May 4, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

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

China’s foreign minister told his Russian counterpart on Thursday that Beijing would “maintain communication and coordination” with Moscow during efforts to reach a “political settlement” to the Ukraine conflict.

“China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to make tangible political contributions to the political settlement of the crisis,” Qin Gang told Sergei Lavrov at the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Goa, India, according to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Beijing has so far refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or call for a withdrawal of its troops, instead urging restraint by “all parties” and accusing NATO of fueling the conflict. It has also continued to deepen diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow.

A vaguely-worded “political settlement” to the conflict released by China on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion has been widely viewed in the West and Kyiv as being far more favorable to Russia than Ukraine. It calls for a ceasefire but includes no provision that Moscow first withdraw its troops from Ukrainian land, which Ukrainian officials have suggested is necessary for them to engage in negotiations.

During the previous meeting between the two foreign ministers on April 13, Qin told Lavrov that all parties need to take action to build mutual trust and create conditions for peace talks.

The head of Russian private military company Wagner has launched an expletive-filled verbal attack on Kremlin officials in a graphic new video in which he appears beside what he says are the bodies of his mercenaries killed fighting in Ukraine.

“These guys here are Wagner PMC [men] who died today. The blood is still fresh. Film all of them!” Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says in the video posted to social media.

Prigozhin last month threatened to withdraw his mercenaries from the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut if they don’t receive more munitions to continue the fight.

In the new video, he reiterated his call for munitions, urging Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed forces Valery Gerasimov to look at the bodies.

“These are someone’s f**king fathers and someone’s sons. And you f**kers who aren’t giving [us] ammunition, you b*tches, will have your guts eaten out in hell!”, Prigozhin says in the video. “You sit there in your luxury clubs, your kids are addicted to shooting clips for YouTube. You think you are the masters of this life? You think you can dispose of their lives? If you have warehouses full of ammunition, then you do.”

Prigozhin, whose forces have played a key role in Russian assaults on Ukrainian territory, has often clashed with Putin’s generals and other defense officials in Moscow.

He has complained for well over a month of receiving insufficient support from the Kremlin in the grueling fight for Bakhmut.

“This is simple math,” he says in the video. “If you give the normal amount of ammunition, there would be five times less [dead]. They came here as volunteers and are dying so you can sit like fat cats in your luxury offices.”

Russia and the United States are on what Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called “the verge of an open armed conflict.” But Ryabkov told Russia’s state-owned First Channel that “Moscow is working to make sure it doesn’t happen,” according to state news agency TASS. 

Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington are in contact as needed, including at a high level, but also added that “Washington has long been a direct party to the Ukrainian conflict and aims to destroy sovereign Russia,” TASS reported.  

Some context: The news comes on the heels of Russia’s claim that the US was involved in an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin. Both allegations drew sharp denials from Kyiv and Washington.

John Kirby, the National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, called Russia’s allegation that the US directed Ukraine to carry out such an attack “ridiculous.”

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US did not know who was responsible.

“I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt,” he said at a Washington Post event Wednesday.

A Pentagon spokesperson denied US involvement in the purported drone attack on the Kremlin and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson of lying. 

“I would just tell you Mr. (Dmitry) Peskov’s lying. I mean, it’s obviously a ludicrous claim. The United States had nothing to do with this. We don’t even know what happened here,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. “But I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever.”

The White House still has no indication who was behind the drone attack and said the White House does not “endorse, we do not encourage, we do not support attacks on individual leaders,” Kirby added. 

Meanwhile, Russia unleashed its worst attacks on Kyiv in a year, Ukraine’s military said. It’s the third time in four days missiles and drones hit the city.

The barrage came after Moscow accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone strike at the Kremlin overnight on Wednesday, allegations Kyiv has vehemently denied.

“Our city has not experienced such a heavy intensity of attacks since the beginning of this year! Last night, the aggressor launched another large-scale air strike on the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram.

Here are the latest developments:

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) shot down Thursday night over Kyiv was a Kyiv asset that appeared to have malfunctioned, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. It was taken out by Ukraine’s military in order to prevent any incident or accident, Ukraine’s air force said on Facebook.

A Bayraktar TB2 UAV lost control during a scheduled flight in the Kyiv region at about 8 p.m. local time on Thursday night, the agency said in a statement.

