July 20, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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CNN team witnesses third night of Russian attacks on Odesa
02:22 - Source: CNN

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Top French foreign policy adviser claims China is delivering military equipment to support Russia

A top French foreign policy adviser on Thursday claimed China is delivering military equipment to Russia to use in Ukraine, said.

Emmanuel Bonne, an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, made the claim at the Aspen Security Forum while speaking to CNN’s Jim Sciutto.

Sciutto asked Bonne if the West had seen any evidence that China has armed Russia in any way in the war in Ukraine.

When pressed on whether China was delivering weapons, Bonne said: “Well … military equipment … as far as we know delivering massively military capacities to Russia.”

French officials tell CNN Bonne was referencing both dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance, such as helmets and body armor.

Bonne was asked what things China shouldn’t do. “The delivery of weapons certainly, economic support,” he replied. 

Some context: China maintains that it is a neutral party on the war in Ukraine and has attempted to present itself a potential peace broker in the conflict.

According to previous CNN reporting, Chinese state-owned defense firms have maintained trade relationships with sanctioned Russian defense companies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began. Experts say such well-established networks could be leveraged if Beijing were to provide direct, lethal aid for the Kremlin’s war effort.

Earlier this year, Western leaders warned China was considering that step. Beijing has repeatedly denied this, deriding the warning as a “smear,” and repeatedly defended its “normal” trade with Russia and rejected what it calls “unilateral” sanctions against Moscow.

Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China had assured the US and other countries that it would not provide lethal aid to Russia. “We have not seen any evidence that contradicts that,” Blinken said.

Odesa missile threat is over, Ukraine's air force says

The air raid alert and missile threat in Odesa has now ended, according to Ukraine’s air force, after warnings earlier of more attacks on the southern port city.

CNN’s team on the ground also previously reported that air sirens sounded in Odesa for the fourth night in a row.

CIA chief says he believes Prigozhin is currently in Belarus

CIA Director Bill Burns said Thursday he believes Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is currently in Minsk, Belarus, as he appeared to be seen in a recent video.

Burns called Russian President Vladimir Putin “the ultimate apostle of payback” and said that he’d be “surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.”

“If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn’t fire my food taster,” Burns said.

CNN reported earlier this week on a video that appeared to show Prigozhin greeting his fighters in Belarus, in what would be his first public appearance since he led an armed rebellion in Russia last month.

Burns also provided an update on a call put out on Telegram in May by the CIA that urged Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine and life in Russia to share their secrets. He said the Telegram video got 2.5 million views in the first week.

Proposals by African countries on Ukraine resonate with Moscow, Russian embassy says

Proposals by African countries on Ukraine negotiations resonate with Moscow and “deserve attention,” said Alexander Gusarov, Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in the UK, according to state news agency TASS. 

A delegation of representatives from seven African countries including Zambia, the Comoros, Senegal, South Africa, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda as well as Egypt, visited Kyiv on June 16 for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The next day they met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, on behalf of the delegation, presented to Putin a 10-point plan that could contribute to a peace process in Ukraine, according to TASS. All sides agreed to continue consultations following the visit, according to TASS. 

A second Russia-Africa summit is set to take place in St. Petersburg on July 27 and 28, according to TASS. The first summit was held between October 22 and 24 in 2019 in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, according to TASS. 

Russia used almost 70 missiles and nearly 90 Shahed drones in just 4 days, Zelensky says

Firefighters extinguish a fire at a damaged house after attacks in Odesa, Ukraine, on July 19.

Russia has used almost 70 missiles of various types and almost 90 Shahed drones over just four days during attacks on the Ukranian cities of Odesa, Mykolaiv and other southern communities, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine is working with partners “as extensively as possible” for additional air defense systems that can provide security to Odesa and other cities across the country, Zelensky said. 

Speaking about the Black Sea grain deal, Zelensky said that work “to mobilize the world to protect food security and normal life” continues. He said he spoke earlier Thursday for the first time with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, whose country is experiencing “one of the most critical situations in the world.” 

The Ukrainian president also thanked countries that have extended sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine.

“Russia and everyone in this world who dares to help terrorists must feel the ever-increasing sanctions pressure, whether they are individuals, companies or countries,” Zelensky said. 

Progress is hard won on Ukraine's southern front despite new armored vehicles

After months of anticipation, Ukraine finally launched its “Spring Offensive” in early June.

Everyone knew it would be tough going for the Ukrainians, having watched Russia dig in and build up formidable defenses over months. But even with no real expectation that the offensive would look like Ukraine’s lightening fast advance around Kharkiv last September, the hope among western officials was that Ukraine would be farther along and more successful than they are right now.

