March 7, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Jack Guy, Adrienne Vogt, Leinz Vales, Mike Hayes and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, March 8, 2023
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5:45 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

"They don't respect anything." Zelensky says execution video shows Russia's attitude to POWs

From CNN's Jonny Hallam

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the disturbing video of an unarmed Ukrainian solider being executed in a forest shows Russia's attitude toward prisoners of war. 

The Russians "don't have any laws of war or international law or any conventions," Zelenksy told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview on Tuesday. 

"They don't respect anything," Zelensky said.

The video shows the difference between the two sides, the president said.

"For us, it's war for our freedom, for democracy, for our values. For them it's terrorism —that's the attitude. And they post this video," he said.

"They just killed a guy who refused to surrender, and he said 'Glory to Ukraine' — that's what you got. This is the face of this war. This is the face of the Russian Federation," Zelensky added.

4:48 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Celebrated Ukrainian fighter killed in Bakhmut, Zelensky says

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Kostan Nechyporenko

Zelensky announced the death of "Da Vinci" in his nightly address on Tuesday.
Zelensky announced the death of "Da Vinci" in his nightly address on Tuesday. (Office of the Ukrainian President)

A celebrated Ukrainian fighter, Dmytro Kotsiubaylo, whose call sign was “Da Vinci” was killed in Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his nightly address on Tuesday.

“Today, Dmytro Kotsiubaylo, 'Da Vinci,' Hero of Ukraine, volunteer, man-symbol, man of courage, was killed in action. A fighter of the 67th separate mechanized brigade, a commander of a battalion. He was killed in the battle near Bakhmut, in the battle for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Kotsiubaylo was a well-known soldier in Ukraine, having risen up and taken arms against Russian influence since 2014 when he was just a teenager.

“One of the youngest heroes of Ukraine. One of those whose personal history, character, and courage have forever become the history, character, and courage of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

3:55 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

US State Department aware of "gruesome video" of execution of unarmed Ukrainian soldier

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

The US State Department is aware of the “gruesome video” of the execution of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier, allegedly in Russian captivity, spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday. 

“The harrowing imagery of this unarmed Ukrainian being executed after making the simple statement of ‘Glory to Ukraine’ is just breathtaking in terms of its barbarity,” Price said during a State Department briefing. 

“Russia, we believe, should be ashamed of itself,” he continued. “It is flouting the basic rules of war, basic humanity, basic decency ... when its forces take part in atrocities like this.”

Price added that it wasn't the first evidence of Russian atrocities in Ukraine. "Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last tally that our Ukrainian partners are maintaining of potential war crimes atrocities now has tens of thousands of instances on it,” he said.

Some background: The Ukrainian Army’s 30th Mechanized Brigade named the soldier on Tuesday as Tymofii Mykolayovych Shadura. The brigade said in a Facebook post that Shadura had been missing since February 3 after fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut.

3:04 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Ukraine's top general discussed the situation in Bakhmut with US and NATO military leaders

From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko and Vasco Cotovio

Ukraine's top military leader, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, discussed the situation in Bakhmut with US and NATO military leaders, he said in a Telegram post on Tuesday.

“First of all, I informed them about the situation on the battlefield. I focused on the Eastern direction in the most detailed way. In particular, the situation in Bakhmut,” Ukraine's commander-in-chief said. “We discussed the supply of military aid, including weapons and ammunition, in no less detail. The issues of strengthening air defense and providing long-range weapons remain crucial.”

Present in the meeting were Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of US European Command general Christopher G. Cavoli, UK Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Anthony Radakin; Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces General Rajmund Andrzejczak and Commander of US of Security Assistance Group–Ukraine Gen.-Lt. Antonio Aguto.

 

4:00 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Ukrainian government denies involvement in Nord Stream leaks

From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Kostan Nechyporenko

A senior Ukrainian official denied any involvement from the Ukrainian government in the Nord Stream pipeline leaks in late September 2022, which Western leaders have said were likely the result of sabotage.

"Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about [Ukrainian] government, I have to say: [Ukraine] has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-[Ukraine] sabotage groups,'" Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote Tuesday on Twitter

“What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines? 'They sank,' as they say in [the Russian Federation] itself...,” Podolyak added.

Podolyak’s remarks follow a report from The New York Times, which said new intelligence suggests that a “pro-Ukrainian group” carried out an attack on the Russian-owned Nord Stream pipelines that left them badly damaged last year. 

A source familiar with the intelligence told CNN that the assessment was not made with high confidence and is not the predominant view of the intelligence community, and the US has not yet identified a culprit. There is a section of the intelligence community, however, that believes pro-Ukrainian actors would have had the motive to sabotage the pipelines because of how Russia was weaponizing them against Ukraine and Europe. The pipelines bypassed Ukraine, and the Russians had threatened to cut off all gas to Europe in response to European sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 

The intelligence community has no evidence, however, that Ukrainian leaders — including Zelensky — had any knowledge of or involvement in the pipeline sabotage, the source said.

