May 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

The United Kingdom will ban the import of Russian diamonds as part of its latest sanctions against Moscow, Downing Street announced Friday. 

Imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminum and nickel will also be banned under the legislation, which will be introduced later this year, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. 

The Russian diamond industry was worth $4 billion in exports in 2021, according to Downing Street.

Alongside the measures, the UK government is also preparing new individual designations targeting an additional 86 people and companies from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military industrial complex as well as those involved in key revenue streams such as energy, metals and shipping. They include people who are “supporting the Kremlin to actively undermine the impact of existing sanctions,” the statement said. 

“As today’s sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

To date, the UK has sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than £18 billion ($22.3 billion) of assets in the UK, according to Downing Street. 

The announcement comes as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with leaders for the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Friday.

EU sanctions: Additionally, the European Union will also restrict trade of Russian diamonds, European Council President Charles Michel said Friday.

The EU will also continue its effort to cut off critical supplies from Russia, he added.

A senior EU official said Thursday the EU is “confident” that a plan for sanctioning Russian diamonds will be put in place at the G7 meeting, which kicks off Friday in Japan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the G7 summit virtually on Sunday, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday. 

Zelensky will join a session held Sunday morning on Ukraine, the ministry said. 

Earlier this year, Zelensky had accepted an invite from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to participate in the summit, which kicks off Friday in Hiroshima, but it was unknown whether he would attend in person or virtually. 

The Biden administration made an accounting error in assessing the value of military support the US has given to Ukraine to date, freeing up approximately $3 billion more in aid, multiple congressional and administration officials told CNN. 

The accounting error occurred because when the US transferred weaponry to Ukraine, they used the value of the replacement instead of the value of actual weapon, defense officials explained. That drove up the cost of each package — because new weaponry costs more than old weaponry — and resulted in the false assumption that more of the funding had been used. 

The error – briefed to lawmakers and congressional staffers Thursday – triggered frustration from Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees. They believe the mistake reduced the amount of US support that went to Ukraine leading up to the counteroffensive.

“The revelation of a three-billion-dollar accounting error discovered two months ago and only today shared with Congress is extremely problematic, to say the least. These funds could have been used for extra supplies and weapons for the upcoming counteroffensive, instead of rationing funds to last for the remainder of the fiscal year,” Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee and Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a statement Thursday. 

McCaul and Rogers said that the administration should “make up for this precious lost time by using these funds to provide Ukraine the DPICMS and ATACMS they need to fuel the counteroffensive and win the war.” 

The Pentagon previously said there was just over $2.3 billion remaining available for Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine. Now, due to this revelation, there is about $5.3 billion still available, far more than even the largest single package provided to Ukraine.

The new amount will likely mitigate the need for Congress to pass an additional assistance package before the end of the fiscal year in September.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted Thursday that his military’s offensive brigades are gearing up for a fight, but offered no concrete information.

The country’s much-anticipated counteroffensive appears imminent as the Ukrainian military says it has made gains along the conflict’s frontlines in recent days. There’s speculation that the counteroffensive may already be underway.

If you’re just now reading in, here are other headlines you should know:

Black Sea grain deal: Global wheat prices fell Thursday after Ukraine and Russia agreed to extend a deal allowing grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. After the agreement, Russia renewed threats to let the deal expire if Western powers do not meet its demands to lift certain sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the next two months will be “decisive” when it comes to the future of the deal.

Overnight missile strikes: Moscow claimed Thursday that it struck “foreign-made weapons and equipment” depots in overnight strikes on Ukraine using “high-precision” missiles. Ukraine earlier claimed it had intercepted 29 out of 30 Russian missiles that were fired overnight, including over the capital Kyiv. At least one person was killed in the southern port city of Odesa after debris from an intercepted missile fell on industrial buildings.

A Bakhmut breakthrough?: Ukraine’s Third Separate Assault Brigade said its recent offensive in the eastern city of Bakhmut has helped it stake out a strong position ahead of Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive. Brigade leaders said the breakthrough came in an area about 2,000 meters (about 1.25 miles) wide and 700 meters (a little less than half-a-mile) deep. Ukrainian forces have claimed advances in several areas surrounding the embattled eastern city in recent days, despite coming under heavy fire from Russian troops, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Thursday. 

Military aid: Long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which were provided to Ukraine by Britain, have been used successfully since the deployment was announced, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said. Also, the Biden administration has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions said. It comes as the White House has been facing increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks. And the Pentagon said that a Patriot missile battery that was damaged by a Russian missile barrage against Kyiv has since been fixed.

2 Russian civilians killed: The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region says that two civilians were killed by Ukrainian fire in a district close to the border. Ukraine said its northern border regions are under fire almost daily by Russian forces, resulting in dozens of casualties in recent months. 

Andrey Medvedev, a former commander in the Wagner mercenary group who applied for political asylum in Norway, says he has decided to return to Russia.

In an interview with Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin, Medvedev said he called the Russian embassy in Oslo and asked to be able to return home.

