???? Live: Drone strikes hit Russia region bordering Ukraine, says governor

Issued on: 23/05/2023 – 08:16

9:54am: Ukraine’s Zelensky visits front line to congratulate marines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited frontline troops on Tuesday to congratulate them on the Day of the Ukrainian Marines.

Zelensky posted photos online showing him presenting awards and posing for a group photograph with marines in a dimly lit location. “Our defenders. Frontline. Today I am here to congratulate our warriors on the Day of the Ukrainian Marines,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

9:26am: Ukraine says it still holds part of Bakhmut, fighting decreases in city

Ukrainian forces still control the southwestern edge of the city of Bakhmut and fighting in the city itself has decreased, Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Tuesday.

She wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv’s forces had made some progress “on the flanks to the north and south of Bakhmut” and that Russian forces, which say they have taken the city itself, were continuing to clear areas they control.

8:44am: Governor says drones shot down over Russia’s Belgorod region amid fighting

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Tuesday that drones had been shot down over the region by anti-aircraft weaponry.

There has been fighting in the region, which borders Ukraine, since Monday, after what Russian officials called a Ukrainian “sabotage group” crossed the border.

8:04am: Drone strikes hit Russia region bordering Ukraine, says governor

Several drones struck Russia’s border region of Belgorod overnight, a day after an armed group infiltrated the area from Ukraine, the local governor said on Tuesday.

The drones struck houses and a government building but did not result in casualties or deaths, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

7:58am: Russian PM arrives in China for talks with Xi, business forum

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow’s foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade.

Mishustin arrived late Monday in Shanghai, the ministry said, where he was greeted at the airport by Moscow’s ambassador to China Igor Morgulov and Beijing’s top diplomat to Russia Zhang Hanhui.

He will take part in a Russian-Chinese Business Forum and visit a petrochemical research institute in Shanghai, the Kremlin said, as well as hold talks with “representatives of Russian business circles”.

7:30am: ‘Counter-terrorism operation’ in Russia’s Belgorod region continues, says governor

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Tuesday the “counter-terrorism operation” in the region was ongoing, with the defence ministry and law enforcement agencies continuing “to clean up” the territory on the border with Ukraine.

“On the situation in the Graivoron district: the cleaning of the territory by the Ministry of Defence together with law enforcement agencies continues,” the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

“I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who … temporarily left their homes, it is not possible to return yet.”

• Key developments from Monday, May 22

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a Ukrainian “sabotage group” had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district bordering Ukraine and was being repelled.

As Russia claimed that it has taken full control of the embattled city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces continued to fight on in its outskirts.

Seeking to concentrate Russian fire on Bakhmut in order to spare other frontline cities, Ukrainian soldiers vowed to unleash as much firepower as they coul on the city.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)