August 11, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news or read through the updates below.

Social media video and images indicate that Ukrainian troops have entered the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region — a location that has seen heavy fighting for several weeks.

Ukraine’s military has not confirmed that it holds the village. One photograph purports to show a Ukrainian soldier standing in front of a road sign at the entrance to the village.

The image could not immediately be geolocated.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Ukraine and the United Kingdom have begun “initial working-level negotiations” on security guarantees, Ukraine’s Presidential Office said in a statement on Friday.

The countries are using the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine signed by countries of the G7 last month as a basis for the negotiations, according to the office. 

“The United Kingdom became the second country after the United States with which Ukraine started relevant negotiations,” the statement read, noting “the United Kingdom has consistently demonstrated its leadership and example in making and implementing the boldest decisions to support Ukraine.” 

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation in the negotiations, called the UK “one of the main strategic partners.” He added that the negotiations are aimed at strengthening the countries’ “common security in the entire Euro-Atlantic region.” 

Yermak said Ukraine already has agreements to start consultations with almost all of the countries that have joined the declaration on security guarantees. 

The United Kingdom is the second country after the United States with which Ukraine has started relevant negotiations, according to the statement. 

Some background on the declaration: The Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine was announced on July 12, 2023, by the G7 leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.

Belgium, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Latvia have asked to be added as signatories to the declaration, according to the statement. 

About 900 Ukrainian marines are returning home after being trained by British Royal Marines and Army Commandos as part of a six-month program, the United Kingdom’s defense ministry said in a statement Friday.

The training, delivered by elite British commandos, will help Ukraine develop its own distinct marine force and make it more formidable in fighting around bodies of water, the UK defense ministry said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in May that his military’s marines would become an independent military branch and that he would be expanding the new Ukrainian Marine Corps.

British Commandos trained Ukraine’s forces on amphibious operations, which included beach raids using inflatable boats, the ministry said.

“It is the first program of amphibious training delivered by the UK to Ukraine, culminating with the Ukrainian marines planning and conducting raids by both day and night,” the ministry said. 

Additionally, the Ukrainian marines were trained on how to use shoulder-fired missile systems called Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, mortars and reconnaissance drones, the UK said. They also received explosive demolition training for obstacles such as Dragon’s Teeth anti-vehicle fortifications.

“Trainees came from a variety of backgrounds, with many being civilian volunteers with no prior military experience, while others have transferred from other sections within the Armed Forces of Ukraine – some having already been engaged in combat on the frontline,” the UK defense ministry said. 

“The training I have received from the UK Royal Marines has been far more intense than I expected. I have learned so much and never expected to be doing the things I have done,” one of the recently trained Ukrainian marines said, according to the statement.

Each training cohort underwent “a rigorous five-week program,” with sessions ranging from battlefield first aid to close quarters combat and unit planning, according to the ministry.

More than 20,000 recruits have already received training in the UK since the start of 2022.

“At the start of 2023, the UK committed to train a further 20,000 Ukrainian recruits,” the ministry said, effectively doubling its commitment. 

Instructors from the Netherlands Marine Corps were also part of the most recent training program, and other countries have also contributed to the UK program.

Most of the residents under evacuation orders still need to be escorted out of the city of Kupiansk and surrounding areas near the front lines in northeastern Ukraine, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region military administration.

“The evacuation is organized and is being carried out along designated safe routes. Currently, 63 people have been evacuated, including 9 children,” Syniehubov said Friday, adding that about 12,000 people remain in the city. 

Officials are considering requiring children to evacuate from settlements within about 10 kilometers (roughly 6 miles) of the front line, according to Syniehubov.

Accommodations for the evacuees have been arranged in Kharkiv and other Ukrainian regions that are farther from the front lines, Syniehubov said.

Some background: Kupiansk, which lies close to the Russian border, was claimed by Moscow’s forces in the early stages of its full-scale invasion, then taken back by Kyiv’s troops in September.

Now Russia has intensified its shelling and built up significant numbers of troops in the area, attempting to seize the territory once again.

Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation Thursday, saying about 12,000 people would be affected.

Evacuations of this scale are infrequent. Ukrainian authorities have not ordered one this large since October last year, when they launched an offensive to reclaim territories captured by Russian forces in Kherson and sought to protect civilians by removing them first.

CNN’s Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych and Christian Edwards contributed reporting to this post.