Medvedev gave several interviews explaining that the murder by Wagner of its own deserters led him to leave and seek asylum in Norway. He told CNN he witnessed brutality and incompetence on the front lines in Ukraine, where the mercenary group’s fighters have played a pivotal role in Russia’s invasion.

Legal troubles in Norway: Medvedev crossed the Russia-Norway border on foot in January and sought political asylum.

But his stay in Norway has not been entirely peaceful. In April, the 26-year-old pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a fight outside an Oslo bar, and for carrying an air gun in public.

In a series of short videos, Medvedev said he would cancel his asylum application on June 10.

Horrors in Ukraine: Medvedev was the commander of ex-convict Yevgeny Nuzhin, who Wagner executed for surrendering to Ukrainian troops.

Nuzhin returned to Russia of his own choice, according to Ukrainian authorities. Footage of Nuzhin’s execution by sledgehammer later circulated on social media, a grim reminder of Wagner’s draconic methods.

“They would round up those who did not want to fight and shoot them in front of newcomers,” Medvedev told CNN in January. “They brought two prisoners who refused to go fight and they shot them in front of everyone and buried them right in the trenches that were dug by the trainees.”

The Biden administration has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions said. It comes as the White House has been facing increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks. 

Administration officials are not aware, however, of any formal requests by any allies to export F-16s, and State Department officials who would normally be tasked with the paperwork to approve such third-party transfers have not been told to get to work, officials said.  

A handful of European countries have a supply of the US-made jets, including the Netherlands, which has signaled a willingness to export some of them to Ukraine. But the United States would have to approve that third-party transfer because of the jets’ sensitive US technology.

While the US remains reluctant to send any of its own F-16s to Kyiv, US officials told CNN that the administration is prepared to approve the export of the jets to Ukraine if that is what allies decide to do with their supply. 

Top Ukrainian officials have escalated their public lobbying campaign for US-made F-16s in recent months, arguing they need them urgently to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks. 

Looking ahead: The issue is expected to be a subject of debate at the next NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July, officials said.  

Another open question is where Ukrainian pilots would train on these F-16s. A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier this week that the UK and the Netherlands were looking to form an “international coalition” not only to procure the jets for Ukraine but also to train Ukrainian pilots.

In March, the US hosted two Ukrainian pilots at a military base in Tucson, Arizona, to evaluate their skills using flight simulators and to assess how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s. But the US has no plans as of now to expand that training, a defense official told CNN, despite Congress setting aside money in the 2023 budget.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with senior commanders Thursday, hinting afterward that his military’s offensive brigades are gearing up for a fight but offering no concrete information.

“The offensive brigades are doing well, we are preparing, but no details,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine has made significant gains along the conflict’s front lines in recent days, raising speculation that its highly anticipated counteroffensive may already be underway.

A senior US official told CNN “shaping operations” began last week, but Ukraine has yet to state outright that its counterattack has formally begun.

After several days of heavy Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, Zelensky said his military will prioritize bolstering its air defense systems and missile stocks, training troops and acquiring more long-range weapons.

Solemn anniversary: Zelensky also marked the anniversary of Stalin’s deportation of the Tatar people from Crimea in 1944.

“We honor the memory of all the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people,” the Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address. “It was one of the most serious crimes of the 20th century — the entire nation was forcibly deported from its native land and forced to live in a foreign land for decades. And when people returned home, Russia once again brought its evil to their home.”

Ukraine has used the Storm Shadow missiles provided by the United Kingdom against Russian forces, a British defense official said Thursday.

“All I can confirm is it has been used successfully, that is the information I received from the Ukrainians, and I’m pleased it is helping them to defend their country,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told CNN’s Jim Sciutto in an exclusive interview on “News Central.”

The Storm Shadow missiles, the longest-range weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal, were just recently given to Kyiv ahead of an anticipated counteroffensive against the Russian military. The long-range cruise missile has stealth capabilities and a firing range of more than 250km, or 155 miles.

Asked about a potential counteroffensive and Ukrainian attempt to retake Crimea from Russia, Wallace said that under international law, Ukraine has “every right to do that in accordance of self-defense.”

“It’s their sovereign soil,” he said. “It’s a bit like you asking me if the US were choosing to take back parts of Texas from an enemy that had invaded it. You wouldn’t take anyone else from abroad telling you what you can and can’t take back, it is Ukrainian soil, it is their sovereign territory, it has been invaded, they’ve lost thousands of lives as a result of that invasion, and I think ultimately it will be Ukraine’s decision.”

“Britain isn’t going to stand in the way of that,” he added.

Recent fighting: In the last several days, Russia has continued pounding Ukraine with missiles, killing one civilian and injuring two others in Odesa overnight. Ukraine, however, has maintained that it has been able to knock down many of Russia’s missiles before impact, particularly in the capital of Kyiv.

On Tuesday morning, Russia launched what Ukraine described as an “exceptional” assault on Kyiv that was largely intercepted by air defenses. 

