July 8, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The Russian border region of Belgorod has come under heavy shelling from Ukraine, wounding two people, the regional governor said in a Telegram post Saturday. 

Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said that Ukraine fired over 100 artillery shells at his region over the past day, naming Belgorodsky, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Krasnoyaruzhsky and Shebekinsky districts among the areas that were hit. 

“Power line got damaged in Krasnoyaruzhsky urban district,” he added. “Trade areas in the local market, a storage at a vegetable warehouse, three garages were damaged in Shebekinsky district.” Gladkov said that a private house, a local store and a car were also damaged in the district, adding that a car caught fire and burned to the ground. 

The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on the reported shelling in Belgorod. 

Some background on previous border activity: In late May, a group of Russian nationals who oppose President Vladimir Putin and are aligned with the Ukrainian army claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack in Belgorod. Ukrainian forces also carried out heavy shelling of the region overnight on June 6, according to Gladkov.

There have also been reports of drone attacks as the effects of Russia's war on Ukraine increasingly reverberate back onto its own territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement on Saturday honoring "500 days of resilience in Ukraine," marking the 500th day since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

"The spirit of Ukraine’s people remains unbroken, and the United States remains committed to helping Ukraine defend itself and to rebuild its future," Blinken wrote.

It comes after the White House announced Friday that US President Joe Biden had approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, the latest instance of the US providing Kyiv with weapons it initially resisted sending into the war. Biden told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Friday that it was a "very difficult decision," adding that "the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition."

"We will stand with Ukraine — along with our allies and partners — for as long as it takes by providing security, economic, and other assistance to Ukraine, so Ukraine can continue to defend itself and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table when the time comes," he said.

The US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions is an inconsequential act that will still fail to defeat Moscow's forces on the battlefield, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. 

“It will not affect the course of a special military operation," Zakharova added, using the preferred terminology among Kremlin officials to describe the war in Ukraine.

Zakharova claimed the US decision was "aimed at maximally prolonging the conflict in Ukraine," but that Russia's goals for the invasion will still be fully achieved.

Some context: Officials with the US Department of Defense have acknowledged that one of the primary reasons they're providing cluster munitions to Kyiv is that its counteroffensive is "going a little slower than some had hoped."

The Ukrainian military has so far failed to yield major gains, documenting incremental advances on the front lines during the offensive's opening stages.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants to be strategic about where he sends troops in order to minimize casualties, especially considering they are making a slog through heavily mined territories and fortified Russian defenses.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has said the pace of the counteroffensive is not surprising, given those factors.

US President Joe Biden told CNN that he deeply considered the issue of providing the cluster munitions — controversial weapons that are banned by over 100 nations because of the potential risk they pose to civilians. Ultimately, he concluded that the risk of Russia succeeding in its invasion was greater than that of letting Ukraine use the weapons on their own soil, he said.

CNN's Ivana Kottasová and Michael Conte contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that five soldiers who defended the Azovstal plant in the southern city of Mariupol would return to Ukraine.

“We are returning home from Türkiye and bringing our heroes home. Ukrainian soldiers Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, Denys Shleha. They will finally be with their relatives,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post.

In the video, Zelensky is seen meeting and hugging the men at an airport field before boarding a plane.

The five Ukrainian soldiers surrendered following the fall of Mariupol. After their release from Russian captivity, they were taken to Turkey as part of a prisoner swap back in September, where they were obliged to stay until the end of the war, according to the terms of the swap.

Zelensky was in Turkey to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Background on Azovstal and Mariupol: The siege of the southern port city of Mariupol lasted almost three months, with the steel plant serving as a symbol of resistance and a final holdout as Russian troops advanced further into the city.

The plant sprawled over 4 square miles and once employed more than 10,000 people, a mass of tunnels, pipes and chimney stacks perched on the Azov Sea.

Russian forces shelled the facility day and night for weeks. The Ukrainians’ last stand became increasingly desperate as food and water supplies dwindled, and hundreds of casualties were left without adequate medical care. Huddled together underground in grim conditions, many soldiers and civilians began to doubt that they’d ever escape the plant alive, before negotiations led to a mutual ceasefire.

