September 6, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

Russian air defenses intercepted drones over the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and the capital Moscow, officials said on Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said one person was injured and several cars were damaged after one drone fell in the city center and another fell on its western outskirts.

Separately, Russian air defenses intercepted a drone attack near Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a Telegram post. 

Ukraine did not make any immediate comment.

Reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory have become an almost daily occurrence in recent weeks as Kyiv ramps up its apparent efforts to wear down Russian domestic support for the war.

The Russian defense ministry proposed amending regulations to allow military registration for prisoners, state news agency TASS reported Wednesday. 

The current law says that “the citizens serving a sentence of imprisonment are not subject to military registration.” 

It is proposed to introduce the concept of “special military registration” for conscripts and those liable for military service who are currently serving sentences, according to TASS. 

“Special military registration is carried out by correctional institutions, correctional centers of the penitentiary system […] and military commissariats at the location of institutions of the penitentiary system in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and this regulation,” the draft amendment says. 

According to the draft, “installment and removal from special military registration are carried out without appearing at the military commissariats, the corresponding lists of prisoners are provided by correctional institutions as prisoners are received, transferred or released,” according to TASS. 

Some background: Russian prisoners have already been used by Moscow in the war in Ukraine.

For months, Russia had been using the private mercenary company Wagner to bolster its frontline presence with prisoners – a scheme at first denied and secretive, but then openly promoted by the late Wagner’s owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In addition, several prisoners told CNN earlier this year that they were directly employed by the defense ministry. And, more recently, other convicts detailed the brutality of the frontlines.

In one of the deadliest attacks in months, a Russian missile landed in the middle of the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, killing 17 people, Ukrainian officials said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Ukrainian leadership and President Volodymyr Zelensky during his third visit to Kyiv on Wednesday. It comes as Ukraine’s counteroffensive enters its fourth month, with both Blinken and Zelensky expressing that it is making process.

Here’s what to know:

Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a briefing in Kyiv on September 4.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called US military aid “the most profitable investment into world’s security” during a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Kuleba emphasized that the United States “continues to be a leading Ukrainian ally in repelling the Russian aggression.” 

Kuleba noted that Blinken has given “a high estimate to the actions of Ukrainian soldiers.”  

“It was an objective estimate, that takes into consideration a tough reality of the battlefield and these heroic actions that the soldiers are bringing forth,” Kuleba said, adding that Ukraine has no intention of asking American soldiers to join its forces in the fight on Ukrainian territory.  

Kuleba said that both parties discussed integrating Ukraine’s defense industry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), increasing Ukraine’s air defense and providing Ukraine with long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, the latter topic remaining an ongoing conversation.  

The leaders also discussed the grain deal, agreeing that the Danube grain corridor, which is adjacent to the territory of Romania, is the “most promising option at the moment” to be used for grain exports.  

Kuleba noted that the rules to end the war “should be designated not by the third party that is an aggressor, but the country that has been invaded” and said that “some bilateral steps to make this approach work” were agreed on during the parties’ earlier conversation on Wednesday. 

Kuleba said he and Blinken had “an open, sincere and friendly conversation” and reiterated that the US support for Ukraine is long-standing. 

“Anyone in the world who has doubted that Ukraine and the US will stand shoulder to shoulder until the end of this war have received a powerful signal today that they are wrong. We are moving forward together because we understand this war is not just about the future of Ukraine, but the future of the world,” he said. 

The leaders also ate at a McDonald’s in Kyiv, which had recently reopened. 

Antony Blinken attends a joint press conference with Ukraine's foreign minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on September 6.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US has “no illusions” that the path forward in Ukraine will be easy, but doubled down on continued US support and pointed to the progress that Ukraine has made so far during his press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

He noted that in the year since he was last in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have ” taken back more than 50% of the territory that Russia has seized from it since February of 2022.”

