February 2, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

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

Konstantin Yefremov speaks with CNN's Erin Burnett.

The circumstances for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine are dire with many unprepared for what awaits them on the battlefield, a former lieutenant told CNN.

President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization in late September after Russia suffered a series of major setbacks on the battlefields. Officials said the draft’s target of recruiting 300,000 personnel was met in November.

Yefremov said that “nearly everyone” in the Russian forces knows the mission is wrong. “They truly do not believe Putin’s fables about Ukraine’s threat of invasion,” he said.

Instead, they are in Ukraine because they have no choice. “It’s either their family and children end up on the streets or they have to be in the trenches,” Yefremov told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

And because the troops were drafted, many cannot resign or they will face imprisonment, he said. “So, basically, there is no choice. They either have to remain there or find ways to flee. So, like I have already said, the circumstances are dire,” he said.

Sexual violence: Yefremov also told CNN he witnessed a deputy commander torturing and threatening sexual violence on prisoners of war –, but no one dared to speak out against him for fear he would attack them too.

“Just like he shot that Ukrainian prisoner of war, he could have easily shot me or anyone else who said that they didn’t agree with this,” he said.

Yefremov fled Russia in January and he is hoping for asylum in the United States.

CIA director Bill Burns listens to testimony during a House committee hearing March 8, 2022, in Washington, DC.

The CIA assesses that the next six months will be “absolutely crucial” in determining the final outcome of the war in Ukraine, agency Director Bill Burns said Thursday. 

The Russian leader, Burns said, is “betting that he can make time work for him.” Putin believes that he can “grind down” Ukraine, while political fatigue will grip Europe and the United States will become distracted, Burns said.

But Burns said he told one of his Russian counterparts, Sergey Naryshkin, in November that “that Russian calculation is as deeply flawed as the original decision to go to war last Feb. 24 was.”

Ukraine has started putting together assault brigades with the goal of liberating territory taken by Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine said in a statement.

According to Klymenko, the units will consist of “active policemen, border guards, and national guardsmen.” 

“The units will consist exclusively of volunteers who are motivated by patriotism and there are a lot of such people in our country,” he added. The candidate must pass a military medical board and psychological and physical test, the statement said, and the training will last several months. 

“At first it will be individual, later — as part of a unit. When the commander sees that the unit is ready, they will proceed to combat missions,” the statement added. 

Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland have condemned efforts by the International Olympic Committee to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into international competition after banning them when Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.

“Efforts to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions under the veil of neutrality legitimize political decisions and widespread propaganda of these countries also through the use of sport as a distraction from the illegal aggression against Ukraine,” it added. 

The ministers are calling on international sporting bodies to follow their lead. “We highly appreciate all international sport organizations and federations that have removed athletes and representatives of Russia and Belarus from international competitions and organizations and we urge them not to change their position until Russia and Belarus stop their aggression against Ukraine.”

UN experts however have commended the IOC for considering allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports competitions as “neutral athletes.”

“We urge the IOC to adopt a decision in that direction, and to go further, ensuring the non-discrimination of any athlete on the basis of their nationality,” the office of the high commission of Human Rights said in a statement.

On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US administration does not object to allowing athletes from Russia or Belarus from taking part in the 2024 Summer Games and 2026 Winter Games — as long as it is “absolutely clear” that they are not representing their home countries,

She reiterated that current sanctions against Russia and Belarus must remain in place. 

A United States Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas on February 16, 2022.

A bipartisan group of senators urged President Joe Biden to delay the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara agrees to allow Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Sweden and Finland are waiting for Turkey to approve their admission to NATO, of which Turkey is a member. Congressional sources previously told CNN that the Biden administration was preparing to ask lawmakers to approve the sale of F-16s to Turkey, which would be among the largest arms sales in years.

The group of 27 senators wrote in their letter on Thursday, however, that Congress “cannot consider future support for [Turkey],” including the sale of the F-16 jets, until Turkey “completes ratification of the accession protocols.” 

Some background: Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO last summer, just months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at the time that he would reject the effort, accusing the two countries of being “like guesthouses for terror organizations.”

