May 9, 2022: Russia-Ukraine news

By Rhea Mogul, Andrew Raine, Tara John, Ben Church, Aditi Sangal, Laura Smith-Spark and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 0408 GMT (1208 HKT) May 10, 2022
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2:36 a.m. ET, May 9, 2022

Ukraine says Russia is holding back units as Ukrainian counterattack near Kharkiv unfolds

From CNN's Tim Lister in Lviv

Ukrainian soldiers next to a destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 8.
Ukrainian soldiers next to a destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 8. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Ukrainian military says that Russia is holding back some of its forces within its borders to prevent a Ukrainian counterattack that has made some headway east of Kharkiv.

In its latest operational update, the armed forces' general staff says that "in order to prevent the advance of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy has concentrated up to nineteen battalion tactical groups in the Belgorod region" of Russia.

The Russians are holding back units as Ukrainian units get closer to the Russian border, analysts say.

Inside Ukraine, the general staff says the most intense activity is in Donetsk region, where Russian forces are trying to advance towards the town of Lyman, a major transport hub.

In other parts of the region, it says, "the enemy has increased its firepower and is trying to break through the defenses of our troops."
Even so, it says, Russian forces remain "focused on the regrouping of units, replenishment of ammunition, fuel, [and] maintenance of previously occupied positions."

The general staff says it expects the Russians to resume an offensive towards the village of Sulyhivka as they try to make progress from the Izium area. Over the past month, the Russians have made modest gains in the area but have taken no settlement of any consequence.

Luhansk: On the Luhansk front, the increase in Russian shelling has caused more civilian casualties and hampered rescue operations. 

Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said rescuers had lost contact with 11 people hiding in a basement in Shypilovo. He said it was impossible to completely dismantle the wreckage of damaged buildings in Bilohorivka — where a school sheltering civilians was hit at the weekend — or Shypilovo.

"With the support of aircraft and artillery, the enemy focused its efforts on trying to take control of Rubizhne and prepare for the continuation of offensive operations in the direction of Lysychansk. The enemy increased firepower, trying to break through the defenses of our troops," he said.

Russian forces have made only minor territorial gains in Luhansk but now have control of the ruined town of Popasna

Southern Ukraine: The general staff alleged that in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia region in the south, the Russians are seizing the personal documents of civilians and will only return them if they attend ceremonial events to mark Victory Day. CNN is unable to verify the claim. 

After a weekend of dueling claims about combat over Snake Island in the Black Sea, the Odesa military administration says: "There are [Russian] Black Sea Fleet ships and submarines with cruise missiles on board constantly maneuvering and regrouping."

"The number of boats has increased. So far, we know of six ships and two submarines," it said.

The Odesa military administration repeated the list of Russian units it says it destroyed over the weekend: a small landing craft, two patrol boats, and a vessel carrying anti-aircraft defenses to Snake Island, as well as a helicopter.

2:00 a.m. ET, May 9, 2022

EU should consider using Russian foreign exchange reserves to rebuild Ukraine, top diplomat says

From CNN’s Hannah Ritchie

The European Union should consider using billions of dollars’ worth of Russian foreign exchange reserves to rebuild Ukraine after the war, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) Monday. 

“I would be very much in favor because it is full of logic,” Borrell said when asked by the FT whether frozen Russian reserves could help finance Ukraine’s reconstruction effort once the war ends. 

“We have the money in our pockets, and someone has to explain to me why it is good for the Afghan money and not good for the Russian money,” he continued, referring to the United States’ decision to use $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan’s central bank to provide humanitarian aid inside the country and compensate victims of terrorism after the Taliban seized power. 

Western countries have frozen roughly $315 billion worth of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves in response to its invasion of Ukraine. 

Since then, EU officials have been debating whether the sanctioned assets could somehow be deployed to reconstruct Ukraine when the war finally ends, however no concrete policy proposals have been tabled. 

Some context: In April, Russia’s Central Bank threatened to take legal action against the US and EU in an attempt to try and unfreeze its gold and foreign reserves. However, it is unclear when or in what jurisdiction a legal challenge could be made.

8:10 a.m. ET, May 9, 2022

Analysis: Biden tests how much he can ratchet up the pressure on Putin

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN

President Joe Biden is vowing to ratchet up even more pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader stages a nationalistic pageant set to highlight the civilization-destroying potential of his nuclear arms in a new round of saber-rattling.

