Kremlin has “nothing to say” on alleged death of Russian Black Sea Fleet commander
From Anna Chernova
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from a Russian Black Sea Navy headquarters after a missile strike in Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 22. Planet Labs PBC/Handout/Reuters
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has refused to comment on the alleged assassination of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Admiral Viktor Sokolov.
Ukraine claimed on Monday that Sokolov was killed during its attack on the occupied peninsula of Crimea on Friday.
“There has been no information from the Ministry of Defense. This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here,” Peskov told reporters Tuesday during a routine call.
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces claimed that Sokolov, as well as 33 other officers, were killed in the attack on the Black Sea headquarters in Sevastopol Friday, in perhaps the boldest attack by Ukrainian forces on the occupied peninsula of Crimea so far.
6:24 a.m. ET, September 26, 2023
Opinion: Ukraine’s bumpy road ahead just got rockier
Opinion by David A. Andelman
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a school in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, on September 21. Contributor/Getty Images/File
The vast store of goodwill accumulated among the forces of democracy for Ukraine and its courageous and utterly unorthodox president may be running dry, writes CNN contributor David A. Andelman.
That is the clearest and most present danger to the security of Europe and the entire Western alliance. It is surely also the fervent hope on which Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to pursue his carnage and the reason he has chanced his whole presidency on what once seemed like a sure bet, and is instead turning into a morass of quicksand and violence with no easy exit.
America — and its allies — must under no circumstances allow that to happen.
Ukraine-Romania ferry crossing suspended following Russian drone strikes overnight
A ferry crossing point between Romania and Ukraine was suspended Tuesday morning following an overnight Russian drone attack that hit port infrastructure on the Ukrainian side.
The Orlivka-Isaccea crossing on the Danube River has been closed and traffic is being directed elsewhere, according to a spokesperson for the Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
“At the moment, measures are being taken to stabilize functioning at the Orlivka ferry crossing point on the border with Romania in Odesa region after the enemy attack on the border infrastructure during the night,” spokesman Andrii Demchenko told CNN.
The Orlivka-Isaccea crossing, in Ukraine's Odesa region, is close to the border with both Romania and Moldova. Despite the close proximity to the border, Odesa's Danube River ports have been repeatedly targeted by Russia following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July.
The Romanian Border Patrol confirmed the suspension of movement across the border, noting that traffic is being redirected to the Galati Rutier crossing point.
1:44 a.m. ET, September 26, 2023
Russian drone attack on Danube River port injures 2, Ukraine says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Oleh Kiper gives an interview in Odesa on August 16. Kyodo News/Getty Images/File
Russian drone attacks hit Danube River port infrastructure and injured two truck drivers overnight, a Ukrainian military official said Tuesday.
A crossing point, warehouses and about 30 trucks were damaged in the attacks on Izmail district in the southern region of Odesa, said Oleh Kiper, head of the region's military administration.
“For two hours, Russian terrorists attacked the Odesa region with attack drones,” Kiper said on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian air defenses shot down most of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Odesa's Danube River ports, located close to the border with Romania, have been repeatedly targeted by Russia following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July.
The latest attacks come after Russian strikes on the city of Odesa killed at least two people and caused "significant damage" to port infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said Monday.
6:09 a.m. ET, September 26, 2023
Zelensky thanks US after Abrams tanks arrive in Ukraine. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pictured at the National Archives in Washington, DC, on September 21. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
US Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine and are "getting prepared to reinforce our brigades," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.
"I am grateful to our allies for fulfilling the agreements! We are looking for new contracts and expanding the geography of supply," Zelensky said in a Telegram statement.
The Pentagon confirmed that the first batch, which includes 31 Abrams tanks, have arrived in Ukraine. The armored capability adds a powerful ground component to Ukrainian troops, who have already endured more than a year and a half of war.
Catch up on the latest developments:
Black Sea attacks: Russian ships are still launching strikes on Ukraine following the alleged death of the commander of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet on Friday in one of Kyiv’s boldest attacks yet on occupied Crimea, a Ukrainian navy spokesperson said. However, the spokesperson said the Russian attacks are being launched "by inertia," and claimed the alleged death of Adm. Viktor Sokolov and 33 other officers had thrown the Black Sea Fleet into disarray. CNN has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Odesa strikes: Russian strikes killed at least two people and caused "significant damage" to Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Monday. Moscow's forces have repeatedly targeted the southern port following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July.
Kherson shelling: Russian attacks also killed at least six people and wounded five others in the southern Kherson region on Monday, Ukrainian officials said. Only a quarter of the population remains in the city of Beryslav as civilians evacuate in the wake of intense Russian shelling, officials said.
Ukrainian attacks: Russian forces on Monday thwarted Ukrainian missile and drone attacks on Crimea and regions bordering Ukraine, officials said. Air defenses shot down four Ukrainian drones over the western Kursk region and seven drones over the neighboring Belgorod region, the Russian defense ministry and regional officials reported. Russian forces also foiled a missile attack over Crimea's largest city Sevastopol, the ministry said.