Blinken said that Zelensky’s assessment of the ongoing counteroffensive, after having recently visited the frontlines, matches the US assessment: “real progress in recent weeks.”

Blinken’s positive tone comes after US officials have previously said that the counteroffensive was not moving as quickly as they would have liked. 

Blinken also said that the US will be transferring seized Russian assets to Ukraine for the first time. He did not say how much those assets amounted to, or precisely when the transfer would happen. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion in new US support for Ukraine, including military, humanitarian and budgetary assistance.

“In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum,” Blinken said at a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba while visiting Kyiv on Wednesday.

The package includes replenishing Ukrainians with weaponry that the US has given to the country in the past including air defense system components, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for HIMARS, munitions, ammunition, and communications systems, according to a State Department fact sheet. These weapons will come from Pentagon stocks.

The new military assistance package also includes depleted uranium munitions for the first time, a US official told CNN. The munitions are mildly radioactive because they are made from dense metal, a byproduct from fuel production for nuclear power plants. They can be fired from the US-made Abrams tanks that are expected to arrive in Ukraine this fall.

And in terms of long-term military support the new package commits $100 million in military support, through the foreign military financing program, the department said. This comes as conversations between the US and Ukraine over long-term support continue.

More than one-fifth of the new support announced on Wednesday, totaling more than $200 million, will go toward support for transparency and reform, bolstering efforts on anti-corruption, rule of law and the justice sector, the department said. This support notably comes following the resignation of the Ukrainian defense minister earlier this week in the wake of a number of corruption scandals in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The US will also use this bucket of funding for transparency-related efforts to direct funding towards Ukraine’s capacity to both investigate and prosecute war crimes, invest in reconstruction efforts and strengthen the country’s financial management practices.

The humanitarian assistance portion of this new assistance totaling $206 million will go towards critical support including food, water, and shelter to those in Ukraine and those forced to flee to neighboring countries. There will also be more than $90 million in humanitarian assistance specifically for demining, the department said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan signed a slew of investment deals during a visit in October 2019.

Representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union arrived in the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss the implementation of sanctions on Russia as part of a broader effort with a range of “partner” countries, a US embassy spokesperson told CNN.

It comes as concerns mount over goods being exported to Russia that could potentially be used in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the visit, said that the discussions are happening as part of “a collective global push to keep computer chips, electronic components and other so-called dual-use products, which have both civilian and military applications, out of Russian hands.”

“The UAE is working with its friends and allies to address any concerns with regards to sanctions on Russia,” a senior UAE official told CNN when asked about the matter.

Remember: Russia is under a barrage of sanctions from the US and other Western nations following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. But most of these are primary sanctions, which can only be enforced within the territory of the sanctioning country.

Western officials have visited the UAE several times over the past two years to warn the regional business hub that helping Moscow evade sanctions wouldn’t be without consequences.

The US has previously sanctioned entities and individuals in the UAE for sanctions evasion, including two UAE-based air transportation firms for collaborating with a sanctioned Iranian firm to transport Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), personnel, and related equipment from Iran to Russia.

The Gulf state has walked a tightrope between Washington and Moscow since the start of the war in February 2022, opting to remain neutral as it sees the world order moving toward multipolarity. It has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has also expanded economic ties with Moscow.

Read more.

Senior US Senate Republicans say Congress should move quickly to pass new funding for Ukraine, even as the push has faced headwinds from conservatives in the House of Representatives.

The dispute centers around if Ukraine funding will be tied to the short-term spending bill to avoid a shutdown by the end of the month. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN that the Ukraine aid will “probably” be attached to the short-term funding bill.

Graham had choice words for conservatives who oppose Ukraine aid:

Graham, who went to Ukraine with a congressional delegation in August, said Kyiv’s forces are “on the offensive.”

“I expect major breakthroughs by the end of October. Now’s not the time to pull the plug on Ukraine and reward Putin for his invasion. So a supplemental, in my view, needs to address Ukraine because this is in our national interest,” he said.

