March 8, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Joshua Berlinger, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond, Leinz Vales and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, March 9, 2023
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9:22 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

Fighter jets could decide a Ukrainian victory, Zelensky says

From CNN's Rob Picheta

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he is “very grateful" for US President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine last month. 

“It's an important signal to the whole world that the US is supporting us. And I think that US believe that we will prevail,” Zelensky said.

But on the question of whether the US will send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets to help the battle for control in the skies, Zelensky said, “The fighter jets issue is difficult. We're waiting for this decision to be taken.”

“We really need this and really appeal to the president that they could start training Ukrainian pilots, and President Biden told me that it will be worked upon … I believe that the United States will give us the opportunity to defend our skies,” Zelensky said.

Asked if the supply of Western jets will “make or break” a Ukrainian success in the war, Zelensky said: “Yes, we believe so.”

Recalling a discussion with Biden over jets, Zelensky said Biden and his aides felt jets “were not needed” at the moment.

"And I said, 'No, we need those jets,'" Zelensky said.

“What fighter jets could do, they could help us to defend ourselves,” Zelensky said. “That's why we need it urgently."

More on Ukrainian pilots: The US is working with Ukrainian pilots in the United States to determine how long it would take to train them to fly F-16 fighter jets, three sources briefed on the matter told CNN.

Two Ukrainian pilots are currently at a military base in the US having their skills tested in flight simulators to see how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s.

A US military official added that “there are no updates to provide regarding F-16s to Ukraine” and there are no immediate plans to increase the number of Ukrainian pilots in the US.

9:05 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

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.”

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 about Zelensky's warning here.

7:51 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

US obtains warrant for seizure of $25M airplane owned by Russian oil company

From CNN's Jamie Crawford

The United States has obtained a warrant to seize an airplane owned by Igor Ivanovich Sechin, who heads a Russian oil company and has been described by the European Union as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend."

The US Justice Department announced Wednesday the unsealing of a warrant for the seizure of a Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Company, according to a DOJ news release.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorized the seizure of the airplane after “finding probable cause that the Boeing aircraft was subject to seizure based on violations of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and the recent sanctions issued against Russia,” the release said.

The aircraft is believed to be worth approximately $25 million, the Justice Department said.

6:50 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

Russian forces advance on Bakhmut as US official says war could go on for years. Here's the latest

CNN staff

Ukrainian servicemen walk along a muddy road near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 8.
Ukrainian servicemen walk along a muddy road near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 8. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

Russian forces continue to advance in the battered eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, relying heavily on artillery supported by multiple launch rocket systems and some air power, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday.

Fighters of the private military company Wagner are the predominant forces in the area "with occasional support from Russian regular forces, and that appears to be dwindling down at the moment,” Western officials said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday he can't rule out that Russian forces will soon take over Bakhmut. And Avril Haines, the US director of National Intelligence, told Congress Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could carry on the war in Ukraine possibly for years.

If you're just now catching up, here's what you need to know:

Visits to Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Kyiv for discussions on extending the grain initiative that allows Ukraine to export its agricultural produce from Black Sea ports. And one of Ukraine's top military commanders Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi visited the city of Bakhmut for the third time in less than a week, according to a video posted on his official Telegram account on Wednesday.

Invite to Ukraine: Zelensky invited US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine to see the situation on the ground firsthand, as the Republican Party faces a divide over whether the United States should continue to provide aid to the country. But when told of the invitation, McCarthy told CNN he does not plan to visit Ukraine, and argued that President Joe Biden has not acted quickly enough to aid the country. 

Support for Ukraine: Zelensky thanked Georgian protesters for holding his country’s flag and playing the national anthem during demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Georgians have been coming out in force, protesting a foreign agents law they say will leave Georgia further from joining the European Union and NATO. On Wednesday, the EU's Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said the organization is “at the decisive moment now" for the bloc's support to Ukraine. He urged that “it is absolutely mandatory that we move towards a sort of war economy mode in terms of supply and defense industry."

Nuclear weapons: US intelligence agencies said in their unclassified annual threat assessment report that Moscow will grow more dependent on its nuclear, cyber and space capabilities. Heavy losses on the battlefield in Ukraine "have degraded Moscow’s ground and air-based conventional capabilities and increased its reliance on nuclear weapons," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in the report.

3:42 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

Top Ukrainian general visits Bakhmut for 3rd time in less than a week 

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio in London and Denis Lapin in Kyiv

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi posted a video on his official Telegram account on Wednesday reportedly showing him Bakhmut.
Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi posted a video on his official Telegram account on Wednesday reportedly showing him Bakhmut. (From Oleksandr Syrskyi/Telegram)

One of Ukraine’s top military commanders visited the city of Bakhmut for the third time in less than a week, a video posted on his official Telegram account on Wednesday showed. 

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who is the second highest-ranked general, said his men were doing everything they could to ensure Russian forces made the wrong move, referencing a chess strategy. 

“Zugzwang in chess is a situation where any move by a player leads to a deterioration of his position,” the post read. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that the enemy is in this situation in this war.”

