Russians "gradually leaving" Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukrainian authorities say
From CNN's Mari Kostenko and Jo Shelley
A Russian service member stands guard at a checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-controlled Ukraine, on June 15. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Russians stationed at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine are “gradually leaving,” the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate said Friday.
It did not specify whether it was referring to the Kremlin’s troops there, or just to employees of the state-run nuclear company Rosatom.
“The occupiers are reducing their presence at the ZNPP,” it said in a Telegram post. “According to the most recent data, the occupation contingent is gradually leaving the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
Three employees of Russia's state-run nuclear company Rosatom, “were among the first to leave the plant,” it claimed, adding that, Ukrainian employees who had signed a contract with Rosatom were also advised to leave for Russian-occupied Crimea.
6:47 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
West's attitude on grain deal "outrageous," Russian foreign minister says
From CNN’s Jo Shelley
Bulk carrier ARGO I is docked at the grain terminal of the port of Odessa, Ukraine, on April 10. Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images
The attitude of Western countries toward the Black Sea grain deal is “outrageous,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a Friday briefing with reporters.
Lavrov repeated Moscow’s complaints about the alleged failure of the West to uphold part of what he described as a “package” deal struck last July: a pact between the UN and Russia – agreed at the same time as the deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain – to ease shipments of grain from Russia.
Russia has threatened not to agree another extension to the deal, which expires on July 18.
William Moseley, a member of UN High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security, told CNN that it is his “sincere hope that the deal will be renewed.”
“A failure to extend the Black Sea grain deal would be disruptive... for grain importing countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa in particular,” Moseley said.
“Ukraine has also been an important supplier of wheat to the World Food Programme which provides emergency food assistance around the world. More broadly, disruptions will result in price increases that fall hardest on the poorest of the poor.”
Lavrov also said at the news conference that there’s “no need to worry” about Russia following the short-lived Wagner rebellion.
Asked about last weekend’s events, Lavrov said: “You know, we are not obliged to explain anything to anyone, to give any assurances...The president spoke on this topic, all the political forces of the country spoke on this topic. If someone in the West has any doubts, then that's your problem.
For our national interests, thank you for your concern, no need to worry. Russia has always come out of any troubles stronger and stronger,” he added.
6:33 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
Ukrainian spy chief claims Russia’s FSB is plotting to assassinate Prigozhin
From CNN’s Jo Shelley
Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks inside the headquarters of the Russian southern army military command center in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, in this still image taken from a video released on June 24. Press service of "Concord"/Reuters
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence unit has said that he understands the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has been "charged with a task to assassinate" Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In an interview with journalist Howard Altman for online magazine 'The War Zone,' Kyrylo Budanov said: "We are aware that the FSB was charged with a task to assassinate him. Will they be successful in doing that? We'll see with time."
Budanov, who heads the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR), described the outcome of the alleged plot by the FSB – Russia’s domestic intelligence service – as "a big open question."
"So in any case, all of such potential assassination attempts will not be fast," he said. "It will take them some time to have the proper approaches and to reach the stage when they're ready to add a huge operation. But once again, I'd like to underline that it's a big open question. Would they be successful in fulfilling that? Will they dare to execute that order?"
Budanov spoke to the outlet via a translator via a video link from Kyiv.
The Kremlin has remained silent on the topic, embarking instead on an aggressive campaign to reassert the authority of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
5:03 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
At least 3 people killed in Kherson region shelling over past 24 hours, authorities say
From CNN's Mari Kostenko
Three people have been killed and four wounded after Russia shelled the Ukrainian region of Kherson over the past 24 hours, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in a post on Telegram.
Prokudin said: ”The enemy made 72 attacks over the last day, launching 434 shells from mortars, artillery, tanks, ‘Grads’ and UAVs.
"The enemy fired 8 shells at the city of Kherson. Russian troops hit residential areas of the settlements; a humanitarian aid distribution station, a medical and educational facility in the city of Kherson. 3 people died and 4 were wounded as a result of Russian aggression.”
A second post from Prokudin on Friday said that one more resident of Kherson city had been injured in morning shelling: a 72-year-old woman who was hospitalized with chest and leg wounds.
A 70-year-old man was also wounded in an artillery strike on the village of Mykhailivka.
4:08 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
Greta Thunberg highlights environmental cost of war in Kyiv meeting with Zelensky
From CNN's Amy Cassidy
Greta Thunberg attends a press conference after a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 29. Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters
Climate activist Greta Thunberg visited Kyiv on Thursday to draw attention to the environmental impact of war in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and environment officials.
"Ecocide and environmental destruction is a form of warfare as Ukrainians by this point know all too well, and so does Russia,” she told reporters.
Her visit comes after the collapse of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam on June 6, which Thunberg previously slammed as “ecocide” resulting from Russia’s invasion. Both Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for attacking the dam.
No one can be “unbothered” by the “horrific developments taking place now in Ukraine and the crimes committed by Russia,” she said.
“I hope that we can gather the assessments from local NGOs, from the scientific community, from authorities and so on to create assessments of the environmental damages that are happening […] so that Russia is held accountable for its actions and its crimes, and so that the affected people can have a possibility to recover, and so that Ukraine can reconstruct in a sustainable way," Thunberg said.
Some background: The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam is one of the biggest industrial and ecological disasters in Europe for decades. The catastrophe destroyed entire villages, flooded farmland, deprived tens of thousands of people of power and clean water, and caused massive environmental damage.
It’s still impossible to say whether the dam collapsed because it was deliberately targeted or if the breach could have been caused by structural failure. The dam and hydroelectric power plant are under Russian control and therefore inaccessible to independent investigators, leaving experts around the world trying to piece together what happened based on limited visual evidence.
