April 18, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised a framework introduced by China and Brazil, which proposed an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

“We applaud the position from China, and we have also held talks with Brazil on this, and these are very useful proposals because they can help to share ideas and help resolve problems,” Lavrov said Tuesday during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela. “All this, however, is not part of the West’s rules.”

Lavrov explained the West would not accept the so-called “peace proposal” that would see the Crimean Peninsula fully integrated into the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has repeatedly said peace in the conflict will only be achieved if Russia restores the country’s borders and Kyiv takes back Crimea.

Since taking office this year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has suggested his country could help broker a negotiation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing Kyiv should relinquish sovereignty claims over Crimea in exchange for the end of the conflict. 

Last week, Lula traveled to China and both countries reiterated calls for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Lula has largely adopted a policy of non-intervention over the war in Ukraine, following in the same footsteps of many leaders in middle-income and developing countries.

On Saturday, Lula said the US and the EU need to start talking about peace between Ukraine and Russia.

“The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace; the European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and Zelensky that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them,” Lula told reporters in Beijing on Saturday.

Some context: The US and EU have been major suppliers of arms and aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

Lavrov is in Caracas as part of a five-day trip to Latin America, visiting Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. On Tuesday, Lavrov criticized US sanctions on Venezuela and said Russia intends to strengthen diplomatic and commercial relationships with the Andean country.

CNN’s Tatiana Arias and Duarte Mendonca contributed reporting.

Ann Simmons, Wall Street Journal Moscow bureau chief, described detained journalist Evan Gershkovich as a “terrific reporter, largely because he is very familiar with Russian culture and history and tradition.” 

“He is from a Russian family, and his parents were Soviet immigrants to the United States. And so, he has got this very intimate view of Russian society,” Simmons told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night.
“He’s very passionate about Russia and Russians and the story in general. And being able to have that kind of intimate view is so powerful, especially when reporting from Russia,” she said.

Some context: Gershkovich, a US citizen, was arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges. He is currently being held at the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow, where he’s expected to remain through at least May 29 and faces up to a 20-year-sentence.

The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich.

During a court hearing Tuesday, Gershkovich was denied an appeal to change the terms of his detention – a ruling the WSJ had expected, Simmons said.

“It was good to see a colleague despite the fact that we saw him in a glass box and in the courtroom essentially detained,” Simmons added.

Gershkovich’s attorneys are able to speak with him, and that’s how the newspaper has been gaining insight into his case. Gershkovich is in “good spirits right now,” she said, and has been watching culinary shows on TV while being held.

“We don’t know much more than that,” she said. “Espionage cases are typically classified, and a lot of the information is not revealed.” 

A local Russian activist has been arrested after writing he didn’t “feel a shadow of sadness” about the death of Vladlen Tatarsky, a pro-war blogger who was killed in a bombing at an event in a St. Petersburg cafe this month.

Russian law enforcement authorities opened a criminal case against Yaroslav Shirshikov, accusing him of justifying terrorism, according to state news agency TASS. 

In a Telegram post, Shirshikov wrote, in part, to “Tatarsky, who wanted to kill and rob everyone, as he liked, I wish glass wool lining his grave, as well as to those who voluntarily came to the creative evening of this scumbag in St. Petersburg.”

Shirshikov was also one of the first people to publicly post on Telegram about Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich’s arrest in Yekaterinburg last month. He told CNN earlier in a phone call that Gershkovich was looking into a number of stories and had texted him to say he was returning to the city. Shirshikov said they met up in Yekaterinburg before Gershkovich was arrested.

CNN has reached out to the WSJ for comment.

The US will look at “creative and sometimes quite challenging options” to try and bring detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich home, but the process could take a long time, a senior administration official told CNN Tuesday.

At a Tuesday court hearing in Moscow, Gershkovich was denied an appeal to change the terms of his detention.

Gershkovich, a US citizen, was arrested in Russia last month. He is being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until at least May 29 and faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against him and the US State Department has officially designated him as wrongfully detained by Russia.

Here are the latest headlines:

President Joe Biden extended the ban on Russian-affiliated vessels from US ports. The order, originally published last April, was originally set to expire this week.

“The policies and actions of the Government of the Russian Federation to continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine continue to constitute a national emergency by reason of a disturbance or threatened disturbance of international relations of the United States,” Biden wrote in a letter to Congress. “Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Proclamation 10371.”

Five Shahed drones have been downed in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s president’s office.

“Tonight, our Air Defense Forces performed masterfully in Zaporizhzhia,” Anatolii Kurtev, secretary of Zaporizhzhia City Council, said on Telegram.

The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Yurii Malashko, said that “enemy ‘tin cans’ have been successfully landed today.”

A Russian man who said he had killed children and other civilians while serving with the Wagner private military company in Ukraine appears to have recanted the claim, suggesting he was blackmailed into making it.