Those tensions have continued. Just last week, Turkey called for a meeting between the three countries to be postponed after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the Swedish government was complicit in the burning of the Quran during a protest in Stockholm. A Turkish state news agency reported that the meeting was canceled due to an “unhealthy political environment.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with President of the European Commission during her visit in Kyiv on February 2.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he reached “important mutual understandings” with the president of the European Commission regarding Ukraine’s bid for accession into the European Union.

Zelensky said he had productive talks with the commission leader, Ursula von der Leyen, and members of the College of the European Commission Thursday. 

The talks showed that all parties understood “the fact that Ukraine needs constant and full support in defense against Russia,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening address Thursday.

Zelensky thanked von der Leyen and her colleagues in the EU for the military, financial and social support of Ukraine “on the path of integration.”

Kyiv will host the 24th EU-Ukraine summit Friday. European leaders plan to discuss financial and military support for the Ukrainian resistance against Russian aggression.

More background: The European Commission is the EU’s executive arm, made up of one leader from each member state, which is responsible for proposing and enforcing legislation.

Leaders of the 27 EU member states have given Ukraine candidate status, starting the process for formally considering granting the country membership.

It is still likely to be years before Ukraine is able to join the EU. The process is lengthy and requires agreement from all the member states at almost every stage. This means that there are multiple opportunities for member states to use their veto as a political bargaining chip. The average time it takes to join the EU is just under five years, according to the think tank UK in a Changing Europe. However, some member states in eastern Europe have had to wait as long as 10 years. 

Zelensky has said his government is working on new reforms that will make Ukraine “more human, transparent and effective” as he prepares for further talks on the country’s possible addition to the bloc. That includes a push to tackle corruption.

A spokesperson for the commission said last month that anti-corruption measures are “an important dimension of the EU accession process.”

CNN’s Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.

The US is expected to include longer-range missiles in a new Ukraine security package worth approximately $2.2 billion, according to a senior administration official and multiple US officials.

The package will include a commitment to provide Ukraine with the Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb, a guided missile with a range of 90 miles, two officials said.

Though the missiles will effectively double the range of Ukrainian weaponry, the package won’t include the long sought-after ATACMS missile with a range in excess of 200 miles. The US has constantly rebuffed Ukraine’s requests for that system over concerns they may be used to hit targets deep inside Russia.

This is the first security package since the US committed to providing Ukraine with advanced M-1 Abrams tanks in January — a decision made in concert with European countries providing German-made Leopard 2 tanks.   

The package, which could be announced as early as Friday, will be split between $500 million in weapons and equipment pulled directly from US inventories and approximately $1.7 billion in supplies purchased from military contractors, known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

Details of the package were first reported by Reuters.

On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said there would be another announcement of security assistance to Ukraine “soon” without providing further details.

Some background: The Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb, which is fired from a HIMARS rocket launcher, has an effective range of some 90 miles, according to Saab, the company that developed the weapon in conjunction with Boeing.

That’s more than twice the range of the GMLRS munitions that Ukraine currently launches from the HIMARS rocket launchers. The long-range missile then unfolds small wings and uses a rocket engine to fly toward its target. 

But the new weapon will not arrive in Ukraine immediately, since it will not come directly out of US inventories. Instead, the US will contract with the weapons manufacturers to provide the long-range missile to Ukraine, a process which could take weeks or months.

The package also includes ammunition for artillery and HIMARS, as well as support systems and equipment for the Patriot missile system, one official said. Ukrainian forces have not completed training on the Patriot system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma – but the US is making sure the logistics and maintenance are in place well before the first Patriot battery is operational in Ukraine, the official said.

Within the last month, the US has announced three of the largest aid packages to Ukraine in a sign of ongoing support as the war nears its one-year mark. 

At least seven people were wounded in Thursday’s attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk region military administration.

That included one person who was critically injured and is currently undergoing surgery, the leader said in an evening update. Officials hope to soon move him to the nearest safe hospital outside the region.

Most residents of the buildings that were hit by missiles in the city center had already left to seek temporary accommodation in safer areas, Kyrylenko added.