Russia's Victory Day celebration on Monday follows a stunning sequence of revelations about the deadly results of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine and after Biden called for a staggering $33 billion haul of arms and aid for Kyiv in another extraordinary step that widened US involvement in the war.

America's posture in providing a third country with that level of assistance to wound the US' nuclear superpower rival would have been unthinkable before the invasion, especially given Biden's desire to avoid a direct clash with Moscow.

The US role — at the vanguard of a broad Western front against Putin, which is resulting in heavy losses for the Russian army — is again raising questions about how far the Kremlin strongman can be pushed before he reacts.

Read the full analysis here:

7:12 a.m. ET, May 9, 2022

It's 7 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

US First lady Jill Biden offers flowers to Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, in Uzhhorod, Ukraine on May 8.
US First lady Jill Biden offers flowers to Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, in Uzhhorod, Ukraine on May 8. (Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden virtually met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 forum on Sunday. G7 leaders reassured Zelensky that they will continue to provide military and economic assistance.

Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine war:

  • First lady Jill Biden makes unannounced trip to Ukraine: The first lady made an unannounced trip on Sunday to Uzhhorod, a small city in the far southwestern corner of Ukraine. At a converted school that now serves as temporary housing for displaced citizens, Biden met Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska, who has not been seen in public since the start of the war. The first lady is the latest high profile American to visit the war torn country in recent weeks. 
  • Dozens feared dead after Russia drops bomb on school sheltering Ukrainians: Ukraine has accused Russia of dropping a bomb on a school in the Luhansk region. Ninety people were said to be sheltering in the school; 60 are feared dead. Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said the school building was destroyed.
  • Evacuations from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol: The Ukrainian government said "all women, children and elderly people" have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Zelensky said more than 300 civilians have been rescued.
  • Acting US ambassador returns to Kyiv: Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine Kristina Kvien and a group of US diplomats returned to the embassy in Kyiv on Sunday for the first time since the war began more than two months ago. The US embassy was shuttered in mid-February as concerns grew of Russian military action.
  • Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ukraine: In a joint news conference with Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the reopening of the Canadian embassy in the Ukrainian capital. Trudeau also announced more military assistance for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and funding for de-mining operations.
  • US State Department announces visa restrictions against Russian and Belarusian military officials: The US State Department on Sunday announced visa restrictions on more than 2,000 Russian and Belarusian military officials for violations related to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and a new visa restriction policy targeting Russian officials for human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and corruption in Ukraine.
11:58 p.m. ET, May 8, 2022

Japan's Fumio Kishida agrees to Russian oil imports embargo "in principle" 

From CNN’s Emi Jozuka and Junko Ogura in Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at press conference in Tokyo on May 9.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at press conference in Tokyo on May 9. (The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP)

Japan will embargo Russian crude oil imports "in principle," as part of a G7 decision to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after an online meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday.

“The unity of the G7 is essential at this time and based on the G7 leaders’ statement, we decided to take measures to embargo Russian oil in principle,” Kishida told reporters on Monday.
He said it was a “tough decision” as Japan “relies on imports for the majority of its energy resources.”

Kishida did not give a timeline for Japan’s embargo on Russian oil imports.

Some context: Japan has been importing Russian crude oil — which accounted for 3.6% of crude oil imports in 2021 — to diversify its supply sources, according to data released in April by the country’s ministry of trade. 

Earlier this month, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda told reporters that given Japan “has limited resources” it is difficult for the country to immediately align itself with the European Union over its plans to ban oil imports from Russia.

The G7 meeting was held online at the behest of Germany and was attended by G7 nation leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

11:58 p.m. ET, May 8, 2022

Analysis: What North Korea learned from Ukraine: Now’s the perfect time for a nuclear push

Analysis from CNN's Paula Hancocks

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to officers and soldiers in a celebration of the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, in North Korea on April 27.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to officers and soldiers in a celebration of the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, in North Korea on April 27.

If North Korea was looking for another excuse to forge ahead with its nuclear weapons program, it just found one in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

That one of the very few countries to have voluntarily given up a nuclear arsenal is now under attack from the same country it gave its warheads to will not be lost on Pyongyang.

