The Russian InvasionThe Battles

Ukrainian soldiers in Bachmut at the end of March. Libkos / AP  

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Zelenskyy suggests: Retreat will happen if Bachmut is called in  

Ukrainian generals may have to make the "right decision" if the troops in and around Bakhmut in the eastern parts of the country are surrounded by Russian forces. That's what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, according to Reuters.  

The news agency interprets it as the president hinting that a retreat may become relevant. 

- For me, the most important thing is not to lose our soldiers. 

The paramilitary Wagner group claimed this weekend that it had taken control of the central parts of the city, something that Ukraine denied. The US-based think tank ISW believes that the Wagner group has achieved some success recently, but that it does not control Bachmut.

Stock photography, Ukrainian soldiers. Vadim Ghirda / AP  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

Russia strengthens before counteroffensive - Kyiv is silent  

 

Russian troops are placing mines and building barriers in several places in Ukraine - including around the occupied city of Melitopol. This is claimed by the mayor Ivan Fedorov, who is now in the city of Zaporizhzhya, writes the NYT.  

 

Melitopol has been singled out as a possible target for a counter-offensive. If Ukraine retakes the city, it would break the land bridge that exists between the Crimean peninsula and the Russian mainland.  

 

According to The Telegraph, last week Ukraine carried out an attack on a railway depot in Melitopol. A pro-Russian official says Kyiv is preparing for an offensive in the Zaporizhzhya region, where Melitopol is located. 

 

- They are ready, he says. 

 

It is unclear in which direction a possible counter-offensive could take place, and the NYT writes that uncertainty could be a Ukrainian advantage. Last fall, Kyiv claimed that a counter-offensive was underway against Kherson, but shortly thereafter it instead advanced into the Kharkiv region.  

 

 

The Zelenskyi/Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with Russia. TT.  

Russian invasionUkraine's response  

Ukrainian adviser opens negotiations on Crimea 

 

Ukraine is ready to discuss the Crimean peninsula's future with Russia if the country's forces manage to reach the peninsula's border in the event of a counter-offensive. Andriy Sybiha, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says so, according to the Financial Times.  

 

However, he adds that the Ukrainian army's "liberation" of the annexed peninsula should not be ruled out. The statement is described as the clearest from the Ukrainian side since the peace talks broke down in April last year, shortly after Russia began the offensive.  

 

President Zelenskyi has since rejected all proposals for talks, unless Putin's forces leave the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea. 

 

Russian invasionThe assassination of Tatarsky  

Putin: Spies in the West behind "terror attacks" 

Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Western intelligence services of having helped Ukraine stage "terrorist attacks" in Russia, reports the AFP news agency.  

Putin was speaking at a meeting of the Kremlin's Security Council to ensure law and order in four Ukrainian territories that Russia claims to have annexed last year.  

- There are reasons to claim that other countries and Western intelligence services were involved "in the preparations for sabotage and terrorist attacks," Putin said in televised remarks.  

Putin's comments come days after the explosion at a cafe in Saint Petersburg, where pro-Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died.