Kyrylenko urged those remaining in the city to evacuate.

Officials said earlier Thursday that the latest barrage of missiles damaged 13 two-story buildings, three four-story buildings, a children’s clinic and school, garages and cars.

A CNN team had just arrived at the scene and heard the first incoming strike on Kramatorsk. CNN saw the second attack, with two impacts about one minute apart.

Thursday’s assault followed a pair of missile strikes that killed at least three people in the city Wednesday night. Rescue operations had still been underway when the latest bombardment rocked Kramatorsk.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks to reporters during the daily news conference February 2 in Washington, DC.

The White House does not object to allowing athletes from Russia or Belarus from taking part in the 2024 Summer Games and 2026 Winter Games — as long as it is “absolutely clear” that they are not representing their home countries, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.

She reiterated that current sanctions against Russia and Belarus must remain in place. 

“In cases where sports organizations and event organizers, such as the International Olympic Committee, choose to permit athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in supporting events, it should be absolutely clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the use of any official Russian or Belarusian flags, emblems or anthems should be prohibited.

She continued: 

Some background: The White House’s comments come after the International Olympic Committee outlined a multi-step plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate at the upcoming games as neutrals, which has drawn public outcry from Kyiv.   

“No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport,” the IOC’s executive board declared at the time. 

The IOC this week said it would stand by sanctions imposed on both countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has decried what it called “defamatory” statements. 

Ukrainian government officials and star athletes like Ukrainian tennis star and Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina have called for Russian athletes to be banned from qualifying for the upcoming games. 

“With this in mind, we must stick to banning Russian and Belarusian athletes, sending a strong message worldwide, that we are united in the sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus and that there are consequences for the heinous acts of their governments; their lives cannot continue as normal and the world, nor the Russian or Belarusian people can be ignorant of the atrocities they are committing in Ukraine,” Svitolina said Wednesday. 

Russian and Belarusian athletes are currently banned by many sporting federations following a previous recommendation by the IOC. 

Russian forces are preparing for a “covert mobilization” in the eastern Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday on its official Facebook page. 

“In the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region, Russia is preparing for covert mobilization. In particular, in the city of Horlivka, all budget and communal institutions were ordered to submit lists of necessary persons to the occupation military commissariat. All these people will be examined by special commissions of the enemy, with subsequent conscription into the ranks of the enemy,” it said in the statement.

Russian forces continue “active reconnaissance and preparation for an offensive in several directions,” it said, adding that “offensive operations” continue toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiiv and Novopavliv.

For context: Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Russia planned on using its claimed annexations as a pretext to draft Ukrainians in occupied areas. In October, the military said Russian forces were carrying out “door-to-door” checks in occupied areas, looking for young men of conscription age.

A top Kherson official said the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “working very well” to counter increased shelling of residential areas in the southern Ukrainian city.  

Two people were killed and seven wounded by overnight shelling from Wednesday into Thursday, according to Yurii Sobolevskyi, the first deputy head of the Kherson Regional Council. Sobolevskyi said on a Ukrainian national telethon Thursday that all of the injured are currently in the hospital. 

“The enemy continues to shell mostly residential areas — private households and areas with high-rise apartment buildings. It’s definitely not military targets,” he added.  

He declined to speculate as to whether the intensification in shelling could be linked to a possible Russia plan to carry out an offensive on Feb. 24.

He stressed that Ukrainian forces are “working very well” to destroy military targets on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river and fend off the groups that have attempted to enter Ukrainian territory. 

Remember: Russian troops withdrew from the western half from Kherson in early November 2022.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov speaks during a press conference in Paris on January 31.

Ukraine’s minister of defense said the country will provide guarantees that it would not strike Russia should it receive the long-range missiles it has been asking its allies for.

“As Ukraine needs long-range missiles that will not allow the enemy to maintain defenses and force them to lose, it is ready to coordinate targets with partners,” Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov said at a meeting with the European Commission Thursday, state media Ukriniform reports. 

Reznikov called on other countries to help Ukraine establish anti-missile defense capabilities. He emphasized the need to get Patriot and SAMP/T systems at the first opportunity, along with more IRIS-T and NASAMS, which are both air defense systems.

