April 27, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage, an effort to prevent future captures and urge the countries to release those currently in captivity.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, official reports and witness accounts on social media detailed heavy explosions in Russian-occupied areas of the south of the country Thursday.

If you’re just now reading in, here’s what else you should know:

Italian journalist injured: Corrado Zunino, the Italian journalist injured in a suspected Russian strike in Kherson, “ignored the warnings of the Ukrainian military,” the Ukrainian Army’s Operational Command South said in a Facebook post. Also, Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security found Zunino, who works for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, “did not inform the responsible press officers about his work in the city,” the Ukrainian Command South said in their Facebook post Thursday.

Combat vehicles delivered: Ukraine’s NATO allies have delivered almost all the combat vehicles they promised Kyiv, the head of the alliance said Thursday. 

Attacks kill two: Zaporizhzhia’s regional military administration said it recorded more than 80 Russian attacks on the region in the past day, according to a statement released on Thursday. Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, described “chaotic shelling” in Orikhiv, Preobrazhenka, and Novodanylivka, which resulted in the deaths of two men in their 40s.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly described Corrado Zunino’s injuries.

The Italian journalist injured in a suspected Russian strike in Kherson “ignored the warnings of the Ukrainian military,” according to the Ukrainian Army’s Operational Command South.

Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security found that Corrado Zunino, a journalist for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, “did not inform the responsible press officers about his work in the city,” the Ukrainian Command South said in a Facebook post Thursday.

A Ukrainian journalist, who was working as a fixer for La Repubblica, was killed in the same incident, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as well as a Ukrainian official in Kherson.

The post also implied the Ukrainian journalist with Zunino was not wearing protective gear, saying Zunino “was obliged to ensure that a member of his group was not only wearing a vest with the sign PRESS, but also armor inside it.” But Zunino violated the rules of conduct for journalists in combat, according to the Ukrainian Army’s Operational Command South.

La Repubblica’s editorial board acknowledged the statement on Thursday, and said in its own release that Zunino did have a pass to enter the Kherson area “as requested and issued by Ukrainian military authorities.”

President Joe Biden delivers remarks in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on February 28.

President Joe Biden officially announced new sanctions against groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage, an effort to prevent future captures and urge the countries to release those currently in captivity.

The measures target Russia’s Federal Security Service and the Intelligence Organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which have been accused of being responsible for holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans. They also include four individuals in Iran. Details of the sanctions were released previously.

“Since the first day of my Administration, we have prioritized the safe return of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Biden said, adding that his administration has already brought dozens of Americans back home. But “too many are suffering and separated from their loved ones — including Americans who remain wrongfully detained in Russia, Iran, and elsewhere.”

In Russia, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan are both being held on espionage charges they vehemently deny. And American citizens Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz are all being held in Iran’s Evin prison where there have been reports of torture.

—CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

Official reports and witness accounts on social media detailed heavy explosions in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine Thursday.

Kherson region: Unofficial Telegram channels in Kherson said there have been explosions in or near the town of Nova Kakhovka, the site of an important hydro-electric project on the Dnipro River. Videos showed smoke rising.

CNN is unable to confirm what targets might have been struck, but the Russian-installed Nova Kakhovka district administration claimed the town was left without power supply due to shelling by Ukrainian armed forces.

There was also incoming fire on the Ukrainian-held west bank of the Dnipro River. Shelling killed one woman and seriously injured her husband in a village nearby, the Kherson regional military administration said.

Melitopol: A loud explosion was heard in Melitopol, said its mayor, Ivan Fedorov. The Russian-occupied city has been a hub for Russian forces away from the front lines.

An improvised explosive device detonated near the entrance of an apartment building, according to Vladimir Rogov, a senior official in the Russian-appointed administration in occupied Zaporizhzhia. The building was slightly damaged, he said, but there were no casualties.

Melitopol has been under frequent attack from missiles and long-range rockets, as well as improvised devices apparently planted by Ukrainian partisan groups and aimed at officials in the Russian-backed administration. 

Elsewhere, in eastern Ukraine: Four children in the city of Donetsk were injured when they tried to move an explosive device they found on the road, Russian-appointed authorities in the region said. No further information was available on the incident.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know about the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:

New US sanctions: The United States imposed new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as it works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens being detained. Currently, Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine, are being held in Russia on espionage charges that they each vehemently deny. American citizens Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz are all being held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, where there have been reports of torture. Earlier Thursday, Russia rejected a US request to visit detained Gershkovich in response to Washington’s failure to provide visas to Russian journalists from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s pool when he visited the United Nations in New York, the ministry said.