Azamat Uldarov, a former convict, made his retraction in a video call with the Russian news agency RIA-FAN. It’s unclear if there were any conditions to the interview.

He and another former convict, Alexey Savichev, previously gave long and rambling interviews to Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, saying they were among the tens of thousands of Wagner fighters recruited from Russian jails to fight in Ukraine.

Speaking with Gulagu founder Vladimir Osechkin, Uldarov said he shot and killed a young girl, calling it “a management decision.”

“I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said, estimating that the girl was five or six years old.

In his interview with RIA-FAN – which is associated with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin – Uldarov said he was drunk when he gave the interview, and alleged that Osechkin had blackmailed him about his time in prison.

Asked by RIA-FAN: “They made you say what you said in the video, correct?” Uldarov replied: “Not only correct, it’s [expletive] correct. I had to say it because I had no choice.”

“I said whatever I was told to say,” Uldarov then said.

“Prigozhin is a great guy,” he added, giving a thumbs up. “He saved our lives.”

But Gulagu’s Osechkin, who is based in France, told CNN he stood by the content of his interviews with the two men, citing Uldarov’s retraction as proof of how quickly dissenting voices are silenced in Russia.

Osechkin also claimed that both interviewees, Uldarov and Savichev, had been threatened with murder if they didn’t retract their statements to him. Savichev told Gulagu that his unit was ordered to kill any men 15 years old or older.

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The United States “will look at creative and sometimes quite challenging options” to try to bring home detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but the process could take a long time, a senior administration official told CNN on Tuesday.

The official declined to provide details on these options and also on whether any proposals have been discussed with Russia.

“Until an American is home, we’re always exploring and re-exploring and re-exploring what the options might be available to bring that American home,” the official added.

In the past the Russians have wanted legal proceedings – which the US views as “illegitimate” — to play out in court first before they will engage in any serious negotiations, the official said, and the process may take a long time

On Tuesday, a Russian court denied Gershkovich’s appeal to serve out his pre-trial detention under house arrest rather than at the notorious Lefortovo Prison. He will be held there until at least May 29 and faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years on espionage charges that the US has strongly condemned. 

Calling the lack of regular consular access for Gershkovich “appalling,” the senior administration official said that the US hasn’t heard “specific” concerns about the conditions of the US national’s detention, but said that his detention writ large is “inhumane.”

The US State Department has officially designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia. “I think the starting point for our position on this, including engaging with the Russians, but also for helping the world to understand what’s happened, is that this just should never have been this way in the first place,” the official said, adding that officials are “still figuring out exactly where all of this goes” in terms of negotiations.

Last week, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said that the Russians have not indicated what they would want in exchange for the release of Gershkovich.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that so far there is no evidence China is providing lethal military aid to Russia.

“We are watching very closely and so far we haven’t seen any evidence that China is providing lethal military aid to Russia,” he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.  

“Our message is very clear: It would be a big mistake to support President [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal war,” he added. 

The relationship between Russia and China: China has claimed neutrality over the war in Ukraine and called for peace in the conflict. But it has also refused to condemn Russia’s invasion or make any public call for Russia to withdraw its troops. The leaders of both countries met in March.

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of US forces in the Indo-Pacific warned of the partnership between Russia and China, telling lawmakers it is “pretty concerning.”

“They have no friends,” Adm. John Aquilino, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee. “They have identified that it is better if they’re together in order to achieve their strategic objectives. That’s a concerning world.”

Aquilino added that the relationship ties “directly” the question of misinformation and disinformation.

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.

The investigator from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) who led the investigation into American Marine Paul Whelan in Russia is also investigating the case of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

FSB investigator Alexei Khizhnyak was named as an investigator for Gershkovich’s case during a hearing at the Moscow City Court on Tuesday. 

Gershkovich is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison after he was arrested in late March. His appeal against his detention was denied earlier today and he faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich. The US State Department has officially designated the journalist as wrongfully detained by Russia.

Whelan, a former Marine who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.

NATO allies need to give more weapons and supplies to Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

Referring to the information contained in leaked United States documents that suggests Ukraine may soon run out of air defense ammunition, Stoltenberg said military aid is going to be critical in helping Ukrainians take back positions.

“We recognize the enormous amount of weapons, ammunitions, supplies that have already been provided to Ukraine, but we need to do even more,” Stoltenberg said.
“Because we need to ensure that Ukrainians are in a position where they can punch through the Russian lines and also across minefields and be in a position where they can liberate, take back territory,” he added.

Swedish vodka brand Absolut Vodka will once again stop exporting to Russia, a spokesperson for Absolut’s parent company Pernod Ricard confirmed to CNN. 

Exports of the vodka had been suspended when the war started but Pernod Ricard renewed exports of some of its brands, including Absolut, to Russia at the end of last year, the spokesperson said.

