It's early morning in Odesa. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
Russia attacked Odesa early Wednesday for a second straight night. A CNN team in the southern city witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port.
It comes after Russian forces launched airstrikes on Odesa Tuesday in what Moscow said was retaliation for Kyiv's attack on the Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia.
Meanwhile, a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow would be prepared to return to the critical Black Sea grain deal if its demands are met by international partners.
Here's what else you should know:
Black Sea grain deal: A senior European Union official said the EU is “extremely concerned” about Russia’s withdrawal and will expand its solidarity lanes to aid Kyiv in exporting Ukraine's grain. The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that Russia’s decision was a “stab on the back at global food security prices.” French President Emmanuel Macron said Russian leader Vladimir Putin made a “huge mistake” with his decision to “weaponize” food and Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told CNN the move was "very deplorable." Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the withdrawal will "inevitably" result in more crises around the world.
Support for Ukraine: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which met virtually Tuesday, discussed Kyiv’s “urgent need for ammunition.” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the meeting demonstrated the allies’ "unwavering support for Ukraine."
On the ground: Two civilians were killed and seven people were injured by Ukrainian shelling in separatist-controlled areas of the Donetsk region, a Russia-backed official said. Meanwhile, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the Ukrainian counteroffensive is “far from a failure” despite moving slower than anticipated. And Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says the military was creating conditions to continue advancing along the southern front.
Russian special forces: Putin transferred the Grom special forces unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the jurisdiction of the Russian National Guard (or Rosgvardiya), which will allow it to be deployed to the front lines in Ukraine, said Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian Parliament from Putin’s United Russia party. The move comes just weeks after Putin met with the leadership and personnel of the Ministry of Defense, the Russian National Guard, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, following an attempted coup by the Wagner private military group.
Ukrainian strike impact: Ferry crossings across the Kerch Strait, which separates annexed Crimea from Russia, have been suspended, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea announced on Tuesday. The announcement follows an apparent strike Monday by Ukrainian forces on the bridge, which damaged the road.
18 min ago
Ukrainian air defenses repel Russian attack on Kyiv
From CNN's Hira Humayun and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Ukraine's Air Defense repelled Russian airstrikes on Kyiv early Wednesday, the region's military administration said in a Telegram post.
"The movement of enemy UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) was detected! The air defense is active in the region," the post said.
The air alert is ongoing, the Kyiv city military administration in a Telegram post.
"Air defense is operating in the region, on the outskirts of Kyiv city. Stay in shelters until the air raid is over!," said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
Explosions were heard in the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
2 hr 33 min ago
Russia launches airstrikes on Odesa for a second night in a row
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Sebastian Shukla and Josh Pennington
A CNN team in Odesa witnessed a sustained barrage of air defense towards the southwest of the city, in the direction of the port. CNN
Russia launched an attack on Odesa early Wednesday, the second night in a row the southern port city has been targeted.
Ukraine's air defenses were repelling a Russian attack, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Odesa military administration said.
"More Kalibr (cruise missile) launches have been documented from the Black Sea," spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said on Telegram.
A CNN team in Odesa witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port. The team also heard at least three large bangs.
Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa region's military administration, urged people not to come close to windows.
"Do not approach the windows, do not film or show the work of air defense forces," Kiper said on his Telegram page Wednesday. "All residents of Odesa Oblast take shelter!"
Russian forces launched airstrikes on Odesa Tuesday in what Moscow's Defense Ministry said was retaliation for Kyiv's attack Monday on the strategic and symbolic Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia.
2 hr 59 min ago
Moscow would return to grain deal if its demands are met, Russian ambassador says
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Russia would be prepared to return to the Black Sea grain deal if Moscow's demands are met by international partners, according to Russia's permanent representative at the United Nations headquarters, Gennady Gatilov.
In remarks published on the Russian Foreign Ministry Telegram channel Tuesday in response to a question from Reuters, Gatilov claimed the deal had deviated from its "intended humanitarian purposes."
