April 5, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke at length about the war in Ukraine Wednesday night in front of an audience at Texas A&M University in College Station. He visited the school for an in-depth discussion on the FBI’s “involvement in current events and challenges that will face the nation,” according to A&M’s website.

“As I said, the war ain’t going so hot for the Russians. And so, there are a lot of Russians, including Russian intelligence service folks, who aren’t too happy,” Wray said.

Wray went on to say there are a lot of “unhappy Russians” in the intelligence service that the FBI would like to recruit, but “in a different way.”

“We want those unhappy Russians to know we’d love to talk to them,” Wray told the audience of university students. “And they can maybe, you know, have a role in changing the course of history.”

Wray also said while the US is watching and learning from the war, so is China.

He said a lesson China may be focused on is “the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy,” and accused China’s government of “starting to take steps to cushion their economy against potential sanctions.”

Wray said those actions could serve as a clue to potential future actions against Taiwan. 

“If they were to choose, for example, to forcibly try to take over Taiwan, you can expect a whole lot of sanctions coming down,” Wray said. “So the fact that the Chinese are spending this much time cushioning their economy, at least in my world … we call that kind of behavior a clue.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to a reporter’s question Wednesday regarding Russia’s relationship with the United States while it continues to supply aid to Ukraine.

“We really are in a hot phase of the war, because Ukrainian Nazis are using American weapons, first and foremost. And the American administration keeps threatening to deliver longer-range and more deadly weapons systems,” Lavrov said. “But nevertheless, I think we should continue to support our relations and we hope that the Americans will wake up at once and return to the negotiating table. We’ll see, we won’t have to wait much longer.”

Some background: Throughout the conflict Russian President Vladimir Putin has continuously framed his invasion of Ukraine – a country with a Jewish president – as a campaign of supposed “denazification,” a description dismissed by historians and political observers alike.

Last year, Lavrov – Putin’s top diplomat – sought to justify Moscow’s goal of “de-Nazifying” Ukraine by claiming Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood” and that “the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.”

Poland announced the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Warsaw a few days before his arrival because “we don’t feel so afraid of Russians anymore,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.  

“It wasn’t easy – and again we are very successful in hiding this information (of senior officials traveling to Warsaw) like we did with (US President Joe) Biden a few weeks ago – but we don’t feel so afraid of Russians anymore and we decided to communicate (Zelensky’s visit) two days before to give the Polish people possibility to travel to Warsaw and participate in two leaders’ speech,” spokesperson Lukasz Jasina said in an interview with CNN’s Isa Soares.  
“It wasn’t easy because Warsaw today was blocked much more than during Biden’s, Obama’s or Trump’s visits but it was worth it because there was a symbolism,” he added. 

Zelensky met with senior Polish officials and signed bilateral agreements on Wednesday during his first official trip to Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.  

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday thanked the Polish people for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and aiding his country’s defense against Russia’s invasion.

“Every Polish city and town, which became so hospitable to our people, I thank you. I thank you that Ukrainian children could live with respect in Poland,” he said, according to an interpreter.

He expressed appreciation that Ukrainians could live as full residents in Poland, thanked Polish volunteers as well as those training the Ukrainian military and thanked everyone who “gives their prayers for Ukrainians.”

“Russia will not win against Europe when Ukrainians and the Poles are standing shoulder to shoulder,” he said, according to an interpreter. “We will learn this. And very much like we are standing with you, we will be enjoying our peace together, in everything, in the European Union. Together in NATO. This will be a continuation of our fate of two free nations. Historical understanding between our two nations.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has traveled to neighboring Poland for an official visit to the country, one of its closest partners.

Meantime, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The leaders discussed weapons in Belarus, Ukraine’s neighbor.

Lukashenko has also said he intensified talks with Putin about deploying both tactical and strategic — more powerful — nuclear weapons to deal with threats from Ukraine’s Western allies, who he claimed are planning a coup against him.

Here’s what to know:

Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk resigned from his post Wednesday over what he said was the European Commission’s draft decision to extend duty-free and quota-free imports of grain from Ukraine into member states until June 2024.

“Since it is very clear that the basic postulate of farmers will not be met by the European Commission, I have made a decision and resigned from the function of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,” Kowalczyk said in a statement. 

Farmers in countries neighboring Ukraine, including Poland, have expressed concerns about the effects of increased imports of Ukrainian grain on their grain prices, the European Commission said in a statement in March. 

Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged EU leaders to use “all instruments” to “limit the impact” of the influx of Ukrainian grain on the markets of Ukraine’s neighboring countries. 

In Kowalczyk’s resignation statement, he said that the Polish government — along with those of Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria — had submitted a request on Friday to the European Commission to “activate the protection clause in the field of duty-free and quota-free imports of grain from Ukraine.” 

“However, the European Commission has published a draft extension of duty-free and quota-free imports of cereals from Ukraine for another year, which is to apply from June 2023 to June 5, 2024,” he continued. 

Last month, the European Commission proposed a support measure worth 56.3 million euros (around $61.3 million) for Bulgarian, Polish and Romanian farmers to compensate them “for the economic loss due to increased imports of cereals and oilseeds.” 

