October 4, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

France condemned Russia’s decision to sentence Marina Ovsyannikova, a journalist who staged a daring protest live on state-run television, to eight and half years in prison in absentia on Wednesday. 

France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a statement following Ovsyannikova’s verdict. 

According to the statement, France is “deeply concerned by the Russian authorities’ stepped-up crackdown against critics of government authorities and their war of aggression against Ukraine.” 

Ovsyannikova escaped house arrest in Moscow with her daughter last year and is now in France, according to her assistant.

She was found guilty Wednesday of “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” according to Moscow’s district court. 

The court’s ruling follows her protest on the Sofiyskaya embankment in Moscow and on Channel One television when she stood behind an anchor and held up a sign that read “No War” during a live broadcast. 

Senior Biden administration officials privately believe only weeks remain before a lack of additional Ukraine funding starts to become a serious battlefield concern — a scenario they are trying to avoid with public warnings and a major speech from President Joe Biden himself.

The race for the House speakership set off by the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday portends potentially serious consequences for Biden’s efforts to secure Ukraine funding, leaving the administration looking for solutions.

Publicly, officials say they remain convinced the majority of Americans — including in Congress — support sustained assistance for Ukraine.

Yet the maneuvering this week demonstrates the persistent concern that American assistance to Kyiv could soon slow.

Biden on Wednesday hinted that administration officials have been searching for workaround methods of providing Ukraine assistance should the White House’s funding requests go unmet.

Administration officials have been warning Congress it must urgently approve additional funds to aid Ukraine’s war efforts — “obviously time is of the essence,” stressed one official.

Yet without even the chance for a vote on a new speaker until at least next week — and no clear pathway for a vote on new Ukraine assistance after that — the prospects of a new assistance package in the near-term appear slim.

Privately, officials believe a weeks-long period where Congress were to hypothetically operate without a permanent House speaker — and not be able to legislate — would not be hugely concerning as it pertains to Ukraine funding.

Much more troubling, they said, would be if lawmakers begin to approach the end of the length of the most recently passed continuing resolution — which runs out November 17 — without any realistic prospects of approving additional funding for Ukraine.

Feeling the urgency, Biden told reporters Wednesday he was planning an address laying out the imperative of continued support for Ukraine.

“I’m going to make the argument that it’s overwhelmingly in the interests of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed,” he said. White House officials provided no other details about the speech, including when Biden might deliver it.

Read more about where things stand on Ukraine aid.

As the future of the United States’ congressionally-approved assistance for Ukraine remains in question, Ukraine’s president said Kyiv “will do everything” to maintain support from the US and Europe in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Meantime, allies are warning that they are running low on ammunition and are ramping up production — the same shortages Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says are creating challenges on the battlefield.

Here’s what to know:

Germany will not provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles “in the foreseeable future,” according to prominent German newspaper BILD, which cited German and Ukrainian government sources. 

Berlin has not formally rejected a Ukrainian request for the missiles but communicated that Germany will not be providing the requested missiles in the foreseeable future, BILD reported.  

CNN has reached out to the German defense ministry for comment.  

Ukrainian officials had urged Germany to provide the weapons for the country’s self-defense – while Germany is hesitant about delivering long-range missiles, fearing they could be used for attacks on Russian territory.    

In September, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told BILD that the German government had not yet decided whether to send the long-range missiles to Ukraine.    

With previous reporting by Chris Stern in Berlin 

A Ukrainian soldier is seen on a road near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday.

Ukraine is “slowly but surely” pushing Russia out of its land, but the shortage of weapons and ammunition poses difficulties, Ukraine’s president said.

He said there is a “deficit in air defense” which is important for the counteroffensive but also to protect the population.

The approaching winter could pose another challenge for Ukrainians, including “all our citizens, all our civilians, ordinary people who work and our soldiers,” he said.

“We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield,” he said, adding that “intimidations” by Russia will likely intensify during the cold months. 

Speaking about engaging in possible negotiations with Moscow, Zelensky said, “The Russian president is not capable of negotiating anything with anyone” as “even after he gave his promise and agreed with the UN Secretary-General, with [Turkish] President Erdogan, he still jumped out of this [grain] initiative.” 