The offensive has proven more challenging than many expected, even with an arsenal of new western weaponry and equipment fueling the assault.

Among the most-anticipated pieces of equipment was the American-made Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a critical addition to help infantry cross the dangerous and open terrain.

A 19-year-old soldier who goes by his call sign, “Kach” spoke to CNN. His brigade, the 47th Mechanized Brigade, is the only one to have received the coveted Bradleys, 200 of which have been committed by the US.

The armored fighting vehicles are so admired by Ukrainian soldiers that running around Kach’s team’s camp barking is “Bradley” – the brigade press officer’s 6-month-old rescue puppy.

The Velcro flag patch on Kach’s chest was a parting gift from his American trainer in Germany, who told him it would bring good luck. But it was the thick armor, powerful machine guns, rockets and night vision capabilities on the Bradley that gave Kach a boost of confidence when ordered to assault the Russians.

When the brigade did, the Russians were ready. Dense minefields had been laid, rows of winding trenches were dug. Russian artillery started to pick off the vehicles sent out to de-mine the area. On top of that, this southern direction of attack was perhaps the most predictable in the offensive: designed to try to punch through the Russian line, drive south and split the southern land bridge connecting Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas before finally reaching the Sea of Azov.

The 47th ran into trouble very quickly trying to pierce the Russian line in their newly acquired armor. Photos and videos showed charred armored vehicles, including Bradleys and a German Leopard tank. Oryx, a military analysis site based on open source information, reports that around three dozen Bradleys have been destroyed or damaged.

Read more here.

Ukrainian troops have started using US-provided cluster munitions. Here's what else to know

Russian attacked the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa for the third night in a row.

After Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Russian foreign ministry on Wednesday said that all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports would be considered potential carriers of military cargo.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has started using the controversial cluster bombs provided by the United States, the White House confirmed Thursday.

Here’s what to know:

  • Odesa strikes: Russian forces have been attacking port cities on the Black Sea, especially the southern port of Odesa. One person was killed there in strikes Thursday, officials said. Russia’s defense ministry said the attacks on Odesa were in retaliation for Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge on Monday.
  • Black Sea Grain deal: The attacks come after Russia pulled out of a critical grain deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports a safe way out of the country. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that attacks on port cities will have an impact “well beyond Ukraine” when it comes to prices of food. The UN will keep negotiating to get more Ukrainian exports through, the UN World Food Programme Ukraine representative said.
  • Crimean bridge: The bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland was temporarily closed and the air raid warning system was activated early Friday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
  • Cluster munitions: Ukrainian troops have started using US-provided cluster munitions in their counteroffensive against Russia, according to a White House official. They have been using the controversial weapons “appropriately” and “effectively” in combat, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said.
  • New sanctions: The Biden administration added new sanctions that target companies and suppliers that have helped fuel Russia’s war in Ukraine by providing dual-use items. “Today’s actions represent another step in our efforts to constrain Russia’s military capabilities, its access to battlefield supplies, and its economic bottom line,” Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Russian envoy denies plot to attack civilian ships and to blame Ukraine

Anatoly Antonov, Russian ambassador to the United States, departs after meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried at the US State Department in Washington, on March 14.

Russia has no intention of targeting civilian vessels in the Black Sea and to blame Ukraine, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, said Thursday.

He was responding to a media question about comments made by National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge on Wednesday. Hodge also claimed Russia has laid additional sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

It is “especially indicative that the administration intensifies with such insinuations on the eve of major international forums,” Antonov said, adding that “a new round of false propaganda” is being used ahead of the second Russia-Africa summit scheduled for the end of July in St. Petersburg and the upcoming BRICS heads of state meeting in August.

Some Western weaponry sent to Ukraine was stolen last year before being reclaimed, Pentagon watchdog says

Criminals, volunteer fighters and arms traffickers in Ukraine stole some Western-provided weapons and equipment intended for Ukrainian troops last year before being recovered, according to a Defense Department Inspector General report obtained by CNN. 

Ukraine’s intelligence services disrupted plots to steal the weaponry and equipment, and they were ultimately recovered, according to the report. CNN obtained the report, titled “DoD’s Accountability of Equipment Provided to Ukraine,” via a Freedom of Information Act request. Military.com first reported the news.

But the inspector general report noted that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the Defense Department’s ability to track and monitor all of the US equipment pouring into Ukraine, as required by law under the Arms Export Control Act, faced “challenges” because of the limited US presence in the country.

The report, dated October 6, 2022, examined the period from February to September 2022. The Office of Defense Cooperation in Kyiv “was unable to conduct required (end-use monitoring) of military equipment that the United States provided to Ukraine in FY 2022,” it said.

