Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.
September 26, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news
By Lauren Kent, Tara Subramaniam, Aditi Sangal, Maureen Chowdhury, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN
Updated 12:02 a.m. ET, September 27, 2023
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Norway pledges $92 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine to cope with winter
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Norway pledged 1 billion Norwegian kroner (US $92 million) for humanitarian funding to Ukraine to help the country make it through another winter of war, the Norwegian government announced in a news release Tuesday.
Funding "is being channeled via the UN, including the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement," the government said.
The key support will be provided to local civil society organizations in Ukraine as well as to “the most vulnerable people, children, refugees and the internally displaced, helping to ensure that they have access to shelter, food, water and sanitation, education, health care, and psychosocial support, as well as protection against sexual and gender-based violence,” the news release noted.
The provision of aid was announced at the Third Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of Ukraine in Oslo, co-hosted by Norway and the European Union.
The United Nations estimates “more than 17 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance," the news release stated.
”Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has provided more than NOK 3.5 billion (US $320) in humanitarian support to Ukraine and the refugee response in neighboring countries,” it added.
Ukraine says women medics registered for military service are allowed to travel abroad
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Ukraine’s Health Ministry clarified that women medics required to register at military enlistment offices starting October 1 will be allowed to travel abroad.
The updated clarification contradicts a prior announcement made by Fedir Venislavskyi, a representative of the Ukraine’s President in the Council and member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Venislavskyi had said that women medics, once registered for the military service, acquire the status of conscripts and are not permitted to leave the country without special permission.
In a statement Tuesday, however, the health ministry clarified that there have been no changes in the rules for women traveling abroad, including for those “on military registration.”
"Military registration is not the same as mobilization," the ministry explained. “The registration system is used only for summarizing data on the available reserve of doctors in the state.”
Admiral Ukraine claimed to have killed allegedly seen alive in new video released by Russia. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
If Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander is dead, “it’s good news for everybody,” Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told CNN Tuesday.
But, in an exclusive interview from Kyiv, he neither confirmed nor denied Adm. Viktor Sokolov had been killed in a Ukrainian strike last week on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Earlier, the Russian defense ministry published a video appearing to show Sokolov participating by video conference in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, calling into question Ukrainian claims that the admiral had died in the attack.
In the Russian footage, a man resembling Sokolov appears to join the meeting via video conference. The nametape on his uniform reads Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters “ЧФ,” the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet.
Ukraine’s military has said it is “clarifying” information received about Sokolov. CNN cannot confirm if the man in the video is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where his video appearance was filmed.
Here are the latest developments:
- Kremlin says US Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine "will burn": Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the arrival of the US Abrams tanks in Ukraine, saying they “will burn” like other weapons. Peskov said that despite the tanks' significance, no single type of weapon could change the balance of power on the battlefield and alter the course or the outcome of the war.
- Russia seeks to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council: Russia is seeking to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council after it was expelled in April of last year following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia is listed on the United Nations website as a candidate for the election of members of the Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term, which is due to take place on October 10. Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, with two vacant seats in the Eastern European States regional group, according to the United Nations.
Russia seeks to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council
From CNN's Richard Roth, Jessie Gretener and Florence Davey-Attlee
Russia is seeking to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council after it was expelled in April of last year following its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is listed on the United Nations website as a candidate for the election of members of the Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term, which is due to take place on October 10.
Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, with two vacant seats in the Eastern European States regional group, according to the United Nations. Russia, along with Albania and Bulgaria, are listed as having announced their candidacy for that region so far.
According to Russia’s position paper, which CNN obtained, Russia considers the Human Rights Council a “key body in the United Nations systems.”
The position paper, which Russia is circulating to UN members to drum up support, states that Russia “believes it is important to prevent the increasing trend of turning the Human Rights Council into the instrument, which serves political wills of one group of countries punishing non-loyal governments for their independent internal and external policy.”
