March 1, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

Ukrainian forces are mostly holding their positions around the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut, but at a high price, according to one commander.

“Bakhmut is withstanding,” said Col. Yurii Madyar, commander of the 28th Brigade, but it’s “becoming increasingly difficult to do so.”

Russian forces have taken little additional territory in the past 24 hours, according to geolocated video and frontline accounts.

If you’re just now catching up, here’s what else you should know:

On the ground. There were Russian attacks on the central Poltava region as well as the Bilohorivka and Kreminna areas in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian officials said. The General Staff said several civilians were wounded in Russian rocket attacks in the northern region of Kharkiv. It also reported heavy shelling along the frontline that runs north-south on the Luhansk-Kharkiv border.

Beijing’s stance: China’s position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and clear, President Xi Jinping told his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, on Wednesday, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting. Xi urged involved countries to “stop politicizing and instrumentalizing the world economy” and take steps to resolve the war. President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he is readying for an upcoming visit by Xi to Moscow, according to the Kremlin. 

Russia’s START note: Russia handed an official note to the United States on Tuesday on the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media RIA Novosti Wednesday. The note did state that Russia will continue to observe the treaty’s central provisions, Ryabkov told RIA. It comes after Putin signed a law suspending Russia’s participation in START, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. The US is still in compliance with the treaty, but State Department spokesperson Ned Price suggested that could change depending on “how Russia chooses to proceed.”

Wagner update: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said there are no Serbian nationals among the mercenary group’s fighters in Ukraine, after “the last one” left the area two months ago. The comments come after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić accused Wagner of trying to recruit Serbs to fight in Ukraine. 

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin attends a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 16, 2016.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said there are currently no Serbian nationals among the Wagner PMC fighters in Ukraine, after “the last one” left the area two months ago. The comments come after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić accused Wagner of trying to recruit Serbs to fight in Ukraine. 

The remarks come after POLITICO published an article featuring comments from Vučić, who was quoted saying that Serbs who have been recruited to fight in Ukraine “are going to be arrested when they come back to Serbia.”

Vučić has openly accused Wagner of trying to recruit Serbian fighters for its ranks. His comments echo similar remarks published in Serbian media, according to CNN affiliate N1. The private Russian military company has advertised for personnel on Russia Today’s Serbian-language portal, according to N1. 

Vučić has sought to balance Serbia’s cultural and religious ties with Russia, with ambitions to join the European Union and NATO. 

Ukrainians have reported attacks in the Bilohorivka and Kreminna areas in the eastern Luhansk region of Ukraine.

For the past two months, the front lines close to the border of Luhansk and Kharkiv regions have seen heavy exchanges of fire as well as fighting in the forests west of Kreminna, which is held by the Russians.

“They also have a lot of Lancet kamikaze drones, and they are trying to use them to search for positions and equipment and to inflict fire,” Hayday said.

There has also been heavy fighting east of the town of Kupyansk, which is in the same zone.

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service released video of aerial reconnaissance in the area, saying that over the past few days 117 drone reconnaissance flights had helped fix artillery fire.

The General Staff said that in the northern region of Kharkiv, several civilians had been wounded in Russian rocket attacks. It reported heavy shelling along the frontline that runs north-south on the Luhansk-Kharkiv border. 

Southwest of Donetsk city, “the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions,” according to the General Staff.

CNN has geolocated video published by one Ukrainian brigade showing several Russian tanks and fighting vehicles being struck near the town of Avdiivka.

“In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, the enemy is defending,” the General Staff said, but “in some areas, it is trying to create conditions for an offensive.” 

The General Staff said Russian artillery had fired at more than 40 settlements in the long front line that runs from Donetsk through Zaporizhzhia and into Kherson.

Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire targets from a mobile howitzer outside of Bakhmut on February 28.

Russian forces continue to press their offensive in the Bakhmut area in eastern Ukraine, but have taken little additional territory in the past 24 hours, geolocated video and frontline accounts suggest.

