May 13, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Helen Regan, George Ramsay, Lianne Kolirin, Hannah Strange and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 0417 GMT (1217 HKT) May 14, 2022
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12:08 a.m. ET, May 14, 2022

Our live coverage of the war in Ukraine has moved here.

6:53 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

Zelensky says Ukraine has retaken more than 1,000 settlements from Russian forces

From CNN's Mariya Knight

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky say Ukraine has retaken six settlements from Russian forces on Friday, and 1,015 overall since the start of the conflict in February.

''We continue to restore the de-occupied territories of Ukraine. As of today, 1,015 settlements have been de-occupied, which is plus six in the past 24 hours,'' he said in his nightly address.

It is unclear exactly how much territory those settlements constitute. Zelensky did outline other gains by Ukraine’s military in those areas.

“We return electricity, water supply, communications, transport, social services there,” he said.

He also stated that “the gradual liberation of Kharkiv region” proves that Ukraine “will not leave anyone to the enemy.”  

11:34 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

Ukrainian lawmaker says situation on battlefield is "far worse" than it was at the start of war

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Members of the Ukrainian Army's mobile evacuation unit treat a soldier wounded on the frontline before his transfer to a hospital by ambulance, near Lysychansk, on May 10.
Members of the Ukrainian Army's mobile evacuation unit treat a soldier wounded on the frontline before his transfer to a hospital by ambulance, near Lysychansk, on May 10. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)

A Ukrainian lawmaker called on the United States to provide air defense systems and fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that the situation on the battlefield is "far worse" than it was at the beginning of the war. 

“It is hell” on the frontlines right now, Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters at a German Marshall Fund roundtable in Washington Friday. “We keep losing many more men now than it was at the beginning of the war.” 

Daria Kaleniuk, a leading Ukrainian civil society activist, explained “we can't win this war with Soviet equipment because A. Russia has much more Soviet equipment, B. we don't have anywhere to get ammunition for this, and C. Russia simply has more people and more troops."

Ustinova said Ukraine no longer seeks the Soviet-era MiG fighter jets because “the war has changed.”

Instead, she said Ukraine needs the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), Paladin self-propelled howitzers, and fighter jets like the F-16s in order to effectively counter Russia, and called on the US to begin training Ukrainian pilots to use such jets. 

Kaleniuk, who said she recently met with Ukrainian defense officials in Kyiv, noted that Ukraine has “combat-experienced pilots, who are willing and ready to go now for trainings. They were willing to go yesterday for trainings. But there is no decision to accept them and to provide that because there is no decision to provide fighter jets.”

The US has begun to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine, but has yet to give them MLRS or fighter jets. 

Ustinova and Kaleniuk, who were in Washington this week for meetings, said that they believe there is a lack of “political will that is needed” for the administration to decide to send such kinds of heavy weaponry – and quickly — and the feeling that there is still fear about provoking Moscow. 

They decried the fact that it took so long for the US to decide to send the heavy weaponry it is sending now, with Ustinova saying, “if we had Howitzers two months ago, Mariupol would not happen because they wouldn't be able to surround like they did, to surround the city and literally destroy it.”

“For us time means lives, thousands of lives. We've been hearing that it has been unprecedented how fast everything is moving and how fast the decisions are taking. But there has never been a war since World War Two like that. And unfortunately, we keep asking here to take the decisions faster,” she said.

3:19 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

"Difficult negotiations" continue on evacuating badly wounded from Azovstal, Ukrainian official says

From Julia Kesaieva

Smoke rises above the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 13.
Smoke rises above the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 13. (Alexander Ermochenko/AP)

Difficult negotiations are continuing over the fate of Ukrainian soldiers still trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of Donetsk region military administration, said.

"Difficult negotiations are underway, and they are still going on at this time, in order to save the defenders — gradually — because the Russian Federation is trying to dictate its conditions and requirements as much as possible. Therefore, in the first place, it will be seriously wounded fighters," he said.

Kyrylenko echoed the comments of Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk that the Ukrainian side would not offer detailed comments about the process.

"We have to talk about it only when people will be safe. Only then we shall give any comments. Negotiations are ongoing and they are really very difficult. Because, first, the Russian Federation always changes them [the conditions]. And even those agreements that are reached are not a 100% agreement with Russia," he explained.

In the meantime, he said, the Russians continued to attack Avozstal from the air. "These are heavy, vacuum, high-explosive bombs," the official said.

Vereshchuk has also been speaking about the Azovstal negotiations, apparently seeking to tamp down expectations.

"There are no miracles in war. There are harsh realities. Therefore, only a sober and pragmatic approach works," she said Friday. "The team is working. Negotiations with the enemy are very difficult. The result may not please everyone. But our task is to get our boys out. Everyone. Alive."
3:23 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

US Congress must pass Ukraine aid supplemental by May 19 to ensure no interruptions, Pentagon says

From CNN's Ellie Kaufman

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a news briefing in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a news briefing in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

If Congress does not pass the $40 billion Ukraine aid supplemental by May 19, "it'll start impacting" the United States' ability to provide Ukraine military aid "uninterrupted," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing at the Pentagon on Friday.

