August 18, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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

When they heard an explosion hit nearby just before midnight, Anastasia Zabolotnya and Andriy Stupak ran for their basement, escaping moments before a Russian rocket tore through the roof of their home.

The first missile left a gaping hole in the center of the local football pitch in the village of Prydniprovske, in the Dnipro region of southern Ukraine.

“It saved us that the first incoming was there,” Zabolotnya said. “The second one (landed) on our house.”

The young couple, ages 17 and 19, lived in the house with Zabolotnya’s mother and younger brother, who also survived by running for shelter.

Ukrainian officials say the two missiles came from Russian forces based a few miles away across the Dnipro River at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which the Russians have controlled since March.

Local residents in the cities of Nikopol, Marhanets, and the surrounding villages have been targeted by shelling from troops at the plant for weeks.

Ukraine accuses the Russians of using the highly sensitive location as a shield, and has urged them to allow an inspection by nuclear experts and a demilitarized zone, to prevent a nuclear catastrophe at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky held trilateral talks in Lviv on Thursday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who warned of the danger of “a new Chernobyl” due to the escalating situation.

For those living in the shadow of the plant, life is now on tenterhooks.

He said the Russians are shelling his village to “spread panic and terror,” but he can’t understand why they are putting the nuclear plant at risk.

“Perhaps they don’t understand what they are doing,” Stupak said.

A week after the missile hit Zabolotnya’s home, stray kittens from the village now clamber over the remnants of the rocket which ripped through the house. The family is living in a nearby hostel, and slowly trying to clear out the piles of rubble and the debris that used to be their possessions.  

But the fear will take longer to fix.

“It’s very scary,” Zabolotnya said. Now, they are afraid of “every rustle,” Stupak said.

#Zaporizhzhia##

A pro-Russian official in Zaporizhzhia says there have been several artillery strikes in the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Thursday evening.

Vladimir Rogov, an official with the self-declared Russian-backed Zaporizhzhia region administration, said on his Telegram channel: “At the moment, there are at least 7 hits from heavy artillery in the Enerhodar region.”

Enerhodar is the town closest to the plant. 

CNN cannot verify Rogov’s claim. The Russian and Ukrainian sides blame each other for rocket and artillery attacks on and around the large nuclear complex.

Witnesses in the Crimean city of Sevastopol have reported on social media that sirens and anti-air defenses were activated on Thursday night.

The focus of the air defense activity appears to have been in the vicinity of a military air base on the Black Sea coast, about 5.5 miles (about 9 kilometers) from the city.

Sevastopol Gov. Mikhail Razvozhaev said on his Telegram channel that “according to preliminary data, an unmanned aerial vehicle was recently shot down near the Belbek airport by air defenses.”

“There is no damage. No harm done,” he said, urging residents to ignore Ukrainian channels discussing “their ‘successful’ attack.”

“Please everyone keep calm and get information from trusted sources,” Razvozhaev said. 

CNN cannot independently verify what caused the air defenses to be activated or whether any damage was caused in the area. 

Russia military vehicles are sitting inside a turbine hall connected to a nuclear reactor at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, new video shows.

CNN has geolocated and confirmed the authenticity of the video, which began circulating on social media Thursday. It’s unclear when the video was taken.

The video was taken in one of the six turbine rooms located on the western side of the nuclear power plant, which is located in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. Each turbine hall is connected and built into a large building that houses a nuclear reactor.

The vehicles, which appear to be standard Russian military trucks, are sitting in the far western edge of the building on the ground floor, just over 400 feet (130 meters) from the reactor.

At least five vehicles — with one clearly marked with the pro-war symbol “Z” — are seen in the video, with at least two tent-like structures nearby. There are a number of assorted pallets near the vehicles.

It’s unclear from the video whether the pallets and tent-like structures are part of the Russian military or are related to power plant operations. 

In the past, the Russians have said the only military equipment at the nuclear power plant is relating to guard duties. On Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that satellite imagery, “shows that weapons, especially heavy ones, are not placed on the territory of this station.” 

CNN has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment on what is inside and around the military vehicles in the turbine room, but did not immediately receive a response.

Some background: For weeks, the Ukrainians have accused the Russian military of launching attacks from the plant. Most recently, the chairman of Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, Petro Kotin, said that Russia was storing 14 “units of heavy military equipment” in the “first power unit” and “six vehicles” in the “second engine room.” 

Russian military vehicles have been absent from the plant since July 24, according to satellite imagery of the complex provided to CNN by Planet Labs. 

It’s unclear whether the Russian military trucks are being stored inside the turbine room or if they are using it as cover after a Ukrainian military strike, which took place on July 19. The strike targeted Russian military personnel in three tents just under 1,000 feet (more than 300 meters) from one of the nuclear reactors.

Russian troops are in a situation where they “can’t move anywhere further” in Ukraine thanks to weapons provided by Western countries, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk told CNN on Thursday.

“But unfortunately at the same time we don’t have enough weapons for a proper, serious, fully-fledged counter-offensive,” he added.