UN accuses Russia: There is "continuous evidence" Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Council said. The council alleged that attacks in Ukraine include “unlawful attacks with explosive weapons, attacks harming civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and attacks on energy infrastructure.”
Here's where the state of control stands in Ukraine:
5:50 a.m. ET, September 26, 2023
Russia foils Ukrainian attacks over border regions and Crimea, officials say
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Russian forces on Monday thwarted Ukrainian missile and drone attacks on Crimea and regions bordering Ukraine, officials said.
Air defenses shot down four Ukrainian drones over the western Kursk region and seven drones over the neighboring Belgorod region, the Russian defense ministry and regional officials reported.
Russian forces also stopped a missile attack over Crimea's largest city Sevastopol on Monday, the defense ministry said.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russia-appointed governor of Sevastopol, said air defenses shot down the missile near the Belbek military airfield in the region, without providing any further details.
Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev is pictured in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2022. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters/File
No significant damage or casualties were reported.
Some context: The reports Monday come after Ukraine claimed it killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, in one of Kyiv’s boldest attacks yet on Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said in an update that Friday’s attack killed Adm. Viktor Sokolov along with 33 other officers. CNN has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment.
11:49 p.m. ET, September 25, 2023
Death toll rises to 6 in Kherson region following Russian attacks, Ukrainian official says
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Yulia Kesaieva
Emergency units carry out rescue tasks in the Ukrainian region of Kherson on September 25. Latin America News Agency/Reuters
At least six people have died and five others were injured as a result of Russian attacks in Ukraine's southern Kherson region on Monday, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region's military administration, said in a social media post.
“The Russian army again attacked the Dniprovskyi district of the city of Kherson. According to preliminary information, two men and one woman died from their injuries,” Prokudin said.
According to Prokudin, three more people were also injured.
Earlier, Prokudin reported that three people had died and two others were injured as a result of a Russian airstrike on the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region Monday.
Prokudin said only a quarter of the population remains in Beryslav after civilian evacuations following intense Russian shelling.
“Over the past two weeks, almost 100 children and their families have left the dangerous coastal communities” of the Kherson region, Prokudin said.
6:30 a.m. ET, September 26, 2023
Russian ships still launching strikes from Black Sea after top commander's alleged death, Ukrainian Navy says
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Yulia Kesaieva
Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov salutes during a send-off ceremony for reservists, in Sevastopol, Crimea, in September 2022. Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters/File
Russian ships were still launching strikes on Ukraine following the alleged death of the commander of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet, but those attacks are being launched "by inertia," Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said Monday on national television.
Pletenchuk was asked about comments made by Ukrainian authorities earlier Monday, claiming that Adm. Viktor Sokolov, as well as 33 other officers were killed in Friday's attack in Sevastopol.
Pletenchuk said Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not control the actual operation of ships at sea," and relies on his admirals who know "their means and forces, personnel, how to manage them, how to better deploy them. And they can also keep things from [Putin], not report on certain issues."
"At this moment, [the Russian Navy] lost the person who actually manages all of this, and his staff, who manages the fleet together with him," Pletenchuk claimed. "This is a large grouping that requires a great number of managers to run all the processes to make [the fleet] work as a single mechanism. Imagine that the core part of this mechanism becomes inoperable."
Pletenchuk added: "Yes, last night [Russian ships in the Black Sea] were still launching strikes by inertia," but he compared the operations to "a chicken running around without a head."
"Therefore, as of now, [the Russian navy] will have respective problems with the control of the troops," he said.
Earlier Monday, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said Sokolov was killed in Sevastopol on Friday, in perhaps the most daring attack by Ukrainian forces on Crimea so far.
"Eliminated during a strike on the headquarters in Sevastopol Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Admiral Sokolov," said Col. Vladislav Nazarov, spokesperson for the Operational Command South.
CNN cannot independently confirm Ukraine's claims about Sokolov and the rest of the casualties in Sevastopol. CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.
8:34 p.m. ET, September 25, 2023
"Continuous evidence" of Russian forces committing war crimes in Ukraine, UN says
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite and Stephanie Halasz
There is “continuous evidence" Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Council said.
The council alleged that attacks in Ukraine include “unlawful attacks with explosive weapons, attacks harming civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and attacks on energy infrastructure.”
The council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said it had "documented explosive weapons attacks on residential buildings, a functional medical facility, a railway station, a restaurant, shops and commercial warehouses."
"These attacks led to civilian casualties, the damage or destruction of key facilities, and the disruption of essential services and supplies," it said.
The commission heard from torture victims and quotes one person as saying, “every time I answered that I didn’t know or didn’t remember something, they gave me electric shocks … I don’t know how long it lasted. It felt like an eternity.”
The commission reported Russian soldiers committing sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83, and said it continues to "investigate individual situations of alleged transfers of unaccompanied minors by Russian authorities to the Russian Federation."
