July 7, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The US Defense Department said that one of the primary reasons the US is providing cluster munitions to Ukraine is to help them punch through Russian defensive lines as the counteroffensive is "going a little slower than some had hoped."

Kahl said the munitions would be delivered to Ukraine "in a timeframe that is relevant for the counteroffensive."

Kahl also said the provisions of cluster munitions is also an important signal to Russia that “the Ukrainians are going to stay in the game.”

“(Russian President) Vladimir Putin has a theory of victory, OK? His theory of victory is that he will outlast everybody,” said Kahl. “That's why President (Joe) Biden has been clear that we're going to be with Ukraine as long as it takes, and why we are signaling that we will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities that will keep them in the fight.”

In response to the humanitarian concerns around cluster munitions, Kahl said that "the worst thing for civilians in Ukraine is for Russia to win the war, and so it's important that they don't."

Status of the counteroffensive: The Ukrainian military has so far failed to yield major gains in the early phases of its counteroffensive, documenting incremental advances on the front lines.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wanted to be strategic about where troops are being sent.

“Every meter, every kilometer costs lives,” he said earlier this month. “You can do something really fast, but the field is mined to the ground. People are our treasure. That’s why we are very careful.”

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has also said that the pace is not surprising, given that Russia has had time to bolster its defenses and "Ukrainian soldiers are assaulting through minefields and into trenches."

"So yes, sure, it goes a little slow, but that is part of the nature of war," Milley said.

CNN's Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting to this post.

Ukraine will not be joining NATO as a member country following next week’s summit, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed in a news conference Friday.

While that statement was widely expected, observers will be closely watching for any tangible steps Ukraine can take toward membership. 

Kyiv has long sought to join the alliance, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged his country's membership would have to wait until the war with Russia is finished.

Sullivan reiterated the current “open door policy” that will allow Ukraine and NATO to make a decision together, saying that the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, “will be an important moment on that pathway toward membership,” as it will provide an opportunity for members “to discuss the reforms that are still necessary for Ukraine to come up to NATO standards.”

Sullivan called the summit a “milestone,” but added that Ukraine “still has further steps it needs to take before membership.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that he expects leaders at the summit to "reaffirm" that Ukraine will — eventually — become a member.

Sweden's stalled bid for membership: In addition to Ukraine, the military alliance gathering is expected to feature discussion of Sweden's stalled accession, including concessions it has made in response to Turkey's objections.

The White House national security adviser said the US continues to back Sweden's bid and said he believes the process will get done relatively soon.

"We are confident that Sweden will come in (to NATO) in the not-too-distant future, and there will be unanimous support for that," Sullivan said.

The US Defense Department defended the decision to send controversial Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs), also known as cluster munitions, to Ukraine, citing the lower failure rates of the weapons than the Russian versions, as well as Ukraine’s commitment to "responsible use" of them.

“The Ukrainian government has offered us assurances in writing on the responsible use of DPICM’s, including that they will not use the rounds in civilian populated urban environments, and that they will record where they use these rounds, which will simplify later de-mining efforts,” said Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl at a press briefing.

Kahl said he discussed the issue with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and the US will increase its support to Ukraine’s "post-conflict de-mining efforts" on top of the $95 million already committed.

Providing cluster munitions to Ukraine will "ensure that the Ukrainian military has sufficient artillery ammunition for many months to come," Kahl added.

Kahl reiterated the US is not providing older cluster munition variants with high "dud rates." 

Cluster munitions are banned by more than 100 countries, not including the US and Ukraine, because they scatter “bomblets” across large areas that can fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.

US President Joe Biden's administration officially announced it was sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of the 42nd drawdown of equipment from the Defense Department. 

A release on Friday said the administration was providing "additional artillery systems and ammunition, including highly effective and reliable dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), on which the Administration conducted extensive consultations with Congress and our Allies and partners."

In separate statement, Biden said he had formally directed the drawdown of up to $800 million in defense articles and services to provide assistance to Ukraine. 

In total, the US has provided more than $41.3 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began last year.

Kyiv issues thanks: Ukraine is grateful for the "timely, broad and much-needed" defense package, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.

In a message on Twitter, Zelensky praised the US for taking "decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship."

"The expansion of Ukraine's defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer," he said. 

CNN's Allie Malloy, Victoria Butenko and Radina Gigova contributed reporting to this post.

Urainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a "busy day" in Turkey as he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday. 

The two leaders discussed "coordination of positions" on Ukraine's peace formula, the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania, security guarantees, the Black Sea grain initiative, reconstruction, as well as defense contracts, Zelensky said on his social media accounts. 

