June 29, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

It remains to be seen whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has complete control of his troops at this time, former US Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday.

Responding to a question from CNN's Erin Burnett, Pence called it an "open question" whether the Russian president has full command of his military.

Pence said the Wagner private military group — which led a stunning, if brief, armed rebellion against Kremlin leadership last weekend — "are understood to be some of the most elite forces in Russia."

"Now they've been dispersed," Pence continued, "they're being invited back into the military."

Pence said “repelling Russian aggression” is in the United States’ “national interest” as other Republican presidential candidates question the amount of US aid for Ukraine.

The GOP presidential candidate visited Kyiv and three other cities and villages north of the capital city on Thursday. He also met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and received a briefing from Ukrainian officials on the current security situation in the country, according to one of his advisers.

More context: Prigozhin was last spotted leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, after abruptly calling off his troops’ march on Moscow.

He released an audio message Monday, explaining his decision to turn his troops back. The Kremlin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Saturday that Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia for Belarus.

Lukashenko said he brokered a deal that would see Prigozhin exiled in Belarus without facing criminal charges. According to Lukashenko, the Wagner chief arrived in Belarus Tuesday. While there are no videos or photos showing Prigozhin in Belarus, satellite imagery of an airbase outside Minsk showed two planes linked to Prigozhin landed there on Tuesday morning.

The full interview with Pence will be broadcast on Out Front with Erin Burnett at 7 p.m. ET

CNN's Ivana Kottasová, Jo Shelley, Veronica Stracqualursi, Anna Chernova and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.

At the upcoming NATO summit, members must discuss a pathway to membership for Ukraine if the US-led alliance wants to maintain its credibility, experts say.

“No one expects for Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at Vilnius,” says Christopher Skaluba, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan think tank. But the success of the summit will depend on whether allies find a way to make progress on providing Ukraine with conditions it needs to meet and a timeline for accession, he added.

“It has to be something measurable. Some sort of criteria, timeline, things that Ukraine needs to accomplish,” he said.

Many allies support this step in order to make progress on the 2008 Bucharest declaration, where NATO first welcomed Ukraine’s wish to accede to the alliance, but the lag appears to be in Washington, according to John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine.

While Herbst said he hopes NATO will release a joint statement addressing Ukraine’s eventual succession, he is not betting on it.

Skaluba says he worries a lack of consensus on this issue “will begin to signal concern about whether that solidarity we saw behind Ukraine for the last year and a half is in fact a question.”

The political chaos in Russia could strengthen the chances that NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg may be asked to stay for an additional term, says Christopher Skaluba, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan think tank.

Stoltenberg's tenure extension was already a possibility. CNN had earlier reported that it appears likely that the 31 NATO members will be unable to unite behind a candidate to be the alliance’s next secretary-general and Stoltenberg will be asked to remain in the job for an additional year. The former Norwegian prime minister has already extended his tenure once and has served in the role since 2014.

Although there are a number of prospective candidates, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, sources said there is a growing chance that there will not be an agreement on who should take over during what is a critical period for the alliance as the war continues in Ukraine.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s insurrection will sharpen the rhetoric as allies debate on further response to Russia, retired US Ambassador John Herbst says.

“Those who are very concerned about Kremlin aggression and they believe strongly in a stronger NATO response and Western support for Ukraine will see this as a sign for more urgent action,” he explained, adding that others who have been hesitant and concerned about Russian escalation and the dangers of instability in Russia “might take the Prigozhin mutiny as one more caution about being too tough on Russia as we support Ukraine.”

Some context: The matter of Ukrainian membership in NATO is one of several issues leaders will tackle when they meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in mid-July. Also up for discussion is the issue of a successor for Stoltenberg and new defense spending commitments.

One is known as “General Armageddon,” the other as “Putin’s chef.” Both have a checkered past and a reputation for brutality. One launched the insurrection, the other reportedly knew about it in advance. And right now, both are nowhere to be found.

The commander of the Russian air force Sergey Surovikin and the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin have not been seen in public in days as questions swirl about the role Surovikin may have played in Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny.

Kremlin has remained silent on the topic, embarking instead on an aggressive campaign to reassert the authority of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Here’s what we know about the two men in the spotlight.

Why is everyone talking about Surovikin?

Surovikin has been the subject of intense speculation over his role in the mutiny after the New York Times reported on Wednesday that the general “had advance knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to rebel against Russia’s military leadership.” The paper cited US officials who it said were briefed on US intelligence.

Surovikin released a video last Friday, just as the rebellion was starting, appealing to Prigozhin to halt the mutiny soon after it began. The video message made it clear he sided with Putin. But the footage raised more questions than answers about Surovikin’s whereabouts and his state of mind – he appeared unshaven and with a halting delivery, as if reading from a script.

Asked about the New York Times story, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “There will be now a lot of speculation and rumors surrounding these events. I believe this is just another example of it.

