Battle in Bakhmut intensifies, Ukrainian President visits Vatican

The latest British military intelligence report said that Ukrainian forces have recovered at least 1 km of territory near the city of Bakhmut (Donetsk province), The Guardian reported on May 13. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President met with Pope Francis.

Chiến sự Bakhmut căng thẳng, Tổng thống Ukraine công du Vatican - Ảnh 1. — A Ukrainian unit in an attack position near the Zaporizhzhia front line.

Ukraine's progress in Bakhmut

According to British military intelligence, the newly-reclaimed area lies on the western side of the Donets-Donbass Canal, which is part of the front line separating the two sides and plays a significant tactical role. According to the report, the Ukrainian side captured the area after units of the Russian 72nd Independent Motor Rifle Brigade withdrew from positions south of Bakhmut. The British Ministry of Defense said that what has happened in the past few days reflects Russia's lack of reliable combat units. Moscow has not commented on the above information.

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Also yesterday, TASS quoted a number of Russian-appointed officials in the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" (LPR) as condemning the Ukrainian army for using cruise missiles provided by the UK to attack the city of Luhansk, injuring six children. "According to updated information, on May 12, in a missile attack on the city of Luhansk, the Ukrainian armed forces deployed two Storm Shadow cruise missiles (made by the UK and France) and one ADM-160B MALD missile (USA)," according to TASS. Before this development, some observers also said that Kyiv was likely to have received new weapons from the West.

Luhansk is about 100 km from the front line, beyond the reach of the Ukrainian army's shorter-range missiles. Earlier this week, Britain confirmed it had delivered missiles with a maximum range of 300 km to Ukraine. This is also the longest-range missile that the Kyiv government has received from its Western allies. On the same day, May 13, Germany announced a 2.7 billion euro aid package, also the largest military aid package from Berlin to Kyiv since Russia launched a special military operation. The aid package includes 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard air defense tanks, more than 200 reconnaissance aircraft and 4 Iris-T air defense systems, according to Reuters.

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Ukrainian President meets Pope Francis

Yesterday afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome to meet with Italian government officials and Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church. In late April, Pope Francis said the Vatican was participating in a peace mission in an effort to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

"I met with President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Pope Francis. This is an important trip to achieve victory for Ukraine," Mr. Zelensky announced on Twitter. It is not clear whether the visit is related to the peace mission that Pope Francis announced. The Vatican has not shared the content of the meeting.

The visit comes as Ukraine prepares to launch a spring offensive. The New York Times on May 13 quoted US officials as saying they hoped the offensive could set the stage for talks with Russia. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of wanting to make concessions or sit down at the dialogue table until he has achieved his stated goals when launching the war. Ukrainian leaders have also ruled out negotiations until they push back Russian forces.

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Avril Haines, the US Director of National Intelligence, said it was unlikely that Russia would make concessions to sit at the negotiating table this year. She even said that if Ukraine and Russia reached a ceasefire, this would be an opportunity for the Russian army to regain strength to continue fighting in the next phase. Regarding the possibility that the West could reduce its support for Ukraine over time, G7 financial leaders ended a three-day conference in Niigata City, Japan, on May 13 with a commitment to continue providing aid to Ukraine.

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