© Reuters. FROM FILE: Ukrainian soldiers of the 110th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine prepare to fire a self-propelled howitzer “Dana” amid a Russian attack on Ukraine near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region of Ukraine on May 9, 2023.
(Reuters) – Ukraine said on Tuesday it had shot down six Russian Kinjal hypersonic missiles in one night, thwarting a superweapon Moscow had previously described as unstoppable.
fighting
* Ukraine said the downed missiles included six Kinzhal ballistic missiles launched from aircraft.
* “The work of the air defenses was very successful. The six Kinzhals are an impressive indication of that,” said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat.
* Kinzhal, which means “dagger” in Russian, is one of six “next generation” weapons unveiled by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 when the Russian leader boasted that it could not be shot down by any of the world’s air defense systems.
* Overnight, the air defense units of the Southern Operations Command destroyed four Russian sea-to-shore cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea, said Vitaly Kim, governor of Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region.
* The Russian Defense Ministry said it destroyed a US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile in the strike, the Zvezda military news agency reported.
* The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its daily morning update that the Russian forces are focusing their main efforts in the direction of the cities of Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka on the front line in the east.
– The Ukrainian army on Monday hailed the advance in the vicinity of Bakhmut as its first successful counterattack in the battle to break the Russian siege of the eastern city.
* Russia launched 80 artillery attacks on the Ukrainian region of Kherson, including 14 artillery attacks on the city of Kherson. Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional administration, said that six people, including a child, were injured in the shelling of a residential area.
* Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.
Diplomacy and economics
– South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Putin and Zelensky agreed to receive a delegation of African leaders on a possible peace plan for the conflict.
* The first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, met with South Korean President Yoon Sok Yul and requested non-lethal military aid for her country.
– The Kremlin said that questions still remain about the Russian part of the Black Sea grain deal, and that it will have to decide on its renewal.
* China’s top envoy, Li Hui, was due to start a tour of Ukraine, Russia and other European countries on Monday in a trip Beijing says is aimed at discussing a “political settlement” to the crisis.
* Drawing lessons from the Ukraine crisis, a top Chinese general has urged greater integration of new capabilities, including artificial intelligence, with traditional warfare tactics before any confrontation with the West.
Officials familiar with the discussions said that the leaders of the Group of Seven countries plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan this week.
* European leaders met in Iceland on Tuesday for a two-day summit aimed at showing their support for Ukraine.
In-depth stories
* Insight – Communities are torn apart as Ukraine turns its back on the Church linked to Moscow.
*INSIGHT- How Russians end up in a far-right militia fighting in Ukraine.
*INSIGHT- Ukraine’s farms are losing workers to the war, complicating a difficult harvest
* Explainer – why the EU is restricting grain imports from Ukraine