June 23, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Saturday his units were hit by a helicopter on a highway and threatened to “destroy everything” in his way, in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel.

It’s unclear exactly where the units were.

CNN is unable to verify these claims and any video evidence of this.

Prigozhin also said his units are “ready to die.” 

This comes as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday in a Telegram post that “in connection with the incoming information, antiterrorist measures are being taken in Moscow aimed at strengthening security measures.” 

“Additional control on the roads has been introduced. Limitations on holding the public events are possible,” Sobyanin added. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says that “anti-terrorist measures” are being carried out in the city as a result of “incoming information,” according to an update on his Telegram group.

The measures include “additional control on the roads” and “limitations on holding public events.”

At least two people were killed and eight others injured when debris hit a tall building in Kyiv’s central Solomyanskyi district, a Ukrainian military official said.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv region military administration, said the debris hit a 24-story building. Previously, the Kyiv mayor reported it was 16 stories.

The Kyiv city military administration says air defense systems destroyed more than 20 missiles in airspace around Kyiv overnight.

Videos posted to social media purport to show military helicopters flying over the Russian city of Rostov and a number of armored vehicles on city streets on Saturday morning.

The videos have been geolocated by CNN to Teatral’nyy Prospekt, in Rostov.

It is currently unclear whose command these vehicles are under the control of. Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents on Saturday morning to stay calm and not leave their homes. 

Rostov is in Russia’s south, near to the border with southeastern Ukraine, and about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Moscow.

Various police on duty near presidential administration as the road is being cordoned off in Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2023.

Tensions between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian defense ministry are finally coming to a head, with the Wagner leader threatening to attack Russian troops in retaliation for what he says was a deadly strike against his own paramilitary forces.

In extraordinary developments, the Russian security services accused Prigozhin of launching a coup attempt and have launched a criminal prosecution which could eventually see him jailed in what would be a dramatic fall from grace for one of Russia’s most prominent and outspoken figures.

For months, Prigozhin has been lambasting Russia’s High Command for mishandling the Ukraine war, repeatedly accusing the defense minister and the country’s military chief of incompetence.

Earlier this month, the Kremlin demanded all Russian mercenaries sign contracts with the Russian defense ministry, in a move seen as an attempt to control Wagner.

But Prigozhin remained defiant, refusing to comply and voicing increasingly vitriolic tirades against the Russian military hierarchy.

In the hours before the alleged attack on the Wagner camp, Prigozhin posted more inflammatory comments on social media, accusing the defense ministry of deceiving Russian President Vladimir Putin about the threat posed by Ukraine ahead of his February 2022 invasion. He also questioned Russian motives for the war.

Now, Moscow has been placed on alert in a response to Prigozhin’s call for a “march for justice” against defense officials he says are responsible for attacking Wagner, while his mercenary forces are said to be entering the southern Russian region of Rostov.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Meanwhile, next door in Ukraine, defense officials say they are watching closely as Russia seems to plunge into turmoil.

Military vehicles seen in Russia's Rostov as security is tightened over Wagner 'coup' on June 24, 2023.

A Russian state media correspondent said the situation is calm in the southern city of Rostov on Don and a street closure is only partial.

The eye-witness account comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine. Prigozhin earlier threatened to retaliate against Russia’s military after accusing the leadership of killing his men in a strike on a camp.

According to the RIA Novosti correspondent, traffic is blocked on one side of Budennovsky Avenue, as well as on part of Pushkinskaya Street.

In that area, there is one armored personnel carrier, one Patrol-A armored car, one Tigr-M armored off-road vehicle, and several fighters with machine guns, the reporter said.

Traffic is generally normal, and a few people are on the streets.

Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev is asking residents to stay calm and to not leave their homes.

The warnings come after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine. Prigozhin earlier vowed retaliation after accusing Russia’s defense ministry of killing a “huge amount” of his mercenaries in a strike on a camp.

A local journalist said the streets appear calm in Moscow, but that there is heightened security at government agencies.

Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky told CNN people in Moscow do not appear to be afraid at all, but he heard people talking about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as they walk down the streets. On Friday night, he saw people out playing music, drinking and partying. He didn’t see authorities asking people to leave the streets.

But Polonsky said military equipment is visible in central Moscow and there is some equipment behind the main building of the Ministry of Interior. He said he walked to most buildings of the government agencies and spotted at least one or two police cars next to each one. The most guarded building appeared to be the Ministry of the Interior. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, arrives during a funeral ceremony at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, on April 8, 2023.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian private military group Wagner, on Friday accused Russia’s military leadership of killing a “huge amount” of his mercenary forces in a strike on a camp.

And he vowed to retaliate. “Many dozens, tens of thousands of lives, of Russian soldiers will be punished,” Prigozhin said. “I ask that nobody put up any resistance.”

In a later Telegram post, Prigozhin said that his criticism of the military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup. 

His comments prompted Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to launch a criminal case, accusing the mercenary force’s chief of calling for “armed rebellion,” the state news agency TASS reported.

Here’s the latest on the situation unfolding in Russia:

Nations monitor the infighting in Russia: President Vladimir Putin is aware “of the situation unfolding around Prigozhin,” Russian state media TASS said Friday, as well as the investigation into his comments. In Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the country’s presidential administration, tweeted “tumultuous times are coming,” while Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense concisely tweeted: “We are watching.” In the US, the White House said it was “monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments,” according to Adam Hodge, National Security Council spokesperson.

Russian officials urge Wagner fighters to detain their leader: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) urged Wagner Group fighters not to follow Prigozhin’s orders and implored fighters to take measures to detain him. Similarly, Sergey Surovikin, Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, urged the mercenary fighters to “stop” and to “obey the will” of President Putin. “We are of the same blood. We are warriors. I urge you to stop, the enemy is only waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country,” Surovikin was seen saying in a video posted to Telegram by a Russian state media reporter.

Russia takes steps to control the narrative: State news TV channel Russia 24 interrupted the broadcast of a program Friday night to read out a message from the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating the claims made by the Wagner mercenary group leader “do not correspond to reality.” This statement has been widespread throughout Russia, even appearing on Telegram in a message from the defense ministry.

Russia steps up security: In the Russian city of Rostov near southeast Ukraine, military vehicles could be seen driving the streets. Posts were organized on Saturday in the area of ​​the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov where military personnel and law enforcement officers are keeping order, a TASS correspondent reported. The preparations were taking place as Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Rostov region. In Moscow, security measures were also visible, according to TASS.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, said a helicopter fired at a civilian column and was downed by his forces.

Prigozhin did not give any further details. The claim is one of many accusations made by the Wagner boss.

The mercenary group leader, who was accused Friday by Moscow of calling for “armed rebellion,” said earlier that his forces were entering the Rostov region, which is close to the Ukraine border.

CNN can not verify Prigozhin’s claim of an attack on civilians or that his fighters downed a helicopter.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were explosions early Saturday in Kyiv’s central Solomyanskyi district. 

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram that air sirens had been sounded.

US officials determined as early as January that there was an internal power struggle underway between the mercenary Wagner Group and the Russian government, and have been gathering and closely monitoring intelligence on the volatile dynamic ever since.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stalled earlier this year, top American officials said they saw indications of tension between the Kremlin and the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. They said they believed those tensions would mount over the coming months.

Officials said their assessments of the situation derived from intelligence, an indication of how seriously the White House and Pentagon took the potential for a power struggle to cause further instability in the ongoing conflict.

In January, a top White House official said Wagner was becoming a “rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian militaries.”

Officials suggested at the time that Prigozhin was working to advance his own interests in Ukraine instead of the broader Russian objectives. 

The Wagner Group, which the West claimed had recruited prison convicts for fighting in Ukraine, was making decisions based on “what they will generate for Prigozhin, in terms of positive publicity,” John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said in January.

Since then, White House and other US national security aides have been highly attuned to what one official said was an “ongoing battle” between Prigozhin and the Russian defense ministry. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic chief of Russia’s private mercenary group Wagner, appears to be falling out of favor fast in Moscow, after he unleashed a tirade against the Russian military on Friday and vowed to retaliate against its leaders.

Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the FSB, has opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, accusing him of “calling for an armed rebellion.” It also urged his own mercenaries to detain him.

Here’s what you need to know:

What did he do? Prigozhin on Friday accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. He vowed to retaliate with force, insinuating that his forces would “destroy” any resistance, including roadblocks and aircraft.

Prigozhin later rowed back on his threat, saying his criticism of the Russian military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup – but by that point he appears to have already crossed a line with the Kremlin.

Late on Friday, Prigozhin said his fighters had entered Russia’s Rostov region.

What Russia’s saying. Russia’s defense ministry has denied attacking Wagner troops, calling the claim “informational propaganda.” And the FSB also opened a criminal case against Prigozhin for his threats, accusing him of calling for “an armed rebellion.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is aware of the situation, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian officials meanwhile appeared to take no chances with security measures stepping up in Moscow, according to Russian state media TASS. Social media posts showed military vehicles were seen driving around the main streets of the Russian capital in the early hours of Saturday.

Read more:

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, accused the Russian military’s chief of staff Valery Gerasimov of ordering an aerial attack “in the middle of civilian cars.” 

Prigozhin praised the Russian pilots for “refusing to carry out these criminal orders.”

CNN cannot confirm Prigozhin’s account of an aerial attack. He had earlier said his forces had entered the Russian Rostov region, which borders Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry has not yet commented.

Russia's General Prosecutor Igor Krasnov attends a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on January 31, 2023.

Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov made a report to President Vladimir Putin about initiating a criminal case against Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

According to him, the Prosecutor General also informed the president on the legality of initiating such a criminal case.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, said his fighters are entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine.

“Now we are entering Rostov. The units of the Ministry of Defense, or rather the conscripts, who were thrown to block our road, stepped aside,” Prigozhin said, adding that at the moment his units “have crossed the state border in all places.”

Prigozhin also accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of “making a decision to destroy the disobedient units (of Wagner PMC) that are ready to protect their Motherland.” 

Prigozhin warned against anyone obstructing him: “We will destroy everything that gets in our way,” he said.

The Wagner chief’s statement comes as Russian state media TASS reported a stepped-up police presence in Rostov late Friday.

CNN cannot independently verify these claims.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said early Saturday that Kyiv is concentrating several brigades for an offensive in the Bakhmut direction, taking advantage of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “provocation.” 

Russia says its forces are fighting back.

Security measures have been stepped up in Moscow on Friday following explosive comments from Wagner private military leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Russian state media TASS. 

According to law enforcement, the Special Purpose Police Unit and Special Rapid Response Unit of the Russian Guard were raised on alarm as well, TASS reported. 

Russia’s FSB said it was investigating Prigozhin for “armed rebellion” after he vowed retaliation after accusing the Russian military of bombing his mercenary camp.

Commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin attends a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on November 3, 2021.

Sergey Surovikin, Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, urged Wagner mercenary fighters on Friday evening to “stop” and to “obey the will” of President Vladimir Putin. 

“I’m addressing the leadership, commanders and fighters of Wagner. Together with you, we have traveled a difficult and hard path. We fought together, took risks, suffered losses and we won together. We are of the same blood. We are warriors. I urge you to stop, the enemy is only waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country,” Surovikin is seen saying in a video posted to Telegram by a Russian state media reporter.

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseev, a Russian intelligence official, also posted a video criticizing Wagner’s actions on Friday, saying “This is a coup d’etat.” 

“Our country is in the most difficult position right now,” he continued. “When the whole Western world is turned against us. When the shells are coming from the whole world. Such things, that you started to fulfill now under someone’s provocation idea will lead to enormous losses. First of all, enormous political losses. Imagine the enthusiasm that this will be taken with by the West.” 

“Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority. This is a coup d’etat. There is no need to do this now, because there is no greater damage to the image of Russia and to its armed forces,” Alekseev said. 

Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin talks to Wagner fighters in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Bakhmut, Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released on May 25, 2023.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) urged Wagner Group fighters not to follow their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s orders and also implored fighters to take measures to detain him, according to a Friday statement from the group.

The agency reiterated that the widespread statements about the strikes of the Russian defense ministry on Wagner PMC “do not correspond to reality and are a provocation.”

“Due to the seriousness of the situation and the threat of an escalation of the confrontation in the Russian Federation, the FSB initiated a criminal case on the fact of a call for an armed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin,” the statement added. 

Read the full statement below:

The North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2022.

The White House is “monitoring the situation” in Russia following threats from Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russia’s military leadership, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

President Joe Biden has also been briefed on the developing situation in Russia, National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.

Officials view Prigozhin’s latest comments — in which he called Russia’s military leadership “evil” and said they “must be stopped” — as something more than his usual rhetoric, a US official told CNN. And unlike some of Prigozhin’s previous statements about Russian defense ministry ineptitude, these comments do not appear to have followed a Ukrainian military breakthrough or tactical success.

“This is real,” said the official, though it’s unclear if the US has any expectations about how or what Prigozhin intends following his calls for Russian citizens to stay in their homes.

Two administration officials said national security officials at the White House are being cautious not to weigh in further until they have a clearer sense of what is happening.

Several social media accounts appeared to show Russian military vehicles driving on the main streets of Moscow in the early hours of Saturday. One video from a local Russian website showed two vehicles driving by Moscow’s State Duma.

In the Russian city of Rostov near southeast Ukraine, military vehicles could also be seen driving the streets.

According to Russian state media TASS, posts were organized on Saturday in the area of ​​the headquarters of the Southern Military District (SMD) in Rostov where military personnel and law enforcement officers are keeping order, a TASS correspondent reported.

There was an armored personnel carrier, military posts, police cars and uniformed people adjacent to the headquarters, according to TASS.

Police were patrolling the central streets with “flashing beacons on” and “in the west of Rostov, the sounds of flying aircraft are heard,” TASS reported.

CNN cannot independently verify these videos.

For context: It’s not terribly unusual for military vehicles to be seen in Rostov. In Moscow, there is not a massive presence, but a few vehicles can be seen here and there.

State news TV channel Russia 24 interrupted the broadcast of a program Friday night to read out a message from the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating the claims made by Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin “do not correspond to reality.”

The interruption came during the broadcast of the International Overview program. The anchor announced the following:

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner private military group, claimed the Russian Ministry of Defense deceived the group and accused Moscow’s military leadership of striking a Wagner military camp, killing a “huge amount” of his mercenary forces. The outspoken leader of the mercenary force vowed retaliation.

Russia’s Federal Security Service initiated a criminal case against Prigozhin, accusing him of calling for “armed rebellion” on Friday, TASS reported.

Russia’s defense ministry denied Prigozhin’s claim.

Here’s how Russian figures are reacting to the infighting:

Igor Strelkov, pro-Russian military blogger, former defense minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (via Telegram)

Russia’s Ministry of Defense (via Telegram)

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman (via state media RIA Novosti)

Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee (via state media TASS)

Anna Dolgareva, pro-Russian war correspondent (via Telegram)

 The “Russian Volunteer Corps” fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (via Telegram)

Tatyana Stanovaya, Russian political scientist (via Telegram)

Alexander Kots, Russian military correspondent of the newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda (via Telegram)

“Alexander, are you for Prigozhin, the office or the Moscow Region?” subscribers asked.

Christo Grozev, investigative journalist for the investigative group Bellingcat (via Twitter)

The actions of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group leader, “will be given a proper legal assessment in the framework of the criminal case,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation said, according to state media RIA Novosti. 

On Friday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, after he vowed to retaliate after accusing Moscow’s military leadership of killing a “huge amount” of its mercenaries in a strike on a camp.

Russia’s defense ministry denied Prigozhin’s claim.

Here’s the full statement from the prosecutor’s office:

Ukraine’s defense ministry reacted to the frenzy on Friday surrounding Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the infighting in Russia.

“We are watching,” a concise tweet from the ministry, written in English, read. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential administration, reacted on Friday to the frenzy surrounding the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his latest claims against Russia’s military leadership.

In a tweet posted in English, Podolyak said: “Tumultuous times are coming.”

The word Oprichniki refers to members of the bodyguard troops established by Ivan the Terrible, which terrorized people who opposed the tsar.

President Vladimir Putin is aware “of the situation unfolding around Yevgeny Prigozhin,” Russian state media TASS said Friday, referring to the leader of the Wagner Group.

He is also aware that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) initiated a criminal case accusing the mercenary force’s chief of calling for “armed rebellion” on Friday, TASS reported.

According to TASS, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the allegations spread by Prigozhin “have no basis.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Putin is aware of the situation and “all necessary measures are being taken,” according to state media RIA Novosti. 

Some context. Prigozhin on Friday accused Russian military leadership of striking a Wagner military camp and killing a “huge amount” of his mercenary forces. Prigozhin claimed that the Russian Ministry of Defense tricked Wagner and he vowed to “respond to these atrocities.” 

Prigozhin and Wagner have played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and the leader has repeatedly and publicly feuded with Russia’s defense heads over what he said was a lack of ammunition, at one point recording a video of him lashing out while standing in front of what he claimed were dead bodies of his fighters.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in Moscow in April.

The chief of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Friday accused Russian military leadership of striking a Wagner military camp and killing a “huge amount” of his mercenary forces.

Prigozhin claimed that the Russian Ministry of Defense tricked Wagner and he vowed to “respond to these atrocities.” 

“They saw that we weren’t broken and they launched strikes on our camps. A huge amount of our fighters were killed, our comrades in arms. We will make a decision about how to respond to these atrocities. The next step is ours,” he continued, alleging that “they wiped out dozens.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied the allegation in a Telegram post Friday, calling the messages and videos spreading on social networks on behalf of Prigozhin about the event “untrue” and “an informational provocation.”

Prigozhin claimed that the “evil that is being carried out” by Russia’s military leadership “must be stopped” following the alleged attack. “They disregard the lives of soldiers, they have forgotten the word ‘justice,’” Prigozhin said in the voice recording. 

“The details started to appear; Minister of Defense arrived to Rostov especially to conduct an operation to destroy Wagner PMC. He used artillerymen and helicopter pilots undercover to destroy us,” Prigozhin added. 

Prigozhin vows retaliation: “Many dozens, tens of thousands of lives, of Russian soldiers will be punished,” Prigozhin said. “I ask that nobody put up any resistance. Those who show such resistance, we will consider it a threat and destroy them immediately. This includes any roadblocks standing in our way, any aircraft seen over our heads.”

He asked people to stay at home and “remain calm, not to be provoked.”

In a later Telegram post, Prigozhin said that by criticizing Russian military leadership, he is carrying out a “march of justice” and not a “military coup,” alleging that a majority of Russian service members support Wagner.  

“Finally, you will make them supply us with ammunition and make them stop using us as cannon fodder,” Prigozhin added.

More background: Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin – who has frequently criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy – furthered his ongoing dispute with defense leaders in a highly critical video interview where he said Moscow invaded Ukraine under false pretenses devised by the Russian Ministry of Defense, and that Russia is actually losing ground on the battlefield.

And earlier this month, the Wagner boss said he won’t sign contracts with Russia’s defense ministry, rejecting an attempt to bring his force in line. His comments came after an announcement by the defense ministry that “volunteer units” and private military groups would be required to sign a contract with the ministry.

Wagner has played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and Prigozhin, so far, has faced few consequences for his public feud with Russia’s military leadership during which he accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov of not providing ammunition to his forces.

CNN’s Katharina Krebs, Lindsay Isaac, Uliana Pavlova, Radina Gigova and Josh Pennington contributed reporting to this post.

A Ukrainian soldier carries a shell at a position near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Friday.

Ukraine claims it has “firmly repulsed” Russian forces who have targeted Ukrainian positions in frontline areas of Lyman and Kupyansk in the east of the country.

Russia slowed its efforts to advance on Friday, according to the spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Ukraine claims to have killed 31 Russians and wounded almost 70 in the battle, with Russian tanks and ammunition stocks hit.

In the Donetsk region: The Ukrainian Armed Forces said Russia continues to focus its main efforts on the eastern region near the towns of Avdiivka and Mariinka, in addition to Lyman and Bakhmut, according to its latest update. 

In Bakhmut, Russia “shelled Ukrainian positions with artillery 282 times and carried out four air raids,” Cherevatyi claimed, adding that Ukrainian forces killed 60 Russians there and wounded almost 150.

Ukraine’s acting Commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade Maksym Zhorin said Russia is accumulating forces in the direction of Bakhmut “to hold their positions and restrain our advance.”

In Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions: The General Staff said Russian forces are conducting defensive actions in the southern regions.

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria Joint Forces Operation, also said that troops are “making tangible progress and advancing” in Tavria in the south.

Tarnavskyi claimed that more than three Russian companies were killed in the last day and 51 units of Russian military equipment were destroyed. 

CNN cannot independently confirm battlefield reports or losses.

Pleas for patience: This week, Ukrainian officials have stressed that their counteroffensive – which Western officials have told CNN is “not meeting expectations” – will take time, with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal calling for patience and President Volodymyr Zelensky warning allies not to see it through the lens of a “Hollywood movie.”

The damaged Chonhar bridge is seen in this picture released on Thursday by Russian-installed leader of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo on Telegram.

Damage to the Chonhar bridge that crosses into Crimea was more severe than expected, and it is currently not fit for use, according to the Russian-appointed acting head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo. 

On Thursday, Russian authorities claimed that four missiles were fired at the Chonhar road bridge that connects the Russian-held parts of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia declared annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Crimean authorities had said previously that the bridge — which is critical for Russia to move troops, ammunition and equipment to and from the peninsula — would be fully operational in two weeks maximum.

Saldo had said the strike “won’t decide any results of the special operation,” but then admitted it will make some food and other deliveries a little harder. They will have to use another, longer route, he added, to the west through Armyansk and Perekop, closer to Ukrainian positions.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, the US has sanctioned two more Russian intelligence officers who were involved in the Russian Federation’s efforts to undermine the democratic processes in the United States and other countries, the State Department and the Treasury Department announced on Friday.

The Russians — Yegor Sergeyevich Popov and Aleksei Borisovich Sukhodolov – are both Russian Federal Security Service officers who have worked with other co-opted members of the service who were sanctioned by the US last year for conducting foreign malign influence activities, the State Department said. 

“The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today’s action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government, including our democratic institutions and elections processes,” he added.

“To safeguard our democracy, as well as help protect our allies and partners, the United States will continue to act to deter and disrupt the Kremlin’s malign influence operations,” the State Department wrote.

Volodymyr Zelensky attends the International Book Arsenal Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decried inadequate bomb shelters across the country, calling the conclusions of a nationwide inspection “disappointing.”  

The inspection was launched after the death of three people, including a child, who were trying to get into a closed bomb shelter in Kyiv earlier this month.

Following a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Friday, Zelensky said shelters were examined in the areas being attacked the most by Russia. The findings were uniformly disappointing “almost all over the country,” he said, including in bigger cities like Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Dnipro. 

Work is ongoing to return ownership of shelters that Zelensky claimed were “illegally” taken from local authorities, likely under corruption. There are currently 400 such claims across Ukraine, he said.

More on combating corruption and EU recommendations: Zelensky also said he discussed an interim report by the European Commission about progress on fighting institutional corruption and judicial reform.

Zelensky said proposals include increasing jail time and confiscation of property for judicial officials found guilty of corruption, as well as implementing integrity checks on judges throughout their terms. Zelensky said he is confident that Ukraine can fully implement European Commission recommendations for the start of negotiations on joining the EU.

“Today is exactly one year since Ukraine became a candidate for accession to the European Union, and this year, the goal is to start membership negotiations. Ukraine will definitely do its part,” he said.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations on Friday.

The United States ambassador to the United Nations on Friday called for an urgent investigation into Iranian-supplied drones used by Russia. 

In a UN Security Council meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “Moments ago, I stood with Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom and Albania to call out Russia and Iran for flagrant violations of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.” 

That UN Security Council Resolution was passed to endorse the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and control the transfer of weapons from Iran.

“We know the Kremlin has procured hundreds of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and is now working with Iran to produce these weapons inside Russia. And we know that in recent weeks, the Kremlin has used these UAVs to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure and kill and terrorize civilians,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “The United Nations must implement Security Council Resolution 2231.”

“Moscow publicly feigns deep concerns about attacks on critical infrastructure. And they have called Security Council meetings to try to convince us of that,” Thomas-Greenfield added. “But Russia’s hypocrisy is on full display as we watch Russian missiles and drones reduce entire Ukrainian cities to rubble.”

What Russia says: Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya disagreed on what Resolution 2231 calls for. On Friday, Nebenzya blasted Western information on drones used by Russia. 

Russia, which held the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council during April, continues to scoff at Western sanctions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said last year that reports the country is using Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are “unsubstantiated inferences,” despite Ukraine, its allies and arms-tracking experts finding ample evidence of their use in Ukraine.

More on Iranian-supplied drones: Earlier this month, National Security Council official John Kirby said that the US believes an attack drone manufacturing plant Russia is building with Iran’s help could be fully operational by early next year.

Iran is shipping equipment for the plant, as well as fully-built drones, to Russia via the Caspian Sea, US officials believe.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.

Senior Western and Ukrainian officials are expected to meet in Copenhagen in the coming days to discuss President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace proposal, a Ukrainian government source told CNN.

Representatives from the Global South are also expected to attend, the source said.

Zelensky presented a 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to G20 leaders in Bali by video in November 2022. 

According to a transcript of the speech, the steps include:

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on April 21.

Ukraine is anticipating that it will be given “clear terms and conditions” toward becoming a member of NATO at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in mid-July, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said.  

The summit, he hopes, will “outline the terms of accession” or define a specific event that will trigger Ukraine’s acceptance to the alliance and make the process “no longer be an incomprehensible vague form of open doors.”

The matter of Ukrainian membership in the alliance is one of several issues leaders will tackle when they meet in the Lithuanian capital next month. Also up for discussion are new defense spending commitments and a successor to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is planning on leaving his post in the autumn. 

But it appears increasingly likely that the 31 NATO members will be unable to coalesce around a candidate to be the alliance’s next secretary general and Jens Stoltenberg will be asked to remain in the job for an additional year, multiple sources told CNN.

Some more background: After meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House last week, Stoltenberg said, “At the Vilnius summit, we will send a strong message of support and solidarity with Ukraine. And make clear that Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”

Stoltenberg said he expected member states to agree on a “multi-year program where we help to move Ukraine to transition from old standards, equipment, procedures, doctrines to NATO standards and become fully interoperable with NATO.” Those steps, he said, would bring “Ukraine closer to NATO.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he understands that his country cannot become a member of NATO while it is still at war.

But earlier this month, he told the Wall Street Journal, “If we are not acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit.”

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak and Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.

In this grab taken from video and released by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, speaks during an interview at an unspecified location.

Russian private military group Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that Moscow invaded Ukraine under false pretenses, and is actually losing ground on the battlefield.

Prigozhin, who has been publicly feuding with Russian military leaders, directly criticized the reasons for the war in a highly critical video interview posted on Telegram Friday by Wagner’s media arm.

The Ukrainian invasion or the so-called “special operation,” he says, was not launched because of a threat to Russia from Ukraine or NATO despite what Moscow claims.

The situation in eastern Ukraine had not changed in eight years from the time Crimea was annexed, with both sides taking the occasional shot at each other, without any escalation, he said.

Prigozhin has previously defended the reasoning for the war but has been critical of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s, with whom he is directly fighting with over the handling of military contracts. Now, Prigozhin claims the defense ministry misled Russian President Vladimir Putin entirely, and also accuses Shoigu of deceiving Putin about the status of the Ukrainian battlefield, claiming Russian troops are on the back foot in the south of Ukraine, and that the whole invasion was a “poorly planned operation.”

What Western officials are saying: According to Western assessments, Russian lines of defense have been proving well-fortified, making it difficult for Ukrainian forces to breach them. In addition, Russian forces have had success bogging down Ukrainian armor with missile attacks and mines and have been deploying air power more effectively.

The officials cautioned that the counteroffensive is still in its early stages – and that the US and its allies “remain optimistic” Ukrainian forces will be able to make territorial gains over time. 

CNN’s Jim Sciutto contributed reporting to this post.

At least three people were killed in Russian attacks in southern Ukraine on Friday, local officials say. 

A 35-year-old civilian was killed when the village of Mala Tokmachka came under artillery attack, said Yurii Malashko, the regional governor of Zaporizhzhia.

Separately, two men were killed after Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the regional governor said on Friday.

In a later Telegram post, Prokudin said another 43-year-old man had died in a medical facility of his injuries despite doctors trying to save his life.

Kherson: For eight months last year, residents of Kherson lived under brutal occupation, with reports of people being tortured and disappearing. But in November, Ukrainian forces swept into the sitting, driving Russian troops out to the east and liberating the city. Jubilant crowds filled the city’s Freedom Square with blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, shouting “Slava Ukrayini” – glory to Ukraine.

The retreat represented a major blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. At the time, Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russia’s forces had captured since the start of the invasion.

But the city has since come under intense Russian bombardment. Over the course of two days in February, the city endured more than 130 strikes by rockets, artillery, mortars and even direct tank fire across the Dnipro River from Russian forces.

Since the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, officials in Kyiv have repeatedly warned that, while their forces attempt to drive Russian invaders from territories they have occupied, Moscow’s troops have launched offensives of their own – with Friday’s shelling of Kherson just the latest.

While fighting rages on the front lines, Ukraine’s diplomats are engaged in a battle of their own: One of expectation management. For months, Kyiv’s allies waited, questioning when Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive would begin. Kyiv repeatedly urged patience. Now that the counteroffensive is underway – but struggling to build momentum – Kyiv is urging patience again, as it tries to temper hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict.

Here are the latest developments.

Ukrainian service members of the 57th Brigade fire a BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher toward Russian positions at a front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on June 20.

Ukraine’s “main strike” in its counteroffensive is still ahead and some reserves continue to be held back from the fight, a senior Ukrainian defense official told state television on Friday.

“Every day we make progress. Every day. Yes, it’s gradual, but our troops are gaining a foothold on these lines and they are advancing confidently,” Maliar said.

Russia, meanwhile, is strengthening its forces along the front, “sending airborne assault units to the south and east” and Russian reserves – recently relocated to the east – had so far been unsuccessful as they “tried to break through” Ukrainian lines, Maliar said.

Maliar claimed that this “large-scale” Russian offensive led to “huge” enemy losses and had “now stopped.”

Expectation management: Ukrainian officials stressed this week that their counteroffensive – which Western officials have told CNN is “not meeting expectations” – will take time, with the prime minister calling for patience and President Volodymyr Zelensky warning allies not to see it through the lens of a “Hollywood movie.”

Maliar said offensive operations were “going according to plan,” adding it’s “premature to make assessments now.”

Russia has mined the southern front, she said, which “definitely slows down the pace.”

Ukrainian soldiers from the 35th Brigade fire a 120mm mortar in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on June 21.

The Ukrainian military claimed on Friday to have had “success in two areas of the southern front.”

The Ukrainians continue to conduct offensive operations in the direction of the southern occupied city of Melitopol and the port of Berdiansk, the statement added. 

In the east, Ukrainian troops have halted Russia’s advance toward the cities of Kupyansk and Lyman, deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post on Friday.

“In the Kupyansk and Lyman directions, our defense forces stopped the enemy’s advance,” Maliar said.

Pleas for patience: This week, Ukrainian officials have stressed that their counteroffensive – which Western officials have told CNN is “not meeting expectations” – will take time, with the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, calling for patience and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warning allies not to see it through the lens of a “Hollywood movie.”

Bulk carrier ARGO I is docked at the grain terminal of the port of Odessa, Ukraine, on April 10, from where Ukraine ships wheat according to the grain agreement the country currently has with Russia.

Russia is “99.9%” likely to quit the Black Sea grain deal when it expires in mid-July, a Ukrainian diplomat has said.

Olha Trofimtseva, an ambassador at large for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, gave two reasons in her post on Telegram: First, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who helped broker the deal – won re-election in May. And second, that Russia – who had agreed a parallel pact with the UN on the export of fertilizers – was close to finding other ways to export them. 

Mazepin is a Russian billionaire, described in an EU document in 2022 as the former CEO of the mineral fertilizer company Uralchem and “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin.” 

The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline is used to export ammonia from Russia via Ukraine and is currently out of operation.

The Kremlin has repeatedly said there are “no grounds” to extend the deal.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an extension of the deal, citing – according to a US readout – its importance “to global food security” and warning of “the adverse impact its suspension would have on food importers, especially in developing countries.”

What is the grain deal?: Ukraine, often referred to as “the breadbasket of Europe,” is one of the world’s leading grain exporters. Shortly after the war began, Russia blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, sparking fears of a global famine.

Since last summer, an agreement between the two sides has enabled the safe passage of ships from Ukraine. It is the first and only major pact to be made between the warring sides since the outbreak of the war and was brokered with the help of Turkey and the United Nations.

As part of its role in the pact, Turkey carries out inspections on all the merchant vessels that pass through the Black Sea in specially established safe corridors.

The deal was extended in May, but questions remain over whether it will continue to be renegotiated and extended indefinitely.

Yurii Malashko speaks during an interview in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on May 23.

At least two people are dead following Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia, a senior Ukrainian official in the southern region said Friday. 

Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, said the victims were a 55-year-old man from Mala Tokmachka and a 70-year-old resident of Huliaipole.

The two villages lie close to the southern frontline, where Ukrainian forces are conducting a counteroffensive to reclaim territory from Russian forces occupying parts of the region.

Russia fired 98 times at 24 settlements in Zaporizhzhia over the past day, Malashko said.

He said the attacks involved an aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), five MLRS rocket systems and 88 artillery strikes on frontline villages. 

More than two dozen civilian structures were destroyed or damaged, including houses, outbuildings and other property, he added.

Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 13 Russian air-launched missiles headed toward a military airfield in western Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said on Friday. 

The Russian missiles were launched from four Tu-95MS strategic bombers near the Caspian Sea, Ukraine’s military said.

Air defenses also shot down a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle of “unidentified type,” it said.

Some context: The attacks come after Russia attacked warehouses, including a military facility in the Khmelnytskyi region on May 29, according to local officials at the time. It is rare for Ukraine to publicize attacks on military facilities. 

Ukrainian service members ride a military vehicle near the front line in the newly liberated village Neskuchne in Donetsk region, Ukraine on June 13.

The bangs of incoming and outgoing shelling are the soundtrack of Ukraine’s frontline. But its president warned this week that the counteroffensive should not be seen through the lens of a Hollywood movie.

Just outside the newly liberated villages of Neskuchne and Storozheve, Ukrainian soldiers take shelter in destroyed houses vacated by the Russians, waiting for orders to fire mortars at enemy lines.

It’s busy. The men of the 35th Marine Brigade transfer newly arrived American-made 120-millimeter mortar rounds to their temporary hideout. They clean and prepare them for launch and scribble messages on the shells for their enemy. Another group get the coordinates and adjust the mortar for better aim.

The drone flying overhead is their eyes on the enemy line across the fields. When they hear the buzz of the drone engine, the soldiers occasionally peek up to check if it’s theirs or the Russians’.

Then they wait, sometimes for hours, to fire.

The sounds cloud the blue sky. The bangs of outgoing artillery and mortar rounds cut through the tranquility of abandoned fields. Shells whizz through the sky in the familiar whistle of incoming rounds along with the successive pops of Russian grad rockets. The booms of impact intersperse the non-stop exchange of fire.

Occasionally, a soldier flinches when the sound gets louder and closer.

But like the long waits of the soldiers, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is a slow grind.

Read the full story here.

The main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia “has not even begun in earnest,” and it is too early to assess its success, a senior Ukrainian official told CNN Thursday.

The official was responding to CNN’s reporting that Western officials believe the counteroffensive is having less success than expected and “not meeting expectations on any front.” 

In separate remarks, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv’s advance will “take time,” while expressing optimism for the counteroffensive. 

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Thursday that Ukraine has not depleted its “offensive potential,” adding that Kyiv has a “number of strategic reserves that have not yet been activated.”

Here’s are the other main headlines:

Virginia Gamba speaks during a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York on July 11, 2022.

The United Nations added Russia to a global list of offenders for killing 136 children in Ukraine in 2022, according to a report to the UN Security Council seen by Reuters and confirmed to CNN by a UN diplomat on Thursday.

Russia has previously denied targeting civilians.

The UN also accused the Ukrainian military of killing 80 children, injuring 175, and carrying out 212 attacks on schools and hospitals. 

Ukraine wasn’t added to the global list of offenders. 

The report was written by Virginia Gamba, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ special representative for children and armed conflict, according to Reuters. Last month, Gamba reportedly visited Ukraine and Russia, where she met with Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. 

According to the Ukrainian government’s portal Children of War, Russia’s full-scale invasion has killed 490 children and wounded 1,028 as of June 2023. 

Joe Biden and Narendra Modi shake hands in Washington on June 22.

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a joint statement Thursday where both leaders expressed their concern over the conflict in Ukraine and pledged continued humanitarian assistance.

“Our cooperation will serve the global good as we work through a range of multilateral and regional groupings — particularly the Quad — to contribute toward a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific,” said a statement released following bilateral meetings between Biden and Modi at the White House. “No corner of human enterprise is untouched by the partnership between our two great countries, which spans the seas to the stars.” 

The statement conspicuously made no mention of Russia, or its role in the conflict, with the two leaders instead writing that the two countries “affirm that the rules-based international order must be respected,” in a general sense.

More background: India is historically a major buyer of Russian weaponry and has longstanding ties to Moscow. It has also ramped up purchases of Russian energy — providing a key economic lifeline to leader Vladimir Putin’s government, even as the West slaps extensive controls on this key revenue source.

Though New Delhi has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine throughout the course of the war, it has abstained from UN resolutions calling for its withdrawal and condemning its invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan last month, the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia’s invasion began.

CNN’s Simone McCarthy contributed reporting to this post.

In exclusive comments to CNN, a senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that the main thrust of the counteroffensive against Russia “has not even begun in earnest,” and that it is too early to assess its success.

The official was responding to CNN’s reporting earlier that Western officials believe the counteroffensive is having less success than expected and “not meeting expectations on any front.” 

The official said “shaping operations” were still underway, and the counteroffensive would not be able to be judged until fall or winter.

Some more context: In CNN’s reporting, the officials cautioned that the counteroffensive is still in its early stages — and that the US and its allies “remain optimistic” Ukrainian forces will be able to make territorial gains over time. The US and its allies are likely to wait until at least July for a fuller assessment of the progress of the counteroffensive which was gradually launched over the last few weeks.

In addition, these officials note that Ukrainian forces have themselves been adapting to Russian tactics and defenses, including carrying out more dismounted operations. In recent days, Ukrainian forces have also had more success targeting and shooting down Russian aircraft.

Ultimately, the counteroffensive is proving a “tough drive” for Ukraine and Russia, one of the Western officials said, with both sides incurring heavy losses.

CNN’s Jim Sciutto contributed reporting to this post.

The damaged Chonhar bridge connecting Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Kherson region to the Crimean peninsula is seen on June 22.

Almost as if to answer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement the counteroffensive is “slower” than some might have imagined, a pinpoint strike hit a key pair of bridges for Russia’s occupation. The Chonhar bridges are both rail and road crossings, and head from the northeast of occupied Crimea to Ukraine’s main target in this counteroffensive: occupied Zaporizhzhia region.

Video released from the scene by Russian officials shows a significant hole in the road bridge and apparent damage to the neighboring rail track, caused, Russian investigators later said, by four missiles. In the video, Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-installed governor of occupied Kherson region, walks around the wreckage, and bemoans “another pointless action” assisted, he says, by the London-supplied Storm Shadow missile.

As a singular event, Saldo is correct to say the one attack decides nothing. But it echoes two earlier events: the damage to the Antonovsky Bridge from Kherson City that eventually presaged Russia’s orderly withdrawal from the right side of the banks of the Dnipro River.

And also, less directly, it echoes the damage done last year to the Kerch Strait bridge, which also temporarily disrupted traffic on the only southern supply artery to the peninsula from the Russian mainland. On Sunday, a blast hit what seemed to be a Russian ammunition depot in Rykove, near Chonhar. Blown bridges have a history of impacting both Russian morale and presence.

Alexei Zhivoff, a Russian military blogger, said Thursday the Chonhar bridge was more a “land corridor”, and carried 70% of the military and civilian traffic to and from Crimea. He added the blast showed the area was easily within reach of NATO-supplied missiles and that Russian air defenses were inadequate.

Read the full analysis here.

Russia launched attacks on populated areas of Ukraine on Thursday destroying infrastructure and causing civilians to suffer, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The General Staff said Russia launched 44 airstrikes and fired about 30 multiple rocket launcher systems over the past day.  

In the south, Russia continues to be on the defensive, focusing its “main efforts” on preventing the advance of Ukrainian troops in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the military said.

Ukraine has also claimed “partial success” in the south against Russia where the Ukrainian offensive continues, though the “situation has not changed significantly over the past day,” Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said in her latest update.

Ukraine’s air force carried out seven strikes on Russian military personnel and four on anti-aircraft missile systems, striking a command post and ammunition depots, the General Staff said. 

Heavy fighting continues in the east, especially in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions — where Russia continues its main assault, the General Staff said.

Ukrainian forces conducted both offensive and defensive operations over the day but continue to “effectively restrain the offensive of Russian troops” in those eastern sectors, Maliar said.

Russia conducted “unsuccessful” attacks and an airstrike in the Kharkiv region as well as airstrikes in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the General Staff said, adding that Russia was also unsuccessful in its offensives in the area of Sieverne and Avdiivka in Donetsk.

In its early phases, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is having less success and Russian forces are showing more competence than Western assessments expected, two Western officials and a senior US military official tell CNN.

The counteroffensive is “not meeting expectations on any front,” one of the officials said.

According to the Western assessments, Russian lines of defense have been proving well-fortified, making it difficult for Ukrainian forces to breach them. In addition, Russian forces have had success bogging down Ukrainian armor with missile attacks and mines and have been deploying air power more effectively.

Ukrainian forces are proving “vulnerable” to minefields and Russian forces “competent” in their defense, one of the Western officials said.

The officials cautioned that the counteroffensive is still in its early stages — and that the US and its allies “remain optimistic” Ukrainian forces will be able to make territorial gains over time. The US and its allies are likely to wait until at least July for a fuller assessment of the progress of the counteroffensive which was gradually launched over the last few weeks and is seen as crucial to determining who ultimately wins the war which was launched when Russia invaded last year.

In addition, these officials note that Ukrainian forces have themselves been adapting to Russian tactics and defenses, including carrying out more dismounted operations. In recent days, Ukrainian forces have also had more success targeting and shooting down Russian aircraft.

Ultimately, the counteroffensive is proving a “tough drive” for Ukraine and Russia, one of the Western officials said, with both sides incurring heavy losses.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted Wednesday that progress had been “slower than desired.”

Read more here.