"Implementation of one of the two components of the Istanbul Agreements - the Russia-UN Memorandum - has failed to make any meaningful progress due to the disruptive stance of the Western countries," Gatilov said. "They continued to increase their sanctions pressure on our country, which constrained Russian agricultural exports by completely blocking bank transactions, insurance, logistics, foreign assets and supplies of spare parts."
Gatilov said the UN had "tried on its part to urge the Western governments and business structures to implement the Russian-UN Memorandum."
"However, despite the efforts, the leadership of the UN Secretariat could not overcome the resistance of the Western countries and private companies, on which depended the fulfillment of our demands," he said.
3 hr 1 min ago
2 killed by Ukrainian shelling in occupied areas of Donetsk, Moscow-backed official says
From CNN's Josh Pennington
Two civilians were killed and seven others injured by Ukrainian shelling Tuesday in parts of separatist-controlled areas of the Donetsk region, a Russia-backed official said.
"Two people have been killed today as a result of shelling by Ukrainian armed formations - [one each] in the Kirovskiy district of Donetsk and Vladymirovka in Volnovakha," the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said in a Telegram message.
"Another seven people were wounded in Donetsk, Makiivka and Staromikhailivka, including a 17-year-old boy," the post added.
Several homes, two schools and a hospital were damaged by the shelling, he said.
3 hr 20 min ago
Kerch Strait ferry crossings suspended following strike on bridge, Russian ministry says
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva and Vasco Cotovio
Ferry crossings across the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from Russia, have been suspended, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea announced on Tuesday.
The announcement follows an apparent strike Monday by Ukrainian forces on the bridge, which damaged the road.
In addition to ferry crossings being suspended, there are severe traffic delays on the bridge that connects Russian to the annexed Crimean Peninsula and which is an important supply line for Russian forces.
3 hr 21 min ago
Ukrainian forces are creating conditions for further advances in the South, deputy defense minister says
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Yulia Kesaieva
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says Ukraine is creating conditions to continue advancing along the southern front.
“The enemy's task is to stop our advance and they are putting a lot of effort into this. Our enemy is strong. Therefore, our troops have to move in an extremely difficult situation,” Maliar said on Ukrainian national television Tuesday. “In addition, we need to create certain conditions for further advancement.”
“Remember the liberation of Kherson — it also took more than one day,” she added.
Her comments were supported by the commander of the Tavria Joint Forces Operation, Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who said Ukraine was making gains along the southern front.
“Fighting continues in the Tavria sector, with the Ukrainian Defence Forces gaining ground in some areas and the enemy retreating,” he wrote in Telegram.
“Over the last day, the enemy's losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than three companies. Forty-one units of enemy military equipment were destroyed,” he added. “Four enemy ammunition depots were also destroyed.”
Ukraine also claimed gains in the east, around Bakhmut, and said it had stopped Russia’s push near Kupyansk.
“The enemy's offensive in the Kupyansk sector is currently unsuccessful. Fighting continues, but the initiative is already on our side,” Maliar said in a Telegram post on Tuesday. “On the southern flank around Bakhmut today, as in all previous days, there was an advance of our troops.”
3 hr 24 min ago
Ukrainian counteroffensive "far from a failure" despite moving slower than expected, top US general says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
The Ukrainian counteroffensive is “far from a failure” despite moving slower than anticipated, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday.
“It started about five or six weeks ago, and the various war games that were done ahead of time that predicted certain levels of advance and that has slowed down. Why? Because that's the difference between war on paper and real war,” Milley said during a press briefing. “These are real people in real machines that are out there really clearing real minefields and they're really dying. So when that happens, units tend to slow down, and that's rightly so, in order to survive in order to get through these minefields.”
“It is far from a failure,” he added. “In my view, I think that it's way too early to make that kind of call. I think there’s a lot of fighting left to go."
Milley also said Ukraine has a “significant amount of combat power not yet committed” to the counteroffensive.
