August 30, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Russia and North Korea are “actively advancing” their negotiations over a potential arms deal that would provide significant ammunition for different types of weapons systems, including artillery, in the latest indication that the Kremlin is desperate to obtain further materiel for its failing invasion of Ukraine, according to newly released US intelligence.

The news of the potential deal comes despite North Korea’s public claims to the contrary. 

The Biden administration said Wednesday that it remains concerned that the two pariah states are in the middle of arms negotiations and that following Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s trip to North Korea last month a second delegation of Russian officials have visited Pyongyang for follow up discussions on a potential deal.

In addition to the second delegation, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged letters “pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation,” according to John Kirby, National Security Council strategic communications coordinator.

Meanwhile, Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US representative to the United Nations, accused Russia and North Korea of negotiating arms deals. Greenfield called it "shameful" and a violation of Security Council resolutions approved by Russia. 

The public disclosure of the new intelligence is the latest example of how the Biden administration plans to continue to publicize Russia’s efforts to avoid Western sanctions and source weapons for its war, as well as put North Korea on notice that the US is closely monitoring these efforts. It is also the most detailed evidence provided in recent months of Russia’s outreach to North Korea to help fuel its invasion of Ukraine.

“Under these potential deals Russia would receive significant quantities and multiple types of munitions form the DPRK, which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine. These potential deals could also include the provision of raw materials that would assist Russia’s defense industrial base,” Kirby said, pledging that the US would take direct action to sanction any entities involved in a potential deal and urged Pyongyang to cease the negotiations.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury sanctioned a sanctions evasion network aimed at supporting arms deals between Russia and North Korea.

Kirby also said Russia’s attempts to source weapons from places like Iran and North Korea was a clear signal of Moscow’s distress.

“There is no other way to look at that than desperation and weakness, quite frankly,” the official said.

At the end of last year Pyongyang delivered infantry rockets and missiles to the Wagner private military company for their troops in Ukraine and Western officials have said that Iran has supplied Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine. Iran and North Korea have both denied these claims.

CNN's Richard Roth contributed reporting to this post.

Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the recent drone attacks on Russia are an indication the “war is increasingly moving to Russia’s territory." The official, however, stopped short of claiming responsibility for last night’s attacks. 

When referring specifically to drone attacks on the Russian northwestern region of Pskov that damaged aircrafts and grounded flights, Podolyak said the increased movement of the war into Russia's territory "cannot be stopped." 

Without directly claiming responsibility for the attacks, the adviser said Ukraine "strictly adheres to the obligation not to use the weapons of its partners to strike Russian territory and acts exclusively within the principles of defensive war.”  

He dismissed calls to avoid strikes on Russian soil as “absurd.”

More background: The attacks on Wednesday were the biggest drone assault on Russian soil since the war began. Six Russian regions including Moscow came under attack early Wednesday, while in the city of Pskov, near the Estonian border, several transport planes were reportedly damaged when drones targeted an airport. Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties, and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.

Ukraine has increasingly been emboldened to hit strategic targets inside Russia through the air in recent weeks, even as it suffers assaults on its own cities, setting up a new phase of the conflict defined by Kyiv’s apparent efforts to wear down domestic Russian support for the war.

Kyiv officials meanwhile said Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a “massive” bombardment overnight. 

CNN's Rob Picheta, Anna Chernova and Gul Tuysuz contributed reporting to this post.

The northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has set up 60 classrooms in its subway ahead of the start of the school year in September, the mayor said in a statement.

Kharkiv, which lies roughly 20 miles from the Russian border, was occupied by Russian forces in the early months of the war. Ukraine managed to liberate the city in September last year — but Russian forces have since tried to recapture the city, which has come under frequent bombardment for much of this summer.

The underground classrooms will accommodate around 1,000 students, with plans to set up even more classrooms to allow for safe in-person education several days a week, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

The city’s subways were the main shelter for its residents during intense Russian bombardment in the first few months of the war.

Ukraine ordered mandatory evacuations in Kharkiv region earlier this month, after a local Ukrainian official said that substantial reinforcements had turned the area into the "epicenter" of hostilities.

Russia claimed to have captured several Ukrainian positions near the city of Kharkiv in recent weeks, with the eventual goal of capturing the city for a second time.

