Massive Russian losses in 24 hours: Ukrainian General Staff publishes figures

Ukraine relies on F-16 fighter jets. Prigozhin reports capture of Bakhmut. Kiev denies. Russia is attacking Toretsk. The news ticker on the Ukraine war.

• Losses for Russia: Kiev calls new figures
• Ukraine hopes for fighter jets: F-16s encourage Kyiv
• Battle for Bakhmut: Putin congratulates
• All the news from the Ukraine war in our news ticker. Some of the information comes from the warring parties in Russia or Ukraine. They often cannot be independently verified.
• Note: This news ticker on the Ukraine war will no longer be updated. Further developments can be found in the new news ticker on the Ukraine war.

Update from May 22, 21:33 p.m.: Read all other news and developments in our news ticker on the Ukraine war.

Update from May 21, 11:33 a.m.: According to British intelligence estimates, Russia is increasingly relying on surveillance drones in preparation for its air strikes on Ukraine. These are mostly Russian-produced aircraft called Supercam, which are relatively cheap and have sufficient range to fly over potential targets, the Ministry of Defense in London said on Sunday. Experts estimate that the drones can stay in the air for around four to five hours and fly up to five kilometers high. This tactic is intended to help Russia assess combat damage more quickly and improve accuracy. The Russian missile strikes would now focus on strikes against Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses.

Ukraine war: Heavy losses for Russia

Update from May 21, 9:35 a.m.: According to the Ukrainian General Staff, about 24 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in combat within 670 hours. This brings the total number of troops Russia is said to have lost in the Ukraine war so far to 203,160. According to the report, Russia has also lost 3783 tanks, 2822 drones, 308 aircraft, 294 helicopters and 18 boats. Actual figures on troop levels or casualties are not published by either party to the conflict. The information cannot be independently verified.

The mother of a Russian soldier killed in Ukraine kneels next to a tree planted in memory of her son in Sevastopol, Crimea.

© Uncredited/AP/dpa

Ukraine war: F-16 fighter jets encourage Kyiv

Update from May 21, 06:50 a.m.: Kyiv is convinced that it can win the Ukraine war with the help of F-16 fighter jets. The fighter jets would protect areas beyond the range of anti-aircraft missiles, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat told Ukrainian broadcaster Espreso TV. "By deploying F-16s, our ground forces will be able to quickly liberate the occupied Ukrainian territories by targeting enemy command posts, military groups and logistical supply chains."

Ukraine war: Russia announces capture of Bakhmut - Putin congratulates

Update from May 21, 05:30 a.m.: The battle for Bakhmut is considered the longest and bloodiest of the war in Ukraine. Now the Russian side claims to have captured the largely destroyed city. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin congratulated the Wagner troops and the Russian army. The Russian armed forces had guaranteed Wagner the necessary protection on the flanks, Putin said, according to his press service. "All outstanding fighters will be honored with state awards."

The spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Army Group, Serhiy Cherevatyi, denied on the radio in Kiev that Bakhmut had been captured. Rather, Prigozhin's troops are at the end of their rope and want to give up: they must fear being encircled by the Ukrainian defenders, Cherevatyi said.

Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine

Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine

Ukraine war: Russian forces attack Toretsk: child (11) injured

Update from May 20, 20:00 p.m.: Russian forces apparently attacked the city of Toretsk in the Donetsk region on Saturday. According to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, at least five people were injured in the attack by multiple rocket launchers, including an 11-year-old child. The missiles would also have hit the local hospital. Toretsk is located just over 20 kilometers southwest of the heavily contested city of Bakhmut. Kyrylenko called on the inhabitants to leave the city.

Update from May 20, 16:24 p.m.: The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense calls the situation in Bakhmut critical. "Heavy fighting in Bakhmut. The situation is critical," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram. Ukrainian forces controlled some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the contested area.

Bakhmut pleased? Prigozhin reports capture – Kiev denies

Update from May 20, 15:30 p.m.: Ukraine contradicts statements by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin about a complete capture of the city of Bakhmut by Russian forces. Ukrainian soldiers continued to fight in Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Command Staff responsible for eastern Ukraine.

Update from May 20, 15:10 p.m.: The Russian mercenary group Wagner says it has taken full control of the embattled city of Bakhmut. This was announced by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a video. He announced a surrender of the city to the Russian military. The Wagner forces would withdraw from the city on 25 May, over which they had taken full control. Initially, the information could not be verified.

