February 21, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

Canada said it “condemns in the strongest terms the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny” and holds “the Kremlin entirely accountable,” Global Affairs Canada wrote on X Wednesday.

At the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ request, Ambassador Oleg Stepanov was summoned in protest over the death of Navalny in Russian custody.

The Russian Embassy responded by urging “Canada to stop interfering” with Moscow’s internal affairs in a statement on Telegram Wednesday.

“Every death is a tragedy. But the death of a Russian citizen is strictly Russia’s matter. Thus, we urge Canada to stop interfering into our internal affairs,” the statement read.

Some background: Several nations — including France, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany — have also summoned the Russian ambassador to their countries over Navalny’s death in the past few days. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, accused Western countries of politicizing Navalny’s death and said the investigation into the cause of death has “not concluded yet.”

Discontent toward Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russian society is on the rise, according to Abbas Gallyamov, Putin’s former speechwriter.

Gallyamov noted that Russian success in Avdiivka will be a key factor to “suppress this discontent” and “strengthen Putin’s domestic standing” ahead of Russian elections.

If there were no victory in Avdiivka, Putin would fail to “solidify his control” over Russia, Gallyamov told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Wednesday. This military gain gave him “an additional injection of legitimacy” and is very beneficial for his presidential campaign.

Talking about people reportedly detained across Russia over vigils for opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Gallyamov said “sooner or later this will definitely backfire” because the discontent in society is growing and “at some moment it can become very strong.” 

Gallyamov said Putin is trying to get rid of all the opposition leaders to at least make discontent in Russian society be “unstructured,” “disorganized” and “leaderless” ahead of future elections.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is trying to keep tabs on everyone with an American passport who comes to Russia, according to Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov.

He said Moscow will use it “as leverage” in any future negotiations with Russia.

Ksenia Karelina seen here in an undated social media photo.

A US-Russian dual citizen was excited to go back to her hometown in Russia to see her grandparents, but she had no idea that she would be arrested and face charges of treason for allegedly donating just $51 to a Ukrainian charity, her boyfriend said.

Chris Van Heerden, the boyfriend of Ksenia Karelina, said she never thought this would happen. The couple, who live in Los Angeles, flew to Istanbul together before Karelina continued to Russia to see her family while Van Heerden flew back to California.

Van Heerden said Karelina was detained, but released, when she entered the country. Later, on the day she was due to fly back to the United States, she told him she was relieved they were going to let her go home — but that was the last time he heard from her.

“I believe in America. I do believe that America will bring her back to me and that’s the hope I’m holding onto,” Van Heerden said, adding that she never talked about any donations and that she is “so proud to be Russian” and never “intervene with anything about the war” in Ukraine.

Chris Van Heerden, the boyfriend of Ksenia Karelina, spoke with CNN on February 21, 2024.

The boyfriend said she wrote him a letter after being arrested. In the letter, which he calls a “love story,” Karelina describes conditions and expresses her worry about her boyfriend.

He said her attitude about what is going to happen varies day by day. Some days she is strong and feels like she will get home soon, but other days, she wrote him: “It’s like I’ll just sit on my bed and stare at a wall for hours, like, knowing that I’m going to be here forever because that’s what she’s thinking.”

Van Heerden told CNN that she was a “semi-pro ballerina” for years but was a full-time esthetician before being arrested in Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on February 16.

Ukraine shot down seven Russian fighter jets within the past seven days, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russia has not publicly commented on the incidents.

Russia has lost 338 aircraft since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported Wednesday.

CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.

Some of the men detained at vigils for Alexey Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, were handed military draft summonses, OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights group that monitors repression in the country, said in a Telegram post on Wednesday.

Russia claimed to capture Krynky, a small, but key, riverside village situated on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, according to Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Ukraine’s Operational Command denied Shoigu’s claim, describing it as “a manipulation and falsification of facts.” 

Here are other headlines you should know:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talks on the phone during the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. In the foreground, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speak to each other.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were a matter of yards from each other at the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday, but they did not speak or even appear to look at each other during a roughly 15-minute photo session of the ministerial meeting.

It comes just days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, which the US and its partners have blamed on Russia, and amid news that Russia has detained a dual US-Russian citizen.

Blinken last year met briefly with Lavrov on the margins of the G20 to confront him about the war in Ukraine, Russia’s suspension of cooperation in a nuclear arms reduction treaty and its detention of Americans.

It is unclear if the two will meet at this year’s G20 meeting.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates attacked Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson over not putting the $95 billion foreign aid package on the floor for a vote, accusing him of putting “his own internal politics above the safety of the American people” in a new memo Wednesday morning. 

