May 3, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv and Odesa early Thursday morning, said Oleksii Honcharenko, the Ukrainian politician and member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on Telegram.

Air defenses have been activated in Kyiv, the city’s regional military administration said. Air alerts have been sounded in most of the eastern half of the country, according to a map posted by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Yuri Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, called for people to “stay in safe places” until the air alert is over.

A fire broke out in the reservoir of Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar territory, according to Russian state news agency Tass early Thursday.

Citing emergency services, Tass reported that the fire was a result of a drone strike.

“Due to an attack by an unknown drone, a fuel tank at the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the urban-type settlement of Ilsky in the Seversky district caught fire,” Tass quoted emergency services, adding that firefighters have been dispatched to the site.

The fire was burning in an area of 1,200 square meters, it said.

There were no casualties, according to Veniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region, who said in a Telegram post that residents are no longer in danger.

“It’s been a second turbulent night in a row for our emergency services. A tank of petroleum products at the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the Seversky District has now been confirmed to be on fire. Fire brigades and MES staff of 48 people and 16 vehicles are already at work,” he said.

On Wednesday, Russian state media said a drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed an oil storage facility in the port of Volna in southwestern Russia’s Krasnodar region.

Videos published on social media and geolocated by CNN show the oil storage tanks burning.

The facility is close to the Kerch bridge that was set ablaze by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. It is unclear how the fuel storage tank caught fire and Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Russia claimed Ukraine attempted to assassinate President Vladimir Putin with a drone strike on the Kremlin overnight on Wednesday, an extraordinary allegation that was met with forceful denials in Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials have even reached out to the White House privately to deny involvement in the incident.

US Sen. Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Wednesday there is “no indication yet” that Ukraine is behind an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin. 

Here are the latest developments:

US Sen. Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Wednesday there is “no indication yet” that Ukraine is behind an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin. 

“We still don’t have much information,” Warner said. “I think the committee expressed whatever intel we get, we need to hear it as soon as possible again from the agency director. At least at this point, no indication it was sourced by the Ukrainians.” 

Asked if US intelligence agencies have ruled out the idea Ukraine was behind the purported attack, Warner again stressed it was too early to know for sure — but there was no indication they were. 

Warner was leaving a closed-door briefing with CIA Director William Burns regarding the overnight alleged attack, which Russia said was an assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin by Ukraine.

Warner said it is “not unusual” to not have much information given how recently the alleged attack took place. 

Ukraine strongly denied any involvement in the alleged strike.

Ukraine is privately reiterating to the White House the country was not involved in the alleged drone attack in Moscow, two US officials told CNN.

Officials won’t characterize the level of communication, but the denial has been explicit, one official said.

Ukrainian officials have already publicly denied any involvement in the incident, which Russia called an assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the wake of the alleged drone attack the Kremlin accused Ukraine of carrying out in Moscow, the State Department said that the US has previously advised Kyiv not to carry out strikes over its borders.

“I don’t want to speculate about the authenticity of this, but we also have been clear and consistent … about not encouraging or enabling the Ukrainians to strike beyond its borders,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel at a press briefing.

Asked if long-range strikes against Russia by Ukraine would impact US assistance, Patel said that the US “will continue to support our Ukrainian partners for as long as it takes.”

A metal sheet and the apparent burn scar from one of two explosions at the Kremlin complex were visible in a photo taken on Wednesday. The photo was taken by the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and distributed by Getty Images.

Two objects exploded near the dome of the Senate Palace early Wednesday morning — the blast of the first explosion appeared to be on the dome itself. 

The apparent burn scar is seen in the same location as the blast. A metal sheet appears to be covering a portion of the dome as well.

Additional imagery, taken by AFP, shows individuals appearing to inspect the dome on a ladder next to the apparent burn scar.

Archival imagery from Getty taken between September 2022 and March 2023 — in addition to an April 19 satellite image from Maxar Technologies — confirms the apparent burn scar was not present before the explosion.

A former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in Russia claims the recent drone attack on the Kremlin is the work of what he calls Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian military. 

In an exclusive interview, Ilya Ponomarev told CNN’s Matthew Chance that “it’s one of Russian partisan groups,” adding that “I cannot say more, as they have not yet publicly claimed responsibility.”

Ponomarev, who now lives in exile in Ukraine and Poland, was the only Russian MP to vote against the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and has since been included on a list of terrorist suspects, according to the Russian authorities. 

On Wednesday, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being responsible for two drone attacks on the Kremlin. 

In a statement, the Kremlin said, “We view these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt,” adding that “Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate.”