UN Nuclear watchdog team completes scheduled rotation at ZNPP: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has successfully carried out a rotation of its staff at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, which is controlled by the occupying Russian force, according to Russia’s officials. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the rotation, telling CNN, “the eighth team from the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant today.”

Russian shelling in northeastern Ukraine: Russian forces shelled Tokarivka, a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, on Thursday. At least one person is dead and several others are wounded, according to Ukrainian officials. The village is about five kilometers (roughly three miles) from the Russian border. Border villages across the regions of northern Ukraine are frequently struck by Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Russian forces have grown: While Russia has suffered thousands of losses in its war against Ukraine, a senior US military commander in Europe told lawmakers Wednesday that it has plenty of firepower left in its arsenal, and the forces are “bigger today” than they were at the start of the conflict.

Donetsk region faces dangerously low water supply: The Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region has dangerously low water supply, according to Denis Pushilin, the head of the the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. Many households get just two hours of water supply every three days, the Moscow-backed leader said in an online Q&A session. The city of Donetsk lost its main source of water, a canal that runs through the eastern Ukrainian cities of Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut. Crews are still working to complete an alternative canal from the Siverskyi Donets River, which should bring relief from the water crisis, according to Pushilin.

Water supply in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region is dangerously low, according to Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic.

Many households get just two hours of water supply every three days, the Moscow-backed leader said in an online Q&A session. 

The city of Donetsk lost its main source of water, a canal that runs through the eastern Ukrainian cities of Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut.

Crews are still working to complete an alternative canal from the Siverskyi Donets River, which should bring relief from the water crisis, according to Pushilin.

“The military is doing everything possible to speed up the resolution of this issue,” he said of the canal work. “But we need water today.”

To address immediate needs, Pushilin said crews are building a water pipeline to the Don River in Russia. It will only improve the situation marginally but will increase water supply overall, he said.

In the meantime, residents are using water pumped from the region’s mines.

“The mine water is of inadequate quality for the supply,” Pushilin said. “This is disastrous for our water networks, which are already in a poor condition.”

Some background: The canal supplying much of Donetsk’s water was built in the mid-20th century. Its route through Chasiv Yar takes it past heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops. Its filtration station is near the town of Avdiivka, another scene of constant battles.

Donetsk residents have told CNN the water situation is very difficult, especially on the upper floors of buildings because of inadequate pressure.

Maryna, a 42-year-old artist who lives on the outskirts of Donetsk city, told CNN:

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendants' cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on April 18.

The US is imposing new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as it works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens currently being detained.

The move comes amid several high-profile cases of Americans being wrongfully detained. Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine, are being held in Russia on espionage charges they each vehemently deny.

American citizens Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz are all being held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, where there have been reports of torture.

The sanctions ordered up Thursday would punish organizations the US accuses of being responsible for holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans. In Iran, four individuals are also coming under new sanctions.

The groups are Russia’s Federal Security Service and the Intelligence Organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Officials said the steps should act as a warning to those thinking of taking Americans hostage. “We are also showing that one cannot engage in this sort of awful behavior using human beings as pawns, as bargaining chips, without paying consequences and these are some of the consequences,” a senior administration official said.

But questions remain about the real impact of these sanctions because many of the entities hit on Thursday were already sanctioned under different authorities by the US.

A member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission tours the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhzhia region of Russian-controlled Ukraine, on March 29.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has successfully carried out a rotation of its staff at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, which is controlled by the occupying Russian force, according to Russia’s officials.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog, said that the “regular (monthly) rotation of the IAEA specialists at the ZNPP took place today strictly in accordance with the schedule.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed a staff rotation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The IAEA told CNN Thursday: “We confirm that the eighth team from the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant today.”

How things are unfolding on the ground: Maxar Technologies has shared with CNN satellite imagery taken in late March that appears to show Russian forces have established defensive positions on top of two of the six nuclear reactors at Zaporizhzhia. 

The IAEA has called, unsuccessfully, for the zone around the plant to be demilitarized. 

Separately, a Russian-appointed official in occupied Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, said the cooling pond at the nuclear power plant has been restocked with fish to ensure vegetation was kept under control.

Rogov said nearly 500 kilograms of fish were released into the cooling pond, “which is necessary for normal operation of hydraulic structures and the plant as a whole.”

The plant is now managed by the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom after becoming occupied by Russian forces in March 2022.