Because the “uncontrolled presence” of a UAV in the sky above the capital “could lead to undesirable consequences, It was decided to use mobile fire teams” to destroy the UAV, the statement read.

The statement also says the incident was likely due to a technical malfunction, adding the cause of the incident was being investigated.

“There were no casualties or injures as a result of the combat operation and the fall of the UAV wreckage,” the Ukraine Air Force said.

The agency called the downing of the UAV a “pity,” adding “but this is technology, and such cases do happen.”

The tight ring of security that surrounds the seat of the Russian presidency was punctured in dramatic fashion by what appeared to be two attempted drone strikes in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Many details about the incident remain murky. Here’s what we know – and the questions that remain:

What happened? Moscow said the alleged attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday. Two “unmanned aerial vehicles” were intercepted and destroyed before they caused any damage or injury, the Kremlin said. The Russian president was not in the building at the time, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Videos then emerged on social media appearing to show the incident. CNN analysis of these videos supports Moscow’s claim that two drones were flown above the Kremlin.

Who’s saying what? The Kremlin blamed Ukraine, describing the purported drone attack as an “attempt on the President’s life.” On Thursday, Russia also claimed the US was involved in the attack. Both allegations drew sharp denials from Kyiv and Washington.

Who else could be responsible? One possibility is that the incident was the work of Russian partisans – as claimed by former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev who’s linked with militant groups in Russia. Others speculate that the incident could have been a false flag operation to either rally the public or escalate Russia’s military mobilization. US officials have also said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

What happens next? Moscow already launched a wave of missiles at Kyiv following the incident, a move in line with its playbook after previous flashpoints in the war. And messages written on Russian drones launched at Odesa overnight read “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin,” according to the Ukrainian military, an apparent reference to the alleged attack.

US and Ukrainian officials have in the past warned that Russia has planned so-called “false flag” attacks along Russia’s border with Ukraine as a pretext for military escalation and Russia has also been embarrassed in recent months by symbolic incidents, such as the sinking of the guided-missile cruiser Moskva. Moscow is also looking to project strength by following through with its planned Victory Day parade. Peskov reiterated that the parade would go ahead as planned.

But while Russia has on occasion used missile bombardments around Ukraine to show its anger following flashpoints in the conflict, the ground fighting in eastern Ukraine has been bogged down in stalemate for months and it appears unlikely that Wednesday’s incident will have a material impact on momentum.

Russia has dismissed claims that it deployed military equipment and explosives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate accused Russia of placing weapons, explosives and military equipment in one of the power plant’s units. The Inspectorate said it received the information during its weekly meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency representatives a day earlier.

“In the event of an emergency situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP with a potentially possible release of radioactive substances into the environment, the consequences will be felt not only by Ukraine — but they will also have a cross-border nature,” the inspectorate said. 

It called on the international community “for a consolidated and decisive response to the actions of the aggressor country.”

Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-appointed military-civilian administration in occupied Zaporizhzhia, called the claims “a lie.”

“We do not use the nuclear power plant as a military facility — this has already been proven by everyone and confirmed more than once,” Rogov told Russian state news agency TASS. 

Where things stand at the facility: Russian forces continue to control the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, but the plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian staff. The plant has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense shelling in the area, raising fears of a nuclear accident.

Technical personnel from the United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet in Istanbul on May 5 to discuss the grain corridor, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said Thursday.

After the meeting of the delegations, deputy ministers will gather next week in Istanbul, Akar said. The grain corridor deal is set to end on May 18 and talks aim to extend it.

“The impression we have received from the meetings and speeches is that these works will result in a positive outcome. We work for it, we strive for it,” the official said.

A meeting of deputy ministers had originally been announced for May 5 but Akar said “the necessity of holding a meeting” with the technical personnel before the other meeting had emerged.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down by Kyiv air defense forces, the city’s military administration said Thursday evening on Telegram.

“During the recent air alert, an unmanned aerial vehicle was spotted over Kyiv city. The object was shot down by air defense forces. There is no information on casualties or damage to housing or infrastructure,” Kyiv City Military Administration said, adding that further information is being clarified.

There were explosions and a fire in the Solomianka residential district of Kyiv city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post, adding that it could be debris from the UAV. Emergency services are on the scene, according to Klitschko. 

