The leaders of France, Germany and Italy visited Kyiv as part of a high-profile trip to smooth tensions over what Ukrainian officials perceive as a lukewarm support in their fight against Russia.
The number of Ukrainians who have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February likely stands in the tens of thousands, according to Ukraine’s defense minister, who said he “hopes” the figure is below 100,000.
The Ukrainian military’s defense in the eastern region is growing more difficult as Russia continues to target the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where 500 civilians are said to be sheltering.
Ukraine’s defense minister said US weapons will help Ukraine seize back Russian-occupied territory including Crimea and Donbas, after the Biden administration said it was providing an extra $1 billion in military aid.
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The last time Kim and other close friends heard from Kurpasi was between April 23 and 24, George Heath, a family friend of Kurpasi’s told CNN.
Kurpasi served in the US Marine Corps for 20 years, retiring in November 2021. He chose to volunteer alongside Ukrainians in Ukraine but initially did not envision himself fighting on the frontlines of the war, Heath said.
The State Department said they were aware of reports of a third American who traveled to Ukraine to fight against Russia who has been identified “in recent weeks” as missing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Price did not give the name of the third reportedly missing American, but said the State Department was in touch with the family.
Kurpasi arrived in Ukraine on March 7 and made it to Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on March 21, Heath said. Kurpasi and other members of the foreign legion were tasked to man an observation post at the end of April near Kherson, around the time Kurpasi stopped communicating with his wife and friends back in the US, Heath said.
The foreign legion is a group of foreign fighters who have volunteered to fight alongside Ukrainians against Russia’s invasion of the country. It is not clear if Kurpasi was a member of the foreign legion, but he was a volunteer fighting alongside Ukrainians, Heath said.
Kurpasi and foreign legion troops manning the post at the time started “receiving small arms fire” on April 26, Heath said, meaning they were getting shot at. Kurpasi and the other soldier “went to go investigate what was happening,” so they left the observation post, Heath said. Grady then radioed to Ukrainian military to start firing back and “that was the last time anyone heard from him,” Heath said.
Heath has reconstructed this account from other foreign legion members he’s spoken with in the weeks since Kurpasi has gone missing, he said.
The State Department told Kim that Kurpasi was missing in action on April 28, Heath said. The reason he has been identified as missing in action is because his body has not been found or identified, he added.
Kurpasi’s “goal was not to be in firefights doing stuff like that,” when he went to Ukraine, Heath said. “It just ended up being that way in the end,” he added.
Kurpasi joined the US Marines after September 11 and had four deployments in total during his service, including three to Iraq. He was a decorated service member who won the Good Conduct Medal three times, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal three times, the Purple Heart medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, among other awards, according to his military service record.
Heath described Kurpasi as a “great leader.” Kurpasi was Heath’s platoon commander in the US Marines from 2012 to 2014, Heath said.
“He always led from the front. He always took care of his Marines,” Heath said.
After retiring from the Marines last fall, Kurpasi applied to a PhD program at Stanford University. He did not get into the program but was applying to other doctorate programs while he was in Ukraine, Heath said.
Kurpasi’s last post in the military was at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He was living in Wilmington, North Carolina before he left for Ukraine, another family friend, Jason Tokushige told CNN.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Clarissa Ward and Barbara Starr contributed reporting to this post.
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State Department working to verify photo in Russian media of reportedly captured Americans, mother tells CNN
From CNN's Daniella Mora, Mick Krever, Jonny Hallam and Michael Conte
(From Telegram)
A photo emerged on Thursday of two American fighters in the back of a Russian military truck apparently confirming they had been captured by Russian forces north of Kharkiv, Ukraine, last week.
The men are Alexander John-Robert Drueke, age 39, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, age 27, from Hartselle, Alabama. The photo shows the two men looking up at the camera with hands behind their backs as if bound.
The undated photo was posted on Telegram on Thursday by a Russian blogger, The V, whose full name is Timofey Vasilyev, from Moscow. CNN cannot verify when it was taken.
Bunny Drueke, the mother of one of the Americans reportedly captured, said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that the US State Department told her that they are working to verify the alleged photo.
“They said that there is a photograph that is being circulated on the Russian media. And they’re working hard to verify it,” said Bunny Drueke. “We’re very hopeful.”
Drueke said her son went to Ukraine to train soldiers there to fight against Russia because “he felt that if Putin wasn’t stopped now, he would just become bolder with every success, and that eventually he might end up on American shores.”
More background: The two Americans fighting alongside Ukrainian forces north of Kharkiv, in Ukraine, have been missing for nearly a week and there are fears that they may have been captured by Russian forces, according to their families and a fellow fighter.
There is very little to identify the location of the vehicle but a white box of food with tin cans falling out has been identified by CNN’s Russia desk as being “mackerel with vegetables” made by Russian food producer Fregat.
CNN has reached out to Russia’s Ministry of Defense for comment.
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EU is working on exporting grain from Ukraine through Romania, Macron says
From CNN's Dalal Mawad in Paris
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands after a press conference on Thursday in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the European Union is working on an alternate export route for Ukrainian grain and cereals through Romania.
“Odesa is a few tens of kilometers from Romania,” said Macron in an exclusive interview from Kyiv to French TV channel TF1.
He added that grain would be exported from Romania through the Danube River and into the railway system.
Earlier in a press conference from Kyiv, Macron said that the current global food crisis was a “direct consequence of the war waged by Russia.”
He called on Russia “to accept that the United Nations organize the export of cereals, which requires the lifting of the Russian blockade on Ukrainian ports and provide all security guarantees for Ukraine to allow the exit of these cereals.”
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French president says he will not visit Russia without "gestures" from Putin
From Dalal Mawad in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference on Thursday in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he will not go to Russia without “preconditions,” such as “gestures” from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I will not just go like this,” said Macron in an exclusive interview with French TV channel TF1 from Kyiv.
The French president said he would keep engaging with Putin on humanitarian issues, including prisoners and food security.
Macron said he believes his relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not changed because of his dialogue with Putin.
“I don’t think we can say that our relationship got cold. France has maintained the same position. I was transparent about my dialogue with Putin and sometimes did it at the request of President Zelensky,” he said.
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Putin asks government to propose measures to support Russian car industry, which has been hit by sanctions
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova and Chris Liakos
A used car dealership is seen in Moscow, Russia on June 5. French automobile manufacturer Renault sold its plant in Moscow and completely left the country as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors suspended their delivery of cars to Russia due to the western sanctions.
(Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asked his government to come up with measures to support the domestic car industry, which has been badly hit following Western sanctions.
During a meeting to discuss Russia’s auto industry and a slump in sales, Putin said that the situation “is not easy” after “partners of Russian car factories, despite their long-term commitments, either suspended deliveries or announced their withdrawal from our market.”
Putin said that the volume of output is already affected, having sharply dropped compared to last year.
“I see two tasks as the most important now: The first is to ensure the work of automobile plants in Russia, their supply with the necessary components, to maintain employment, teams of qualified specialists,” he said. “The second task, the Russian auto industry must ensure a sufficient supply of cars, primarily passenger vehicles, prices for which have risen sharply this year.”
Car sales in Russia have collapsed since the invasion of Ukraine.
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Kyiv mayor tells German chancellor that Ukraine "needs help today"
From CNN's Jonny Hallam in Atlanta
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko (M) and his brother Vladimir Klitschko (L) talk with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/Getty Images)
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday.
Klitschko said they discussed Ukraine’s urgent need for “weapons, economic, and financial assistance,” and called on Europe to impose “stronger and more effective sanctions against the Russian aggressor.”
He warned that appeasing Russian aggression “will only whet his appetite, and the war will spread to EU countries.”
Klitschko emphasized Ukraine’s need for immediate assistance to defeat Russia’s invasion. “That is why Ukraine, which has taken on the blow of imperial evil and is heroically defending itself, needs help today and now!” he said.
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US State Department says 3rd American is reportedly missing in Ukraine
From CNN's Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler
The US State Department said it knows of reports of a third American who traveled to Ukraine to fight against Russia who has been identified “in recent weeks” as missing, but was unable to give further details. This is in addition to the two Americans reported missing on Wednesday.
Price said the department is in contact with the families of the two other US citizens reportedly captured in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross, but that they similarly could not confirm reports that these two citizens were captured.
“We continue to urge in every way we can American citizens not to travel to Ukraine because of the attendant dangers that is posed by Russia’s ongoing aggression,” Price said.
Price also said that the US is not in contact with Russia about the missing American citizens because they do not yet have “credible reason” to believe the Russians have captured them and also because Russia has not claimed to have captured them.
“If we feel that such outreach through our embassy in Moscow or otherwise would be productive in terms of finding out more information on the whereabouts of these individuals, we won’t hesitate to do that,” said Price.
Price also said the US is in contact with “other partners,” including the UK.
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Zelensky says Ukraine is ready to work to join EU, but needs more powerful weapons to defeat Russians
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv and Jonny Hallam in Atlanta
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 16, 2022 in Kyiv.
(Jesco Denzel/German Government Press Office/Getty Images)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Russia’s invasion has a goal “to break Ukraine and to break the whole of Europe through Ukraine.”
During a joint press conference in Kyiv with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Zelensky told his counterparts that Russia’s attack on Ukraine amounted to an attack on all of Europe:
“Russia wants to demonstrate that united Europe is unable to be effective and that European values do not work for protecting freedom. We can and we should break this scenario and prove them that Europe will continue to be free, democratic and … united,” he said.
Zelensky said the best way to demonstrate “our common and strong position” is by supporting Ukrainian integration into the European Union, adding that Ukraine’s status as candidate for EU membership “can amplify freedom in Europe historically and become one of the key European decisions of the first third of the 21st century.”
Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to work to become a full EU member.
The Ukrainian president has called on EU leaders to give his country fast-track membership to the bloc through a shortened procedure to counter Russian aggression.
Zelensky said the total number of Russian missiles used against the civilian population in Ukraine has “already reached 3,000 this month,” adding that the sooner Ukraine receives more powerful weapons from the West, the faster it will be able to end the Russian attacks.
“Each batch of such supplies equals rescued Ukrainians. And every day of delaying or postponing decisions is a chance for the Russian military to kill Ukrainians or a chance to destroy our cities. There is a direct connection: The more powerful weapons we get, the faster we can liberate our people and liberate our land,” Zelensky said.
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Russia plans to withstand Western sanctions and complete its mission in Donbas, Kremlin spokesperson says
From CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in St. Petersburg
Russia plans to withstand the Western sanctions and complete its goal in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN Thursday.
Asked by about Russia’s intention to occupy parts of Ukrainian territories in Odesa, Kharkiv, and Kherson, Peskov said that the decision would depend on the “will of local people.”
“The number one goal is to protect the people of Donbas and Luhansk from those who are shelling Donetsk, for example, right now, and killing civilians there. And have been doing that for the last eight to nine years,” he said.
“As for other territories and regions of Ukraine, you know, the more our military is cleaning up the territory from those nationalistic regiments, the more people are welcoming them and the more people declaring their desire to discontinue their future life with the modern regime in Kyiv,” he claimed.
Peskov said Russia poses no threat to the Baltic states and Finland, which announced its intention join NATO last month, breaking the decades-long military non-alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are sure that the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO, it won’t bring any additional benefits to the security of the European continent. On the opposite, it will bring additional tension,” he said.
The spokesperson admitted that Moscow is not in a “comfortable position” following the “unprecedented” economic sanctions by the West against Russia but claimed that “the crucial effect” of the sanctions that the West had hoped for “didn’t happen.”
“We are now even feeling a little bit better than one would think,” Peskov said, adding, “Of course, we understand our problems, we understand that in a very short time we will have to compensate the quite a significant decrease in more than 40%-45% in imports.”
He said Russia is planning on a “very serious boost” to its domestic production and infrastructure.
“In order to reorganize imports, we have to reorganize the direction of imports. To compensate for the western direction, by increasing imports from the eastern direction,” Peskov said hinting towards increasing imports from Asian countries. “All of this is quite possible because our world is so big and so rich.”
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Granting Ukraine EU candidate status would build and uphold European values, Romanian president says
From CNN's Amy Cassidy in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on June 16 in Kyiv.
(Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis invited the European Union to grant Ukraine candidacy status, stressing “there is no time for hesitancy” while speaking alongside his Ukrainian, French, German and Italian counterparts during a historic visit to Kyiv on Thursday.
“We are at a turning point in European history,” he said.
“Extraordinary times call for an extraordinary strategic and visionary response. Granting EU candidate status to Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia at the European Council next week, is key in building a strong and lasting shield around all values,” he added.
