Training Ukrainian pilots to fly US-built F-16 fighter jets does not make NATO "a party to the conflict", alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, although he added that it would send the message that NATO is "there for the long term”. Poland's defence minister said later in the day that his country was ready to train the Ukrainian pilots. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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4:05am: Russia's newest nuclear submarine to move to permanent Pacific base in August, says Russian TASS agency
The Russian navy's newest nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine will move to a permanent base in the Kamchatka Peninsula in August, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Wednesday, as Moscow steps up its Pacific military presence.
The Generalissimo Suvorov, which entered service at the end of 2022, carries up to 16 nuclear-tipped Russian Bulava missiles, each of which can carry more than one nuclear warhead.
"The submarine Generalissimo Suvorov will make an inter-naval transition from the Northern Fleet (in the Arctic) to the Pacific Fleet in August," the state TASS news agency reported, citing a source close to the military department. "The transition will be carried out along the Northern Sea Route, including in a submerged position."
Russia has been boosting defences in its vast far eastern regions bordering Asia-Pacific, accusing the US of expanding its presence there and raising security concerns in Japan and across the region.
The Generalissimo Suvorov is meant to bolster the Russian Pacific Fleet's force of nuclear-powered submarines at the Rybachiy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian agencies reported earlier.
10:34pm: Ukraine launches criminal proceedings into 'forced' children deportation
Ukraine's prosecutor general's office told Reuters that it has launched criminal proceedings into "the forced transportation/deportation of over 19,000 children" from the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv, including to Belarus.
"The fact and circumstances of taking Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the so-called 'recreational camps' in Belarus are currently under investigation in the mentioned criminal proceedings," it said.
The prosecutor general's office was responding to an earlier report by exiled Belarusian opposition leaders that said the Belarusian government has allegedly taken part in such deportations.
9:36pm: Ukrainian forces plans new strategy to take back Bakhmut
After ten months of bloody and intense fighting, Ukrainian army brigades have retaken some land around the outskirts of Bakhmut in the country’s east.
FRANCE 24's reporters went to meet one brigade stationed on the edge of the city who are determined to take back the city.
Please click on the video player below to watch the report.
8:33pm: Russia interceps two US bomber jets, Moscow says
Russia said Tuesday it had scrambled an Su-27 fighter jet to "prevent violations of the state border" by two US Air Force strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea.
"After removing the foreign military aircraft from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter went back to its air base," the Russian defence ministry said.
The two aircraft were B-1 strategic bomber belonging to the US Air Force.
The army prevented the violation of the border, according to the statement.
The ministry added: "The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace."
7:08pm: Three villages without power after substation drone attack in Russia's Kursk region
Three villages in Russia's Kursk region bordering Ukraine were left without power on Tuesday after a drone dropped explosives on an electrical substation, the region's governor said.
"Repair crews are currently carrying out restoration work. None of the residents were injured," governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russian regions near the Ukrainian border have repeatedly reported drone strikes on their civilian infrastructure.
Moscow says Kyiv is directly responsible for attacks inside its territory but Ukraine denies this.
6:15pm: One dead in Belgorod region after cross-border raids, Moscow says
Russia said Tuesday that one resident of the Belgorod region, which saw an armed group penetrate its border from Ukraine, had been killed by Kyiv's forces.
"To our great regret, we do have casualties. A peaceful civilian – a resident of the settlement of Kozinka, died at the hands of Ukrainian forces. Our most sincere condolences go to all their relatives and loved ones," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
Despite Russian allegations, Kyiv has denied involvement in the attacks.
6:08pm: Poland 'ready' to train Ukrainian pilots, says defence minister
Poland is ready to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, the Polish defence minister said Tuesday, after the United States gave its green light.
"We're ready. The Polish side is ready to train pilots on F-16 aircraft. Such training has not yet begun," Mariusz Blaszczak said, after talks with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
Blaszczak said he wanted the training to be part of a broader EU programme to ready Ukrainian military personnel for the fight against Russia.
The minister's comments came after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that training of pilots for the F-16 jets had already started in "several countries", including Poland.
5:23pm: US calls for release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich
The US called for the immediate release of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Tuesday after Russia's security service sought to extend his detention.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with CNN that Gershkovich should not be detained and his imprisonment should not be extended.
The US has sought consular access to Gershkovich several times over the past weeks which have all been denied.
4:46pm: Russia detains US reporter for three more months
Russia's FSB security service has applied to extend for another three months the investigative detention of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russia's state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, citing the court.
Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March on charges of spying, sparking an international outcry.
>> Read more: Former correspondents in Russia call for release of journalist Evan Gershkovich
4:15pm: Czech Republic to cut dependence on Russian oil
The Czech state-run Mero energy firm said Tuesday it has signed a deal to end the country's dependence on Russian oil, more than a year into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Mero will finance a $73 million expansion of the Transalpine oil pipeline (TAL), which supplies oil from the Italian port of Trieste to central Europe.
The Czech Republic's TAL capacity will now double to an annual eight million tonnes of oil starting 2025.
"This deal is our future, it will sever us from Russia after a long 60 years and help us achieve independence, freedom and sovereignty in energy supplies," Mero chief executive Jaroslav Pantucek told reporters.
The EU member of 10.5 million people already weaned itself off Russian gas earlier this year.
The Czech Republic's two refineries received 7.4 million tonnes of oil last year – 56 percent of it from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline.
3:22pm: Russia prevents Black Sea grain deal port operating, Kyiv says
The Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi has halted operations because Russia is not allowing ships to enter it, in effect cutting it out of a deal allowing safe Black Sea grain exports, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, and extended last week for two months, is intended to guarantee the safe wartime export of grains and foodstuffs from three Ukrainian ports – Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.
The United Nations, which together with Turkey, brokered the deal and its extension, expressed concern on Monday that Pivdennyi – near Odesa on the Black Sea – had not received any ships since May 2 under the deal.
"Formally, the port of Pivdennyi is in the Initiative, but in fact it hasn't been there for a month. It has no incoming fleet," Ukrainian Deputy Renovation Minister Yuriy Vaskov told Reuters.
3:11pm: Chinese envoy to visit Russia on Friday, Russian news media report
Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Russia on May 26, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported, citing an unnamed source.
Li, a former ambassador to Moscow, has been on an extended tour to Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and finally Russia.
Last week he became the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia sent in its armed forces in February 2022.
2:58pm: Ukrainians 'surprised' at Russian response to incursions
As the Kremlin pushes back "Ukrainian saboteurs" that attacked several villages on the Russian border, Ukrainians are "surprised at the scale of Russia’s response" to the incursions, which is disproportionate compared to the scale of the attack, said FRANCE 24's Ukraine correspondent Gulliver Cragg.
Meanwhile, it is still not clear how much Ukrainian authorities are involved, Cragg reported. Ukraine has insisted that the attacks were carried out by "citizens of the Russian federation" only.
Please click on the video player below to watch the report.
1:58pm: NATO says F-16 training for Ukrainians does not make it a party to the conflict
Training Ukrainian pilots in flying US-built F-16 fighter jets does not directly involve NATO in the war in Ukraine, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
"Ukraine has the right of self-defence ... We help Ukraine to uphold that right," he told reporters. "That doesn't make NATO and NATO allies a party to the conflict."
“Announcing clearly that they will start training – this is an important step that partly will enable us to deliver fighter jets at some stage,” Stoltenberg said before a meeting with EU defence ministers.
He added that the decision "is sending a very clear signal that we are there for the long term and that Russia cannot wait us out”.
US President Joe Biden gave his approval to transfer the US-made jets to Ukraine last week, although no final decision on delivering the F-16s has yet been made.
1:19pm: Russian ministry says incursion forces driven back into Ukraine after Belgorod attack
Russia said Tuesday that its armed forces had beaten back and then wiped out a group of militants and military hardware that were dispatched to its southern Belgorod region from Ukraine.
"In the course of the counter-terrorist operation, the nationalist formations were blocked and destroyed by air strikes and artillery fire," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Please click on the video player below to watch the report.
12:42pm: Western arms for Ukraine make 'nuclear apocalypse' more likely, says Russia's Medvedev
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the more destructive the weapons that Ukraine receives from its Western backers, the higher the risk of "nuclear apocalypse", the state-owned news agency RIA reported.
RIA cited Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, as saying that Kyiv's denial of involvement in an armed incursion in the Russian border region of Belgorod was "lies".
11:53am: Kremlin demands 'more effort' to stop border incursions
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Moscow needed to concentrate its military efforts to avoid another Ukrainian incursion into Russia and voiced "deep concern" over recent skirmishes in the Belgorod region.
