February 22, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

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US President Joe Biden and Russian President Russian President Vladimir Putin

The Biden Administration announced the latest slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets, in what a Treasury Department spokesperson called the “largest single tranche since the start of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s further invasion of Ukraine.” The sanctions will be imposed Friday, the official said.

The sanctions were in response to Alexey Navalny’s death and comes just one day before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

One day before sanctions announcement, President Joe Biden met with Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco, California. The president expressed his condolences to the family, as well as his “admiration” for Navalny’s “extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption,” according to a readout from the White House.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Flowers lie at a makeshift memorial for Alexey Navalny in Vilnius, Lithuania, on February 16.

The refusal of Russian authorities to release Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother shows they are afraid of the opposition leader even after his death, according to Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza.

“It also shows how much they are afraid of him, the Russian authorities are afraid of Alexey even dead. They do not want to allow his supporters, yes millions of people, his supporters and his family to say their goodbyes. They want to do everything in secret. That is despicably twisted,” she told CNN’s Jim Sciutto Thursday.

Evgenia Kara-Murza, also said she is concerned about Navalny’s mother’s safety.

“Anyone who challenges the regime and the regime decisions in any way is in danger,” she said.

Kara-Murza said the only way she gets to hear her husband’s voice is when he gets to speak during rare court hearings. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine

The Biden administration will impose a fresh slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in response to the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and on the eve of Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine, according to a Treasury official. 

The sanctions will be the “largest single tranche since the start of Putin’s further invasion of Ukraine,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement Thursday, and will target “Russia, its enablers, and its war machine.”

The sanctions will come from both the US Treasury and the State Department, the spokesperson said.

The sanctions mark the latest move by the administration to levy consequences against Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries. 

Speaking Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the new measures would be a “substantial package” that covers a wide range of elements linked to the Russian defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the Russian economy that power the country’s “war machine.”

Sullivan described the package as “another turn of the crank” after withering Western sanctions on Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war. While those sanctions have hampered Russia’s economy, they haven’t deterred Putin from proceeding with the invasion.

US officials had been working on a new sanctions package on Russia ahead of Navalny’s death and supplemented them in the wake of the opposition leader’s death, according to a senior US official, adding that US officials coordinated with European partners on the new package. 

Reuters first reported the number of targets sanctioned.

The Russian Investigative Committee set more conditions to release Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother, said Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, during an interview with independent Russian journalist Alexander Plyushchev on Thursday.

Aside from conducting a secret funeral “among the family,” the committee said they require the following three conditions:

The body should be transported to Moscow on a special plane, and before arriving in the capital, Navalny’s mother should not announce the funeral in order for the crowd not to meet the body in the airport. The family must be accompanied by an employee of the investigative committee at all times before the funeral. Navalny’s mother should decide on the date of the funeral after arriving in Moscow. The body should be kept in the Moscow or Vladimir region before the funeral. According to Zhdanov, the investigative committee “is afraid that the morgue will be stormed.”

The death certificate will be given to Navalny’s family once they agree to meet the above conditions, according to Zhdanov.

Navalny’s mother was first denied the cemetery of her choice, and then both parties agreed to hold the funeral at Khovanskoye cemetery in Moscow, Zhdanov said, adding that the parties haven’t agreed on the farewell hall. Navalny’s mother was threatened into agreeing to these conditions, Zhdanov said.

US President Joe Biden speaks to the media in San Francisco on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday he would impose sanctions directly on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, who he said was “responsible” for the death of dissident Alexey Navalny. 

Biden made the announcement in San Francisco shortly after meeting with Navalny’s widow and daughter. 

“I had the honor of meeting with his wife and daughter and to state the obvious he was a man of incredible courage,” Biden said. “We’re gonna be announcing sanctions against Putin, who is responsible for his death, tomorrow.” 

Biden said it was clear from the meeting that Navalny’s wife would “continue to fight.”

“We’re not letting up,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris on Monday, the Elysée said in a statement Thursday.

The announcement comes shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited France and thanked the country for the $3.2 billion (3 billion euros) in aid that Paris pledged to Kyiv for 2024.

Ukraine has been pleading for more military aid, including ammunitions, following the fall of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv claims the fall would not have happened had more aid been delivered in time.