A Kremlin spokesman has attributed the biggest drone assault on Russian territory since the war in Ukraine began to the “continued terrorist activity of the Kyiv regime.”

The Russian President Vladimir Putin is receiving “timely and up-to-date information” on all developments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

Journalists on the regular Kremlin call pressed Peksov on whether the drones that attacked the northwestern Pskov region could have been launched from the territory of neighboring Estonia or Latvia.   

Some context: Russia saw the largest drone assault on its territory since the start of the war on Wednesday after six regions including Moscow came under attack.

In the city of Pskov, drones attacked an airport some 35 miles away from the Estonian border late Tuesday night, causing a fire and damage to four IL-76 military aircraft which led to the cancellation of all flights.

Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties, and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.

An attack on the election headquarters of a pro-Russian party in the occupied Kherson region has been claimed by a Ukrainian insurgent group.

The group, Atesh, says it blew up the headquarters of the United Russia Party in Nova Kakhovka on Tuesday. The group said three Russian soldiers were killed in the attack, a claim that was denied by a pro-Russian politician in the area. 

The town’s mayor Vladimir Leontiev described it as a “terrorist attack,” according to Russian state news agency TASS. “No one will disrupt our peaceful life,” he said.

Some context: Nearly half of Ukrainians held in detention centers in Kherson have been subjected to widespread torture including sexual violence, according to a report published earlier this month, compiled by the Mobile Justice Team, part of the UK, EU and US-sponsored Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA).

The report adds that suffocation, waterboarding, severe beatings and threats of rape were other techniques commonly used against victims by Russian guards in the Kherson torture chambers.

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of torture and human rights abuses in Ukraine despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, investigated, compiled and shared by international human rights organizations and news organizations. 

Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have told CNN of their panic as the city was shaken by a powerful assault overnight on Tuesday.

Russia conducted a "massive" attack on Kyiv using drones and missiles, killing at least two men aged 26 and 36, and injuring three others, Ukrainian officials said.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram that "Kyiv had not experienced such a powerful attack since spring."

Lyudmyla Savchuk, 57, school worker

Yelena Yemelyanova, 69, retired medical worker

Victor Savchuk, 58, pensioner

Russia is considering the possibility of “deliberate” action in its investigation of the plane crash that killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, but Moscow will not allow international authorities to intervene, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

The possibility of a "deliberate atrocity" is one of many scenarios under consideration, Peskov said.

His comments came after Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee reportedly rejected an offer by Brazilian authorities and the aircraft manufacturer, Brazilian company Embraer, to participate in the investigation.

The committee said that because the crash took place on Russian soil, an international investigation is unnecessary, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing the Brazilian agency.  

Russia on Wednesday saw the most significant drone assault on its territory since the start of the war, causing airport closures and flight delays across the country.

Meanwhile, Russia fired 28 cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, all of which were intercepted, according to Kyiv's top general.

Below are the latest developments...

Russia has seen the most significant drone assault on its territory since the beginning of the war in February 2022, causing airport closures and flight delays across the country.

Multiple regions, including Moscow, Oryol, Ryazan, Bryansk, Kaluga, and Pskov, were targeted by drones Wednesday, although Russian authorities have not reported any casualties and claim they thwarted almost all of the attacks.

Russian air defense forces claimed to have intercepted a drone heading towards Moscow in the Ruza district of the Moscow region, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Wednesday morning.

In response to the security situation, all four Moscow airports temporarily suspended flight operations. According to Sobyanin, there were no casualties or reported damage at the time. 

Russia's defense ministry said its forces intercepted three Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over the Bryansk region which damaged an administrative building, while another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Oryol region was also obstructed.

The ministry also said a UAV was brought down over the Kaluga region, while two other attacks were thwarted in the Ryazan region. Local authorities confirmed the attacks saying there were no immediate reports of casualties.

In Pskov, some 600 km (370 miles) north of Ukraine, drones also attacked an airport late Tuesday night, causing damage to four IL-76 military aircrafts and leading to the cancellation of all flights. A fire broke out at the airport as a result of the attack. 

Pskov region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said that all flights remain cancelled until Thursday, “to clarify the nature of the possible damage to the runway.”