Speaking in Warsaw on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a solution had been found on “the issue of our farmers.” 

“I believe that in the coming days and weeks we will finally resolve all the issues because there can be no questions, no difficulties between such close partners and real friends as Poland and Ukraine,” he said.  

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent allegation that “Western intelligence services” are involved in “terrorist attacks” carried out within Russia, saying Wednesday that the United States does not “enable or encourage Ukrainians to strike outside of Ukraine.”

CNN previously reported that during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Wednesday, Putin alleged without evidence that “terrorist attacks are regularly carried out against government officials and law enforcement agencies, journalists, public figures, school and university teachers. … Moreover, neo-Nazis and their accomplices operate not only on the territory of the new subjects of the Federation, but also commit crimes in other regions” – references to the Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed, and the rest of the Russian regions.

“There is reason to believe that the potential of third countries of Western intelligence services is involved in the preparation of such sabotage and terrorist attacks,” Putin added. 

Vladlen Tatarsky, a pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, was killed by an explosion at a St. Petersburg café on Sunday. Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said Monday that the explosion that killed him involved agents of the Ukrainian special services and associates of the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Kirby underscored that American intelligence involvement has been aimed at helping Ukrainians defend their territory. 

“(F)rom the early days of this war, we have been providing intelligence and information support to the Ukrainian armed forces to enable them to better defend themselves, to conduct operations and to continue to try to claw back territory that the Russians illegally took from them when they invaded – actually, even since 2014. And I won’t get into the details of what that intelligence is or how it’s delivered, but it is very much intended to help … them defend their territory,” Kirby said. 

“We do not enable nor do we encourage the Ukrainians to strike outside of Ukraine. And I really just – I’m going to leave it at that,” he added.  

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin began a two-day summit in Moscow discussing weapons in Belarus, Ukraine’s neighbor.

“In your office, when we discussed what to do, it turned out that there was an opportunity to work,” Lukashenko said, sitting alongside Putin. “The missiles are flying and military equipment is on the move, so we will overcome everything with a little bit of time.” 

Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month. He said Moscow had already transferred an Iskander short-range missile system, a device that can be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, to Belarus.

“I must say that a lot has been done as a result of our joint work in all areas,” Putin said. “Tomorrow we will discuss all this. This concerns our interaction in the international arena and the joint solution of issues of ensuring the security of our states. I am especially pleased to note the results of our work in the economic sphere.”

Lukashenko noted that Russia’s population “feared hunger, cold, and so on,” but that those fears did not come to pass. 

“Tomorrow we will sum up what we have done,” Lukashenko said. “We have definitely worked for our paychecks.”

CNN’s Hira Humayun contributed reporting to this post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, without presenting evidence, accused Western intelligence services of being involved in “terrorist attacks” carried out within Russia.

“Terrorist attacks are regularly carried out against government officials and law enforcement agencies, journalists, public figures, school and university teachers,” Putin said on Wednesday during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, adding that “accomplices” also operate in Ukrainian regions claimed to be annexed by Russia.

“There is reason to believe that the potential of third countries of Western intelligence services is involved in the preparation of such sabotage and terrorist attacks,” he said.

Death of Russian military blogger: Vladlen Tatarsky, a pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, was killed by an explosion at a St. Petersburg café on Sunday.

Within Russia, suspicion has fallen on Ukrainian special services, informal Russian opposition groups and associates of the jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, though his supporters have denied having anything to do with the explosion.

Russian authorities have charged Daria Trepova with terrorism offenses over Tatarsky’s death, alleging that Trepova — acting at the behest of Ukraine — brought a “statuette filled with explosives” to the venue and handed it to Tatarsky. Trepova’s husband, Dmitry Rylov, told an independent Russian publication that he is convinced his wife was framed.

Ukraine has said little about the explosion, beyond blaming infighting in Russia. 

Pledge to prevent “sabotage:” The Russian government also said Wednesday that it would step up efforts to stymie sabotage and enemy intelligence operations in the four declared annexed Ukrainian regions, according to state media.

“It was instructed to organize additional operational-search and counterintelligence activities in the anti-terrorist direction, measures to neutralize sabotage groups, block the channels of illicit trafficking in weapons and ammunition,” Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said, according to the Russian state media RIA Novosti.

“Attention was drawn to preventing recruitment activities by Western intelligence services, to identify agents of influence, to counter the spread of the ideology of neo-Nazism and religious extremism, primarily among children and youth,” Patrushev told reporters following the meeting of the Security Council, as quoted by RIA.

“Attempts to destabilize the socio-political situation and undermine the constitutional order will be severely suppressed in accordance with Russian legislation,” he added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia’s recent pledge to deploy strategic and tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus shows that a joint statement released by Russia and China in late March amounted to “empty promises.” 

“The announcement that they will deploy tactical weapons – nuclear weapons – to Belarus just after signing an agreement stating the opposite just shows that these are empty promises,” Stoltenberg told a press conference Wednesday in Brussels. 

