Russia hit by biggest drone assault since war began as Kyiv reels from "massive" strikes. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Six Russian regions, including Moscow, came under attack early Wednesday in the biggest drone assault on its territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last February. Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.
A Kremlin spokesman has attributed the assault to the “continued terrorist activity of the Kyiv regime.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the attacks are an indication the "war is increasingly moving to Russia’s territory." But he stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Meanwhile, Kyiv officials said Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a “massive” bombardment that killed two men. Kyiv residents told CNN of their panic and fear as the city was shaken by the powerful assault.
An explosion is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 30. Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters
Here's what else you need to know:
More Ukrainian attacks: A Ukrainian insurgent group has claimed responsibility for an attack Tuesday on the election headquarters of a pro-Russia party in the occupied Kherson region. The group said three Russian soldiers were killed, a claim that was denied by a pro-Russia politician in the area. Additionally, one person has died and 13 others were injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling of Russian-occupied Donetsk, according to the head of the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic. And pro-Ukraine Russian Volunteer Corps guerillas claimed responsibility for an August 27 drone attack on Russia's Kursk region, saying it worked jointly with the Ukrainian Security Service.
Pilots killed: Six Ukrainian pilots were killed during a combat mission near Bakhmut, a military spokesperson told national broadcaster Suspilne on Wednesday. Details of the incident are not being disclosed due to security reasons, the spokesperson said.
Corruption scandal: Ukraine has begun a review of military medial commissions following revelations that some officers had accepted bribes to help Ukrainians evade conscription, President Zelensky said Wednesday. Thousands of military-aged men have fled abroad since the beginning of Russia's invasion with the help of bribes and "unreasonable decisions" by military medical commissions, he said.
Prigozhin probe: Russia is considering the possibility of “deliberate” action in its investigation of the plane crash that killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, but Moscow will not allow international authorities to intervene, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The possibility of a "deliberate atrocity" is one of many scenarios under consideration, he said.
North Korea links: US intelligence says Russia and North Korea are "actively advancing" negotiations over a potential arms deal that would provide significant ammunition for different types of weapons systems, in the latest indication the Kremlin is desperate to obtain further materiel for its invasion of Ukraine. The report comes despite North Korea’s claims to the contrary.
Grain discussions: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will hold meetings on grain supplies in Moscow on Thursday and Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The ministers will discuss alternatives to the Black Sea grain deal that is no longer in effect, the ministry said.
1 hr 10 min ago
Corruption revelations prompt Ukraine to review military medical commissions
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukraine has begun a review of military medial commissions following revelations that some officers had accepted bribes to help Ukrainians evade conscription, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.
In his nightly address, Zelensky said “the inspection of military medical commissions across the country is underway.”
Thousands of military-aged men have avoided conscription and fled abroad since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with the help of bribes and “unreasonable decisions” by military medical commissions, the president said.
On Tuesday, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that an investigation is underway into the head of the military medical commission in Kyiv, who is suspected of allowing more than 50 men of enlistment age to evade the draft in exchange for bribes on the basis of fictitious documents about "bad" health.
According to the security service, the head of the military medical commission and five others were part of the criminal scheme that helped men who wanted to evade the draft and flee abroad.
Zelensky said all of those who accepted bribes would be brought to justice.
“It is necessary to check a significant number of decisions of the military medical commissions on disability and unfitness for military service that were made after February 24,” Zelensky said, adding that “there are examples of regions where the number of people removed from the military register due to the MMC's (military medical commissions) decision has increased tenfold since February last year.” “It is absolutely clear these decisions are corrupt decisions,” Zelensky said.
On Sunday, Zelensky announced his intention to equate corruption with treason during wartime in an interview with Ukrainian media. Zelensky said the Ukrainian parliament will get a proposal from him “in the coming week.”
17 min ago
Pro-Ukraine Russian guerillas claim responsibility for Sunday's drone strike on Kursk region
From CNN's Josh Pennington
A damaged building is seen following a reported drone attack in Kursk, Russia on August 27. Governor of Russia's Kursk Region Roman Starovoit/Telegram/Reuters
The pro-Ukraine Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) guerilla group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a drone attack attack Sunday on the Russian region of Kursk, saying it worked in tandem with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
"Another maximally successful attack [was] carried out jointly with SBU military counterintelligence in the Kursk region. Without hindrance, again passing through a porous border, on the night of August 27, we hit a military facility with drones: an airfield with Putin's vultures," the RVC said in a statement posted to Telegram.
