May 25, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby appears on CNN on Thursday, May 25.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has reiterated in conversations with Ukraine that it does not support attacks on Russian soil, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN Thursday.

“We have again made it very clear to the Ukrainians what our expectations are about attacking Russia — we don’t want to encourage or enable that, we certainly don’t want any US-made equipment used to attack Russian soil,” Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

“And we have gotten assurances from the Ukrainians that they will respect those wishes … we have been very clear that we want Ukraine to be able to defend its own soil, its own territory. They have been attacked. They have been invaded. They have a right to defend themselves,” he continued. “But, we’ve also been clear, well, that we don’t want to see this war escalate beyond this, the devastation and the violence that is already visited on the Ukrainian people.” 

The conversations with Ukraine didn’t involve “outlining consequences” but were “simply a reaffirmation,” Kirby told CNN. He added that these discussions have happened “as recently as over just the last day or so.”

Some context: Kirby’s comments come on the heels of a CNN report that anti-Putin Russian fighters, fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces, conducted a raid inside Russian territory. 

In an interview with CNN’s Sam Kiley, one of the Russian nationals said the raid was conducted using American-manufactured equipment purchased on the open market. Kirby said Thursday that he could not confirm that.

He instead said the US is providing equipment “to be used to defend Ukrainian soil.”

More than 200 children have yet to be evacuated from villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to the regional military administration.

Nearly all of those kids are in the Toretsk community, which is not immediately near the front line, the military administration’s leader, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said in an interview with a Ukrainian news channel Thursday.

All children from the Chasiv Yar community near Bakhmut, which has seen some of the most intense shelling, have been evacuated as of a month ago, he said.

There is still one child in the beleaguered town of Avdiivka, and one in a settlement near Vuhledar, further southwest, according to Kyrylenko.

 “We are trying to evacuate in advance, not to wait until the active hostilities will take place (in the immediate proximity),” the regional leader said. “We are doing our best to provide safety first of all to the children. The evacuation work continues.”

All children from the Chasiv Yar community near Bakhmut, which has seen some of the most intense shelling, have been evacuated as of a month ago, he said.

An aerial image shows destruction in the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on May 21.

The Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs was seemingly hit by an unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, new video shows, disputing Moscow’s claim it had been able to thwart a Ukrainian attack on the craft.

Footage shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on social media Thursday and analyzed by CNN appeared to show the moments just before the impact. 

Here are other headlines you should know:

Bakhmut developments: Ukraine’s number of clashes with Wagner mercenaries in and around Bakhmut has been decreasing over the past few days, according to the spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, more than 100 Ukrainians who fought in the Bakhmut area and were captured by Russian troops have been released in a prisoner swap, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office said Thursday. And the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, told CNN he has handed over to Ukrainian authorities the body of a retired US Army Special Forces soldier who died fighting for Bakhmut.

Elsewhere in Ukraine: Russian officials in the occupied southern city of Berdiansk said Ukrainian forces have struck the city with a missile. A member of Russia’s local administration in Zaporizhzhia said he still did not have information on casualties, adding that response teams were on site. And in the eastern Donetsk region, an official has accused Russian forces of destroying a dam and endangering nearby residents.

Military equipment: Finland on Thursday pledged to send additional military equipment to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus has begun, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday, according to state news agency BelTA.

Tariff and quota suspension: European trade ministers agreed to extend the temporary measures that suspend customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian imports to the European Union for another year, until June 2024. The temporary easing of trade regulations between Ukraine and the EU went into force in June 2022.

Foreign fighters on trial: Five foreigners who fought for Ukraine are to stand trial in absentia in Russia, according to state media. The group all fought for Ukraine in the defense of the southern city of Mariupol. 

Footage shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Thursday appeared to show the moments just before the unmanned vessel made an impact with the Russian reconnaissance ship, Ivan Khurs.

The Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs was seemingly hit by an unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, new video shows, disputing a claim by Moscow, which said on Wednesday it had been able to thwart a Ukrainian attack on the craft.

Footage shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on social media Thursday and analyzed by CNN appeared to show the moments just before the impact. 