"May 19 is the day we really, without additional authorities, we begin to not have the ability to send new stuff in," Kirby said. "By the 19th of May, it’ll start impacting our ability to provide aid uninterrupted."

The House of Representatives passed the $40 billion supplemental this week, but the Senate failed to pass the bill after Sen. Rand Paul blocked its passage. Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, wanted more oversight of how the funds will be spent before agreeing to let the bill go to the Senate floor for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has started procedural steps to override Paul's objection, but the bill likely won't pass until next week at the earliest.

There is still "about $100 million dollars left in current" presidential drawdown authority funding, Kirby said. That funding has not been "allocated or announced" yet, he added.

"We would like to get approval for additional authorities before the third week of this month so that we could continue uninterrupted the flow of aid and assistance into Ukraine, so obviously we continue to urge the Senate to act as quickly as possible so we don’t get to the end of May and not have any additional authorities to draw back, to draw upon," Kirby said.

4:09 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

Russian General implicated in crimes against civilians in Ukraine and Syria met with UK counterpart in 2017

From CNN's Tamara Qiblawi , Nima Elbagir and Niamh Kennedy 

A Russian General, identified in a CNN investigation as responsible for targeting civilians in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and his role as the architect of the siege of Aleppo, was involved in high-level defense talks with his UK counterpart in 2017 after receiving Russia's highest military honor for his role in its war in Syria.

Col-General Alexander Zhuravlyov, in his capacity as then Deputy Chief of General Staff, met with the UK's then Vice Chief of Defence Staff General Messenger for high-level talks, during a trip to Moscow in 2017 in what was characterized by the UK's Ministry of Defence as "military to military dialogue." Zhuravlyov discussed with Messenger "a restart of military interaction," Russian state news agency TASS reported on February 28, 2017, quoting Russia's Ministry of Defense.

CNN's investigation found that Zhuravlyov's leadership in 2016 catalyzed the assault on eastern Aleppo. After he took the reins, the Russian military rapidly ramped up its attacks on the rebel-held territory and completed the siege of the densely populated city, exacting a large death toll and setting the wheels in motion for a tactic that has defined Russia's intervention in Syria: besiege, starve, bombard and grind into submission.

His period of command also saw a dramatic increase in documented cluster munition attacks in Aleppo.

European intelligence agency analysts who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity said the pattern of Zhuravlyov's behavior in Syria and Ukraine is the same, subjugating cities through terror. "Zhuravlyov was brought in with the purpose of bringing about a swift capitulation of Aleppo. He did that using much of the same methodology we see in Ukraine. Ordering the indiscriminate use of cluster munitions against dense civilian infrastructure and populations," the analyst said.

Syrian human rights activists have long called for Russia's General to be held accountable, and a leading UK human rights lawyer at the law firm Payne Hicks Beach, Matthew Ingham, told CNN: "Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov should have been sanctioned for his actions in Syria" adding, "It is a shame that there was not a stronger response to alleged war crimes at that stage, because that may have affected Putin's Ukrainian strategic calculations from the outset. 

Neither the US nor the UK have taken public action against Zhuravlyov or other key Russian generals implicated in war crimes. The US State Department wouldn't comment on the specific findings of CNN's investigation but said they continued to track and assess war crimes and reports of ongoing violence and abuses. 

In a statement to CNN, the UK Ministry of Defense said a previous statement issued in 2017 "made it clear" that they supported military to military dialogue to minimize risk and miscalculation

"We stand by that principle, which is why we gave Russia every opportunity to engage in dialogue this year over Ukraine before they launched their reprehensible and unprovoked invasion," an MOD spokesperson said. 

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report

2:18 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

What Russian troops left behind on the outskirts of Kharkiv show brutality of war

From CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Gallón, Brice Laine and Denis Lapin

Convoys of vehicles were trying to leave Staryi Saltiv when they were shot up by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian officials.
Convoys of vehicles were trying to leave Staryi Saltiv when they were shot up by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian officials. (Natalie Gallon/CNN)

Two convoys of civilian cars in one northeastern Ukrainian village speak of Russia's retreat from the area and the brutality it left behind.

The first — three cars, laden with a priest, dogs and troubled frowns — is headed hurriedly through the village of Staryi Saltiv from the north, fleeing the violence as Ukraine pushes Russian forces out of Rubizhne.

"We don't even know what's happening," one driver said. "We didn't stick around to find out."

Ukrainian officials said this week that they continue to push toward the Russian border, liberating tiny villages on the outskirts of Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city before the invasion began. The Ukrainian advances threaten the symbolic embarrassment of expelling the Kremlin's forces back to their own border while posing the strategic threat of cutting Russia's supply lines into Ukraine and its forces further south in the Donbas region. The advances have been swift over the past weeks.

The second convoy speaks of what Ukraine has found in Russia's wake — five vehicles riddled with bullets, two torched to cinders.