“In Solomianka district, rescuers are localizing a fire in a 4-story building. The area of the fire is 50 square meters (538 square feet),” he added. “No one has sought medical help so far.”

Air raid alerts went into force for a short period on Thursday evening in Kyiv, according to CNN’s team on the ground.

CNN’s team in the Ukrainian capital heard explosions during the air raid alerts, which sounded like the city’s air defense systems were in action. 

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that “a large number” of Ukrainian minors have been “displaced” to Russia and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, and Moscow “manifestly violated” the interests of these children, according to its report released Thursday.

The report looked into the alleged Russian deportation of Ukrainian children since the start of the war in February 2022.

Though the team of experts were not able to determine the exact number of children Russian forces deported, “the fact of a large-scale displacement of Ukrainian children does not seem disputed by either Ukraine or Russia,” the report said. 

Ukrainian officials told OSCE experts they estimated the number of “kidnapped” children to be between 200,000 and 300,000. 

“Numerous and overlapping violations of the rights of the children deported to the Russian Federation have taken place. Not only has the Russian Federation manifestly violated the best interests of these children repeatedly, it has also denied their right to identity, their right to family, their right to unite with their family as well as violated their rights to education, access to information, right to rest, leisure, play, recreation and participation in cultural life and arts as well as right to thought, conscience and religion, right to health, and the right to liberty and security,” the OSCE Moscow Mechanism mission of experts wrote to the OSCE Permanent Council in their report. 

The report also found that the three most common reasons for the organized displacement of children are, “the evacuation for security reasons, the transfer for the purpose of adoption or foster care, and temporary stays in the so-called recreation camps,”

The team of experts led by Professor Veronika Bílková, Dr. Cecilie Hellestveit and Dr. Elīna Šteinerte found that Ukrainian children taken by Russian forces “are exposed to pro-Russian information campaigns often amounting to targeted re-education.”

“The Russian Federation does not take any steps to actively promote the return of Ukrainian children. Rather, it creates various obstacles for families seeking to get their children back,” the experts added.

The report “further exposed the abhorrent actions carried out at the behest of the Russian leadership, said Deirdre Brown, UK Acting Ambassador to the OSCE. “The report indicates figures in the several thousands, with the true figure likely to be far higher.”

“Russia’s intention is clear. It is attempting to forcibly and permanently alter the demographic makeup of Ukraine,” Brown added.

In late March 2023, the United States and 44 other countries in the OSCE invoked a special mechanism to investigate alleged human rights violations by Russia during its war in Ukraine, “particularly with regard to the forced transfer and deportation of children by the Russian Federation.” 

According to the US and several European governments, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration has carried out a scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, often to a network of dozens of camps, where the minors undergo political reeducation.  

The International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier in March issued arrest warrants for Putin and another Russian officials related to this reported forced deportation. 

The OSCE does not have the authority to legally punish Russia if it finds evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but their facts can be given to other bodies that do have that authority. Both Russia and Ukraine are members of the 57 nation OSCE. 

Russia has previously denied it is doing anything illegal, claiming it is bringing Ukrainian children to safety.

This week’s alleged drone attack on the Kremlin has handed Moscow an opportunity to rally Russians to support President Vladimir Putin against those who would harm him.

Ukraine officials immediately warned the attacks might be exploited by Russia to launch even more vicious assaults on Ukrainians, and Putin’s forces have already unleashed their worst attacks on Kyiv in a year, according to the Ukrainian military.

Throughout its history, Russia — and the Soviet Union before it — has used “false flag” operations, carrying out aggressive actions while blaming its enemies.

In 1999, just months before Putin was elected president for the first time, Russia was hit with a wave of apartment bombings that killed more than 300 people. Then-Prime Minister Putin cited the bombings to justify launching the Second Chechen War.

His tough approach helped him win the presidency, but suspicion still lingers about who really was behind the bombings.

In the case of the alleged drone attacks, the Putin regime has already spent the past year blaming Kyiv, NATO and the United States for the war in Ukraine. Does it really need another excuse to try to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?

That isn’t stopping former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now vice chair of Russia’s National Security Council, from claiming it is time to “physically eliminate” Zelensky.

“There are no options left other than the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique,” Medvedev wrote on Twitter, where he posts frequently. “He is not even needed to sign the act of unconditional capitulation. Hitler, as you know, did not sign it either.”