Several Western officials have blamed Russia for the disaster, either directly accusing Moscow of targeting the dam or saying that Russia is responsible simply because it is the aggressor in the war on Ukraine.
4:04 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
Blasts rock occupied Berdiansk in southeastern Ukraine, officials say
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv
Multiple explosions hit the occupied port city of Berdiansk in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Friday, according to reports from Ukrainian and Russia-backed officials.
“There were 11 explosions in Berdiansk. There is fire and detonations in the airport area. Ambulances headed in that direction. We are awaiting for official information from the General Staff of the AFU [Armed Forces Ukraine],” said a post on the Ukrainian city administration's Telegram channel.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official in Zaporizhzhia, claimed the blasts were caused by Russian air defenses downing missiles fired by Ukraine.
"The explosions heard were the air defense which successfully repelled the attack on the outskirts of the city," he said.
12:01 a.m. ET, June 30, 2023
It's early morning in Moscow and Kyiv. Here's the latest from Russia and Ukraine
From CNN staff
New information is gradually coming to light, but many questions remain unanswered about how exactly Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's shocking 36-hour rebellion played out — and what will happen next for the key players involved.
Meanwhile, Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, with deadly shelling on cities along the front lines and more clashes in hot spots in the south and east.
Catch up on the latest headlines here:
Attention turns to key Russian general: Questions have swirled in recent days around the Russian air force commander, Gen. Sergey Surovikin. Amid reports that he may have somehow been involved in the insurrection, documents shared exclusively with CNN suggest he was a secret VIP member of the private military company. Meanwhile, it's unclear where Surovikin has been since the rebellion ended and Prigozhin said he had decamped to Belarus. A Russian official denied Thursday that Surovikin is being held in a Moscow prison or any other pre-trial detention facility, as has been reported by some independent media.
Pence's surprise visit: Former Vice President Mike Pence visited Ukraine on Thursday, a show of support for the European nation 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. And in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Pence called it an "open question" whether Putin is in full command of his military in the wake of Prigozhin's rebellion.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield: A Ukrainian military spokesperson says its forces have made progress around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut. Other hot spots near the eastern front have also seen clashes. North of Bakhmut, Ukraine's military said Russia is on the attack between the cities of Lyman and Kupyansk, with hundreds of shellings and over a dozen ground assaults in the past 24 hours. And on the southern front line, a soldier with Ukraine’s 47th Brigade reported that the offensive is progressing slowly, but steadily, through heavily mined territory.
Cluster bombs: The Biden administration is strongly considering approving the transfer of controversial cluster munition warheads to Ukraine, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN, as the Ukrainians struggle to make major gains in their weeks-old counteroffensive. But the US had been reluctant to provide them because of the risk they could pose to civilians, and because some key US allies are signatories to a ban on cluster munitions.
Looking ahead to NATO: 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 said Thursday. “It has to be something measurable. Some sort of criteria, timeline, things that Ukraine needs to accomplish,” said Christopher Skaluba, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. In other alliance news, the political chaos in Russia may strengthen the chances that NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg may be asked to stay for an additional term, Skaluba said.
8:54 p.m. ET, June 29, 2023
Biden administration could approve sending controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine soon, officials say
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand
The Biden administration is strongly considering approving the transfer of controversial cluster munition warheads to Ukraine, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN, as the Ukrainians struggle to make major gains in their weeks-old counteroffensive.
"These would undoubtedly have a significant battlefield impact," a US official told CNN.
Officials told CNN that a final decision is expected soon from the White House, and that if approved, the weapons could be included in a new military aid package to Ukraine as soon as next month.
Ukrainian officials have been pushing the US to provide the munitions since last year, arguing that they would provide more ammunition for Western-provided artillery and rocket systems, and help narrow Russia's numerical superiority in artillery.
But the US had been reluctant to provide them because of the risk they could pose to civilians, and because some key US allies, including the UK, France, and Germany, are signatories to a ban on cluster munitions — weapons that scatter "bomblets" across large areas that can fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive launched earlier this month, however, has not made as much progress as US officials hoped it would by this point, with Russian lines of defense proving more well-fortified than anticipated.
And it is not clear whether the heavy amount of artillery ammunition the Ukrainians have been expending day-to-day is sustainable if the counteroffensive drags on, officials and military analysts said.
Cluster munitions, which the US has stockpiled in large numbers since phasing them out in 2016, could help fill that gap, officials said.
Administration officials also believe they have managed to alleviate some allies' concerns about the US transferring the munitions, officials said.
The US official noted that the weapon would not be a new capability for Ukraine. Both the Ukrainians and the Russians have used cluster bombs since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, and more recently, Ukrainian forces have begun using Turkish-provided cluster munitions on the battlefield.
9:11 p.m. ET, June 29, 2023
Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin was secret VIP member of Wagner, documents show
From CNN’s Matthew Chance in Moscow
Documents shared exclusively with CNN suggest that Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin was a secret VIP member of the Wagner private military company.
The documents, obtained by the Russian investigative Dossier Center, showed that Surovikin had a personal registration number with Wagner. Surovikin is listed along with at least 30 other senior Russian military and intelligence officials, who the Dossier Center said are also VIP Wagner members.
Surovikin has not been seen in public since last Saturday, when he released a video pleading for Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop his insurrection. His whereabouts have since remained unknown.
Surovikin is a decorated commander of the Russian Air Force and became nicknamed “General Armageddon” for his ruthless tactics bombing cities in Syria.
Wagner has not answered CNN’s request for a response. It is unclear what Wagner’s VIP membership entails, including whether there is a financial benefit.
Surovikin was known to have links with the mercenary group, but the documents raise questions about the closeness of senior members of the Russian military and Wagner.
During Prigozhin’s short-lived rebellion, Wagner fighters were able to take over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, facing virtually no resistance from the Russian army.
