This blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, May 19.
This blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, May 19.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a surprise trip to Saudi Arabia, where he addressed an Arab League summit urging leaders to help protect Ukrainians and the Muslim community in Crimea.
- Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin says Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken “either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow” because Ukrainian soldiers have created an “impregnable fortress” in the southwest of the city.
- Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says Russian forces are trying to recapture land they have lost around Bakhmut as Kyiv’s forces continue repelling their attacks in the bloody battle for the eastern city.
- Four witnesses in Zaporizhzhia say Russian military forces in recent weeks have been enhancing defensive positions in and around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where many expect an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive to start, the Reuters news agency reports.