Ukraine “will do everything” to maintain support from the United States and Europe in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, the country’s president said.

“The United States is one of the leaders in helping and supporting Ukraine, in protecting democracy. I feel that there is support in the United States,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview Wednesday with Italian channel Sky TG24.

The Ukrainian president said there is “100% support from the White House” and “great support in the Congress.” It comes at a time when the leading contenders running to fill the vacant Speaker of the House position have voiced different positions on Ukraine.

The stopgap bill passed this weekend to keep the US government open did not include additional funding for Ukraine, due to objections from some conservatives. President Joe Biden’s administration warned this would have serious consequences for the war.

Zelensky said he believes Russia is now weaker than it was at the beginning of the war, so pausing the support or turning the fighting into a frozen conflict in some way would mean helping the aggressor. 

“This is not about not helping Ukraine and complicating our offensive or defensive actions. No, it is not. Any pauses today are a help exclusively to the Russian Federation,” he said. 

Zelensky said he is personally grateful to Biden and the leaders of European countries who are supporting Ukraine. “We will do everything not to lose it,” he said. 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House on Wednesday.

Disarray within the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill is causing President Joe Biden concern as he works to secure new funding for Ukraine, something he said he will deliver a major speech on soon.

“It does worry me,” Biden said a day after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House speaker, “but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”

Biden’s comment comes as Republicans seek a new House speaker. The leading contenders for the job have voiced different positions on Ukraine. A pro-Kyiv group that grades Republican lawmakers on their support for Ukraine has assigned a “B” grade to Rep. Steve Scalise, who has voted for previous assistance packages. 

It assigned Rep. Jim Jordan an “F,” the lowest grade, pointing to his previous votes against Ukraine funding. Both Scalise and Jordan have announced they intend to run for the speakership.

Biden argued it remains in Americans’ interests to continue supporting Ukraine, and said he will deliver a speech making that point. The White House did not immediately provide more details on the planned address.

In a phone call with world leaders on Tuesday, Biden said he “made the case that I knew the majority of the American people still supported Ukraine and the majority of the members of Congress both Democrat and Republican support it.”

“I don’t think we should let gamesmanship get in the way of blocking it,” Biden said.

As the future of congressionally-approved assistance for Ukraine remains in question, Biden said there could be alternative methods of supporting Kyiv.

“We can support Ukraine in the next tranche that we need and there’s another means by which we’ll be able to fund funding,” he said, without explanation.

Reports of fighting in southern Ukraine suggest intense battles in the area around the villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, with both Russian and Ukrainian units trying to take territory.

“We had partial success in the areas west of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, our soldiers have seen the occupation forces suffer losses in both manpower and equipment,” Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Ukraine forces in the south, said Wednesday.

“We continue to gain a foothold in the defended areas and continue to deplete the enemy in that direction. Let’s just say that we have advanced from 100 to 600 meters in certain areas,” Shtupun said on Ukrainian television.

In the last few weeks, gains and losses in the area have been measured in a few hundred meters, as Ukrainian forces try to break through multiple Russian defensive barriers and make progress toward the important hub of Tokmak.

Shtupun said that “in the Melitopol direction, we are slowly putting pressure,” and 25 Russian soldiers had surrendered in the past few days.

From the Russian side, one prominent military blogger, WarGonzo, said that the “Ukrainian troops, with massive artillery support, are attacking (the village of) Novoprokopivka.”

“The Russian Armed Forces were forced to level the front line on the northern approaches to the settlement. In turn, they counterattacked from Verbove and Novofedorivka. In the first of the listed areas they managed to push back the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the blogger said.

Ukraine’s strategy has been to hollow out Russian defensive units in the area with long-range artillery. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to recapture lost positions west of Verbove and southeast of Mala Tokmachka. 

Here’s the latest map of control:

Zelensky and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attend a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine September 28.

NATO reaffirmed its long-term support to Ukraine on Wednesday after a meeting of the new defense council between the military alliance and Ukraine. 

