March 26, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

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

The Lithuanian flag flutters in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2019.

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said it will call for new sanctions against Russia in response to plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, according to a statement released Sunday.

The ministry said this will be part of its discussions with its Euro-Atlantic partners on how to respond to Russia and Belarus’ latest plans and called it “yet another attempt by two unpredictable dictatorial regimes to threaten their neighbours and the entire European continent.”

“These are desperate moves by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Belarusian leader Alexander) Lukashenko to create another wave of tension and destabilisation in Europe. These actions are dragging Belarus further into the war with Ukraine and into confrontation with the democratic world,” the ministry stated.

“Belarus, which is increasingly losing its sovereignty, supports and aids Russian aggression, and gets integrated more and more closely into Russia’s military plans, is an additional risk factor for the Baltic region,” the ministry added.

The aftermath of shelling in Avdiivka on March 26.

Authorities in the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka — located in the eastern Donetsk region — are urging people to evacuate as critical resources like mobile service and electricity are disrupted by Russian shelling, a top regional official said.

Starting Sunday, the town’s utilities will be shut off as “more and more of the town is shelled and destroyed daily,” Vitalii Barabash, the head of Avdiivka military administration, said in a Telegram post.

The regional leader said mobile coverage for the town will be shut off, too. He also cautioned that people will not be able to charge their phones, because in the coming days there will be nobody to service the generators or run the mobile tower.

“That’s why you need to move out, you need to get ready for this. Especially those with children,” he said, “Real life shows that basements will not save you at the rate they are hitting the town with airstrikes now. Soon, I think Avdiivka may become a second Marinka — that is, nothing of the town will remain.”

About Avdiivka: The town is located just north of Donetsk city, a large metropolitan area.

The industrial town, home to a large smelting plant, has been shelled persistently since the Russian invasion began. However, in recent weeks Russian ground attacks in the area have intensified.

Some Ukrainian officials have said that the town could become a second Bakhmut, the mostly abandoned city where Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought for weeks to what is, at this moment, a bloody stalemate.

Barabash has said in previous updates that civilian evacuations from the town are perilous, with a “road of death” leading out of town that’s monitored by Russian troops who “immediately open fire.”

CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova contributed to this report.

At least two people died, and one person was wounded by Russian shelling in several areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region overnight Saturday into Sunday, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the region’s military administration.

Kyrylenko said one of the people killed was in the town of Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut, and the other was in Pivnichne Toretske, a village to the south.

Homes were damaged in the industrial city of Kostyantynivka and the nearby community of Predtechyne, according to the Ukrainian leader. Shelling hit several other towns around the region, too, he said.

CNN cannot independently verify Kyrylenko’s claims. 

Russia says a Ukrainian drone caused an explosion that wounded three people the country’s Tula region, about 140 miles south of Moscow, Russian state news agency TASS reported Sunday. 

“The explosion in the city of Kireyevsk in the Tula region was caused by a Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone was stuffed with explosive substances,” a spokesperson for the local law enforcement agencies told TASS. 

“Fragments of the Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh drone have been retrieved from the blast,” the Russian official added. 

According to TASS, “two young men received fragmentation wounds and one more person was slightly hurt. Three apartment blocks and four household structures were damaged.” 

Ukraine has not commented on the incident so far, and CNN has not been able to independently verify Moscow’s claim.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Russian-Chinese talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace, on March 21, in Moscow, Russia.

Russia’s announcement that it will move tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is “dangerous and irresponsible,” a NATO spokesperson told CNN Sunday.

“Russia’s reference to NATO’s nuclear sharing is totally misleading,” Lungescu continued, referring to Putin’s claims that his move would merely mirror those of Western nations.

“NATO allies act with full respect of their international commitments. Russia has consistently broken its arms control commitments, most recently suspending its participation in the New START Treaty,” she said.

“Russia must return to compliance and act in good faith,” Lungescu said. 

The European Union’s foreign policy chief also condemned Putin’s announcement.

Artillery strikes have intensified near the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kupyansk and Lyman in recent weeks, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Sunday.

“This area has been leading in the number of artillery strikes for several weeks now,” said Serhii Cherevatyi, who represents the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The area has seen 370 artillery and Multiple Launch Rocket System strikes over the last day alone, Cherevatyi said on national television.