The decision to do so prompted backlash in Sweden, where Absolut is produced.

Absolut’s CEO Stephanie Durroux said in a statement on Tuesday that “the reaction over the recent days is clearly reflective of the role Absolut plays for its extended community in Sweden… Therefore, The Absolut Company has decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia.”

Durroux said since March 2022, in compliance with international sanctions and local legal restrictions, “activity in Russia has been strongly reduced and marketing investments have been stopped. By ensuring the economic viability of its distribution subsidiary through limited supply, Pernod Ricard has been able to protect its local team from any local criminal liability, relating to ‘intentional bankruptcy’ in particular.”

She went on to say the company has a “duty of care towards our employees and partners, we cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms.”

The leaked Pentagon documents are not impacting the actions of NATO allies when it comes to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN Tuesday. 

“We have all seen that some of these leakages are incorrect and manipulated,” he said. “I don’t think they will impact what NATO allies are doing when it comes to Ukraine.”

Fact check: CNN has reviewed 53 leaked documents, all of which appear to have been produced between mid-February and early March. They contain a wide range of highly classified information – providing a rare window into how the US spies on allies and adversaries alike. Some of the documents, which US officials say are authentic, expose the extent of US eavesdropping on key allies, including South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.

Poland has reached an agreement on restarting the transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory from Friday, according to government officials. 

“We will start the passage through Poland of those goods that are on the annex to the regulation from midnight on Friday,” the office of Poland’s prime minister tweeted Friday, quoting Poland’s Minister of Development and Technology Waldemar Buda.

“We will introduce electronic seals and the SENT system for these goods. The regulation will contain a record that will protect us from leaving goods in Poland,” the tweet added.

Kyiv is awaiting official communication from the Polish side on the technical aspects of transporting the products, Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Yulia Svyrydenko said.

The announcement comes following Ukraine-Poland negotiations in Warsaw on Tuesday.  

“We treat the problems faced by our Polish colleagues with the same attention Poland treats our problems. Therefore, we must respond promptly and constructively to this crisis situation,” she said, according to a statement released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy. 

Some background: Poland banned imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine “to protect the Polish agricultural market against destabilization,” the Polish Prime Minister’s office said in a statement over the weekend.

When Russia invaded Ukraine it blocked ports and sea routes used to export Ukrainian grain to Africa and the Middle East. In response, the European Union lifted duties on grain from Ukraine to ease distribution to those global markets.

Ukrainian grain has since flowed into Poland but much of it has remained in the country, bringing down the price and causing Polish farmers to suffer significant financial losses.

CNN’s Mayria Knight and Jonny Hallam contributed reporting to this post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to discuss the Black Sea grain deal with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres when he visits New York next week, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday citing Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

On Monday, Ukraine accused Moscow of threatening the UN-brokered grain deal — which aims to ease a global food crisis sparked by the war — and said that the inspections of ships in Turkish territorial waters were blocked for the second time. Russian state news agency RIA reported inspections under the grain deal had resumed on Tuesday, citing Pyotr Ilyichev, director of the department for international organizations at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lavrov’s trip to New York was made possible after Russian Ambassador to US, Anatoly Antonov, urged Washington last week to issue a permit for the foreign minister’s special aircraft and visas for the Russian delegation to chair the UN Security Council meeting in New York.

In response, a State Department spokesperson said last week that as a host country of the UN, the United States takes its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement seriously, “including with respect to visa issuance.”

The agreement states, “the federal, state or local authorities of the United States shall not impose any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district of: (1) representatives of Members or officials of the United Nations, or of specialized agencies as defined in Article 57, paragraph 2, of the Charter, or the families of such representatives or officials.”

The Russian foreign ministry has summoned the US, Canadian and UK ambassadors “in connection with gross interference in the affairs of the Russian Federation and activities that do not correspond to diplomatic status,” the ministry said as quoted by state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

Video shows US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy arriving to the foreign ministry and departing about an hour later.

What the ministry told US diplomat: The ministry issued a “strong protest” to Tracy on Tuesday for statements of support for jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza.

In a statement, the ministry also accused the US envoy of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and threatened to end her stay in Moscow ahead of schedule if she abused her status.

“It was especially noted that any steps by the American side aimed at inciting discord and enmity in Russian society, as well as using the diplomatic mission to cover up subversive work, will be severely suppressed,” the ministry said.

A US State Department spokesperson confirmed Tracy met Russian officials at the foreign ministry on Tuesday, but would not provide details about what was discussed. “As a general rule, we do not discuss diplomatic discussions,” the spokesperson said.

What the ministry told British diplomat: British Ambassador to Moscow Deborah Bronnert was summoned following “provocative statements” over the sentencing of Kara-Murza, the ministry said.

The UK condemned the sentencing Monday, calling it “politically-motivated.” The UK also summoned the Russian ambassador.