“I will not say what's going to happen in the future, because that's going to be a Ukrainian decision as to where and when they commit their reserve, etc,” he said. “Right now they are preserving their combat power, and they are slowly and deliberately and steadily working their way through all these minefields.”
Russia attacked Odesa early Wednesday for the second night in a row. A CNN team in the southern city witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which met virtually Tuesday, discussed Kyiv's "urgent need for ammunition." Kyiv's allies are struggling to provide Ukraine with the ammunition needed for its prolonged counteroffensive, officials told CNN.
The US' top general said Ukraine's counteroffensive is "far from a failure," despite moving slower than anticipated.
A senior Russian diplomat said Moscow would be prepared to return to the critical Black Sea grain deal if its demands are met by international partners.
Russia attacked Odesa early Wednesday for a second straight night. A CNN team in the southern city witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port.
It comes after Russian forces launched airstrikes on Odesa Tuesday in what Moscow said was retaliation for Kyiv's attack on the Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia.
Meanwhile, a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow would be prepared to return to the critical Black Sea grain deal if its demands are met by international partners.
Here's what else you should know:
Black Sea grain deal: A senior European Union official said the EU is “extremely concerned” about Russia’s withdrawal and will expand its solidarity lanes to aid Kyiv in exporting Ukraine's grain. The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that Russia’s decision was a “stab on the back at global food security prices.” French President Emmanuel Macron said Russian leader Vladimir Putin made a “huge mistake” with his decision to “weaponize” food and Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told CNN the move was "very deplorable." Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the withdrawal will "inevitably" result in more crises around the world.
Support for Ukraine: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which met virtually Tuesday, discussed Kyiv’s “urgent need for ammunition.” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the meeting demonstrated the allies’ "unwavering support for Ukraine."
On the ground: Two civilians were killed and seven people were injured by Ukrainian shelling in separatist-controlled areas of the Donetsk region, a Russia-backed official said. Meanwhile, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the Ukrainian counteroffensive is “far from a failure” despite moving slower than anticipated. And Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says the military was creating conditions to continue advancing along the southern front.
Russian special forces: Putin transferred the Grom special forces unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the jurisdiction of the Russian National Guard (or Rosgvardiya), which will allow it to be deployed to the front lines in Ukraine, said Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian Parliament from Putin’s United Russia party. The move comes just weeks after Putin met with the leadership and personnel of the Ministry of Defense, the Russian National Guard, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, following an attempted coup by the Wagner private military group.
Ukrainian strike impact: Ferry crossings across the Kerch Strait, which separates annexed Crimea from Russia, have been suspended, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea announced on Tuesday. The announcement follows an apparent strike Monday by Ukrainian forces on the bridge, which damaged the road.
Ukraine's Air Defense repelled Russian airstrikes on Kyiv early Wednesday, the region's military administration said in a Telegram post.
"The movement of enemy UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) was detected! The air defense is active in the region," the post said.
The air alert is ongoing, the Kyiv city military administration in a Telegram post.
"Air defense is operating in the region, on the outskirts of Kyiv city. Stay in shelters until the air raid is over!," said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
Explosions were heard in the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
A CNN team in Odesa witnessed a sustained barrage of air defense towards the southwest of the city, in the direction of the port. CNN
Russia launched an attack on Odesa early Wednesday, the second night in a row the southern port city has been targeted.
Ukraine's air defenses were repelling a Russian attack, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Odesa military administration said.
"More Kalibr (cruise missile) launches have been documented from the Black Sea," spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said on Telegram.
A CNN team in Odesa witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port. The team also heard at least three large bangs.
Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa region's military administration, urged people not to come close to windows.
"Do not approach the windows, do not film or show the work of air defense forces," Kiper said on his Telegram page Wednesday. "All residents of Odesa Oblast take shelter!"
Russian forces launched airstrikes on Odesa Tuesday in what Moscow's Defense Ministry said was retaliation for Kyiv's attack Monday on the strategic and symbolic Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia.