Medvedev neglected to note that Russia tried, and failed, to eliminate the Ukrainian president in the initial stages of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Read more here.

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited Paul Whelan on Thursday— her first visit to the detained American since taking up the post in Moscow earlier this year.

“His release remains an absolute priority,” the US Embassy in Moscow said on Twitter. 

Whelan is serving out his prison sentence at a prison camp in Mordovia, an eight-hour drive from Moscow.

Background on Whelan’s case: The American citizen, who also holds Irish, British and Canadian citizenship, was detained in Russia in December 2018 and later sentenced to 16 years in prison on an espionage charge, which he strongly denies. 

In an interview with CNN in December, Whelan described the prison camp as “better than most in Russia because it’s mostly foreigners held here, but the conditions are extremely bad.”

Although Thursday was Tracy’s first in-person visit, she has spoken by phone with Whelan in the past. The US government was unable to secure Whelan’s release last year when they brought home two other wrongfully detained Americans: Trevor Reed in April and Brittney Griner in December.

Other detained Americans: Whelan is one of two Americans still in Russia who has been designated as wrongfully detained. The other, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, was imprisoned more than a month ago.

Read more here.

The United States still does not have information needed to provide an assessment on this week’s alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

“You’ve seen the Ukrainian government deny their having engaged in this. And, at this stage we don’t have information that would allow us to provide an independent assessment on this,” Haines said.

In an exchange with Sen. Tom Cotton at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Haines confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not “spend the night at the Kremlin all that much” and that Ukraine denied the attack, whereas in past attacks against Russia, Ukraine has been “ambiguous or silent about responsibility for the attacks.”

“Perhaps some grounds to think that maybe these claims are exaggerated,” Cotton said.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier said Russia’s claim that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin with American assistance was likely “misinformation.”

Some background: CNN analysis of videos showing the incident support the Kremlin’s claim that two drones were flown above the government compound early Wednesday, but did not show evidence it was a Ukrainian attack.

Ukraine has flatly denied any involvement, saying it only strikes within its own territory and is not launching attacks in Russia. The White House has called the Kremlin’s accusation that it was involved in an attempt on Putin’s life “ridiculous.”

Russia will likely not be able to mount a “significant offensive operation this year” due to munitions and manpower shortages — whether or not the Ukrainian counteroffensive is successful, according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

“In fact, if Russia does not initiate a mandatory mobilization and secure substantial third-party ammunition supplies beyond existing deliveries from Iran and others, it will be increasingly challenging for them to sustain even modest offensive operations,” Haines testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Putin “probably” has scaled back his near-term ambitions in Ukraine to consider a victory “to consolidate control of the occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine, and ensuring that Ukraine will never become a NATO ally,” Haines added.

Despite this assessment, Haines said it wasn’t very likely that Russia negotiates a pause this year unless political factors “alter his thinking.”

Haines also noted that Russian forces are preparing “new defensive positions” for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and have “gained less territory in April than during any of the three previous months.”

Here’s where the state of Russian control in Ukrainian territory stands:

There is a “persistent and significant risk” that Russia could target critical allied infrastructure, including undersea internet cables, as part of its war on Ukraine, David Cattler, NATO’s assistant secretary general for intelligence and security, said.

“There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life and gain leverage against those nations that are providing support to Ukraine,” Cattler told reporters on Wednesday. 

According to Cattler, more than 95% of international internet traffic is transmitted through roughly 400 undersea cables. These cables “carry an estimated 10 trillion US dollars worth of financial transactions every day,” he said, adding that they are an “economic linchpin.”

While Russia is “actively mapping” this infrastructure, Cattler said, “China is another significant actor on the seabed.” Beijing, Cattler added, is working towards developing its own undersea infrastructure rather than “extensively testing the vulnerabilities of other nations’.”

NATO allies are monitoring the situation closely, Cattler stated. “This is really a holistic, multi-spectrum, multi-domain threat set when it comes to critical infrastructure. Cooperation between the private sector and NATO and allied governance is really crucial in order to have a clear threat picture,” he said.

A Pentagon spokesperson denied US involvement in the purported drone attack on the Kremlin and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson of lying. 

“I would just tell you Mr. (Dmitry) Peskov’s lying. I mean, it’s obviously a ludicrous claim. The United States had nothing to do with this. We don’t even know what happened here,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. “But I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever.”