He went on to say Ukrainian forces were holding their ground. Other military leaders have said it is a priority for Ukraine to continue defending Bakhmut, where fighting has intensified.

CNN could not independently verify where the video was recorded but metadata on the file suggested it had indeed been recorded Wednesday.

Syrskyi organized and lead the defense of Kyiv, successfully driving back Russian forces that had nearly encircled the Ukrainian capital at the beginning of Russia’s invasion. He has paid regular visits to frontline units in the Donbas and elsewhere, including Bakhmut. His previous visit to the city was at the end of last week.

3:48 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

"This is respect for Ukraine": Zelensky thanks Georgia protesters for holding Ukraine flag

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Denis Lapin

Protesters wave the Georgian, Ukrainian and European flags during a demonstration outside Georgia's Parliament in Tbilisi on March 8.
Protesters wave the Georgian, Ukrainian and European flags during a demonstration outside Georgia's Parliament in Tbilisi on March 8. (Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Georgian protesters for holding his country’s flag during demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

“I want to thank everyone who has been holding Ukrainian flags in the squares and streets of Georgia these days. I want to thank you for our national anthem that was played in Tbilisi. This is respect for Ukraine, and I want to express my sincere respect for Georgia,” Zelensky said. “There is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success.”

Georgians have been coming out in force, protesting a foreign agents law introduced by the country’s ruling party that's widely seen as very similar to legislation currently in place in Russia. 

Protesters say the law will leave Georgia further from joining the European Union and NATO. 

“We want to be in the European Union and we will be. We want Georgia to be in the European Union, and I am sure it will be,” Zelensky went on to say. “We want Moldova to be in the European Union, and I am sure it will be. All free peoples of Europe deserve this.”
3:32 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

Ukraine may have repaired bridge on main road to Bakhmut, footage shows

From CNN's Denis Lapin and Vasco Cotovio

Ukrainian forces may have repaired a bridge on the main road connecting the village of Chasiv Yar to the city of Bakhmut, according to video and a still image geolocated by CNN. 

The bridge had been hit by Russian artillery, which left a large crater that made the road unusable and forced Ukrainian forces to use dirt roads to supply their forces defending the fiercely contested city.

The footage shows a temporary bridge has been placed on top of the crater, and a vehicle is seen driving over it.

CNN could not independently verify when the video was filmed but the potential repair of the bridge could mean the re-opening of a vital supply line for Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut.

2:48 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

EU defense ministers call for plans to support Ukraine with ammunition

From CNN's Jessie Gretener

Officials pose for a group photo during a meeting of European Union defense ministers on Wednesday.
Officials pose for a group photo during a meeting of European Union defense ministers on Wednesday. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency/Reuters)

The European Union is “at the decisive moment now" for the bloc's support to Ukraine, its Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Wednesday. 

Speaking at the EU defense ministers meeting in Stockholm, Breton urged that “it is absolutely mandatory that we move towards a sort of war economy mode in terms of supply and defense industry."

"We need to do whatever it takes to supply Ukraine, especially with ammunitions,” he said.  

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for EU defense leaders to work on a standard procurement scheme in the short term and increase defense capacity in the long term. 

In a separate interview with CNN Wednesday, Borrell's spokesperson Peter Stano said the EU's top diplomat proposes that the bloc spend $1 billion on joint procurement of "crucially needed" ammunition for Ukraine.

“Right now, at this particular point, the ammunition is something the Ukrainians are needing most,” Stano said.

During the meeting, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson echoed Borrell’s called for a plan, saying, “The Ukrainians direly need the ammunition in order to continue this war. And the other aspect of it is that we have to ramp up production in Europe.” 

“There are some talks about the EDA (European Defence Agency). I think it’s very important that the European Defence Agency has a coordinating role. There are also being proposals launched,” Jonson said. 

Meanwhile, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur urged leaders to make sure they are not “digging into the bureaucracy,” adding that “the aim is 1,000,000 rounds for Ukraine.” 

CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi contributed reporting to this post.

1:44 p.m. ET, March 8, 2023

Ukraine says Russia is still advancing in Bakhmut

From CNN's Denis Lapin and Vasco Cotovio

The Ukrainian military has acknowledged that Russian forces continue to advance in the battered eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, its General Staff said in an evening update Wednesday.

“The enemy continues to advance in the Bakhmut sector. They do not stop storming the city of Bakhmut,” according to the update.  

The Ukrainian military also said it had been able to hold Moscow’s forces in several areas in and around the city. 

“Our defenders repelled attacks in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut and Ivanivske,” it said. 

According to Ukraine, Russia continues to rely heavily on artillery, supported by multiple launch rocket systems and some air power. 

“During the day, the enemy carried out 22 air strikes and fired 29 times from multiple launch rocket systems. In particular, the enemy used 1 Shahed-136 UAV. The drone was eliminated,” it said. 

What Russia said: Earlier Wednesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military company Wagner, claimed that the eastern part of Bakhmut is now under its control. CNN cannot independently confirm Prigozhin’s claim.