The video is filmed from a camera placed on the surface vessel. It shows the vessel as it approaches a larger ship at high speed.  

CNN analysis determined the ship is likely to be the Ivan Khurs. It also shows the tip of the unmanned surface vessel, similar to the unmanned surface vessels seen in video posted by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday.

The feed cuts as the vessel comes within a few yards of  the ship. 

“When the Russian reconnaissance ship ‘Ivan Khurs’ met a Ukrainian drone,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said in a tweet. “Indeed, a perfect match!”

More background: On Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry acknowledged the attack on the Ivan Khurs but said all the surface vessels had failed to hit the ship. 

“Today at 5:30 a.m., the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Ivan Khurs ship of the Black Sea Fleet with three unmanned speedboats,” said the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. “All enemy boats were destroyed by fire from the standard armament of a Russian ship 140 kilometers northeast of the Bosphorus.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense also shared footage that appears to show one of the surface vessels exploding as it is hit by gunfire. 

“The ship ‘Ivan Khurs’ of the Black Sea Fleet continues to fulfill its tasks,” Konashenkov added. 

It is unclear what happened after the surface vessel seemingly hit the Ivan Khurs and how damaged the reconnaissance ship may have been during the attack.

CNN has reached out to Ukrainian sources for additional details but has yet to hear back. 

An official in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region has accused Russian forces of destroying a dam and endangering nearby residents.

The attacks on the Karlivka Reservoir’s dam put the nearby villages of Halytsynivka, Zhelanne-1 and Zhelanne-2 at risk of flooding, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Donetsk regional military administration leader.

“Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the Russian occupation army has been constantly shelling Karlivka, targeting the dam, ignoring the fact that civilians would suffer from these actions,” Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram Thursday.

Ukraine’s emergency services believe the dam could break and have already started responding to the situation, the regional leader said.

“Communities in the area of possible flooding have been warned. If necessary, the evacuation of civilians will begin,” he said.

Russian officials in occupied Berdiansk said Ukrainian forces have struck the city with a missile.

Ukraine’s military “launched a massive strike” on the city, Vladimir Rogov, a member of Russia’s local administration in Zaporizhzhia, posted on Telegram on Thursday. 

Rogov said he still did not have information on casualties, adding that response teams were on site.

“It’s not yet known whether British Storm Shadow missiles or something else was used,” Rogov added.

If Ukraine was behind the alleged strike, the use of Storm Shadow missiles are a likely option, given Berdiansk is deep in Russian-controlled territory, around 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) from the front line. 

About the missiles: The Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities, jointly developed by the UK and France, which is typically launched from the air. With a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, it is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has long asked for. The United Kingdom said it delivered multiple of the Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine earlier in May.

Members of a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, prepare their mortar at an undisclosed location near Bakhmut Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on May 23.

Ukraine’s number of clashes with Wagner fighters in and around Bakhmut has been decreasing over the past few days, according to the spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“What we can state today is that over the past three days, the number of engagements primarily with Wagner’s units in the Bakhmut direction has decreased,” Serhii Cherevatyi told CNN on Thursday. “We explain this by the significant exhaustion of Wagner’s units over the previous months of fighting and the fact that they need to regroup and recover.”

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had announced his fighters would begin withdrawing from the city on Thursday and would be replaced by Russian soldiers. Cherevatyi said the switchover had been slowly taking place for the past few weeks, attributing the change to “huge losses.”

Cherevatyi acknowledged Wagner fighters conducted more offensives and were more difficult to face than regular Russian soldiers because of the brutality of the organization.

While Wagner controls the majority of the town, Cherevatyi said Ukraine controlled a part of the southwestern district of the city. “Our units are located there and are engaged in defense,” he said.

Cherevatyi concluded by saying that the ultimate outcome of the battle for Bakhmut would be the complete destruction of the Wagner paramilitary company. “The more the enemy is bloodied and knocked out, the easier it will be for our soldiers to liberate Ukrainian land with fewer losses,” he concluded.

Finland on Thursday pledged to send additional military equipment to Ukraine.

Finland’s 16th defense package to Ukraine will include anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition and will be worth 109 million euros (about $117 million), a Finnish defense ministry spokesperson told CNN.

