August 5, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in various areas of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine Saturday, according to Denis Pushilin, the Russia-installed head of occupied areas in the region.

The shelling killed two women — one in Donetsk city and one to the northeast in the city of Horlivka, Pushilin said on Telegram.

Nine other people were wounded across Horlivka and the smaller towns of Yasynuvata and Novopetrykivka, according to the Russia-backed official. The shelling also damaged 10 residential buildings and an infrastructure facility across the different areas, Pushilin said.

The latest round of shelling was among 48 attacks by Ukraine in the last 24 hours, he added.

Ukraine has not immediately commented on the reported attack, and CNN cannot independently verify reports from the front lines.

Shelling in Ukraine's northern Sumy region killed a man on Saturday afternoon, according to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

The man, who was in his 60s, was killed in his yard in the small village of Novoslobidska, community head Olha Harkavenko told Suspilne.

Sumy, in northeast Ukraine, borders Russia and suffers from daily Russian shelling. In July, the Ukrainian government established a "five-kilometer danger zone" — a border area where civilians are strongly recommended to evacuate.

It has also created a list of mandatory evacuation areas for children in frontline areas, which expanded again Saturday.

Russia has not immediately commented on the reported attack, and CNN cannot independently verify reports from the front lines.

Russia fired its advanced Kinzhal missiles into Ukrainian airspace on Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force warned on Telegram.

The missiles were launched from Russia's Tambov region and were heading toward the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine, according to the air force.

Explosions could be heard in the area, officials in Khmelnytskyi said, but there were not immediately further details on the attack.

The air force also reported a missile launch from Belarus.

About Kinzhal missiles: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military have touted the Kinzhal, or Kh-47, as an example of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal, claiming that its hypersonic speed makes it extremely difficult to intercept.

Ukraine has acknowledged that the missiles are tough to defend against, though it has knocked at least one out of the sky using a US Patriot defense battery.

Ukrainian intelligence estimated in May that Russia has only a few dozen Kinzhal missiles in its arsenal – a claim which couldn’t be independently verified.

Ukraine has served notice that it intends to continue attacks using maritime drones, following two strikes using such weapons within 24 hours.

The head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Maliuk said Saturday that any explosions that happen to Russian ships or the Crimean bridge are "an absolutely logical and effective step. Moreover, such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal."

Maliuk said that if the Russians wanted such explosions to stop "they have the only option to do so — to leave the territorial waters of Ukraine and our land."

Some context: The Russian-flagged tanker Sig was damaged by a maritime drone overnight near the bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia. According to the Russian agency for Marine and River Transport, the Sig was hit shortly before midnight Friday local time. It was not carrying a cargo of oil at the time.

The hit on the oil tanker was carried out in a joint operation with the Navy, a Ukraine Security Service (SBU) source told CNN.

The attack came hours after Ukrainian sea drones attacked a major Russian naval base in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian officials are ordering mandatory evacuations for children in nine additional frontline settlements "due to the difficult security situation and hostile shelling."

The government ministry that manages Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine said in a statement Saturday that officials have voted unanimously in favor of the new compulsory evacuations.

They affect a series of towns and villages that dot the eastern Donetsk region: Yampil, Zarichne, Torske, Orihuvatka, Nykonorivka, Malynivka, Tykhonivka, Vasiutynske and Rai-Oleksandrivka.

All are close to the front lines in an area that has seen attacks of growing intensity by Russian forces. The order applies to 130 children, the ministry said.

The ministry also reiterated warnings for civilians to evacuate from a “five-kilometer (about 3-mile) danger zone” in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine. Currently, 1,718 people, including 228 children, have been evacuated from the area bordering Russia.

Ukrainian authorities began issuing compulsory evacuation orders in March 2023 and have added settlements as conditions on the front line change. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense says its forces have taken a village in northeastern Ukraine — an area that has seen a growing concentration of Russian forces.

The ministry said Moscow's troops now control the settlement of Novoselivske, which lies on the border of the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, and has been on the front lines since a Ukrainian push recaptured much of Kharkiv last September.

Russia said it had also improved its position along the front line near two villages nearby.

The defense ministry published video of the Russian advance in the area, which has been geolocated by CNN as occurring in Novoselivske.

On Friday, a Russian military blogger said Moscow's forces were on offense in a forested area near the village, and that Russian assault detachments broke through Ukrainian defensive lines north of the settlement on August 3.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the Russian claim, but in recent days have spoken of renewed efforts by Russia to break through Ukrainian lines in the area.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Friday that Russian forces have intensified their attacks in the direction of Kupyansk, Lyman and Svatove — three cities in northeastern Ukraine, where Novoselivske is located.