Update from May 20, 13:45 p.m.: Almost 15 months after the start of the Ukraine war, Russia has apparently used up its missile stockpiles. This was stated by Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of defense intelligence, to RBC-Ukraine. Fragments of Russian missiles indicated that they had just "left the assembly line," Skibitsky said. This means that Moscow is in a position to obtain the necessary components for the corresponding supplies, despite Western sanctions.

According to Skibitsky, Russia is capable of producing up to 67 missiles per month, including 35 Kh-101 cruise missiles, 25 Kalibr cruise missiles, five M723 ballistic missiles for the Iskander-M system and two Kinschal hypersonic ballistic missiles.

Small counteroffensives in the Ukraine war: Kyiv's army continues to fight for Bakhmut

Update from May 20, 11:55 a.m.: The Ukrainian army has been launching smaller counterattacks near Bakhmut for days. These "most likely eliminated the threat of Russian encirclement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," according to the latest analysis by the US think tank "Institute of the Study of War". As a result, Russian troops were forced to "use their scarce military resources to defend against a limited and localized offensive, as the Ukrainian leadership probably intended."

Ukraine war: Russia increases troops around Bakhmut

Update from May 20, 10:25 a.m.: Russia has once again strengthened its troops in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. "Over the past four days, Russia has most likely deployed several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut front," said the Ministry of Defense in London, which relies on information from British intelligence. This is a response to tactical territorial gains by the Ukrainians on the flanks of the city, as well as public threats by the Wagner mercenary group to stop fighting there, it added.

Presumably, only a few Russian units are available in Ukraine. Therefore, the transfer to the Bakhmut area represents a remarkable commitment of the Russian command, the British ministry emphasized. "The Russian leadership probably continues to consider the capture of Bakhmut as the main immediate war goal that would allow it to achieve some success in the conflict."

Heavy fighting in the Ukraine war: counteroffensive near Bakhmut

Update from May 20, 07:45 a.m.: Heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. During counterattacks in the Ukraine war around the city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops regained some terrain, according to their own account. "The enemy continues its assaults inside the city," Ukrainian Army Group East spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi said on state television. The Ukrainian units, on the other hand, put pressure on Russian troops outside the city and continued to advance there.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, the Russian military deployed several thousand soldiers to Bakhmut as reinforcements. "The enemy can't win with quality, so he tries with quantity," she wrote on Facebook in connection with the Ukraine war. "Russian troops continue to attack with heavy losses that disproportionately exceed our losses."

Kyiv continues to be the target of air strikes in the Ukraine war: Violent explosions in the city

Update from May 20, 06:20 a.m.: Kiev was again shaken by violent explosions by air defense missiles during the night. According to the city administration, debris caused a fire in at least one high-rise building in a district on the east bank of the Dnipro. For the time being, nothing was known about other victims in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine war: series of explosions at Mariupol airport

Update from May 19, 21:52 p.m.: The airport in the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Russia, which is occupied by Russian troops, was rocked by a series of explosions on Friday evening. This was reported by the Russian state agency Tass, citing local authorities. Video footage of explosions circulated on social networks, the cause and effects of which were not known for the time being. Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian military commented on the incident in the Ukraine war.

Russian troops captured the port city on the Sea of Azov last year after months of heavy fighting in the Ukraine war. Large parts of the city were destroyed.

Losses in Ukraine war: Belarusians die in Bakhmut

Update from May 19, 18:17 p.m.: In eastern Ukraine, according to the Belarusian opposition, five volunteer Belarusian fighters have been killed in battle against Russian troops. "It breaks my heart that five members of the Belarusian volunteer regiment Kastus Kalinovsky are dead after fighting near Bakhmut," Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Twitter.

A commander was killed while trying to bring injured people to safety. According to Tsikhanouskaya, four bodies have not yet been recovered from the rubble of the building, which had been attacked by Russian artillery. "The fighting continues," she writes. The oppositionist paid tribute to the "real heroes" who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of Ukraine and the freedom of Belarus. President Alexander Lukashenko had repeatedly stressed that Belarus would not go to war in Ukraine – only under certain conditions would the soldiers fight on the Russian side.

Ukraine reports losses for Putin's troops in Bakhmut: "A whole battalion daily"

Update from May 18, 14:25 p.m.: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has commented on the heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in the city of Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian news agency RBC. "The Russians, according to our estimates, are losing a whole battalion or something there every day," RBC quoted the minister as saying. In total, Russia has killed or wounded 70,000 soldiers since the beginning of the battles for Bakhmut.