The alliance’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana chaired the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) meeting in Brussels, where Geoana commended allies and Ukraine’s efforts to quickly implement decisions from NATO’s Vilnius summit, according to a NATO statement. 

The Vilnius summit, held in the Lithuanian capital in July, was the first meeting of the NUC and was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. One of its main goals was to strengthen support for Ukraine. 

Wednesday’s meeting in Brussels was attended by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. 

The NATO statement said allies will continue to assist Ukraine, including through the alliance’s Comprehensive Assistance Package and ensuring Ukraine’s forces are “fully interoperable with NATO.” The statement added that Ukraine is “closer to NATO than ever before.”  

Some background on the NATO-Ukraine Council: The NUC is a joint body where Ukraine and its allies meet for crisis consultations and to “take decisions as equals,” according to NATO. 

This year, the NATO-Ukraine Council replaced the NATO-Ukraine Commission which was the decision-making body responsible for developing the NATO-Ukraine relationship and for directing cooperative activities from 1997.

Ukrainian security sources say drones operated by the country’s Security Service (SBU) successfully took out a high-value Russian air defense complex in the region of Belgorod early Wednesday.

“The cause of the nighttime explosions in Belgorod region: the SBU hit the S-400 Triumph air defense system,” a source told CNN.

The S-400 is one of the Russians’ most advanced air defense systems.

The source said videos posted by the Russians “show about 20 explosions at the location of the Triumph and its radar. At the same time, neighboring settlements lost power.”

Belgorod is a Russian region that borders northeastern Ukraine.

Last month, Ukraine successfully targeted an S-400 complex in Crimea at the city of Yevpatoria and subsequently carried out a series of missile attacks on the peninsula.

The US will transfer thousands of seized Iranian weapons and rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, in a move that could help to alleviate some of the critical shortages facing the Ukrainian military as it awaits more money and equipment from the US and its allies, US officials said.

US Central Command has already transferred over one million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces, it announced on Wednesday. The transfer was conducted on Monday, CENTCOM said in a news release.

“The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” the statement said.

The Justice Department announced in March that it was seeking the forfeiture of one million rounds of Iranian ammunition, thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades, and thousands of pounds of propellant for rocket-propelled grenades that the Navy seized from Iran as it was in transit to Yemen.

“These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, Dec. 9, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216,” the statement said.

The Biden administration has for months been weighing how to legally send the seized weapons, which are stored in CENTCOM facilities across the Middle East, to the Ukrainians.

Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov unveiled on Wednesday a so-called “invisibility cloak,” which he asserts can hide soldiers from thermal imaging cameras and drones.

The cloaks block heat radiation, allegedly making the soldier invisible to the enemy.

It was created by Brave1, a defense technology project sponsored by the Ukrainian government.

The cloak has been in development since 2015, when it was intended to be used by snipers and Security Service of Ukraine special operations soldiers in the eastern Donbas region, Maxim Boryak, one of the developers of the cloak, told CNN. Development began again in earnest when Russia invaded in February 2022.

The cloak makes use of materials generally used by firefighters, which keep hot air from escaping and showing up on thermal imaging cameras, while an incorporated ventilation system cools down the hot air stranded inside the cloak. 

Boryak refers to it as a “simple system” that weighs up to 2.5 kilograms (about 5.5 pounds). The cloaks are rainproof and non-flammable.

The cloaks have already been used by the 35th Marine Brigade during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Boryak said. 

The cloaks were first made public in a demo video shared by Fedorov on Wednesday. He said that the video “shows a finished sample that has been successfully tested in the field.”

CNN is unable to confirm the effectiveness of the cloak or the extent to which it has been deployed. 

Ukrainian soldiers told CNN that they have vastly improved their skills with the Leopard 2 tanks used on the front lines in the country’s east and south.

After first receiving the tanks, Ukraine now acknowledges it lost Leopards and American-made Bradleys in the expansive minefields that Russia planted. But Kyiv’s fighters say they have adapted after realizing their mistakes.