According to Ponomarev, members of partisans group inside Russia are usually “youngsters, students, residents of large cities. I am aware of the partisan activity in approximately 40 cities across Russia,” he told CNN. 

“All partisan groups have their own focus, their speciality, their core knowledge. Some of them are focussed on railroad sabotages, some of them are doing arson of military recruitment posts. Some of them are doing attacks on pro-war activists, some of them are doing hacking attacks,” he said. 

According to Ponomarev, the drone attacks inside Russia are a “new line of operation” for the groups, which he says pose a “real threat.”

“What Putin is selling to the nation and especially to the elites is the feeling of invulnerability and security. And partisans are ruining both. They are actually saying the war is here and you guys, you personally, are not safe,” Ponomarev said.

Ukraine has denied any involvement in what Russia claims was an attempted drone strike on the Kremlin.

“Ukraine wages an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, in a statement shared on Twitter.

“We are watching with interest the growing number of mishaps and incidents that are taking place in different parts of Russia. The emergence of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles at energy facilities or on Kremlin’s territory can only indicate the guerrilla activities of local resistance forces,” he added. 

The US Embassy in Ukraine warned Wednesday of “an ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks,” including in Kyiv.

“In light of the recent uptick in strikes across Ukraine and inflammatory rhetoric from Moscow, the Department of State cautions U.S. citizens of an ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks, including in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast,” the embassy said in a security alert.

In the alert, the embassy urged Americans “to observe air alarms, shelter appropriately, follow guidance from local authorities,” and take actions like immediately seeking shelter inside or going to the lowest level of their buildings “with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings.”

“If you hear a loud explosion or if sirens are activated, immediately seek cover,” it advised.  “Be aware that even if the incoming missile or drone is intercepted, falling debris represents a significant risk,” the alert said. “After the attack, stay away from any debris.”

The US government has repeatedly warned Americans to leave Ukraine and not to travel there amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Prior to Wednesday’s alert, the US Embassy had not issued a security alert since February 23, the day before the one year anniversary of the start of the war.

Moscow launched a new wave of attacks across Ukraine on Wednesday. At least 21 people were killed in the southern Kherson region, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at Russia after he said at least 21 people were killed by shelling in the southern Kherson region. 

“The world needs to see and know this,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. “A railway station and a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a grocery supermarket, a gas station — do you know what unites these places? The bloody trail that Russia leaves with its shells, killing civilians in Kherson and Kherson region.”

Zelensky added that at least 48 people were also wounded and sent his condolences to the families and friends of those affected. 

“We will never forgive the culprits,” he vowed. “We will defeat evil state and hold all the perpetrators to account.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $300 million security assistance package for Ukraine Wednesday.

“This latest package will help Ukraine continue to bravely defend itself in the face of Russia’s brutal, unprovoked, and unjustified war. Russia could end its war today. Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” Blinken said.

The top US diplomat said it is the 37th drawdown of US arms and equipment for Ukraine.

Here’s what is included in the package and its capabilities, according to a statement released by the US Department of Defense:

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the package comes after “extensive work by the US government over the past few months to fulfill Ukraine’s requests ahead of its planned counteroffensive and ensure they have the weapons and equipment they need.”

The White House said it will continue to work with allies to support Ukraine.

Previewing this aid package earlier this week, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby suggested the new package would be “very much focused on ammunition and clearing capabilities” to give Ukraine “what they need to break through Russian defenses.”

“They will be ready,” Kirby said.

It is “too early” to say whether Russia’s claims of a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin amount to a “false flag” operation, the White House said Wednesday, adding that it would not speculate about the veracity of Moscow’s claims.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said the US was not taking any steps that would help Kyiv from striking inside Russia.

“Since the beginning of this conflict, the United States is certainly not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” she said. “We’ve been very clear from here about that.”

She added, “I don’t want to get into speculation from here about the authenticity of this report.”

Earlier, US officials said it had no advance warning of the drone attack in Moscow. American agencies were urgently working to assess Russia’s claims.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky denied earlier that his country had staged an attack on Putin.

Asked about the prospect of a Russian “false flag” operation, which the US has warned of previously, Jean-Pierre said it wasn’t prudent to speculate.

“It is really too early to tell, as you asked me, about a false flag,” she said. “But obviously Russia has a history of doing things like this.”

The Russian approach to nuclear deterrence is defensive in nature, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said on Wednesday during a briefing for military attachés.

“On the basis of doctrinal documents, Russian approaches to nuclear deterrence have been discussed. It was noted that the activities of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence are of a defensive nature and are aimed at guaranteed protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” Fomin said according a statement. 