The White House still has no indication who was behind the drone attack and said the White House does not “endorse, we do not encourage, we do not support attacks on individual leaders,” Kirby added. 

Russia has accused Washington of being behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against Putin, the latest in a series of extraordinary allegations over Wednesday’s incident.

“We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington. And Kyiv is already executing what it is told to do,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, without providing any evidence.

Belgium is preparing a new package of military aid for Ukraine as Russia’s war continues, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Thursday.

“As we know, in these military aid packages, there are often practical obstacles. But I can tell you that there is not a single doubt in any of the Belgian hearts and minds that we need to continue to support Ukraine,” De Croo told a news conference in The Hague alongside Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. 

De Croo also said Belgium was examining how seized Russian assets could be “fully” used to support Ukraine’s war effort, as well as to aid the reconstruction of the war-torn country. 

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday that while there were “no taboos” when it came to military support for Ukraine, the question of whether NATO would supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets remained unresolved. “We are not there yet,” he added. 

Remember: Ukraine has been lobbying for US-made fighter jets for several months, with officials arguing they are needed to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks. 

Ukraine’s message is that it will be a NATO member after the war has ended, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

“We are realistic and know that we will not be in NATO during the war. But during the war we want to get a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war,” Zelensky said in a joint news conference in the Netherlands with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

Zelensky said that while Ukraine has received “some positive messages” from countries who support it, “we need something more.”

“I think that our friends will support us and see us in NATO,” the Ukrainian president added.

Remember: Part of Russia’s premise for its invasion of Ukraine was to fend off NATO from expanding close to its borders. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said, “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.” Even though Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, and NATO has insisted that it is not a party to the conflict, the bloc has played a critical role in supporting Kyiv, donating billions in military aid and other support.

At the news conference, Zelensky also appealed for its allies to deliver their promised weapons to Kyiv as quickly as possible. “The most important thing now is to deliver what was promised to our soldiers as quickly as possible.”

The US and Ukraine have vehemently denied Moscow’s unsubstantiated claims that both parties led an alleged drone strike targeting the Kremlin and assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of heated exchanges between Ukraine and its Western allies and Russia over the incident on Wednesday.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukrainian air defenses withstood Russia’s most intense wave of air attacks on Kyiv since the start of the year overnight into Thursday, the capital region’s military chief said.

“Our city has not experienced such a heavy intensity of attacks since the beginning of this year! Last night, the aggressor launched another large-scale air strike on the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram.

All Russian missiles and drones “were destroyed in Kyiv airspace by our air defense forces,” Popko said after Moscow’s forces attacked the city with “Shahed-type barrage munitions and missiles, presumably ballistic.”

There were no civilian casualties or damage to residential buildings and infrastructure, he added.

Blasts heard: Explosions were heard in Kyiv and Odesa early Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian parliament member Oleksii Honcharenko.

Kyiv’s regional military administration said air defenses were activated in Kyiv, and a map by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation showed air alerts were sounded in most of the eastern half of the country.

John Kirby, the National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, called accusations from Russia that the US directed Ukraine to carry out an alleged Kremlin drone attack and assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin “ridiculous.”

His remarks came after Moscow spokesperson Dmitry Peskov alleged without any evidence that the US was behind the purported drone attack, and suggested the Ukrainian government was implementing decisions made in Washington.

“We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington. And Kyiv is already executing what it is told to do,” Peskov said on Thursday. “Such attempts to disown this both in Kyiv and in Washington are, of course, absolutely ridiculous.”

Ukraine vehemently denied responsibility for the alleged incident on Wednesday, as a series of extraordinary allegations from Moscow inflamed tensions between the two sides even further.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Russia not to intensify attacks on Ukraine, after Moscow accused Kyiv of targeting the Kremlin in an alleged drone strike and assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin.

“We call Russia not to use this alleged attack as an excuse to continue the escalation of the war. This is what worries us,” Borrell told reporters in Brussels. 

“What worries us is this can be used in order to justify more conscription of people, soldiers, more attacks on Ukraine.”

Borrell added that the “only solution for the war” is to support Ukraine “militarily, politically and economically.”

His remarks came as the Kremlin accused Ukraine of following orders by the US to carry out the alleged attack.