Russian forces shelled a village near the border in northeastern Ukraine Thursday, killing at least one person and wounding several others, according to Ukrainian officials.

The shelling hit the village of Tokarivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration. The village is about 5 kilometers (roughly 3 miles) from the Russian border.

Regional power company employees had been working to restore power lines in the area and were among those injured, Syniehubov said. In addition to the person killed, at least four people were wounded. 

Border villages across the regions of northern Ukraine are frequently struck by Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on April 18.

The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected a US request on Thursday to visit detained Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich. 

The decision was in response to Washington’s failure to provide visas to Russian journalists from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s pool when he visited the United Nations in New York, the ministry said.

“In this regard, the US Embassy has been informed that its request for a consular visit on May 11 of American citizen E. Gershkovich, who was detained on charges of espionage activities, is being rejected,” the statement said. 

The US has designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained after his arrest in March on espionage charges leveled against him. Gershkovich is currently being held at a prison in Moscow.

While Russia has suffered thousands of losses in its war against Ukraine, a senior US military commander in Europe told lawmakers Wednesday that they have plenty more firepower left in their arsenal.

“The Air Force has lost very little, they’ve lost 80 planes. They have another 1,000 fighters and fighter bombers,” he said. “The Navy has lost one ship.”

Classified military documents allegedly leaked by a junior enlisted National Guard airman for months gave a snapshot of where Russia’s ground forces were committed in the war. One document, dated February and March, said that 527 of 544 of available Russian battalions have been committed to the war against Ukraine; 474 of them are already in the country, the intelligence said.

One document also estimated that between 35,000 and 43,000 Russian forces have been killed in action during the conflict.

Those losses have recently been particularly heavy in the fight around Bakhmut. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russia is concentrating “all its forces on Bakhmut, and in fact is not conducting such powerful combat operations anywhere else in our operational area of responsibility.”

In March, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told lawmakers that Russian troops are “getting slaughtered” in their fight for Bakhmut.

“For about the last 20, 21 days, the Russians have not made any progress whatsoever in and around Bakhmut. So it’s a slaughter fest for the Russians,” Milley said. “They’re getting hammered in the vicinity of Bakhmut and the Ukrainians have fought very, very well.”

Still, those losses appear to be only a fraction of Russia’s total military force. Asked about Russia’s submarine patrols in the Atlantic, Cavoli said that “much of the Russian military has not been affected negatively” by its invasion of Ukraine.

“[T]he Russians are more active than we’ve seen them in years, and their patrols into the Atlantic, and throughout the Atlantic, are at a high level, most of the time at a higher level than we’ve seen in years,” he said. “And this is, as you pointed out, despite all of the efforts that they’re undertaking inside Ukraine.”

Read more here.

Taras Stepanenko of Ukraine during the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying round group C match between England and Ukraine at Wembley Arena on March 26, in London, England.

Ukrainian soccer player Taras Stepanenko, 33, still remembers hiding in a basement in Kyiv with his family as Russian troops approached the city, and the sound of gunfire and explosions filled the air during the initial days of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine.

They spent three days sheltering, unsure of what their fate would be, before eventually escaping the nation’s capital.

The family moved south to get away from the fighting before eventually leaving the country and moving to Moldova, then Romania, before finally settling in Spain. Stepanenko is grateful to have escaped, courtesy of special conditions granted to him as a father of three children and also as a professional athlete.

Now, the imposing midfielder, who has played 72 times for his country, dedicates his life and career to raising awareness of Ukraine’s fight. “I’m a footballer, so what can I do for my country? The best I can do is represent my country as a player […] and send the message to European countries and tell our story through football,” he says.

Like Stepanenko, 29-year-old Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi sees playing football as his national duty and a way of repaying those fighting on the frontline.

He was playing for Italian club Atalanta, preparing to play a Europa League match against Greek side Olympiacos, when he heard about Russia’s invasion. After ensuring his loved ones were safe, he says he never in doubt about playing that evening.

Despite his mind being occupied by the escalating violence back home, Malinovskyi not only played against Olympiacos but scored two goals in the 3-0 win. When celebrating his first goal, Malinovskyi lifted up his jersey to reveal a message on his undershirt which read: “No War In Ukraine.”

It was a moment that reverberated around the world. Since then, he has also set up a charity alongside his partner which has supplied much needed medical equipment for the children of Ukraine.

Both Malinovskyi and Stepanenko will be key members of the Ukrainian national team in its bid to qualify for the European Championships, hosted by Germany, in 2024.