While the battle rages, there has been confusion on whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive has started yet — though that may be the point. US and NATO-supplied equipment has continued pouring into the country, and Wallace said Thursday that the international community’s support of Ukraine is only growing stronger.

A Patriot missile battery damaged by a Russian missile barrage against Kyiv has been fixed, the Pentagon said Thursday.

“One Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational,” said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the damage was minimal. 

United Kingdom Defense Minister Ben Wallace said long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which were provided to Ukraine by Britain, have been used since the deployment was announced.

Speaking at a news conference in London alongside his Norwegian counterpart Bjørn Arild Gram on Thursday, Wallace said he would not give more operational details.

“All I can say is it is my understanding that it has been used since we announced its deployment to Ukraine, but I’m not going to go into further details,” he said.

About the missiles: The Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities, jointly developed by the UK and France, which is typically launched from the air. With a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, it is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has long asked for.

The missiles have the range to strike deep into Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine. A Western official told CNN that the UK has received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles will be used only within Ukrainian sovereign territory and not inside Russia. 

Last week, Wallace called the donation Ukraine’s “best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality.”

CNN’s Jim Sciutto contributed reporting to this post.

After agreeing to extend the Black Sea grain initiative again this week, Russia renewed threats to let the deal expire if Western powers do not meet its demands to lift certain sanctions.

Russia has agreed to a two-month extension of the deal, viewed as pivotal for addressing world hunger, through July 17.

Moscow has frequently complained that while the deal allows Ukraine to export its grain through Black Sea ports, its own exports are impeded by Western sanctions. An agreement with the United Nations to help facilitate Russian shipments has not yielded results, the Kremlin claims.

The Russian foreign ministry said Thursday there will be not talks of expanding the deal further unless it gets concessions.

“The Russian Federation reminds the US, Britain and the EU of the need for a real lifting of unilateral sanctions on Russian fertilizers and food; even donations of Russian fertilizers to the poorest countries continue to face blocking due to sanctions,” the ministry statement reads.

Some context: The grain deal became necessary in the first place after Russia launched its war in Ukraine. Following its full-scale invasion, Moscow blockaded exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, including Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.

The blockages kept millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from reaching the countries that rely on it, until the United Nations and Turkey helped broker the deal.

What Ukraine is saying: The current extension does not provide for satisfying Russia’s outside demands, said Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s ambassador in Turkey.

“What Russia is trying to attach now are issues related to the ammonia pipeline, issues related to the lifting of sanctions against banks and organizations involved in grain and fertilizer trade. This issue is still under discussion,” he said. 

The grain initiative exists separately from Russia’s demands, which are between the Kremlin and UN leadership, Bodnar insisted.

CNN’s Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region says that two civilians were killed by Ukrainian fire in a district close to the border.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that two people were killed and one person was hospitalized in critical condition in the Shebekinsky district.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces killed these civilians while they were in their vegetable garden planting potatoes,” Gladkov said.

A number of Russian civilians have been killed or injured in areas close to the border since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. 

On May 10, a man in the Belgorod region died after sustaining a head injury because of Ukrainian shelling, Gladkov said.

In Ukraine, Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region military administration, said Thursday that one person had been killed in the village of Tsyrkuny by a Russian rocket attack. Two more civilians were wounded, he said.

Ukraine said its northern border regions are under fire almost daily by Russian forces, resulting in dozens of casualties in recent months. 

Global wheat prices fell Thursday after Ukraine and Russia agreed to extend a deal allowing grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 2% to $6.12 a bushel. Prices have fallen 23% since the start of the year and 57% since hitting an all-time high of $14.30 a bushel in March last year.

“These agreements matter for global food security,” António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, told journalists Wednesday. “Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world.”

The grain deal, first signed in July 2022, was due to expire on Thursday, but Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that it would be extended for another two months.

Russia had previously threatened to pull out of the deal, complaining about a related agreement with the UN to facilitate shipments of Russian grain and fertilizers.

Why the initiative is important: Ukraine and Russia together account for nearly a third of global wheat exports, according to Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data firm. They are also among the top three global exporters of barley, maize, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil.

Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Moscow blockaded crucial grain shipments from the country’s Black Sea ports. That meant that millions of tons of the region’s grain went undelivered to the many countries that rely on it.

In the days after the invasion, global wheat prices skyrocketed, with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warning that as many as 47 million people could be pushed into “acute food insecurity” because of the war.

But the July grain deal and its renewals have helped “stabilize markets and reduce volatility,” the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, an intergovernmental body, said in a press release on Wednesday, noting that global food prices had fallen 20% since hitting all-time highs in March 2022.

CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting.

As intense combat continues in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, one Ukrainian unit says it has made more progress on the western outskirts of the city. 

The Third Separate Assault Brigade said its recent “offensive actions” have helped it stake out a strong position ahead of Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive. Brigade leaders said the breakthrough came in an area about 2000 meters (about 1.25 miles) wide and 700 meters (a little less than half-a-mile) deep.