Col. Yurii Madyar, commander of the 28th Brigade, said in a video message on Telegram that “Bakhmut is withstanding,” but that the price for holding on to the city “is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.”

“The enemy has been raging for the last day first of all with the intention of destroying this city, to destroy as much of the remaining life here as possible — and at any cost to ensure the bypassing of the city of Bakhmut on the flanks in order to surround it and block the routes of military movement and delivery of necessary supplies,” Madyar said.

A building damaged by a Russian military strike in Bakhmut is pictured February 27.

He added that there were battles involving small arms to the north of Bakhmut, and there was “street fighting in the suburbs along the eastern, northern and southern and western-southern outskirts.”

Ukrainian units “are holding the northern flank to prevent the enemy from encircling Bakhmut,” Madyar said.

As the ground softens with springtime, Madyar said he foresees the enemy not being able to “carry out any quick operations.”

Oleksii Reva, head of Bakhmut city military administration, said there were still heavy battles for the city. “It is painful to see what enemy shells are doing to the city,” he said on Facebook.

The military’s General Staff said that while “the enemy continues to advance in the Bakhmut sector,” attacks on settlements to the west of Bakhmut — Khromove, Ivanivske, Orikhovo-Vasylivka and Chasiv Yar — have been repelled.

Russia has given the US an official diplomatic note on its withdrawal from the New START, a key nuclear arms reduction agreement, according to the State Department.

Price called Russia’s decision to unilaterally suspend the treaty “unfortunate” and “irresponsible.”

“Russia is not better off in a world where the two largest nuclear powers are no longer engaged in bilateral arms control,” Price said, adding that “Russia’s willingness to promote instability, to promote irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, endanger every nation on this planet.”

Price said that the US is still in compliance with the treaty, “including New START’s numerical limits” on nuclear weapons, but suggested that could change depending on “how Russia chooses to proceed.”

“If we see Russia take steps that would require any sort of change in our own nuclear posture or approach, we will make those adjustments as is appropriate,” the official said.

A senior State Department official said Monday that they were “still receiving notifications, as recently as today, under the treaty, regular notifications,” but “we expect that as soon as that suspension has been formalized, that those will stop.”

More background: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that he was suspending his country’s participation in the treaty, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.

The treaty puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have. It was last extended in early 2021 for five years, meaning the two sides would soon need to begin negotiating on another arms control agreement.

Under the key nuclear arms control treaty, both the United States and Russia are permitted to conduct inspections of each other’s weapons sites, though inspections had been halted since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ukrainian officials say there has been a missile attack on the central Poltava region in Ukraine amid widespread air-raid warnings across the country.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of launching a spate of attempted drone strikes targeting infrastructure deep inside Russia, including near the capital. CNN is unable to independently confirm the claims for the alleged attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he is readying for an upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow, according to the Kremlin. 

Putin said he plans to meet with his counterpart and the Chinese delegation about a Moscow metro line during their visit to the Russian capital. A Russian division of a Chinese construction enterprise, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), was involved in building a section of the metro line, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

“I plan to meet with the President of China, and if the agenda permits, we will be happy to show it to our guests. At least, I think that members of the delegation should be able to see it,” Putin said during the opening ceremony for the Big Circle Line, according to a transcript from the Kremlin. Putin attended the ceremony virtually. 

Some key context: Beijing has refused to acknowledge the nature of the Ukraine conflict – it has so far avoided calling it an “invasion” – and continued diplomatic and economic support for Moscow.

As Russia continues to be hit with Western sanctions, China has declared “no limits” to its friendship with its northern neighbor and has thrown the Kremlin an economic lifeline.

Russia has repeatedly requested drones and ammunition from China, sources familiar with the intelligence said, and Chinese leadership has been actively debating over the last several months whether or not to send the lethal aid, the sources added.

The Russian defense ministry claimed in a statement that the military prevented a “massive” drone attack on Crimea.