Sen. Thom Tillis also said Ukraine funding and disaster relief should be tied together.

“I do support the disaster relief funding,” he said. “I feel very strongly that if we can, time is of the essence, we should work in the Ukraine funding at the same time. The president’s drawdown authority is probably only going to last for another month or two, and we have to replenish it to make it clear to Russia that we’re in for the long term.”

He said they will have to push for the skeptical House Republicans to recognize the importance of Ukraine aid. 

The Senate’s number-two Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, said that tying Ukraine aid to government funding legislation would send a message that the US will not abandon Ukraine. “I think it’s important that we continue our assistance to Ukraine without any suggestion of our weakening resolve,” he said.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who has long been a critic of US aid for Ukraine, argued that tying it to disaster funding would be “a mistake.”

Pressed on whether Speaker Kevin McCarthy should keep any Ukraine aid out of stopgap legislation to fund the government, Hawley replied, “I think so. Yeah, I think so. you know what he does will be up to him, but I don’t support it.”

The draft declaration on Ukraine that is being prepared by the Indian presidency of the G20 must go further, according to a European Union official, ahead of this weekend’s summit.

The draft “is not enough for the G7, the European Union and our members, because it’s not going far enough,” the senior EU official said.

The official, while briefing journalists on Wednesday, said discussions on the draft wording due to be signed off by G20 leaders in New Delhi have “been a very difficult negotiation.”

“Whether we’ll have a statement, we can’t say now as we speak, because negotiation is ongoing,” the official added.

“The difficulty for us is that Russia and China have refused to take back the language we had in Bali, which we cannot accept,” the official said, referring to the G20 summit in Indonesia last year, where leaders issued a statement condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion.

From the European Union’s perspective, the official said even if all countries aren’t in agreement this year, “if we manage at 19 against one, it would be something.” 

Without an agreement on a unified declaration, the official said the EU would accept a presidency report, which does not require agreement from all member nations — but “that will not be good.”

The official added that the EU expects “a reflection of our position” in the final text.

Some more context: Since the start of the war in Ukraine, India — the world’s largest democracy — has carefully navigated a middle path.

New Delhi has refused to condemn Moscow’s brutal assault in various United Nations resolutions. And India has undermined Western sanctions by increasing its purchases of Russian oil, coal and fertilizer. India has also maintained close ties to the West – particularly the United States – as it works to thwart China’s rise.

Emergency services respond following an attack on the city of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday, September 6.

The death toll from the Russian missile attack on a market in the eastern Donetsk region town of Kostiantynivka has risen to 17, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said in a Telegram statement.

A child was among the 17 dead, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The attack is one of the deadliest in months.

The number of injured has risen to 32, Klymenko added.

A Russian S-300 missile appears to have landed in the middle of the town, according to reports from the scene. Videos from the ground show a fierce fire and thick black smoke rising, with at least one casualty visible on the ground.

According to the unofficial reports, the market is located near a shopping center. 

Kostiantynivka is close to the front lines around Bakhmut and frequently crowded with military personnel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the attack as “utter inhumanity,” saying that the number of dead and injured may rise. “This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible,” he added.

Editor’s note: The death toll and number of injured has been updated to reflect the latest information provided by authorities.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky greets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv on September 6.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is “determined to continue to walk side-by-side” with Ukraine when he met with President Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday, as he called Ukraine’s progress in the counteroffensive “very, very encouraging.”

“President Biden asked me to come, to reaffirm strongly our support. To ensure that we are maximizing the efforts that we’re making and that other countries are making, for the immediate challenge of the counteroffensive, as well as the longer-term efforts to help Ukraine build a force of the future that can deter and defend against any future aggression,” Blinken said.

Blinken said that he looks forward to getting an assessment from Zelensky after his visit to the conflict’s frontlines.