A long-awaited phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday has received a tentative welcome in Washington and parts of Europe for its potential to increase dialogue toward resolving Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine. 

Elsewhere, Russian troops are fortifying their defenses around the city of Mariupol, an adviser to the city’s mayor has said. “The occupiers continue to dig in and build echelon defenses around Mariupol,” Petro Andriushchenko said in a Telegram post.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukranian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal holds a news conference at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Italy, on April 27.

The conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was “very fruitful” and could open a “new stage” of cooperation between the two countries, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a Thursday news conference in Rome. 

“This conversation I’m sure is opening a new stage of our cooperation and relations with the Chinese Republic,” Shmyhal said. 

“We fully understand what the liberation of Ukraine is. All the territories within the 1991 borders must be free. Security must be guaranteed by international structures. Only in this case we can be sure of having a stable, just and lasting peace,” he said.

Xi and Zelensky spoke by phone on Wednesday, in their first known conversation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Moscow reacted to the conversation by saying it welcomes all contacts that can bring an end to the conflict.

“We are ready to welcome everything that can hasten the end of the conflict in Ukraine and the achievement by Russia of all its goals,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists Thursday, when asked about the call.

He added that communication between the two leaders is a “sovereign matter” for China and Ukraine. 

CNN’s Barbie Nadeau contributed reporting to this post.

Ukraine’s NATO allies have delivered almost all the combat vehicles they promised Kyiv, the head of the alliance said Thursday. 

“More than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have already been delivered,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. 

“That means over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, including vast amounts of ammunition. In total, we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armored brigades. This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory.”

Pope Francis, left, meets with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during their meeting at the Vatican on April 27.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday he has invited Pope Francis to visit the country and that Kyiv’s peace formula was discussed during talks at the Vatican earlier in the day. 

Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Shmyhal said various aspects of support for Ukraine were also discussed. 

He reiterated that a Chinese delegation will be arriving in Ukraine following the call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, but didn’t provide additional details about the delegation.

Xi and Zelensky spoke by phone on Wednesday, in their first known conversation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Moscow reacted to the conversation by saying it welcomes all contacts that can bring an end to the conflict.

The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, has spoken to Ukraine’s most senior military commander, Valerii Zaluzhny, in a telephone call, the government in Kyiv said in a Thursday statement.

The call also included US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, according to the statement. 

Yermak and Zaluzhny “emphasized the importance of continuing active support of the Ukrainian army by partners, including the supply of weapons and ammunition,” it said.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov gives a statement at Ramstein U.S. Air Base, Germany, on April 21.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has spoken about public expectations of a counteroffensive against Russian forces, in an interview with news outlet RBC Ukraine.

Reznikov said that Ukrainian successes in the Kharkiv region, and in the city of Kherson, meant that the public now believed a victory for Ukraine’s troops was possible. “They want the next victory. It’s normal… (these) expectations of success,” he said. 

Ukraine has made efforts to conceal the start of any counteroffensive, as CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh wrote earlier this week. Reznikov’s deputy, Hanna Maliar, has previously said that the counteroffensive will not be announced. 

Later in the interview, Reznikov said Ukraine’s priority was to bolster its Soviet-era air defenses: “The country must survive, and for this purpose, air defense is number one. We have a Soviet system that is running out of missiles.” 

“This is not a sprint distance… We are running a marathon. I can’t say how many kilometers we are from the finish line,” he added

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that he welcomed the conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that took place on Wednesday, but noted that Beijing still hasn’t condemned Russia’s invasion. 

“I welcome the call between President Zelensky and President Xi. I think it’s important also that China gets a better understanding of Ukrainian perspectives. This doesn’t change the fact that China has not been able to condemn Russia’s illegal war, illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Luxembourg. 

He added that, “NATO allies have expressed strong support to President Zelensky’s peace plan, which includes of course, full respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” 

Xi and Zelensky spoke by phone on Wednesday, in their first known conversation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Zelensky, who has long expressed interest in speaking with Xi, said he had “a long and meaningful phone call” with the Chinese leader that lasted for an hour. “We discussed a full range of topical issues of bilateral relations. Particular attention was paid to the ways of possible cooperation to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a statement.

“There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises,” said Zelensky.

In a readout, China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as telling Zelensky that “mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political basis of China-Ukrainian relations.” Xi also reiterated Beijing’s point that China’s “core position” on the Ukraine conflict is to “promote peace and talks.”