May 30, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

Ukrainian lawmakers have voted in favor of reducing the maximum age of military enlistment for young adults from 27 to 25, the country’s parliament said in a Telegram post on Tuesday.

“The majority of citizens now receive a deferment from conscription for military service upon reaching the age of 18. It is mainly about getting an education. Education lasts for 4-6 years and ends at the age of 22-24,” the parliament’s Telegram post read.
“With the reduction of the maximum conscription age to 25 years, the conscription commissions will have 1-3 years to realize the fulfillment of military duty by citizens of Ukraine and their conscription for military service,” the parliament said.

Under Ukrainian law, the conscription process for young adults includes registering at an enlistment office, undergoing necessary medical examinations and being selected for military service if no exemptions and deferments were made.

A fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar territory has been extinguished after a possible unmanned aerial vehicle attack, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratiev. 

The fire was reported at the Afipsky Refinery in Seversky District and no casualties were reported, Kondratiev said on Telegram early Wednesday morning. One of the fuel oil distillation units had caught fire, he added. 

The governor said “fire brigades, MES, and emergency services” were working to extinguish the fire.

One person was injured in a shelling of the town of Shebekino, according to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, .

“According to preliminary information, there is one female victim,” Gladkov said in a Wednesday Telegram post. “Residential buildings are damaged, vehicles are on fire.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin called a drone attack in the Moscow region a “clear sign of terrorist activity” while pointing the finger at Ukraine. Though Ukraine has denied that it was directly involved, it comes the same day that at least one person was killed in an aerial assault on Kyiv early Tuesday.

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said the number of Ukrainian strikes has increased near the border with its highest number of reported attacks in the last 24 hours.

Here’s what to know to get up to speed:

One person was killed and two others were injured in a Ukrainian attack on a temporary accommodation center, according to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region.

Gladkov said in a Telegram post on Tuesday that “[…] the security guard of this institution died. Two more people were injured. They are in critical condition in intensive care.”

According to Gladkov, cannon artillery was used in the strike that hit the center. 

Some context: There has been increased fighting along the border, specifically in the Belgorod region, officials have reported.

Namely, last week, a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals – who are aligned with the Ukrainian army – claimed responsibility for an attack in Belgorod, leaving Moscow to say it was fighting the group of saboteurs.

In a Telegram post, groups calling themselves the “Freedom of Russia Legion” and “Russian Volunteer Corps” said they had “liberated” a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko beat her first-round opponent at the French Open Tuesday, but still described her disposition as “unhappy.”

Tsurenko, who lived in Kyiv as a teenager, said the Russian invasion and subsequent war in her country has impacted her state of mind on the court.

Speaking to the media on her 34th birthday, an emotional Tsurenko was not in a celebratory mood.

“Yesterday, part of the rocket landed 100m away from my home. This can make me unhappy, you know, and probably, my face is not super happy just because of that. Not because I go into the locker room and I’m, like, spreading hate towards someone,” she said.

Ahead of the Miami Open in March, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, said she struggled to understand the “hate” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations between some players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sabalenka did not specifically mention Tsurenko.

Tsurenko next competes at Roland Garros on Thursday against the American Lauren Davis.

The US expects Sweden’s accession to NATO to be completed “in the weeks ahead,” according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“We have no doubt that it can be, and it should be and we expect it to be,” said Blinken at a news conference in Luleå, Sweden, with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Key context: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted non-aligned Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutrality and seek protection within NATO. Finland officially became the 31st member of NATO on April 4.

US President Joe Biden said he spoke on Monday with newly reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and discussed the potential of approving the sale of new US fighter jets if Turkey drops its objections to Sweden joining NATO.

However, Blinken said the two issues are viewed as separate by the administration.

“From our perspective, we believe that both should go forward and should go forward as quickly as possible — that is to say, Sweden’s accession — and we’ll move forward on the F-16 package,” Blinken said.

The secretary of state also said that it was “appropriate” that every member have its say on the accession of new members into the alliance.

“Each member is making a solemn commitment to every other member that it will join in coming to their defense if they are the victims of aggression, and so it’s important that every member have its say in this process,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday that Ukraine has the right to “project force” over its borders for self-defense, following a drone attack in Moscow. 

“Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself. It has the legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself,” Cleverly told reporters after a joint news conference with Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
“So legitimate military targets beyond its own border are part of Ukraine’s self-defense. And we should recognize that,” he added.

Cleverly said he does not have any assessment over the drone attacks in Moscow on Tuesday, and he was referring to military targets more broadly beyond borders that are “internationally recognized as being legitimate as part of a nation’s self-defense.”

At least three residential buildings were damaged by drones in Moscow on Tuesday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for the incident, while Kyiv has denied any direct involvement.