The former defense minister also said the term “stalemate” was not applicable to the situation in Ukraine.

“Usually when people use the word stalemate, they assume some sort of stability and some sort of calmness. But it’s not the case, unfortunately. It’s an extremely active war right now, there are people dying every day and there are a lot of operations, small operations happening in almost every operational direction,” Zagorodnyuk said.

Ukraine was behind at least three explosions in Crimea — an air base, an ammunition depot and an airfield — according to a Ukrainian government report circulated internally and shared with CNN by a Ukrainian official on Wednesday.

The US State Department said they are “aware of reports that Russian personnel have abused and coerced” staff at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, calling Russia’s actions “reckless.”

“We applaud the Ukrainian authorities and operators for their commitment to nuclear safety and security under the most trying of circumstances. The United States condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s reckless disregard for nuclear safety and security,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Price said the International Atomic Energy Agency must be allowed access to the plant “to help ensure the safety and security of the plant and monitoring of its nuclear material.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a news conference in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky told a news conference in Lviv that Ukraine has agreed with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the “parameters” of a possible visit to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by international inspectors.

“We agreed with the secretary-general parameters of a possible IAEA mission at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a legal way through unoccupied territory,” Zelensky said.

It’s unclear how that might work in practice. The only way to access the plant without traveling through Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine would be across the Dnipro river. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres listens during a news conference in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said there were signs that global food markets were beginning to stabilize in the wake of the agreement to provide safe passage for merchant ships from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Ministers from Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to unblock Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which was brokered by the UN and Turkey in Istanbul on July 22.

Guterres said that wheat prices dropped by as much as 8% following the signing of the agreement, and “the FAO Food Price Index fell by 9% in July - the biggest decline since 2008.” 

But he warned that supply chains are still disrupted and energy and transportation costs high. 

He said it was “vital to help reverse the turmoil in the global fertilizer market that is now threatening next season’s crops – including rice, the most widely consumed staple in the world.”

After meeting with Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the news conference that he was surprised by suggestions from Erdoğan that the grain deal might open a window to broader negotiations on ending the conflict. 

“The people who are killing, raping, dropping rockets on our civilian infrastructures every day cannot want peace, so they have to free our territories first,” he added.

CNN’s Anastasia Graham Yooll contributed reporting to this post.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky post for photos during a meeting in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the UN’s efforts to establish a fact-finding mission into the attack that killed more than 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war at Olenivka late in July.

He said the terms of reference for such a mission had been shared with Ukraine and Russia, and he had appointed a Brazilian general with long experience of peacekeeping operations, Carlos dos Santos Cruz, to lead the mission.

The Russian defense ministry said immediately after the attack that it was inviting the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the site, but the ICRC later said its requests had gone unanswered.  

Each side has accused the other of being behind the attack, but a CNN investigation found that the Russian version of what had happened was highly unlikely.

In remarks distributed by his office, Guterres said the UN “will now continue to work to obtain the necessary assurances to guarantee secure access to the site and any other relevant locations.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday expressed concerns about the ongoing conflict around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, warning of danger of “a new Chernobyl.” 

Speaking at a news conference alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and UN chief António Guterres after a trilateral meeting in Lviv, Erdogan said his country is trying to push for a diplomatic solution to the war, while “standing on the side” of Ukraine.  

Stressing Russia and Ukraine to find “the shortest and the fairest way to the negotiating table,” the Turkish leader said, “I maintain my belief that the war will eventually end at the negotiating table. In fact, Mr Zelensky and Guterres echo this view.”

“We are ready to act as a facilitator or mediator towards the goal of reviving the negotiations over the parameters that took form in Istanbul,” Erdogan said.

Turkey has been temporarily hosting about 325,000 Ukrainians since the start of the war and has dispatched 98 humanitarian aid trucks to the country, he also said. 

Left to right: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres shake hands after their meeting in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

Any potential damage to the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia would be “suicide,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Thursday.

In opening remarks distributed by his office, Guterres called for the area to be “demilitarized” and said that agreement was urgently needed to “re-establish Zaporizhzhia as purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of the area.”

“We must tell it like it is – any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide,” Guterres said.

“We must spare no effort to ensure that plant’s facilities or surroundings are not a target of military operations. Military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant,” according to the statement.

Russian military personnel and some equipment have been based at the nuclear plant since it was occupied early in March. 

“Further deployment of forces or equipment to the site must be avoided. The area needs to be demilitarized,” Guterres said. 

Denmark will invest 40 billion Danish Krone ($5.5 billion) into its naval fleet as the Scandinavian NATO member attempts to beef up its defense over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the “new security situation in Europe,” Defense Minister Morten Bødskov said Thursday. 

Bødskov announced a partnership between the Danish defense ministry and its national maritime industry to boost the nation’s shipbuilding capacity. 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced last week that Denmark will give another 110 million euros ($113.7 million) in financial aid to Ukraine for “weapons, equipment and training.” 

Speaking at an international donor conference in Copenhagen, Frederiksen said, “I hope that we here today can agree on even more contributions. And of course, Denmark is ready to do our part.” 