Speaking alongside him, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also pledged their support for granting Ukraine candidate status to join the EU.
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EU "cannot delay" Ukraine membership process, Italian prime minister says
From CNN’s Hada Messia and Arnaud Siad
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi attends a joint news conference in Kyiv on June 16.
(Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi reaffirmed his support for Ukraine’s hopes of joining the European Union and said the EU “cannot delay this process.”
He is in Kyiv on an official visit along with other European leaders.
“The Ukrainian people defend every day the values of democracy and freedom that are the basis of the European project, of our project. We cannot delay this process,” Draghi added.
Zelensky understood the path from candidate to member of the EU was “a path, not a point,” the Italian prime minister also said, adding that “profound reforms” in the Ukrainian society had to be seen.
Draghi also warned that the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine “must not turn into a world catastrophe” and asked to “unlock the millions of tons of grain that are blocked in the Black Sea ports” through safe corridors.
“The only way forward is with a United Nations resolution, which regulates the creation of corridors in the Black Sea. Russia has so far rejected it,” Draghi said.
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Kirby says Ukraine is getting as much military aid "we can send as fast as we can send it"
From CNN's Betsy Klein
The Biden administration will continue to provide significant military assistance to Ukraine “as fast as we can send it” for as its long as is necessary until Russia stops combat, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communication and retired Rear Admiral John Kirby told CNN on Thursday.
“They’re getting as much as we can send as fast as we can send it,” Kirby said, pointing to Biden’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin’s meeting with counterparts in Brussels earlier this week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “has shown no inclination of stopping the combat” and negotiating in good faith, and until then, “We’re going to be committed to helping Ukraine’s armed forces defend themselves and try to take back the territory, particularly in the east, in the south, that they’re trying to take back now,” he added.
Kirby reiterated that the conflict with Russia “could be a prolonged effort” but said additional aid from Congress is not necessary at this stage.
“We’re not at a point right now where we believe, you know, we need to plan for another supplemental package. We’ve only just begun spending and producing off the supplemental package that they just approved,” he said.
Kirby had no update on the two missing Americans that have been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
“We just are not in a position to confirm their whereabouts. Obviously, our thoughts are with the families who I’m sure are going through just this terrible anguish right now. But we’re not able to confirm what might have happened to these individuals,” he said.
He stressed that Americans should not travel to Ukraine.
“It is a useful reminder though, and we’ve been saying this for months: this is not the time to go to Ukraine, however altruistic one might be wanting to help Ukraine on the battlefield. This is not the time for American citizens to travel there.Stay away from Ukraine, it is an active war zone. And if you’re in Ukraine as an American, please leave immediately,” Kirby said.
He instead encouraged people to support Ukraine through other ways, including contributing to organizations like the Red Cross.
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Macron says European leaders are supportive of Ukraine gaining "immediate" candidate status to join EU
From CNN’s Dalal Mawad and Arnaud Siad
French President Emmanuel Macron told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that France, Italy, Germany and Romania support the candidacy of Ukraine for membership in the European Union, during an official visit of the four leaders in the country on Thursday.
“All four of us [France, Germany, Italy and Romania] support the status of immediate candidacy for membership. This status will be accompanied by a roadmap and will also imply that the situation of the Western Balkans and of the neighborhood, particularly of Moldova, is taken into account,” Macron told Zelensky.
Macron also said the current global food crisis was a “direct consequence of the war waged by Russia,” and he called on Russia “to accept that the United Nations organize the export of cereals, which requires the lifting of the Russian blockade and provide all security guarantees for Ukraine to allow the exit of these cereals on Ukrainian ports.”
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German chancellor: "Ukraine belongs to the European family"
From Inke Kappeler in Berlin
From left: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a joint news conference on June 16 in Kyiv.
(Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP)
Germany is in favor of a positive decision for Ukraine’s candidacy to the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, adding that Ukraine “belongs to the European family.”
“My colleagues and I have come here to Kyiv today with a clear message: Ukraine belongs to the European family. One milestone on what is likely to be a long European road is the status of an accession candidate. The member states of the European Union will be discussing this in the next few days. We know that unanimity is needed among the 27 EU countries,” Scholz said during a joint news conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his fellow travelers French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
“Germany is in favor of a positive decision for Ukraine, including for the Republic of Moldova,” Scholz said.
He added that all candidates had to fulfill ascension criteria concerning democracy and constitutional law.
“We also support Ukraine by supplying weapons, and we will continue to do so for as long as Ukraine needs our support. We are currently training the Ukrainian military in state-of-the-art weapons, the self-propelled Howitzer 2000 and the Gepard anti-aircraft tank. In addition, I have agreed to supply the modern Iris-T air defense system, which can defend an entire city against air attacks, and the special radar,” Scholz said.
Earlier today, German defense minister Christine Lambrecht announced the delivery of three German rocket launchers to Ukraine end of July or beginning of August. Training for Ukrainian soldiers could start in June the minister said upon arrival to a NATO-meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
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Deployment of heavy weapons is "key" for Ukraine, British defense secretary says
From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Chris Liakos
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Russia is “in a very difficult place” and Ukrainian success could depend on how quickly it deploys heavier weapons to the frontline for a counteroffensive as opposed to a counterattack.
Speaking to CNN’s Oren Liebermann during the NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Wallace said:
Wallace added that Russia will be “desperately trying to find some form of victory no matter how small to make its morale feel a bit better,” but was not confident for how long Russia can sustain this offensive.
“Russia has been in the field for months; remember, they were predominantly deployed three months before the invasion. No army is designed to be [a] conscript army out in the field that way, badly equipped, suffering huge losses,” he said.
He praised Ukraine’s determination, saying he is “cautiously optimistic” that with “that home advantage with the moral component with the fact the international community is absolutely determined to support them, Ukraine will start to push back in small ways Russia and make Russia have even more problems in its army.”
Asked on whether he worries the economic hardship cause by the war could shift public opinion against Ukraine and wear away NATO support, Wallace admitted that there is a cost-of-living crisis across Europe but said that “Russia has chosen to use food, use fuel as a weapon” and that “a lot of people’s day-to-day problems they’re facing is actually driven by Russia.”
“All governments have to manage public opinion and explain to their public why things are being done in their name,” he said.