The Ukrainian fighters claim they’ve killed at least 50 Russian troops and wounded as many as 100 more, taking an additional four Russians prisoner. This has significantly cut into the enemy’s reserves in the area, the brigade said.

CNN cannot independently verify the brigade’s claims.

Other recent developments in Bakhmut: Ukrainian forces have claimed advancements in several areas surrounding the embattled eastern city in recent days, despite coming under heavy fire from Russian troops.

Ukrainian fighters from another unit, the 46th Separate Air Assault Brigade, said on Telegram that they’re focused on a promising territory in a rural area south of the city, as well as villages close to the main highway that runs northwest from Bakhmut toward Sloviansk.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed Thursday that Russian army units pulled back in an area north of Bakhmut, leaving his own fighters exposed.

However, Prigozhin said his fighters in the city itself continue to take streets and buildings along the western edge of Bakhmut.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the next two months will be “decisive” when it comes to the future of the Black Sea grain deal, which allows the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports. 

“Taking into account the whole range of circumstances, and taking into account the appeals of our partners, we supported the initiative of President Erdogan when he proposed extending this deal for another two months, with a clear understanding that these two months will be decisive,” Lavrov said at a news conference with his Ugandan counterpart in Moscow. 

Moscow has agreed to a two-month extension of the Black Sea grain deal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday after talks on easing restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.

“We can confirm that the Russian side has also decided to continue this so-called Black Sea deal for a period of two months,” Peskov told reporters.

He described it as a “relative result” for Russia, adding that the pact’s fate was, “in the hands of those with whom the UN must agree on its Russian part.”

Russia had previously threatened to pull out of the deal, complaining that a separate agreement with the UN to facilitate shipments of Russian grain and fertilizers, brokered as part of the negotiations on the deal last July, was not being adhered to.  

What is the Black Sea grain deal?: The deal was first established in July 2022 to ensure the safe exportation of Ukrainian grain amidst Russian blockades of Ukrainian ports. The deal – which the United Nations and Turkey helped broker – was set to expire on Wednesday before it was renewed.

According to the European Commission, Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market and 13% of the barley market. It is also a key global player in the market of sunflower oil.

Should the deal not have been renewed, food security around the world would have been jeopardized. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) wrote on Tuesday that as much as 90% of imports into East African countries are shipments supported by the grain deal. If these imports were to stop, there would be a “spike in the number of undernourished people” to almost 19 million in 2023, the IRC said.

The new deal will now be in effect until July 18.

Moscow claimed on Thursday that it had struck “foreign-made weapons and equipment” depots in overnight strikes on Ukraine using “high-precision” missiles. 

The Russian defense ministry said in its daily briefing: “Today, during the night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out group strikes with long-range, sea- and air-based high-precision weapons against large warehouses of foreign-made weapons and equipment, as well as enemy reserves. The target has been reached. All assigned objects are hit.”

“As a result of the strikes, significant stocks of weapons and ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed, and the advancement of reserves to the areas of hostilities was also prevented,” it added. 

Some context: Ukraine earlier claimed it had intercepted 29 out of 30 Russian missiles that were fired overnight, including over the capital Kyiv. At least one person was killed in the southern port city of Odesa after debris from an intercepted missile fell on industrial buildings.

Russia has continued its bombardment of multiple sites in Ukraine, killing one civilian in Odesa and leaving Kyiv’s air sirens blaring. But on the front lines, Ukraine is continuing to make significant gains, raising speculation that its counteroffensive may well be underway.

Here are the latest developments:

Trains between Crimea’s two largest cities have been halted after a freight train derailed Thursday, according to Russia-backed authorities.

In a Telegram post, Crimean Railways announced the suspension of services on the Simferopol to Sevastopol line after the train was derailed by the “intervention of unauthorized persons.”

There were no casualties, it added.

Sergey Aksenov, the Moscow-appointed head of the peninsula, said on Telegram that wagons carrying grain “fell off the rails” in Simferopol. He later added that authorities were investigating.

Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Some context: The Ukrainian military has in recent months carried out attacks in Crimea to harass the Russian Black Sea fleet and disrupt vital Russian supply lines. Ukrainian leaders have previously stated that their goal is to recapture Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine’s capital has seen nine attempted Russian missile strikes so far this month. Despite this, Kyiv claims to have escaped with barely a scratch, denying that any of Moscow’s missiles or drones hit their targets. NATO-provided air defense systems are the likely reason behind this, intercepting the weapons before they are able to inflict their intended damage. 

Most Kyiv residents have no way of knowing for sure that the sudden, terrifying loud bangs are the Ukrainian air defense systems taking down Russian missiles, rather than rockets hitting their city.

On Tuesday morning, Kyiv was hit by an “exceptional” dense attack, according to Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.

Liudmyla Kravchenko spent most of the strikes sheltering in her corridor with her husband and their two children. 