What the US says: A National Security Council spokesperson stressed that the US does not back attacks in Russia. 

“We saw the news and are still gathering information about what happened,” the spokesperson said. “As general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said a Tuesday attack in the Moscow region involved eight drones. Ukraine has denied any direct involvement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the drone attack, calling it a “clear sign of terrorist activity.”

“Kyiv chose the path of intimidation of Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings,” he said, adding, “We are concerned about attempts to evoke a response from Russia. It seems that is what they (Ukraine) want … Kyiv provokes us to mirror actions. We will see what to do about this.”

Putin said the city’s air defenses worked normally, also suggesting that the drone attacks had been in response to recent Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.

Here’s more about what happened today in Ukraine:

A Russian-appointed official in the occupied area of southern Ukraine has reported a series of explosions in the city of Melitopol.

“It’s loud in Melitopol! A series of explosions sounded in the city. One of them was very powerful,” Vladimir Rogov, who is on the council of the civil-military administration of Zaporizhzhia region, posted on his Telegram channel. “According to preliminary information, the cause of the explosions in Melitopol was an attempt by AFU [Ukrainian armed forces] fighters to launch a missile strike on the city.”

Russian air defenses had worked, he added.

Powerful explosions had been heard throughout the city, according to Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, who is not in Melitopol himself.

An eyewitness to the explosions told CNN that a plane was shot down in the area late Tuesday. CNN is not disclosing their identity for their own security.

“This is the first time in all the days of the full-scale war that a plane was shot down over us,” the eyewitness said. “There is a fire nearby, and there is a lot of smoke.”

The eyewitness added that there were six incoming rockets or missiles. Three had been brought down by air defenses, but the others had struck their targets. One had hit the airfield.

Melitopol has become a hub for Russia’s military as it reinforces defenses in the occupied southern regions of Ukraine. A community social media channel said the strike had been near the airfield, which has been attacked several times in the past. There is no independent verification of what may have been hit.

People have been killed and injured in a Ukrainian attack on a temporary accommodation center, Russia’s Belgorod region Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

The center was sheltering residents resettled from rural municipalities of the Shebekinsky District, he said in a Telegram post.

Some context: The region of Belgorod has seen a growing incidence of cross-border fire, in both directions, as well as incursions from Ukraine by groups calling themselves anti-President Vladimir Putin Russian nationals. 

The US is compiling information on the drone attack in Moscow, a National Security Council spokesperson said, while stressing the US does not back attacks in Russia.

“We saw the news and are still gathering information about what happened,” the council’s spokesperson said. “As general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia.”

Russia blamed Ukraine for the drone attack in Moscow, while Ukraine has denied any direct involvement.

The NSC spokesperson also criticized Russia for launching an overnight aerial assault on Kyiv — the 17th this month.

“We have been focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Today was also Russia’s 17th round of air strikes on Kyiv this month, many of which have devastated civilian areas, as Russia continues its brutal attacks against the people of Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.

“Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine instead of launching brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and people every day,” the spokesperson said.

In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denounced the latest Russian airstrikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, a statement from the chancellor’s office said.

According to the statement, Zelensky thanked Germany for its military support, in particular for strengthening Ukrainian air defenses. Scholz vowed to continue to provide support to Ukraine “in close coordination with European and international partners,” the statement added.

Scholz reaffirmed “Germany’s unwavering solidarity with Ukraine in the face of aggression by the Russian Federation,” according to the statement. 

At least one person died in Kyiv after Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones early Tuesday in the 17th aerial assault launched by Russian forces at the capital during this month alone.

The Russian Interior Ministry has placed two senior Ukrainian figures on its wanted list — hours after a series of drone attacks in the Moscow region:

The Investigative Committee of Russia is also investigating Syrskyi and Zaluzhnyi for the shelling of “civilians and civilian facilities in Donbas.”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Western countries are not tiring on providing aid to Ukraine. 

During an event in Oslo, Norway, the NATO secretary general stressed that support for Ukraine is being “stepped up.” 

“Everyone is on alert for signs of fatigue in our democracies, in NATO countries and partners, in terms of our ability to support. So far, we haven’t seen it,” Stoltenberg said. 

The NATO chief maintained that there is still “strong cross-party support across NATO allies both in Europe and the USA.” Stoltenberg added that despite having “different voices” and opinions on the issue of support for Ukraine, there remains predominantly a “political will to stand by Ukraine.” 

In a news conference last month, Stoltenberg had emphasized that NATO allies were united in supporting Ukraine and would “not be intimidated” from doing so. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the drone attack in the Moscow region, calling it a “clear sign of terrorist activity.”

“Kyiv chose the path of intimidation of Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings,” he said, adding: “We are concerned about attempts to evoke a response from Russia. It seems that is what they [Ukraine] want … Kyiv provokes us to mirror actions. We will see what to do about this.”