On Wednesday, the Russian-language version of the independent Moscow Times cited two anonymous defense sources as saying that Surovikin had been arrested in relation to the failed mutiny. CNN has been unable to independently verify that claim.

A popular blogger going by the name Rybar noted on Wednesday that “Surovikin has not been seen since Saturday” and said nobody knew for certain where he was. “There is a version that he is under interrogation,” he added.

A well-known Russian journalist Alexey Venediktov – former editor of the now-shuttered Echo of Moscow radio station – also claimed Wednesday that Surovikin had not been in contact with his family for three days.

But other Russian commentators suggested the general was not in custody. A former Russian member of Parliament Sergey Markov said on Telegram that Surovikin had attended a meeting in Rostov on Thursday, but did not say how he knew this.

“The rumors about the arrest of Surovikin are dispersing the topic of rebellion in order to promote political instability in Russia,” he said.

Adding further to the speculation, Russian Telegram channel Baza has posted what it says is a brief interview with Surovikin’s daughter, in which she claimed to be in contact with her father and insists that he has not been detained. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the recording. The commander of the Russian air force has not been seen in public since overnight on Friday when he issued the video.

And what about Prigozhin? The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Western officials believe Prigozhin planned to capture Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top army general Valery Gerasimov. When asked about the report, two European security sources told CNN that while it was likely Prigozhin would have expressed a desire to capture Russian military leaders, there was no assessment as to whether he had a credible plan to do so.

Prigozhin was last spotted leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, after abruptly calling off his troops’ march on Moscow.

He released an audio message Monday, explaining his decision to turn his troops back. The Kremlin and the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Saturday that Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia for Belarus.

Lukashenko said he brokered a deal that would see Prigozhin exiled in Belarus without facing criminal charges. According to Lukashenko, the Wagner chief arrived in Belarus Tuesday. While there are no videos or photos showing Prigozhin in Belarus, satellite imagery of an airbase outside Minsk showed two planes linked to Prigozhin landed there on Tuesday morning.

Read more here.

A Ukrainian military spokesperson says the Eastern Group of forces has made progress against Russian positions around Bakhmut, while a Russian military blogger has acknowledged heavy fighting in the area.

Serhii Cherevatyi told CNN Thursday that Ukrainian units had advanced by more than one kilometer towards the village Klishchiivka, and by about 1.5 kilometers (less than a mile) towards the village of Kurdiumivka, on Bakhmut’s southern flank. “We are moving forward every day,” Cherevatyi said.

He also claimed that the Russians were moving additional units toward Bakhmut, including an airborne unit from a sector further north. “This proves they are willing to hold Bakhmut at any cost. The enemy is also deploying additional anti-tank missile systems.”

A commander in the area, Denis Yaroslavsky, claimed that Ukrainian troops have “practically taken Klishchiivka under total control, it is a strategic point from where the offensive actions will kick off to the south of Bakhmut.”

Ukrainian advances: He said there had also been gains north of the city. “As of today, we can say that the enemy is retreating from the northern streets of Bakhmut.”

Maksym Zhorin, the acting commander of the Third Assault Brigade, which has been heavily involved in attack operations around Bakhmut, said that “both on the flanks and in the town itself, there are round-the-clock battles…Now the fighting on our side is mostly offensive.”

Zhorin claimed: “In the area of responsibility of the 3rd Brigade, under the pressure of our assault units, the enemy is forced to abandon their positions and retreat almost every day…Ukrainian forces are now moving to control all the necessary heights on the flanks of Bakhmut.”

It is difficult to verify such claims but recently geolocated video shows Ukrainian units targeting Russian positions around Bakhmut.

What Russia's military blogger says: Russian blogger War Gonzo said heavy fighting is currently taking place near Klishchiivka. He said the Ukrainians had made a number of attacks in recent days, “but today's assault, according to reports from the field, is particularly strong.”

“On several occasions, attempts to advance enemy infantry and armored vehicles from Kurdiumivka were recorded, which were suppressed by Russian troops,” he said.

Other Russian military bloggers in recent days have reported a broader Ukrainian assault against Russian flanks both south and north of the ruined city, where thousands of Russian soldiers are now stationed.

What Ukraine says: Further north, along the front lines between Lyman and Kupyansk, Cherevatyi said the Russians were on the attack, and had carried out 14 assaults and more than 449 shellings in the past 24 hours, according to Cherevatyi.

In another hotspot, the ruined city of Avdiivka some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Donetsk city, the National Guard of Ukraine said their soldiers still occupied the city’s tall buildings.

A soldier with Ukraine’s 47th Brigade – which is involved in the counter-offensive in the south, told CNN that “the offensive is slow, but it is advancing steadily, each step is taken carefully. All the nuances of this area, which is heavily mined, are taken into account.”

The soldier, call-sign "Legion," is a master-sergeant in the 47th.