The United States is “certainly open” to training Ukrainian F-16 pilots on US soil, the White House said Friday, but officials cautioned that the process is complicated and will take time.

“The reason we’re doing this is part of a longer, broader effort to make sure that we are continuing to improve Ukrainian self-defense and military capabilities for the long term,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Friday. “It’s going to be a while before the jets can show up in Ukraine, and for them to be integrated into the air fleet.”

Kirby said in addition to transferring planes and training pilots, Ukrainian allies also had to set up “all the maintenance logistics and sustainment efforts that go into having modern aircraft like the F-16 in your fleet.” He emphasized that “all that takes some time,” and said there was an English language component to the training.

“We’re going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said. “We’ve been eager to move forward providing Ukraine that long term capability, and eager is a good word for it.”
“If the capacity for training in Europe is reached,” he added, “we are certainly open to doing the training for Ukrainian pilots here in the United States.”

Some background: CNN previously reported that the US is still waiting for European officials to submit a final plan for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, which the US will have to authorize before the program can actually begin.

European officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said publicly last month that they expected the training to begin in August, but that timeline has been pushed back as officials work to hammer out logistical details, including how many pilots the Ukrainians will ultimately send to the training.

Zelensky has long urged Western allies to provide him with modern fighter jets, pitching the F-16 in particular as a potential game-changer in the war against Russia.

The Russian Sig tanker struck by a maritime drone last week has been towed to the village of Aksai in the Rostov region for repairs, according to a statement published by the Russian Marine Rescue Service on Friday.

“The rescue party of the Azovo-Chernomorsky branch of the FSBI Marine Rescue Service completed the main measures to eliminate the consequences of the emergency with the tanker ‘Sig’,” according to the statement.

Marine Rescue Service specialists used more than 800 kilograms (about 1,763 pounds) of biosorbents to repair the tanker and did not get any pollution into the water while towing and working on it, according to the statement.

Some background: On the night of August 5, the Sig tanker was hit by a drone carrying 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT while on its way to the Kerch Strait. The strike created a hole in its engine room, forcing the 11-person crew to fight water going into the vessel, Russian authorities said. The flooding eventually stopped.

Following the attack, Russia’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport said no casualties were reported and that the tanker was not carrying oil when the drone crashed into the ship. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said some crew members were injured and that the tanker was carrying fuel for the Russian military. 

CNN has not been able to independently verify those claims.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is investigating 112 criminal proceedings on abuses by military officials, according to a statement from the bureau published this week.

“In total, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the SBI has been investigating 112 proceedings against officials of regional recruitment and social support centers. Based on the results of this work, 15 indictments have already been sent to court,” SBI said in a statement Tuesday. 
“The motives for the ‘popular’ offenses of military enlistment office officials are their own profiteering, for which they neglect both their conscience and responsibility for the fate of the country,” SBI said. “The SBI is stepping up its efforts to combat crimes at military enlistment offices and warns that any schemes will be exposed and the perpetrators brought to justice.”

Inspections of “the activities and lifestyle” of employees of regional recruitment and social support centers are ongoing, SBI said.

“All violations will be assessed in a principled and uncompromising manner in accordance with the Criminal Code,” it added. 

SBI has listed a number of cases of abuse in military enlistment offices, including a military commissar accused of organizing an “enrichment scheme” and an official accused of “facilitating illegal border crossing,” among others.

This week’s statement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that all officials in charge of all regional military recruitment centers have been dismissed amid widespread corruption.

Russia launched advanced Kinzhal missiles at Ukrainian pilots who will soon go for training on US-made F-16 fighter jets, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed Friday.

Military officials say one of the four Russian missiles, also known as KH-47, was shot down. The other three missiles hit near on of Ukraine’s military airfields, which have been consistent Russian targets for several months, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

While Starokostiantyniv airfield in western Ukraine has been most frequently targeted, Friday’s early morning attack targeted the Kolomyia airfield — also located in western Ukraine, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

“This time our youth was targeted,” Ihnat said. “Our young pilots who will soon go for training.”

Ihnat claimed Russia “wanted to hit our youngsters, depriving us of the prospect for our further re-equipment with the latest Western technologies. But as we see they did not succeed in this.”

One of the missiles was downed over the Kyiv region. It’s unclear what happened to the others.

CNN is unable to verify any battlefield claims.

