalists from the Russian opposition media Mediazona, the BBC and volunteers have confirmed the names of 2,367 fighters killed, the Ukrainian portal Nexta reports in the evening.
According to the report, the Wagner Group near Bakhmut suffered the greatest losses. Among those killed were both "ordinary mercenaries" and recruits from prisons. According to Mediazona, however, the new figures did not come close to the figures published by Yevgeny Prigozhin himself, Nexta wrote. However, the research is more difficult: fallen prisoners in particular are often buried in secret and in separate cemeteries. In any case, this information, as well as data circulated by Russia (see previous update), could illustrate the cruelty of the conflicts started by Russia.
Overview from 6 May: Kiev/Moscow/Bakhmut – Just a few days ago, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that he would withdraw his troops from the small town of Bakhmut, which has been embattled for months. Now the mercenary boss declared that he wanted to hand over the positions of his mercenaries that he had captured so far to the troops of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing Prigozhin's press service.
"I am grateful to Ramzan Akhmatovich for agreeing to take our position in Bakhmut and that he is most likely able to get everything he needs to do so," it said in a statement. Further, the financier of the Wagner Group claimed that he was already in contact with Kadyrov's representatives. Kadyrov has ruled over the Russian republic of Chechnya since 2007, is considered a close confidant of the Russian president and is therefore also called "Putin's bloodhound".
News on the Ukraine war: Wagner boss Prigozhin allegedly wants to exchange troops
In the past, Prigozhin repeatedly complained about a lack of ammunition and attacked the Russian military leadership – in particular, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, are a popular target for the 61-year-old.
Allegedly, the Wagner troops are to be withdrawn on May 10, next Wednesday. Then Kadyrov's fighters are supposed to take over. The coming week will show whether this is actually the truth or just Russian calculation. (with agency material)