The Russian president said the city’s air defenses worked normally.

“The Moscow air defense system worked satisfactorily. However, there is still work to be done to make it better,” Putin said in brief remarks carried by Russian state media TASS.

Putin suggested that the drone attacks had been in response to recent Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.

“The Russian Armed Forces strike exclusively with long-range high-precision weapons and only at military infrastructure facilities. Of course, some portion of these strikes is aimed at the military headquarters as well as headquarters of the Ukrainian military intelligence, which was hit two to three days ago,” he said.

In just the past few days, Russia has hit a medical facility in Dnipro and launched more than 50 drones at Kyiv.

Ukraine has not commented on any strike against the headquarters of its military intelligence.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it can implement “the most severe measures” after drone attacks on Moscow. 

“Assurances from NATO officials that the Kyiv regime will not strike deep into Russian territory turn out to be completely hypocritical,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

Ukraine has denied direct involvement with the attack on the Russian capital.

Russian authorities say eight drones were intercepted in the Moscow region. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case on the matter. 

The Russian Defense Ministry reported an attack Tuesday involving eight drones, with five of them shot down by air defenses and the other three suppressed by electronic warfare systems.

Some were downed in the elite Moscow suburb of Rublyovka, which is in close proximity to one of President Vladimir Putin’s official residences, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said earlier Tuesday.

The drones, which Moscow claims were Ukrainian, that attacked Moscow probed Russia’s air defense vulnerabilities, said unmanned aviation expert Denis Fedutinov, who has been quoted frequently by state news agency TASS in the past.

“The aim of the raid was probably to ferret out the Moscow air defenses and reveal their vulnerabilities. Apparently, several objectives were pursued. Primarily, testing various unmanned systems in practice. Secondly, looking at the efficiency of using several drones at a time,” he explained, according to TASS.

CNN is not able to independently verify those assessments. Ukraine has denied any direct involvement in the attack. 

Fedutinov alleged that aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) weighing up to several dozen kilograms and featuring the canard aerodynamic design were used in the drone attack on Moscow. He told TASS that the combustion engine used in such UAVs enables them to perform quite lengthy flights, including the capacity to reach Moscow from Ukrainian territory. 

“This UAV model could have been created both directly in Ukraine — the country has specialists and the workforce capable of coping with this task — and could represent an imported civilian drone bought on the open market and adapted for combat use,” he said. 

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said there have been dozens of strikes against several areas of the region by Ukrainian mortar and artillery fire over the last 24 hours — by far the highest reported number in a single day.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said that 155 hits were recorded in the Shebekinsky district alone.

“Six mortar shells were fired at the checkpoint. 48 shells - 39 artillery and 9 mortar shells - were fired at the town of Shebekino,” he said on Telegram.

A power transmission line was damaged and a gas pipeline ruptured, he added.

Gladkov said the village of Grafovka was shelled with artillery, killing one man and seriously injuring his wife. In the village of Zhuravlevka, Gladkov said 20 hits had been recorded, but there had been no casualties or damage.

In the township of Graivoron, which is near the Ukrainian border, “39 hits were recorded,” Gladkov said. “Twelve mortar shells were fired at the village of Kozinka and seven at the checkpoint. There were no casualties,” he added.

He said 16 houses were destroyed in the area.

Other villages were hit, Gladkov said, and a Ukrainian drone had been shot down near the village of Chapayevsky. Other drones had been shot down or failed to do any damage, he continued.

Key context: The region of Belgorod has seen a growing incidence of cross-border fire, in both directions, as well as incursions yesterday and last week from Ukraine by groups calling themselves anti-President Vladimir Putin Russian nationals. 

Several drones were downed in the elite Moscow suburb of Rublyovka, which is in close proximity to one of President Vladimir Putin’s official residences, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said Tuesday.

Here are some of the locations where downed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Moscow region crashed, according to a list published by State Duma Deputy Khinshtein:

CNN has geolocated footage from Ilyinskoye that shows a drone flying across the sky.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “I cannot comment. The only thing [I can say] is that it was obviously an attack of the Kyiv regime.”

Rublyovka is a spoken name for a prestigious and affluent neighborhood in Moscow along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. It is known for its luxurious residential estates and mansions for the Russian elite: wealthy businessmen, politicians, and celebrities.

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02:36 - Source: cnn

Even as Ukrainian cities experience barrage after barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes, members of the Offensive Guard — which is part of an initiative by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish new assault brigades — have remained unfazed, simulating scenarios they expect to find once Kyiv finally launches its much-anticipated counteroffensive.

That day is fast approaching, if one of the top advisers to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is to be believed.

“There is already some sort of work underway to increase the intensity of the shelling of Russia’s logistics support in order to reduce their combat capabilities in the near future, to loosen up their defenses,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told CNN in an interview.