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US national security adviser says US has been in talks with Ukraine about "negotiated outcome" with Russia
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that the United States has purposefully “refrained from laying out what we see as an end game” for the war in Ukraine and will “not be pressuring [Ukraine] to make territorial concessions” to Russia, but noted that the US has been in talks with Ukraine about what a settlement could look like.
In the discussion with the Center for a New American Security, Sullivan said that the US will continue “to support and consult” with Ukraine “about how they want to approach a negotiated outcome with the Russians.”
“And for the time being, supporting them in that means supporting them through the steady provision of weapons and intelligence” in order to strengthen the country’s hand at the negotiating table, he added.
CNN has previously reported that, staring down the prospect of an extended stalemate in Ukraine, the US and its allies are placing a renewed emphasis on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war. In recent weeks, US officials have been meeting regularly with their British and European counterparts to discuss potential frameworks for a ceasefire and for ending the war through a negotiated settlement.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is interviewed by Economic Club of Washington Chair David Rubenstein at the JW Marriott on April 14, in Washington, DC.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Asked about the apparent discrepancy between how many HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) the US had provided to Ukraine versus how many Ukraine has asked for, Sullivan said:
A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that Ukraine needs around 300 of the systems, but the US has only provided four so far.
“These are highly sophisticated systems that require real training,” Sullivan added. “We’ve trained an initial cadre of Ukrainians to be able to use them. But as you increase the number of systems, you obviously have to increase the number of personnel being prepared to use them. So that will be a process that unfolds over the course of the coming weeks and months.”
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NATO's military assistance to Ukraine not a provocation, but support for independent state, Stoltenberg says
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 16, 2022. NATO defense ministers gathered Thursday for talks focusing on bolstering forces and deterrence along the military alliance's eastern borders to dissuade Russia of planning further aggression.
(Olivier Matthys/AP)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO’s military assistance for Ukraine is not “a provocation” but rather support for an independent state.
When asked to comment on remarks by Pope Francis published earlier this week that the war in Ukraine “was perhaps in some way either provoked or not prevented,” Stoltenberg said that “NATO is a defensive alliance and the war is President Putin’s war.”
“This is not a provocation, and that is what we continue to do,” he said. “It is President Putin and Moscow that is responsible for this brutal aggression against an independent country,” he added.
On Tuesday, Italian newspaper La Stampa published the Pope’s remarks, in which he said “we do not see the whole drama that is unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps in some way either provoked or not prevented.”
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Evacuation from Azot plant in Severodonetsk now "impossible," according to regional leader
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Mick Krever
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine, during fighting on June 14.
(Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
Hundreds of civilians sheltering at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk are no longer able to evacuate because of the sustained Russian artillery barrages, the Luhansk regional military governor told CNN in a telephone interview on Thursday.
“It is impossible to get out of there now,” Serhiy Hayday said. “I mean, it is physically possible, but it is very dangerous due to constant shelling and fighting.”
Hayday told CNN that 568 people, including 38 children, were currently taking refuge in the eastern Ukrainian plant.
The civilians sheltering at Azot have stocks of food, but they have not been resupplied in two weeks, head of the Severodonetsk district military administration Roman Vlasenko told CNN via text message on Wednesday. Most of those sheltering there are employees of the chemical plant, their families and some local residents, he said.
“They have been hiding there from the very beginning,” he told CNN. “There are real bomb shelters there.”
The Azot plant is a massive chemical manufacturer that before the war was one of the largest producers of ammonium nitrate, which is used as a fertilizer, in the country. Group DF, a conglomerate run by the Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash, said that the plant had an annual capacity of over two million tons and also produced products such as ammonia.
Those compounds, of course, are highly explosive and harmful to human health. But Group DF said in March that it acted quickly to secure the plant when war broke out at the end of February and that it “poses no danger” to the surroundings and its residents.
“Following the outbreak of the war, the production was completely suspended,” the company said on its website. “The remainders of the finished products (fertilizers) and chemicals were completely removed from the territory of the enterprise beyond the Luhansk region.”
Hayday told CNN that authorities had tried to convince the civilians sheltering there to leave the plant last month, before major bridges were destroyed, but that many were convinced that they would be safer to stay in place.
He said that there have been several cases of civilians leaving shelter — for example, to cook — and then being injured or killed by incoming fire.
As of this this week, all three main bridges between Severodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk are impassable. Hayday said that routes still existed between the cities, but they require more travel along the Siverskyi Donets river — and more exposure to incoming fire.
The fact that those routes exist at all, though, distinguish the Azot plant from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, where civilians and fighters sheltered for weeks earlier this year. In that case, the Ukrainians were surrounded by Russian forces on three sides and the Sea of Azov on the fourth side.
Russia earlier this week said that it would open a “humanitarian corridor” for civilians at the plant to evacuate, but only to Russian-controlled territory to the north, not to Ukrainian-held Lysychansk to the west.
Hayday said that an evacuation would be possible only if there were a complete ceasefire, but he was highly skeptical of any promises made by Russia.
At repeated points during the war, Ukrainian officials said, Russian forces have broken promises to open evacuation corridors, driven civilian evacuees onto their territory and failed to observe ceasefire agreements.
“I hear a lot of what they say, but 99% of it is just nonsense or a lie,” Hayday said. “If there is a complete ceasefire, then we can take people out. But I do not believe the Russians — as much as they lie, as much as they gave their word and did not keep it. There is a lot of such evidence.”
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Italy's Draghi after Irpin visit: "We will rebuild everything"
From CNN’s Hada Messia in Rome
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, center, visits in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16.
(Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi vowed to “rebuild everything” after visiting Ukraine’s war-torn city of Irpin on Thursday.
“They know exactly where the sites that need to be rebuilt are. Each family has an app where they describe what happened, and they are already in a very advanced state,” he added.
During his visit to the Kyiv suburb, locals spoke to him “about rebuilding. Words of pain, of hope but also of what they will want to do in the future,” the Italian leader said.
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It's 3:30 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
From CNN staff
The leaders of France, Germany and Italy have arrived in Kyiv for a high profile trip to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defense minister said the number of Ukrainians who have died since Russia invaded the country in February likely stands in the tens of thousands.
Here are the latest developments:
European leaders meet Zelensky: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are meeting with Zelensky, during a visit to Kyiv designed to smooth out tensions over what Ukrainian officials perceive as lukewarm support in their fight against Russia. Speaking to reporters on the platform as he arrived at Kyiv train station, Macron told reporters he had a “message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women.”