On May 4, Ukrainian officials have said, this convoy was trying to leave the town when it was shot up by Russian troops. The bullet holes concentrate on some of the drivers' doors. Children's clothes and toys litter the area around the vehicles. Ukrainian officials said that four civilians, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed when Russian troops opened fire on this convoy.

CNN's escorts from the Kharkiv city territorial defense force say a tank shell hit one of the cars, explaining how its front section is twisted beyond recognition.

Moscow says its forces don't target civilians, a claim contradicted by evidence of apparent atrocities witnessed by CNN here and elsewhere in Ukraine.

Continue reading here:

1:57 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

Magnets, T-shirts and chocolate show off Ukrainian pride and defiance in Lviv tourist shops

From CNN's Gustavo Vadés in Lviv

Signs of Ukrainian pride are on display all over downtown Lviv, in everything from the blue and yellow flags hanging on walls to billboards condemning the Russian invasion and celebrating Ukrainian soldiers.

In tourist shops in and around the historic downtown of the western Ukrainian city, the national colors are printed on a bevy of items.

CNN spoke to Oksana Gordiychiek who works in one of those shops. Before the war, tourists would buy souvenirs featuring the city’s historic architecture or other local symbols, she said. But since March, her shop began selling products that reference the conflict.

“We used to sell our city’s image, now we sell our country’s,” Gordiychiek said.
Shirts at a tourist shop in Lviv.
Shirts at a tourist shop in Lviv. (Gustavo Vadés/CNN)

Some T-shirts tout Ukrainian greatness, while others call for peace. Stickers feature a cartoon couple filling Molotov cocktails together or killing a Russian soldier.

Chocolate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's image, a T-shirt featuring the Snake Island postage stamp and cards with a couple making a Molotov cocktail are available in a Lviv tourist shop.
Chocolate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's image, a T-shirt featuring the Snake Island postage stamp and cards with a couple making a Molotov cocktail are available in a Lviv tourist shop. (Gustavo Vadés/CNN)

The more popular items include words straight from the battlefield, including the now-famous line “Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” said by a Ukrainian soldier at Snake Island. The defiant statement is printed on coffee mugs and hats in both English and Ukrainian. The print of the postage stamp celebrating those words, which features a soldier giving the middle finger to a Russian warship, is one of the best-selling T-shirts, according to Gordiychiek.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky is also showcased on chocolate wrappers, pillows and stickers.

Magnets for sale in a Lviv tourist shop display Ukrainian pride.
Magnets for sale in a Lviv tourist shop display Ukrainian pride. (Gustavo Vadés/CNN)

While Gordiychiek is grateful these items are good for business, she said it's "also sad" as it serves as a reminder of the reality of war in the country.

Gordiychiek said her shop used to sell to tourists who came every year to admire the city. Now, they sell to volunteers coming to help with the war efforts, journalists or locals sending souvenirs to friends and relatives abroad.

Gordiychiek said that they are also benefiting from patriotism and nostalgia among Ukrainians living abroad who want traditional clothing, shirts and and blouses embroidered with colorful colors.

“Ukrainians who live in other countries are asking for these shirts," she said.

These types of purchases have helped keep businesses like these afloat. Numbers from the Center for Tourism Development of Lviv show the city welcomed 1.5 million visitors in 2021 — up from 2020 at the height of the pandemic — but still short of the 2.2 million who visited in 2018.

4:04 p.m. ET, May 13, 2022

Russia will cut electricity to Finland starting on Saturday, Finnish transmission system operator says

From CNN’s Chris Liakos in Helsinki

Russia will suspend power exports to Finland starting Saturday due to problems in receiving payments, Finland’s transmission system operator Fingrid said in a statement on Friday.

“RAO Nordic Oy, a subsidiary of the Russian entity Inter RAO, which trades electricity over the 400 kV interconnectors, will suspend imports of electricity to Finland at 1 am on Saturday 14 May 2022,” according to Fingrid.

The subsidiary said that it has not received payments for the volumes sold since May 6 and that this is the first time it has happened in over 20 years of its trading history.

“Unfortunately, in the current situation of lack of cash income, RAO Nordic is not able to make payments for the imported electricity from Russia. Therefore we are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from 14th of May,” RAO Nordic Oy said.

According to Fingrid, the adequacy of electricity in Finland is not under threat, with Russian imports in recent years covering 10% of Finland’s total consumption.

“The lack of electricity import from Russia will be compensated by importing more electricity from Sweden and by generating more electricity in Finland,” said Reima Päivinen, senior vice president of power system operations at Fingrid.  

Some context: The Finnish government is planning to issue a second white paper on Sunday proposing that the country joins NATO, Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters on Thursday. The proposal would then be put into a parliamentary vote with a plenary scheduled for Monday morning.

Russia's foreign ministry said Finland's possible accession to NATO marked a "radical change in the country's foreign policy" and warned of countermeasures.

"Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop the threats to its national security that arise in this regard," it said.

In late April, Gazprom said it fully halted supplies to Polish gas company PGNiG and Bulgaria's Bulgargaz after they refused to meet a demand by Moscow to pay in rubles rather than euros or dollars.

CNN's Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.