Russia’s foreign ministry said in the statement that it regards “calls of foreign diplomats to cancel the verdict of the Russian court” as “gross interference” in internal affairs.

Russia’s foreign ministry has not released a statement regarding the summoning of the US and Canadian ambassadors so far.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday that they have not seen Russia deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus yet, despite claims from Moscow that they intended to do so.

NATO has not yet seen “any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that demands any changes in our nuclear posture,” Stoltenberg said via video to the NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-Proliferation in Washington, DC.

Stoltenberg said that Moscow’s threatened deployment “is part of a pattern we have seen actually [for] many years — but especially since the invasion of Ukraine — of dangerous, irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.”

NATO is monitoring the situation closely, Stoltenberg said.

Sherman echoed Stoltenberg’s comments. She said that Russia has yet to move weapons to Belarus but called the threat “a dangerous escalation, no doubt about it.”

“We have all watched and worried that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or would do some demonstration effect to escalate but in a managed risk escalation. All of us have been very watchful of this, and it is very critical to remain watchful of this,” Sherman said. “I think his announcement of sending nuclear weapons to Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way.”

Some background: In March, Putin told state media that Moscow will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by the beginning of July. He said an Iskander short-range missile system, a device which can be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, had already been transferred to Belarus.

Belarus is one of Putin’s closest allies and was used as a launching pad for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine, and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month.

In the letter, which was reviewed by CNN and is dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Energy Department’s Office of Nonproliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, tells Rosatom’s director general that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine “contains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government.” 

Goods, software and technology are subject to US export controls when it is possible for them to be used in a way that undermines US national security interests. 

The Energy Department letter comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power station in Europe and sits in a part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia occupied after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The plant has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense Russian shelling in the area, raising fears across Europe of a nuclear accident. 

While the plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian staff, Rosatom manages it. The Energy Department warned Rosatom in the letter that it is “unlawful” for any Russian citizens or entities to handle the US technology.

CNN has reached out to Rosatom for comment.

“It is unlawful under United States law for non-authorized persons, including, but not limited to, Russian citizens and Russian entities,” the letter says, “such as Rosatom and its subsidiaries, to knowingly and willfully access, possess, control, export, store, seize, review, re-export, ship, transfer, copy, manipulate such technology or technical data, or direct, or authorize others to do the same, without such Russian entities becoming authorized recipients by the Secretary of the US Department of Energy.”  

It is not clear whether Rosatom has responded to the letter. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter is authentic.

The letters were first reported by the news outlet RBC Ukraine.

“The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration can confirm that the letter is legitimate,” said Shayela Hassan, the deputy director of public affairs for the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

She added, “The Secretary of Energy has the statutory responsibility for authorizing the transfer of unclassified civilian nuclear technology and assistance to foreign atomic energy activities. DOE does not comment on regulatory activities.” 

Another letter from Ferkile to the Energy Department’s Inspector General, reviewed by CNN and dated October 24, 2022, outlines the technology the US has exported to Ukraine for use in the Zaporizhzhia plant and reiterates that the department has “no record of any current authorization to transfer this technology and technical data to any Russian national or entity.” 

The Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy has been public about the US’ support for the plant, and stated on its website in June 2021 that “the United States helped implement new maintenance procedures and operations at the reactor that should ultimately strengthen energy security” in Ukraine. 

Correction: This post incorrectly described the news outlet which first reported the letters. It was RBC Ukraine.

The UK’s top defense official cast doubt on the veracity and impact of the recently leaked US intelligence documents — some of which contain information about the war in Ukraine — going further than US officials have in questioning the contents of the hundreds of pages of classified intelligence that were posted online. 

UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace declined to comment on specific subjects in the documents. Speaking to journalists in Washington, DC, he acknowledged that some of the information “might be a bit compromising, might be a bit difficult for a number of nations” but expressed confidence that the leak won’t have significant effects.

“If you’re Ukraine and you’re sitting there fighting the war, you’re used to disinformation, you’re used to leaks, you’re used to hacking attempts, you’re used to human espionage attempts, you’re used to assassination attempts,” he said.

“Do I think it’s going to strengthen Russia? No. Is it going to weaken Ukraine? No,” he continued. “Do I think it’s damaged our relationship with the United States? Absolutely not.”

While members of the US government — from President Joe Biden to his top national security officials — have repeatedly said they are taking the leak seriously, engaging with allies to smooth things over and referring to the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation, Wallace was more dismissive and said he wouldn’t “be the only one who would look at those reports and see they’re not entirely accurate.” 

“I know for a fact having read what I’ve seen in the open source that some of those assertions are untrue,” Wallace said on Tuesday.

“I have seen in that leak a number of inaccuracies, significant inaccuracies, or manipulation of information,” he said. “My advice is don’t take it at face value.”