About Kinzhal missiles: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military have touted the Kinzhal, or Kh-47, as an example of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal, claiming that its hypersonic speed makes it extremely difficult to intercept.

Ukraine has acknowledged that the missiles are tough to defend against, though it has knocked at least one out of the sky using a US Patriot defense battery.

Russian shelling has increased across several regions of Ukraine in recent days. Several missile fragments fell on the territory of a children’s hospital in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district Friday morning, according to the city’s military administration, which said information on casualties and damage was being clarified.

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine, a Russian missile killed an 8-year-old child early Friday, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

Shelling in the Kharkiv region — where Russia is trying to regain territory in the face of Ukraine’s counteroffensive — and in Zaporizhzhia, killed two people and injured several on Thursday, according to officials.

This prompted Ukrainian officials to order mandatory evacuations in and around the northeastern city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.

And the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said she was “appalled” by Russia’s attack on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia that was used as a main base for for UN staff and members of other humanitarian organizations.

Here’s what else is happening:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that all officials in charge of all regional military recruitment centers have been dismissed amid widespread corruption.

“One key issue is the results of the inspection of military registration and enlistment offices,” Zelensky said following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

“In total, there are 112 criminal proceedings against officials of the military registration and enlistment offices,” he said in a video.

Among the issues, Zelensky cited “iIllicit enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, unlawful benefit, illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.”

He said the decision was to “dismiss all regional military commissioners.”

“This system should be managed by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in time of war are high treason,” the president added.

Zelensky said that “soldiers who have been to the front or who cannot be in the trenches because they have lost their health, lost their limbs, but have saved their dignity and have no cynicism… They can be entrusted with this recruitment system.”

“Every military commissioner against whom there is a criminal investigation will be held accountable,” he said. “Officials who confused their shoulder straps with profit will definitely be brought to justice.”

Ukraine backers on Capitol Hill are itching for President Joe Biden to step up his case for why theU.S. should send more money to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, as warning bells sound about the American public’s support for Kyiv.

White House officials are confident the $24 billion dollars for Ukraine the president requested Thursday will ultimately get the congressional backing it needs to make it to his desk, and administration officials say they have no plans to change their message about the urgency of fighting Russian aggression against its neighbor.

But a major concern among Ukraine supporters in Congress this summer is what precarious position they might be in down the road – especially if public support falters heading into a bigger showdown over funding that could play out before year’s

nd.

Some of the strongest defenders of Ukraine aid on Capitol Hill have been making the case to the White House publicly and privately that they need to do more to explain the strategic benefits of sending U.S. money abroad. Among them is Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has gone out of his way to try and tamp down concern abroad that Republicans are losing interest in backing the effort. 

Even Republican leaders in the Senate had hoped Biden would do more to sell the importance of U.S. assistance. 

“He needs to be more vocal on why it’s needed,” another GOP member said. “I don’t think [it’s] too hard a sell knowing the Russians are committing war crimes and that they are a threat to our allies.”

Read the full report here:

In this February 2022 photo, Ukrainian servicemen load a truck with the FGM-148 Javelin, an American man-portable anti-tank missile provided by US to Ukraine as part of a military support, upon its delivery at Kyiv's airport Boryspil.

Related article Ukraine backers want Biden to amp up his pitch for the war effort to the American public | CNN Politics

A Russian missile targeted at the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine early Friday killed an 8-year-old child, the Prosecutor General’s Office in Ukraine has said.

“At about 10 a.m., the Russian military fired aerial ballistic missiles at the infrastructure of Ivano-Frankivsk region,” the office said. “The missile hit the territory of a private house in the Kolomyia district.”

“An 8-year-old boy died as a result of the attack. Information about other victims is currently being clarified.”

Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of Ivano-Frankivsk region military administration, said that the child had been taken to hospital in critical condition, but doctors were unable to save him.

Social media video and images indicate that Ukrainian troops have entered the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region – a location that has seen heavy fighting for several weeks.

Ukraine’s military has not confirmed that it holds the village. One photograph purports to show a Ukrainian soldier standing in front of a road sign at the entrance to the village. The image could not immediately be geolocated.

The commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, said his units have made progress.

He added that artillery units from the Tavria Defense Forces have killed 49 Russian troops, injured more than 200, and destroyed 16 units of enemy military equipment over the past day

The Russian side has also spoken of heavy combat in the area.

A prominent Russian military blogger – WarGonzo – said that Ukrainian forces “with the powerful support of artillery managed to expand the zone of control in the vicinity of Robotyne.”