CNN’s Fredrick Pleitgen reports from on the ground:

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02:15 • Source: CNN

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters after he was ousted, in Washington, DC, on October 3.

Ukrainians have expressed fears that the ousting of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could damage their defense capabilities and the outcome of the war, although many residents still consider the US a reliable ally.

The vote to remove McCarthy follows a weekend deal in which funding for the US government was extended for 45 days — but in which no provision was made for fresh aid to Ukraine. That left the Biden administration’s $24 billion request for fresh military aid, submitted to Congress in the summer, in limbo.

When asked about the developments in Congress, 27-year-old Kyiv resident Hordii Rumiantsev told CNN on Wednesday, “I think this is a very disturbing signal. We are heavily dependent on the help of our allies, and the United States in the first place.”

Hordii Rumiantsev, a resident of Kyiv.

Kyiv resident Olha Hrubryna, 60.

“The EU and other countries are helping us, but it’s impossible without the support of the Americans,” Hrubryna added.

“It will be many times more costly in terms of ruined human lives. Of course, we will fight, but it will be many times bloodier and more dead,” said Olha, 37, from the Sumy region. 

But other residents said they believe they can still rely on Ukraine’s armed forces to continue fighting, even without fresh aid from the US.

“To be honest, we still rely mostly on the armed forces of Ukraine,” said 32-year-old Yulia, who asked to be identified by her first name only. “Of course, it will be difficult for us without support. But we shouldn’t say anything in advance.”

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (DI) has released a video purporting to show an amphibious raid on the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, as Russian state media claimed a Ukrainian “saboteur” had been captured.

In a brief statement posted to Telegram, DI wrote that Ukrainian Special Forces “landed on the territory of the Crimean peninsula and inflicted fire on the Moscow occupiers!”

The date and time of the attack were not disclosed. The last such operation publicized by the Ukrainian military was in August.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday that video of an interrogation of a Ukrainian saboteur captured in Crimea had been released by the Russian security service, the FSB.

It said that “Russian air force aircraft foiled another attempt by the Ukrainian armed forces to land a landing force near Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea from three jet skis and one speedboat in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.”

“The footage published by the FSB shows one of the hydro-cycles with automatic rifles and ammunition on board,” used in the raid, “as well as the interrogation of the captured saboteur,” RIA Novosti said.

RIA named the captive as a member of Ukrainian DI. It said he had told interrogators that the purpose of the landing was to put up the Ukrainian flag.

Ukraine claims losses on both sides: Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, acknowledged there were Ukrainian losses during the raid.

Yusov told Ukrainian media outlet RBC that DI fighters “had a fierce battle in the occupied Crimea. The Russians suffered significant losses, and our groups have already returned from the special operation.”

Yusov said it had been a sabotage and reconnaissance operation. 

“Unfortunately, there are also losses among our special forces, but they are not commensurate with the Russians,” Yusov said.

Kevin McCarthy answers questions at the Capitol after being ousted as House speaker on October 3, in Washington, DC.

The ousting of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has cast fresh doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine. The vote to remove McCarthy follows a weekend deal in which funding for the US government was extended for 45 days – but in which no provision was made for further aid to Ukraine.

The Biden administration’s $24 billion request for more funding is stuck in limbo, and the coffers are running extremely low. 

Meanwhile, a Zelensky adviser criticized “Western conservative elites” for suggesting that military aid to Ukraine should be suspended and accused them of reluctance to confront Russia. 

Here’s what else you need to know:

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has emphasized the critical nature of testing the siren systems in Russia, following pre-planned tests across the country on Wednesday.

According to Peskov, such testing is “not only appropriate, it is indispensable.” Drawing a parallel with Japan’s regular emergency evacuation exercises due to increased seismic hazards, Peskov said it is necessary to carry out training in other areas as well.

Earlier, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations had announced the testing of its public warning system in all regions of the country on Wednesday morning, sounding sirens and interrupting radio and television broadcasts.

The sirens would sound with an announcement, saying, “Attention everyone,” the ministry said, adding that there was no reason to panic during the tests.

Radio and TV broadcasts would also be interrupted for one minute, according to the ministry.