Aside from a clearly doctored document that changed Russian and Ukrainian casualty numbers, American officials have largely not expressed doubt about the legitimacy of the leaked documents, most of which have “top secret” or “secret” headings.

Wallace is in the US this week for meetings at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill.

Remember: Last week, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials in connection to the leak.

The Russian parliament, the State Duma, voted in favor of a bill that would allow life imprisonment for high treason, according to TASS state media.  

Currently, the maximum sentence for high treason in Russia is 20 years in prison. Only Russian citizens or dual citizens can be charged with high treason.

According to the bill, under the article of high treason, Russian citizens — including those with double citizenship — can be sentenced for sharing state secrets with foreign countries, organizations or its representatives; espionage; and providing financial, logistical, advisory, or other assistance in activities against the security of the Russian Federation.

The bill was proposed on April 7, before Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza — a dual Russian-British citizen — was sentenced to 25 years in prison after a Moscow court found him guilty of treason, discrediting the army and participating in the activities of an undesirable organization. Kara-Murza had publicly condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Next steps: The bill still needs to be approved by the upper house, the Federation Council, of Russia’s parliament before it can be signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The amendments to the bill also toughen the punishment for terrorism charges; for example, under the article on terrorist attacks, the maximum sentence will be increased from 15 to 20 years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited frontline troops in the hard-hit eastern town of Avdiivka, according to the president’s office.

Zelensky was briefed by the commander of the regional operational-tactical group and spoke with the service members.

The Ukrainian leader also handed out military awards and, in turn, was presented with insignia from the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Zelensky’s trip to the beleaguered town comes hours after President Vladimir Putin visited troops at a military base in Russian-occupied Kherson, in southern Ukraine.

Here are some photos from Zelensky’s trip to the front lines:

Russia is “going backwards” with the equipment it is using in Ukraine, Western officials said, explaining they’ve seen Moscow deploy tanks originally built after World War II while it struggles to replenish stocks of lost armored vehicles. 

Officials said during a briefing on Tuesday they hadn’t seen “a large uptick in increasing equipment.”

“If anything, the equipment they [the Russians] are using is older generation,” they said, adding Moscow had been increasingly relying on older models of tanks in the war. 

“They started with the T-80 and T-90 [tanks], went down to T-72, and indeed, we saw the first T-55s rolled out of the refurbishment to be put into battle and the same picture across artillery pieces as well,” the officials said.

The T-90 was first introduced in 1992, the T-80 in 1976, while the T-72 came into service in 1972 and the T-55 after World War II in 1948.

The officials also said Russia was still struggling with manpower, explaining that despite being able to muster large numbers of personnel, Moscow was still not providing them with adequate training. 

“We’ve seen two quite relatively small training cycles go through Belarus, but out of a force of 150,000 which they claimed were mobilized, we’ve probably seen maybe 15,000 which have gone for any kind of company level training,” the officials said. “That’s where we see the Russian force at the moment; it’s been degraded from the force that originally went into Ukraine.”

Switzerland “cannot be asked to break our own laws,” the country’s president Alain Berset said when discussing whether Swiss weapons could be re-exported to Ukraine.

Berset addressed the issue of neutrality at a joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Berset said that, while discussions are ongoing regarding whether the country “should, must or could develop” its stance on re-exporting weapons to Ukraine, it is currently out of the question, with Swiss law “clear on that.”

Key background: Switzerland has been a neutral country since 1815, with its legal framework ensuring it does not send weapons directly or indirectly to belligerent states. Since Russia’s war on Ukraine began, the country has faced increasing pressure from its European neighbors to approve the re-exportation of weapons to Ukraine.

Switzerland did, however, break its neutrality status quo shortly after the war began by adopting European Union sanctions in March 2022. Berset said Switzerland is taking the implementation of these sanctions seriously and is “doing everything that can be done in order to enforce them.”

The US intelligence documents leaked over the past few weeks have had no visible impact on the battlefield in Ukraine, Western officials say.

“We haven’t seen any change in the battlefield,” the officials told CNN during a briefing on Tuesday.

The officials declined to comment on the content of the leaked documents. 

What’s in the documents: Several of the documents, which US officials say are authentic, disclose the extent of US eavesdropping on Ukraine among other key allies. Others divulge significant weaknesses in Ukrainian weaponry, air defense, and battalion sizes and readiness at a critical point in the war, as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive against the Russian. Ukraine has already altered some of its military plans because of the leak, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline town of Avdiivka, which is surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, according to the president’s office.

Zelensky’s office said that he listened to the report of the commander of the Donetsk operational-tactical group and talked with the servicemen of the Marines, airborne assault, mechanized and artillery units.

According to his office, Zelensky told the soldiers:

“I have the honor to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families. Congratulations on the holidays, on Easter, I wish you only victory — this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us. I wish good health to all of you and your families, and I am sincerely grateful on behalf of every Ukrainian for the great path that you overcome every day.”