Fomin also said that steps should be taken to ensure the security of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Those steps would be in response to the escalation by NATO, where Russian demands to end US and alliance tactics were rejected, he said.

The deputy minister “assessed the US actions to deploy nuclear weapons in Europe, as well as joint activities with NATO to prepare and conduct nuclear missions with the participation of the air forces of states that do not possess nuclear weapons,” the statement said, “Russian demands, for an end to such practices and the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons to the national territory, were rejected by the United States and its NATO allies.”

Widespread Russian shelling in the southern frontline city of Kherson and neighboring territories caused at least 17 deaths and 26 injuries, according to the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights.

“These are civilians whose fundamental right to life has been deprived by Russia,” the commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Lubinets accused Russia of purposefully targeting civilians. 

“The aggressor country is targeting residential buildings, shops, public transport stops, railways with precision missile strikes,” he wrote. “These are crimes for which the aggressor must be punished! This is terrorism against the civilian population!”

Earlier, the Kherson region prosecutor’s office said 16 people had died, as it announced a war crimes investigation.

“Under the procedural control of the Kherson District Prosecutor’s Office, a pre-trial investigation has been initiated into the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine),” it said.

Local authorities reported at least four different separate incidents of Russian shelling hitting civilian infrastructure.

According to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson region military administration, one landed at the Epicenter supermarket in Kherson. Additionally, he said a rocket hit a team of engineers who were performing emergency repair work near the village of Stepanivka. Artillery also struck the areas of Mykhailivka, Havrylivka, Tiahyntsi, and Tokarivka, “killing a 47-year-old man in the yard of his own home, and wounding a 61-year-old local resident in Ivanivka,” he said.

Another shell also hit the Kherson city railway station. According to Ukrainian railways, Ukrzaliznytsia, a passenger car was hit.

“At the time of the shelling, boarding had not begun, and passengers were in safe shelter,” the rail company said. “Currently, the train to Lviv with 116 passengers on board departed from Kherson with a 14-minute delay. The cars damaged by the shelling will be promptly replaced at Mykolaiv station.”

“Rescue services are working at the scene,” Prokudin added. “We notice that in the last two weeks there have been more attacks with different weapons, especially with the guided aerial bombs.”

The Kremlin has yet to present physical evidence supporting the Russian government’s claim Wednesday that it foiled an attempt by Ukraine on President Vladimir Putin’s life with a drone attack, although videos have surfaced that purport to show the attack — including what appears to be the shooting down of a drone — and its aftermath. 

CNN analysis of video showing the incident supports the Kremlin’s claim that two drones were flown above the Kremlin early Wednesday, but CNN found no evidence of Ukrainian involvement. 

Here’s what CNN knows so far about how events unfolded: A video that appeared to show smoke rising from the Kremlin, which was geolocated by CNN, surfaced on a local neighborhood Telegram channel at 2:37 a.m. local time Wednesday. The first reports of the incident citing the Kremlin came via Russian state media TASS and RIA around 2.33 p.m. local time — around 12 hours later. 

Shortly after the first media reports, another video appearing to show the moment a drone exploded above the Kremlin began circulating widely on social media. In the video, the drone appears to fly toward the building’s domed roof, followed by what looks like a small explosion. In this video, two people appear to be climbing on the dome holding flashlights and can be seen ducking down just before the moment of the explosion. The people climbing the drone are not present in the first of these videos, but appear in the second, suggesting they were responding to the fire caused by the first drone at the time the subsequent drone appeared. 

CNN has analyzed videos shared by the Russian state-run channel TVC that appear to show there were two separate drones from different directions within minutes of each another, based on the times displayed on the nearby Spasskaya tower clock. The first drone was spotted over the Kremlin at 2:27 a.m. local time. It exploded over the Senate Palace, after which a fire broke out on its roof. The second drone was recorded at 2:43 a.m., and its fragments fell on the territory of the Kremlin. While the first drone caused a fire at the top of the dome, the second didn’t, appearing instead to explode in the air.  

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not mention the incident Wednesday during a routine weekday call with reporters at around 12:30 p.m. local time, roughly two hours before media reports emerged. 

Ukraine has denied any responsibility for the alleged attack, with Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak telling CNN that Ukraine has “nothing to do with drone attacks on [the] Kremlin.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied that his country was responsible for what Russia says was an assassination attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin, after an apparent drone attack on the Kremlin. 

“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow,” Zelensky said during a news conference in Helsinki.

The Ukrainian president said that Ukraine didn’t have enough weapons to spare on incidents like this.

“We fight on our territory, we are defending our villages and cities. We don’t have enough weapon[s] for this. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere [else],” Zelensky explained. “For us that is the deficit, we can’t spend [waste] it.”