Ukraine on Wednesday denied any involvement in the strike. US officials said earlier this week they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

Russia has accused Washington of being behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of extraordinary allegations over the incident on Wednesday.

When asked by CNN if the Kremlin believed the US was behind the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Undoubtedly, Such decisions, the definition of goals, the definition of means – all this is dictated to Kyiv from Washington.” 

“We are well aware of this,” he added.

“We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington. And Kyiv is already executing what it is told to do,” Peskov said. 
“Such attempts to disown this both in Kyiv and in Washington are, of course, absolutely ridiculous.”

The Kremlin spokesperson doubled down on the accusations, without providing any evidence, expanding on Russia’s view of how these decisions are made.

“We know that it is often not even Kyiv who determines the goals themselves, they are determined in Washington, and then these goals are brought to Kyiv so that Kyiv fulfils [those tasks],” Peskov said. “Not every time Kyiv is given the right to choose the means, this is also often ordered from across the ocean.”

“Washington must clearly understand that we know this,” he added.

Peskov did not provide any evidence to his claims, nor additional details regarding the alleged attack, saying that information would be released later.

He also told journalists Putin is “calm,” despite the alleged attack and assassination attempt.

“You know that in such difficult, extreme situations, the president always remains calm, collected, clear in his assessments, in the commands he gives out,” he added. “Therefore, nothing changed in this regard.”

He told CNN during the call with reporters that the alleged strike damaged two of the Senate Palace’s copper sheets, which will be repaired.

Some background: Earlier this week, Russia claimed Ukraine launched a drone strike targeting the Kremlin in an attempt to kill Putin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow.

Ukraine has strongly denied involvement in the alleged strike.

US officials said earlier that they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

CNN’s Sebastian Shukla, Nathan Hodge, Matthew Chance and Katharina Krebs contributed reporting.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra said the Netherlands will do “everything in their power” to make sure Russia is “being held to account” over the war in Ukraine, before President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the World Forum in a speech highlighting atrocities allegedly committed by Moscow.

“Children are being kidnapped every single day, every single day. And these are ordinary innocent people who have done nothing to deserve this terrible fate,” Hoekstra said in an introductory speech.

“And we can never accept this. And we will do everything in our power to ensure that Russia is being held to account,” Hoekstra added.

“Together with all those who want peace and believe in justice.”

Hoekstra’s remarks preceded Zelensky’s comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin “deserves to be sentenced” for Moscow’s invasion.

“Of course we want to see Vladimir here in the Hague,” Zelensky said while speaking at the World Forum. “The one who deserves to be sentenced for these criminal actions right here in the capital of the international law.”

Remember: The ICC has launched several war crimes investigations over alleged atrocities committed by Moscow, issuing arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a member of Putin’s government.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin “deserves to be sentenced” for Moscow’s invasion, during a speech at the International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in the Netherlands where the ongoing conflict was likely at the top of his agenda.

“Of course we want to see Vladimir here in the Hague,” Zelensky said while speaking at the World Forum. “The one who deserves to be sentenced for these criminal actions right here in the capital of the international law.”

“I’m sure we will see that happen when we win and we will win and when we win not just on the battlefield, not just against this aggression. Look at how countries around the world are coming together to help Ukrainians defend themselves, whatever their heart have this desire to help the feeling that more than the fate of one country is at stake,” he said.

Some background: The ICC has launched several war crimes investigations linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Kyiv, allied officials and the media have reported alleged atrocities committed by Moscow’s troops.

In March, the court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a member of Putin’s government, for an alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

At the same time, the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan told CNN he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin could stand trial for alleged crimes committed during the conflict, despite Moscow’s arguments that it is not subject to the court’s decisions.

CNN’s Rob Picheta, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Caitlin Hu contributed reporting.

Russia’s federal investigative authority is launching a probe into fires at oil facilities in the southwestern Rostov region, after Moscow accused Ukraine of hitting the depots in a series of targeted attacks.

According to a statement published by the Russian Investigative Committee on Telegram, the investigation will focus on the fires at the Novoshakhtinsk oil products plant in Rostov among other “criminal actions by the Armed formations of Ukraine.”

Kyiv has not commented on the fires.

The Russian Investigative Committee said an unmanned aerial vehicle “crashed into the structures of the plant’s inter-workshop flyover under construction,” on Wednesday night.