The strikes Podolyak mentions are often referred to as shaping operations – so-called because they aim to “shape” the battlefield – in this case, in Ukraine’s favor. CNN has previously reported that these began on May 12, citing a senior US military official and senior Western official.

“Everything that is happening now is a precursor to a counterattack, a necessary pre-condition,” Podolyak explained. “When the intensity of fire increases, especially on the logistics supplies, when the number of operations increases.”

Ukraine has increased the number of strikes on Russian ammunition depots, logistical nodes and rear echelon bases, such as the ones seen in Mariupol and Berdyansk in the past few days. The military’s top general, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a slickly produced video over the weekend with the caption: “The time has come to take back what belongs to us.”

In his nightly address Monday, Zelensky said the timing of the counteroffensive had been set, but he did not provide further details. And despite the clear signs that a counteroffensive is coming, Podolyak also refuses to commit to specific dates.

“You can’t say about a counterattack that it will start any one day, one time when some events will start,” he said. “Already now there are intensive relatively offensive actions on the flanks of the town of Bakhmut. There is essentially no city left, but offensives are underway.”

Read more here.

The European Union and its members are considering next steps for frozen Russian assets worth more than 24 billion euros ($25.8 billion), said European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders on Tuesday.

“We’re trying to see if it’s possible to seize some parts of those assets due to criminal offenses like corruption, money laundering or violation of the sanctions,” and where possible to “go to Justice and to confiscate a part of those assets,” Reynders said ahead of a meeting of EU Ministers in Brussels.

The frozen assets ensure “a real guarantee” that Russia will pay for damages caused by its aggression, he added.

Meanwhile, the Swedish Presidency of the EU is also “working towards new sanctions against Russia” ahead of the June summit of EU Leaders, said Jessika Roswall, minister for European Affairs of Sweden.

Some background: Since 2014, the European Union has progressively imposed restrictive measures on Russia over the country’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU says these measures are designed to curtail Russia’s “ability to wage war.”

In the most recent figures, the EU said its restrictive measures “now apply to a total of 1,473 individuals and 207 entities,” including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as the Russian private military company Wagner along with its commanders and boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko highlighted the importance of Ukraine’s modern air defense systems, stressing that without them, there would have been greater damage caused by Tuesday’s drone attacks on the capital.

Speaking to CNN’s Fred Pleitgen outside a damaged apartment building in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district on Tuesday, Klitschko said he wanted to thank Ukraine’s partners for sending “critically important” air defense systems. 

“It worked well; we shoot down almost everything,” Klitschko said, speaking just hours after Russia launched a barrage of pre-dawn drones on the city. 

Ukraine’s Air Force said earlier on Tuesday that it managed to shoot down 29 out of 31 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia. 

Klitschko stressed to CNN that if Ukraine “didn’t have modern air defense from our partners,” the situation would be “much worse” with more damaged buildings and civilian deaths.  

He addressed the recent uptick in attacks, saying that in May there have been more attacks not just on Kyiv but also in other cities throughout Ukraine. 

Klitschko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to bring a “depressing mood” to Ukraine with this latest attack, stressing that despite this, Ukrainians remain ready as ever to defend their homeland. 

Watch more:

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01:56 - Source: cnn

Western countries are sending more supplies of weapons and equipment to Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

“Deliveries of equipment and weapons to Ukraine are increasing. We monitor the volumes and routes of supply and, if identified, strike,” Shoigu told a military conference call Tuesday.

Shoigu also claimed Russian forces have intercepted 29 Storm Shadow long-range missiles – supplied to Ukraine by Britain – this month. Ukraine has so far not commented on this.

In recent days, Russia has destroyed large arms depots in Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil and Mykolaiv regions, Shoigu added. Ukraine said Monday that Russia had attacked warehouses, including a military facility, in the western Khmelnytskyi region overnight. It is rare for Ukraine to publicize attacks on military facilities. 

CNN is unable to independently verify these battlefield claims.

Additionally, the minister claimed that Russia struck a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in Kyiv in recent days, but he did not specify when.

On May 16, the Russian Defense Ministry had said that one of its Kinzhal missiles had hit a US-made Patriot system in Kyiv during strikes that morning. The Pentagon later confirmed that one Patriot missile battery that was given to Ukraine was damaged by a Russian missile barrage against Kyiv, but that the system has since been fixed. The Patriot is an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system.

Ukraine has received at least two Patriot systems, one from the United States and one from Germany, to enhance its air defenses.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Moscow early Tuesday which injured two people and damaged several buildings, although Kyiv has denied any direct involvement.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked allies for more air defense systems following another Russian bombardment of Kyiv.

