10 things you need to know today: May 22, 2023

Ukraine pulls out of Bakhmut, Biden and McCarthy to continue debt ceiling talks, and more

Soldiers on the ground outside with equipment near Bakhmut
Ukraine's control of the high ground around Bakhmut will allow its forces to defend vital supply lines and shell Russian troops
(Image credit: Vincenzo Circosta/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

1. Ukraine pulls out of Bakhmut, advances on flanks

Russia's Wagner Group paramilitary forces captured all but an "insignificant" corner of Bakhmut from Ukrainian defenders, Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky said Sunday, a day after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin declared victory in the decimated town. But Ukrainian forces continued their advances on the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut and are "close to tactically encircling the city," Syrsky added. Ukraine's control of the high ground around Bakhmut will allow its forces to defend vital supply lines and shell Russian troops trying to hold the ruins of the city. The nine-month battle was the bloodiest of Russia's war on Ukraine, and Russia's state-run Channel 1 declared "mission accomplished" on Sunday, comparing Wagner's capture of Bakhmut to the Soviet army's capture of Berlin in World War II.

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