Blasts Rock Mariupol, Wagner Chief Announces Bakhmut Withdrawal After Victory Claim, Zelensky at G7

Ukraine claims its air defences in Kyiv intercepted all the Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia overnight on May 20. Three “powerful explosions“ were reported in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol on May 19. The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed full control of Bakhmut. He added that Wagner forces would withdraw from Bakhmut from May 25 and hand over control to the Russian army. A Russian prisoner who joined the Wagner group said Putin’s army used him as “cannon fodder.” Meanwhile, On May 20, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed the US participation in the “fighter jet coalition.” Russia has warned that supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine would carry “colossal” risks for the West. President Zelensky is in Japan’s Hiroshima and will meet US President Biden on the sidelines of the G7 summit. An aide to Polish president Andrzej Duda claims the object that entered Poland’s airspace in 2022 was a Russian-made rocket. #russi