In late October, the US resumed on-site inspections of Ukrainian weapons depots as a way to better track where the equipment was going. The department has also provided the Ukrainians with tracking systems, including scanners and software, the Pentagon’s former undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl, told lawmakers in February. 

But the report underscores how difficult it was in the early days of the war for the US to track the billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment it was sending to Ukraine. 

Read more here.

Crimean bridge reopens after temporary closure, Russian state media says

The bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland has reopened after closing for about 20 minutes Thursday. An air raid alert was also activated, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, quoting authorities. 

An advisor to the head of Crimea urged the public to remain calm in the early hours of Friday, after the bridge’s temporary closure.

Russian-installed authorities have not yet reported what triggered the bridge closure and the activation of the air raid alarm. 

Some context: A Ukrainian security official on Monday claimed Kyiv’s responsibility for an attack on the bridge that links the annexed peninsula to Russia. It’s a vital supply line for Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine and a personal project for President Vladimir Putin.

The nearly 12-mile crossing, known as the Kerch Bridge, is the longest in Europe. Monday’s attack was the second since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine after a fuel tanker exploded while crossing it in October.

Ukrainian and US military officials discuss frontline conditions and military aid in phone call

The top US and Ukrainian military leaders discussed the situation along Ukraine’s frontlines.

In a Facebook post, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,  recounted his phone conversation with his US counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, which he described as detailed.

He added that he and Milley particularly talked about material and ammunition when it came to discussing military aid for Ukraine.

“I am grateful to General Milley and the entire American Nation for the robust support and dialogue that we continue further on,” Zaluzhnyi said. 

UN won't give up on Black Sea grain negotiations, says World Food Programme Ukraine representative

The United Nations won’t stop negotiating about exports of Ukrainian grain, but the international community should push for more than humanitarian deliveries, according to Matthew Hollingworth, the UN World Food Programme Ukraine representative and country director.

Hollingworth told CNN Thursday he’s “absolutely certain the United Nations is not going to give up on this issue and will continue everything it can to try and find a result” after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative earlier this week.

David Harland, executive director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, who helped broker the grain deal, told CNN on Wednesday he is very skeptical about Russia coming back to the negotiating table. There may be a chance that Russia agrees to “humanitarian shipments” only, he said, if pressured by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders of countries facing food supply shortages

“We certainly have options, in terms of solidarity lanes, in terms of other routes out of the country. But none of them are going to replace what we currently lost,” Hollingworth said. 

Of the 33 million tons of food that was shipped out of Ukraine through the grain initiative since last July, 20% went to the Global South, Hollingworth said. About 725,000 tons of food was supplied to people living in countries that “desperately need that food assistance,” including Afghanistan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and others, he said.

Hollinworth said he hopes the world can come together to get Russia back to the negotiating table.

Russia's attacks against port facilities have an impact "well beyond Ukraine," UN secretary general says

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at the UN Headquarters on July 6, in New York City.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns” the Russian attacks against port facilities in Odesa and other Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a spokesperson said Thursday.

The attacks contradict Russia’s commitments with the United Nations, which state that “the Russian Federation will facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil and fertilizers from Ukrainian controlled Black Sea ports,” Stephane Dujarric said.

“The Secretary-General also recalls that the destruction of civilian infrastructure may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law,” Dujarric added.

Dujarric warned the attacks could have an impact “well beyond Ukraine” when it comes to the global prices of wheat and corn.

EU working to set up $22 billion Ukraine defense fund, top diplomat says

The European Union will establish a 20 billion euro (around $22 billion) fund for Ukraine’s defense over the next four years, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday.

The EU will set up the fund through the European Peace Facility, a funding mechanism for military operations and assistance, and provide up to 5 billion euros a year for the next four years, Borrell told reporters at a meeting of the group’s foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

Ukraine needs “very large financial resources,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Brussels. The union will discuss ways that security guarantees and financial support for Ukraine can be “meaningfully linked” in the coming months, she added.

Wagner Group forces getting "reintegrated within the Russian military," Pentagon says

Wagner Group forces are getting “reintegrated within the Russian military,” according to the US Pentagon.

Singh’s comments come a few weeks after a short-lived mutiny by Wagner forces and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

At the beginning of July, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko invited Wagner forces into Belarus to help train his country’s military.

Last week, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Pentagon was not seeing Wagner forces “participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine.”

Belarus Red Cross is involved in deporting Ukrainian children to Belarus, organization head says

The head of the Belarusian Red Cross has sparked an international outcry with his announcement that the organization is involved in the relocation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas to Belarus, a stark admission that potentially could make the group complicit in what Ukraine says is a war crime

Dzmitry Shautsou, the chief of the Belarusian branch of the Red Cross, said in an interview with a state TV channel Belarus 1 that the organization was bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus for “rehabilitation,” according to a report about the interview by the independent Belsat TV. 