Russian military bloggers have also claimed that Russian forces are edging closer to the Oskil River. Ukrainian forces have been defending the river's west bank around Kupyansk.

Saudi Arabia’s ancient Red Sea port city Jeddah, stewing in the steamy heat of the world’s hottest summer on record, is not the obvious pick to cool the world’s fiercest conflict, currently raging in Ukraine.

Yet, the desert kingdom’s king-in-waiting, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — MBS for short — thinks he can help. Last fall he had a role in the release of Western mercenaries captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine. Now he is hosting a summit to discuss peace in the country.

Ukrainian officials say the venue is a boon for them “that completely destroys the narrative of Russia” that Ukraine is only supported by “countries of the collective West.” They expect as many as 40 nations to be represented, including the US and India.

Saudi Arabia has not overtly taken a side in the war. More significantly, MBS has leverage. Like the roads that led to Rome in its day, Saudi Arabia is increasingly at the confluence of competing global interests.

What MBS wants most is a stable oil market and stronger trade relations throughout the Gulf. Disagreements alone are dangerous for the flow of oil. All-out war — between oil-rich, nuclear-armed Russia and Ukraine — could be catastrophic.

If he can tame that tiger, he can better plan how to deliver his otherworldly and insanely expensive visions of a future Saudi Arabia, diversifying from oil yet employing the country’s huge young population.

His ambition is what drives him every day. In his ideal world, Saudi Arabia would be a dominant geopolitical player.

You can dive deeper on this subject here.

In the wake of attacks by Ukrainian sea drones on two Russian ships in the Black Sea within 24 hours, the Ukrainian State Hydrological Service has issued a coastal warning to shipping services using several Russian ports.

It issued a coastal warning naming the ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhyk, Tuapse, Sochi and Taman as within a "War risk area."

A Russian naval ship sitting off Novorossiysk was struck by a sea drone early Friday, and then one of the country's biggest oil tankers was attacked by another of the unpiloted watercraft just before midnight, according to a Ukraine Security Service source.

A Ukrainian advantage: Kyiv's maritime drones are proving very difficult to defend against and can travel hundreds of miles to their target. In using them, Ukraine is opening up a new front — and may be trying to boost morale amid slow progress in its counteroffensive.

Danilov said August was particularly successful for Ukrainian "hunters."

"The next step is to expand the scale, range of combat operations, and the level and severity of Russian losses," he added.

The potential disruption to Russian shipping from sea drones was further demonstrated Saturday when the appointed governor of Russian-occupied Sevastopol issued a warning to maritime traffic that one had been spotted by the Russian navy.

"The Navy has detected a surface drone, which is currently continuing its movement. All necessary measures are being taken to destroy it," Mikhail Razvozhaev announced. Russia-backed officials limited maritime travel in some areas as a result.

More background: The Ukrainian maritime drone operations appear to have escalated since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain initiative last month.

On July 20, the Ukrainian defense ministry responded to Russia's move by saying "the Kremlin has turned the Black Sea into a danger zone, primarily for Russian ships and ships sailing in the Black Sea towards Russian seaports and Ukrainian seaports located on the territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia. Responsibility for all risks lies entirely with the Russian leadership."

Russia, meanwhile, has stepped up its air assault on Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure, particularly in the city of Odesa.

Ukraine seems intent on using a new generation of powerful maritime drones against Russian ships — both merchant and naval — in the Black Sea, opening up a new front in the 18-month war.

In the space of 24 hours, two Russian vessels — a naval landing ship and a fuel tanker — were hit in the eastern Black Sea by maritime drones. Both sustained extensive damage but remained afloat.

The fast, semi-submersible drones are proving very difficult to defend against. They are easily launched at sea and at least some variants are capable of traveling several hundred miles to their targets. If well-targeted, the 450-kilogram explosive payload is capable of crippling large vessels.

Ukrainian agencies, especially the Security Service (SBU), have been notably vocal about the use of these drones, warning that Russian infrastructure and shipping in the Black Sea is at risk. Previously, Ukrainian security forces have been reticent to speak much about such weapons.

Why now? Their use serves multiple purposes.

It represents the exploitation of new technology, much of it engineered in Ukraine, and one where the explosive charge is greater than in previous models.

At a time when Ukrainian forces are struggling to take ground, the attacks in the Black Sea are a boost to morale and a way to divide the attention of the Russian Black Sea fleet.

It may also be that Russia's refusal to renew the Black Sea grain initiative is a factor.

When Russia quit the deal last month, they warned that ships heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered military targets. The Ukrainian defense ministry responded by saying that all shipping using Russian-held ports may be considered the same.

Two weeks later, that capability is on display.