A drone attack damaged two buildings in Moscow Tuesday morning, according to Russian state media. No injuries were sustained, according to the reports.
More to follow ...
By Kathleen Magramo, Jack Guy, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt and Elise Hammond, CNN
From CNN’s Clare Sebastian in London
A drone attack damaged two buildings in Moscow Tuesday morning, according to Russian state media. No injuries were sustained, according to the reports.
More to follow ...
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen and William Bonnett in Chernihiv, Ukraine
The loud engine announces the approach of the Soviet-era armored BTR vehicle long before it appears — racing through a grassy plain on the outskirts of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine. Suddenly it stops, its door opens and Ukrainian soldiers rush out, storming the trench below.
“Today our task is training and cleaning the trenches,” a Ukrainian soldier with the call-sign Jenia says. He is a member of Kyiv’s Offensive Guard, which is part of an initiative by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish new assault brigades.
“The enemy has lost positions, we quickly arrive, take positions, and restore it,” he adds.
This operation is just a drill, but the scenario has been engineered to be as realistic as possible. The trenches are muddy — despite weeks without rain — and the soldiers are forced to face the unexpected, such as tending to and evacuating the wounded, or adapting after suffering casualties.
“Some people say training is not hard, that there is no danger — but running through the trenches and constantly training, knowing that you will go to battle, it is not easy,” Jenia says. “Everything comes with practice, It is clear that during the hostilities there will also be the psychological impact of war — but practice is very important.”
Even as Ukrainian cities experience barrage after barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes, Jenia and the other members of the Offensive Guard have remained unfazed, simulating scenarios they expect to find once Kyiv finally launches its much anticipated counteroffensive.
That day is fast approaching, if one of the top advisers to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is to be believed.
Read the full story here.
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukraine has slapped new sanctions on Iran for a period of 50 years in response to what Kyiv sees as Tehran's role in supplying weapons to Moscow.
The move, announced by Ukraine’s parliament in a Telegram post Tuesday, includes a ban on exports of "military and dual-use goods" to Iran and the "suspension of economic and financial obligations in favor of residents of Iran."
The sanctions also ban Iranian goods from transiting through Ukraine and bar Iranian aircraft from flying through Ukraine’s airspace.
Some context: Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv this month with Iran-manufactured Shahed drones, resulting in destruction of infrastructure and civilian deaths.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Iranian people not be "accomplices in Russian terror." He said last Wednesday that his forces had shot down about 900 of more than 1,160 drones used against Ukraine — figures that have likely risen during Russia barrage of aerial attacks in the days since.
From CNN staff
At least one person died in Kyiv after Ukrainian air defenses shot down 20 drones early Tuesday amid the 17th aerial assault launched by Russian forces at the capital during this month alone.
It comes after Russia hit Kyiv with an array of missile fire on Monday in a surprise daytime attack, sparking sirens and sending residents rushing for shelter just as the city recovered from a more typical overnight bombardment.
"The enemy changed its tactics," said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's city military administration. "After prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day when most residents were at work and outside."
Catch up on the latest headlines from Russia's war in Ukraine:
From CNN's Mariya Knight
One person was killed and at least three others were injured as a result of explosions in Kyiv early Tuesday as the city's air defenses intercepted 20 drones, the Ukrainian military said.
In a Telegram post, the Kyiv city military administration said a fire broke out at a high-rise apartment building in Holosiivskyi district due to falling debris and warned that people may be trapped under rubble.
Authorities also reported that debris fell on several other districts of the capital, including Pecherskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Podilskyi and Sviatoshynskyi.
It marks the 17th aerial attack on Kyiv this month, with the Russians varying their assaults with missiles, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Ukrainian officials.
“The attack was massive, from different directions, in several waves. The air alert lasted almost 3 hours!” the Telegram post said.
The drone attacks Tuesday come after after Moscow's forces launched an unusual daytime missile attack on Kyiv Monday that Ukraine's military said signified a change in Russian tactics.
From CNN's Mariya Knight
The Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with the Ukrainian army, claimed Monday that its members had reentered Russian territory.
"Yesterday, Russian border guards celebrated their professional holiday. The fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps congratulated them by successfully crossing the 'holey' state border once again," the group wrote in a Telegram post.
The group published photos of armed men in a field, but the pictures don't clearly indicate where they were taken. CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the photos.
"The aim of our incursion will be evident in the near future," the Russian Volunteer Corps added.
The group's claimed incursion comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of protecting borders near the combat zone in his Border Guard Day address on Saturday, calling it “a separate and very significant task.”
Last week, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the anti-Putin Freedom for Russia Legion claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack in Russia’s southwestern region of Belgorod.
The chief of the private military Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed last week that Russian defense forces are “absolutely not ready to resist the Russian Volunteer Corps in any shape or form.”
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Josh Pennington
One person has been hospitalized in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district after explosions were heard in the capital in the early hours of Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Klitschko also reported that "all emergency services" are headed to Podilskyi district, without providing any further details.
According to Klitschko, a house in Darnytskyi district and three cars in Pecherskyi district caught fire as a result of falling debris.
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Russia has been transferring its forces to Bakhmut to replace fighters from the Wagner group, said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during an interview with Ukrainian media on Monday.
"Yes, [Russia] is currently rotating its units [in Bakhmut] — primarily in light of the significant losses the Wagner group has suffered. They are forced to do it, not for any other reason,” Cherevatyi said. “Units of airborne forces and motorized infantry units of are entering [Bakhmut]. We know what units they are; we know their commanders and their combat capabilities."
Cherevatyi noted “all of these Russian units have been taking part in hostilities since 24 February 2022 and have sustained significant losses.”
He also said Russia used “recently mobilized soldiers” to replenish those units.
In recent days, “the dynamics of combat clashes in the Bakhmut direction have been approximately the same," Cherevatyi said.
Some context: Cherevatyi’s comments echoed those of Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, who said Russians are "replacing troops from Wagner with regular units and trying to stabilize the defense in this area."
On Sunday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said the handover of his fighters' positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukraine has made a decision on the timing of its counteroffensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday.
“As usual, the commander-in-chief and the commanders of the operational directions reported to the staff,” Zelensky said. "Not only the supply of ammunition, not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics. But also, the timing. This [the timing] is what is most important. The timing of how we will move forward. We will.”
“The decisions have been made,” he added.
Zelensky did not provide further details on when the counteroffensive would launch.