Wagner chief asks Moscow to hand Bakhmut positions to Chechen forces

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9:29pm: Ukraine issues air raid alerts in the east

Ukrainian officials issued air raid alerts for most of eastern Ukraine on Saturday evening, extending from Vynnitsya in the west to all eastern regions and south to Kherson region and Russian-annexed Crimea.

9:10pm: Ukraine’s security service ambiguous on involvement in car blast

Ukraine’s SBU security service told the state Ukrinform news agency on Saturday it could not confirm or deny involvement in a car bombing that injured a Russian writer or other attacks.

“Officially, we cannot confirm or deny the SBU’s involvement in this or other explosions which occur with the occupiers or their henchmen,” Ukrinform quoted the agency as saying.

8:15pm: Russia accuses Ukraine and western allies of car blast 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday said Ukraine and Western countries backing it were responsible for a car bombing that injured a Russian writer and killed his driver.

A ministry statement, quoted by Russian news agencies, said: “Responsibility for this and other terrorist acts lies not only with Ukrainian authorities, but also their Western patrons, the United States in the first instance…”.

The statement said Washington’s failure to denounce this and other attacks was “self-revealing” for the US administration.

8:05pm: Zelensky congratulates King Charles on his coronation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated King Charles on his coronation on Saturday and offered him and the British people thanks for their support in the war against Russia.

He described King Charles and Queen Camilla, his wife, as “true friends of Ukraine” and said his reign marked “the beginning of a new era for the British monarchy”.

“I wish King Charles III many years of a successful reign and to the people of the United Kingdom prosperity and our shared victories,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

“I thank you for your support! Thank you to all the British people!”

Britain has been a key Western partner supplying military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February last year.

7:20pm: Russian shelling kills six Ukrainians on demining mission

Russian shelling killed six Ukrainian explosives experts engaged in demining operations in the southern Kherson region, the Ukrainian emergency services said on Saturday.

The emergency services, in a report on Telegram, said two other members of the demining team were injured, along with a female nurse, and were being treated in hospital.

6:52pm: Ukrainian agents responsible for car blast injuring pro-Kremlin writer, Moscow says

Russian investigators on Saturday said the suspect in a car blast that wounded pro-Kremlin writer Zakhar Prilepin had “acted on the instructions” of Ukrainian agents.

“Investigators of the Russian investigative committee are probing Alexander Permyakov’s involvement in the attempt to assassinate Zakhar Prilepin,” the body said, adding: “During the interrogation he testified that he acted on the instructions from the Ukrainian special services.”

5:17pm: Russia and Ukraine swap prisoners

Ukraine on Saturday hailed the return of 45 Azov battalion fighters captured during the battle for Mariupol while Russia said three of its pilots had been released by Kyiv, but neither side gave a full account of the apparent prisoner swap.

The freed Ukrainian prisoners included 42 men and three women from the Azov battalion, said Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

4:49pm: Russia downs Ukrainian missile above Crimea

Russia said Saturday its forces had downed a Ukrainian missile over the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, amid an expected offensive by Kyiv.

“Air defence forces shot down a ballistic missile over the Republic of Crimea. The missile was launched with Ukraine’s Grom-2 system. There was no damage or casualties,” the Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said on social media.

4:10pm: Wagner group looks to hand over Bakhmut position to Chechen forces

The chief of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner on Saturday asked Moscow to let him hand over his positions in the hotspot city of Bakhmut to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

“I ask you to issue a combat order before 00:00 on May 10 concerning the transfer of the positions of the Wagner paramilitary units in Bakhmut and its periphery, to the units of the Akhmat battalion,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a letter to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The Akhmat battalion refers to the Chechen combat units under the command of strongman Kadyrov, who has ruled Russia’s Muslim–majority republic Chechnya for the last decade and a half.

Prigozhin said his fighters would be forced to pull out because of a long “ammunition famine”.

He accused the Russian defence ministry of only delivering 32 percent of the required ammunition since October 2022.

3:26pm: Ukraine downs Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv

Ukraine’s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defence systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defence systems.

“Yes, we shot down the ‘unique’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It happened during the night time attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.”

Oleshchuk said the Kh-47 missile was launched by a MiG–31K aircraft from the Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile.

3:01pm: Russia unsatisfied over Black Sea grain deal

Russia is still not satisfied with how the issue of Russian agricultural exports as part of the Black Sea grain deal is being resolved, TASS news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin as saying on Saturday after the latest talks with a top UN official.

“We are still not satisfied with the progress. This is very important for us,” Vershinin said.

He was speaking after talks in Moscow with the United Nations’ top trade official Rebeca Grynspan, TASS said.

On Saturday, Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin had not yet responded to proposals from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on how to extend and improve the deal, which allows the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain.

2:52pm: Russia launches probe into car blast that injured pro-Kremlin writer

Russia on Saturday opened a terrorism probe after a car blast that wounded pro- Kremlin writer Zakhar Prilepin and killed another person.

“The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case into a terrorist act in connection with the explosion of Zakhar Prilepin’s car,” the committee that probes major crimes said, after the interior ministry said it detained a man who “may be involved” in the explosion.

12:30pm: Pro-Kremlin writer injured in car ‘explosion’, one other killed, says interior ministry

A prominent pro-Kremlin writer and Russian nationalist was injured Saturday in a car “explosion” and one other person was killed, the interior ministry said, after a string of recent drone attacks in Russia amid the fighting in Ukraine.

“According to initial reports, one person was killed by the explosion, and the writer Zakhar Prilepin, who was in the car, was injured” in the Nizhny Novgorod region some 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Moscow, the ministry said.

12:10pm: Ukraine downs Russian hypersonic missile with US Patriot

Ukraine’s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defence systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defence systems. 

“Yes, we shot down the ‘unique’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It happened during the night time attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.”

9:27am: Zelensky to address Swiss parliament

Switzerland’s parliament has approved a request from Ukrainian authorities for President Volodymyr Zelensky to address it.

The invitation, announced in a statement late on Friday, comes amid pressure on Switzerland’s government to break with a centuries-old tradition of neutrality and end a ban of exports of Swiss weapons to conflict zones such as Ukraine. 

The subject of Zelensky’s address, which will the first by video by a foreign leader to the legislature, is unknown.

It is scheduled for the summer session beginning on May 30. During that session, lawmakers are also set to weigh a motion to provide 5 billion Swiss Francs ($5.6 billion) of support to Ukraine over 5-10 years.

• Key developments from Friday, May 5:

Russian paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday threatened to pull frontline troops out of Bakhmut — the epicentre of Ukraine’s determined fight against Moscow’s forces— in an extraordinary attack on military chiefs ahead of an expected offensive by Kyiv.

In a series of scathing videos, Prigozhin blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for “tens of thousands” of killed and wounded Russian fighters in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Wednesday’s drone incident at the Kremlin was a “hostile act” and that Russia would respond with “concrete actions”.

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