“The fire that resulted from the explosion was immediately extinguished. There were no casualties or injuries, and minor damage was caused to structures,” the statement commented.

The committee said it will also be investigating an unmanned aerial vehicle attack on a water tower in the Belgorod Region, as well as a fire that broke out at an oil refinery in the village of Ilsky in the Krasnodar region. It said it believed the blaze was caused by an attack of an “unknown unmanned aerial vehicle.”

Some context: Border attacks between Moscow and Kyiv have been ramping up in recent weeks. They included civilian and infrastructure targets and suggest an attempt to exhaust each other ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive.

Russia launched its most forceful air bombardment on Kyiv since the start of the year, the Kyiv City Military Administration said, adding that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all of the missiles aiming at the capital.

The barrage of attacks followed Moscow’s allegations that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone strike at the Kremlin overnight on Wednesday, accusations Kyiv has vehemently denied.

Here are the latest developments:

The death toll has risen to 23 following Russian shelling of the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine and its surrounding villages on Wednesday, the regional military chief said Thursday.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration said on Telegram that another 46 people were injured, including two children.

Russian forces shelled Kherson 16 times, including its residential area, he said. More than 80 shells hit Pryvokzalna Square, a railway station and crossing, a gas station, two stores, a factory and a car repair shop, he added.

The regional military administration has declared Thursday through Saturday as days of mourning, he added.

Following the shelling Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The world needs to see and know this.”

“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.”

Messages written on Russian drones launched at Odesa overnight read “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin,” according to the Ukrainian military, an apparent reference to an alleged assassination attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Photos released by Ukraine’s Southern Command show the messages written on two tails of the drones, which the command said showed the apparent “reason for the attack.”

According to the Southern Command, 15 Shahed-131/136 drones were fired at Odesa, of which 12 were destroyed by air defense forces and mobile fire groups. The other three struck dormitories of an educational institution.

Kremlin incident: Ukraine has denied any involvement in what Russia says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against Putin early Wednesday morning.

Video on social media shows a bright flash and a puff of smoke over a part of the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow. Putin was not in the building at the time, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied the accusations, saying during a news conference: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”

US officials said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

Meanwhile, A former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in the country told CNN the alleged attack was the work of Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian military. 

Fire broke out a petroleum plant in southwestern Russia on Wednesday night after a drone attack, according to a regional governor — the third apparent Ukrainian strike on a Russian fuel depot in two days.

The drone crashed into the construction site of an overpass at the Novoshakhtinsk plant near the village of Kiselevka, Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said on Telegram on Thursday.

Staff at the plant immediately extinguished the fire, he added.

No casualties or injuries were reported and the strike caused little damage to the facilities, Golubev said. 

It is unclear who is responsible for the alleged attack. 

Oil targeted: According to Russian state media and officials, the alleged attack is the third such strike launched by Ukraine against fuel depots inside Russian territory in the past two days.

A fire broke out at the Ilsky oil refinery in the southwestern Krasnodar region, caused by “an attack by an unknown drone,” state-run news agency Tass reported earlier Thursday. There were no casualties, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratiev.

And on Wednesday, Russian state media reported a drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed an oil storage facility in the port of Volna, also in Krasnodar.

That 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.

Ukraine has not commented on the incidents.

Some context: CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh writes that Ukraine is apparently striking at fuel depots in Russian-occupied areas and inside Russia itself — seemingly precise attacks but ones to which Kyiv is making no overt claim.

Increased cross-border attacks from both Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks appear to be an attempt to weaken each other ahead of a long anticipated spring offensive.

Ukraine’s Air Force destroyed 18 of 24 drones fired by Russia on Wednesday night, it said in a statement released early Thursday.

“On (Wednesday night), the enemy again attacked with Shaheds from the north (Bryansk region) and from the south - the eastern coast of the Azov Sea,” the statement said. “This time, the Air Force, in cooperation with the air defense of other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, destroyed 18 attack UAVs.”

Intense attacks: Explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv and Odesa early Thursday morning, with air defenses activated and people told to stay in safe places until air alerts stopped ringing, according to Ukrainian officials.

The capital region’s military chief said Ukrainian air defenses withstood Russia’s most intense air attack on Kyiv since the start of the year overnight and into Thursday morning, and destroyed all Russian missiles and drones.