Zelensky handed out military awards and, in turn, was presented with insignia from the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Zelensky also visited a hospital in the Donetsk region where Ukrainian soldiers are being treated and awarded medals to the injured troops.

Current status of Avdiivka: The town has seen intense fighting for months and is largely destroyed, although about 1,800 civilians still remain despite efforts to persuade them to leave.

There are no safe routes out of the town, but Ukrainian forces still control the routes to the west.

The town is under fire almost daily by Russian artillery, but Ukrainian defenses have largely held, despite marginal Russian advances to the north.

The legal team for jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich says it offered bail amounting to about US $613,000 to the court to release the reporter from detention. The court denied bail. 

“We suggested that the court consider the choice of preventive measures not related to isolation from society, including house arrest, since Evan has a registration in the territory of Moscow; or a ban on certain actions; or a bail in the amount of 50 million rubles ($612,000),” Maria Korchagina said.
“Dow Jones, the owner of the WSJ, provided a letter of guarantee that if Evan is released from custody, they are ready to provide bail in the amount of 50 million rubles. But our request was denied,” she added.

When his decision was being read out in court, Gershkovich told the judge that he did not need the decision translated into English, “No no, I don’t need translation.”

Gershkovich is a bilingual Russian-English speaker.

The Moscow City Court also published an official statement on the decision.

“On April 18, 2023, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Lefortovsky District Court of Moscow dated March 30, 2023 against Evan Gershkovich, who is suspected of committing a crime under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” it said.

After a Moscow City Court decided to uphold the terms of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention, US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy called the charges “baseless” and urged Russia to “immediately release him.”

Tracy also said that she visited Gershkovich in prison yesterday and that he remains strong and is in good health.

Gershkovich was detained in late March and formally charged with espionage. The US State Department has officially designated him as wrongfully detained by Russia.

The Moscow City Court has decided to uphold the terms of the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The US citizen appeared at the hearing on Tuesday to appeal the terms of his detention.

Gershkovich asked that his pre-trial detention be under house arrest rather than in jail.

“On April 18, 2023, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Lefortovsky District Court of Moscow dated March 30, 2023 against Evan Gershkovich, who is suspected of committing a crime under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” according to an official statement from the court.

US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she spoke to Gershkovich on Monday, and he remains strong and is in good health.

“The charges against Evan are baseless, and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him,” she said, speaking after the court made its ruling on Tuesday.

Lawyer for Gershkovich plans further appeal: Tatyana Nozkhkina, a lawyer for Gershkovich, told journalists outside the court that his team would continue to appeal.

“Most of you were present at the concluding part, and you saw that our appeal was denied, and, accordingly, for the time being, Evan will be staying in the pre-trial detention center,” she said. “We will continue to further appeal this measure of restraint.”

The next hearing is scheduled for the end of May, Nozkhina said, when the court will decide whether to extend his detention.

Nozkhina said that Gershkovich is keeping in good spirits and reading Russian classic novels, as well as watching cooking shows on TV and exercising.

“He does not complain,” she said.

Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appeared in court to appeal the terms of his detention in Russia.

Elsewhere, four Ukrainian civilians have been killed by Russian strikes in the past day, with almost 30 others injured.

Here are the latest headlines:

Four civilians have been killed and nearly 30 injured in the latest Russian artillery and missile attacks across the front lines in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.

Kherson regional military administration said that one person was killed in Russian shelling of Kherson city center Tuesday, and nine were injured.

The city is frequently shelled by Russian forces based on the east bank of the Dnipro river.

Sloviansk, where 15 people were killed in a missile strike last Friday, again came under fire.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of Donetsk regional military administration said the Russians had used S-300 missiles and drones, damaging a number of buildings but causing no casualties.

Fighting continues around Avdiivka, Kyrylenko said, and one person had been wounded in Siversk, north of Bakhmut, which has been frequently bombarded as the Russians try to make further westward advances in Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian military said the Russians used attack aircraft in the Avdiivka area, which has become one of several hotspots along the frontline.

It listed nearly 20 settlements which it claimed had come under fire in that part of the front.

It said a similar number of places had been hit by Russian fire along front lines further south – in Zaporizhzhia, where the Russians “continue to conduct defensive actions.”

The Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said most of the strikes were by artillery fire, but said there had also been two air strikes.

Anatolii Kurtev, secretary of Zaporizhzhia city council, said the “contact line” was unchanged.

Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is appearing at the Moscow City Court hearing to appeal the terms of his detention.

He is asking that his pre-trial detention be under house arrest rather than in jail.

Gershkovich is standing in a glass cage, arms folded, standing up as journalists scramble in.

The US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy is standing to the right of the cage with lawyers.

Gershkovich was detained in late March and formally charged with espionage.