That brings the total defense aid from Finland to Ukraine since Russian invasion began last year to 1.1 billion euros (about $1.18 billion).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Finnish government for the aid in a tweet:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the graduating class of Johns Hopkins University on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Johns Hopkins University 2023 commencement speaker, repeatedly reminded graduates of the importance of time throughout his speech, which he delivered remotely by video Thursday. 

“Every person eventually realizes that time is the most valuable resource on the planet – not oil, or uranium, not lithium or anything else – but time,” Zelensky said Thursday. 

Zelensky told the graduates they have “a whole lifetime” ahead of them to figure out what to do next.   

“The time of your life is under your control,” Zelensky said. “The time of life of all Ukrainians who are forced to live through this terrible Russian aggression unfortunately is subject to many factors that are not all in their control.”

“We are trying to get a grip on the time of our lives, what is happening to us,” he continued.

Zelensky said Ukraine and its allies do everything they can every day to help repel Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian president ended his speech by saying he was certain the graduating class would continue to push for freedom and democratic principles.  

“I’m certain, you, as your forefathers, will continue to lead the free world and this century will be our century,” said Zelensky. “A century where freedom, innovation and democratic values reign.”  

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Thursday.

The transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus has begun, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday, according to state news agency BelTA.

“It was necessary to prepare storage sites, and so on. We did all this. Therefore, the movement of nuclear weapons began,” Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko also promised the safety of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying: “Don’t worry about nuclear weapons. We are responsible for this. These are serious issues. Everything will be all right here.”

Some background: This comes after Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement on deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, one of Russia’s neighbors and most loyal allies. Lukashenko raised the possibility of Russia placing strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus during a national address in March, while baselessly accusing Western countries of “preparing to invade” Belarus and “destroy” it.

Army Staff Sgt. Nicholas Maimer, left, who was identified as the American citizen killed by Russian artillery in the embattled city of Bakhmut, is pictured with Senator James Risch.

The head of the Russian paramilitary company Yevgeny Prigozhin told CNN Thursday that he has handed the body of a retired US Army Special Forces soldier who was killed in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut over to Ukraine. 

In a response to CNN asking if Wagner had returned the body of Retired Army Staff Sgt. Nicholas Maimer as promised by Prigozhin last week, Prigozhin said in an audio recording: “Today at 1500 hours we handed over the body of the American Nicholas Maimer to the Ukrainian side.” 

In a video shared with CNN by Prigozhin’s press service, the Wagner boss stands next to two coffins, one draped with an American flag and one with a Turkish flag, and says: “The American died in battle in the ‘nest’” — one of the last contested areas in west Bakhmut — and added that the second coffin contained the body of a Turkish citizen who was in Bakhmut with his female partner. 

“They were found under the ruins of a building, or more accurately he and his documents. When the Ukrainians withdrew they blew up the building, and they died under the destroyed building. We weren’t able to get her out, but we got him out and will return to his motherland,” Prigozhin says of the Turkish citizens.

CNN cannot independently verify the location in the video or the date it was filmed. 

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed to CNN that Maimer’s body, along with the body of a Turkish citizen, had been returned to Ukraine on Thursday during a POW exchange. A video shared by the group showed a coffin covered with an American flag which matched the coffin seen in the video with Prigozhin. 

CNN is unable to independently confirm that the coffin contains Maimer’s body, or the circumstances in which he died.

Maimer’s decades in uniform: According to Maimer’s service record provided to CNN, he served more than 20 years in uniform before retiring in 2018, according to his service record provided to CNN.

He served more than two years in the active-duty Army, leaving in December 1998; he then joined the National Guard in November 2000, and served about 18 years between three different Guard units before retiring in December 2018.

Among his awards and decorations are the Special Forces Tab, Army Commendation Medal and four Army Achievement Medals.

His uncle Paul Maimer told the Idaho Statesman his nephew had gone to Ukraine “as a humanitarian trying to do good for this world” and that the family wanted to bring him home for a “proper burial.”

“I think he’s deserving to be put to rest in a veterans cemetery,” he told the Statesman. “He might not have been fighting for our country, but he was fighting for the right reasons.”