The memo also slams Johnson for not having the House in session and includes a “Vacation Reading Packet for the House Republican Conference.”

Some context: It’s the latest example of US President Joe Biden’s administration criticizing House Republicans for not taking up the national security supplemental that would provide critical aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

So far, Johnson has resisted calls to bring the Senate-passed aid package up for a quick vote – a move that would require Democratic support and almost certainly spark a revolt from his right flank. The speaker has said the legislation, which includes over $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, would not pass in its current form, and privately told Republicans during a closed-door meeting last week there is “no rush” to address the issue.

As he comes under increasing pressure, Johnson released a statement over the weekend in response to Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death. In it, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “vicious dictator” who must be “met with opposition,” though he did not outline any plans for doing so.

A pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, Andrey Morozov, has reportedly died just days after he reported that Russia had suffered massive losses during its assault on the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Several well-informed pro-Russian military bloggers as well as Russian state news agencies and newspapers reported he had died by suicide.

What was he writing about: Morozov, known as “Murz” on Telegram, claimed Moscow had lost around 16,000 soldiers and 300 armored vehicles since it started its assault in October. CNN cannot verify Morozov’s estimates. That post drew severe criticism from several Russian propagandists and has since been deleted from his Telegram account. 

Here’s what he said in his last few posts:

Why this matters: Pro-Russian military bloggers have enjoyed some freedom to criticize the Russian military and the way the Ministry of Defense was prosecuting the war in Ukraine. After the failed uprising by former Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow began to crack down on dissent among ultra-nationalist writers, most notably arresting former soldier and also military blogger Igor Girkin. 

In the wake of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death, his wife Yulia Navalnaya has been hurtled into the limelight as a Russian opposition figure. While she may prove unifying among Russia’s disparate opposition voices, there are now fewer forces to unite. 

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both Ilya Yashin — a close ally of Navalny and once-rising star in opposition circles — and Vladimir Kara-Murza — a dual Russian-British citizen and opposition politician — have been given long prison terms.

Additionally, Russia’s central election commission recently barred the only remaining anti-war candidate, Boris Nadezhdin, from running in upcoming presidential elections in March.

Watch more about what Navalny’s death may mean for the Russian opposition:

Polish farmers drive tractors in a convoy in Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland, on February 20, as they intensify a nationwide protest against the import of Ukrainian foods and European Union environmental policies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda to meet with him at the Polish-Ukrainian border to settle the grain dispute that has led to several blockades by farmers.

He also called on the European Commission to send a representative to attend the meeting. “We have had enough of Moscow’s presence in our lands. We have had enough of misunderstandings. We should not humiliate each other, we should not humiliate either Ukrainian or Polish farmers. We need unity,” he said. 

What’s happening: Farmers in Poland have been blocking access routes to border crossings with Ukraine. They have vowed to continue their demonstrations, which started on February 9, for 30 days. Similar action has been taking place in a host of countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands.

Why farmers are protesting: According to farmers, cheap Ukrainian grain imports have undercut domestic prices and hit the sales of local producers. European farmers cannot compete with the price of Ukrainian grain, they say, and have demanded compensation from the European Commission.

Ukraine is often called the “breadbasket of Europe” due to the vast quantities of grain it produces. When Russia blocked Ukrainian Black Sea ports, it sparked fears about global food supplies and prompted the European Commission to set up what it called “solidarity lanes” in May 2022 to facilitate exports. The commission also temporarily eliminated all duties and quotas on Ukraine’s exports, allowing a glut of cheap grain to flow into Europe.

Anger grew after the European Commission announced a draft decision to extend duty-free and quota-free imports of Ukrainian grain until June 2024.

CNN’s Christian Edwards, Alex Hardie and Antonia Mortensen contributed reporting.

Ksenia Karelina seen here in an undated social media photo.

Dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old Los Angeles resident, is being detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg because she donated money to a Ukrainian charity while she was in the United States, according to her employer.

Russia accused Karelina of “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of our country.”

Karelina entered Russia on January 2, and the United States learned on February 8 that she had been arrested, a US official told CNN. Consular access still has not been granted, according to the official.

Before her arrest, she worked as an esthetician at Ciel Spa at SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, according to the spa. She was visiting family members, including her 90-year-old grandmother, at the time of her arrest, the spa said.

Karelina is being wrongly “accused of treason for allegedly donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in the US,” according to her employer’s statement. 

What social media tells us about her: Karelina posted often about her life on the Russian social media platform VK. In November 2021, she posted photos standing between American flags holding a piece of paper and an American flag. In the post, she said she received her US citizenship. The US official confirmed that she became a US citizen in 2021 and said the United States government is tracking her detention.

