Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the Zaporizhzhya region face a barrage of attacks from Russian forces trying to hold on to strategically valuable supply routes. Speaking to RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir, the troops said their counteroffensive operations have been slowed by mines laid by Russian soldiers, enemy rocket attacks, and cluster munitions.
Ukrainian air-reconnaissance units have been working closely with infantry in the counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces. RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir spent a day with members of Ukraine's 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade on the front line in the Zaporizhzhya region.
The chief of Russia's Wagner private mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced on May 25 the start of the withdrawal of his troops from Bakhmut after claiming last week he had full control of the eastern Ukrainian city.
The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow has sentenced 25-year-old activist Andrei Klimashev to 5 1/2 years in prison, his lawyer, Maksim Ovchinnikov, said on May 24.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is to hold a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group amid calls by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for allies to speed delivery of promised F-16 fighter jets to beef up his country's air defense.