“We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to tribunal,” he said.

The European Union is boosting production of ammunition and missiles to help replenish depleting Ukrainian and EU stocks, the European Commission said Wednesday.  

With an allocated a budget of $552 million, the initiative — which is called the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) — will “ramp up the EU’s production capacity” and “address the current shortage of ammunition and missiles as well as their components,” the commission said in a news release. 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said, “Ukraine is heroically resisting the brutal Russian invader. We stand by our promise to support Ukraine and its people, for as long as it takes. But Ukraine’s brave soldiers need sufficient military equipment to defend their country.”  

ASAP will “help supply more ammunition for Ukraine to defend its citizens and it will also strengthen our European defense capabilities,” von der Leyen said.

US officials are still assessing the Kremlin drone incident and Russian claims that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, with some raising questions about how a drone could’ve gotten so close to the building to begin with.

US officials did not see signs overnight that an attack either by Russian or by Ukrainian actors was being planned, two people familiar with the matter told CNN, but analysts across the government are poring over intelligence, including intercepted communications and satellite imagery, for clues as to what might have happened.

Some context: Kyiv is approximately 862 kilometers (about 535 miles) from Moscow. Russia has accused Ukraine of multiple attempted drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, including one earlier this year when the governor of the Moscow region claimed a Ukrainian drone had crashed near the village of Gubastovo, which is southeast of the capital.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States is “intensely engaged with the Russians” to seek detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s freedom, but added that there was not “a clear way forward.”

“We have a channel that [US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin] established some time ago to try to work on these cases. So we’re engaged. I wish I could say that in this moment, there was a clear way forward. We don’t have that in this moment, but it’s something that we’re working every single day,” he said at a Washington Post event.

On Monday, Blinken described the dialogue with Russia on the issue of wrongfully detained Americans as “irregular.”

The top US diplomat said Wednesday that the US is also trying to get Russia to provide consular access to Gershkovich, which they’ve only done once.

Separately, Biden marked World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday by calling for the release of Gershkovich, as well as Austin Tice, who disappeared over a decade ago in Syria.

“No family should have to endure the pain I’ve seen their families bear. But in far too many places around the world, autocrats and their enablers continue to repress a free and independent media—through censorship, retribution, threats, lawsuits, harassment, disinformation, detention, and physical attacks,” according to a statement from Biden.

“Courageous journalists around the world have shown time and again that they will not be silenced or intimidated. The United States sees them and stands with them,” Biden said.

More about Gershkovich: After being arrested in March, Gershkovich is now being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until May 29. He faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich. He was denied an appeal to change the terms of his detention on April 18.

Gershkovich’s arrest marked the first detention of an American reporter in Russia on allegations of spying since the Cold War.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that the United States “regretted” the massive US classified documents leak that occurred last month.

Blinken said he told Kuleba that the US “very much regretted the unauthorized exposure of these documents, that we took very seriously our obligations and responsibility to protect information.”

Speaking at a Washington Post event Wednesday, Blinken said he reiterated the US support for Ukraine.

“I think it’s fair to say that Ukrainians, as well as many other countries around the world, have benefited from the extraordinary information that the United States is able to develop and provide that helps support, defend, protect their security, as well as ours,” he said.

Blinken did not address Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that he found about the leaks from the press and not from US officials.

The top US diplomat said the leaks have “virtually not come up” in his travels and meetings.

“In fact, to the extent it’s come up, I’ve raised it, just to make clear how seriously we take this,” Blinken said.

More about the leaks: Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old suspect in the leak of classified US documents posted on social media, was charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials.

According to charging documents, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman allegedly began posting information about the documents online around December 2022, and they included a wide range of highly classified information — including eavesdropping on key allies and adversaries and blunt assessments on the state of the Ukraine war.

CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Jeremy Herb contributed reporting to this post.

Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of an assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin using drones targeted at the Kremlin, which Ukrainian officials have denied and decried as pretext for a “large-scale terrorist attack” from Russian forces.

The claims come as Russia reportedly looks to be preparing for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive in the southern Russian-occupied regions, and as the West watches Russia for any actions around Victory Day on May 9.

What we know about the anticipated counteroffensive: Satellite imagery reviewed by CNN and other news organizations shows hundreds of miles of Russian defenses — including anti-tank ditches, obstacles, minefields and trenches — that have been built up in parts of southern Ukraine.

Satellite imagery also shows a large Russian base in northern Crimea that in February had been full of equipment, including artillery and tanks was much emptier in late March and almost completely vacated by late April. It’s unclear where the equipment went, but it’s likely it was sent north to reinforce Russian defensive lines.