The Russian Ambassador to the United States said President Joe Biden’s recent comment calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a crazy SOB” can’t be resolved “with simple apology.”

“It is unlikely that the current situation will be resolved with simple apologies, and the US authorities will not agree to do this,” ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in a statement. “Strictly speaking, we do not expect an adequate response. As we approach the November elections in America, these kinds of escapades are becoming routine.”

The Russian Embassy sent “a strong note of protest” to the US State Department “about the outrageous nature and unacceptability of insults made by the American leadership against the Russian President.”

Antonov said the Biden administration “continues to destroy the remnants of the positive legacy of Russian-American relations” and “the inappropriate rhetoric of the American authorities only testifies to the impotence and lack of common sense in the current policy towards Russia.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to “persecute, poison, and imprison” Alexey Navalny showcases his country’s weakness under Putin’s leadership. 

“[T]he fact that Vladimir Putin saw it necessary to persecute, poison, and imprison one man speaks volumes not about Russia’s strengths under Putin but its weakness,” Blinken said. “And I think again countries around the world, including in the G-20, were very clear about what they thought about what happened to Mr. Navalny.” 

He also said “many” of the countries in the G20 Foreign Ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro voiced support over the ”imperative of ending the Russian aggression” in Ukraine.

In his remarks at a session Wednesday, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended, Blinken denounced Russia as “the world’s leading exporter of instability.”

Blinken also said additional sanctions against Russia are “forthcoming,” echoing US President Joe Biden who said earlier this week there would be a “major package announced on Friday.” 

The US Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping set of criminal and civil enforcement actions targeting sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others accused of working to support the Kremlin and its military.

The announcement, made by the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, comes days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The task force — made up of federal prosecutors, investigators, and analysts — has targeted the web of wealth surrounding Russian oligarchs and Kremlin insiders. In the two years since Russia’s invasion, the task force has brought about 70 criminal cases against individuals and five criminal cases against corporate entities. More than a dozen of those charged have been arrested worldwide, department officials said.

The task force has also moved to seize about $700 million worth of assets, which Justice Department officials said they hope to ultimately transfer to Ukraine or use in aid. While the bulk of that money is still in the process of being forfeited, department officials said, about $6 million has been transferred to Ukraine thus far.

As the Justice Department works to enforce existing sanctions, the White House is also set to announce a new sanctions package against Russia on Friday, CNN has reported. The sanctions are aimed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for Russia’s war in Ukraine — which hits the 2-year mark on Saturday — and for the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.

Keep reading about the DOJ’s actions.

The White House has warned about “deepening” military ties between Russia and Iran that are helping provide material to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, also previewing further sanctions against Iran in the coming days. 

The warning comes as Moscow and Tehran continue to negotiate the potential sale of close-range ballistic missiles.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby lashed Republicans in the House of Representatives for not passing additional military aid to Ukraine as the Senate’s bipartisan foreign aid package remains stalled in the House. Since Congress left Washington, DC, at the end of last week on recess, the White House has steadily kept up political pressure on the GOP over aid to Ukraine as Kyiv faces critical ammunition shortages and cedes some ground to Russia.

“Consider what Ukraine is up against,” Kirby told reporters Thursday. “Russia is receiving arms and ammunition from Iran and North Korea. We also remain concerned about the support that PRC (People’s Republic of China) companies are providing to the Russian defense industrial base. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives is leaving Ukraine to fend for themselves. Do not think for a moment that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin isn’t capitalizing on all of this.”

Kirby added that the US has been closely monitoring whether Iran has provided ballistic missiles to the Russians. White House officials have previously warned about these active negotiations. He also previewed further sanctions against Iran in the coming days and said, “we are prepared to go further if Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia.”

In a photo released by The White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden is seen meeting with Aleksey Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco California.

US President Joe Biden met with Alexey Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco, California, on Thursday.

The president expressed his condolences to the family, as well as his “admiration” for Navalny’s “extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption,” according to a readout from the White House.

“The President emphasized that (Alexey)’s legacy will carry on through people across Russia and around the world mourning his loss and fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights,” according to the statement.

The Biden administration is expected to announce “major new sanctions” against Russia on Friday in response to Navalny’s death and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the readout said.

In the heart of Kyiv’s city center, the “Sens” bookstore opened to the public just days ago — an ambitious endeavor at a time of war. 

