April 18, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CNN's Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.