April 25, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

At least five people were injured by what Ukraine says was a Russian missile strike on a museum in Kupyansk, in the eastern Kharkiv region, officials said on Tuesday. 

Syniehubov said five civilians were injured and at least two more people are under the rubble, and added that Ukrainian emergency services were working on the scene. 

Russian forces allegedly used an S-300 surface-to-surface missile to target Kupyansk, according to the Ukrainian President’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak. 

If the Group of Seven nations decide to ban exports to Russia, Moscow officials have threatened to terminate the Black Sea grain deal, viewed as critical to addressing the world hunger crisis.

Such a ban could be part of the ever-evolving set of sanctions the allies have leveled against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Normally, Ukraine supplies about 45 million metric tons of grain to the global market every year and is the world’s top exporter of sunflower oil. Together with Russia, it accounted for about one-quarter of global wheat exports in 2019.

Here are the top headlines to know:

UN ambassadors condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine: All 27 ambassadors of the European Union made a joint statement condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine just ahead of Russia chairing Monday’s United Nations Security Council meeting. Russia holds the rotating presidency of that body this month. Also at the meeting, Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of detained American Paul Whelan, demanded Russia free her brother. “Paul has not committed a crime, but a crime has been committed against him,” Whelan said at a UN stakeout, accompanied by the US, Irish and Canadian ambassadors to the UN.

Ukrainian officials detect shift in Russian focus: Ukrainian officials say the Russian focus in the eastern Donetsk region has shifted slightly, but the city of Bakhmut and the ruined towns of Mariinka and Avdiivka remain the focus of Russian assaults. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that in the Bakhmut sector, the Russians were using what she called the "Syrian tactics" of total destruction of buildings and facilities.

China and former Soviet countries: China respects the sovereign state status of ex-Soviet Union countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday. Mao’s remarks come after the Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye sparked controversy for saying during a TV interview that former Soviet countries, including the Baltic states, don't have "effective status in international law." China has so far refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or call for a withdrawal of its troops, instead urging restraint by “all parties” and accusing NATO of fueling the conflict. It has also continued to deepen diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow.

The flow of ammunition to Ukraine needs to increase “in the coming days,” the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said Monday.

Borrell said there needed to be a “just peace” in the conflict, but, until then, the EU would continue to support the defense of Ukraine. So far, the EU had provided about $14 billion in military support, and the EU was continuing to deliver on its promise of 1 million rounds of ammunition, he said.

A second tranche of $1 billion for purchases of ammunition from EU states was being finalized, he said. “There has been some disagreement, but the work continues. We are not waiting for the legal document to be finished to start working.”

 He also said the EU was reaching out to outside countries to reinforce the effect of international sanctions against Russia. 

Ukrainian officials say the Russian focus in the eastern Donetsk region has shifted slightly, but the city of Bakhmut and the ruined towns of Mariinka and Avdiivka remain the focus of Russian assaults.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Monday there had been 47 air strikes by Russian planes over the past day, and more than 30 ground assaults had been repelled.

Ukrainian forces continue to cling on to parts of the city of Bakhmut and the access route from the west. The General Staff said that "during the day, the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Novomarkove and Khromove," settlements to the northwest and west of the city.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that in the Bakhmut sector, the Russians were using what she called the "Syrian tactics" of total destruction of buildings and facilities.

"At the same time, our defenders are carrying out active assault operations and preventing the enemy from taking control of the city," Maliar said.

Maliar noted a decrease in Russian attacks in one area of the front line that has been very active for several months — near the Ukrainian-held town of Lyman.

"In the Lyman sector, the aggressor failed to break through our defenses and its activity has slightly decreased," she said. "At the same time, the enemy is shelling our positions in this area and regrouping."

The General Staff reported that, "The enemy did not conduct any offensive in the Lyman sector."

Elsewhere, the same pattern of Russian artillery and mortar fire continued across the front line, with the town of Vuhledar coming under heavy bombardment.

In the south, according to the General Staff, Russian forces are carrying out "defensive actions at the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions," but that includes heavy shelling of settlements close to the front lines. Maliar said that the Russians were doing their best "to maintain control over the occupied borders and prevent the advance of our troops" in the south.

If the Group of Seven nations ban exports to Russia, Moscow is threatening to terminate the Black Sea grain deal, viewed as critical to addressing the world hunger crisis.

Such a ban could be part of the ever-evolving set of sanctions the allies have leveled against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Ukraine normally supplies about 45 million metric tons of grain to the global market every year and is the world’s top exporter of sunflower oil. Together with Russia, it accounted for about one-quarter of global wheat exports in 2019.

On Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and deputy chair of Russia's security council, implied in a Telegram post that Moscow would answer a new G7 export ban by halting the flow of "goods that are the most sensitive for G7."

Alliance response: The G7 called for the “extension, full implementation and expansion” of the Black Sea grain deal in a statement published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan on Sunday. 

Moscow has pulled out of the deal before: Russia had suspended its participation in the UN-brokered agreement in October 2022 after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Shipments have been stop and start during the deal, with each side accusing the other of sabotaging the operation at times.

Origins of the deal and impact: Turkey, alongside the United Nations, helped broker the deal in July 2022. The agreement established a procedure that guaranteed the safety of ships carrying Ukrainian grain, fertilizer and other foodstuffs through a humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea.

Under the deal, all vessels coming to and from Ukraine’s ports were inspected and monitored by international teams made up of officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.

CNN's Uliana Pavlova, Sugam Pokharel, Dennis Lapin, Ivana Kottasová and Katharina Krebs contributed to this report.