Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on April 18. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
Lawyers for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich have appealed the latest extension of his pre-trial detention, after a court in Moscow prolonged it by three months on Tuesday.
The decision on the extension of the US journalist's detention to August 30 was appealed on Thursday, according to the Lefortovo court website.
Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March, in a sign of the Kremlin's clampdown on foreign media outlets since it invaded Ukraine last year.
He is being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison, where he faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges.
The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich, who has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.
CNN's Stephanie Halasz and Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.
6:23 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Young children among 16 wounded in Dnipro medical facility attack
From CNN's Sebastian Shukla and Mari Kostenko
A clinic damaged by a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on May 26. Serhii Lysak via Telegram/Reuters
Two children aged 3 and 6 are among those injured in the attack on a medical clinic in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday,the head of the regional military administration has said.
Regional head Serhii Lysak said two adults were hospitalized with “heavy” injuries.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office has raised the number of injured to 16, adding that the strike hit a medical and veterinary facility in the city and that “a fire broke out as a result.”
In a short statement on Telegram the prosecutors office added that “the number of injured is being established. Private houses, multi-apartment buildings have been damaged.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that one person had died and 15 had been left injured after the bombardment.
Scenes emerged of fires ripping through one of the buildings of the medical facility.The video, posted by a regional military official, also showed smoke billowing out of windows and a totally collapsed roof.
The international medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières tweeted it was “supporting” Ukrainian emergency services at the scene of the strike.
5:40 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Top Russian university offers free education to war veterans
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
One of Russia’s top universities has announced it will fund education for veterans of the war in Ukraine and their families.
Nikita Anisimov, the head of the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow, said the institution "will train participants of the special military operation" — the Kremlin's euphemism for the invasion.
Anisimov added that the university will offer "main educational programs" to the children and close relatives of those who served in the war "at the expense of the university."
The scheme comes on top of the presidential decree that previously introduced a particular quota, reserving 10% of admission places for the children of war participants, according to the statement.
The HSE's decision also allows students from other state universities to transfer, provided they bridge any gaps in academic programs.
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing a fund to provide financial, legal, medical and other aid to soldiers fighting in Ukraine and their families.
6:22 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
One dead and 15 wounded in Dnipro medical facility attack, Zelensky says
A clinic damaged during a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on May 26. Serhii Lysak via Telegram/Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that one person has died and 15 are wounded following an attack on a medical clinic in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Zelensky said: "Russian terrorists once again confirm their status of fighters against everything humane and honest."
He added "the shelling aftermath is being eliminated and the victims are being rescued. All necessary services are involved."
Earlier, the head of the regional military administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram that Russian forces “have struck a medical facility. There are casualties."
4:57 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
US sanctions Wagner in Mali, confirms CNN investigation on support to Sudan paramilitary
From CNN’s Nima Elbagir and Eve Brennan
This undated photograph handed out by French military shows Russian mercenaries boarding a helicopter in northern Mali. French Army/AP
The United States Treasury has sanctioned the head of the Wagner private military group in Mali, Ivan Maslov, as part of its pushback on Wagner expansionism in Africa supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to a press release published Thursday.
“The Wagner Group may be attempting to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by working through Mali and other countries where it has a foothold. The United States opposes efforts by any country to assist Russia through the Wagner Group,” the release said.
A US official, citing US intelligence, told CNN earlier this month that the Biden administration had been informed that Wagner had been trying to ship equipment for use in Ukraine through Mali and falsifying paperwork for the transactions.
The official said at the time that there were no signs yet that Wagner had successfully procured the equipment, but the group had continued working to procure mines, drones, radar and counter-battery systems from contacts in Mali for use in Ukraine.
Maslov is a senior Wagner Group security official who was tasked by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitriy Valeryevich Utkin to lead the Wagner Group’s mercenary units in Mali, according to the Treasury press release.
Both Prigozhin and Utkin have been sanctioned by the US, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada.