The US State Department has officially designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner private military company, has threatened retribution against two former Wagner fighters who claimed they had been ordered to commit atrocities against civilians in eastern Ukraine.

The two men appeared on a video made by Vladimir Osechkin, the founder of Gulagu.net, a human rights organization targeting corruption and torture in Russia.

Prigozhin confirmed on his Telegram channel that he had watched parts of the video.

“I can say the following: if at least one of these accusations against me is confirmed, I am ready to be held accountable according to any laws,” he said.

“If none is confirmed, I will send a list of 30-40 people who are spitting at me like Osechkin … that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is obligated to hand over to me for a ‘fair trial,’ so to speak.”

Prigozhin said the account was a “fragrant lie” and Wagner fighters “have never touched and do not touch” children.

Some context: Prigozhin was referring to video interviews with former Russian convicts Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev – who were both pardoned by Russian presidential decrees last year, according to Gulagu.net.

Uldarov, who appears to have been drinking, details how he shot and killed a 5 or 6-year-old girl.

He called it: “A management decision. I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way.”

CNN cannot independently verify their claims or identities in the videos but has obtained Russian penal documents showing they were released on presidential pardon in September and August 2022.

Read more here:

Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev spoke to Gulagu.net, the founder of a human rights organization.

Related article Two Russians claiming to be former Wagner commanders admit killing children and civilians in Ukraine | CNN

In video released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s convoy can be seen passing a sign that indicates he visited Henichesk, a town in southern Kherson that has become a headquarters for Russian forces.

Putin spoke with senior commanders about the situation in the south of Ukraine while he was there on Monday.

“I do not want to distract you from your direct duties related to command and control,” Putin said. “Therefore, we are working here in a business-like manner, briefly, but concretely.”

“It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information. I would ask you to start your report with the situation in the Kherson direction, then in the Zaporozhzhia direction,” he continued, according to the Kremlin.

Some context: Russian forces occupy parts of both regions and some analysts think the front will be the focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the coming months.  

Airborne Forces: Putin also said that he had asked Mikhail Yuryevich Teplinsky, the head of Russia’s Airborne Forces called the VDV, to “express his thoughts,” adding that Teplinsky has been at the front line “for quite a long time and made a very detailed report.”

Until recently, Teplinsky was thought to have fallen out of favor with the Russian defense ministry, but UK intelligence suggested last week that he had been rehabilitated.

“Teplinsky is likely one of the few senior Russian generals widely respected by the rank-and-file… His recent turbulent career suggests intense tensions between factions within the Russian general staff about Russia’s military approach in Ukraine,” the UK Ministry of Defence said.

Teplinsky was in charge of the relatively successful withdrawal from west of the Dnipro River in November 2022 and had been “previously dismissed from the theatre in January,” the UK Ministry of Defence added.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based analytical group, said that “Teplinsky remains highly unlikely to restore the VDV to its prior status as an elite force due to widespread losses to the most elite Russian units that are now being restaffed with poorly trained mobilized personnel.”

It said his reappearance “additionally suggests that the Russian military command is likely seeking to place an increased emphasis on the role of VDV elements in Russian offensive operations.”

The commander of Ukraine’s land forces said that despite multiple assaults, Russian forces have failed to break through Ukrainian defenses along several parts of the frontline where they have concentrated forces. 

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on the Land Forces Telegram channel Tuesday: “The enemy is conducting offensive actions in several directions simultaneously. But the enemy’s actions are unsuccessful on most of them.”

Syrskyi said that in the Kupiansk direction, the northern part of the frontline in Kharkiv region “the enemy attempted to conduct offensive actions, but thanks to the accurate fire of our artillery, fled before even reaching the line of attack.”

He also said Russia’s actions were unsuccessful in the Lyman direction, near the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk.

“Nevertheless, the Bakhmut direction remains the epicenter of the fighting. This is where the enemy is concentrating most of its efforts and does not abandon the goal of taking control of the city at any cost. Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins,” Syrskyi said
“Our soldiers inflict significant losses on the enemy and significantly slow down its offensive. The battle for Bakhmut continues. The situation is currently under control.”

While Syrskyi’s claims cannot be independently confirmed, there’s no evidence to suggest that Russian forces have made any substantive gains in Luhansk, Kharkiv or Donetsk regions in recent weeks.

Bakhmut: Separately, the Border Guard Service of Ukraine acknowledged that “the battle for Bakhmut has moved to the central part of the city,” adding that in some areas, Ukrainian defenders are separated by a few meters from Russian occupiers.

It also said that Russian forces appeared to have plenty of munitions, deviating from a “shell hunger,” or lack of ammo supplies, preciously reported by the Russian private military group Wagner.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

On Monday, US Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich in prison, the US embassy said on Twitter.

Blinken told reporters in the Japanese town of Karuizawa, where G7 foreign ministers have gathered for talks, that “based on what Ambassador Tracy has said, that he is in good health and good spirits considering the circumstances.”

