New military aid, shelling of Ukraine and fighting for Bakhmut: highlights of May 21

New military assistance

The United States allocates a new $375 million aid package to Ukraine. The new aid package will include:

• additional ammunition for HIMARS;
• artillery shells of 155 mm and 105 mm caliber;
• TOW anti-tank guided missiles;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems;
• bridge systems;
• armored medical vehicles;
• trucks and trailers for transportation of heavy equipment;
• thermal imaging systems;
• spare parts and other field equipment.

Fighting for Bakhmut

Ukrainian troops have semi-encircled Bakhmut, which makes it possible to destroy the enemy. The occupiers have to defend themselves in the part of the city they control, said Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar.

She emphasized that Russian forces failed to surround Bakhmut and lost some of the dominant heights around the city. The advance of Ukrainian troops in the suburbs on the flanks, which continues to this day, makes it very difficult for the enemy to stay in Bakhmut.

 “Our defenders retain control over industrial and infrastructure facilities and the private sector of Bakhmut in the Litak area,” Maliar writes.

Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, also said in a commentary to Suspilne that the Ukrainian military held fortifications and several buildings in the southwestern part of the city, and heavy fighting was ongoing.

Shelling of Ukrainian regions

In the afternoon of May 21, Russians shelled the village of Kozatske in Kherson Oblast. The occupiers targeted a residential building. As a result, a 55-year-old man sustained injuries incompatible with life.

The occupiers also fired again at the settlements of Donetsk Oblast. Avdiivka, Chasiv Yar, New York, Toretsk and Heorhiivka came under fire. Russian troops allegedly attacked with cannon artillery and high-explosive FAB-250 bombs.

Two men, aged 46 and 55, were killed as a result of the hits on residential buildings. Six more local residents (two men and four women) were injured. They were diagnosed with gunshot shrapnel wounds to the head, torso, and limbs.

In the evening, Russians launched a missile attack on the village of Tsyrkuny in Kharkiv Raion. A man was injured as a result.

What is known about the future delivery of F-16s to Ukraine?

During a press conference at the G7 Summit, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared what is currently known about the future delivery of F-16s to Ukraine. The American leader announced that although the United States has already decided to start training Ukrainian pilots on these fighters, they are unlikely to be used in a future counteroffensive.

Biden also explained why the United States did not provide these aircraft to Ukraine earlier. The American president says that they would not have helped Ukraine, for example, in the defense of Bakhmut. According to Biden, if the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to make progress, the Russians will retreat to such a distance that Ukrainians will not be able to reach the occupiers' command centers with their weapons. The F-16s will also help to resist the Russians after the war if Russia decides to resort to aggression again.

Other news

• Zelenskyy agrees with Kishida on a Ukrainian-Japanese conference on reconstruction.
• Defense forces hit the occupiers' headquarters in Berdiansk, StratCom of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
• A 4-year-old boy was searched for in Odesa Oblast. He was stuck in a swamp and could not call for help.
• Pope Francis entrusted the Italian cardinal with a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.