Ukraine has been largely mum on specific dates for launching the spring counteroffensive, with some officials saying that it’s possibly been happening already.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in a video posted Saturday that the counteroffensive will happen, but he was “not ready to say in detail when it will happen and how,” citing the need for “certain weapons.”

On Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Moscow’s claims about the alleged drone strike were an attempt at taking control of the narrative ahead of a counteroffensive.

“Russia without a doubt is very afraid of Ukraine starting an offensive on the front line and is trying to seize the initiative, distract the attention and create distractions of a catastrophic nature,” he said. “So, Russian statements on such staged operations need to be taken as an attempt to create pretext for a large-scale terrorist attack in Ukraine.”

What we know about Victory Day: May 9 marks Victory Day, when parades and marches are held in Russia to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. Speculation has grown in recent weeks that it could end up exposing the number of fallen Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Leaders of multiple regions in Russia have scaled back or canceled some celebrations, citing lack of military equipment to display and potential security risks.

Serhiy Nykyforov, a spokesperson for Zelensky, said on Wednesday that the alleged strike is a “trick.”

CNN’s Tim Lister, Seb Shukla, Victoria Butenko, Vasco Cotovio and Nathan Hodge contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had seen reports from Moscow of an alleged drone attack by Ukraine on the Kremlin, but he “can’t in any way validate them.”

“We simply don’t know,” Blinken said Wednesday at a Washington Post Live event. 

“We’ll see what the facts are. And it’s really hard to comment or speculate on this without really knowing what the facts are,” Blinken added.

Ukraine has denied any knowledge of the alleged drone attack in Moscow.

The United States had no warning about the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin that Russia claimed was an assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Ukraine vehemently denies, according to a US official.

“Whatever happened, there was no advanced warning,” the US official told CNN, adding that authorities are still trying to figure out what exactly happened. 

Another US official told CNN they are still working to assess Russia’s claims and have not yet validated the Kremlin assertion that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin.

Ukraine says it has no knowledge of an alleged attempted drone strike on the Kremlin in Moscow, adding that it does not use its means to attack other countries. 

“We do not have information on so called night attacks on Kremlin,” the spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Serhiy Nykyforov, told CNN on Wednesday, when asked about Moscow’s claim that it had foiled a Kyiv-ordered drone strike in the Russian capital. 

“As President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its own territory, not to attack others,” Nykyforov added. 

Russia referred to the incident as an “act of terrorism,” blaming Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, an accusation Nykyforov said was better directed at Moscow. 

“A terror attack is destroyed blocks of residential buildings in Dnipro and Uman, or a missile at a line at Kramatorsk rail station and many other tragedies,” he said. “What happened in Moscow is obviously about escalating the mood on the eve of May 9.”

May 9 marks Victory Day, which celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

“It’s a trick to be expected from our opponents,” Zelensky’s spokesperson said.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also denied Kyiv had any involvement and said it makes no sense for Ukraine to have carried out the alleged strike.

“First of all, it absolutely does not solve any military goals. And it is very unhelpful in the context of preparing for our offensive actions. And it definitely does not change anything at a battlefield,” he said. “This would allow Russia to justify mass strikes on Ukrainian cities, civilians and infrastructure facilities. Why would we need that? What’s the logic?”

Podolyak also said Moscow’s claims were an attempt at controlling the narrative ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. 

“Russia without a doubt is very afraid of Ukraine starting an offensive on the front line and is trying to seize the initiative, distract the attention and create distractions of a catastrophic nature,” he said. “So, Russian statements on such staged operations need to be taken as an attempt to create pretext for a large-scale terrorist attack in Ukraine.”

Videos have circulated on Russian social media purporting to show the detonation of a drone and smoke rising from the direction of the Kremlin. CNN is not yet able to establish the veracity of those videos. 

Watch CNN’s reporting of the videos:

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07:43 - Source: cnn

Moscow alleges Ukraine flew two drones toward the Kremlin last night in what it claims was an attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president was not in the building at the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Ukraine has denied any involvement and accused Moscow of a “trick.” 

The Kremlin said the attack was foiled. “No one was injured as a result of their fall and scattering of fragments,” state media RIA Novosti reported.

A social media video appears to show some smoke in the vicinity of the Kremlin, but it is unclear what the source of the smoke is.

The Kremlin Press Service called the drone attack an “attempt on the President’s life” and a “terrorist act.”

“Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” it added

Some background: Kyiv is approximately 862 kilometers (about 535 miles) from Moscow. Russia has accused Ukraine of multiple attempted drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, including one earlier this year when the governor of the Moscow region claimed a Ukrainian drone had crashed near the village of Gubastovo — southeast of the capital.