“Six Ukrainian strike unmanned vehicles were shot down by air defense systems. Four more Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been put out of action by means of electronic warfare,” the statement published on Wednesday said.

There were no casualties, according to the ministry, which did not release any photographic evidence of the drones, nor provide details about the locations where the drones were allegedly brought down. 

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that electronic warfare systems had suppressed Ukrainian drones that tried to attack Krasnodar and neighboring Adygea in southwestern Russia. Russian authorities also claimed that a Ukrainian drone had crashed near Kolomna in the Moscow region, but an image of the drone could not be geolocated.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, on March 1.

Germany will ramp up its ammunition production as well as weapon repair capacity to better support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, the country’s leader said Wednesday. 

“The now one-year lasting support of Ukraine has also brought us the knowledge that enables us to ensure that there is also a sufficient supply, with spare parts, that we have created repair capacities for the weapons used in the war, at locations outside of Ukraine,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

Berlin announced last week that it is sending another four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. 

Several soldiers in the Russian military have offered to instead join the Wagner private military company, according to video obtained by CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

In a separate video, CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen reports that Russian soldiers from Irktusk are refusing to fight.

“Due to the current state of affairs, we find ourselves in a desperate position as the commanders do not care about our lives,” a soldier says in the video, according to Pleitgen, who adds that the soldier also said, “we ask for help; we have nowhere else to turn.”

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin repeatedly and publicly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry last week over what he alleged was a lack of ammunition from the ministry.

Watch Burnett’s report here:

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01:19 • Source: CNN

Russia handed an official note to the United States on Tuesday on the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

The note did state that Russia will continue to observe the treaty’s central provisions, which include restrictions on the number of relevant systems, said Ryabkov, as quoted by RIA.

“We are ready to discuss any issues that are of interest to [America], on the understanding that there will be no revision of the decision to suspend the START, at least until the American colleagues show their readiness to abandon their hostile course towards Russia - primarily in relation to what is happening in Ukraine and around it,” he added according to RIA Novosti.

Remember: On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law suspending Russia’s participation in START, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.

The treaty puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have. It was last extended in early 2021 for five years, meaning the two sides would soon need to begin negotiating on another arms control agreement.

The treaty was already essentially paused since Russia had recently refused to open up its arsenal to inspectors.

A small bunch of snowdrops sits on an improvised table in a basement in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

A small bunch of snowdrop flowers sits on an improvised table in a basement in Bakhmut. Elena Molchanova’s husband brought them for her, a reminder of better times.

“The spring has already arrived to Bakhmut,” Molchanova told CNN via a text message. “I am sure everything will be OK.”

The couple is living in the basement of a hospital where Molchanova works as a doctor.

They have stayed in the eastern Ukrainian city despite its worsening humanitarian and security situation. Every day, the fighting comes closer to her.

As Russian forces continue to advance, Molchanova and her husband are two of the roughly 4,500 civilians who are still in Bakhmut.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Donetsk regional military administration, Tetiana Ignatchenko, called on people to evacuate the city due to the danger but told CNN on Wednesday they had enough supplies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing, China, on March 1.

China’s position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and clear, President Xi Jinping told his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, on Wednesday, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting.

Xi urged involved countries to “stop politicizing and instrumentalizing the world economy” and take steps to resolve the war.

According to the Chinese readout, Lukashenko said Belarus “entirely agrees with and supports China’s position and proposition” on the issue.

More context: In a released position paper Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry called for a resumption of peace talks, an end to unilateral sanctions, and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons – a stance Xi communicated to Western leaders last year

China reiterated its calls for a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, as Beijing comes under increasing pressure from the United States and its allies over its growing partnership with Moscow.

The Ukrainian electrical grid has been operating without deficit or wide-ranging blackouts for 18 days, the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo said in a statement on Wednesday, as Ukrainians marked the first day of spring in the country. 

“There has been no power deficit in the power system for 18 days already and it is not currently forecasted,” the company said. 

Despite Russia’s attempt to weaponize winter by targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukrenergo says its staff was able to repair and maintain the grid. 