Workers are busy stocking bookshelves and putting the finishing touches across three large floors. Visitors have been streaming in since day one. 

As Ukraine prepares to mark two years since Russia’s invasion, Kurkov is concerned about the situation on the front line, “especially after the fall of Avdiivka because obviously we don’t have enough military aid.” Despite this, he said, “we are here feeling safe, knowing that there is no guarantee of safety, of course.”

When asked what message he would send to the people of Russia, Kurkov reflects before he answers. He then tells CNN he would ask citizens to be introspective and ask themselves whether they are “living in (the) 21st century or they are still living in Stalin’s gulag?”

CNN also spoke to radio host Natalka Makurchak in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on how she is trying to help listeners cope despite the abnormal circumstances they find themselves in. The city is just 24 miles (about 38 kilometers) away from Russia and is shelled regularly.

She told CNN she is not ashamed to admit on her radio show when she is scared, as people understand that feeling.

CNN’s Mark Phillips, Olha Konovalova, Daria Tarasova and Oleksyi Markin contributed to this report.

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the Russians need to hand over Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother.

“The Russians need to give her back her son, and they need to answer for what specifically, what befell Mr. Navalny and acknowledge that they in fact are responsible for his demise,” Kirby said in a virtual briefing with reporters.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, said Thursday that she was shown her son’s body on Wednesday in the Russian town of Salekhard and signed his death certificate.

Speaking on Navalny’s YouTube channel, Navalnaya said Russian authorities claimed they knew his cause of death and had “all the medical and legal documents.” Navalnaya also claimed in the video that investigators were “threatening” her into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, or “they will do something with my son’s body.”

Kirby said that he could not confirm the reports of blackmail from Navalny’s mother. 

Flowers lie at a makeshift memorial for Alexey Navalny in Vilnius, Lithuania, on February 16.

Alexey Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was shown her son’s medical report, which stated that his cause of death was due to natural causes, the Russian opposition figure’s spokesperson said.

“The medical report on death shown to the mother of Alexey Navalny stated that the causes of death were natural,” Kira Yarmysh posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

Remember: Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. The Kremlin repeatedly denied any involvement. A subsequent Bellingcat-CNN investigation found that an elite team in Russia’s FSB security service, made up of about six to 10 agents, had trailed Navalny for more than three years. One of those agents revealed in a sting that the lethal nerve agent Novichok had been planted in the activist’s underpants.

Concerns mounted over his health in early April 2023, as his team reported that he was experiencing severe stomach issues and had lost weight.

On Friday, the Russian prison service said Navalny “felt unwell after a walk” and “almost immediately” lost consciousness. It said it was investigating his “sudden death.” Labytnang City Hospital told Russian state-run media RIA Novosti that it was trying to resuscitate Navalny for more than half an hour.

As the world prepares to mark the second anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine this week, Europe must ask itself how long can it practically sustain such draining financial support for Ukraine.

That thought is not new, but is increasingly echoed privately in some corners of officialdom. It also reflects several current grim truths.

Money desperately needed from the United States is stuck, having passed the Senate but awaiting House approval. Unity between the European Union and NATO is starting to fray, with nearly every big decision held up and threatened with veto.

Since the start of the crisis, the EU and its regional allies have spent more than $100 billion funding Ukraine’s defense effort, according to the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker. No serious Western voices want to abandon Kyiv, but it’s undeniable that fatigue is setting in as the bills grow.

Between there being no end to the conflict in sight, and competition for political attention in the Middle East — as well as domestic concerns from inflation-led cost-of-living crises around the world — spending huge sums on Ukraine could become politically harder to stomach for governments.

Read more about about whether Europe can support Ukraine without America’s help.

At least one person has been killed and nine injured as a result of Russian shelling at a village located in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Vadym Filashkin, the head of Donetsk region military administration. 

Thirteen shells hit the eastern Ukrainian village of Kostiantynopolske, where four teenagers age 12 to 16 years old were among the injured, Filashkin said Thursday in a statement on Telegram. 

“We are currently inspecting the area and establishing the exact consequences of the shelling,” Filashkin said.

