May 5, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Russia has been thwarting US-made mobile rocket systems in Ukraine more frequently in recent months, using electronic jammers to throw off its GPS guided targeting system to cause rockets to miss their targets, multiple people briefed on the matter told CNN.

Ukrainian military officials, with US help, have had to come up with a variety of different workarounds as it continues to use the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which has been perhaps the most revered and feared piece of weaponry in Ukraine’s fight.

But in recent months, Ukraine's systems have been rendered increasingly less effective by the Russians’ intensive blocking, five US, British and Ukrainian sources tell CNN, forcing US and Ukrainian officials to find ways to tweak the HIMARS’ software to counter the evolving Russian jamming efforts.

“It is a constant cat-and-mouse game” of finding a countermeasure to the jamming, a Pentagon official said, only to then have the Russians counteract that countermeasure. And it is not clear how sustainable that game is in the long term.

Electronic warfare is carried out by both sides, up and down the front line where there is heavy drone activity used for surveillance and in partnership with artillery targeting.

With a major Ukrainian counteroffensive expected to start very soon and Ukraine’s reliance on HIMARS, solutions are even more of a priority so that Ukrainian troops can make significant headway.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.

Read the full story here.

The head of the private military company Wagner accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov of bearing responsibility for “tens of thousands" of killed and wounded fighters, continuing his criticism campaign against Russia's military leadership.

"For tens of thousands of those killed and wounded, they will bear responsibility before their mothers and children, and I will make sure of that," he added. 

In the same video message, Prigozhin praised the former deputy defense minister, Mikhail Mizintsev, who he said has recently joined the Wagner Group as its deputy commander. 

Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin announced that Wagner Group is leaving the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on May 10, citing a lack of ammunition supplies that Prigozhin blames on Russia's military command.

Russia’s former deputy defense minister Mikhail Mizintsev has joined mercenary group Wagner as deputy commander, according to a pro-war Russian blogger.

Alexander Simonov posted two videos to Telegram showing Mizintsev wearing a Wagner-branded uniform and apparently touring the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that it had made a leadership change and replaced Mizintsev, who was serving as Russia's deputy defense minister for logistics. 

He had been in the role since September 2022 and developed a reputation for brutality for his role in the siege of Mariupol — the site of some of the invasion's most notorious strikes and alleged atrocities. 

Private military company Wagner will withdraw from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on May 10, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has announced. The decision was made due to a lack of ammunition for his fighters, he said. A Ukrainian military spokesperson told CNN it could be a "turning point."

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has labelled the purported drone attack on the Kremlin a "hostile act," adding that Moscow would respond with “concrete actions.”

Here are the latest developments:

A representative of Ukraine's defense intelligence agency has backed a claim by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin that Russia’s defense establishment is blocking their supply of artillery shells. 

Yusov told CNN that Wagner fighters lead most land offensives around Bakhmut while the regular Russian military conduct air strikes. 

He said there was “internal competition” within the area of Russian defense, with “ different Kremlin towers backing up both parties.”

Key context: Wagner chief Prigozhin said in a Telegram post Friday that his fighters would withdraw from Bakhmut in five days’ time, having taken heavy casualties in the fight for the city. He laid the blame on Russia’s defense establishment for not providing the private military group with enough ammunition and called for the regular army to step in.

Prigozhin has long complained that the Russian government has not provided his fighters with sufficient ammunition in their attempt to take Bakhmut. This week, he posted an expletive-laden video to social media in which he pointed at what he said were dozens of bodies of Wagner fighters and renewed his appeal for supplies.

Wagner’s decision to withdraw from Bakhmut on May 10 could be “a turning point” in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city, a Ukrainian military spokesperson has told CNN. 

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a Telegram post Friday that his fighters would withdraw from Bakhmut in five days’ time, having taken heavy casualties in the fight for the city. He laid the blame on Russia’s defense establishment for not providing the private military group with enough ammunition and called for the regular army to step in. 

However, Cherevatyi said that Wagner’s “incredible losses” were down to its units “acting foolishly, launching constant human attacks” and that Prigozhin wanted to leave because Wagner was close to being destroyed in the fight for the embattled city. 

Cherevatyi also claimed Prigozhin was “lying” about his fighters’ lack of ammunition. 

Wagner’s mercenaries have been spearheading Russia’s efforts to take Bakhmut. Cherevatyi said he expects the number of attacks against Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut to decrease if Wagner leaves because regular Russian forces would not be able to “waste personnel” as Wagner did.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Wednesday’s purported drone attack on the Kremlin was a “hostile act” and that his government would respond with “concrete actions.” 

On Wednesday, the Russian government claimed that two drones had attempted to strike the Kremlin.

Video of the purported attack first appeared in the early hours of Wednesday on Russian social media. The Kremlin was slow to react, eventually releasing a statement calling it a “planned terrorist attack,” a deliberate attempt by Ukraine to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, but presenting no evidence.

On Thursday, Russia also claimed that the United States was “undoubtedly” behind the incident.

Both allegations drew sharp denials from Kyiv and Washington.

Relations between the US and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War, but in the aftermath of Wednesday’s purported drone attack, Moscow has dramatically dialed up its rhetoric.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on Friday that his private military company would leave the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on May 10 because his fighters lack ammunition. 

It comes a day after the Wagner boss launched an expletive-laden tirade against Russia's military leadership. Standing in front of the bodies of dozens of what he claims are his fighters killed in Russia’s war on Ukraine, Prigozhin blamed their deaths on a lack of support from Moscow.

Prigozhin’s forces have played a key role in Russian assaults on Ukrainian territory, including Bakhmut.

He has previously complained of receiving insufficient support from the Kremlin and, in an interview on Sunday, threatened to withdraw his mercenaries from the embattled eastern city.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Friday's announcement, telling a conference call with reporters: "Of course, I saw it in the media, but I can’t comment as it concerns the special military operation."

Scuffles broke out between Ukrainian and Russian delegates at a summit in Turkey on Thursday, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

Video posted by Anadolu shows delegates shoving each other after Ukrainian representatives unfurled their national flag and shouted anti-Russia slogans behind a member of the Russian delegation, Olga Timofeeva, while she was speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) meeting in Ankara.

Another video posted to social media showed Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Marikovskyi punching a Russian representative in a separate altercation after the man tore down the Ukrainian flag on the sidelines of the conference.

The speaker of Turkey's national assembly, Mustafa Şentop, condemned the disruptions, calling the actions "unfortunate" and "unacceptable" on Twitter.

PABSEC aims to promote economic, political and cultural cooperation among its 13 member countries of the Black Sea region, including Russia and Ukraine.