Ukraine has long accused Russia of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from occupied areas. Some Russian officials have admitted the practice, publicly boasting about their efforts to bring children to Russia, place them in Russian families and, in some cases, give them Russian passports. 

But Shautsou’s statement was the first time the Belarus Red Cross has admitted taking part in the deportations. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Red Cross umbrella organization, expressed “grave concern” and called for the practice to stop. 

Under international agreements, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the deportation of a civilian population is considered a war crime and forcible transfers of children of one group to another group amount to genocide. 

It is unclear how many Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia or Belarus since the beginning of the war. Official numbers from the Ukrainian government show that almost 20,000 how been deported or forcibly displaced, and 1,000 are missing, but the government says the numbers could be much higher. 

Shautsou described the children as coming to Belarus “to have a rest,” adding: “We try to do everything for them to make them feel at home. So that they would not need anything. And most importantly, they were surrounded by love.” 

The Belarus 1 report showed Shautsou visited Russia-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, including the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, while wearing military clothes adorned with the letter Z, according to Belsat TV. The letter has become a pro-war symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Shautsou’s trip and admission led to fierce criticism from Ukraine and the international community.

Read more here.

Ukraine is using US-provided cluster munitions effectively in combat, White House official says

Ukrainian forces are using US-provided cluster munitions against Russia “appropriately” and “effectively” in combat, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Thursday, confirming that Ukraine has started using the munitions in combat.

Asked when Ukrainians began using the cluster munitions, Kirby said he would “guess” in the last week or so. 

The US announced on July 8 that it would be sending the controversial munitions, and they were delivered to Ukrainian forces about a week later. Cluster munitions scatter “bomblets” across large areas, which would allow Ukrainian forces to target larger concentrations of Russian forces and equipment with fewer rounds of ammunition. But the bomblets can also fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.

Kirby also discussed the additional sanctions on Russia that US President Joe Biden’s administration announced Thursday, saying that they are and will continue to be an effective tool going forward.

“I have every expectation that in coming days you’re gonna be another round of support provided to Ukraine because we are really trying to keep a fingertip on what’s going on in the battlefield and what they need,” Kirby added. 

Kirby also reiterated the warning from the National Security Council suggesting Russia could be preparing to stage a false-flag operation in the Black Sea to try to justify its attacks on ships. 

China's consulate in Odesa sustains light damage by Russia's overnight strikes

China's consulate building in Odesa is damaged as a result of a Russian night attack on July 20.

The shockwave from Russia’s overnight strikes on Odesa shook China’s consulate building in the southern port city and appeared to have caused some light damage.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said in response to a reporter’s question Thursday that “the blast wave shook off parts of the wall surface and windowpanes.”

CNN’s journalists in Odesa noted that one of the explosions from the overnight attack occurred very close to the consulate.

A photo posted on Telegram by the head of the Odesa region military administration appeared to show that at least one window in the building was shattered by the blast wave.

“This shows that the enemy pays no attention to anything,” Oleh Kiper said in a statement.

For context: China has refused to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and instead provided much-needed diplomatic and economic support.

Ukrainian foreign minister accuses Putin of "racketeering" in grain deal exit

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a press conference at UN headquarters on July 18, in New York City.

Ukraine’s foreign minister on Thursday accused Russia of “racketeering” by exiting the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

“Saddest of all, Putin’s racketeering will be paid for by the most vulnerable, notably in a number of African countries.”

For context: The Black Sea deal — originally brokered by Turkey and the United Nations a year ago — has ensured the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports.

The collapse of the pact threatens to push up food prices for consumers worldwide and tip millions into hunger. Before the war, Ukraine was the fifth-largest wheat exporter globally, accounting for 10% of exports, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Ukraine is among the world’s top three exporters of barley, maize and rapeseed oil, says Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data firm. It is also by far the biggest exporter of sunflower oil, accounting for 46% of the world’s exports, according to the United Nations.

The global food price index complied by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization hit an all-time high in March 2022, but has fallen steadily since then. A drop in food exports caused by Russia’s withdrawal from the deal could put that trend into reverse.

CNN’s Anna Cooban contributed reporting to this post.

READ MORE

Ukrainian air defenses in Odesa outgunned as Russia targets global grain supply
Ukraine has started using US provided cluster munitions in combat
Putin cut deal with Wagner ‘to save his skin,’ MI6 chief says in rare speech

READ MORE

Ukrainian air defenses in Odesa outgunned as Russia targets global grain supply
Ukraine has started using US provided cluster munitions in combat
Putin cut deal with Wagner ‘to save his skin,’ MI6 chief says in rare speech