A Kremlin spokesperson declined to comment on the mother of Alexey Navalny claiming that authorities are pressuring her into holding a secretive burial for her son, who was a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Unfortunately, I have not seen her words so I cannot comment on that,” Dmitry Peskov told CNN, adding that the Kremlin is “dealing with different issues which are of great importance for our country.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the United States’ reaction to Navalny’s death as “hysteria.”

“The US acts as the prosecutors, as the judge, and as the punisher all in one, and this hysteria regarding the death of Navalny is a prime example of that,” he said Thursday at a news conference at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “These people have no rights to interfere in our home affairs, especially given their own problems.”

Denmark unveiled a new $247.4 million (1.7 billion Krone) Ukraine military aid package on Thursday and also announced a 10-year Danish security commitment to Ukraine.

“Ukraine is in particular lack of ammunition. Without it, it’s hard to stand up,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a Facebook post.

She also noted that other European countries have provided similar commitments, saying it is a “strong and unambiguous signal to Putin that the international community is fully behind Ukraine — even for the long term.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Denmark for the package and for swift agreements between the two countries.

Denmark also announced Thursday it is working to prepare Ukraine to receive the first Danish donation of F-16 fighter jets this summer.

In a screen grab from a video posted on Alexey Navalny's YouTube page, his mother Lyudmila Navalnaya is seen speaking.

Alexey Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, says she has been shown her son’s body in the Russian town of Salekhard.

Speaking on Navalny’s YouTube channel, Navalnaya said Russian authorities claimed they knew his cause of death and had “all the medical and legal documents.”

She said that she was taken to the morgue to see his body on Wednesday and has signed his death certificate.

Navalnaya also claimed in the video that investigators were “threatening” her into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, or “they will do something with my son’s body.”

“They are blackmailing me, setting me the conditions of where, when and how Alexey should be buried,” she said.

Navalnaya said that the Russian Investigative Committee investigating her son’s death would like to bury his body “secretly without saying goodbye.”

Navalny’s mother says she does not want “special conditions,” but simply wants her son to be treated “according to the law.”

“I demand that my son’s body be returned to me immediately,” she said.

Some context: Navalny died in a Russian penal colony on Friday. His mother and wife, Yulia Navalnaya, had been previously denied access to his body after his death.

Navalny’s mother and his lawyer traveled to Salekhard on Saturday, where prison authorities had said the body of the opposition leader will be examined — but when they arrived at the morgue, they were told the body wasn’t there, Navalny’s team said. 

Belarus and Russia will hold joint military exercises on the territory of Belarus in 2025, the Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said in an interview published Thursday.

“In 2025, we will begin preparations and hold it,” Khrenin said in an interview with Russian state television channel Russia 24. “In 2009, our presidents decided that every two years some kind of exercise should be held on the territory of one of the countries.”

Khrenin didn’t provide additional details about the exercises.

Some background: The two countries have held regular joint exercises of their forces, including a military exercise in 2022 and air force exercise in 2023. News of these previous exercises had raised alarm bells in Ukraine because in 2022, when Belarusian and Russian forces held joint exercises, many of those Russian forces went on to cross the Ukrainian border in Moscow’s initial invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has had devastating consequences for children’s mental health, as those living in frontline areas have been forced to spend between 3,000 and 5,000 hours — the equivalent of four to almost seven months — sheltering in basements and underground metro stations, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement Thursday. 

“The war in Ukraine has shattered childhoods and wreaked havoc on children’s mental health and ability to learn,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“Children have experienced two years of violence, isolation, separation from families, loss of loved ones, displacement and disrupted schooling and healthcare. They need this nightmare to end,” she said.

Since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, “relentless attacks” have resulted in about 3,500 air raid alerts in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, and nearly 6,200 in the Donetsk region, according to UNICEF.  

The organization added that the winter months have been “particularly horrific” for children, with thousands sheltering in basements without heating, electricity or access to water.

Across the country, 40% of children cannot access continuous education due to a lack of facilities, and in areas near to the front line, “half of school-age children are unable to access education,” the agency said.

The war has resulted in “learning gaps” equivalent to two years loss in reading and one year loss in math, it said. 

Yulia Navalnaya attends the Munich Security Conference on February 16.

Alexey Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, on Thursday reiterated that she believes Russian President Vladimir Putin killed her husband and urged the media not to be diverted by Russian government narratives. 