About 130 Danish soldiers are currently training Ukrainian troops in the UK, while Copenhagen has also assisted Ukraine in the cyber defense area, according to the Danish defense ministry.

CNN’s Sarah Diab contributed reporting to this post.

Pavel Filatyev

Pavel Filatyev, a former Russian paratrooper, publicly spoke out against the war in Ukraine in a lengthy 141-page-long testimony posted to his VKontakte social media page.

Filatyev’s account marks one of the first detailed public accounts from a Russian soldier.

“It’s been a month and a half since I returned from the war in Ukraine, yes, yes, I know that you can’t say this word ‘war’, it’s banned, but still I will say exactly ‘war’,” Filatyev said in the beginning of his post, which was posted two weeks ago. 

Filatyev, 33, goes on to describe how his paratrooper unit was sent to Ukraine via Crimea and entered Kherson.

The testimony is filled with Filatyev’s personal reflections and impressions from the war, as well as philosophical discussions about the sense of guilt. 

Filatyev also wrote about the poor state of the Russian army on the front lines — including how Russian soldiers changed into Ukrainian uniforms because they are more comfortable.

Filatyev also said Russian commanders tried to motivate paratroopers with money by promising $69 per day, but in the end, the soldiers received only half of what was promised and many were saying that the job is not worth the money.

Pavel Filatyev

The VKontakte post is still up as of Thursday and has been shared over 60 times. 

Filatyev has since fled Russia and is now traveling to a “democratic country,” according to Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, who is in charge of the relocation. Gulagu.net is a human rights nonprofit that advocates against corruption and torture in Russia, according to its website. 

The Ukrainian state emergency service says the number of people killed in a rocket attack on an apartment building in Kharkiv Wednesday night has risen to at least 12.

As of Thursday afternoon “12 people are known to have died,” the service said.

“All of them are civilians. Many of them are elderly and disabled. There is no military facility near the destroyed building,” it added.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv, Ukraine on August 18.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he discussed the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at their face-to-face meeting in Lviv Thursday.

Zelensky said that during the meeting, “particular attention was paid to the topic of Russia’s nuclear blackmail at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.”

Russia and Ukraine blame each other for shelling the territory of the nuclear plant, and both sides have warned of the risk of a nuclear catastrophe. But there has been no agreement on how a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency can safely get access to the plant. 

Zelensky also said on Telegram that he and Guterres “agreed to continue the coordination of the grain initiative implementation. We also discussed the possible directions of its development, the issue of illegal and forced deportation of Ukrainians, the release of our military personnel and medics from captivity.”

The UN has yet to comment on the meeting. 

Since Aug. 1, 622,000 tons of grain have been shipped from Ukrainian ports, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday. 

In 17 days, a total of 43 vessels were used for grain shipments — 25 of which have departed from Ukrainian ports and 18 going to Ukrainian ports for grain shipment — the ministry announced in a statement. 

Ministers from Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to unblock Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul on July 22.

The first ship, Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, departed the port of Odesa on Aug. 1 and was followed by Navistar, Rojen, Polarnet, Mustafa Necati, Star Helena, Glory, Riva Wind, Sacura, Arizona, Ocean Lion and Rahmi Yagci ships, the ministry said. 

“Every ship leaving or going to Ukrainian ports was subjected to comprehensive inspection in the north of Istanbul,” the ministry said. 

A Ukrainian crowdfunding effort has been able to secure to a private network of satellites for the country’s Ministry of Defense. This gives the Ukrainian Armed Forces access to radar satellite imagery on critical locations.

The effort was led by the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, a charity owned by a Ukrainian TV-star turned politician.

The foundation signed a deal with the ICEYE company, which gives the Ukrainian defense ministry full access to all the systems and full capabilities for one of ICEYE’s satellites already in orbit over the region, the foundation said in a statement on Thursday.

The funds were originally crowdfunded to purchase Bayraktar drones, which the Turkish manufacturer decided to donate to Ukraine for free. The donation “allowed us to use the saved 600 million UAH (17 million USD) to purchase the satellite,” the foundation said.

Russia has deployed three fighter jets armed with hypersonic missiles to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the ministry of defense told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

“Three MiG-31 aircraft with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles have been deployed to the Kaliningrad Region as part of additional strategic deterrence measures,” the MoD said on Thursday, according to RIA.

“The Ministry of Defense previously explained that Kinzhal missiles are invisible and invulnerable to any means of enemy air defense and anti-missile defense,” RIA reported.

Russia used the missiles for the first time in combat in mid-March.

However Western military experts have played down its significance, with the UK defense ministry saying that the Kinzhal missile is really just an air-launched version of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), which Russia has used repeatedly in its war on Ukraine.

Read What you need to know about hypersonic missiles here.

Firefighters dig through the rubble of a building destroyed during a missile strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, August 18.

A Russian rocket attack killed at least seven people in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, while fighting continues around the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. International experts could visit the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and Moscow is hoping to deal with a demographic crisis by reviving a Soviet-era award for the mothers of large families.

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