Remember: In late March, China and Russia released a joint statement about the Russian war in Ukraine, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China “always supports peace and dialogue, and firmly stands on the right side of history.” Xi added that he hopes he will “maintain close contacts” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, “paving the way to the steady and lasting development of China-Russia relations.” 

Stoltenberg said that China “refuses to condemn Russia’s aggression; it echoes Russian propaganda, and it props up Russia’s economy.”

He added that NATO allies have made it clear that “any provision of lethal aid by China to Russia would be a historic mistake with profound implications.” 

Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday added that there was “discomfort” over recent ties between China and Russia. 

“We have seen a discomfort with how close China has got to Russia recently. The recognition that the world, the interconnected world in which we live is a smaller place than perhaps it was in the past, and that therefore we have to be very, very conscious of all potential risks and threats, not just to the Euro Atlantic region, but also to the Asia-Pacific as well,” he told reporters after attending a meeting of NATO foreign minister in Brussels. 

Cleverly said that Britain’s priority is to get Ukraine the military support they need to defend themselves from Russian attacks and “we will continue working towards that route, ultimately towards NATO membership.”

CNN’s Sugam Pokharel contributed reporting to this post.

A spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused the leaders of media organizations condemning the arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich of “hypocrisy,” because they did not condemn the murder of a pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger over the weekend.

The heads of various media organizations and press freedom organizations wrote a letter last week to Russia’s ambassador in Washington, calling the charges against Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, “unfounded” and “a significant escalation in your government’s anti-press actions.”

Asked about that letter on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “Why on Earth should we react to a letter if we see their absolute hypocrisy?”

“If people were really engaged in supporting independent free journalism, journalism as a profession, specific journalists, they would probably pay attention to the fact that a journalist has died recently,” she said. “I did not see the reaction, either collective or individual, of all those who signed this letter.”

“Accordingly, to be honest, for me this appeal has lost any significance at all. […] You can’t talk about high moral things if you don’t see the obvious and refuse to see the tragedy and express at least some sympathy,” she said.  

Gershkovich’s arrest marks the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations by Moscow of spying since the Cold War.

Some context: Zakharova’s remarks come after well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an explosion in St. Petersburg on Sunday. Tatarsky died when a blast tore through the cafe where he was appearing as a guest of a pro-war group.

CNN’s Radina Gigova and Mariya Knight contributed to this post.

The Ukrainian military and a soldier near Bakhmut say that heavy battles are raging in Russia’s continued attempt to fully capture the eastern city.

“The enemy is trying to take full control of the city of Bakhmut and continues to attack it,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in its daily update. “The enemy conducted unsuccessful offensives near Bohdanivka and Ivanivske. Ukrainian defense forces repelled about 15 enemy attacks in this area over the last day.”

A Ukrainian soldier with whom CNN exchanged text messages, who is stationed near Bakhmut, said that “heavy battles” were raging in Bakhmut’s city center.

“The orcs (Russians) must have sent fresh troops,” the soldier said. “They have been temporarily stopped, but the pressure is very strong.”

He said that all roads leading to Bakhmut continued to be shelled.

“While individual vehicles can still get through, an organized column will not be able to. The logistics are not interrupted, but entering and leaving Bakhmut is a strong test of one’s luck. Almost everyone who enters or leaves comes under fire, and this is despite the fact that the orcs (Russians) have been pushed back a bit from the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka road. Basically, everyone moves only along dirt roads.”

“In short, it is very risky and the risk is very high.”

More on Bakhmut: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday acknowledged the possibility of a military withdrawal from the eastern city of Bakhmut, but said that ammunition deliveries from Ukraine’s ally would bolster his military’s defense.

“For me, the most important thing is not to lose our military,” Zelensky said during a meeting in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda. “And certainly, if there is a moment of even more intense events and the danger that we may lose personnel due to the encirclement, there will be appropriate correct decisions made by the general on the spot. I am sure about that.”

“But the more the appropriate ammunition arrives in Ukraine, the faster we will fight the situation not only in Bakhmut but in the whole territory of our country,” he said.

CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova in Kyiv contributed to this post.

Sweden will become a member of NATO despite Turkey’s current opposition to Stockholm’s bid to join, the chief of the transatlantic military alliance said on Wednesday in his first interview since Finland became a new member of the group on Tuesday.  

“I’m confident that Sweden will become a member [of NATO], not least because all NATO allies, including Turkey, invited Sweden to become a member at our summit in Madrid,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview.  

“Sweden is in a much better and safer position now than before they applied, because as soon as all allies invited them, they got status as an invitee, meaning now they are now integrated into NATO’s military and civilian structures — it is absolutely inconceivable that there would be any military attack against Sweden without NATO reacting,” he said, speaking from Brussels.  

Some more context: Finland officially became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (or about 830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia. Sweden’s attempt to join the bloc has been stalled by alliance members Turkey and Hungary.  

Finland’s fold into the alliance also reignited calls from Ukraine to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Poland and Stoltenberg has indicated that he has also been invited to the alliance’s summit, taking place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July.   