Here are the latest headlines:

Residents who were evacuated from Moscow apartment buildings hit by drones early Tuesday are returning to their homes, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Emergency services have completed necessary works as part of the investigation into the drone attack that resulted in damage to the buildings, he said in a Telegram post. 

“Those residents who were evacuated to allow the special services to operate uninterruptedly at the scene are now starting to return to their homes,” Sobyanin said. 

Sobyanin also said that residents of the building on Leninsky Prospekt (Lenin Avenue) will be the first to return to their apartments, adding that he has instructed specialized teams to repair the damage “as soon as possible.” 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there is currently “no threat” to Moscow’s residents following a drone attack on the capital on Tuesday.

“Thank God, there are no casualties and at present there is no threat to the residents of Moscow and the Moscow region,” Peskov said.

Peskov added there are no plans for Putin to make an address on the attack.

Asked if additional security measures were needed to prevent such attacks, he said: “I cannot comment on issues of the security of the capital. I can only repeat that the Ministry of Defense worked well, the air defense worked well.”

Two people were injured and buildings were damaged by the attack, according to Russian state media.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has called for more air defense systems following a third night of attacks on Kyiv. 

“There can be only one response to each Russian attack aimed to deplete Ukrainian air defense: greater production and supply of air defense systems and ammunition by EU and NATO partners,” Kuleba said.

One person was killed and at least three others were injured as a result of explosions in Kyiv early Tuesday as the city’s air defenses intercepted 20 drones, the Ukrainian military said.

It marks the 17th aerial attack on Kyiv this month, with the Russians varying their assaults with missiles, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Ukrainian officials.

The drone attacks Tuesday come after Moscow’s forces launched an unusual daytime missile attack on Kyiv Monday that Ukraine’s military said signified a change in Russian tactics.

Moscow Prosecutor’s Office warned Tuesday that those who deliberately spread false information following the drone attack in the Russian capital may be held criminally liable. 

“On the Internet, including in social networks, publications containing unreliable information about the circumstances of the incidents in the capital were revealed,” reads a statement published on the prosecutor’s official Telegram channel.

It warned that those responsible “for public dissemination under the guise of reliable, knowingly false socially significant information, including about circumstances that pose a threat to the life and safety of citizens” will be subject to administrative and criminal liability.

“In this regard, we recommend that representatives of the media and the blogosphere refrain from disseminating false information, including about incidents in Moscow, when preparing messages and statements,” reads the statement.

“Please be guided by official sources of information or contact the relevant departments for official comments,” it says.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military company Wagner, has launched an expletive-laden tirade at the Russian Ministry of Defense following a drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday.

Prigozhin said in an audio recording on his Telegram channel that he was aware of and concerned about the drone attack. 

“As a person who understands this somewhat, I can tell you that many years ago it was necessary to deal with these [drone] programs – that we are now years behind our opponents, years, maybe decades,” he said in response to a question from a journalist.

The mercenary boss — who has been engaged in a bitter public feud with Russia’s military leadership — said the Russian Ministry of Defense is doing “absolutely nothing at all” to catch up with developments in drone technology.

“Regarding the drones that fly over Moscow and in Moscow – you stinking animals, what are you doing? You are swine! Get up off your asses from the offices you’ve been put in to defend this country,” he said.
“You are the Ministry of Defense. You didn’t do a damn thing to stamp this out,” he continued, claiming he had warned about the threat many times but that officials did nothing to prevent it.
“Why the f** are you allowing these drones to hit Moscow?” he said. “Let your houses burn.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had met with officials at the Kremlin following the attack.

Putin’s “working day started very early” and “he received information directly from law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the mayor of Moscow and the governor of the Moscow region”.

“Everyone worked properly. The air defense system also worked well. Clearly, we are talking here about the Kyiv regime’s response to our very effective strikes on one of the decision-making centers. The Sunday strike,” Peskov said.

Peskov said he could not comment on where the drones were launched from and who the target was.

“The only thing [I can say] is that it was obviously an attack of the Kyiv regime,” he added.

Ukraine has denied any direct involvement in the attack.

Ukraine has denied direct involvement with a drone attack on the Russian capital, Moscow, on Tuesday.

“Of course, we enjoy watching and predicting an increase in attacks. But of course, we have nothing to do directly with it,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the Breakfast Show YouTube channel.

He also said, “What is growing in Russia is the karmic payment that Russia will gradually pay in aggravated form for everything it does in Ukraine.”

Russia had blamed Ukraine for the attacks early Tuesday.

At least three residential buildings were damaged by drones in Moscow early Tuesday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported citing emergency services and residents.

According to RIA, a drone hit the upper floors of a residential building on Profsoyuznaya Street in southwest Moscow, damaging the facade and glazing of the building.