“It was very scary, so after we heard the first explosions we rushed to the corridor… of course in case the missile hits our house directly, none of this will save our lives - not two walls, not three, not even five,” she told CNN. 

She said her 1-year-old son Artem slept in her arms as they were waiting for the attack to end. Her 9-year-old daughter is now so used to air raids that she knows “to drop everything and take cover” when her parents tell her to.

Read our full report here.

For weeks, a question has hung over the war: When will Ukraine launch its long-anticipated counteroffensive?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tried to pour cold water on the matter on a number of occasions, claiming that his forces needed “a bit more time” to wait for equipment to arrive. But his claims are increasingly hard to square with events on the ground.

Over five weeks reporting along the southern frontlines, it became hard to conceive that – at least in its limited, preparatory stages — Ukraine’s counteroffensive had not got underway in late April.

The relentless pinpoint bombing of Russian military targets, the hints of small Ukrainian landings along the occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River and the blasts hitting fuel depots and infrastructure inside Russia’s own borders and in occupied cities – these could all be seen as indicators.

The signs have gathered in pace over the past month, and are the opening traces of the “shaping operations” that a senior US official told CNN began last week. Yet officially, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has yet to start.

Announcing the start is entirely in the gift of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Declare the operation underway, and the clock ticks immediately for the first results. Say it has yet to get underway, and any mounting losses Russia sustains are just in the cut and thrust of normal frontline attrition. 

But should we not read too much into Zelensky’s obfuscatory comments – and look instead for tangible results on the battlefield? 

Read the full analysis here.

The European Union is not planning on formally sanctioning Russia’s state-run nuclear company Rosatom in its eleventh sanctions package, according to a senior EU official.

The official told journalists during a briefing Thursday that, although member states are reducing their dependencies on Russian energy, the bloc will not be formally targeting Rosatom in the upcoming package. 

The bloc believes that “sanctions alone” will not bring about independence from Russian energy supplies, the official said, stressing that there are “other ways to reach the same goal.”

The end of the G7 Hiroshima summit statement is expected to outline the group’s sustained commitment towards independence from Russian nuclear energy sources.

Some context: Before the war, Europe was the largest buyer of Russian gas. The EU imported nearly 100 billion euros ($110 billion) worth of Russian energy in 2021.

While the bloc has placed punishing economic sanctions on Russia, their stance on importing Russian energy has been rather soft. Kyiv has urged European countries to commit to a permanent boycott of Russian gas, but some have found it costly and painful to wean their economies off the cheap Russian supply.

The European Union is “confident” that a plan for sanctioning Russian diamonds will be put in place at the upcoming G7 meeting in Japan, according to a senior EU official.

At a briefing with journalists Thursday, the senior EU official stressed that the “main focus” of the G7’s sanctions is “circumvention.”

“What we have been pushing to (do), which we think would be important in the coming months, is diamonds, and you can expect this to be mentioned in the G7 communique,” the official said. 

Brussels does not yet have a formal proposal for how these sanctions would take effect, the official said, stressing that the bloc needs to “engage with partners first” rather than do it alone. The official called the “traceability of diamonds” a “crucial” matter, reiterating the roles of different actors in the chain of producing diamonds.

“It’s of huge value for the industry what comes from Russia, so we believe we need to limit exports from Russia in the sector and it will be important to be able to implement,” the official said.

A “diplomatic dance”: India, named as a “crucial actor” in the diamond industry, will need to be considered as a significant player in the G7’s prospective sanctions, according to the official.

The official spoke of a “diplomatic dance” with regard to how the G7 approaches the issue of sanctions with different countries. Those in the EU are more likely to be supportive of Ukraine, but the G7 will need to “to be careful” when discussing sanctions with other nations, the official said. 

The EU would like to engage carefully with countries such as India, where the diamond industry is “quite important”, the official added, not just ” in terms of numbers, but in terms of politics, symbolism.”

US tightening rules on Russian diamonds: One G7 nation, the United States, has already placed export restrictions on Russian diamonds. Last March, President Joe Biden issued an executive order which included a prohibition on non-industrial Russian diamonds. The ban directly targeted Alrosa, identified by the US government as the world’s largest diamond mining company, responsible for 90% of Russia’s diamond mining capacity and accounting for 28% of global diamond output.

“These sanctions will continue to apply pressure to key entities that enable and fund Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine,” said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in a statement released in April.

Moscow has decided to freeze the bank accounts of Finland’s embassy and consulate in response to “unfriendly actions” by western nations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.  

“This was not the initiative of the Russian side. We are reacting to the situation created by the authorities of a number of countries in the collective West, including, unfortunately, Finland. We always say that we cannot and will not leave unfriendly actions unanswered,” he said.

The bank accounts of the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and General consulate in St. Petersburg were frozen by the Russian government at the end of April, Finland’s Foreign Ministry in Helsinki told CNN on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry added that it had “demanded Russia secure Finland´s diplomatic missions’ local money and payment transactions.”