Zelensky said it is always a “great message of support” for Ukraine when US officials visit, noting that this is a “tough period” for Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian president expressed gratitude to President Joe Biden and to Congress for showing “great unity” in a bipartisan fashion when it comes to Ukraine.

“When you speak about Ukraine you are always together, thank you so much,” Zelensky said. “We are happy that we can count on you.”

Zelensky said that the US financial support for Ukraine’s budget is “crucial” and noted that a difficult winter is ahead.

“We are happy that we not alone through this winter,” Zelensky said.

The US is expected to include depleted uranium munitions for the first time in a military aid package to Ukraine, which is anticipated to be announced on Wednesday, a US official told CNN.

The munitions can be fired from the US-made Abrams tanks that are set to arrive in Ukraine this fall. The munitions can pierce armored plates like those found on tanks because they are made of a highly dense metal, a byproduct from fuel production for nuclear power plants. Depleted uranium rounds are nearly 70% denser than lead, which is the metal used in standard rounds of ammunition.

The munitions are mildly radioactive, raising questions about their safety and the risk they could pose to civilians — but they have been stripped of most of their radioactive matter and can’t produce a nuclear reaction. The US has the munitions stockpiled around the world, a US official told CNN.

The UK defense ministry confirmed in March that it would be sending ammunition containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin protested. “I would like to note that if all this happens, Russia will have to react accordingly,” he said during a press conference in March. “I mean that the collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component.” The British ministry said Russia was “deliberately trying to disinform.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that depleted uranium is “considerably less radioactive than natural uranium.” The agency added that the “main conclusion” of studies done on the health of military personnel exposed to depleted uranium is that exposure could not be linked to any statistically significant increases in the personnel’s mortality rates.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told CNN on Wednesday that the US is confident the Ukrainians would use the munitions responsibly if and when they are provided.

The move to provide the depleted uranium rounds comes after US President Joe Biden’s administration decided to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine earlier this year. Both types of ammunition, the US believes, will help the Ukrainians break through Russian defensive lines and pierce Russian tanks amid the ongoing counteroffensive.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, flanked by US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, speaks to staff and families at the US Embassy in Kyiv on September 6.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed gratitude to diplomats in Ukraine as he spoke to US embassy staff in Kyiv during his unannounced visit to Ukraine on Wednesday.

“It is quite simply inspiring to your colleagues to see the work that you’re doing and the way that you’re doing. I feel very strongly all the way back in Washington. You are at the top of our minds back home,” Blinken said, speaking to the diplomats’ “remarkable courage.”

Blinken acknowledged the challenges – both logistically and emotionally – that the diplomats and the local Ukrainian staff who work at the embassy face each day.

Blinken thanked the diplomats who put work into organizing his visit, and the visits of other US officials.

“I just want to tell you how grateful I am for doing this work. Any visit in any embassy is challenging and complicated. To do it here, in the middle of a war, adds to the complexity,” he said. 

Blinken said he had a chance to meet with senior leadership at the embassy earlier in the day. He was introduced by the US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

“Secretary Blinken’s presence here in Kyiv, and his many visits before, are proof that he is literally here with us in this fight,” said Brink. 

 Brink acknowledged the deadly Russian strikes overnight saying: “As we saw just last night again, it’s dangerous and the pace of work is relentless.”

Ukraine’s new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, speaks in the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv on September 6.

In remarks as Ukraine’s new defense minister, Rustem Umerov vowed to wrest back control of “every centimeter” of Ukrainian land from Russia and bring home all those in captivity.

He said he will “do everything possible and impossible for the victory of Ukraine — when we liberate every centimeter of our country and every one of our people,” speaking shortly after the Ukrainian parliament approved his appointment.

Umerov has been prominently involved with the return of prisoners of war.

“Forty-two million Ukrainians stand behind every soldier. Behind every soldier is a ministry that will do everything to protect and provide for all our people. Our people, their lives and dignity are our priority and highest value,” he added.