Ukraine also needs to increase the amount of artillery, shells and weapons capable of surpassing and destroying Russian e-warfare and air defense systems, he added. Ukraine will receive Western battle tanks after a long negotiation and is seeking fighter jets to push back against Russian and pro-Moscow forces.

An international center for the prosecution of the “crime of aggression” in Ukraine will be set up in The Hague, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Thursday. 

“Russia must be held accountable in court for its odious crimes. Prosecutors from Ukraine and the European Union are already working together. We are collecting evidence, and as a first step I’m pleased to announce that an international center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine will be set up in The Hague,” von der Leyen said in Kyiv, speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The UN has defined aggression as “the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.”

“This center will coordinate the collection of evidence, it will be embedded in the joint investigation team which is supported by our agency Eurojust [the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation],” von der Leyen said. 

Here are the latest developments:

A police officer inspects a hole after a rocket strike, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on February 2.

CNN is on the ground at Kramatorsk, where Russian missiles struck on Thursday, right after Wednesday’s attack killed at least three people in the eastern Ukrainian city.

As the CNN crew arrived in Kramatorsk on Thursday — it had just parked their car and gotten out — there was a Russian attack targeted at the building that the team had parked in front of.

Like a lot of people, the team tried to make its way to safety.

The missile used in this attack is typically used to shoot down airplanes, Pleitgen explained.

“If they are used against the ground targets, they are very inaccurate. And of course, if they are used against ground targets in densely populated urban centers, it makes things all the more dangerous,” he reported.

Watch CNN’s reporting from the ground:

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04:00 • Source: CNN

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the West was threatening Russia “again” with German-made Leopard fighter tanks. 

In January, Vadym Omelchenko, Kyiv’s ambassador to France, said that Western countries were planning to send 300 tanks to Ukraine.

“As of today, numerous countries have officially confirmed their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine,” Omelchenko told French TV station and CNN affiliate BFM television.

He did not specify which countries would provide the tanks or provide a breakdown of which models.

The US has pledged to provide 31 M1 Abrams tanks and Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6s. Previously the United Kingdom has pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, while Poland has asked for approval from Germany to transfer some of its own German-made Leopard 2s to Ukraine.

Here’s more on the Leopard 2 tanks pledged to Kyiv:

CNN’s Pierre Meilhan and Heather Chen contributed to this post.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends the EU-Ukraine summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 2.

An international center for the prosecution of the “crime of aggression” in Ukraine will be set up in The Hague, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Thursday. 

The UN has defined aggression as “the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.”   

“This center will coordinate the collection of evidence, it will be embedded in the joint investigation team which is supported by our agency Eurojust [the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation],” von der Leyen said. 

“So we will be ready to launch work very rapidly with Eurojust, with Ukraine, with the partners of our joint investigation team as well as with the Netherlands,” she added. 

Other calls for special tribunal: This announcement comes after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last week voted unanimously to “demand” the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders “for the crime of aggression in Ukraine.” 

A similar call came earlier this month from British politicians to create a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s “crime of aggression” in Ukraine.    

A statement published on the website of former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday proposed “the creation of a special tribunal with a limited focus on the crime of aggression” to complement the investigation being carried out by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.   

The ICC is unable to probe into the crime of aggression if the act of aggression is committed by a state that is not party to the Rome statute which established the court, unless the UN Security Council refers the matter to it. As Russia has not ratified the Rome statute and would likely “exercise its veto in the Security Council against a referral” the ICC has been left unable to “investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine,” the statement said.   

A two-week joint air force exercise between Belarus and Russia has concluded, the Belarusian defense ministry said Thursday.

“The joint tactical flight exercise” was aimed at “ensuring the security of the Union State” and was “exclusively defensive in nature,” the ministry said on its official Telegram channel.

The aviation drills were held in Belarus from Jan. 16 to Feb. 1. 