US aid bolsters Ukrainian military: US weapons will help Ukraine recapture Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea and Donbas, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN’s Matthew Chance in an exclusive interview in Brussels. The defense minister said the first step would be stabilization of the situation on the ground to prevent further losses against Russian forces. He said the second stage is to push Russian forces back to their positions before the invasion on February 24, adding the military “will move step by step.”
Fighting in the east intensifies: The Russia-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine said on Thursday that his fighters will push beyond the borders of the Donetsk region. “The West’s supplies of new weapons to Ukraine are forcing DPR troops not to stop at the borders of the Donetsk Republic,” Denis Pushilin told Russian State Media RIA Novosti. He added that he wants to see a “referendum” held for his region to join Russia. Huge parts of the Donetsk region are still controlled by Ukraine, most notably the population centers of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
UK increases sanctions on Russia: Britain on Thursday sanctioned the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for his “prominent support of Russian military aggression in Ukraine,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. Patriarch Kirill has been sanctioned alongside several of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies and military commanders. The announcement came two days after Russia published an updated “stop list” banning a total of 49 British citizens from entering the country, including journalists, UK military officials, defense contractors and members of parliament.
China reaffirms support for Russia: Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his support for Moscow on “sovereignty and security” matters in a call with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, upholding his backing for the countries’ partnership despite the global backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking on his 69th birthday, Xi also pledged to deepen strategic coordination between the two countries, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
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Federal prosecutors move to seize $5.3 million from US bank account belonging to Russian oligarch
From CNN's Rob Frehse
Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev pictured in Moscow, Russia, on August 11, 2020.
(Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Federal prosecutors in New York announced on Wednesday they were moving to seize more than $5.3 million from a United States bank account belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, according to court documents.
Malofeyev was recently targeted by the US in a round of sanctions imposed on Russia over the war on Ukraine. On April 20, the US unveiled sanctions targeting a key commercial bank and “a global network of more than 40 individuals and entities led by US-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.”
The reasons given for these sanctions were “for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly,” the government of Russia.
The US previously sanctioned Malofeyev in December 2014 for funding “separatist activities in eastern Ukraine” and for his close links to “Aleksandr Borodai, Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Igot Strelkov), and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, which have all been previously sanctioned as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs),” according to a Treasury release at the time.
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Irpin is a symbol of "unimaginable cruelty" of Russian war, Germany's Scholz says after visit
From Inke Kappeler in Berlin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media in front of destroyed buildings in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16.
(Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/Getty Images)
Ukraine’s Irpin and Bucha have “become a symbol of the unimaginable cruelty of the Russian war,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday after visiting Irpin, a suburb outside Kyiv.
This is Scholz’s first trip to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion.
“The brutal destruction in this city is a memorial — this war must end,” Scholz demanded in a tweet.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is also visiting Kyiv, tweeted that Romania wants “all Russian perpetrators to be held responsible by the international criminal justice.”
“No words to describe the unimaginable human tragedy and horrible destructions we saw today in Irpin,“ Iohannis wrote.
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Zelensky meets with European leaders in Kyiv
From CNN's Mick Krever, Vica Butenko and Yulia Kesaieva
From left, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis meet for a working session in Mariinsky Palace, Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 16.
(Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting in Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, according to a photos and video distributed by Zelensky’s office.
“Busy day. Important meetings,” Zelensky said via his official Telegram channel, adding that he is pleased to meet these leaders.
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UK sanctions head of Russian Orthodox Church for "prominent support" of military aggression in Ukraine
From CNN's Benjamin Brown in London and Fred Pleitgen in Moscow
Russian Patriarch Kirill celebrates a Christmas service at the Christ the Savior cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on January 6.
(Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)
Britain on Thursday sanctioned the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for his “prominent support of Russian military aggression in Ukraine,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
Patriarch Kirill has been sanctioned alongside several of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies and military commanders, in UK’s latest round of sanctionsagainst Russia.
In May, a branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox church broke ties with Russia’s Patriarch Kirill over the Russian spiritual leader’s support for the war in Ukraine, deepening a rift between the Moscow church and other Orthodox believers.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that the sanction is another example of “Russophobia.”
“This is craziness. It just shows how inadequate some countries are in their Russophobia,” Peskov told CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen.
Targeting those responsible for “the barbaric treatment of children in Ukraine,” the UK also announced sanctions against Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for her alleged involvement in the “forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.”
In the statement, the Foreign Office said Lvova-Belova stood accused of enabling the “violent” transfer of 2,00 children from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a policy allowing for their forced adoptions in Russia.
The UK’s latest sanctions list also includes four Military Colonels from the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade – the unit is allegedly responsible for the murder and torture of civilians in Bucha.
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Our fighters will not stop at Donetsk’s border, says separatist leader
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva and Mick Krever
Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, left, and Leonid Pasechnik, acting leader of self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic talk with journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, on June 16.
(Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
The Russia-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine said on Thursday that his fighters will push beyond the borders of the Donetsk region.
“The West’s supplies of new weapons to Ukraine are forcing DPR troops not to stop at the borders of the Donetsk Republic,” Denis Pushilin told Russian State Media RIA Novosti.
Huge parts of the Donetsk region are still controlled by Ukraine, most notably the population centers of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
Last week, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations insisted that conquering the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) remained his country’s objective.
“The liberation of Donbas was the primary goal, which is being implemented at the moment,” Vasily Nebenzya told the BBC.
In a press conference with Danish journalists on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “sure that if Ukraine is not strong enough, they will go further” beyond the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
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Russia and US must discuss extension of START nuclear arms treaty, says Kremlin spokesperson
From CNN’s Yong Xiong and Anna Chernova
Deputies attend a session at the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, Russia, on January 27, 2021. Both houses of parliament voted unanimously to extend a new START treaty for five years, a fast-track move that comes days before the last remaining U.S.-Russian arms control pact is due to expire.
(The State Duma/The Federal Assembly of The Russian Federation/AP)
Russia and the United States must discuss the extension of the START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov said extension discussions should have already started because the matter is important for global security. Talks of any kind between the US and Russia have been strained following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is a topic that cannot be avoided,” Peskov told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti in an interview on Thursday.
“This discussion is important not only for the peoples of our two countries, but also for the whole world, for global security,” he added.
Some background: The US and Russia previously agreed to extend the landmark New START treaty, which limits the number of strategic offensive weapons both countries can have, until February 4, 2026.