Some background: Umerov replaces Oleksii Reznikov, whose long tenure – he had been in the post since before the full-scale war started – had been damaged by contract scandals involving the defense ministry.

Reznikov submitted his resignation on Monday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy cited the need for “new approaches,” with the conflict entering a critical phase.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba greets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting in Kyiv on September 6.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv for his third visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. On the agenda: The progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. After securing pockets of territory on the southern front – more slowly than Kyiv and its allies had hoped – some analysts are suggesting that subsequent gains may come more quickly, now that Ukraine’s troops have breached the first and most heavily fortified line of Russian defense.

And, as if to signal its intent to build on this hard-earned momentum, Rustem Umerov has become Ukraine’s new defense minister, after his appointment was approved by parliament.

Here are the latest developments:

Here’s the latest map of control:

Romania’s defense minister, Angel Tilvar, has confirmed that parts of a Russian drone may have fallen on Romanian territory after it had targeted a Ukrainian port on the River Danube, which runs along the border between the two countries.

Tilvar spoke with CNN’s Romanian affiliate A3CNN while visiting the area Wednesday.

“We have covered a very large area, including the area that has been publicly discussed, and I confirm that in this area pieces that may be from a drone were found,” he told reporters in Tulcea. The wreckage will be taken for further analysis.

The defense ministry had initially denied reports earlier this week that parts of a Russian drone had fallen on the Romanian side of the Danube.

Ukraine’s Danube ports have come under heavy and prolonged Russian bombardment in recent weeks, as Moscow targets Ukraine’s grain storage facilities and infrastructure after allowing the Black Sea grain deal to lapse in July.

Many of the strikes have landed just across the border from Romania, a NATO member. Romania’s defense ministry condemned an attack earlier this week “in the strongest possible terms,” calling it “unjustified and in deep contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law.”

There were further drone attacks on the Ukrainian side of the river in the early hours of Wednesday, one of them killing an agricultural worker, according to a Ukrainian official.

Editor’s note: The headline and first line of this post have been updated to better characterize officials’ statements.

Commenting on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the United States has expressed its commitment to continue keeping Ukraine in a state of war “until the last Ukrainian.”

Peskov added that this would not alter the course of the war.

Rustem Umerov is pictured during a session of the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv on Tuesday, September 5.

The Ukrainian parliament has approved the appointment of Rustem Umerov as the new defense minister.

Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, was formerly chairman of the State Property Fund, whose mission is to attract investment into Ukraine.

He replaces Oleksii Reznikov, whose long tenure – he had been in the post since before the full-scale war started – had been damaged by contract scandals involving the defense ministry.

Reznikov submitted his resignation on Monday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy cited the need for “new approaches,” with the conflict entering a critical phase.

Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank near the village of Robotyne, Ukraine, on August 25.

Ukrainian officials are cautiously optimistic that the next line of Russia’s defensive fortifications on the southern front may be easier to penetrate than the first, which were shrouded by dense minefields.

Geolocated video over recent days indicates that Ukrainian units have made limited progress beyond the village of Robotyne, as they seek to expand a pocket of territory reclaimed in the last few weeks.

Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the south, told Ukrainian television on Monday that in breaching the second line of Russian defenses, Ukrainian units “will benefit from the fact that the network of trenches, dugouts, and overlaps there is not as strong as on the first line.”

However, Shtupun urged caution, stressing that the second line of defenses “is quite powerful.”

The Ukrainian military reported Wednesday that Russian units had tried to counterattack near the village of Robotyne, which fell to Ukrainian forces late in August, but had been repelled.

Ukrainian forces said that units had been successful in consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on enemy targets and conducting counter-battery operations. 

Independent analysts assess that Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in a square-shaped pocket of territory south and east of Robotyne, toward the town of Tokmak. But both sides have reported intense artillery fire and widespread destruction of settlements in the area, which has reduced the village of Robotyne to ruins.