Russia hits back: Finland is among the host of European countries to have imposed sanctions on Russia, since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. The Baltic nation, which shares over 1,000 kilometers or 621 miles of land border with Russia, has also sought to shore up its own defenses against its neighbor by joining NATO in April.

Russia’s retort shows that it can use similar economic weapons as those used by the West. But it is unclear whether it plans to take similar actions against other nations – or if it has singled out Finland.

This year’s G7 meeting in Japan holds special significance, not only for its location.

The leaders of the world’s most advanced democracies are meeting in Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first ever nuclear attack – a fitting reminder of the risks of nuclear war as they discuss Russia and the conflict in Ukraine.

While plenty of topics will be discussed – from countering China’s influence in the region to the United States’ looming debt ceiling – the war in Ukraine will likely remain top of the agenda.

Kyiv’s forces have been bolstered significantly by weapons supplied by most of the countries gathering in Hiroshima – the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – who hails from Hiroshima – visited Kyiv in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised him for keeping the G7 united behind Ukraine.

“Prime Minister Kishida stated that, as the G7 Presidency, Japan would maintain the unity of the G7 in imposing strict sanctions against Russia and providing support to Ukraine,” a joint statement from the two leaders said.

After a week in which Zelensky continued to secure further aid commitments from many of these countries, don’t expect any cracks in G7 unity at the summit.

Read our full analysis here.

Ukrainian forces have made advancements around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut over the past day, despite coming under heavy fire from Russian troops, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Thursday. 

“In the course of the fighting, our units continue to advance on the flanks, despite the fact that they do not currently have an advantage in personnel, ammunition and equipment,” Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Ukrainian TV. 

“We managed to advance from 150 (492 feet) to 1,700 meters (5,577 feet),” he added.

CNN cannot verify the battlefield reports.

The head of the Russian paramilitary Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has also claimed that his fighters have advanced within the eastern city, as fierce fighting continues for the territory still controlled by Ukrainian troops.

Some background: Bakhmut has been the target of a months-long assault by Russian forces that has so far failed to capture the city. 

Last week, Ukrainian forces claimed to have conducted “effective counterattacks” in the area. Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, said his army had forced Russian troops to retreat by “a distance of up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).”

Those gains have reportedly continued this week. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar claimed Wednesday that “our troops liberated about 20 square kilometers (more than 7 square miles) of the Bakhmut suburbs in the north and south of the city.”

However, Maliar acknowledged that Russia is also making advances in Bakhmut, bringing in paratroopers and “destroying the city with artillery.”

The wave of Russian missile strikes launched at Kyiv this month has been “unprecedented in its power,” city authorities said early Thursday.

“A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in its power, intensity and variety, continues. The ninth air attack on the capital since the beginning of May,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, in a Telegram post.

Popko said that the latest wave of missiles was fired toward Kyiv from Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea.

After the launch, Russian reconnaissance drones were seen over the capital, he added.  

All the missiles that crossed Kyiv’s airspace were intercepted, Popko said, but falling debris caused a fire at a garage. Andrii Nebytov, police chief for the Kyiv region, posted photos on Telegram of what he said were missile fragments in fields outside the capital.

Kyiv under strike: Until recently, most analysts and even United States defense officials simply doubted Ukraine’s air defenses would be up to the job of repelling a sustained Russian assault – and this latest Moscow offensive has been particularly sustained.

But Kyiv’s air defenses are holding firm – thanks, in large part, to US-made Patriot missile defense systems.

Read our full report on how Kyiv has steeled its skies.

A civilian security guard was killed in Odesa overnight after fragments of a Russian missile shot down by air defenses fell on an industrial building in the southern port city, the Ukrainian military said.

“As a result of the air battle, the downed missiles fell on industrial buildings, which were damaged. Unfortunately, as a result of the destruction, one civilian guard was killed and two others were injured,” Ukraine’s Operational Command South said on Facebook.

The command said the missiles were launched at Ukraine’s southern coast from Russian carriers in the Black Sea and ground-based missile systems in occupied territory. 

Missiles shot down: Ukraine said its air defenses intercepted 29 out of 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight at cities nationwide, including Kyiv.

Kyiv police chief Andrii Nebytov posted photos on Telegram of what he said were fragments of Russian missiles downed over fields outside the capital. 

“Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or casualties,” in the Kyiv region, he said.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is rolling out the red carpet for Central Asian nations this week as Beijing attempts to expand its reach into a region that has long been regarded as Russia’s sphere of influence.

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are gathering in the central Chinese city of Xi’an for a summit that began Thursday.

It is the first in-person meeting of the heads of state together with China since they established diplomatic relations after the fall of the Soviet Union, according to China’s state media, and comes as the region grapples with the knock-on economic effects of neighboring Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China has billed the meeting as the “first major diplomatic activity” its hosted this year and an opportunity to draw a “new blueprint” with the sprawling bloc of post-Soviet states that lie between between its western borders, Europe and the Middle East.