In another post on July 2017, Karelina posted many pictures appearing to be of her wearing a ballerina costume, including pointe shoes, a leotard, and a tutu in New York City.

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded medals to Russian soldiers on Wednesday as the military continues to celebrate its victory in capturing the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukrainian forces withdrew. 

Putin traveled to the Chkalovskiy airfield outside Moscow to award state honors to the soldiers from the Air and Space Forces, according to a Kremlin statement on Wednesday. 

Addressing the soldiers, Putin thanked them for their “courage and bravery” in displaying “the highest skill in accomplishing their tasks.” 

The Russian leader was met by his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, who presented a brief report, according to the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s army chief, Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov, visited troops near the front line in eastern Ukraine and presented awards to soldiers who participated in the assault of Avdiivka, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. 

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday claimed that Krynky, a small riverside village situated on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, is “completely” under Russian control at the moment.

Shoigu called Krynky “a stronghold” for his troops “for further advancement and deployment of forces.”

Ukraine’s Operational Command denied Shoigu’s claim, describing it as “a manipulation and falsification of facts.” 

“The defense forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” the command said.

Video shared by pro-Ukrainian bloggers shows Russian soldiers hoisting a flag in the area, but then fleeing, which seemingly contradicts Shoigu’s claim. CNN was not able to geolocate the footage and independently verify the battlefield status.

In the fall, Russian officials expressed concern about Ukraine establishing a foothold in Krynky.

Elsewhere on the battlefield: In eastern Ukraine, footage geolocated by CNN Wednesday, showed Russian forces hoisting their flag over the Donetsk village of Pobieda, near Mariinka. Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian forces had “retreated” and were regrouping in positions to the south.

In southern Ukraine along the Zaporizhzhia front, Moscow has for weeks been pushing east and north toward Robotyne, as well as west, toward Mala Tokmachka.

Russia claimed Wednesday it inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian forces in the area, but refrained from saying it had made visible gains. Ukraine also claimed it inflicted heavy losses on Russian units. 

CNN could not independently verify either Ukrainian or Russian claims.

This post was updated with more details from the battlefields in Ukraine.

An exterior view of the IK-3 penal colony in Russia on April 20, 2021.

The UK is sanctioning six individuals who were in charge of the “Polar Wolf” penal colony, where Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny died last week. 

They will be banned from the UK and have their assets frozen, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement Wednesday.

The men were named as:

The foreign office said Kalinin oversaw the “brutal prison camp” where Navalny was kept “in solitary confinement for up to two weeks at a time.”

On Tuesday, the US said it would unveil a new sanctions package against Russia on Friday in response to Navalny’s death.

At least three people have been killed, and another 18 wounded after Russian shelling struck several Ukrainian regions over the past 24 hours, authorities said Wednesday.

Here’s how different regions were affected:

Making other headlines this morning:

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, left, presents an award to a serviceman who according to the Defence Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, in this still image taken from video released February 21.

Russia’s army chief has visited troops near the frontline in Eastern Ukraine and presented awards to soldiers who participated in the assault on the town of Avdiivka, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday. 

Most of the footage was recorded indoors and CNN could not independently verify where it was taken. 

According to the ministry, Army General Valery Gerasimov visited the command post for the troops that participated in the attack on the town.

Russia’s military chief added the “major task” of conquering Avdiivka had been accomplished in what he said was a “fairly short period of time.” 

Some context: Russia raised its flag in several parts of Avdiivka in Donetsk on Sunday, hours after Ukrainian forces beat a hasty retreat from a town they’ve been defending for a decade.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission speaks to the media at CDU headquarters on February 19, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.

The European Union has reached an agreement on its 13th package of sanctions on Russia, targeting the production of drones used by Moscow on the battlefield in Ukraine. 

News of this latest package comes at a pivotal time for war-torn Ukraine as the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion grows closer and concerns mount over recent battlefield failures, including the loss of the eastern town of Avdiivka. 

An EU diplomat told CNN that almost 200 individuals and companies will be listed under this new package, making it one of the largest finalized by the bloc.

The sanctions will target the procurement networks for drone components “which end up within the Russian military complex, and then on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the diplomat added. Entities based in third countries, as well as Russia, will be sanctioned.

The package was hailed by the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, who said it will see the EU “taking more action against entities involved in circumvention, the defence and military sectors.”

EU’s lawyers will now get to work on the package’s text, in a bid to have it published by the anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24, the diplomat said.