He told CNN: “The density of mines here is so high that I have never actually seen so many mines in any direction in all my years of service... We work gradually and take the territory tree by tree every day.” 

Legion acknowledged that the Russians “knew that this area is where the main attack will take place, so they prepared thoroughly.”

“The intensity of the fighting here is comparable to what it was like in Bakhmut during the hottest phase. Now the same thing is happening in this area," he added.

Wagner Group CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin's exact whereabouts remain unclear, but two planes linked to him are continuing to travel around Russia and Belarus.

Prigozhin hasn't been seen in any videos or photos since he left the Rostov-on-Don Russian military headquarters on Saturday evening.

On Tuesday, both planes were caught on a BlackSky satellite image sitting on the tarmac at Machulishchy air base, just outside of the Belarusian capital of Minsk. That same day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Prigozhin was "in Belarus.”

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicates that the planes left the airbase at 10:45 p.m. local time Tuesday.  One plane — RA-02795 (an Embraer Legacy) — traveled to Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, the other — RA-02878 (a Bae-125) — to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo international airport.  

RA-02795 spent just over two hours in Moscow before it took off for St. Petersburg at 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

Both planes were in St. Petersburg for about nine hours on Wednesday, before RA-02878 left for Moscow's Zhukovsky International Airport.

CNN has previously reported that US and European intelligence officials have been tracking the planes’ movements, but could not say for sure on Thursday whether Prigozhin has been on board. 

"He uses it as a deception tactic," a US official told CNN about why Prigozhin's exact whereabouts are hard to track by plane.

The death toll from Tuesday's Russian missile strike on a busy area of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk has risen to 12, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

Search and rescue operations amidst the rubble have ended as of Thursday morning, Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said. 

Three children were among the 12 people that died, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. The strike hit a popular city center lined with restaurants, businesses and apartment buildings. 

Thursday's announcements came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said police detained a person suspected of coordinating the deadly attack.

What Russia says: The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the target hit in the strike was a temporary command post of a Ukrainian army unit.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday visited Ukraine, a show of support for the European nation under attack from Russia as Republicans vying for their party’s presidential nomination have been divided over America’s role in the ongoing conflict.

Pence met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky behind closed doors at the presidential palace in Kyiv, telling the Ukrainian leader that his resolve was stronger than ever to support the country.

While in the capital city, Pence visited a children’s center caring for Ukrainian youth who were from occupied territories or had been forcefully taken to Russia, paid his respects to the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, and toured the St. Michael’s Orthodox church.

Pence also made stops at three different cities and villages — Bucha, Irpin and Moschun — outside of Kyiv that had seen heavy destruction from shelling and gruesome violence against civilians under Russian occupation last year. He toured the wreckage, met with locals and laid flowers at memorials for those killed in the war.

The former vice president has been a strong advocate for US support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, arguing that it’s in America’s best interests. The issue has created a rift among the 2024 Republican candidates. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have also urged continued US backing for Ukraine, while former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the top polling candidates in the primary field, have questioned US aid for Ukraine.  

Pence’s visit on Thursday isn’t the first time he has traveled to the country since the war started. In March 2022, long before he announced his candidacy, Pence went to the Ukrainian border and met with refugees displaced from their homes in escaping the violence. 

Both trips were organized by Samaritan’s Purse, an American evangelical disaster relief charity that’s run by pastor Franklin Graham. Pence and his wife, former second lady Karen Pence, have volunteered before with the organization.

The war in Ukraine has raged on for more than a year now. Kyiv’s counteroffensive is underway while Russia deals with the aftermath of a short-lived mutiny by the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group, that had posed the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power in more than two decades. Russian missiles this week struck the eastern city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and a nearby village, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens. 

Pence has warned that Russia may not stop at Ukraine and threaten NATO allies, resulting in America having to send military troops. 

“Make no mistake: This is not America's war. But if we falter in our commitment to providing the support to the people of Ukraine to defend their freedom, our sons and daughters may soon be called upon to defend ours,” he said in a February speech at the University of Texas at Austin on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He has also called Putin a “war criminal” and said there’s “no room for Putin apologists in the Republican Party.”

The Ukrainian authorities have launched large-scale emergency response exercises in four regions to prepare for “a possible terrorist attack” at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the energy ministry announced in a Facebook post on Thursday. 

Experts from Ukraine's state-owned energy firm Energoatom have, “developed several possible scenarios of events at the ZNPP, which will be practiced during the exercise,” the post read. 

The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, confirmed that the drills had been launched there and asked the public to refrain from posting pictures online. 

The Kremlin has previously denied a claim made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia is “considering” a “terrorist attack” at the power plant, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing it as, “another lie.”

Some background: The nuclear power plant, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The power plant is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine. The area, and the nuclear complex, have been under Russian control since the beginning of the war, but the plant is still mostly operated by Ukrainian workers.