Separately on Tuesday, the ministry announced the start of a week of joint military drills with Russia for the combined command of their regional grouping of forces. The ministry said it is in preparation for the joint Union Shield 2023 exercises the two countries will hold in Russia in September. 

Why this matters: Russia used the territory of Belarus as one of its entry points for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Joint military drills over the last year between Belarus and Russia have contributed to concerns that Belarusian troops could join Russia’s forces in Ukraine, but Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly dismissed speculation that his troops would join the fighting in Ukraine. In December, Ukraine warned it does “not rule out” a “deliberate provocation” from Russia after Belarus said that the wreckage of a Ukrainian missile landed on its territory.

Polish F-16 fighter jets takes part in the NATO Air Shielding exercise near the air base in Lask, Poland, on October 12.

Poland would be ready to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets if NATO partners collectively decide to do so, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview with German daily newspaper Die Bild published Thursday.  

“If this was a decision of the whole of NATO, I would be in favor of sending these fighter jets,” he said.  

“My assessment is based on what NATO countries decide together,” the Polish leader said, stressing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ”is a very serious war,” in which Poland and other NATO countries “are not participating.”  

The decision to supply Ukraine with fighter jets needed the “strategic consideration of the whole NATO alliance.” 

Top Ukrainian officials have in recent days escalated their public lobbying campaign for US-made F-16 fighter jets, arguing they need them urgently to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks.  

The United States and Germany have ruled out any deliveries of fighter jets to Ukraine for now. Other NATO members such as France and the Netherlands have said they would be more open to the idea, however, neither the Netherlands nor France had received any official requests from Ukraine to send the fighter jets. 

In January, the German government — under pressure from allies including Poland — approved sending German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv.  

Berlin’s Ukraine policy has increased mistrust toward Germany, the Polish leader told Die Bild. 

“I would say that a year ago there was a lot of trust in Germany from many other countries. And now this pendulum has moved toward mistrust,” Morawiecki said, adding, “especially within the family of Central and Eastern European countries and also members of the European Union.”  

”Germany has the potential to provide much more support than it has done so far, it has decision-making power within the European Union, it has money for Ukraine, it has diplomatic power,” the prime minister went on to say.  

Morawiecki explicitly criticized German chancellor Olaf Scholz. Albeit Scholz’ support for Ukraine, the chancellor “still seems to believe it should be business as usual with Russia,” he said in the interview. 

The prime minister said that he believes talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin sends the wrong signal to the world. 

”I think it’s wrong because it only gives Putin oxygen and doesn’t achieve anything. Putin actually achieves his goals with such talks, because he shows the rest of the world and his own people, ‘Look, I’m in great demand, everyone wants to talk to me, everything depends on me,” the Polish leader said.  

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Alex Marquardt contributed to this post.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, center right, welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center left, ahead of a summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 2.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Thursday for more punitive measures against Russia by the European Union and said he had discussed a 10th EU sanctions package with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“This is a common European task, to reduce Russia’s capability of evading sanctions. And the sooner this task is achieved, the closer we will be to the defeat of the Russian federation,” he added.

“It is not enough to have success on the battlefield. We need faith in a free Europe, in a peaceful Europe, in a united Europe,” he also said.

“We are making [Russian President Vladimir] Putin pay for his atrocious war,” von der Leyen said, speaking after Zelensky.

“Before Russia started this war, we were very vocal about the severe economic costs we [would] impose on Russia if it invades Ukraine. And today Russia is paying a heavy price, as our sanctions are eroding its economy, throwing it back by a generation. The price cap on crude oil already costs Russia around 160 million euros ($176 million) a day and we will keep on turning up the pressure further,” she said.

“Europe has been by Ukraine’s side since day one, because we know that the future of our continent is being written here. We know that you are fighting for more than yourselves. What is at stake is freedom. This is a fight of democracies against authoritarian regimes,” the EU commission president added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “tries to deny the existence of Ukraine but what he risks instead is the future of Russia,” von der Leyen warned.

Past EU sanctions: In December, the European Union implemented its ninth sanctions package against Russia that added nearly 200 individuals and entities to its sanctions list. It included armed forces, members of the Russian parliament and defense industrial companies.