State media later posted a photograph of what it said was the crashed device, which appeared to resemble a Ukrainian-made UJ-22 attack drone, a relatively small and versatile drone with the ability to fly through poor weather and to travel up to 500 miles (800 kilometers). It’s unclear where or when the photo of the crashed drone was taken.

More Russian regions have announced a reduction in Victory Day celebrations on May 9 due to security concerns and a lack of military equipment to display. 

CNN has counted nine regions of the Russian Federation and the declared annexed territory of Crimea have all canceled facets of their Victory Day celebration plans — from military parades and fireworks celebrations to the traditional Immortal Regiment march marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. 

Those regions are: Pskov, Oryol, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Saratov, Lipetsk, Kaluga and Krasnodar, plus Crimea. Many either share a border with Ukraine or are located close to Ukraine’s border. 

The latest region to change its plans is Saratov. The regional governor, Roman Bysargin, said on Telegram Tuesday that the Immortal Regiment procession — a walking march where relatives of fallen soldiers hold pictures of servicemen killed fighting in the Second World War — will be canceled, as will a fireworks display. He ended his message by saying that “it is better to direct the saved funds to support our fighters in the zone of the special military operation,” using Russian officials’ term for the war in Ukraine.  

The governors of Oryol and Pskov regions also announced at the end of last week that they were making changes to their plans. Andrey Klychkov of the Oryol region said in a live broadcast on his VK social media page last Friday that they had decided to call off the parade, citing safety risks and a lack of military equipment.

“We are forced to cancel the parade [on May 9]. This is due to the fact that yes, we do not have military units, we do not have equipment in the region, but this is the participation of child cadets, and veterans - and we cannot risk them, even knowing that there are some hypothetical threats,” he said.

The governor of Pskov region, Mikhail Vedernikov, wrote over the weekend that his region will also not hold the traditional parades or march.  

Some background: Last month, CNN reported that Belgorod, Kursk and Crimea had made similar decisions. The governor of the Belgorod region announced that this year’s Victory Parade would not take place so as not to “provoke” Ukrainian forces with a significant concentration of military personnel and equipment.

Authorities in the Kursk region made a similar decision for “security reasons,” they said.

The authorities of the Lipetsk and Voronezh regions confirmed a parade on May 9 will be held, but they decided against the traditional fireworks display.

Vladislav Shapsha, the head of the Kaluga region, also canceled fireworks and mass events due to safety concerns, adding that security forces will be present on Victory Day. 

All cities in the Krasnodar region except one, Novorossiysk, discontinued preparations for the military parade, according to the local administration.

Certain regions, including Belgorod and Crimea, have seen recent consistent alleged drone attacks.

The organizers of the Immortal Regiment, which is a government-backed initiative, announced in April that there will be no procession held this year, suggesting people express their sentiment online. 

“We cannot name the exact reasons for this decision, especially since we have nothing to do with it,” the official message on their website said.

More context: Speculation has grown in recent weeks that the march could end up exposing the number of fallen Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not released updates on the casualties since last September, when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that 5,937 Russian soldiers have been killed. The White House on Monday estimated that the Russian military has suffered at least 100,000 casualties in Ukraine in the past five months, including more than 20,000 dead, half of which were Wagner fighters, which Russia has rejected.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Finland where he will hold a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and other Nordic premiers.

Elsewhere, Turkish officials have said that grain initiative extension talks will start on Friday in Istanbul. Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying a deal “is yet to be agreed” upon.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Finland for his meeting with Finnish and other Nordic counterparts.

A live stream of his arrival showed him standing with the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto outside the Presidential Palace listening to the Ukrainian national anthem and later shaking hands with Finnish dignitaries.

Sergiy Nikoforov, Zelensky’s spokesperson, previously confirmed on Facebook that Zelensky would be traveling to Finland Wednesday. 

Nikoforov confirmed that Zelensky will hold talks with the Finnish president and take part in a Nordic-Ukrainian summit.

Some background: Finland ascended to NATO membership in April. The development marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that added some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced that three people have lost their lives, and a further five were injured as a result of a Russian missile strike on a supermarket in the city of Kherson. 

Writing on Telegram, the Ministry said the rocket hit at 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in the “only working hypermarket” in the city.

The injured include employees and shoppers.

An image circulating on social media, and geo-located by CNN, show the destruction of the building with a dead body lying in the foreground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will pay an official visit to Finland on Wednesday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto announced.

In a press release, Niinisto said Zelensky will travel to Helsinki for “official discussions” that will include “Ukraine’s defence struggle and Finland’s support for Ukraine.”