The press release added that Wagner has meddled in and destabilized countries in Africa, committed widespread human rights abuses and appropriated natural resources.
6:22 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Medical facility hit in Dnipro, casualties reported, regional official says
From CNN's Mari Kostenko in Kyiv
A medical facility has been hit in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the head of the regional military administration said Friday.
Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram that Russian forces “have struck a medical facility. There are casualties." No further details have been given.
Strikes overnight: A series of drone and missile strikes rained down across Ukraine — in particular the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions — overnight Thursday into Friday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
The attacks began at 10 p.m. Thursday night and the last one was reported at 5 a.m. the following morning, the Air Force said.
In the city of Dnipro, Lysak said five cruise missiles and six “Shahed” drones were downed by Ukrainian forces.
Lysak said a fire had broken out in a private household and two private enterprises, but were extinguished, while a transportation company, two houses and a car were damaged. A gas station was also affected and an injured employee had received medical treatment.
3:14 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Belgorod shelled overnight, governor says
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv
Vyacheslav Gladkov attends a meeting outside Moscow on January 24. Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images
Graivoron in Russia's Belgorod region was shelled overnight, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Gladkov did not report any casualties, but said a gas pipeline and a power transmission line were damaged by shells, as were several households and a shop.
He added that emergency services were on the scene.
6:22 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Drone and missile strikes reported in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv overnight
From Maria Kostenko in Kyiv
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 26. Gleb Garanich/Reuters
A series of drone and missile strikes rained down across Ukraine — and in particular the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions — overnight Thursday into Friday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
The attacks began at 10 p.m. Thursday night and the last one was reported at 5 a.m. the following morning, the Air Force said.
The command reported 17 cruise missiles and 31 “attack drones” and noted that there were strikes in Dnipro and Kharkiv regions using S-300/S-400 missile systems.
In the city of Dnipro, the head of the regional military administration Serhii Lysak said five cruise missiles and six “Shahed” drones were downed by Ukrainian forces.
"It was such a hard night, it was loud. The enemy massively attacked our region with missiles and drones," he said.
On the damage caused, Lysak said a fire had broken out in a private household and two private enterprises, but were extinguished, while a transportation company, two houses and a car were damaged. A gas station was also affected and an injured employee had received medical treatment.
Kyiv also saw some air attacks across the city. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, posted on Telegram that Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea area, presumably with Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles, had targeted the city, but all were “detected and destroyed.”
He said in another post shortly after that there was some damage due to falling debris in the Obolon and Shevchenkivskyi districts of the city, but did not cite any casualties.
Some context: The latest round of attacks come as Ukraine has been facing an intensified aerial assault from Russian forces -- providing a key test for its air defense systems.
2:10 a.m. ET, May 26, 2023
Russia would launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if West provided nuclear weapons to Ukraine: Medvedev
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv
Dmitry Medvedev attends a session "Sovereignty in Law" in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 12. Yevgeny Pavlenko/Kommersant/Sipa/AP
Russia would launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if the West provided Ukraine with nuclear weapons, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev saying that "in case the West provides Ukraine with the nuclear weapon, we will have to make a pre-emptive strike."
"The more destructive the weapons supplied to Kiev, the more likely a nuclear apocalypse scenario," Medvedev added in comments made to reporters while on a trip to Vietnam.
Russian state media outlet Tass cited Medvedev as saying "the Anglo-Saxons are not fully aware of this and believe that it will not come to this," adding that "it will come, under certain conditions."
The TASS article stated that Medvedev was commenting on the expanding range of weapons that NATO countries have pledged to send to Ukraine, when he said "maybe they will give nuclear weapons."
He then warned, "but then it will mean that a missile with a nuclear charge will arrive at them."
Some context: The US and its allies have not suggested they would provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine. NATO has decried Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear rhetoric and warned of "severe consequences for Russia" if any such weapons were used.