Reports and videos shared on local Telegram channels indicated that sirens were audible Wednesday morning in central Moscow, the Moscow region, and multiple other regions across Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak is pictured during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 19.

A senior Ukrainian official has criticized “Western conservative elites” for suggesting that military aid to Ukraine should be suspended.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, “When any of the representatives of Western conservative elites talk about the need to suspend military aid to #Ukraine, I have a direct question: what are your motives?”

He did not specifically reference the blockade of US aid to Ukraine in the temporary spending measure approved by Congress over the weekend, nor the ousting of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Ukraine’s next steps: Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington said on Wednesday that the embassy has a good dialog with the “vast majority” of likely candidates to replace the ousted House speaker.

“We at the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA continue our active work with caucuses, committees, individual congressmen, and of course the Senate to discuss our needs and possible solutions for the next package of assistance to Ukraine,” Ambassador Oksana Markarova said on Facebook. 

She said it was too early to discuss specific candidates, adding, “I can only say that we have built a good constructive dialog with the vast majority of the names that are being mentioned and their teams.”

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to the press after the motion to vacate his position passes in the U.S. Capitol on October 3, in Washington, DC.

The removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the US Congress casts a dark cloud over the already troubled process of Washington’s military and financial aid for Ukraine. 

Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass legislation, and it may be weeks before another speaker is elected. 

The vote to remove McCarthy follows a weekend deal in which funding for the US government was extended for 45 days – but in which no provision was made for fresh aid to Ukraine. 

That left the Biden administration’s $24 billion request for fresh military aid, submitted to Congress in the summer, in limbo. It also left the coffers dangerously low. 

President Joe Biden said over the weekend that he expected Speaker McCarthy “to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality.” 

But McCarthy is now out of office and has ruled out running for speaker again. While it’s unclear who might succeed him, several potential candidates are skeptical about continuing support for Ukraine at current levels. 

McCarthy himself warned: “Our members have a lot of questions, especially on the accountability provisions of what we want to see with the money that gets sent.” 

Pentagon warning: Many analysts estimate that Ukraine’s current “burn rate” of equipment, munitions and maintenance in the conflict with Russia is about $2.5 billion a month, perhaps higher. Much of the funding for that spending comes from Washington.  

Last week, the Pentagon’s chief financial officer, Michael McCord, warned Congressional leaders that money for Ukraine was running low. In a letter subsequently released by House Democrats, McCord said that the Pentagon had about $5.4 billion left in what’s known as presidential drawdown authority, which allows the rapid dispatch of weapons from existing stocks. That’s essentially about two months’ money. 

McCord also warned that of the roughly $26 billion that Congress had authorized to replace weapons and equipment that had been sent to Ukraine, only $1.6 billion remains. 

One pipeline, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), is already empty. McCord told Congressional leaders that “a lack of USAI funding now will delay contracting actions that could negatively impact the department’s ability to purchase essential additional 155mm artillery and critical munitions essential to the success of Ukraine’s armed forces.” 

Max Bergmann, director of Europe and Russia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that “the chaos in the House leaves Ukraine in a dangerous limbo.”

For Ukraine’s military planners, the uncertainty is an immense challenge as they try to plot any winter offensive or where to place air defenses. 

Low European inventories: Bergmann and other analysts also highlighted that if US funding dwindles or gets delayed, European countries won’t be able to pick up the slack. Inventories are already very low, as NATO officials warned Tuesday. 

“European militaries already had empty warehouses from decades of under-investment. There isn’t much left to give. Europeans can and should get their industries humming but this again takes time,” Bergmann noted.

The funding of Ukraine’s war effort by the United States has thus far amounted to $113 billion in security, economic and humanitarian aid since the Russian invasion. 

The Ukrainian government has not yet reacted to the latest news out of Washington but has tried to sound unruffled over the past few days. 

Responding to the news that aid to Ukraine had not been included in the temporary funding measure, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “The question is whether what happened in the US Congress last weekend is an incident or systematic,” Kuleba said on the margins of a meeting with European Union foreign ministers. “I think it was an incident.”