WarGonzo said the expansion of Ukrainian control was across a width of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), but in terms of depth was “insignificant.”

Yevgeniy Balitskyi, the Russian appointed acting head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, posted on Telegram that “today at about 6 a.m. the enemy in a grouping reinforced with tanks moved in the direction of Robotyne and Novodanylivka.”

“The enemy drove the convoy through minefields, as a result the tanks began to explode, one tank was destroyed by our artillery. The remaining grouping with two tanks retreated,” Balitskyi claimed.

Balitskyi also spoke of heavy Ukrainian shelling, but insisted: “Our positions are strong.”

Another Russian-appointed official, Vladmir Rogov, said that artillery exchanges had continued throughout Thursday night. “The enemy is actively using MLRS with cluster munitions,” he said, adding that two Ukrainian armored vehicles were destroyed by helicopter missile attacks.

Rogov also spoke of a fresh Ukrainian push at dawn on Friday.

Another drone has been seen flying over the Russian capital Friday, with Moscow authorities saying it has been “eliminated.”

Videos on social media show a drone flying over the city and coming down near the Karamyshevskaya embankment.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram: “A drone attempt was made to fly over the city. As a result of the air defense work, it was eliminated. No-one was hurt when debris fell in the area of Karamyshevskaya embankment. There are no serious damages. Emergency services are on site.”

The official news agency TASS said there had been restrictions on aircraft movements at Vnukovo airport south-west of Moscow.

Some background: A string of drone strikes have peppered Russian cities, including Moscow, throughout the summer. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned last month that war is “gradually returning” to Russia, after the latest in a series of drone attacks inside the country that the Kremlin has pinned on Kyiv. Ukraine has typically not taken direct responsibility for the attacks.

Read more on drone strikes in Russia:

TOPSHOT - A specialist inspects the damaged facade of a multi-storey apartment building after a reported drone attack in Moscow on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Ukrainian drone strikes are bringing the war home to Russia. What does it mean for the conflict? | CNN

Several missile fragments fell on the territory of a children’s hospital in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district Friday morning, according to the city’s military administration.

“Information on casualties and damage is being clarified,” said Serhii Popko, head of the military administration in Kyiv.

Earlier, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions could be heard in the city, which may have been Ukrainian air defenses at work.

The air raid warning for the capital ended a short while ago. 

The military administration in Kyiv said air defenses are working amid warnings that Russian Kinzhal missiles have been launched toward the Ukrainian capital.

“The missile threat continues! Stay in shelters!” said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.

The Ukrainian Air Force also issued a warning saying that it has recorded launches of “aeroballistic missiles Kh-47M2 ‘Kinzhal’ from a MiG-31K” headed toward the direction of Kyiv.

The Khmelnytsky region military administration, in western Ukraine, also warned of Russian missile attacks.

“Explosions are heard in Khmelnytsky region. Air defense is working,” the first deputy head of the military administration, Serhii Tiurin, posted on Telegram.

An air base in the region has become a frequent target of Russian missiles.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said Thursday she was “appalled” by Russia’s attack on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia that was used as a main base for for UN staff and members of other humanitarian organizations.

“I am appalled by the news that a hotel frequently used by United Nations personnel and our colleagues from NGOs supporting people affected by the war has been hit by a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia,” she said in a statement, calling it “utterly inadmissible.”

Brown said she and her colleagues had stayed at the hotel during their previous visits to the region. The hotel served as the UN base for the operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol last year, she added.

“The number of indiscriminate attacks hitting civilian infrastructure, killing and injuring civilians, have reached unimaginable levels – these attacks violate international humanitarian law,” Brown said. 

She called on the Russia to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately stop indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the hotel was also the site of a children’s day camp that finished its daily operations about an hour before Russia’s attack.

Some context: Russian missiles struck the hotel on Thursday, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others, which included four children.

Shelling in the Kharkiv region and in Zaporizhzhia killed two people and injured several on Thursday, according to officials.

In an attack on a Zaporizhzhia hotel, at least 16 people — including four children — were injured, according to Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration. 

Among the injured children is a 3-year-old girl. One person was killed in the attack, authorities said.

Meanwhile, in the Kharkiv region, a woman was killed and two men were injured after Russian shelling in villages, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region military administration.