Another one hit a flat on the 14th floor of an apartment building on Leninsky Prospekt (Lenin Avenue), RIA reported, citing a resident of the building.

And a third drone reportedly damaged the facade of a 24-storey residential building on Atlasova Street in southwest Moscow, reported RIA.

Separately, the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said that air defenses shot down several drones in the region.

“This morning, residents of some areas of the Moscow region could hear the sounds of explosions - this is our air defense in action. On approaching Moscow, several drones were shot down,” Vorobiev wrote on Telegram.

The drone attack on Moscow is “a new reality we will have to recognize,” said Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian Parliament from President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

“Undoubtedly, sabotage and terrorist attacks by Ukraine will only grow. We need to drastically strengthen defense and security measures, especially in the area of countering drones,” he said in a Telegram post Tuesday.

Khinshtein went on to say the fact that eight drones were allegedly shot down “should not comfort anyone.”

“Do not underestimate the enemy!” he added. 

Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attack on Moscow early Tuesday. Kyiv is yet to comment on the incident.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Moscow early Tuesday, but Kyiv has denied any direct involvement.

State media reports said two people were injured and buildings were damaged in the Russian capital.

The attacks followed yet another Russian bombardment of Kyiv overnight.

Here’s what to know:

Moscow airports are functioning as usual following a drone attack that damaged several buildings in the capital city and the region, Russian state news agency TASS reported Tuesday.

All airports in the capital region are operating under normal conditions as of 8:00 a.m., and air traffic control dispatchers are working within normal limits, TASS reported, citing the press service of the Federal Air Transport Agency.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that Ukraine is responsible for the drone attack against Moscow on Tuesday. Kyiv is yet to comment on the incident.

A 33-year-old woman was killed and 13 others were wounded in the Russian drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, Ukraine’s National Police said.

Among those injured, nine were in the city while four were hurt in the wider capital region, police said.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported earlier that its air defenses had destroyed 29 of 31 Iran-made Shahed drones launched at Kyiv by Russia.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that Ukraine is responsible for a “terrorist attack” using drones against Moscow on Tuesday.

All eight aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles launched at the Russian capital were destroyed, the ministry said in a statement.

“Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets,” the statement said. “Another five UAVs were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region.”

Kyiv has not yet commented on the drone attack.

Russian state media reported earlier that two buildings were damaged in a drone attack. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in an update that two people were injured but no one was hospitalized. Emergency services continue to work at the sites, he said.

Russian air defenses shot down a number of drones as they approached Moscow Tuesday, the country’s main federal investigating authority said in a statement Tuesday.

“As a result of the fall of unmanned aerial vehicles, several buildings in Moscow have sustained minor damage. In addition, a number of unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by Russian air defense forces on their way to Moscow,” the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

Based on preliminary information, there were no casualties, while city emergency services and Russian Investigative Committee personnel are on the scene following the attack, it added.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 29 of 31 Iran-made Shahed drones launched at Kyiv by Russia early Tuesday, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

“Almost all of the drones were destroyed on the outskirts of the capital and in the Kyiv sky,” the Ukrainian Air Force said.

One person was killed in the bombardment, the 17th aerial assault launched by Russian forces at Kyiv during this month alone, authorities said earlier.

Four people were injured by shrapnel, according to Kyiv police chief Andrii Nebytov, and there were 50 reports of damage to houses, commercial properties and cars.

Earlier reports from Ukrainian officials said 20 drones were shot down overnight.

Iran sanctions: Ukraine has slapped new sanctions on Iran for a period of 50 years in response to what Kyiv sees as Tehran’s role in supplying weapons to Moscow. Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv this month with Iran-manufactured Shahed drones, resulting in destruction of infrastructure and civilian deaths.

A drone attack on Russia’s capital city early Tuesday resulted in “minor damage to several buildings,” but no casualties were reported, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

“All of the city’s emergency services are on the scene,” Sobyanin said on Telegram. “They are investigating the circumstances of what happened. No one has been seriously injured so far.”

One of the damaged buildings was in the south of Moscow, and another is located southwest of the Russian capital, according to state news agency RIA.

Quoting a spokesperson for the emergency services, state news agency TASS said authorities are investigating several possibilities, including that a drone hit a building.

What looked like drone fragments were found around the building, TASS reported.

A drone attack damaged two buildings in Moscow Tuesday morning, according to Russian state media. No injuries were sustained, according to the reports.

 More to follow …

The loud engine announces the approach of the Soviet-era armored BTR vehicle long before it appears — racing through a grassy plain on the outskirts of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine. Suddenly it stops, its door opens and Ukrainian soldiers rush out, storming the trench below.

“Today our task is training and cleaning the trenches,” a Ukrainian soldier with the call-sign Jenia says. He is a member of Kyiv’s Offensive Guard, which is part of an initiative by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish new assault brigades.