The historic agreement was first signed for a period of 10 years by former US President Barack Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.
It is the last treaty between the US and Russia placing limits on the growth of the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals after the US pulled out of a separate nuclear arms control agreement with Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), under the Trump administration in 2019.
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Separatist leader in Donetsk wants a "referendum" on joining Russia
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva and Mick Krever
Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatist Donetsk region, attends the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 16.
(Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
The Russia-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) says he wants to see a “referendum” held for his region to join Russia.
“A decision on a referendum on the DPR joining Russia will be made after the special military operation is completed,” Denis Pushilin told Russian state media RIA Novosti. He said that he hoped the war would be complete “by the end of the year.”
“Ukraine as a state may simply not exist in the foreseeable future,” he said.
Russia recognized the DPR as an independent state just before its February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
DPR fighters, Pushilin said, will not stop at the borders of Donetsk, large swaths of which are still controlled by Ukrainian forces.
“The West’s supplies of new weapons to Ukraine are forcing DPR troops not to stop at the borders of the Donetsk Republic,” he said.
Some background: Donetsk lies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which has seen a heavy Russian offensive since the invasion. Donetsk along with Luhansk, are both pro-Russian separatist states, seeking to break away from Ukraine.
On June 9, two Britons – Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner – and a Moroccan, Brahim Saadoune were given the death sentence in a pro-Russian DPR court after being captured, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti. The three foreign fighters were accused of being mercenaries for Ukraine.
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Russian military had expected to take control of Kyiv within 12 hours of invasion, says Ukrainian defense minister
From CNN's Matthew Chance, AnneClaire Stapleton, and Katharina Krebs in Brussels
The Russian military expected Kyiv to fall within 12 hours of the February 24 invasion, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN’s Matthew Chance in an exclusive interview in Brussels.
A document was found on a Russian military officer who was killed in the invasion, which stated the Russian military objectives, Reznikov said.
“They thought they were going to be in the center of Kyiv in 12 hours,” he said the document stated.
Russians naively anticipated that within 72 hours of their invasion, the Ukrainian government would flee the capital, Reznikov said.
“Frankly speaking, our partners in the different capitals of the world also were naive. They told us that invasion was imminent, and you will fall. You only have 72 hours. That’s why they didn’t give us heavy weaponry.”
Only after Ukraine liberated the Kyiv region in late March, did Western partners start to provide Ukraine with heavier weapons, he said.
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Tens of thousands have been killed since the invasion, says Ukrainian defense minister
From CNN's Matthew Chance, AnneClaire Stapleton, and Katharina Krebs in Brussels
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said he believes tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Speaking to CNN’s Matthew Chance in an exclusive interview, Reznikov refused to give exact figures of Ukrainian losses, but he said he “hopes” the figure is below 100,000.
Reznikov said he disagreed with the most recent US assessment that 16,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion, saying he believes their casualty numbers to be considerably higher.
As of June 15, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), recorded 4,452 killed since the invasion, of whom, 280 were children. The eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk – where Russia’s bombardment has been continuous – saw 2,583 of the recorded total deaths. The OHCHR believes actual figures to be “considerably higher.”
Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced by the war, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on June 14 recording 5,094,531 refugees scattered across Europe alone. In the rest of the world, they estimate there are 6.1 million Ukrainian refugees.
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France wants to see Ukraine take back Crimea, says French diplomatic source
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman in Paris
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukrainian President Zelensky's special envoy for EU accession, walks with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi past destroyed buildings in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16.
(Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/Getty Images)
France wishes to see Ukraine take back control of Crimea as part of a military victory against Russia, according to a French diplomatic source.
The remarks came as French, German and Italian leaders visit Kyiv. The source was speaking to pool journalists traveling with the French delegation on Thursday.
“We are for an integral victory with restoration of territorial integrity on all territories conquered by the Russians, including Crimea,” the French official said, referring to the Black Sea peninsula that Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Once the war is over, talks will be necessary to determine the sort of security guarantees for Ukraine and the relationship between Ukraine and NATO, the diplomatic source said, in order “to know how we build a lasting peace.”
“What is at stake is the security of us all,” they said, adding that, a Ukrainian “military victory is for Zelensky to define.”
Some background: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv on Thursday.
The three leaders have traveled to Kyiv by train, where they are expected to convene with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and express “a message of European unity.”
Speaking to reporters on the platform as he arrived at Kyiv train station, Macron said the leaders will also visit the site of an alleged massacre.
Asked if he had a message for Ukrainians, Macron said he had a “message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women.”
“The coming weeks, we know, will be very difficult,” he said. “I want to support them and be at their side.”
CNN’s Pierre Bairin in Kyiv contributed reporting to this post.
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New weapons will allow Ukraine to reclaim occupied territory, says Ukrainian defense minister
From CNN's Matthew Chance, AnneClaire Stapleton, and Katharina Krebs in Brussels
US weapons will help Ukraine seize back Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea and Donbas, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN’s Matthew Chance in an exclusive interview in Brussels.
“We are going to liberate all our territories, all of it all, including Crimea,” he said.
“Crimea is a strategic objective for Ukraine because it’s Ukrainian territory,” Reznikov added. “But we will move step by step.”
The defense minister said the first step would be stabilization of the situation on the ground to prevent further losses against Russian forces. The second stage, he said, is to push Russian forces back to their positions before the invasion on February 24.
Only in the 3rd stage, he told CNN, would there be discussions with Ukraine’s partners on “how to liberate territories, including Crimea,” Reznikov said. Ukraine officials say they will not use the weapons to attack the Russian Federation, however, Ukraine does not consider Crimea to be Russian territory.
When asked if attempting to recapture Crimea by military means would further provoke Russia – which considers Crimea to be part of the Russian Federation – Reznikov said that was not a consideration.
“It doesn’t matter. Because they [Russians] will see that in Kherson, they will see it in Zaporizhzhia, they will also see it in Mariupol…. but these are Ukrainian lands, and Crimea is also Ukrainian land, no matter what,” he told CNN.
The headline on this post has been updated.
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Macron, Scholz and Draghi arrive in Kyiv on trip designed to smooth tensions
From CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Mick Krever, Joseph Ataman and Elias Lemercier
From left, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travel on board a train bound to Kyiv after departing from Poland on June 16.