The two-day event is also a play from Beijing to expand its influence in Central Asia, where Russia — now distracted by its debilitating and unsuccessful invasion of Ukraine — has long been the dominant great power partner.

“The most important context of this summit is the Ukraine war and the region’s uncertainty with Russia’s future commitment, influence and role in the region,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
“Central Asia is always seen as Russia’s backyard, and China has been expanding its influence in the region … and there are new aspirations and directions for China-Central Asia relations — opportunities that were not present or available in the past,” she said.

Read the full story here.

Ukraine claims to have downed 29 out of 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.  

The missiles came in “several waves” and “from different directions,” the statement said.

“A total of 30 sea-, air-, and land-launched cruise missiles were launched,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in the statement, adding that air defenses “destroyed 29 cruise missiles.”

The Air Force also claimed to have also shot down two attack drones and two reconnaissance drones. 

Some background: Several explosions were heard overnight across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, as authorities activated air defenses against a nationwide Russian attack.

Ukraine’s Operational Command South said earlier Thursday that one person had been killed and two injured when a Russian missile hit an industrial infrastructure facility in the southern port city of Odesa.

At least one person was killed and two others wounded after a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday night, according to Ukrainian military officials.

“Late night, the enemy launched a missile attack on Odesa. The attack was carried out using various missiles from different directions. Most of them were destroyed by air defense, but unfortunately [an] industrial infrastructure was hit,” Ukraine’s Operational Command South said in a statement on Facebook.

Explosions were heard overnight across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, as authorities activated air defenses against a nationwide Russian attack.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that Beijing’s special envoy Li Hui met with President Volodomyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said Li reiterated that China is willing to serve as a peace broker for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, on the basis of its previously stated positions on the war.

Kyiv’s readout made no mention of the meeting with Zelensky.

Instead it said Li met foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed “topical issues of cooperation between Ukraine and China,” as well as “ways to stop Russian aggression.”

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry announced Li would visit Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia starting May 15 — just days before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders are expected to affirm their solidarity against Moscow in a summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

China has attempted to cast itself as a peace broker and deflect criticism that it has not acted to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, more than one year after Moscow invaded its western neighbor.

The Ukrainian statement on Li’s visit appeared to allude to daylight between Beijing and Kyiv’s positions on ending the conflict.

Kuleba talked about restoring peace “based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and emphasized “that Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict.”

He also stressed the importance of China’s participation in the implementation of Zelensky’s “peace formula,” according to the statement.

Read more here.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions in the early hours of Thursday, as authorities reported a nationwide air attack.

Kyiv military officials said the capital’s air defenses were activated, resulting in falling debris that caused a fire.

Authorities are yet to provide information on casualties or the extent of the damage.

Here’s what else to know:

Explosions were heard Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions in the early hours of Thursday, as authorities reported a countrywide air attack.

“Multiple explosions have occurred in the capital, in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts. Emergency services are en route to the affected areas,” Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Telegram. Other explosions were reported in the Desnianskyi district.

The Kyiv city military administration said the capital’s air defenses were activated, resulting in falling debris in the Darnytskyi district, which caused a fire.

“Data on casualties and damage are currently being updated. Remain in your shelters until the air raid alert is over!” Serhiy Popko, the head of the city military administration, said on Telegram.

Nationwide air raid alert: Air defense forces in Vinnytsia, in west-central Ukraine, were activated to “countering airborne threats,” Serhiy Borzov, the head of the region’s military administration, said on Telegram.

Chinese envoy Li Hui wrapped up a two-day visit to Ukraine Wednesday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said — completing the first stop on a European tour focused on the war there, as Beijing attempts to fashion itself as a peacemaker in the grinding conflict, despite its close ties with Russia.

A seasoned former diplomat, Li served as ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019 and is the highest ranking Chinese official to travel to Ukraine since the start of Moscow’s devastating war.

Western leaders have hoped Chinese leader Xi Jinping might use his close rapport with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the conflict — an outcome that analysts say may be unlikely at this stage, given Beijing’s interests in maintaining the relationship.

Li met with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his visit on May 16 and 17, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which did not specify if Li met President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The parties discussed “topical issues of cooperation between Ukraine and China,” as well as “ways to stop Russian aggression,” the statement said.

China has remained tight-lipped about the visit of Li, Beijing’s Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs, which it had billed as part of a five-country tour to promote communication toward “a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

When asked about Li’s trip at regular press briefings through Wednesday this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said information would be shared “in due course.”

Last week, the Foreign Ministry said Li would visit Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia starting May 15 — just days before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders are expected to affirm their solidarity against Moscow in a summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Read the full story here.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner private military company, said his fighters have advanced in Bakhmut amid fierce fighting surrounded by the remaining buildings still controlled by Ukrainian troops.

“Wagner PMC has advanced 260 meters [0.16 miles] more in Bakhmut,” Prigozhin posted on the Telegram channel of his Concord Group. “The enemy now occupies 1.85 km of territory [1.15 miles]. The enemy offers fierce resistance. They fight for every house, every entranceway, every square meter of territory, despite the fact that the enemy only occupies a tiny percentage of territory.”