What Russia says: Turkey was "pressured" by NATO into returning the five Azovstal leaders to Ukraine, Russian state media RIA reported on Saturday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov called it "a violation of the terms of the existing agreements," adding that "the conditions for the return were violated by both the Turkish side and Kyiv."

CNN's Mariya Knight and Chris Liakos contributed reporting to this post.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed cluster munitions a day after the United States said it will send the controversial weapons to Ukraine, but stopped short of directly criticizing the US for its decision.

The UK is "signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use," Sunak told reporters Saturday.

The prime minister also said the upcoming NATO summit will include discussions on how to strengthen support for Ukraine.

About the weapons: Cluster munitions, also called cluster bombs, are canisters that carry tens to hundreds of smaller "bomblets." As the bomblets fall over a wide area, they can endanger non-combatants.

Much of the world has banned the use of these weapons through the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which also prohibits the stockpiling, production and transfer of them. Though 123 nations have joined that convention, the United States, Ukraine, Russia and 71 other countries have not.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used cluster bombs since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

US President Joe Biden told CNN Friday that it was a "difficult decision" to provide Ukraine with the bombs for the first time, but that he was ultimately convinced to send the weapons because Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia.

US President Joe Biden will depart Sunday on a consequential days-long Europe trip that includes a host of bilateral meetings with allies amid the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and last month’s attempted mutiny in Russia. 

The White House detailed Biden’s trip in a pool note to traveling reporters. Here's his schedule:

Saturday marks 500 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — and how or when the conflict might end is not yet certain. While Kyiv has launched its counteroffensive to try to drive Russian troops from the territories they have occupied, much of the war’s outcome may be influenced by decisions made far away from the battlefield – mostly notably in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, where NATO is set to hold a key summit beginning Tuesday. The high-stakes meeting has a packed agenda, including the alliance's expansion and assistance to Ukraine.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukrainian artillery units firing at Bakhmut see tangible progress in pushing the Russians away, they told a CNN team reporting from the eastern front.

“One or two months ago there was a lot of incoming. It was scary to be here. Now it’s different,” he adds. 

Ukrainian officials said Friday they had advanced 1 kilometer in the direction of the city. The strategy is to encircle the city from the north and south while pounding Russian troops stationed there with non-stop bombardment to force them to surrender or retreat.

It’s a familiar routine. The orders come in over the radio and the small unit quickly turns into a beehive, removing the nets and tree branches camouflaging the gun, pointing it in the direction of the target and firing. Again and again. It takes minutes to cover it again and then wait for the next order. 

At one artillery position, Ukrainian soldiers claim to fire up to 300 rounds every day. But across the board they complain of an ongoing shortage of ammunition. In the absence of Western-supplied ammunition, they rely on Pakistani ammunition. Ares winces when he sees the "Pakistan" labels on the boxes. 

The Bogdana is a Ukrainian-made 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer. It has a few glitches but the soldiers are proud of it and the Western ammunition it uses, which explodes in the air sending shrapnel over a wide area. 

It has a range of over 40 kilometers (about 25 miles), laying the groundwork for the infantry to push through the Russian defense lines. 

“The Russians have fortified their positions and stand strong,” Bogdana commander Dmytro says. “But I think that’s temporary.”

Watch more:

No date is set yet for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Turkey, Russian state media TASS reported on Saturday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

According to TASS, Peskov said that contacts between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are possible, but the exact dates for a visit by the Russian leader to Turkey are still to be determined.

Erdogan told a press conference on Friday that Putin would visit Turkey next month. 

Peskov said Friday that the two sides were already in talks about an in-person meeting.

"Special relationship": Erdogan is engaged in something of a balancing act, as he tries to negotiate maintaining his close ties to Putin with his country's key strategic role as a member of NATO.

In an exclusive interview with CNN ahead of Turkish presidential elections in May and June, which secured him a third term, Erdogan told CNN that he has a "special" and growing relationship with Putin.

"We are not at a point where we would impose sanctions on Russia like the West have done. We are not bound by the West’s sanctions,” Erdogan told CNN. “We are a strong state and we have a positive relationship with Russia.”

However, with a key NATO summit beginning Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania, members of the defensive bloc have tried to persuade Turkey to toe the line — in particular, by allowing Sweden to join the alliance.