2:41 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Putin discussed volunteer battalions with Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia, state media reports

From CNN's Katharina Krebs

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on Tuesday with Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed acting governor of the Zaporizhzhia region — which was declared annexed by Putin in September 2022 — where they discussed security issues and a volunteer battalion, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“Various issues related to the development of the Zaporizhzhia region, the functioning of the economy of business entities, and other aspects of the socio-economic situation were discussed,” Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS.

Peskov also said that “Balitsky raised the issue of the status of the Sudoplatov Volunteer Battalion with the President.”

In an interview with the Crimea 24 TV channel on Monday, Balitsky said the “unresolved issue” of the status of volunteer battalions makes it difficult for them to receive weapons.

Some background on Russia's claims of annexed regions: In late September 2022, Putin announced Russia would seize nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The move followed so-called referendums in the regions that were universally dismissed as “shams” by Ukraine and Western nations.

1:00 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Exclusive: Zelensky warns of "open road" through Ukraine’s east if Russia captures Bakhmut

From CNN's  Rob Picheta

(CNN)
(CNN)

Russian troops will have “open road” to capture key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize control of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an interview with CNN, as he defended his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in the besieged city.

“This is tactical for us,” Zelensky said, insisting that Kyiv’s military brass is united in prolonging its defense of the city after weeks of Russian attacks left it on the cusp of falling to Moscow’s troops.

“We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview from Kyiv. “That’s why our guys are standing there.”

A weeks-long assault from Wagner mercenary troops, which has picked up pace in recent days, has forced thousands from the city and decimated its infrastructure. But Ukrainian troops have also mounted a dogged defense of the area, stalling Russia’s progress.

Zelensky said his motivations to keep the city are “so different” to Russia’s objectives. “We understand what Russia wants to achieve there. Russia needs at least some victory – a small victory – even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there,” Zelensky said.

He said that if Russia is able to “put their little flag” on top of Bakhmut, it would help “mobilize their society in order to create this idea they’re such a powerful army.”

Read more here and watch the interview below.

12:31 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Ukraine says its forces continue to repel Russian attacks on Bakhmut

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Kostan Nechyporenko

A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for firing towards Russian positions outside the town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 5.
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for firing towards Russian positions outside the town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 5. (Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters)

Ukrainian forces have continued to repel Russian attacks on the battered city of Bakhmut, the military’s General Staff said in a situation update Tuesday.

“The enemy continues its assaults in the Bakhmut direction,” it said. “They do not stop assaulting the city of Bakhmut. Our defenders repelled attacks in the areas of Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, and Bakhmut.”

According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces continue to focus their offensive not just on Bakhmut but also on Kupiansk, Lyman, Avdiivka, and Shakhtarsk.

“During the day, the enemy launched 19 air strikes and one missile attack, as well as five attacks from multiple rocket launchers,” it also said.

12:17 p.m. ET, March 7, 2023

Moscow court sentences blogger to prison for discrediting Russian army 

From CNN's Katharina Krebs

Dmitry Ivanov speaks from inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday.
Dmitry Ivanov speaks from inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Moscow court has sentenced Dmitry Ivanov, the author of the Protest MSU telegram channel to eight and a half years in prison, after convicting him of spreading fakes about the Russian army, the press service of the court told Russian state media RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“According to the verdict of the Timiryazevsky District Court of Moscow, Dmitry Ivanov was found guilty of committing a crime under clause d, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and he was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison, with punishment to be served in a correctional colony of general regime, with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of sites of electronic and information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, for a period of 4 years,” the source said, as quoted by RIA.

Under the article on the dissemination of fakes about the Russian army based on political or other hatred, punishment is provided in the form of imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years. 

According to RIA, the prosecutor's office asked to sentence Ivanov to 9 years in prison.

“You must understand that Russia is not Putin. We didn't vote for him, and he didn't ask us about starting this war with our close neighbour. I know that tens of millions of people here in Russia are against this criminal war. Lots of us have friends and relatives in Ukraine, and we feel their pain,” said Ivanov during the court session, adding that “today is a dark moment of our history, but the darkest moment is always before the sunrise.”

Ivanov's lawyer Maria Eismont commented on the court's verdict in a video posted on the Prison MSU telegram channel, which was created in support of Dmitry Ivanov.

“A person got a sentence for the same term as people get for murder and other violent crimes just because he voiced an opinion different to the press release of the defense ministry. This is a horrible reality that we live in right now,” said Eismont.

In another video posted on the Telegram channel, Ivanov's mother, Elena Ivanova, expressed hope that her son will soon be freed.

"A person should not be imprisoned for his beliefs. This verdict will certainly be overturned. Sooner or later it will be overturned," she said, adding that "many share his position. He is not alone. We have a lot of people who support him."

RIA Novosti reported that the investigation found numerous posts were published on the Protest MSU Telegram channel, which spoke of alleged crimes committed by the Russian Armed Forces, including the murders of the civilian population of Ukraine. 

In March and April last year, the Protest MSU Telegram channel was actively reposting statements of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and several Russian opposition figures condemning the war in Ukraine.