Here are the latest developments:

The hotel hit by Russian missiles in Zaporizhzhia on Thursday is the site of a children’s day camp that finished its daily operations about an hour before the attack, Ukraine’s defense ministry said.

“They were targeting children. The Reikartz hotel in Zaporizhzhia, which was hit by a missile attack by Russian terrorists today, is the site of a children’s day camp for kids aged 6 to 13,” the ministry tweeted. “The camp operates until 6 p.m. every day. The strike was launched at 7 p.m. One person was killed, and 16 were injured. Only a miracle of timing saved the children from the russian [sic] killers today.” 

The hotel was also frequently used by UN personnel and members of other humanitarian organizations helping residents in the area. 

The Russian Investigative Committee detained the technical director of the Piro-Ross company on Thursday, after a massive explosion at the company’s plant in Sergiev Posad on Wednesday.

“Investigators interrogated employees of the organization from among the leadership. As a result, the technical director of Piro-Ross was detained as a suspect,” the Investigative committee’s statement said.

Investigators also searched the premises of the Piro-Ross company.

“Documents relevant to the investigation, including job descriptions of employees, were confiscated,” the statement said.

As of Thursday morning, 12 people remain missing, 60 victims have been treated, and one woman died in hospital, according to authorities. Rescuers are continuing to search the rubble.

“Thus, at the moment, the fate of 12 people who are considered missing is being established,” according to an official of the Investigative Committee, Olga Vradiy.

Moscow region authorities have rejected suggestions that a drone attack was responsible for the explosion.

The plant is a developer and manufacturer for optical and optoelectronic devices for the Russian military, law enforcement agencies, industry and healthcare.

Ukrainian officials say that substantial Russian reinforcements have turned the northern front in the eastern Kharkiv region into the “epicenter” of hostilities, but that Ukrainian defenses are holding.

Ruslan Muzychuk, the National Guard spokesman, told Ukrainian television Thursday that “the Kupyansk direction remains the epicenter of hostilities, where the enemy is concentrating its main efforts.”

“The number of enemy forces and means and its recent activation in this area of the front are aimed at trying to turn the tide in this section of the front,” Muzychuk added.

Muzychuk said the Russians had brought in airborne assault units “and they have been reinforced by tank units, which, with the support of aviation and artillery, are attempting to assault the positions of Ukrainian defenders.”

“In recent weeks, more than 50 air attacks have been taking place every day, and sometimes more than 80,” he said.

The Russian offensive was designed to draw more Ukrainian units into the area, Muzychuk said, but he did not rule out an attempt to capture the city of Kupiansk itself.

Russia trying to “seize the initiative”: Another National Guard official, Mykola Urshalovych, said that Ukrainian units had managed to hold the dominant heights around Vilshana and Novoselivske, two villages east of Kupiansk where the Russians claim to have made some advances.

Serhii Cherevatyi, Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military Group, said that the “Kupyansk direction remains one of those where the enemy is trying to seize the initiative.”

Cherevatyi said defenses “have been strengthened, and strike capabilities have been enhanced. So the situation is difficult but under control.”

He added that in a single day, the Russians had used artillery 559 times in addition to air raids.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that on Thursday morning the city of Kupiansk had been shelled again, setting off a fire but causing no casualties.

Following the announcement of a mandatory evacuation for civilians in Kupiansk, Andriy Kanashevych, the acting Head of Kupiansk district military administration, said that “Russian terrorists are becoming even more cynical and completely indifferent to human life. As a result, almost every day we have dead and wounded among the civilian population.”

“We suggest that residents of Kupyansk district make a responsible and informed decision to temporarily leave for the safe territories of Kharkiv region,” Kanashevych said.

The Ukrainian navy has announced temporary corridors for civilian shipping in the Black Sea following the suspension of the Grain Initiative.

Russia withdrew from the arrangement last month.

The Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring “temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to/from Ukrainian ports.”

“At the same time, it is reported that the military threat and mine danger from the Russian Federation remains along all routes,” it said.

Currently, merchant ships are not traveling to and from the Ukrainian port of Odesa or neighboring harbors, crippling the export of grain from those ports. The last ship with grain on board left Odesa on July 16. 

It’s unclear that the Ukrainian order will have much impact on the willingness of merchant shipping to travel much beyond the Danube ports in the western Black Sea.

The Ukrainian navy said the routes it had announced “will primarily be used to allow civilian vessels that have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022 to leave.”