The statement also went on to say that a Nordic-Ukrainian summit will be held between the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.

The summit, Niinisto statement said, would “discuss the situation of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the Nordic countries’ continued support for Ukraine, the developments in Ukraine’s relationship with EU and NATO and Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace.”

Sergiy Nikoforov, Zelensky’s spokesperson, confirmed on Facebook that the president is traveling to Finland on Wednesday. 

Some background: Finland ascended to NATO membership in April. The development marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that added some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

CNN’s Victoria Butenko contributed to this post.

The Deputy Defense Minister of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet in the Turkish capital on May 5 for talks about the extension to the grain deal, which expires on May 18. 

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, said in a statement on Wednesday, “during the meeting, some issues, especially the grain initiative, will be discussed.

“It is our hope that the grain deal will continue as it is. Because this agreement is very important for regional peace and stability and for countries in need. In this context, we can say that the parties are willing to extend the deadline.
“Our wish is to extend this initiative without any problems.”

Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying a deal “is yet to be agreed” upon.

Ukraine has not commented on the meeting proposal.

Some context: Last month, Russia threatened to scrap the Black Sea grain deal, viewed as critical for solving the world hunger crisis, if the Group of Seven nations ban exports to the country.

An alleged drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed an oil storage facility in southwestern Russia’s Krasnodar region on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.

Without offering any evidence, state-run news agency TASS said the blaze in the port of Volna near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea was “due to the fall of drone.”

Videos published on social media and geolocated by CNN show the oil storage tanks burning.

The facility is located close to the Kerch bridge that was set ablaze by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. It is unclear how the fuel storage tank caught fire and Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said in a Telegram post that nearly 200 firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze.

There were no casualties and residents were not in danger, he added.

Russia on Wednesday launched another wave of drone attacks against multiple regions of Ukraine, including the capital, Ukrainian authorities said. 

Ukraine’s Air Force Command said 21 of 26 Iranian-made Shahed fired by Russia had been destroyed, with no casualties or extensive damage reported yet.

Kyiv attacks: The capital was hit with Shahed drones on Wednesday for a third time in six days, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration

“The enemy’s tactics also remain usual and unchanged — with the onset of darkness, the terrorist country launched its barrage munitions from different directions,” Popko said on Telegram. 

In eastern Ukraine: Another drone attack set fire to a building in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional military chief Serhiy Lysak. He said the Ukrainian air force had shot down seven drones over Dnipropetrovsk and emergency services were working to determine the impact of the attack.

In central Ukraine: Three drone strikes hit the Kirovohrad region, setting an oil depot on fire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had no conversations with the White House after a trove of classified US intelligence documents were posted on social media, he told The Washington Post Monday.

In an interview with the Post, Zelensky said he learned about the Pentagon leak through news coverage and claimed he “did not receive information from the White House or the Pentagon beforehand.”

“We did not have that information. I personally did not. It’s definitely a bad story,” he said, calling it “unprofitable” for Ukraine, as well as “also not beneficial to the reputation of the White House, and I believe it is not beneficial to the reputation of the United States.”

A US official told CNN, “We are in constant communication with our Ukrainian counterparts about a range of issues, including over the unauthorized disclosures, but we aren’t going to get into the details of those private discussions.”

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Tuesday he couldn’t speak to Zelensky’s claims, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “conducted a large number of phone calls” to allies and partners, including to Austin’s Ukrainian counterpart, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

“I don’t want to speak for President Zelensky. … The United States, the Department of Defense, we remain committed to working very closely with Ukraine and our international allies and partners to ensure that they have the security assistance they need to be able to defend their country and take back their sovereign territory,” Ryder said.

The documents allegedly leaked by 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira appeared to catch the Biden administration flat-footed, disclosing a blunt US intelligence assessment of the war in Ukraine, as well as details revealing US intelligence collection on allies.

Read more here.

A large fire broke out at an oil storage facility in southwestern Russia near a key bridge linking the country to Crimea, a Russian official said Wednesday.

In a Telegram post, Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said the blaze in the port of Volna “was of the worst severity” but had been contained. No casualties were reported, he added.

The facility is located close to the Kerch bridge that was set ablaze by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. It is unclear how the fuel storage tank caught fire. 

Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Yurii Sobolevskyi, first deputy head of Ukraine’s Kherson regional council, said he doesn’t think a specific date will be announced for an expected counteroffensive in the south.

“In fact, what the Ukrainian Armed Forces are doing in our southern sector may be considered a counteroffensive: maintaining fire control, constantly destroying military targets, and reducing the enemy’s combat capability,” he said.