“The enemy has lost positions, we quickly arrive, take positions, and restore it,” he adds.

This operation is just a drill, but the scenario has been engineered to be as realistic as possible. The trenches are muddy — despite weeks without rain — and the soldiers are forced to face the unexpected, such as tending to and evacuating the wounded, or adapting after suffering casualties.

“Some people say training is not hard, that there is no danger — but running through the trenches and constantly training, knowing that you will go to battle, it is not easy,” Jenia says. “Everything comes with practice, It is clear that during the hostilities there will also be the psychological impact of war — but practice is very important.”

Even as Ukrainian cities experience barrage after barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes, Jenia and the other members of the Offensive Guard have remained unfazed, simulating scenarios they expect to find once Kyiv finally launches its much anticipated counteroffensive.

That day is fast approaching, if one of the top advisers to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is to be believed.

Read the full story here.

Ukraine has slapped new sanctions on Iran for a period of 50 years in response to what Kyiv sees as Tehran’s role in supplying weapons to Moscow.

The move, announced by Ukraine’s parliament in a Telegram post Tuesday, includes a ban on exports of “military and dual-use goods” to Iran and the “suspension of economic and financial obligations in favor of residents of Iran.”

The sanctions also ban Iranian goods from transiting through Ukraine and bar Iranian aircraft from flying through Ukraine’s airspace.

Some context: Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv this month with Iran-manufactured Shahed drones, resulting in destruction of infrastructure and civilian deaths.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Iranian people not be “accomplices in Russian terror.” He said last Wednesday that his forces had shot down about 900 of more than 1,160 drones used against Ukraine — figures that have likely risen during Russia barrage of aerial attacks in the days since.

At least one person died in Kyiv after Ukrainian air defenses shot down 20 drones early Tuesday amid the 17th aerial assault launched by Russian forces at the capital during this month alone.

It comes after Russia hit Kyiv with an array of missile fire on Monday in a surprise daytime attack, sparking sirens and sending residents rushing for shelter just as the city recovered from a more typical overnight bombardment.

“The enemy changed its tactics,” said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration. “After prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day when most residents were at work and outside.”

Catch up on the latest headlines from Russia’s war in Ukraine:

One person was killed and at least three others were injured as a result of explosions in Kyiv early Tuesday as the city’s air defenses intercepted 20 drones, the Ukrainian military said.

In a Telegram post, the Kyiv city military administration said a fire broke out at a high-rise apartment building in Holosiivskyi district due to falling debris and warned that people may be trapped under rubble.

Authorities also reported that debris fell on several other districts of the capital, including Pecherskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Podilskyi and Sviatoshynskyi.

It marks the 17th aerial attack on Kyiv this month, with the Russians varying their assaults with missiles, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Ukrainian officials.

The drone attacks Tuesday come after after Moscow’s forces launched an unusual daytime missile attack on Kyiv Monday that Ukraine’s military said signified a change in Russian tactics.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with the Ukrainian army, claimed Monday that its members had reentered Russian territory.

“Yesterday, Russian border guards celebrated their professional holiday. The fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps congratulated them by successfully crossing the ‘holey’ state border once again,” the group wrote in a Telegram post. 

The group published photos of armed men in a field, but the pictures don’t clearly indicate where they were taken. CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the photos.

The group’s claimed incursion comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of protecting borders near the combat zone in his Border Guard Day address on Saturday, calling it “a separate and very significant task.”

Last week, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the anti-Putin Freedom for Russia Legion claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack in Russia’s southwestern region of Belgorod.

The chief of the private military Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed last week that Russian defense forces are “absolutely not ready to resist the Russian Volunteer Corps in any shape or form.”  

One person has been hospitalized in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district after explosions were heard in the capital in the early hours of Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Klitschko also reported that “all emergency services” are headed to Podilskyi district, without providing any further details.

According to Klitschko, a house in Darnytskyi district and three cars in Pecherskyi district caught fire as a result of falling debris.

Russia has been transferring its forces to Bakhmut to replace fighters from the Wagner group, said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during an interview with Ukrainian media on Monday.

“Yes, [Russia] is currently rotating its units [in Bakhmut] — primarily in light of the significant losses the Wagner group has suffered. They are forced to do it, not for any other reason,” Cherevatyi said. “Units of airborne forces and motorized infantry units of are entering [Bakhmut]. We know what units they are; we know their commanders and their combat capabilities.”

Cherevatyi noted “all of these Russian units have been taking part in hostilities since 24 February 2022 and have sustained significant losses.”

He also said Russia used “recently mobilized soldiers” to replenish those units.

In recent days, “the dynamics of combat clashes in the Bakhmut direction have been approximately the same,” Cherevatyi said.

