Ukrainian troops have gains in Bakhmut. The Russians loot Enerhodar and the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant. Drones strike a military training ground in Russia’s Voronezh region.
Ukrainian troops have gains in Bakhmut
Ukrainian troops conduct effective counterattacks on the Bakhmut axis, pushing Russian forces back by up to two kilometers in some areas, Commander of Ukraine’s ground forces Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a post on Telegram.
A well-planned defensive operation around Bakhmut yields results, Syrskyi said, as Russian troops failed to withstand the pressure from Ukrainian troops in some areas. “It was the competent conduct of the defensive operation that exhausted the trained forces of the Wagner private military contractor and forced them to be replaced in certain directions by less well-prepared units of the Russian regular troops, which were defeated and retreated,” Syrskyi said.
Despite Russian propaganda claims and a large number of troops stationed in the area, Russia failed to capture Bakhmut by May 9. Ukraine’s defense forces hold positions and do not let the enemy advance further as the fighting for the city rages, Ukraine’s ground forces commander added. “As Carl von Clausewitz put it: ‘A war is waged until victory is won, full stop.’ Glory to Ukraine!” Syrskyi added.
Wagner group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin said there is a risk that his fighters in Bakhmut will be encircled as the flanks held by the Russian regular troops are “falling apart”.
“Due to a personnel shortage, the Wagner private military company had to pass the flanks over to the regular troops. The flanks are falling apart and failing. In the absence of ammunition, the ‘meat grinder’ will work in the opposite direction – the Ukrainian Armed Forces will destroy Wagner,” Prigozhin is quoted as saying.
Drones strike military training ground in Russia’s Voronezh region
Overnight on May 10, two drones struck a military training ground in Russia’s Voronezh region. According to Russian news site Baza, the drones were carrying explosives and detonated as they fell down. Fourteen Russian troops were injured. No details were available on extent of their injuries. Another drone allegedly tried to attack a military airfield in the same region on the morning of May 9. It was shot down six kilometers away from the target.
Russians loot Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, likely preparing to retreat
On May 9, Dmytro Orlov, the exiled mayor of Enerhodar, a satellite city for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, said that Russian forces are moving away from the place, and taking with them documents, computers, and other items they looted. In the city, food shops and pharmacies are closed, and gas stations and cash machines are empty.
The Russians continue to take away the things they stole from near-front towns and villages in Zaporizhzhia region under a pretext of civilian evacuations.
Russian forces have looted all medical facilities in Enerhodar. They took the stolen medical equipment to occupied Crimea, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in an evening report on May 9.
All companies located in an industrial area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are completely looted.
China: change of foreign policy or calculated political steps? Ukraine in Flames #426
China, which usually abstains from voting on any resolutions condemning the russian invasion of Ukraine, has backed a UN General Assembly resolution, that contains tough language regarding russian aggression, on the same day when Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky by phone, the first known call between the two leaders since the start of russia’s invasion. Watch Ukraine in flames #426 to find out about a possible landmark change in China’s foreign policy and what it means for Beijing’s efforts to play peacemaker between Kyiv and Moscow.
Guests:
- Valeriy Chaly, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA (2015-2019), Chairman of the Board of Ukraine Crisis Media Center
- Natalia Butyrska, Expert on East Asia