According to Reznikov, with the defense of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military is fulfilling another critical task: the Russian army is being significantly weakened. This prevents Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's troops from launching offensive actions in other directions.

Ukraine war: Zelensky suddenly appears in Saudi Arabia

Update from May 18, 12:20 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a surprise trip to Saudi Arabia for the Arab League summit. Zelensky landed in the coastal city of Jeddah on Friday, according to the Al-Arabiya news channel. Zelensky confirmed his arrival via Twitter. Zelensky is expected to travel to Japan for the G7 summit after this visit.

London gives assessment of attack on railway line: Crimea remains important in Ukraine war

Update from May 19, 10:25 a.m.: According to British intelligence services, the alleged attack on an important railway line on the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea also has consequences for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It is the only train connection to the port of Sevastopol, where the fleet is stationed, said the Ministry of Defense in London on Friday. "Russia will try to quickly repair the track, but the incident will disrupt the supply of supplies and, possibly, weapons, such as Kalibr cruise missiles, to the fleet."

Thursday's incident, in which a freight train derailed, will also increase Russian concerns about the protection of important infrastructure in Crimea. "The peninsula continues to play an important psychological and logistical role in enabling Russia's war in Ukraine," it said in London.

Pistorius speaks out in favour of further arms deliveries in the Ukraine war

Update from May 19, 9:20 a.m.: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has clearly rejected doubts about the continued arms deliveries to Ukraine. "Anyone who calls today to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine is abandoning Ukraine to its fate," he told the Augsburger Allgemeine and the Main-Post on Friday (19 May). "The end of arms deliveries today would be the end of Ukraine tomorrow."

Pistorius reiterated that it was a matter of "supporting Ukraine with everything we can, what we can do". In this context, he reiterated the German government's rejection of the delivery of fighter jets: "I have repeatedly said that we do not have any fighter jets that will help Ukraine immediately."

War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy travels to Japan for G7 summit

Update from May 19, 8:20 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the G7 summit in Japan in person. Zelensky is expected at the meeting, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, according to informed sources in Hiroshima on Friday (19 May). Details of when exactly the Ukrainian head of state will travel to the summit of the group of major industrialized nations (G7) were not initially available.

The official G7 program has so far provided for Zelensky to speak to the summit participants via video link on Sunday. In Hiroshima, it was said that in view of the situation in Ukraine, last-minute changes with a view to the visit could not be ruled out.

Ukraine war: Putin's army does not want to give up Bakhmut

First reported on 17 May: Bakhmut – Russia is apparently losing ground in the battle for Bakhmut – but apparently does not want to give up the city, which has been besieged for months, and is moving even more of its troops there. This is the assessment of the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in a recent analysis. The Russian military leadership has decided to withdraw soldiers from other areas of Ukraine and station them in Bakhmut instead, they say.

Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, announced on Tuesday (16 May) that the Russian army had increased its forces in the Bakhmut region, according to the ISW report. These are intended to stabilize the situation there for Russia, Pushilin said.

In addition, a well-known Russian military blogger wrote on his Telegram channel that Russia had moved four battalions to the flanks of the city. However, according to him, a large-scale attack on the Ukrainian defenders is not planned: "Their task is to survive and prevent further breakthroughs," the blogger writes.

Ukraine war: Putin apparently deploys more air forces near Bakhmut

In line with this, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Telegram on Monday (15 May) that Putin's army had deployed additional air forces near Bakhmut. These were presumably withdrawn from other sectors of the front in the Ukraine war.

So far, there have been no statements from the Russian Defense Ministry about a new, tactical offensive in Bakhmut. Instead, it said on Tuesday (16 May) that the embattled city would focus on repelling Ukrainian counterattacks. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Malyar said that the Ukrainian army had liberated 20 square kilometers in recent days.

Ukraine-News: Kiev is apparently pursuing a strategy of "active defense" near Bakhmut

The commander of Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the strategy of "active defense" continued to be pursued in order to launch counterattacks in unspecified areas near Bakhmut. According to the ISW, however, the Russian army has made little progress in Bakhmut in recent days.

On Tuesday (16 May) there were reports that Bakhmut was now becoming a death zone for Russian soldiers: the Russians were sitting there in a "mousetrap", Colonel-General Syrskyj had declared. Earlier, units of the Ukrainian army northwest and southwest of Bakhmut pushed back the Russian troops, sometimes by several kilometers. (smu)

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