CNN’s Josh Pennington, Sandi Sidhu, Jennifer Hansler, Haley Britzky and Alex Marquardt contributed to this post.

Roberto De Zerbi, manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, gives the team instructions during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City at American Express Community Stadium on May 24, in Brighton, England.

Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi was almost a year into his managerial reign at the Ukrainian club when war broke out. Now, he has guided Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion to a historic first.

After its 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Wednesday, Brighton mathematically secured its place in the Europa League group stages for next season – the first time the club has ever qualified for European competition.

The 43-year-old joined Brighton in September after being forced to leave Shakhtar Donetsk a few months earlier. De Zerbi admitted to being scared when the war began, but it didn’t throw him off his journey to becoming one of the most exciting emerging coaches in the world. And despite his ascendency with Brighton, he says a piece of his heart still remains in Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

Five foreigners who fought for Ukraine are to stand trial in absentia in Russia, according to state media. 

They will stand trial at a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on May 31 at 10 a.m. local time, according to RIA Novosti, citing the court’s press service. 

 The group all fought for Ukraine in the defense of the southern city of Mariupol. 

Swedish citizen Matthias Gustavsson, Croatian citizen Vekoslav Prebeg, and British citizen John Harding have been charged with “forcible seizure or forcible retention of power” and “mercenary participation in an armed conflict or hostilities.”

Another two British citizens, Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy, were charged with “participating as a mercenary in armed conflict or hostilities” and “aiding and abetting in the recruitment of mercenaries for use in armed conflict,” respectively. 

The three British citizens — Harding, Hill and Healy — were all released as part of a prisoner swap in September 2022, according to the UK government. 

Sweden’s foreign ministry said Thursday that it’s not aware of a Swedish citizen going on trial in absentia in Russia for their alleged involvement in Ukraine.

“The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is aware of one person who was detained by Russian forces last year. That person has been released. We are not aware of any current case like the one described,” a Swedish foreign ministry spokesperson said when CNN reached out for comment. 

CNN has contacted the governments of the UK and Croatia for a response.

CNN’s Mick Krever, Arnaud Siad, Vasco Cotovio and Olga Voitovych contributed to this report.

European trade ministers agreed to extend the temporary measures that suspend customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian imports to the European Union for another year, until June 2024.

The temporary easing of trade regulations between Ukraine and the EU went into force in June 2022.

“By renewing these measures the EU is continuing to demonstrate its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine,” the European Council, which met in Brussels Thursday, said in a press release.

The European Commission, which proposed the extension in February, said the continued lifting of restrictions will help “alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters” amid Russia’s invasion.

More than 100 Ukrainians who fought in the Bakhmut area and were captured as prisoners of war have been released in a prisoner swap, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Thursday.

“We are returning home 106 of our people. These are the fighters from the Bakhmut direction - 8 officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants,” Yermak said in a Telegram post“They fought for Bakhmut and accomplished a feat that prevented the enemy from advancing further into our East,” he said. “Each and every one of them is a hero of our country.”

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said three bodies were also repatriated — two foreigners and a Ukrainian woman — during the exchange.

“All of the released defenders defended our country in Bakhmut direction; 68 of them were considered missing,” the coordination group said. 

The group said 98 of the POWs were from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 21 from Ukraine’s Territorial Defense. Seven border guards and one serviceman of the State Special Transport Service were also released, it said.

“At least seven of the rescued defenders sustained various injuries: bullet and shrapnel wounds, burns and fractures, and [had] exacerbated chronic diseases. The oldest of the rescued soldiers is 59 years old, the youngest is 21 years old,” it added. 

In total, 2,430 people have been returned home as a result of exchanges, the group said, adding among that figure are 139 civilians.

Some context: Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his fighters are withdrawing from the eastern Ukrainian city and will be replaced by Russian soldiers.

Ukrainian officials on Tuesday said part of the city remains under Ukrainian control. “If they [Russians] believe they have taken Bakhmut, I can say that this is not true. As of today, part of Bakhmut is under our control,” Ukrainian national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has said his fighters have begun to pull out of Bakhmut, handing the devastated Ukrainan city over to Russia’s military after a months-long slog to capture it.