The spokesperson said the attacks differ from those in the besieged city of Bakhmut, because Wagner mercenary forces have been conducting those assaults, whereas Kupyansk and Lyman are being targeted by regular Russian troops.

Russian forces in the Kupyansk-Lyman area are mostly reinforced by conscripted Russian troops, Cherevatyi said.

“They are engaged in more ‘classical’ combat operations, so their losses are somewhat lower,” the spokesperson said. (Bakhmut, by contrast, has been compared to a “meat-grinder” for its wave after wave of casualties.)

So far, Russian forces have been unable to make significant breakthroughs against Ukrainian defenses in the region, according to Cherevatyi.

Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire a T-72 tank on the front line near Bakhmut on March 26.

Russia has kept up its attacks on the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian military is able “control the enemy’s actions” and has “enough forces to hold the front line,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Sunday.

Serhii Cherevatyi, who represents the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, shared the update on national television. He was asked to clarify remarks by the commander in chief of Ukraine’s military, who said Friday that the situation in Bakhmut has been “stabilized.”

“‘Stabilizing the situation’ means that we see and control the enemy’s actions,” Cherevatyi said.

An aerial view of Bakhmut on March 26.

Cherevatyi said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent visit to the front lines helped demonstrate the military’s command of the situation on the battlefield.

“Everyone knows the course of their actions, everyone knows their algorithms, there is coherence, there is an understanding of what to do. This is stabilization,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the Russian onslaught is fierce, with “dense shelling” and a total of 268 attacks in the Bakhmut sector over the last 24 hours, according to Ukraine’s military. Cherevatyi said Russia made 94 attacks in Bakhmut alone.

Troops engaged directly in combat 17 times in the region over that period, including 13 times directly in the city of Bakhmut.

National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby answers questions during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 17.

Asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pledge to put tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said Sunday: “We’re just going to have to watch and see where this one goes.”

More context: Putin made the remarks about his plans for tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus to state television Saturday. Putin added his forces would retain control over any of the weapons it stationed there.

The US has downplayed the move, saying there are no indications Russia was planning to use nuclear weapons. Ukraine says the plans are a “step towards internal destabilization” of Belarus.

Belarus, which is west of Russia on Ukraine’s long northern border, is among Moscow’s closest allies. It helped Russia launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing the Kremlin’s troops to enter the country from the north. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements about his intentions to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus are “yet another provocative step” that undermines nuclear disarmament efforts and the “international security system as a whole,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

“Despite the horrific crimes against humanity and war crimes that the Kremlin is committing in this war of aggression against a sovereign state, Russia is demonstrating its inability to win on the battlefield,” the ministry said.

Kyiv also appealed to the Group of Seven (G7) alliance and the European Union to warn Belarus authorities of the “long-term consequences” should they accept the weapons on their territory.

Ukraine is expecting the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France — which as permanent members of the UN Security Council have “a particular responsibility to prevent threats of aggression using nuclear weapons” — to act to counter the Kremlin.

“We demand that an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council be immediately convened for this purpose,” the ministry said, adding “Ukraine calls on all members of the international community to convey the utmost unacceptability” of the latest “nuclear provocations” by Putin’s regime.

“Russia has once again proven its persistent inability to be a responsible holder of nuclear weapons for the purpose of deterring and preventing war, rather than a tool of threats and intimidation. The world must unite against those who threaten the future of human civilization,” the ministry said.

A view of destroyed buildings in Vuhledar, Ukraine on March 26.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Vuhledar has been “completely razed to the ground” as heavy shelling by Russian forces is ongoing in the area, Nazarii Kishak, commander of the machine gun unit with the 72nd separate mechanized brigade, said Sunday on national television. 

“The enemy continues to use multiple rocket launchers, and shelling not only the immediate front line and Vuhledar but also the surrounding areas,” he said. “The enemy is constantly shelling all settlements with large caliber weapons. The civilian population is exhausted.”

Civilians are living “wherever they can, even in the corridors, hiding from the shelling,” he said. “People are in a very exhausted emotional state of despair. They don’t know what to expect. We are trying to support them, we communicate with them. People have been left without a thing but they still help us, the military.”