The leaders of European Union’s three biggest countries – France, Germany and Italy – arrived in Kyiv on Thursday morning on a high-profile trip designed to smooth tensions over what Ukrainian officials perceive as a lukewarm support in their fight against Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled to the city together on a special train, setting off from Poland in the middle of the night.
As if to remind them they were visiting a country terrorized by an unprovoked assault, air raid sirens went off shortly after the three leaders arrived at their hotel in central Kyiv.
Though all three countries have pledged weapons to aid Ukraine’s defense against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made no secret of the fact that he believes they are not doing enough.
He has been especially critical of Scholz and Macron, going as far as suggesting the two leaders were trying to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“[Scholz] and his government must choose not to do a balancing act between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but to choose which is their priority,” Zelensky told German broadcaster ZDF earlier this week.
Zelensky has had harsh words for Macron too. The French President has tried to present himself both as an ally to Ukraine and as an honest broker with Russia.
Macron, in an interview earlier this month, said that “we must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means. I am convinced that it is France’s role to be a mediating power.”
Zelensky told the Financial Times that “in order to be a leader, you do not need to consider yourself one, but to be behave as a leader.”
Speaking to reporters at the train station in Kyiv, Macron said the leaders would visit a “war site where the massacres were committed” and speak to Zelensky.
Asked if he had a message for Ukrainians, he said, “A message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women, of support to talk about both the present and the future because the coming weeks, we know, will be very difficult weeks. I want to be in support and at their side.”
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Air raid sirens in Kyiv as European leaders arrive in Ukraine's capital
From CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv
Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv as the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday morning.
The sirens don’t necessarily mean there has been an attack but they often sound in warning.
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Ukraine's defense minister says Western officials told him their military support "will never stop"
From CNN's Matthew Chance, AnneClaire Stapleton and Katharina Krebs in Brussels
Left to right, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste A. Wallander, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian Lieutenant General Levgen Moisuk attend the Ukraine Defence Contact group meeting ahead of a NATO defence ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 15.
(Yves Herman/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Western defense officials told him their military support for Ukraine “will never stop.”
In an exclusive interview, Reznikov told CNN that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace and other Western officials said: “Oleksiy, don’t worry, we will not stop. We will continue help your country, your people, and your president,” he said.
He said US and Western pledges are not just for military support but also financial, economic, and political.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister told CNN Western allies now understand that the idea of not provoking Russia to avoid conflict does not work.
Russia is now considered to be an adversary rather than a strategic partner by NATO, he said.
“I am sure that Russia is the main threat for NATO, EU countries, and main threat for the world security system,” he said.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says NATO at "critical juncture"
From CNN's Radina Gigova
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shake hands as they take part in a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 16.
(Yves Herman/Reuters)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the suffering in Ukraine could end immediately if Russia ends “its reckless war of choice,” ahead of a meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Thursday.
Austin said the meeting comes at a “critical juncture in the history” of the security alliance.
Austin said NATO will continue to support Ukraine “as it defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression” and “continue to adapt our alliance to meet evolving security conditions.”
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Elias Lemercier and Luke McGee
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, right, walks next to French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, after welcoming him as he arrives at Kyiv train station on June 16, after travelling with the German Chancellor and the Italian Prime Minister from Poland.
(Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister said she is not expecting “bright announcements” from a visit by the French, Italian and German leaders to Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk was speaking to journalists on a train platform in Kyiv as she welcomed the three leaders on Thursday.
Vereshchuk said there are “two important questions” to put to the leaders.
“How to put an end to the war and how to turn a new page for Ukraine and open the way for Ukraine into the European Union,” she said.
Some context: The EU Commission is expected to offer its opinion on Friday that Ukraine should be considered a candidate state. It will then be for the 27 EU member states to decide whether or not they agree with the Commission’s opinion.
While most European nations are firmly behind Ukraine and have, to varying degrees, aided the country’s war efforts, it’s far from certain that they will back its bid for EU membership.
The question of whether or not Ukraine should join the EU and how Russia would react has been a contentious issue for years. In 2013, pro-European protests erupted after former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych made a sudden decision to not sign an agreement with the EU that would pull Ukraine further into the EU’s orbit. Instead, he opted to pursue closer ties with Putin’s Russia. The following year, Russia invaded Donbas and illegally annexed Crimea.
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Top European leaders arrive in Kyiv for meeting with Zelensky
From CNN's Pierre Bairin in Kyiv
President of France Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks to the media upon arrival at the train station in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 16.
(Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/Getty Images)
Three European leaders have arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, CNN’s team on the ground confirms.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled to the city by train, the Elysee Palace confirmed on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on the platform as he arrived in Kyiv, Macron said the leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visit the site of an alleged massacre.
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The leaders of France, Germany and Italy are en route to Kyiv
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, left, travel on board a train bound to Kyiv, Ukraine, after departing from Poland on June 16.
(Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are en route to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the Elysee Palace confirmed on Thursday.
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Analysis: Why Ukraine's longshot bid to join the EU is likely to enrage Putin
Analysis from CNN's Luke McGee
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen make statements following their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 11.
(Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Four days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine and started a bloody war that shows no signs of ending soon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially applied for the country to join the European Union.
Nearly four months later, the EU Commission is expected to offer its opinion on Friday that Ukraine should be considered a candidate state. It will then be for the 27 EU member states to decide whether or not they agree with the Commission’s opinion.
The question of whether or not Ukraine should join the EU and how Russia would react has been a contentious issue for years. In 2013, pro-European protests erupted after former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych made a sudden decision to not sign an agreement with the EU that would pull Ukraine further into the EU’s orbit. Instead, he opted to pursue closer ties with Putin’s Russia.
The following year, Russia invaded Donbas and illegally annexed Crimea.
While most European nations are firmly behind Ukraine and have, to varying degrees, aided Zelensky in his war efforts, it’s far from certain that his wish will be granted.
For political and procedural reasons, it is possible that the EU ultimately decides that now is not the right time. And even if they did agree with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s opinion that Ukraine should be considered for membership, it could take years, even decades, for it to become a reality.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his support for Moscow on “sovereignty and security” matters in a call with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, upholding his backing for the countries’ partnership despite the global backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking on his 69th birthday, Xi also pledged to deepen strategic coordination between the two countries, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
A separate readout from the Kremlin said the two leaders stressed their countries’ relations were “were at an all-time high” and reaffirmed their commitment to “consistently deepen the comprehensive partnership.”