Addressing journalists on Twitter, she implored, “Write that Putin killed Alexey. Write every day. As long as you have enough strength.”

The comments were part of a response to remarks made by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, who suggested that she was “smiling” and eagerly anticipating the start of her “political life” following the death of her husband. 

Dismissing Medvedev, who formerly was president and prime minister of Russia, as a “waste of space,” Navalnaya urged others not to be diverted by him, saying that he serves as a deliberate distraction. 

Some context: Navalny, the 47-year-old fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died last Friday, according to the Russian prison service. The cause of his death is unclear, and his team has accused the authorities of lying in order to delay the process of returning his body to his family. Both his widow and his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, have made persistent demands for his body to be returned. 

Nine people were injured Thursday in a Russian attack on a power plant in the Ukrainian city of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. 

The wounded people were working at the thermal power plant near the front line when it was bombed, according to their employer DTEK, which is Ukraine’s largest private energy company.

“The power engineers were promptly given first aid and taken to hospital. The equipment of the thermal power plant was also seriously damaged. We are currently repairing the damage,” DTEK said in a statement on Telegram.

“Since the beginning of this heating season, DTEK’s thermal power plants have been shelled by the enemy about 40 times,” it added.

The Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office added that the wounded civilians included two women and seven men. It said they suffered head injuries, bruises and concussions.

The office has launched an investigation over potential criminal “violations of the laws and customs of war.”

Ukrainian forces said they have hit a “training ground” for Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region, near the key bridgehead of Krynky.

Krynky is a small, but key, riverside village and on Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed to capture it. Despite Russia’s claims, Ukraine says it is holding positions.

A video, that shows about two dozen soldiers in a field fleeing after an explosion near them, was shared on the Ukrainian Command South’s official Telegram channel late Wednesday. It purports to show the hit on the alleged “training ground,” the command’s spokesperson said Thursday. CNN geolocated the footage to Oleshky Sands in the Kherson region, about 21 kilometers (13 miles) south of Krynky.

Here are today’s other headlines:

Kremlin critic: Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, said he reacted with despair to the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny but would not give up the fight to make Russia a free, democratic country. He said if Russians gave into “despondency and despair,” “that’s exactly what they want.”

Russian Orthodox request: Russian Orthodox priests have urged authorities to release Navalny’s body to his family. The open letter, which has gained more than 800 signatures from both clergy and members of the public, was published on a website supporting Russian Orthodox Church clerics facing persecution due to their anti-war stance.

Russian missiles: Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it has evidence of Russia using long-range missiles from North Korea in several of its deadly attacks on Ukraine. The service said its investigations found the munitions were “ballistic missiles of the Hwasong-11 (KN-23/24) type, which are manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

Kremlin criticizes Biden: A Kremlin spokesperson has lashed out at US President Joe Biden after he called the Russian President Vladimir Putin a “crazy S.O.B.”. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the comments as “rude” and “a huge disgrace for the country.”

UK sanctions: The UK has announced a further slew of sanctions targeting individuals and businesses it considers to be “sustaining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine,” the foreign office said. Twenty-one individuals and 29 businesses were sanctioned, largely for supplying Russia with munitions, oil, gas, diamonds and metals.

Zelensky thanks New Zealand: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked New Zealand for a $16.1 million aid package. He said among other uses, the funding would help facilitate Ukrainian soldier training, strengthen the nations defense capability and provide humanitarian assistance. This comes as global pressure over providing more aid to Kyiv continues as its ammunition levels are low and Russia advances is some parts of the country.

Ukrainian forces say they hit a “training ground” for Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, near the key bridgehead of Krynky, where Ukraine says it is holding positions despite Russian claims of some advancements. 

A video, that shows about two dozen soldiers in a field fleeing after an explosion near them, was shared on the Ukrainian Command South’s official Telegram channel late Wednesday. It purports to show the hit on the alleged “training ground,” the command’s spokesperson Natalya Humenyuk said Thursday.

CNN was able to geolocate the footage and it appears the so-called “training ground” was in the Oleshky Sands in Kherson region, about 21 kilometers (13 miles) south of Krynky.

Remember: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Russia was in control of the village. However, Ukraine denied his claim, calling it “a manipulation and falsification of facts.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces are holding the Krynky bridgehead “securely” and that “the enemy was only able to conduct a disinformation campaign.”