When asked if there are signs of exhaustion among the Russian forces, he said, “I’ll tell you this — everyone is exhausted but we have to hold on and defend our country. We are the infantry who must stand until the end, not leaving a single meter of our land.”

Kishak said Russian forces “did suffer heavy losses” but “Russia has lots of reserves.”

“The brigade is standing strong and Ukraine has no reason to worry about the Vuhledar direction,” he said. “But the Bakhmut direction is really difficult. Which is why a very strong commander is there now. Heavy fighting is ongoing there, there are dead and wounded every hour.”

“Our task as Ukrainians is to pray and believe, and then it’s up to God. We have got to win on our land,” he said.

Statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus show he is afraid of losing, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Sunday.

“Putin (RF [Russian Federation]) is too predictable. Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing and all he can do is scare with tactics,” Podolyak said on his official Twitter account. 

“Second. He once again states his involvement in the crime. Violating the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” Podolyak added. 

Belarus, which is west of Russia on Ukraine’s long northern border, is among Moscow’s closest allies. It helped Russia launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing the Kremlin’s troops to enter the country from the north.

Some more context: In an interview that aired Saturday on Russian state television channel Russia 24, Putin claimed that stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would not be a violation of nuclear nonproliferation agreements He said Moscow had already transferred an Iskander short-range missile system, a device which can be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, to Belarus.

The US State Department told CNN it would “continue to monitor the implications” of Russia’s plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus but would not adjust its nuclear weapons strategy.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement to CNN.

Russian forces have increased airstrikes and cut off supply routes in Avdiivka, a town in eastern Ukraine, where the situation continues to be “difficult,” a Ukrainian Special Forces Legion of Freedom soldier said Sunday on state television.

“The operational situation is difficult but this is not something that has developed recently,” soldier Maksym Morozov said. “The situation here has been difficult all the time since the beginning of the full-scale war.” 

“The only thing that has changed, is the number of airstrikes has increased,” he added.

Avdiivka is located about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the city of Donetsk. 

Some Ukrainian officials fear the town may become a second Bakhmut, the city which has become a bloody stalemate in recent weeks.

According to Morozov, Russian forces are using “meat grinder” tactics along the eastern frontline, including in Bakhmut and Avdiivka, but the situation in both differ. 

Attacks in Bakhmut have been in waves, whereas in Avdiivka, enemy troops have been accompanied by heavy equipment like tanks, he explained. Likewise, both have seen similar encirclement tactics, but Avdiivka was “threatened” with it from the beginning due to its proximity to Donetsk, he added.

Russian forces have partially cut off supply routes but not to ammunition, he said. “This road to Avdiivka is not cut. The threat of the Avdiivka encirclement is being stopped and controlled.”

Morozov said the enemy is not short of ammunition or manpower, with up to 12 airstrikes a day, but for Ukrainian troops, “there is never enough ammunition.”

Russia’s private military group Wagner has taken “full control” of the AZOM metallurgical plant in the north of the city of Bakhmut, according to video posted by Russian state media and verified by CNN.

“Wagner has full control of the territory of AZOM, the Artemivsk [Bakhmut] non-ferrous metal processing plant,” a correspondent for RIA Novosti said in a video, which captures Wagner fighters throughout the plant.

CNN cannot independently verify RIA’s claim and has reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for comment but is yet to receive a response.

Bakhmut has become a focal point of Russia’s invasion, with Moscow pressing hard to capture the city after failing to make major gains elsewhere.

The exact status of the battle for the city is unclear, but if confirmed Wagner’s claims would suggest Russia has made gains despite positive signals from Ukraine this week.

On Thursday one of Kyiv’s top generals said Russian forces are depleted in Bakhmut and a Ukrainian counter-offensive could soon be launched.

Read more here.

While the fury of conflict echoes across the eastern Donbas region, a very different war is being waged in Crimea: one of night-time explosions, sabotage and disinformation.

Reclaiming Crimea may seem like an unlikely quest for Ukraine but it is putting considerable effort into making Russia’s occupation as uncomfortable as possible. And the Russians are going to great lengths to fortify the peninsula, which they illegally annexed in 2014.

That includes hiring legions of workers to build fortifications and trenches.

The Ukrainian military has been carrying out attacks in Crimea with two goals: harass the Russian Black Sea fleet and disrupt vital Russian supply lines.