“NATO’s position is that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance. Our main focus now is to provide support for Ukraine to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation in Europe, which is a precondition to any meaningful discussion about membership,” said Stoltenberg. “It’s important to meet with Ukraine… to discuss how to sustain the unprecedented support NATO and NATO allies are providing Ukraine, to discuss reforms, but also to raise issues related to minority rights.”  

US President Joe Biden’s administration announced an additional package of military aid to Ukraine totaling $2.6 billion on Tuesday, part of a slew of NATO support for the embattled nation. Ukraine has burned through ammunition and weapons faster than the US and NATO can produce it, but Stoltenberg promised to ramp up production to meet further needs. 

Correction: An earlier version of this post misquoted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He said it would be “absolutely inconceivable” a military attack against Sweden would not provoke a NATO reaction.

The ban on Russian sides from competing in European soccer tournaments would be hard to change “until the war (in Ukraine) stops,” the president of European soccer’s governing body UEFA said on Wednesday. 

Speaking to reporters in Lisbon, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said, “My personal opinion that I can say is that until the war stops it would be very hard for us to change anything.” 

“Of course, it is a decision of the executive committee in any case,” he said. 

In a joint move with FIFA, UEFA suspended all Russian international and club teams from their competitions “until further notice” in February last year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The governing body also said Russia’s bid to host Euro 2028 or Euro 2032 had been ruled ineligible.   

UEFA’s club competitions include the men’s and women’s Champions League, the men’s Europa League and the men’s Europa Conference League. 

CNN’s Matias Grez contributed reporting to this post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that the situation in four regions of Ukraine declared annexed by Russia “remains tense.”

“As you know, I recently visited Mariupol myself and looked at the progress of restoration,” he said during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, which included the Russian-backed leaders of the four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

“It can be seen that the city is changing, but it is important that positive changes take place in all cities and in all settlements of all four regions,” he added.

He said that a “long-term program” was being developed to bolster the regions’ economies. 

“At the same time, I repeat: The situation in these regions remains tense,” Putin said, alleging that “the Kyiv regime continues to commit grave crimes against civilians living there. They spare no one, they subject cities and towns to rocket strikes, artillery and mortar attacks.”

Some key context: Putin’s claims to the four Ukrainian regions after so-called referendums held in September 2022 have been widely denounced by Ukraine and Western nations.

Luhansk and Donetsk are home to two Russian-backed breakaway republics where fighting has been ongoing since 2014. Russian forces do not control all of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions since Putin began his full-scale invasion in February 2022.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that she met with her Russian counterpart Vassily Nebenzia on Tuesday regarding the arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Gershkovich, who works for The Wall Street Journal, is currently held in the notorious Lefortovo pre-detention center and faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges.

“I spoke to my Russian counterpart yesterday regarding the arrest of an American journalist and expressed our strong, strong demand that he be released immediately,” Thomas-Greenfield told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday. 

“This is really beyond the pale to use a journalist who had already had been accredited in Russia and accuse him of the kinds of actions they’ve accused him of,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

American consular access to visit jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison “is being resolved,” a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“The issue of consular access to him has been taken into consideration. It is being resolved taking into account the existing consular practice and Russian legislation,” Maria Zakharova said during a press briefing. 

American officials have not yet been able to visit Gershkovich. His lawyers were able to meet with him on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal, his employer.

More on the situation: On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American detained in Russia, according to the US State Department.

“Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States’ grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist,” a readout from the US State Department said. “The Secretary called for his immediate release.”

The two “also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work,” according to the readout.

The Biden administration is preparing to officially declare Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, two US officials told CNN, a move that will trigger new US government resources to work towards his release, CNN reported earlier.

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Belarusian state media Belta.

“The presidents will consider a wide range of issues of Belarusian-Russian relations, including those that are not subject to discussion at the Supreme State Council meeting,” Belta reported.

Earlier Wednesday, the Kremlin said that Lukashenko’s proposal for a freezing of “hostilities” in Ukraine — which both Russia and Ukraine have rejected — would likely be discussed.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, met with high-level officials from Russian agencies on Wednesday in the Russia’s enclave of Kaliningrad, he said in a tweet.

The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he is continuing his efforts to protect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The nuclear plant has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022 and is now run by the Russian atomic agency Rosatom.

“My recent visit to #ZNPP confirmed the urgent need to achieve this vital objective, which is in everyone’s interest,” he added.

The situation at the nuclear plant has not improved, according to Grossi, who visited the facility last week and said there was increased military activity in the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the new US Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, that Washington’s support for the Maidan protesters in 2014 was to blame for the conflict in Ukraine. 

“Dear Madam Ambassador, I do not want to disturb the gracious atmosphere of the presentation of credentials and I know that you may not agree with me, but I cannot but say that the use of such instruments by the United States in its foreign policy as support for the so-called ‘color revolutions,’ support in this regard by the State Department of the coup in Kyiv in 2014, ultimately have led to the current Ukrainian crisis,” Putin told Tracy as he accepted her credentials. “[US actions] additionally made a negative impact on the degradation of Russian-American relations.”