"We will separately discuss the protection and development of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and further efforts for food security. The world must be protected from any kind of terror," he added.

More background on the Black Sea grain deal: The agreement, which is considered vital for world food security, is expiring in just 10 days. It was first brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022 and again extended in May for two months.

After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded vital grain exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain were not being exported to the many countries that rely on it. The impact of the war on global food markets was immediate and extremely painful, as Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market and 13% of the barley market.

Russia recently signaled it was not open to extending the deal again, with the country's foreign ministry this week saying it "has turned into a purely commercial export of Ukrainian food to 'well-fed' countries."

In the wake of the attempted uprising by Wagner Group forces in Russia, the US and Europe have turned their gaze to an increasingly unpredictable Belarus – a key Russian ally that Western officials fear could give the exiled mercenary troops a new home and serve as a staging ground for Russian nuclear weapons.

But so far, US and European officials have not seen clear signs that either scenario is unfolding. While officials are closely monitoring an apparent military camp that sprung up outside of Minsk following the rebellion in southern Russia, Wagner troops do not appear to have moved into the country en masse.

“It could happen that Wagner PMC decides not to relocate here,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is not even in Belarus, Lukashenko told CNN – he is in Russia, Lukashenko claimed.

And while Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that the facilities in Belarus necessary to store the tactical nuclear weapons would be ready by July 7, Western officials have seen no signs of that, either. Belarus still does not appear to have the proper infrastructure to house the weapons, officials said, and it will likely be months, if not longer, before doing so is even technically feasible.

Available satellite imagery has also not shown any signs of the kind of preparations and security that would be standard at a Russian nuclear facility. Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, with 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists. It is not clear how many of those Russia is potentially planning to deploy to Belarus.

Still, Lukashenko’s close relationship with Putin, and the unexpected role he played in quelling the Wagner rebellion, has left intelligence analysts vigilant about what could come next and is a key topic of discussion among NATO allies ahead of next week’s leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. And some US officials are also concerned that Putin could make an announcement related to Russia’s presence in Belarus during the summit.

Read more here.

National Security adviser Jake Sullivan explained the rationale behind the United States' decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, telling reporters Friday that President Joe Biden's administration had deferred making the call "as long as we could."

Sullivan said that while the US recognizes that there is risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordinates, there is also a massive risk if Russia takes "more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine doesn't have enough artillery."

In making the decision, Sullivan said that first, the US bases its security assistance decisions on Ukraine's needs on the ground. "Ukraine needs artillery to sustain its offensive and defensive operations. Artillery is at the core of this conflict," he explained.

Second, he pointed to Russia's use of cluster munitions since it began its invasion. "Russia has been using cluster munitions with high dud or failure rates of between 30% and 40%. In this environment," Sullivan said, noting US cluster munitions "would provide have dud rates far below what Russia is providing — not higher than 2.5%"

Finally, Sullivan said that the US is working closely with Ukraine on its request for cluster munitions since it will require post-conflict demining to protect civilians from harm. "This will be necessary regardless of whether the United States provides these munitions or not because of Russia's widespread use of cluster munitions," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said the formal announcement on the new aid package would come from the Pentagon. 

More on the weapons: Cluster munitions scatter “bomblets” across large areas that can fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines. Over 100 countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, have outlawed the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the US and Ukraine are not signatories to the ban.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Allie Malloy contributed reporting to this post.

The United States consulted several allies when weighing the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

This included talking to allies that are signatories of the Convention of Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that does not allow for the production or distribution of the controversial weapons, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said other allies that are not signatories of the convention have embraced the US's decision "with open arms."

"So we feel that this will in no way disrupt the very strong, firm unity that we have heading into the NATO summit in Vilnius next week," he said.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States has been in contact "at high levels" with Russia regarding detained Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

"I do not want to give false hope," Sullivan added. "What the Kremlin said earlier this week is correct, there have been discussions. But those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution."

Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in jail on espionage charges, which he and his employer vehemently contest.

Friday marks the 100th day of Gershkovich's detention, and Sullivan said he met with members of his employers and family Friday morning.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters President Joe Biden has “no higher priority,” than securing the freedom of Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others.

“The team continues to work on these cases every day from all angles,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday. “Our message to Evan and to Paul is this: Keep the faith. We won't stop until you are home.”

Earlier this week, the US ambassador to Russia has met with Gershkovich, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last month, a Russian court upheld his extended detention in a Moscow prison until at least the end of August. The US State Department has officially designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia. Biden has also been blunt about Gershkovich’s arrest, urging Russia to "let him go."