Elsewhere along the front line: In Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine said it repelled eight Russian attacks west of Verbove and near Robotyne. The Ukrainian military has claimed it inflicted heavy losses on Russian units trying to advance beyond Robotyne. In the Marinka sector of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces continue to hold back Russian forces in the areas of Heorhiivka, Pobieda and Novomykhailivka.

CNN is not able to independently verify battlefield claims by either side. 

Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza sits on a bench inside a defendants' cage during a hearing at the Basmanny court in Moscow on October 10, 2022.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, said he reacted with despair to the death of Alexey Navalny but would not give up the fight to make Russia a free, democratic country. 

“I have had lots of thoughts over the recent days. There is a lot of despondency, a lot of despair,” Kara-Murza said in response to the death Friday of the Russian opposition figure in a Siberian prison. 

“But if we give in to despondency and despair, that’s exactly what they want. We have no right to do that.”

In April 2023, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine – a decision that was condemned as politically motivated and draconian by the international community. 

In a video released Thursday, in which he was speaking from prison in Omsk, Russia, he said dissenters owe it “to our fallen comrades to continue working with even greater vigor to achieve what they lived and died for — to make Russia a normal, free, European, democratic country. I have absolutely no doubt that it will happen.” 

“No one can stop the future, no matter how much they want to. Therefore, friends, we cannot afford any despair, any despondency,” Kara-Murza added. “Navalny himself said: ‘Don’t give up.’ We can’t give up.”

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it has evidence of Russia using long-range missiles from North Korea in several of its deadly attacks on Ukraine.

The service said its investigations found the munitions were “ballistic missiles of the Hwasong-11 (KN-23/24) type, which are manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

In a post on Telegram, it said that Russian troops fired over 20 of the munitions at Ukraine, and it believed that logistics routes to facilitate their supply were being established between North Korea and Russia.

The security service claimed the North Korean missiles killed at least 24 civilians and injured more than 100 people.

“One of the first cases of the aggressor’s use of North Korean ballistic missiles was recorded on December 30, 2023, during the attack on Zaporizhzhia,” the SBU said.
“Another attack by North Korean missiles was carried out by the occupiers in early January this year on an apartment building in Kyiv.”

North Korean ballistic missiles were also used in attacks in Kharkiv as well as five front line villages in the Donetsk region, according to the SBU. 

Some context: US intelligence officials are increasingly concerned about the growing ties between North Korea and Russia, CNN previously reported, and the long-term implications of what appears to be a new level of strategic partnership between the two nations.

The Christ-the-Savior cathedral, the main Russian Orthodox church in central Moscow, Russia, on June 2, 2020.

Russian Orthodox priests have urged authorities to release Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s body to his family. 

The open letter, which has gained more than 800 signatures from both clergy and members of the public, was published on a website supporting Russian Orthodox Church clerics facing persecution due to their anti-war stance.

“We urge you to release the body of Alexey Navalny to the family so that his mother, other family members and like-minded people can say goodbye to him and give him a Christian burial,” the authors wrote in the letter.

The letter was addressed “to the authorities of the Russian Federation from Orthodox clergy and laity.”

“This is not only their desire and legal right, but also a duty to God and to the deceased,” the authors wrote.

In their appeal, the priests cautioned that refusing to release Navalny’s body could be seen as an act of “ruthlessness and inhumanity.”

Some context: Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, died last Friday, according to the Russian prison service. The cause of his death is unclear and his team has accused authorities of lying to delay the process of returning his body to his family.

US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, California, on February 21.

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “crazy S.O.B.” at a fundraiser Wednesday in San Francisco, drawing sharp criticism from the Kremlin.

According to pool reporters traveling with the president, Biden said:

“We have a crazy S.O.B. that guy, Putin, others. And we always have to be worried about a nuclear conflict. But the existential threat to humanity is climate,” Biden said.

In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “rude” statements were “unlikely to offend in any way the head of another country, especially President Putin but this is a huge disgrace for the country.”

“Clearly, Mr. Biden is demonstrating behavior in the style of a Hollywood cowboy to cater to domestic political interests,” he said Thursday, responding to a question from a reporter for state-owned network Russia 1.

CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks at a joint press conference with President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels, Belgium on February 1. The 27 EU leaders and heads of states discuss the 2021-2027 budgetary plan and the financial of a 50 billion Euro support package for Ukraine in addition to military, political, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian aid.

As the world prepares to mark the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion, Europe must ask itself some searching questions about the war that unexpectedly erupted on its borders — and how it will approach the next 12 months.

Arguably most important among those questions: How long can it practically sustain such draining financial support for Ukraine?

While the West’s resounding support for Ukraine since 2022 has surprised many in the diplomatic world, the longer the war drags on, the more fatigue sets in as the bills grow.

Between there being no end to the conflict in sight, and competition for political attention in the Middle East — as well as domestic concerns from inflation-led cost-of-living crises around the world — spending huge sums on Ukraine could become politically harder to stomach for governments.

Read the full analysis.

Civilians walk on a road as a tank drives by in a village nearby Avdiivka front line on February 20.

President Vladimir Putin’s former speechwriter has said that discontent toward the leader is on the rise in Russian society.

Abbas Gallyamov noted that Russia’s capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka will be a key factor to “suppress this discontent” and “strengthen Putin’s domestic standing” ahead of the Russian elections.

Referring to people reportedly detained across Russia over vigils for opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Gallyamov said “sooner or later this will definitely backfire” because the discontent in society is growing and “at some moment it can become very strong.” 

Gallyamov said Putin is trying to get rid of all the opposition leaders to at least make discontent in Russian society be “unstructured,” “disorganized” and “leaderless” ahead of future elections.

Here are the latest developments in the region:

Discontent toward Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russian society is on the rise, according to Abbas Gallyamov, Putin’s former speechwriter.

Gallyamov noted that Russia’s capture of Avdiivka will be a key factor to “suppress this discontent” and “strengthen Putin’s domestic standing” ahead of Russian elections.

If there were no victory in Avdiivka, Putin would fail to “solidify his control” over Russia, Gallyamov told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Wednesday.

This military gain gave him “an additional injection of legitimacy” and is very beneficial for his presidential campaign.

Talking about people reportedly detained across Russia over vigils for opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Gallyamov said “sooner or later this will definitely backfire” because the discontent in society is growing and “at some moment it can become very strong.” 

Gallyamov said Putin is trying to get rid of all the opposition leaders to at least make discontent in Russian society be “unstructured,” “disorganized” and “leaderless” ahead of future elections.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is trying to keep tabs on everyone with an American passport who comes to Russia, according to Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov.

“The main goal of the whole operation is to build up a bank of hostages with American passports,” Soldatov told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Wednesday.

He was commenting on the case of Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American arrested in Russia for allegedly donating about $51 to Ukraine.

He said Moscow will use it “as leverage” in any future negotiations with Russia.

Chris Van Heerden, the boyfriend of Ksenia Karelina, spoke with CNN on February 21, 2024.

A US-Russian dual citizen was excited to go back to her hometown in Russia to see her grandparents, but she had no idea that she would be arrested and face charges of treason for allegedly donating just $51 to a Ukrainian charity, her boyfriend said.

Chris Van Heerden, the boyfriend of Ksenia Karelina, said she never thought this would happen. The couple, who live in Los Angeles, flew to Istanbul together before Karelina continued to Russia to see her family while Van Heerden flew back to California.

Van Heerden said Karelina was detained, but released when she entered the country. Later, on the day she was due to fly back to the United States, she told him she was relieved they were going to let her go home — but that was the last time he heard from her.

“I believe in America. I do believe that America will bring her back to me and that’s the hope I’m holding onto,” Van Heerden said.

He said that she never talked about any donations and that she is “so proud to be Russian” and never “intervene with anything about the war” in Ukraine.

Ksenia Karelina is pictured here in an undated social media photo.

He also said she wrote him a letter after being arrested. In the letter, which he calls a “love story,” Karelina describes conditions and expresses her worry about her boyfriend.

He said her attitude about what is going to happen varies day by day. Some days she is strong and feels like she will get home soon, but other days, she wrote him:

“It’s like I’ll just sit on my bed and stare at a wall for hours, like, knowing that I’m going to be here forever because that’s what she’s thinking.”

Van Heerden told CNN that she was a “semi-pro ballerina” for years but was a full-time esthetician before being arrested in Russia.