He expressed optimism that Ukraine will be able to take back its territory from Russia.

“Because what is happening now in the temporarily occupied territory is just a nightmare. This should not happen in the 21st century. These are torture chambers, forced passportization, and deportation of children, etc.,” he alleged. 

“All Ukrainians now have a single wish: our victory and peace, because Ukraine never wanted war, and now it is forced to defend itself. We want everything to end in our victory so that we can resume our lives, the development of our country in the European family and the entire civilized world. For me personally, this is important because our people, the people of Kherson, are there [on the occupied territories] now, and I feel responsible for them as well. It is very hard indeed for our people in the temporarily occupied territories,” Sobolevskyi said.

Remember: In November 2022, Ukrainian troops advanced through much of the city of Kherson and its surrounding area, forcing Russian fighters to retreat to the Dnipro River’s east bank.

The White House on Tuesday offered rare praise for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after he said he supports aid to Ukraine and called out Russian atrocities resulting from the invasion.

“We’re glad to hear that Speaker McCarthy agrees it is vital to keep supporting Ukraine. It was good to hear him push back on propaganda put forth by Russian state news outlets, as we have seen,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during the press briefing. 

In Israel on Monday, a Russian reporter asked McCarthy if the US posture of sending supplies and aid to Ukraine will change and implied that the speaker did not support Ukraine.

“Did he say I don’t support aid to Ukraine? No. I voted for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine. I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine. I do not support your killing of the children either. And I think for one standpoint, you should pull out, and I don’t think it’s right. And we will continue to support, because the rest of the world sees it just as it is,” he said. 

While McCarthy has said he supports Ukraine, he has also told reporters he would not support “a blank check” for aid requested by the Biden administration. 

On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre underscored that “the widespread bipartisan support that we’ve seen in Congress for Ukraine has been critical to those efforts, and we agree that it is important for that support to continue. And we’re glad to hear that from Speaker McCarthy.”

The United States wants to see China press Russia to end its war in Ukraine, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Tuesday.

“What we need to see from China is to push Russia to withdraw its troops and so that Ukraine can have all of its territory back and can be fully sovereign again in all aspects of that word,” Burns said at an event at the foreign affairs think tank Stimson Center, which he attended virtually.

“It’d be helpful if China pushed Russia to cease bombing of Ukrainian schools, and Ukrainian hospitals, and Ukrainian apartment buildings. We’ve seen a tremendous loss of life just in the last month or two under this vicious Russian aerial assault and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians,” he continued. “So I think that’s what we would like and I’m sure that’s what the European countries would like, that’s what Ukraine wants from China.”

Burns said the recent conversation between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “a good first step,” but it’s unclear if any action will follow it.

“We would like to see China be much more tough-minded in its advice to the Russians. We’d like to see action to end the war as quickly as possible in terms, of course, that the Ukrainian government can accept,” he said.

Burns said the US has been watching the issue of China potentially providing lethal aid to Russia “very carefully now for many months.”

“We have not seen evidence that the Chinese are doing that, but we continue to watch it,” he said.

Some context: Beijing has claimed neutrality on the war in Ukraine, but has not condemned Russia’s invasion and instead bolstered its economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow over the past year.

Russia is not aware of the Vatican’s mission to help resolve the conflict with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian official close to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office also told CNN Monday that Kyiv has “no knowledge” of a peace mission involving the Vatican.

“President Zelensky has not consented to any such discussions on Ukraine’s behalf,” the official said. “If talks are happening, they are happening without our knowledge or our blessing”.

Pope’s remarks: These comments come after Pope Francis on Sunday told journalists the Vatican is part of a mission to end the war in Ukraine. “The mission is in the course now, but it is not yet public,” he said after a three-day trip to Hungary.

“When it is public, I will reveal it,” the pope added.

Washington has “absolutely no way” to give accurate estimates of Russian losses in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. 

“Washington has absolutely no way to give any correct numbers, and this is how it should be treated. You need to focus on the numbers that the Ministry of Defense will publish in due time,” Peskov said in response to CNN’s question on a daily call.

The White House on Monday estimated the Russian military has suffered at least 100,000 casualties in Ukraine in the past five months, including more than 20,000 dead, half of which were Wagner fighters. The US is defining the term “casualty” as both wounded and killed.  

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not released updates on the casualties since last September, when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed. 

On Tuesday, Shoigu appeared to issue a rebuttal to the US claim, saying, “despite the unprecedented military assistance from Western countries, the enemy is suffering significant losses. Over the past month alone, they have lost more than 15,000 people.”