Prigozhin added it wasn’t possible to surround remaining Ukrainian positions because of the recent withdrawal of Russian paratroopers.

“Really [what happened was], Russian paratroopers, as a result of an enemy assault near Bakhmut, took up a favorable line, for the enemy,” he said.

Taking aim at Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the Russian General Staff chief, Prigozhin said “the instantaneous retreat of Gerasimov from the enemy today does not allow to close [Bakhmut] off. But we are advancing.”

Prigozhin has frequently been at odds with the Russian Defense Ministry on its tactics and leadership in the conflict.

A crucial deal aimed at averting a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been extended for two months.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday an agreement has been reached with Russia and Ukraine to extend the Black Sea grain deal.

The deal has now been resuscitated for a third time after a question mark hung over its survival.

Here’s what you need to know:

Read more here.

Two components of a Patriot battery were damaged in a Russian attack Tuesday, but the system “was never offline,” according to a US official familiar with the matter.

The Russian barrage — which consisted of hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and other munitions — damaged the Patriot battery’s generator and part of the system’s electronics.

The damage was minimal, according to three other US officials, with one describing it as “minor.” The system remained functional throughout the attack and remains online, an official said.

The US sent inspectors to examine the system on Tuesday, after being told by the Ukrainians that it appeared to have been damaged, one of the officials said.

US officials are still assessing how exactly the Patriot components were damaged since it does not appear that any of the components sustained a direct hit from a Russian Kinzhal missile or other munition.

One possibility is that debris from a falling missile damaged the Patriot components, but officials are examining other options as well. 

A Hungarian official says it would be very difficult for Hungary to join the European Union’s next round of sanctions against Russia after Ukraine blacklisted a Hungarian bank.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó described the move by the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) to include Hungarian Bank OTP on its list of “international sponsors of war” as “outrageous.” 

He added “that as long as OTP stays on this list, it will be very difficult for us to even enter into negotiations on the eleventh sanctions package,” and “it will be very difficult for us to negotiate economic restrictions that require additional sacrifices.”

In a statement earlier this month, NAZK said the decision to classify OTP bank as an international sponsor of war was “due to the position of the bank’s management to continue operations in Russia” as well the bank’s “recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics.’”

The Hungarian Foreign Minister refuted Kyiv’s claims on Monday, saying that as Hungary’s biggest bank, “OTP has not violated any international laws. Its operations fully comply with all kinds of expectations and legislation.”

Szijjártó also said placing the bank “on the list of international sponsors of war is unacceptable and scandalous.”

What the EU is saying: A senior EU official, briefing journalists in Brussels on Wednesday, said the EU’s priority “is to ensure that we can support Ukraine so that they can win,” and that “we’re going to talk to the Ukrainian side. We’ll talk to the member states, talk to Hungary, of course.” 

The senior official said it’s not for the EU “to decide what private banks do. But again, we have to deal with a question that is influencing and affecting decisively one of our main foreign policy objectives, which is to support Ukraine.”  

“It’s affecting our decisions on military and financial support. We have to deal with that, we will be dealing with that and I can tell you that the High Representative [Josep Borrell] is already dealing with that,” the official added.

The official also said that EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue on Monday in Brussels at a scheduled meeting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will also attend the meeting virtually.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces launched S-300 missiles at Bakhmut, adding there were airstrikes in several locations around the eastern city.

“Heavy fighting for Bakhmut continues. In addition, during the day the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Ivanivske,” the military’s General Staff said.

Ivanivske is a village to the west of Bakhmut.

Meanwhile, videos emerging from Bakhmut show intense shelling and heavy destruction in the western part of the city, the last area where Ukrainian forces have a presence.

Video published by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and RIA FAN showed Moscow’s forces moving through abandoned apartment buildings and across courtyards littered with debris.

RIA FAN is part of Russia’s Patriot Media Group. Its board of trustees is headed by Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, whose mercenary fighters have laid siege to Bakhmut for months.

Drone video of Bakhmut showed clouds of gray smoke rising from several neighborhoods — with an Orthodox church on the western outskirts of Bakhmut as one of very few buildings apparently unscathed. It’s not clear exactly when the videos were shot. 

Across the front lines, the General Staff said there were 32 airstrikes. That would be slightly lower than the recent average, according to Ukrainian estimates.

What the situation is like in other parts of Ukraine: In the northern region of Kharkiv, according to the General Staff, the Russians are continuing to try to improve their “tactical situation” in the Kupyansk sector — where there had been unsuccessful offensives close to the Oskil River and heavy shelling of Ukrainian-held areas.

The General Staff added that the situation had been quieter in another hotspot, around Avdiivka in Donetsk, where “the enemy did not conduct any offensive actions over the last day.”

The military officials said Russian forces in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia had continued to shell settlements in the area, striking more than 20 places over the past day.