G7 foreign ministers said Russia would be met with “severe consequences” for any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and that those supporting Russia in Ukraine would face “severe costs.”

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable. Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences,” a communique issued Tuesday by the ministers said.

“We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them,” it said. “We reiterate our call on third parties to cease assistance to Russia’s war, or face severe costs.”

The group also strongly condemned Russia’s “widespread use of information manipulation and disinformation” to gain support for its war against Ukraine.

It also said the group of ministers support “exploring the creation” of an international tribunal based in Ukraine’s judicial system to prosecute crimes of aggression against Ukraine. 

The communique comes as G7 foreign ministers wrap up three days of talks on Tuesday in the central Japanese town of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture. 

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine, in a decision that was condemned as politically motivated and draconian by the international community.

Kara-Murza will appeal the sentence, his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, told CNN on Monday.

Here’s what you need to know:

“I am in jail for my political views. For speaking up against the war in Ukraine. For years of fighting against Putin’s dictatorship,” he said in his closing statement to the court on April 10.
“Not only do I not repent for any of this – I am proud of it.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited troops at a military base in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region which is partly held by Russia, state media TASS reported Tuesday.

The Kremlin confirmed later Tuesday that the visit took place on Monday.

During the visit, Putin spoke with commanders from the airborne forces of Russia’s “Dnieper” army unit, while also meeting with other senior officers, according to TASS. 

One of the purposes of the visit was to get a “report” from commanders on the situation in both the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia directions, TASS added. 

Heavy fighting is ongoing in and around the contentious eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, said the Ukrainian military’s General Staff.

Moscow is interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after meeting with Brazil’s foreign minister.

Here’s what else to know:

Two Russian men who claim to be former Wagner Group commanders have told a human rights activist that they killed children and civilians during their time in Ukraine. 

The claims were made in video interviews with Gulagu.net, a human rights organization targeting corruption and torture in Russia.

In the video interviews posted online, former Russian convicts Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev – who were both pardoned by Russian presidential decrees last year, according to Gulagu.net – describe their actions in Ukraine, during Russia’s invasion.

CNN cannot independently verify their claims or identities in the videos but has obtained Russian penal documents showing they were released on presidential pardon in September and August of 2022.

Uldarov, who appears to have been drinking, details how he shot and killed a five- or six-year-old girl.

“(It was) a management decision. I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said.
“I want Russia and other nations to know the truth. I don’t want war and bloodshed. You see I’m holding a cigarette in this hand. I followed orders with this hand and killed children,” Uldarov said, describing his motivation for the interview.”

Uldarov said in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut – which have seen some of the fiercest fighting– Wagner mercenaries “were given the command to annihilate everyone.”

Read the full story.

The White House wants for more frequent and routine access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia, following US Ambassador Lynne Tracy’s visit to see him earlier Monday. 

Tracy wrote in a tweet that she had visited Gershkovich – designated by the US as wrongfully detained – at Lefortovo Prison, marking “the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago.”  

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said the US is “certainly grateful” for consular access to the journalist.

“As I think you saw from the embassy in Moscow, he appears to be in good health. And considering the circumstances, in relatively good spirits,” he said.

Kirby told reporters that the administration wants “to have regular and routine ability” for consular access “to see Evan and to talk to Evan.” 

US Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, on Monday visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the US embassy said on Twitter.

“I visited WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo Prison - the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago,” Tracy said in the tweet. 

“He is in good health and remains strong. We reiterate our call for his immediate release,” the post said.

The US designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained earlier this month, which gives further backing to the assertions by the US government and the Wall Street Journal that the espionage charges against the reporter are baseless. It will also empower the Biden administration to explore avenues such as a prisoner swap to try to secure Gershkovich’s release.

See the embassy’s tweet:

Russia is “interested” in ending the conflict in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday during a news conference with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia. 

Lavrov also thanked his Brazilian colleagues for the “excellent understanding” of the situation in Ukraine, and said Russia is grateful for Brazil’s “desire to contribute” to the search for possible solutions.

The Russian foreign minister is also expected to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva today, according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s schedule published online.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that peace in the conflict will only be achieved if Russia restores the country’s borders and Kyiv takes back Crimea.

“Real peace means restoring the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. Real peace means a safe homeland for the targeted people in the Ukrainian Crimea,” Ukrainain Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an address last week to the Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest.

“I reiterated Brazil’s stance in contributing to a peaceful solution to the conflict, reminding President Lula’s manifestations in seeking the formation of a group of friendly countries to mediate the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” Vieira said in a televised press conference. 

Vieira also highlighted Brazil’s stance against unilateral sanctions.

“Such measures, in addition to having the approval of the security council of the United Nations, also have a negative impact on the economy all over the world, and in particular in underdeveloped countries, most of whom haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic,” Vieira said.