There were no civilian casualties or damage to residential buildings and infrastructure, he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday to deliver a speech at The Hague on Thursday, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS. 

Zelensky’s speech is titled “No Peace Without Justice.”

Later Thursday, he will visit the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine are being investigated, NOS reported.

Zelensky traveled to the Netherlands from Finland, where he met with his Finnish and other Nordic counterparts on Wednesday.

In a statement ahead of that meeting, the Finnish president said the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland planned to discuss the war in Ukraine and Kyiv’s “initiative for a just peace.”

Ukraine has vehemently denied Russia’s allegation that it attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone strike at the Kremlin overnight on Wednesday,

Moscow said Putin was not in the building at the time of the attack.

Meanwhile, a former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in the country told CNN the attack was the work of what he calls Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian military. 

Here are the latest developments:

Explosions were heard in Kyiv and Odesa early Thursday morning, said Oleksii Honcharenko, a 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 activated 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 southwestern Krasnodar region, state-run news agency Tass reported early Thursday.

Citing emergency services, Tass said the fire was caused by 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.

There were no casualties, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratiev, 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.

Fuel to the fire: It comes after Russian state media on Wednesday said a drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed an oil storage facility in the port of Volna in Krasnodar.

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

That 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.

A former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in Russia claims an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin on Wednesday was 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 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.”

Ukraine has denied any involvement in the alleged drone strike.

More on partisans: 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 focused 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 alleged drone attacks inside Russia are a “new line of operation” for the groups, which he says pose a “real threat.”

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. 

For days now, the blasts have echoed the condition each country’s military is in.

Ukraine is apparently striking at fuel depots in Russian-occupied areas and inside Russia itself — seemingly precise attacks but ones to which Kyiv is making no overt claim.

Russia has been lashing out at what often seem to be civilian targets in Ukraine, either in rage or through ineptitude. In Uman, more than 20 people died; in Pavlohrad, there were two dead and many injured.

In Kherson on Wednesday, three were killed when a crowded hypermarket was hit at 11 in the morning. And in Zaporizhzhia, two rockets slammed into a quiet residential garden that same overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, leaving a crater in a genteel, freshly sculpted lawn.

Nobody died in this last strike, but perhaps only because the first missile sent two families rushing for cover before the second struck.

During the night, the city of Zaporizhzhia was blasted with repeated air raid sirens — a familiar noise in the past months, but this time accompanied by explosions, suggesting Moscow’s escalation, as Russian forces apparently send S300 missiles into cities, according to local officials and accounts.

We don’t often know when Russia hits a military target in Ukraine, but the number of strikes on civilian targets suggests either extreme negligence and inaccuracy, or a tactic of intentionally terrifying ordinary people.

A pattern is forming, outside of Moscow’s repeated disregard for human life. Night by night, each side appears to be trying to weaken the other.

The Ukrainian strikes have hit obvious infrastructure targets — railroad tracks, huge fuel depots — which suggest both how researched their coming campaign is, and how poorly prepared Russia is. It is still, for the most part, doing things in the same old, obvious way.

The signals ahead of Ukraine’s long-heralded counteroffensive are getting louder. For two weeks, a slight uptick in clashes has been reported by pro-Russian officials along the Zaporizhzhia front lines, through which Kyiv’s forces will likely have to push if they are to separate the occupied peninsula of Crimea from the rest of occupied Ukraine — a key strategic goal. It is unclear if this uptick is Ukraine probing, or business as usual — and that is entirely the point.

Read the full analysis here.

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’s in the package:

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.

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

The Kremlin said the attack was foiled and the alleged drones destroyed. Video that appeared on social media shows a bright flash and a puff of smoke over a part of the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow.

In a statement, the Kremlin said it regarded the alleged attack as terrorism and a deliberate attempt on Putin’s life. “Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” it added.

Ukraine denied involvement in the alleged strike. “As President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its own territory, not to attack others,” the Ukrainian presidential spokesman, Sergiy Nykyforov, told CNN on Wednesday.

US officials said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible. Whatever the truth, any admission of a security breach at the heart of the Kremlin is remarkable.

Moscow said the alleged attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday. The Russian president was not in the building at the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

CNN analysis of video showing the incident support the Kremlin’s claim that two drones were flown above the Kremlin early Wednesday, but did not show evidence of Ukrainian involvement:

Read more here.