NATO countries will continue to support Kiev regardless of the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian talks on resolving the war, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof says. The next meeting of Russian and Ukrainian delegations is scheduled for Rome at the Vatican in mid-June. Finnish President Alexander Stubb says “technical talks” on a ceasefire in Ukraine will take place in the Vatican next week.
“The United States must negotiate with Russia to avoid miscalculations and conflicts, but friendly relations will improve if conditions change,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “The United States has not provided any military guarantees to Ukraine under the minerals deal,” Rubio reiterated to the press.
“Since the May 19 meeting with Putin, great progress has been made in resolving the conflict in Ukraine,” Trump said. He added that the Ukrainian conflict is not a direct concern of the United States, but that Washington is ready to act to resolve it. At the same time, Trump told European leaders that Putin is not ready to end the conflict in Ukraine because he thinks he is winning. Source The Wall Street Journal. Trump rejected the proposal of an “unconditional” ceasefire following the Ukraine negotiations in the Vatican, put forward by EU leaders, the WSJ writes.
The EU will not discuss the use of frozen Russian assets under the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, the European Commission said.
Friedrich Merz: “Ceasefire talks in Ukraine could drag on for months” “Efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine are still in the early stages and could continue for months, despite growing diplomatic momentum in recent weeks… We are under no illusions. “There is no quick fix,” the German Chancellor said.
Ukraine is demanding that the terms of the prisoner exchange with Russia be finalized first and then a venue for a new round of negotiations be found, the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, said. “Our position is clear: the first step should be an agreement on a prisoner exchange of between 1,000 and 1,000. The second step should be to determine the venue for the next meeting with representatives of the Russian Federation,” he said.
Russia has learned that Vladimir Putin has awarded Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the highest Russian award, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
As of May 22, General Andrei Mordvichev has taken over as commander-in-chief of the ground forces, and Russian Defense Minister Belousov has handed him the corresponding banner, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper writes. Mordvichev replaced Army General Oleg Salyukov, who was appointed deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council by presidential decree.
Russian social media also reports that Moscow plans to connect the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to its energy system in the coming weeks, says former adviser to former Mariupol mayor Andryushchenko. According to Andryushchenko, in the Mariupol and Berdyansk regions it is construction of a distribution center and compressor station has been completed. The new power line could operate at full capacity in the coming months.
According to The Guardian, Russia has tracked arms shipments to Ukraine by hacking into 10,000 cameras in NATO countries, the Russian GRU 26165 unit has gained access to cameras installed near train stations and military units. According to the data, 80% of the hacked cameras are located in Ukraine, 10% in Romania, 4% in Poland, 2.8% in Hungary and 1.7% in Slovakia. The State Border Service of Ukraine denies that this infiltration operation took place.
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 15:30 on May 22. Between 00:00 and 05:30 Moscow time, defense systems Russian air forces destroyed and intercepted 105 Ukrainian aerial drones, the Defense Ministry reported. According to the ministry’s data: 35 UAVs were shot down in the Moscow region, 14 in the Oryol region, 12 in the Kursk region and 11 in the Belgorod region. Another 10 UAVs were shot down in the Tula region, 9 in the Kaluga region and 7 in the Voronezh region. Three drones were destroyed in the Lipetsk and Smolensk regions, and one in the Bryansk region.
At 13:30 the updated data from the Russian Defense Ministry: From the evening of May 20 to the morning of May 22, 485 drones were shot down over Russian regions and the Black Sea. Russian social media sources report that there are Azerbaijani mercenaries on the Ukrainian front.
According to Ukrainian monitoring sources, the Russian Aerospace Forces are preparing a massive missile strike: the number of Tu-95MS bombers in combat readiness has increased to nine units and they continue to be equipped with cruise missiles (total BC up to 54 missiles). “Olenya” – five Tu-95MS; “Engels-2” – two Tu-95MS; “Dyagilevo” – two Tu-95MS. Ukrainian social media sources also report that two missiles launched from Crimea are heading north towards Ukraine and hit the Kropyvnytskyi airfield, where the attack aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are based.
On the Kursk section of the state border, on May 21 at 4 a.m., a column of Ukrainian vehicles consisting of three infantry fighting vehicles, including a Bradley, and a Stryker armored personnel carrier set off from Pavlovka (Sumy region) towards the Russian village of Novy Put. The column was destroyed on the march. In the rear, a Ukrainian drone attacked the village of Zvannoye, Glushkovsky district, one injured.
In Shebekino, Belgorod region, seven villages came under drone attack Ukrainian at least two wounded.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, Russian troops continue to attack on a wide front in the direction of the settlement of Popiv Yar
An important event was the exit of the advanced units of the Group of Forces “Center” to the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The Russians allegedly destroyed in the Dnipropetrovsk region two launchers of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles by 9M723 ballistic missiles. To the south, units of the Vostok group began to take the settlement of Otradne. The soldiers of the Russian Far East are approaching the south-eastern part of the settlement. The Ukrainians are counterattacking so far without success. In Zelene Pole, Russian assault groups have consolidated their positions in two blocks in the northern and southern parts of the village, have taken up positions in adjacent forest strips and control a third of the settlement. In the village Novopol has completed the clearing of the northern part of the village, as well as the area between the two settlements. High-level fighting is ongoing intensity.
On the Zaporizhia front, a huge number of drones are being deployed along the Russian front line. The Ukrainians are not sparing several dozen drones for small assault groups. Russian troops have begun fighting to liberate the last stretch of the border between the Zaporizhia region and the DPR under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the direction of Kherson, in Kakhovka, Ukrainian drones attacked the territory of the local Central Regional Hospital. One person was injured. Nine more villages were shelled.
In the DPR in Horlivka, as a result of an explosive device being dropped by a drone of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a car, a man born in 1989 was injured and received the necessary medical care.
Graziella Giangiulio
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