Satellite imagery in February showed a substantial Russian build-up of equipment and armor at several points across northern Crimea.

Few details emerge about Ukrainian strikes in Crimea. Only occasionally does unofficial social media video provide clues about what has been hit. And only occasionally do normally circumspect Ukrainian officials refer to any actions in Crimea.

This is part of the conflict that is fought largely in the shadows, a far cry from the brutal attritional warfare that rages across Donbas.

But last week Ukraine’s Main Intelligence reported that explosions in the Crimean town of Dzhankoi were due to a strike against Russian Kalibr cruise missiles being transported via rail. It said the strike served to “demilitarize Russia and prepare the Crimean peninsula for de-occupation.”

Read more here.

Vladimir Putin says he plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the neighboring ally from which he staged part of his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. When the Russian President uses the word “nuclear” the world pays attention and that appears to be a major reason why he said it.

As usual with Putin, the world should read the fine print and check the context. The weapons Putin plans to move to Belarus are not strategic nuclear weapons, those giant intercontinental ballistic missiles that, if fired, could end life on earth.

Tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, but powerful, and can be used on the battlefield. Putin has been threatening the possibility of nuclear war for the past year, especially when his military operation in Ukraine is faltering.

That could help to explain the context of Putin’s announcement. He’s a man with a lot of problems right now. Russian forces are bombarding Ukrainian cities from the air, but their ground war is not making much headway.

Then there’s the International Criminal Court and the arrest warrant it has issued for Putin.

Now, about that fine print.

Putin is blaming his decision on the other side, saying he made it in response to the United Kingdom supplying Ukraine with anti-tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium.

That, Putin charges, is a dangerous escalation. The UK denies this, explaining that the ammunition is used only for conventional purposes.

Read the full analysis here.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a visit from Xi in Moscow. On Tuesday, Xi held talks with Putin at the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin says Russia has not “created a military alliance with China and does not threaten any countries.”

The comment follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Moscow last week, which was closely watched for signs China might step up support for Russia.

The US administration maintains China has been providing “non-lethal” assistance to Russia through its companies. 

Speaking during a TV interview Putin also accused the West of “starting to build a new axis similar to the one built by fascist Germany and militaristic Japan.”

Some background: Xi visited Putin for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, a trip which Beijing cast as a “journey of peace.”

But the visit came just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on account of war crimes, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said showed China’s intent to provide “diplomatic cover” for alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine.

China has claimed neutrality in the conflict, seeking to portray itself as a peacemaker. At the same time is has backed Kremlin rhetoric blaming NATO for the war and refused to condemn the invasion.

Russia’s plans to deploy tactical weapons in Belarus has been described as a “step towards internal destabilization of the country” by a security advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Putin’s statement about placing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus – a step towards internal destabilization of the country – maximizes the level of negative perception and public rejection of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society,” Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Twitter Sunday.

“The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” he added. 

In a televised address Saturday, President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is Russia’s neighboring ally. 

The weapons Putin plans to move to Belarus are not intercontinental ballistic missiles, but rather smaller, more tactical nuclear weapons for use on the battlefield. 

The US has given a cautious reaction to Russia’s plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus saying it would “continue to monitor the implications.”

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement to CNN.

Russia and Belarus have discussed this movement of weapons for some time, having made multiple statements throughout the past year, another State Department spokesperson said.

An aerial view of the Gates of Minsk in Belarus, June, 2019.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told state television that Moscow will retain control over any of the tactical nuclear weapons it plans to station in neighboring Belarus.

He likened the move to the United States’ practice of stationing nuclear weapons in Europe. Washington retains control over the weapons, keeping host countries — like Germany — from breaking their commitments as non-nuclear powers.

“We are not going to hand over control of nuclear weapons. The US doesn’t hand it over to its allies. We’re basically doing the same thing (US leaders) have been doing for a decade,” Putin said.

Some background: Even though there is no guarantee the Russian leader will follow through with his plan to station the weapons in Belarus, any nuclear signaling by Putin will cause concern in the West.

Since invading Ukraine more than a year ago, the Russian leader has used escalating rhetoric on a number of occasions, warning of the “increasing” threat of nuclear war and suggesting Moscow may abandon its “no first use” policy.

The United States has sought to make it clear to Putin the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, even low-yield tactical devices.