Some context: Cherevatyi’s comments echoed those of Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, who said Russians are “replacing troops from Wagner with regular units and trying to stabilize the defense in this area.”

On Sunday, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said the handover of his fighters’ positions in Bakhmut to Russian army units may extend to June 5.

Ukraine has made a decision on the timing of its counteroffensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday. 

“As usual, the commander-in-chief and the commanders of the operational directions reported to the staff,” Zelensky said. “Not only the supply of ammunition, not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics. But also, the timing. This [the timing] is what is most important. The timing of how we will move forward. We will.”

Zelensky did not provide further details on when the counteroffensive would launch.

One person was killed and several others were injured by shelling in the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region, the region’s governor said.

Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel on Monday that it was a “difficult day” and that there was “a lot of shelling.”

Gladkov noted that in recent days Belgorod had endured a “large amount of damage caused by hours of shelling” that caused the power, cell phone connection, heat and water to go off in numerous areas, which have now been restored.

The governor mentioned Novaya Tavolzhanka, Grafovka, Murom and Arkhangelsky being among the affected areas. 

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine released video Monday of the immediate aftermath of what it says was a Russian airstrike on a gas station in Toretsk, a town near the eastern city of Bakhmut. 

At least two people were reportedly killed and eight were wounded in the strike, the unit said on Facebook, and three injured individuals were removed from the rubble.

Toretsk is regularly hit by Russian artillery as well as occasional airstrikes. Earlier Monday, the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic accused the Ukrainians of shelling the occupied town of Horlivka from positions around Toretsk. 

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, said on Monday he was “not optimistic” about how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will play out this summer.

Borrell added that he believes Russia will only negotiate if it wins the war.

“I am not optimistic about what will happen in Ukraine this summer. I see a concentration of troops on both sides, I see Russia’s clear intent to win the war, (Russia) will not go into a negotiation if it doesn’t win the war,” he said, speaking in Barcelona. 

Borrell’s remarks come as Moscow hit Kyiv with an array of missile fire Monday in a surprise daytime attack, hours after an overnight barrage of the Ukrainian capital and across the country.

Russia hit Kyiv with an array of missile fire on Monday in a surprise daytime attack, hours after an overnight barrage of the Ukrainian capital and across the country.

Explosions were heard in central Kyiv late in the morning on Monday, sparking sirens and sending residents rushing for shelter just as the city recovered from a more typical overnight bombardment.

Kyiv’s armed forces said it downed 11 Iskander missiles launched by Russia in the daytime raid. One man was hospitalized after missile fragments landed in the Podilskyi district, Kyiv’s mayor Vitalii Klitschko said.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv city military administration, said this attack shows “the enemy changed its tactics — after prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day, when most residents were at work and outside.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of a child running for shelter as an explosion is heard in the background.

His wife, Olena Zelenska, reposted the video, adding: “Morning after sleepless night under fire. Anxiety once again… Children running and screaming for shelter to the sounds of explosions. But it should not be like this.”

Hours earlier, cities across Ukraine were hit by a wave of Russian strikes.

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said 37 cruise missiles, dozens of Shahed drones and a reconnaissance UAV were shot down by Kyiv’s forces — the vast majority of those fired.

Read more here.

China’s envoy for the war in Ukraine ended a nearly two-week tour through Europe with a stop in Moscow on Friday, closing out a mission that served as a key test of Beijing’s bid to broker an end to the spiraling conflict.

Beijing’s stated interest in promoting communication toward resolving the conflict has been tentatively welcomed in Europe, where Chinese special representative Li Hui met with officials in Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, and the European Union headquarters in Brussels in a tour starting May 16.

But Li’s trip has also laid bare the divisions between China and Europe when it comes to how peace can be reached — and served to underline Beijing’s close alignment with Moscow.

Li received a warm reception during his final stop in the Russian capital — where he previously spent a decade as China’s ambassador, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday praising Beijing’s “balanced position” on the war and readiness to play a “positive role” in its settlement.

But across Europe, officials stressed a different point — the need for a peace that sees Russia withdraw its invading troops and Ukraine’s legal territory restored — and their interest in seeing China throw its weight behind that vision, which it has yet to do.

Instead Li, according to readouts from Beijing, called for building “consensus” toward peace talks and strengthening Europe’s own “security architecture” — a veiled reference to China’s view that Europe should not protect itself through institutions like NATO, which include the United States but not Russia.

“The basic problem is that China does not want Russia or Putin to appear to have failed … (and) a settlement that requires Russia to relinquish territories taken in the invasion would be a defeat for Russia,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.
As such, that’s “not on the table for China,” Tsang said. “But Ukraine cannot accept anything that does not involve the restoration of its territories,” and the EU is unwilling to see Russia “appearing to get away with” territorial gains from its invasion, he added.

Read the full analysis here.