Ukrainian forces continue to hold areas of Bakhmut, Armed Forces spokesperson says

From CNN's Maria Kostenko

An armored infantry carrier is seen driving to the front line south of Bakhmut on May 17,

An armored infantry carrier is seen driving to the front line south of Bakhmut on May 17, Vincenzo
Circosta/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ukraine's Armed Forces said Sunday it continues to hold a number of buildings in the eastern Ukrainian
city of Bakhmut, after Russia's Wagner Group claimed to have taken the city Saturday.

"We have strong holds in the southwestern part of the city. Our units are in the city. We continue efforts
to counterattack the enemy," Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian
Armed Forces, told CNN.

Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also reiterated Sunday that Ukrainian forces were
holding the defense, posting on Telegram that the "enemy failed to encircle and they lost some of the
dominant heights around the city."

She said Ukrainian forces were still making advances in the suburbs around the city, which “makes it very
difficult for the enemy to remain in Bakhmut."

"Our defenders retain control over industrial and infrastructure facilities and the private sector of
Bakhmut in the ‘Airplane’ district,” Maliar said.

CNN cannot independently verify these battlefield claims.

2 hr 49 min ago

G7 strives to bring "just and lasting peace" to Ukraine as soon as possible, says Japanese prime minister

From CNN's Mayumi Maruyama and Alex Stambaugh

The Group of Seven nations strives to bring "just and lasting peace to Ukraine as soon as possible,"
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday, following talks between G7 leaders and
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima.

Kishida said the summit was held in the midst of "challenges to principles that our predecessors had
forged and defended over the years," including respect for sovereignties and territorial integrity, and that
inviting Zelensky showed the "unwavering solidarity" between the G7 and Ukraine.

The Japanese prime minister, who hosted the event, also highlighted the multiple crises facing the global
community, including climate change and the pandemic, as well as the impacts of the war in Ukraine.

"If we do not show a willingness to listen to the voices of countries and people and cooperate on a wide
range of urgent issues, our claim to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law
could become futile,” Kishida said in his remarks.

Kishida also highlighted an action plan endorsed by G7 leaders to work toward global nuclear
disarmament.

The document, known as the Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament, is of "historical significance,"
Kishida said.

2 hr 21 min ago

Zelensky thanks Biden for new