About the Maidan protests: More than 70 people died during the 2014 protests, which were sparked by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to scrap a trade deal with the European Union and instead turn toward Russia. On the bloodiest day in Kyiv’s Maidan, or Independence Square, nearly 50 people died and 100 were injured when, according to protesters, government snipers opened fire on them.

Putin on Wednesday also said relations between Russia and the US were at a low point. 

“Relations between Russia and the United States, on which global security and stability directly depend, are in a deep crisis, unfortunately,” Putin said. “It is based on fundamentally different approaches to the formation of the modern world order.”

Putin also places blame on EU: The Russian president also said Wednesday that he regrets the deterioration of EU-Moscow relations and claimed the European Union has “initiated a geopolitical confrontation” with his country.

“The head of the European Union delegation, who is here, probably shares the opinion that relations between this association and Russia have deteriorated greatly in recent years, to our great regret,” Putin said during the ceremony in the Kremlin, where he accepted official credentials from 17 foreign ambassadors. 

“We see the reason for this in the fact that, leaving aside its main initial mission and the function of developing economic cooperation and integration on the European continent, the EU has initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia,” he added. 

CNN’s Katharina Krebs and Radina Gigova contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to release detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich “immediately.” 

“In my own mind, there’s no doubt that he’s being wrongfully detained by Russia, which is exactly what I said to Foreign Minister Lavrov when I spoke to him over the weekend, and insisted that Evan be released immediately,” Blinken said during a press conference in Brussels, reiterating a State Department readout of the conversation on Sunday. “But I want to make sure that as always, because there is a formal process, that we go through it and we will, and I expect that to be to be completed soon,” he said.  

Gershkovich was detained last week on charges of espionage – the first time an American journalist has been detained on such accusations by Moscow since the Cold War.

As CNN reported yesterday, the Biden administration is preparing to officially declare Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, two US officials told CNN, a move that will trigger new US government resources to work toward his release.  

The designation, which is expected in the coming days, follows an ongoing internal review of the circumstances surrounding Gershkovich’s arrest, officials said. The State Department’s office of hostage affairs will then lead the US efforts to get Gershkovich home.

Blinken also said that a proposal remains “on the table” with Russia in order to bring home another detained American, Paul Whelan. He said that he “reiterated that Russia should move on that proposal” during his conversation with Lavrov.  

“I believe that as we’ve demonstrated in the past, and as a result as well of legislation that we have and other tools that we have, that even as we engage in efforts to bring people home, we can also increase the pressure and increase the penalties on those who engage in the practice of unlawful arbitrary detention of American citizens,” Blinken said.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Wednesday the decision to invite Ukraine to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers “undermines the principle of the alliance’s unity,” according to a government statement. 

The comments follow a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday to mark Finland’s accession into NATO. Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba was present at the meeting, despite the fact that Ukraine is not currently a member of NATO.  

Hungary has repeatedly stated its opposition to NATO getting involved in the conflict.  

Szijjártó said that Hungary hopes “nobody will question the validity of the alliance’s earlier decision declaring that NATO would not be a party to the war going on in our neighboring country.”

More on Hungary: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government have been by far the closest ally of the Kremlin within the European bloc. After Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine last year, Orbán was the most reluctant European Union leader to impose sanctions on Russia. Orbán’s chief of staff in March also said Hungary would not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he entered the country, despite the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for him.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday that he wants to “obtain security guarantees for Ukraine” at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting neighboring Poland, one of Kyiv’s closest allies, to sign bilateral agreements and hold an economic forum with Duda. 

“I believe that the western direction of Ukraine’s economic activity will be maintained. We support Ukraine’s pursuit of EU and NATO membership,” Duda said during a joint news conference with Zelensky in Warsaw. “During the Vilnius summit, we want to obtain security guarantees for Ukraine.” 

“Poland is currently Ukraine’s largest economic partner. These data clearly show that the greatest international turnover is currently between Poland and Ukraine — this is related to the current situation and the general change that the eastern direction has been completely closed to Ukraine. I am convinced that this trend will continue in the future, that Ukraine will cooperate with the West as part of the Community, as part of the European Union,” Duda said.

According to 2020 World Bank data, the most recent year for which data was available, Ukraine’s second-biggest trading partner was Poland. 

“We deeply believe that together we will rebuild Ukraine more beautiful than it used to be,” Duda added. “Everything will be new, a brand-new future.” 

He also said Poland is delivering four MiG-29s fighter jets to Ukraine, in addition to four it has already given in recent months. 

“Four MiG-29s have been handed over to Ukraine in recent months. Another four are being delivered now. We are still ready to hand over an additional six aircraft’,” Duda said, also noting that Poland has given more than 300 tanks as well as other military hardware to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday acknowledged the possibility of a military withdrawal from the eastern city of Bakhmut, but said that ammunition deliveries from Ukraine’s ally would bolster his military’s defense.

“For me, the most important thing is not to lose our military,” Zelensky said during a meeting in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda. “And certainly, if there is a moment of even more intense events and the danger that we may lose personnel due to the encirclement, there will be appropriate correct decisions made by the general on the spot. I am sure about that.”