Some of the men detained at vigils for Alexey Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, were handed military draft summonses, OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights group that monitors repression in the country, said in a Telegram post on Wednesday.

“In St. Petersburg, those detained during the laying of flowers in memory of Alexey Navalny are given summonses to register for military service and clarification of their credentials at police departments and temporary detention centers,” OVD-Info said, without providing any additional details.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Krynky, a village on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, was “completely” under Russian control at the moment.

Shoigu called Krynky “a stronghold” for his troops “for further advancement and deployment of forces.”

Ukraine’s Operational Command denied Shoigu’s claim, describing it as “a manipulation and falsification of facts.” 

“The defense forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” the command said.

Video shared by pro-Ukrainian bloggers shows Russian soldiers hoisting a flag in the area, but then fleeing, which seemingly contradicts Shoigu’s claim.

CNN was not able to geolocate the footage and independently verify the battlefield status.

Months ago, Russian officials expressed concern about Ukraine establishing a foothold in Krynky.

Elsewhere on the battlefield: In eastern Ukraine, footage geolocated by CNN Wednesday, showed Russian forces hoisting their flag over the Donetsk village of Pobieda, near Mariinka. Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian forces had “retreated” and were regrouping in positions to the south.

In southern Ukraine along the Zaporizhzhia front, Moscow has for weeks been pushing east and north toward Robotyne, as well as west, toward Mala Tokmachka.

Russia said Wednesday it inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian forces in the area, but refrained from saying it had made visible gains. Ukraine also claimed it inflicted heavy losses on Russian units. 

CNN could not independently verify either Ukrainian or Russian claims.

Ksenia Karelina seen here in an undated social media photo.

Dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old Los Angeles resident, is being detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg because she donated money to a Ukrainian charity while she was in the United States, according to her employer.

Russia accused Karelina of “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of our country.”

Karelina entered Russia on January 2, and the United States learned on February 8 that she had been arrested, a US official told CNN.

Consular access still has not been granted, according to the official.

Before her arrest, she worked as an esthetician at Ciel Spa at SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, according to the spa.

She was visiting family members, including her 90-year-old grandmother, at the time of her arrest, the spa said.

Karelina is being wrongly “accused of treason for allegedly donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in the US,” according to her employer’s statement. 

“To know Ksenia is to love her and this heartbreaking news is so difficult to share but it must be done to spread her story and seek justice. Please help us spread the word to bring Ksenia home,” Ciel Spa said. 

What social media tells us about her: Karelina posted often about her life on the Russian social media platform VK. In November 2021, she posted photos standing between American flags holding a piece of paper. In the post, she said she received her US citizenship. The US official confirmed that she became a US citizen in 2021 and said the United States government is tracking her detention.

In another post in July 2017, Karelina posted many pictures of herself wearing ballet shoes, a leotard, and a tutu in New York City.

In the wake of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death, his wife Yulia Navalnaya has been hurtled into the limelight as a Russian opposition figure.

While she may prove unifying among Russia’s disparate opposition voices, there are now fewer forces to unite. 

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both Ilya Yashin — a close ally of Navalny and once-rising star in opposition circles — and Vladimir Kara-Murza — a dual Russian-British citizen and opposition politician — have been given long prison terms.

Russia’s central election commission recently barred the only remaining anti-war candidate, Boris Nadezhdin, from running in presidential elections in March.

Watch more about what Navalny’s death may mean for the Russian opposition:

A pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, Andrey Morozov, has reportedly died just days after he wrote that Russia had suffered massive losses during its assault on the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Several well-informed pro-Russian military bloggers as well as Russian state news agencies and newspapers reported he had died by suicide.

What was he writing about: Morozov, known as “Murz” on Telegram, said Moscow had lost around 16,000 soldiers and 300 armored vehicles since it started its assault in October. CNN cannot verify Morozov’s estimates. That post drew severe criticism from several Russian propagandists and has since been deleted from his Telegram account. 

Here’s what he said in his last few posts:

Why this matters: Pro-Russian military bloggers have enjoyed some freedom to criticize the Russian military and the way the defense ministry was prosecuting the war in Ukraine. After the failed uprising by former Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow began to crack down on dissent among ultra-nationalist writers, most notably arresting former soldier and also military blogger Igor Girkin.