Meanwhile, the energy supply in the frontline regions is difficult due to Russian shelling that has damaged the networks in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Kherson regions, Ukrenergo said. “The repairs are being carried out if the security situation is safe for the repair crews.”

Finnish MPs attend a plenary session of the Finnish parliament on a vote on the country's entry to NATO in Helsinki, Finland, on March 1.

Finnish lawmakers have voted largely to support the country’s bid to join NATO in a parliamentary vote Wednesday.

“On 1 March 2023, Parliament approved the government proposal on Finland’s accession to NATO by a vote of 184-7,” the parliament said in a statement.

Finland and its neighbor Sweden applied for NATO membership amid security concerns after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Hungarian President Katalin Novák earlier said she hoped lawmakers would ratify Sweden and Finland’s ascension into NATO “as soon as possible.”

So far, 28 out of the 30 allies have ratified both Finland and Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance. Only Hungary and Turkey have not yet done so.

As Russian forces continue their assault on the besieged city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces said they have no plans of withdrawing from the eastern Ukrainian city.

Elsewhere, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, and Hungary’s president has called on lawmakers to ratify Finland and Sweden’s bids to join the NATO military alliance.

Here are the latest headlines:

A soldier from Ukraine’s 93th Brigade said his country’s forces are still standing in the eastern city of Bakhmut, with no plans for a retreat. 

“We are standing in Bakhmut. No one is going to retreat yet,” the soldier said in a video posted by the Ukrainian military on Wednesday. “We are standing. Bakhmut is Ukraine.”

The soldier also claimed the situation in Bakhmut was a bit calmer than in previous days.

The Ukrainian military has not made the decision to withdraw from the city, a spokesperson said. Ukrainian forces said they are holding ground and have repelled some Russian advances.

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, left, meets with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on March 1.

Belarus fully supports Beijing’s initiative on international security, President Alexander Lukashenko told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

“Today’s meeting is held at a very difficult time which requires new nonstandard approaches and responsible political decisions,” Lukashenko told Xi, according to Belarus state news agency BelTA.

“They should be aimed to prevent global confrontation which will have no winners. You have recently stated it, both clearly and unambiguously, addressing the world community,” Lukashenko said.

“Belarus has been actively proposing peace and fully supports your initiative on international security,” he added, according to BelTA.

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko, third right, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, second left, in Beijing, China, on March 1.

Lukashenko’s comments come a few days after China published a position paper on the war in Ukraine, calling for the end of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks.

In the paper, China calls for a political settlement of the conflict, peace talks, and respect for national sovereignty.

However, the document does not explicitly say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and also condemns the use of “unilateral sanctions.”

Belarus, Moscow’s ally and Ukraine’s neighbor, has been used by Russia as a rear base since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

However, Lukashenko has not sent any soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.

Russian forces have deployed more experienced fighters from private military company Wagner in their assault on Bakhmut, a Ukrainian military spokesperson told CNN.

“A characteristic feature is that the enemy threw the most prepared Wagner units into the attack,” said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the country’s Armed Forces, on Wednesday.

According to Cherevatyi, fighting is ongoing along the Bakhmut front.

“The enemy launched 209 attacks using cannon artillery, MLRS. There were 57 firefights, and 1 airstrike made by the enemy,” he said.

“There were 85 attacks with all types of artillery in the area of the settlement of Bakhmut only and there were 25 firefights directly near the city,” added Cherevatyi.

Russian forces are suffering immense casualties and compromising their ability to fight beyond Bakhmut, he said.

“We inflict enormous losses on [our enemy]. And so, with this heroic struggle, the defenders of the Bakhmut front are bleeding the enemy out, weakening it, preparing a foothold for the reserves that will then come in and throw enemy out of our territory,” said Cherevatyi.

“What we are winning against the enemy now is that we are not allowing it to systematically break through our defense, not allowing it to quickly get to the rear, not allowing it to surround our troops.”