"What happened yesterday is a cause for deep concern and once again confirms that Ukrainian militants continue their activities against our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"This requires more effort from us and these efforts continue – the special military operation is continuing – so that this does not happen again," he added, using the Kremlin's term for Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
11:43am: Ukraine F-16 training has begun in Poland, says EU's Borrell
The months-long process of training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets has begun in Poland, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday.
The US last Friday gave its green light after months denying Kyiv’s wishes for months.
"I am happy that finally the training of the pilots for the F-16 has started in several countries. It will take time, but the sooner the better," Borrell said at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels.
Although no decision on actually delivering fourth-generation fighter jets to Ukraine has been made yet, training pilots now – a months-long process – could help speed up battle readiness once a formal decision is made.
The Netherlands and Denmark, among others, are also making plans for such training.
France and the UK have also offered to train Ukrainian pilots last week.
>> Read more: ‘Birds in a cage’? Logistical challenges on cards when Ukraine gets F-16s
11:31am: Western military aid to Ukraine will not change situation on front, says Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that further pledges of miliary aid to Ukraine by Western countries would not change the situation on the front.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said supplying Ukraine with modern F-16 fighter jets came with "obvious risks".
11:30am: Civilians pulled from nine Russian border villages following skirmishes, says official
Civilians from nine Russian villages along the border with Ukraine have been evacuated from their homes amid skirmishes between Russian forces and a Ukrainian "sabotage" group, a regional official said Tuesday.
"Clean-up work is continuing in the affected areas," the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, said, adding that residents of nine settlements in the region have "been moved out".
10:39am: Zelensky visits Donetsk front line in east Ukraine, says presidency
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday visited Ukrainian troops on the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russian forces have concentrated their efforts to capture territory.
"On his return from a foreign visit, President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Vugledar-Maryinka defense line in Donetsk region," the presidency said in a statement.
Ukrainian troops held back Russian forces around Vugledar during Moscow's winter offensive that gave the Kremlin only limited gains in the battle-scarred Donetsk region.
9:54am: Ukraine's Zelensky visits front line to congratulate marines
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited frontline troops on Tuesday to congratulate them on the Day of the Ukrainian Marines.
Zelensky posted photos online showing him presenting awards and posing for a group photograph with marines in a dimly lit location. "Our defenders. Frontline. Today I am here to congratulate our warriors on the Day of the Ukrainian Marines," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
9:26am: Ukraine says it still holds part of Bakhmut, fighting decreases in city
Ukrainian forces still control the southwestern edge of the city of Bakhmut and fighting in the city itself has decreased, Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Tuesday.
She wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv's forces had made some progress "on the flanks to the north and south of Bakhmut" and that Russian forces, which say they have taken the city itself, were continuing to clear areas they control.
8:44am: Governor says drones shot down over Russia's Belgorod region amid fighting
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Tuesday that drones had been shot down over the region by anti-aircraft weaponry.
There has been fighting in the region, which borders Ukraine, since Monday, after what Russian officials called a Ukrainian "sabotage group" crossed the border.
8:04am: Drone strikes hit Russia region bordering Ukraine, says governor
Several drones struck Russia's border region of Belgorod overnight, a day after an armed group infiltrated the area from Ukraine, the local governor said on Tuesday.
The drones struck houses and a government building but did not result in casualties or deaths, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
7:58am: Russian PM arrives in China for talks with Xi, business forum
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow's foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade.
Mishustin arrived late Monday in Shanghai, the ministry said, where he was greeted at the airport by Moscow's ambassador to China Igor Morgulov and Beijing's top diplomat to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
He will take part in a Russian-Chinese Business Forum and visit a petrochemical research institute in Shanghai, the Kremlin said, as well as hold talks with "representatives of Russian business circles".
7:30am: 'Counter-terrorism operation' in Russia's Belgorod region continues, says governor
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Tuesday the "counter-terrorism operation" in the region was ongoing, with the defence ministry and law enforcement agencies continuing "to clean up" the territory on the border with Ukraine.
"On the situation in the Graivoron district: the cleaning of the territory by the Ministry of Defence together with law enforcement agencies continues," the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.
"I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who ... temporarily left their homes, it is not possible to return yet."
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Key developments from Monday, May 22
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a Ukrainian "sabotage group" had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district bordering Ukraine and was being repelled.
As Russia claimed that it has taken full control of the embattled city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces continued to fight on in its outskirts.
Seeking to concentrate Russian fire on Bakhmut in order to spare other frontline cities, Ukrainian soldiers vowed to unleash as much firepower as they could on the city.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