Here are today’s major developments:

• Wagner leaves Bakhmut: Prigozhin said that the withdrawal of his fighters from Bakhmut has started and will last until June 1. Wagner mercenaries are being “replaced” by troops in the regular Russian military on the outskirts of the city, according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar. Maliar also said Thursday that Ukrainian forces still control a small zone in the southwestern part of Bakhmut.
• Kremlin drone attack: US intelligence suggests that Ukrainians may have been responsible for a drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month. US officials have picked up chatter among Ukrainian groups blaming each other for the attack, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia knew “right away that the Kyiv regime” was behind the attack. Kyiv has denied involvement.
• Ukraine’s air defenses hold: Ukrainian defenses repelled all 36 drones launched by Russia overnight at multiple cities including Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “it was not an easy night,” but confirmed that none of the drones reached its target.
• Moscow fire reports denied by Russia: Russian state news agency TASS earlier reported that a fire had broken out on a balcony at the Ministry of Defense building in Moscow on Wednesday night, citing the city’s emergency services. Video seen by CNN showed smoke surrounding the building. Russia later denied the reports. “The presence of a fire has not been confirmed, as no fire was detected by the fire brigade upon arrival,” TASS quoted Moscow’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.
• Belgorod assault: Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu called the cross-border raid in Belgorod a “terrorist act” and warned Russia will respond “promptly and extremely harshly” to any further attempts. He also claimed that more than 70 of the “saboteurs” were killed. The attack was launched by the Ukraine-based Freedom for Russia Legion, which has said its goal is the “complete liberation of Russia. Kyiv has claimed the group acted independently – but CNN analysis suggests that isn’t the case.
• Ukraine’s counteroffensive: Kyiv’s long-anticipated counteroffensive won’t be marked by a “single event,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office, said Thursday. Amid much confusion as to when – or whether – the counteroffensive would start, Podolyak said it will not “begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon.”
• US seeking Russian spies: The Central Intelligence Agency launched a new effort to capitalize on what US intelligence officials believe is an “unprecedented” opportunity to convince Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine and life in Russia to share their secrets, posting a slickly produced, cinematic recruitment video online last week.

The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, while the roof shows what appears to be marks from the recent drone incident, in central Moscow, Russia, on May 4.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia knew “right away that the Kyiv regime” was behind the drone attack launched against the Kremlin on May 3.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Peskov said “in the end, it does not make much difference which of the units of the Kyiv regime.”

Two drones struck the Kremlin on May 3 — just days ahead of the May 9 Victory Day celebrations. 

Kyiv has denied involvement in the alleged attack. At the time, a spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We do not have information on so called night attacks on Kremlin, as President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its own territory, not to attack others.”

US intelligence: US officials have picked up chatter amongst Ukrainian officials blaming each other for the drone attack earlier this month, contributing to a US assessment that a Ukrainian group may have been responsible, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

The intercepts include some members of Ukraine’s military and intelligence bureaucracy speculating that Ukrainian special operations forces conducted the operation.

The chatter, combined with other intercepted communications of Russian officials blaming Ukraine for the attack and wondering how it happened, has led US officials to consider the possibility that a Ukrainian group was behind the incident on May 3.

Ukraine’s anticipated spring offensive won’t be marked by a “single event,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office, said in a Twitter post Thursday.

“This is not a ‘single event’ that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon,” Podolyak said.

“These are dozens of different actions to destroy the Russian occupation forces in different directions, which have already been taking place yesterday, are taking place today and will continue tomorrow,” he said.

Podolyak added that “intensive destruction of enemy logistics is also a counteroffensive.”

Ukraine’s counteroffensive: A series of cross-border drone attacks, intensified fighting in Zaporizhzhia, deploying Storm Shadow missiles, the destruction of Russian fuel depots and infrastructure — amid this recent flurry of activity, many have speculated whether Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had already begun.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine needs “more time” before launching the full attack.

But Podolyak’s comments are a reminder that the beginning of the counteroffensive will not be marked by any ceremony. Indeed, much of the confusion surrounding Ukraine’s counteroffensive may be part of the plan.