“But the more the appropriate ammunition arrives in Ukraine, the faster we will fight the situation not only in Bakhmut but in the whole territory of our country,” he said.

Zelensky said the situation in Bakhmut was “the most difficult” in the country. That city has for months been under attack by Russian forces.

“The largest number of weapons and artillery is being used there. The situation there is very, very difficult. And there is a daily shortage. We have artillery, then we have enough shells on our side, then we have less. This happens every day. We have success in some areas of Bakhmut, we move forward, or we don’t, and we retreat to our positions again. However, we are in Bakhmut and the enemy does not control Bakhmut. This is the situation today,” Zelensky said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s Ukraine “peace proposal” will likely be discussed during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. 

“Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] will likely consider it necessary to provide clarifications on this matter. Then, of course, they will exchange views,” Peskov said during a regular call with journalists. 

Last Friday, Lukashenko called for a freezing of “hostilities” in Ukraine and restrict the movement of equipment and weapons from both sides, which both Russia and Ukraine quickly rejected.

Lukashenko is expected to arrive for talks in Moscow on Wednesday. The two leaders will discuss issues of bilateral cooperation ahead of a Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus meeting on Thursday.

Lukashenko has also said he intensified talks with Putin about deploying both tactical and strategic — more powerful — nuclear weapons to deal with threats from Ukraine’s Western allies, who he claimed are planning a coup against him.

Russian forces have made “very slow progress” in Bakhmut over the past six months, despite committing large numbers of soldiers and suffering huge losses, Western officials said in a briefing on Wednesday

Over the past few weeks, Russian progress could be “measured in meters,” the officials said, also calling Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s weekend claim that Bakhmut had been captured a “pretty desperate” attempt.

“If anything, that was more for internal Russian consumption,” the officials said. “We currently believe they’re still not in full control of Bakhmut, so the Ukrainians are still able to resist the Russian and Wagner forces.” 

Meanwhile, the officials said that Ukrainian forces were “managing their casualty rate much better than the Russians are at the moment.”

“We have seen that they are able to rotate units in and out of Bakhmut. People are getting rest and recuperation,” they said, and noted that Ukraine is getting regenerated and additional forces as well as new NATO or Western-supplied equipment.

There is currently a lull in the fighting, partly due to poor weather, but also due to exhaustion on both sides and in anticipation of a Ukrainian counter offensive, the officials explained, adding that it is still unclear if Bakhmut would be part of that next stage given its current status.

“There isn’t a city or a town which is left. It wouldn’t resemble what it might have been a year ago. Bakhmut is completely destroyed as a town, unliveable by any normal standards,” the officials said.

Western officials believe Ukraine has been carrying out deep strikes and stockpiling some ammunition ahead of an expected counteroffensive in the coming months. 

“Some of those deep strikes against Russian [positions in southern Ukraine] are a preparation for any kind of future offensive,” the officials said. “We have seen consistently throughout the campaign is the Ukrainians have been very adept at targeting those accurate HIMARS systems against specific Russian targets.”

The officials also said Ukraine would be stockpiling ammunition ahead of a counteroffensive, but they hadn’t noted any shortages that would have limited day-to-day operations.

“We’re not seeing them in a position where they’re having to constrain their operations, through shortages of munitions,” the officials said. “They obviously want to stockpile at the moment because they’re preparing for an offensive, so they need to have those assurances of supply in order be able to sustain the offense.”

“From what we see, they’re receiving those supplies at the moment,” they added.

Western officials have told CNN they believe Russia has a problem generating “trained military manpower.” 

“[Russia has] acknowledged that they needed 400,000 more troops and that’s not just for the conflict [in Ukraine], but also to fulfil new formations which are going to be put on the new border with NATO and Finland,” the officials said in a briefing on Wednesday, answering a question from CNN.
“How they generate that is unclear at the moment.”

The officials told CNN they had seen Russia increase the conscription duration and widen the age range, but noted they hadn’t made an effort at launching a second mobilization. 

“Whether the population can sustain another round of mobilization and whether the Kremlin actually wants to test the population’s resilience to that it is unclear at the moment, but the fact they haven’t done would indicate to us that they have some concerns about that,” the officials said.

The officials went on to say that in addition to getting people in Russia to join the military, Moscow had difficulties in providing them with training. 

“We’ve seen Russian units been trained in Belarus, we’ve seen other Russian localized forces being pushed straight into the front with no training whatsoever,” they said.

“They’ve got a real problem in generating trained military manpower.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday awarded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with the Order of the White Eagle during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Warsaw.

The Order of the White Eagle is “the oldest and highest Polish award,” and is presented to “outstanding individuals,” Duda said in the presence of Zelensky and the two countries’ first ladies.

“He is a unique man. You, Volodymyr, are unique. Having received the mandate from your people, you suddenly were called to a unique mission that nobody could have foreseen,” Duda said. 

“None of us a year ago, after the Russian invasion, could have known what would happen to Ukraine and what would happen personally to you. Undoubtedly, we know that your position, together with the stance of the heroic Ukrainian people … will save Ukraine from the Russian aggression,” Duda added, calling Zelensky “a man of outstanding qualities.”

Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, are in Poland for what is being billed as the most comprehensive state visit the Ukrainian president has undertaken since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He thanked Duda, the government and the Polish people for standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and giving fleeing Ukrainians shelter. “We believe this is a historic relationship,” Zelensky said.

CNN’s Vasco Cotovio contributed to this report.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has traveled to neighboring Poland for an official visit to the country, one of its closest partners. He is expected to sign bilateral agreements before a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda at 6 p.m. local time (midday ET).

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are visiting Beijing, a trip France has framed as a high stakes chance to push China to do more for peace in Ukraine, but where European economic interests will also loom large.

Here are the latest headlines:

Europe must continue to work together with China on issues of importance such as trade and the war in Ukraine due to “our shared responsibility for peace and stability,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the French Residence in Beijing on Wednesday.

This comes as Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen both visit Beijing. France has framed this visit as a high stakes chance to push China to do more for peace in Ukraine, but where European economic interests will also loom large.

China can play a “major role” in the conflict in Ukraine because of its close relationship with Russia, he said, adding that it would be wrong to allow Russia to have exclusive dialogue with China regarding the path toward peace in Ukraine. 

On the issue of trade, Macron said that Europe must not dissociate or separate from China, calling it a “fatal mistake” for Europe. 

The UK has blocked a webcast of a UN meeting on Wednesday in which Russia’s children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova is due to speak.

She is accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children.  

Russia has called the informal meeting to discuss the “evacuation” of Ukrainian children from the war zone. 

“She should not be afforded a UN platform to spread disinformation,” the UK mission at the UN wrote on Twitter.
“If Maria Lvova-Belova wants to give an account of her actions, she can do so in the Hague.”

A Russian representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, responded on Twitter saying: “[Western countries] would of course prefer to continue to spread lies and fakes on Russia’s alleged “stealing children” from Ukraine. Our meeting is threatening this mendacious narrative and therefore is like a bone in their throat.”

He also promised retaliation, saying “as a mirror move Russia will from now on block UN webcasts of all similar meetings citing “UK censorship clause.””

Britain also said its ambassador would not be attending the meeting. 

The session is due to take place at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday in New York according to Russia’s mission at the UN. Lvova-Belova is expected to appear virtually. 

Russia took over the presidency of the UN Security Council on April 1. 

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at Beijing Capital Airport on Wednesday for a three-day state visit to China, live TV footage showed. 

He is expected to meet and hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “plan and chart course for bilateral relations, deepen cooperation, and have an in-depth exchange of views on major international and regional hotspot issues,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday. 

US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Macron ahead of his visit. 

“The two leaders discussed President Macron’s upcoming travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” the White House said in a readout of the call on Tuesday. “They also reiterated their steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression.” 

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also visiting China, in a three-day trip that coincides with Macron’s.  

Ukraine will be an “important topic” of von der Leyen’s meetings with Chinese President Xi and Premier Li Qiang, she said in a tweet. 

“How China continues to interact with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward,” von der Leyen said in Brussels last week. 

The visits come at a moment of heightened tensions in the US-China bilateral relationship and as Biden and European leaders grapple with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

It also comes less than a month after Xi traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin.

While the US and its Western allies have continued to warn China against providing lethal aide to Putin’s war effort, economic ties between Russia and China have rapidly accelerated over the course of the conflict.  

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has crossed the border into Poland to begin an official visit to his country’s neighbor and one of its closest partners, according to the president’s office and Polish media.

Marcin Przydacz, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office of International Policy, told Polish broadcaster TVN24 that Zelensky is expected at the Presidential Palace at 11:00 a.m. local time.

The Ukrainian and Polish presidents are expected to deliver a joint address at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Unlike Zelensky’s previous visits abroad since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, he is travelling with his wife. 

During his visit, the Ukrainian president will sign bilateral agreements and hold talks with both Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. 

He will also meet with representatives of Polish business within the framework of the Ukrainian-Polish business forum, leaders of the upper and lower houses of Poland’s Parliament, and the mayors of cities bordering Ukraine.

Ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day trip to China, he spoke with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, according to the Elysée Palace.

In a readout, Elysée Palace said the two heads of state discussed their common desire to engage China to accelerate the end of the war in Ukraine and to participate in building a lasting peace in the region. 

They also jointly expressed their wish to obtain from China a contribution to the global North/South solidarity effort and to build with China a common agenda on climate and biodiversity, according to the readout.

Macron will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon local time.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will accompany French President Emmanuel Macron to China on Wednesday where Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to discussed.

Ukraine will be an “important topic” of von der Leyen’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, she said in a tweet. 

“How China continues to interact with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward,” von der Leyen said in Brussels last week. 

Here’s what else you need to know:

Former US President Bill Clinton said he regrets persuading Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s. In an interview with Irish broadcaster RTE Tuesday, he suggested Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if Kyiv still had nuclear weapons.