The call is thought to be the second time the two leaders have spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine. They also spoke just days after Moscow launched what it insists on calling a “special military operation.”
China, too, has refrained from referring to Russia’s actions as an invasion and has walked a fine line on the issue. It has portrayed itself as calling for peace and upholding the global order, while refusing to denounce Russia’s actions. It has also used its state media apparatus to mimic Kremlin lines blaming the United States and NATO for the crisis.
During Wednesday’s call, Xi stressed China had always “independently assessed the situation” in Ukraine and called for “all parties” to push for a “proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis” — echoing language he used in a March call with US President Joe Biden.
China is “willing to continue to play its role” in promoting a “proper solution” to Ukraine, he said.
2 American fighters missing in Ukraine volunteered to help Ukrainians, according to family
From CNN's Sahar Akbarzai
Alexander John-Robert Drueke, 39, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, from Hartselle, Alabama, wanted to volunteer and use their previous military training to help Ukraine fight against Russia’s invasion, their families told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday.
“He went there to volunteer … he had this gnawing in his heart,” and a burden to serve the Ukrainian people however he can, said Joy Black, Huynh’s fiancé, adding, “he’s just so strong and has such a big heart.”
The two Americans have been missing for a week and are feared captured by Russian forces. They were last seen during a military operation near the town of Izbytske on June 9.
Black told CNN the last time she spoke to Huynh was on June 8, when he said he would be out of contact for a few days.
“They’re going to find them … we don’t want one to come home without the other,” Drueke said, adding, “I’m trying to remain strong and calm because getting upset won’t help Alex at all.”
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2 American fighters missing in Ukraine and feared captured
From CNN's Mick Krever and DJ Judd
(Courtesy Bunny Drueke & Joy Black)
Two Americans fighting alongside Ukrainian forces north of Kharkiv in Ukraine have been missing for nearly a week and there are fears that they may have been captured by Russian forces, according to their families and a fellow fighter.
The men are Alexander John-Robert Drueke, age 39, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, age 27, from Hartselle, Alabama.
A man who wished to remain nameless for security reasons, who is acting as the team’s sergeant, provided CNN with photos of both men’s passports and their entry stamps into Ukraine.
The man said their unit was fighting under the command of Ukraine’s 92nd mechanized brigade on June 9, near the town of Izbytske.
He said Drueke and Huynh went missing during the battle, and subsequent search missions failed to find any remains. A post the following day on a Russian propaganda channel on Telegram claimed that two Americans had been captured near Kharkiv.
Bunny Drueke, Alex’s mother, told CNN that “they are presumed to be prisoners of war, but that has not been confirmed.” She said the US Embassy to Ukraine has not been able to verify whether her son has been captured.
Joy Black, Huynh’s fiancé, age 21, told CNN: “We don’t want to make assumptions about what might have happened at this time. Obviously, they’re looking at several scenarios. And one of them is that they might have been captured. But we don’t have absolute confirmation of that at this time.”
What the US is saying: A State Department spokesperson Wednesday said they “are aware of unconfirmed reports of two US citizens captured in Ukraine.”
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities,” the spokesperson said. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting to this post.
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Top US general downplays criticism of weapons sent to Ukraine
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley speaks at a press conference during the first day of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defence Ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, June 15.
(Valeria Mongelli/AFP/Getty Images)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley downplayed criticisms that the United States is not providing Ukraine with all of the weapons it is requesting, saying that “in warfare, no weapons system is a silver bullet, ever.”
Milley said that if the Ukrainians use the weapons systems the US and other allies are providing properly, “they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets.”
He also complimented them as “top-notch gunners” on the Triple 7 Howitzers, and he expected them to also be very good on the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, a lighter wheeled system capable of firing many of the same types of ammunition as MLRS.
Milley said he believes Ukraine will be able to sustain the fight, despite media reports that say around 100 Ukrainian forces are killed and another 100 to 300 people are wounded each day.
He said that he believed Ukraine would continue to fight “as long as they have leadership, and they have the means by which to fight,” such as “ammunition, artillery tubes, et cetera.”
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Biden administration announces additional $1 billion in military aid for Ukraine
From CNN's Barbara Starr, Jeremy Herb and Oren Liebermann
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it was providing an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine to fight Russia, a package that includes shipments of additional howitzers, ammunition and coastal defense systems.
US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday ahead of the announcement, which the Pentagon said included providing Ukraine with 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds of howitzer ammunition and two Harpoon coastal defense systems.
Speaking in Brussels, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US and Ukraine are “working in lockstep to meet Ukraine’s requests for new capabilities, especially its need for long-range fires, armor and coastal defense.”
The latest weapons package comes as Ukraine’s military is burning through its Soviet-era ammunition, while Ukrainian officials have pleaded with the West to send additional heavy weaponry as the war with Russia girds on. Western intelligence and military officials believe the war is at a critical stage that could determine the long-term outcome of the conflict, while Russia has amassed a significant artillery advantage around two key cities in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky thanked Biden on Wednesday for his “consistent, unwavering support” and for mobilizing the international security, according to a statement from the Ukrainian president’s office.
Top US general: Russian control of eastern Ukraine not "an inevitability"
From CNN's Michael Conte
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that despite Russian forces outnumbering and outgunning the Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, Russian consolidation of their control in eastern Ukraine was “not a done deal.”
Milley said the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk “is probably three quarters taken or so by Russian forces,” but “the Ukrainians are fighting them street by street, house by house.”
He also characterized the current phase of the war as a “very severe battle of attrition, almost World War I-like,” noting how Russian progress in the region has been “very slow, a very tough slog.”
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Fight in eastern Ukraine "getting harder," says Luhansk region leader
From CNN's Maria Kostenko and Mick Krever
The Ukrainian military’s defense in the eastern region of Luhansk is growing more difficult, the head of Luhansk’s military administration said Wednesday.
Hayday said Russia was once again targeting the Azot chemical plant, where just over 500 civilians are said to be sheltering.
“High-rise buildings located closer to the chemical giant are being destroyed,” he said. “The enemy is weaker in street battles, which is why uses artillery fire, destroying our homes.”
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday called on Ukrainian fighters at the Azot plant to lay down their arms, and said it would open a “humanitarian corridor” on Wednesday from the Ukrainian-controlled plant to Russian-held territory to the north. Ukrainian officials have not commented on that proposal.