In fact, analysts say, Moscow’s actions have gifted the reclusive Asian nation a “perfect storm” of conditions under which to ramp its program up.

Not only will North Korea use Ukraine’s plight to bolster its narrative that it needs nukes to guarantee its survival, but leader Kim Jong Un may find that, with all eyes on the war in Europe, he can get away with more than ever.

Divided over Ukraine, the international community will likely have little appetite for sanctions on the hermit kingdom; indeed, even unified condemnation of a recent North Korean ICBM test remains elusive.

What’s more, the boycott of Russian oil and gas could even open the door to cut-price energy deals between Pyongyang and Moscow – ideological allies whose friendship harks back to the Korean war of the 1950s.

Read the full analysis:

8:10 a.m. ET, May 9, 2022

UN crisis coordinator: School bombing a "stark reminder of the cruelty of this war"

From CNN's Richard Roth

Emergency crew work near a burning debris, after a school building was hit as a result of shelling, in the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk, on Ukraine, May 8.
Emergency crew work near a burning debris, after a school building was hit as a result of shelling, in the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk, on Ukraine, May 8. (State Emergency Services/Reuters)

UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine and UN Assistant Secretary-General Amin Awad has responded to the bombing of a school serving as a shelter in Luhansk, saying the incident is “yet another stark reminder of the cruelty of this war.” 

“Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be spared in times of war; these obligations under international humanitarian law are non-negotiable,” Awad said. “The sooner we seek a peaceful end to the war, the better for the people here in Ukraine and everywhere in the world.”

“UNICEF strongly condemns yet another attack on a school in Ukraine amid reports that civilians, including children, had sought shelter in the school’s bunker,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Sunday. “We do not yet know how many children might have been killed or injured in the reported bombing, but we fear this attack has just added to the hundreds of children who have already lost their lives in this war.”

11:57 p.m. ET, May 8, 2022

Canada's prime minister announces reopening of Canadian Embassy in Kyiv

From CNN's Karen Smith

In a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the reopening of the Canadian embassy in Kyiv. 

Trudeau also announced more military assistance for Ukraine would be given including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and funding for de-mining operations.

The Canadian prime minister also announced Canada will be removing trade tariffs on all Ukrainian imports coming to Canada for the next year. 

“It is clear Vladmir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes and there must be accountability,” Trudeau said. 

Trudeau’s comments came during a surprise weekend visit to Ukraine announced by his office Sunday morning.

11:57 p.m. ET, May 8, 2022

G7 leaders say they will continue to provide military and economic assistance to Ukraine after virtual meeting

From CNN's Sam Fossum

The Group of 7 Leaders (G7), including US President Joe Biden, met virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reassured him that they will continue to provide military and economic assistance "to help Ukraine secure its free and democratic future" and will increase financial aid "in the coming weeks," according to a G7 Leaders' statement of the meeting passed along by the White House. 

"To this end, we will pursue our ongoing military and defence assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, continue supporting Ukraine in defending its networks against cyber incidents, and expand our cooperation, including on information security. We will continue to support Ukraine in increasing its economic and energy security," the statement reads.  

Zelensky, according to the statement, told the leaders that Ukraine will continue to protect itself and that his "ultimate aim" is a complete Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.  

"[Zelensky] stated that Ukraine’s ultimate aim is to ensure full withdrawal of Russia’s military forces and equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and to secure its ability to protect itself in the future and thanked G7 members for their support," the statement reads, continuing: "Ukraine remains committed to working closely with G7 members to support Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability in the face of the challenges posed by the full-scaled Russian invasion, massive destruction of critical infrastructure and disruption of traditional shipping routes for Ukrainian exports."

The G7 also pledged to "step up" short-term financial aid to Ukraine in the weeks ahead, as well as continue to develop options for the country's long-term reconstruction. 

"In the coming weeks, we will step up our collective short-term financial support to help Ukraine close financing gaps and deliver basic services to its people, while also developing options – working with the Ukrainian authorities and international financial institutions – to support long-term recovery and reconstruction," the statement reads. 

The seventeen point statement also announces that all G7 countries agree to phase out Russian oil in a "timely and orderly fashion," and that Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion brings "shame on Russia and the historic sacrifices of its people."