“I feel a personal stake because I got them [Ukraine] to agree to give up their nuclear weapons. And none of them believe that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons,” Clinton told RTE.

In January 1994 Clinton signed a tripartite agreement with then Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk which provided for the transfer of all nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine to Russia for dismantlement, according to the US State Department. It was an effort to remove the weapons that remained on its territory following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In December 1994, Ukraine acceded to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and the US, Russia and the UK provided security assurances to Ukraine and the START I Treaty entered into force, according to the White House.

“I knew that President Putin did not support the agreement President Yeltsin made never to interfere with Ukraine’s territorial boundaries - an agreement he made because he wanted Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons,” Clinton told RTE.
“President Putin broke it and first took Crimea. And I feel terrible about it because Ukraine is a very important country,” he said, adding “I think what Mr. Putin did was very wrong.”

Some context:  NATO has not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture since Putin announced late last month Moscow’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, NATO’s secretary general said Monday. However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has claimed that Belarusian aircraft have been upgraded to be able to carry out nuclear strikes, in response to NATO’s imminent expansion.

The Wall Street Journal said that its reporter Evan Gershkovich has been able to meet with his lawyers Tuesday.

In a statement, the Journal said:

“Evan’s lawyers were able to meet with him in prison today. They said Evan’s health is good, and he is grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world. We stand with Evan and continue to call for his immediate release.”

The Journal’s statement, from editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and Almar Latour, the CEO of Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, said that Gershkovich “was doing what journalists do – asking questions and providing an eyewitness account in the region to help keep the world well informed.”

“His imprisonment is wholly unjustified and an attack on a free press. We are doing everything in our power to bring Evan home safely and will not rest until he is reunited with his family.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday ahead of her visit to China on Wednesday.  

Ukraine will be an “important topic” of her meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, von der Leyen said in a tweet.  

China’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine will be a “determining factor” for European Union’s relations with Beijing going forward, von der Leyen said last week. 

The EU chief will accompany French President Emmanuel Macron to China on Wednesday.  

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to the alliance’s summit taking place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July. 

“A strong independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area, and we look forward to meeting President Zelensky at our Vilnius summit in July,” Stoltenberg said. 

He made the remark in Brussels on Tuesday, following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission – the body responsible for the relationship between Ukraine and the alliance. 

Training for Ukrainians on US M1A1 Abrams tanks has not yet started, but will begin “relatively soon,” a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday.

“Abrams training has not yet begun…We are still working on the equipment procurement so we haven’t we have not yet begun the training, but I would expect that that will happen relatively soon,” the official said during a background briefing.

In total, the official said the US has trained more than 7,000 Ukrainian troops since the beginning of Russia’s invasion more than a year ago. The US plans to send 31 M1A1 tanks to Ukraine — the size of a Ukrainian tank battalion.

The US agreed to send the tanks in January after a sudden reversal on its stated policy that Abrams were too complex and difficult to maintain for Ukrainian forces in the middle of a war.

The Biden administration relented under pressure from Germany, which said that it would only approve the transfer of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the US agreed to send Abrams tanks as well.

But the US cautioned that delivering tanks to Ukraine would take time. “We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our US stocks,” Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said shortly after the US announcement.

Turkey on Tuesday welcomed Finland as a new NATO member as Ankara continues to block Helsinki’s Scandinavian neighbor Stockholm from joining the transatlantic military alliance. 

“I would like to welcome Finland as a new ally. With Finland, now our alliance is much more stronger,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in Brussels, speaking alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Tuesday as the minister handed ratification document to the American diplomat.

The Turkish Parliament voted unanimously in favor of Finland’s membership on Thursday, clearing the last hurdle in the accession process. 

Both Finland and Sweden requested to join the military alliance in May last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

Finish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto took part in country’s first NATO round table meeting in Brussels Tuesday, following Finland’s accession ceremony earlier in the day.

Haavisto was seen smiling and shaking hands with other NATO leaders, before taking a seat between Estonia and France.

The alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg, opened the meeting by saying, “Let me start by welcoming Finland as the newest member of our alliance.”

Stoltenberg’s comments were met by a long round of applause, with Haavisto smiling and mouthing the words, “Thank you.”

“Mr Haavisto you have attended many meetings, but this is the first time you sit down there between France and Estonia. It is really a great privilege to have you now as a full-fledged member,” Stoltenberg said, adding, “and as we stated so clearly outside, soon we will also have Sweden as a full-fledged member of our alliance.”

Sweden congratulated Finland on its accession to NATO on Tuesday, as Stockholm still awaits the ratification of its own bid.

“Congratulations Finland and thank you for the ratification of Swedish membership!” Sweden’s Foreign Ministry said in a tweet.

Both Finland and Sweden requested to join the transatlantic military alliance in May last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Sweden’s accession is being stalled by Turkey and Hungary, both of which are holding back support.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously said Turkey would not approve Sweden’s NATO membership unless the country extradites “terrorists” upon Turkish request. 

Sweden has made clear this won’t happen, and for now, the process is stuck. But the US and European officials remain hopeful that Sweden will be able to join the alliance in the coming months.