Russia would be prepared to return to the Black Sea grain deal if Moscow's demands are met by international partners, according to Russia's permanent representative at the United Nations headquarters, Gennady Gatilov.
In remarks published on the Russian Foreign Ministry Telegram channel Tuesday in response to a question from Reuters, Gatilov claimed the deal had deviated from its "intended humanitarian purposes."
"Implementation of one of the two components of the Istanbul Agreements - the Russia-UN Memorandum - has failed to make any meaningful progress due to the disruptive stance of the Western countries," Gatilov said. "They continued to increase their sanctions pressure on our country, which constrained Russian agricultural exports by completely blocking bank transactions, insurance, logistics, foreign assets and supplies of spare parts."
Gatilov said the UN had "tried on its part to urge the Western governments and business structures to implement the Russian-UN Memorandum."
"However, despite the efforts, the leadership of the UN Secretariat could not overcome the resistance of the Western countries and private companies, on which depended the fulfillment of our demands," he said.
Two civilians were killed and seven others injured by Ukrainian shelling Tuesday in parts of separatist-controlled areas of the Donetsk region, a Russia-backed official said.
"Two people have been killed today as a result of shelling by Ukrainian armed formations - [one each] in the Kirovskiy district of Donetsk and Vladymirovka in Volnovakha," the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said in a Telegram message.
"Another seven people were wounded in Donetsk, Makiivka and Staromikhailivka, including a 17-year-old boy," the post added.
Several homes, two schools and a hospital were damaged by the shelling, he said.
Ferry crossings across the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from Russia, have been suspended, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea announced on Tuesday.
The announcement follows an apparent strike Monday by Ukrainian forces on the bridge, which damaged the road.
In addition to ferry crossings being suspended, there are severe traffic delays on the bridge that connects Russian to the annexed Crimean Peninsula and which is an important supply line for Russian forces.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says Ukraine is creating conditions to continue advancing along the southern front.
“The enemy's task is to stop our advance and they are putting a lot of effort into this. Our enemy is strong. Therefore, our troops have to move in an extremely difficult situation,” Maliar said on Ukrainian national television Tuesday. “In addition, we need to create certain conditions for further advancement.”
“Remember the liberation of Kherson — it also took more than one day,” she added.
Her comments were supported by the commander of the Tavria Joint Forces Operation, Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who said Ukraine was making gains along the southern front.
“Fighting continues in the Tavria sector, with the Ukrainian Defence Forces gaining ground in some areas and the enemy retreating,” he wrote in Telegram.
“Over the last day, the enemy's losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than three companies. Forty-one units of enemy military equipment were destroyed,” he added. “Four enemy ammunition depots were also destroyed.”
Ukraine also claimed gains in the east, around Bakhmut, and said it had stopped Russia’s push near Kupyansk.
“The enemy's offensive in the Kupyansk sector is currently unsuccessful. Fighting continues, but the initiative is already on our side,” Maliar said in a Telegram post on Tuesday. “On the southern flank around Bakhmut today, as in all previous days, there was an advance of our troops.”
The Ukrainian counteroffensive is “far from a failure” despite moving slower than anticipated, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday.
“It started about five or six weeks ago, and the various war games that were done ahead of time that predicted certain levels of advance and that has slowed down. Why? Because that's the difference between war on paper and real war,” Milley said during a press briefing. “These are real people in real machines that are out there really clearing real minefields and they're really dying. So when that happens, units tend to slow down, and that's rightly so, in order to survive in order to get through these minefields.”
“It is far from a failure,” he added. “In my view, I think that it's way too early to make that kind of call. I think there’s a lot of fighting left to go."
Milley also said Ukraine has a “significant amount of combat power not yet committed” to the counteroffensive.
“I will not say what's going to happen in the future, because that's going to be a Ukrainian decision as to where and when they commit their reserve, etc,” he said. “Right now they are preserving their combat power, and they are slowly and deliberately and steadily working their way through all these minefields.”