“If elected, the Russian Federation will focus on this issue. We will firmly promote principles of cooperation and strengthening of constructive mutually respectful dialogue in the Council in order to find adequate solutions for human rights issues,” the position paper argued.
Ukrainian defense minister neither confirms nor denies alleged death of Russian admiral
From CNN’s Maddie Araujo and Alex Hardie in London
If Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander is dead, “it’s good news for everybody,” Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told CNN Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview from Kyiv, he neither confirmed nor denied Admiral Viktor Sokolov had been killed in a Ukrainian strike last week on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Earlier Tuesday, the Russian defense ministry published a video appearing to show Sokolov participating by video conference in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, calling into question Ukrainian claims that the admiral had died in the attack.
“He is in our temporary occupied territories … he should not be there at all. So, if he’s dead, it’s good news for everybody that we are continuing to de-occupy our territory,” Umerov told CNN.
Some context: Ukraine’s military has said it is “clarifying” information received about Sokolov. CNN cannot confirm if the man in the video is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where his video appearance was filmed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier on Tuesday refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.
Ukraine "clarifying" Black Sea Fleet commander's alleged death after he is purportedly seen alive in video
From CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Florence Davey-Attlee and Olga Voitovych
The Russian defense ministry published video Tuesday that appears to show the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, participating in a meeting. The video comes after the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces claimed Monday that Sokolov was killed in a strike on Sevastopol military headquarters on Friday.
In the video, a man who resembles Sokolov appears to join the meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders via video conference.
The nametape on his uniform reads Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters "ЧФ," the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet. He appears healthy.
CNN cannot confirm the person is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where his video appearance was filmed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier on Tuesday refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.
“There has been no information from the Ministry of Defense. This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here,” Peskov told reporters Tuesday during a routine call.
Ukraine's response: After the video was released, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said on Telegram that they are “clarifying” information received about Sokolov.
“Available sources claim that the Black Sea Fleet Commander is among the dead. Many have not yet been identified due to the fragmentation of body fragments,” the special forces said.
Kremlin says US Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine "will burn"
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the arrival of the US Abrams tanks in Ukraine, saying they “will burn” like other weapons and will not alter the situation in the conflict zone.
“Abrams tanks are such a serious weapon. But remember how President (Vladimir Putin) spoke about other foreign-made tanks, that they burn readily. Well, these (tanks) will burn too,” Peskov said on a regular conference call with journalists Tuesday.
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed 31 US Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine.
Peskov said that despite their significance, no single type of weapon could change the balance of power on the battlefield and alter the course or the outcome of the war.
“All this can in no way affect the essence of the special military operation or its outcome,” he said, using the term that Putin and Russian leaders use to refer to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It's Tuesday afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Russian ships are still launching strikes on Ukraine following the alleged assassination of the commander of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet on Friday. Kyiv has claimed Admiral Viktor Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in an attack on occupied Crimea on Friday, one of Kyiv’s boldest attacks yet.
But the Russian defense ministry published a video on Tuesday that appears to show Sokolov participating in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders. CNN cannot confirm whether the man in the video is Sokolov, when the meeting took place or where was his video appearance filmed.
The Kremlin earlier on Tuesday refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.
Here are some of the other latest developments from the war in Ukraine:
- Danube River port strikes: Russian drone attacks hit Danube River port infrastructure and injured two truck drivers overnight, a Ukrainian military official said Tuesday. The strikes caused a ferry crossing point between Romania and Ukraine to suspend operations.
- Odesa strikes: Russian strikes killed at least two people and caused "significant damage" to Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Monday. Moscow's forces have repeatedly targeted the southern port city following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July.
- Kherson shelling: Russian attacks also killed at least six people and wounded five others in the southern Kherson region on Monday, Ukrainian officials said.
- Abrams tanks: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed the arrival of the first batch of US Abrams tanks in Ukraine. The tanks are a long-awaited capability for Ukraine and add a powerful ground component to troops who have already endured more than a year and a half of war.
Here's where the state of control stands in Ukraine:
