August 16, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

Russian shelling in the Kherson region and Dnipropetrovsk region killed two and wounded several people, officials said Wednesday,

One person was killed and another one was injured as a result of shelling in the Kherson region, according to the region’s military administration. 

In Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, one civilian was killed and six were injured as a result of Russian shelling, local Ukrainian military official said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling killed one person and injured two others in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, according to a local leader.

Here are the latest developments:

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, speaks at an event in San Francisco on November 29, 2017.

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, called on US politicians and the media to “stop playing” with the fate of prisoners and let the authorized bodies of the two states deal with exchange issues. 

Antonov noted that Russia is urging the United States to stop “hunting” for Russians in other countries and consider the return of all Russian citizens held in American prisons a priority. 

Antonov’s comments come as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone on Wednesday with American Paul Whelan, who is being held in a remote prison camp in Russia.

Ukraine is hoping to take part in the G20 summit in September although Kyiv has not been invited to the summit in India, Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolay Tochitsky said Wednesday. 

Some background: The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain by sea, with ships bypassing a Russian blockade of the country’s Black Sea ports and navigating safe passage through the waterway to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait in order to reach global markets.

Vessels were inspected before they arrived in Ukraine by Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials, to ensure weapons were not being smuggled into Ukraine.

It proved vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries which rely on Ukrainian exports. The impact of the war on global food markets was immediate and extremely painful, especially because Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to the World Food Programme.

Russia pulled out of the deal last month.

Paul Whelan stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow on October 24, 2019.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Wednesday with American Paul Whelan, who is being held in a remote prison camp in Russia, a source familiar told CNN.

The top US diplomat told Whelan to “keep the faith and we’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible,” the source said of the call. This is the second time Blinken has spoken to Whelan, who has been detained in Russia for more than four years, the source said.

Whelan told his parents that “he was able to have a long, frank conversation with Secretary Blinken,” his brother David Whelan told CNN. David Whelan did not have further details about the call.

Whelan, who is deemed wrongly detained by the US government, is able to make calls from his prison camp in Mordovia, but the source would not get into further details about how the call to Blinken came about.

The conversation comes as the Biden administration continues to reiterate to Russia the serious proposal that it put on the table for Whelan’s release more than eight months ago. Russia has not responded in a substantive way, two administration officials told CNN. 

Despite the Whelan proposal “absolutely” still being one that the US considers a live offer, explained one senior administration official, the lack of a substantive Russian response – along with the wrongful detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich earlier this year – has forced the US to continue efforts to search for another offer to put on the table. 

The senior administration official said that it “remains a necessity that we figure out how to resolve this.”

Both Whelan and Gerschkovich have been designated as wrongfully detained by the US government.

Read more on the Whelan story

Ukrainian shelling killed one person and injured two others in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, according to a local leader.

“Today, Ukrainian armed formations shelled Donetsk, Yasynuvata and Horlivka. One person was killed and two were wounded,” DPR head Denis Pushilin said.

Pushilin said there was damage to civilian infrastructure and claimed that cluster munitions were used in the shelling.

Some background: CNN could not verify Pushilin’s claims about the casualties or the munitions used. However, two US officials and another person briefed on the matter said at the end of July that Ukraine has started firing the US-provided cluster munitions as part of its counteroffensive efforts.

The controversial weapons scatter “bomblets” across large areas, some of which could fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines.

Destruction after Russian drone attacks at Ukraine’s port of Reni in the Odesa region on August 16.

An overnight drone attack in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region marked the seventh time Russia has targeted Ukrainian ports since Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain initiative, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The drone attack on Reni damaged warehouses and granaries, said Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional military administration. No casualties were reported, he said.

Small ports on the Danube have become vital for Ukrainian grain exports following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal last month. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are deliberately targeting port infrastructure on the river as part of efforts to block the exports — posing a threat to food security in developing nations that rely on Ukrainian grain.

One civilian was killed and six were injured as a result of Russian shelling in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Wednesday, a local Ukrainian military official said.

The majority of the casualties were in the Mezhivskyi district, which is about 160 km (99 miles) from Dnipro city and borders the Donetsk region.

“There is also a lot of destruction. Three fires broke out, which rescuers have already extinguished,” said Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region military administration. 

An agricultural enterprise, an educational institution, 49 private homes and cars were damaged, he said. 

Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said the person who was killed was an 18-year-old man, and among the injured was a 2-year-old girl. 

“She and one of the wounded who were hospitalized. The girl is feeling well and is at home now,” Lukashuk said. 

Russian forces also shelled the Nikopol and the Marhanets community with heavy artillery, said Lysak. 

“A 63-year-old man was injured. He received a mine-blast trauma and a shrapnel wound. He was hospitalized in moderate condition,” Lysak said.

Cafes, over a dozen residential and other buildings, cars and power lines were damaged, he said. Forty solar panels were also smashed, he said. 

One person was killed and another one was injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Kherson region on Wednesday, according to the region’s military administration. 

“In the village of Lvove, a 54-year-old local resident who was on the street was killed by a Russian strike,” the administration said in a Telegram post. 

“In Kherson, the occupiers shelled a residential building. A 71-year-old man was wounded and hospitalized,” it added. 

Motorists queue at the Šumskas border crossing point between Lithuania and Belarus on August 12.

Belarusian border force on Wednesday slammed Lithuania’s decision to temporarily suspend operations at two border checkpoints between the countries due to concerns about Wagner forces, describing it as “another unconstructive and unfriendly step of our neighbors.” 

Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said earlier that the closure of the two border checkpoints was in response to the recent relocation of Wagner forces to Belarus.

Belarusian border force called Lithuiana’s reasoning “far-fetched.”

“In fact, the Lithuanian authorities are using any pretext to not only prevent the movement of goods, but also to reduce the flow of Lithuanians traveling on a visa-free basis,” the force added.

It also blamed the Lithuanian government for “purposefully and deliberately” creating “artificial barriers on the border for the sake of its political ambitions.”

More context: The Šumskas and Tverečius border checkpoints will be temporarily suspended beginning on Friday. The country shares six border checkpoints with Belarus, according to the news release. 

The European Commission has announced $147 million (135 million euros) in funding for Ukraine and Moldova — money that was originally earmarked for Russia and Belarus. 

In its daily news bulletin posted on Wednesday, the EU said it had decided to transfer the money from its Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument fund that was originally intended for Russia and Belarus to programs in Ukraine and Moldova instead. 

“I am glad that the funds we had initially planned for this cooperation will now benefit the EU’s programmes with Ukraine and Moldova,” she added. 

The bloc said this injection of additional funding would afford Ukraine and Moldova the opportunity to develop for example cross border transport links and reinforce the “institutional capacity of Ukrainian and Moldovan public authorities.” 

The Russian private mercenary group (PMC) Wagner has been registered in Belarus as an educational organization, according to the information published on the Belarusian Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs.

According to the register, the legal entity with the name “Wagner Group” was registered on August 3 this year by the Osipovichi District Executive Committee in Tsel village of the Osipovichi district of the Mogilev region in Belarus.

The Wagner Group declared its only activity to be educational, according to registry.

Some background: In July, it was reported that the Wagner PMC mercenaries set up a camp on the territory of the base near the town of Osipovichi, following a short-lived mutiny by the private military group in June. Notably, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced its forces would hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near its border with NATO-member Poland. The defense ministry had also published several videos that show how Wagner mercenaries are training up their troops. 

Around the same time, the founder of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin recorded a video message in which he claimed that the fighters had arrived “on Belarusian soil.” 

Oleksandr Syrskyi speaks to Ukrainian fighters on July 2, in Donetsk, Ukraine.

The commander of Ukrainian Land Forces has acknowledged some complications around the city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been making a push.

Despite the difficult situation, the Ukrainian general said the defense of the city would be ensured.

“Based on the results of work with commanders in this area, a number of important decisions were made that will ensure the reliability of defense,” he said.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it had reinforced its positions in the northeastern city.

“Our firing positions were strengthened, [command] provided certain methodological recommendations, and redeployed reserves,” the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military Group for Strategic Communications, Serhii Cherevatyi said.

Russia on Wednesday said it had made small gains in the area.

Last week, Ukraine ordered a mandatory evacuation of Kupyansk and its surrounding areas, as Russia intensified shelling of Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region and claimed to have captured Ukrainian positions near the city.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it stopped an attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group to enter the southwestern Bryansk region, which neighbors northern Ukraine, Russian state media reported on Wednesday. 

The agency added that “in addition to foreign weapons, explosive devices, communication and navigation devices, FPV drones with stickers ‘Property of the FSB of Russia’ and Russian symbols were found at the site of the clash.” 

Earlier on Tuesday, the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said that another Ukrainian sabotage group attempted to enter Russia’s territory.

Some more background: In March, Russian security officials claimed that a small Ukrainian armed group crossed the Russian border into the Bryansk region, allegations dismissed by Kyiv as a “classic deliberate provocation” by the Kremlin. The FSB said, via state media agency RIA Novosti, that the agency was carrying out operations following “armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border” in the district. Russian President Vladimir Putin later described the incident as a terrorist attack, and a local official said two civilians were killed.

Then in May, a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals, who are aligned with the Ukrainian army, claimed responsibility for an attack in Russian’s southwestern region of Belgorod.

Last month, a Ukrainian drone hit the Department of Internal Affairs in Bryansk leading to the destruction of the building’s roof and windows, Bogomaz said.

People wait at the Šumskas border crossing point between Lithuania and Belarus on August 12.

Lithuania announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily suspend operations at two border checkpoints between Lithuania and Belarus due to concerns about Wagner forces, according to a press release from the office of the Lithuanian government. 

The Šumskas and Tverečius border checkpoints will be temporarily suspended beginning on Friday, the release said. The country shares six border checkpoints with Belarus. 

Lithuania’s Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said the closure of the two border checkpoints is in response to the recent relocation of Wagner forces to Belarus, according to the press release.

More context: Poland also recently announced its decision to move around 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus. Wagner soldiers are currently stationed in Belarus – a close ally of Russia — in the wake of a short-lived rebellion carried out by the group.

The decision to close the two border checkpoints was prompted by a proposal from the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications, with the government approving the plan on Wednesday. 

“The aim of temporarily halting operations at these checkpoints is to reduce potential threats along the border with Belarus. These checkpoints only allow the passage of light vehicles, Tverečius is also handling traffic of empty freight trucks. All checkpoint staff will be redirected to the largest Medininkai border checkpoint. Consequently, the situation concerning vehicle queues and freight transport is expected to remain mostly unaffected,“ the Chancellor of the Ministry of Transport and Communications Ramūnas Dilba said.

Ukraine says that its forces have made a further advance in the eastern Donetsk region, while Russia has once again targeted port infrastructure in a drone attack on southern Ukraine.

Here are the latest headlines:

This screengrab from footage released by Kyiv’s forces shows soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag in Urozhaine, Ukraine.

After Ukraine claimed to have liberated the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region, footage released by Kyiv’s forces and geolocated by CNN shows soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag near a memorial in the village dedicated to soviet soldiers that fought in World War II.

Some background: Russian forces inside Urozhaine had been in a precarious situation for some time, especially since Ukraine took the neighboring village of Staromaiorske roughly two weeks ago.

Russian soldiers and well-connected military bloggers had hinted it was a matter of time until Urozhaine would fall too, given that Ukrainian forces had since been able to attack it from several sides. 

Exclusive CCTV footage shows the moment one of two seaborne drones detonated, damaging the Kerch Bridge on July 17

Ukrainian security services have released to CNN exclusive footage showing the moment in July when they used an experimental sea drone to attack Russia’s bridge to annexed Crimea, providing new details on the attack and warning more such assaults will follow.

It’s the first time the SBU have openly claimed responsibility for the operation.

The attack on July 17 caused damage to the road lanes of the bridge, and, according to Russian officials, killed two civilians. It was the second attack on the vital crossing, and showed how hard it is to defend the only independent Russian link to the peninsula.

The bridge was opened with much fanfare by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 and is symbolic of his desire to take over Ukraine and bind it to Russia forever. It’s also a vital supply link for Russia’s military operation in Crimea.

Read the full story:

"Sea Baby" drones are the result of months of development that began just after the invasion, according to the head of the SBU.

Related article The moment Ukraine used an experimental drone to attack a Russian bridge | CNN

Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte leaves the sea port in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on August 16. 

A container ship departed Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa on Wednesday, becoming the first vessel to use a temporary Black Sea shipping corridor established following the breakdown of a UN-brokered grain deal last month, a Ukrainian official said.

In a Facebook post, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the Hong Kong-flagged ship, Joseph Schulte, was en route to the Bosporus carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo, including food products.

The vessel had been stuck in the port since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February last year.

Russia pulled out of a UN and Turkish brokered deal in July that allowed Ukraine to move its grain via the Black Sea and warned that any ships headed to Ukraine would be treated as potentially carrying weapons. 

Last week, the Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring “temporary corridors” for merchant ships sailing to and from Ukrainian ports. However, it admitted that the military threat and mine danger from Russia remained along all routes.

On Sunday, a Russian warship fired warning shots and boarded a Turkish-owned cargo ship it claimed was headed to Ukraine, in what Kyiv said was “an act of piracy.”

Ukraine said Wednesday its forces have liberated the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region, where fierce battles have taken place in recent days.

“Ukrainian defense forces took control of Urozhaine,” and are consolidating their positions, Andrii Kovaliov, spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on national television Wednesday morning. 

Urozhaine, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk city, lies near the village of Staromaiorske, which Ukrainian soldiers recaptured about two weeks ago. 

Elsewhere in the eastern front, Ukrainian forces are continuing to conduct counteroffensive operations south of Bakhmut and “heavy fighting continues,” Kovaliov said. 

Russia “is putting up strong resistance, moving units and troops, and actively using its reserves” in the areas of Marinka and Krasnohorivka near Bakhmut, he said. 

Ukrainian forces continue to hold back the Russian offensive at the Kupiansk, Lyman, and Bakhmut axes, he added. 

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield claims.