On August 27, the Russian defense ministry claimed it destroyed the drones that were launched at the Kursk region. The RVC has disputed this and accused both the Russian defense ministry and the Kursk governor of covering up that a stray air defense missile hit a residential high-rise building. CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, the Kursk governor and the SBU have not commented on the RVC’s claims.
The Russian Volunteer Corps is a guerilla group made up of Russian citizens fighting on the side of Ukraine. In March, the group claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack on Bryansk, a Russian region bordering Ukraine.
3 hr 9 min ago
Ukraine war caused "one of the most disruptive periods" for global food security, US intel says
From CNN's Katie Bo Lillis
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused deep disruptions in the global food supply, raising prices and increasing the risk of food insecurity in poorer nations in the Middle East and North Africa, America’s top spy agency said in an unclassified report released by Congress on Wednesday.
The direct and indirect effects of the war “were major drivers of one of the most disruptive periods in decades for global food security,” the eight-page report found — in large part because Ukraine and Russia were among the world’s largest pre-war exporters of grain and other agricultural products.
Although food security concerns have abated since the start of this year, according to the report, the future trajectory of global food prices likely will depend in part on what happens with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia ended in July. The deal, facilitated by the United Nations, had allowed Ukrainian agricultural shipments to safely exit Black Sea ports and reach the international market.
How much acreage Ukraine is able to cultivate as the war continues to rage and the cost and availability of fertilizers will also have an impact on global food prices, the report found. Global fertilizer prices reached near-record levels in mid-2022 as global oil and natural gas prices rose.
“The combination of high domestic food prices and historic levels of sovereign debt in many countries — largely caused by spending and recessionary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — has weakened countries’ capacity to respond to heightened food insecurity risks,” the report said. “These factors probably will undermine the capacity of many poor countries to provide sufficient and affordable food to their population through the end of the year.”
Russia and North Korea "actively advancing" in arms deal negotiations, US says
From CNN's Sam Fossum, Kevin Liptak and Richard Roth
Vladimir Putin welcomes Kim Jong Un prior to their talks in Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images/File
Russia and North Korea are “actively advancing” their negotiations over a potential arms deal that would provide significant ammunition for different types of weapons systems, including artillery, in the latest indication that the Kremlin is desperate to obtain further materiel for its faltering invasion of Ukraine, according to newly released US intelligence.
The news of the potential deal comes despite North Korea’s public claims to the contrary.
The Biden administration said Wednesday it remains concerned the two pariah states are in the middle of arms negotiations and that, following Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s trip to North Korea last month, a second delegation of Russian officials have visited Pyongyang for further discussions on a potential deal.
In addition to the second delegation, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged letters “pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation,” according to National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby.
“We remain concerned that the DPRK continues to consider providing military support to Russia’s military forces in Ukraine and we have new information which we are able to share today that arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing,” Kirby said. “Following these negotiations, high level discussion may continue in coming months.”
Russia sees biggest drone assault on its territory since invasion began as Ukraine strikes back
From CNN's Rob Picheta, Anna Chernova, Olga Voitovych and Gul Tuysuz
This image shows a large blaze in Pskov, Russia, on August 29. Ostorozhno Novosti/AP
Russia has seen the biggest drone assault on its territory since it launched its war on Ukraine, while Moscow killed two men in a near-simultaneous bombardment on Kyiv as the aerial intensity of the conflict ratcheted up.
Six Russian regions including Moscow came under attack early Wednesday, while in the city of Pskov, near the Estonian border, several transport planes were reportedly damaged when drones targeted an airport.
Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties, and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.
They claimed Russian air defense forces also shot down a Ukrainian missile over eastern Crimea and at least one drone over the Bryansk region in western Russia on Wednesday.
Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser for the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, said fragments of the missile that fell in eastern Crimea set the grass in the field on fire, but didn’t provide any additional details about the missile.
Kyiv officials meanwhile said Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a “massive” bombardment overnight. “Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring,” Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram.
Popko said several groups of drones were traveling towards Kyiv “from different directions” and later missiles were launched towards the capital. More than 20 “enemy targets” were destroyed by air defense forces, he added.
Two people were killed — men ages 26 and 36 — and three people sustained injuries of varying severity from falling debris, according to the Kyiv city military administration.
Russia on Wednesday saw the largest drone assault on its territory since it launched its war on Ukraine. Most of the attacks, which occurred across multiple regions, were thwarted and no casualties were reported, officials said.
Meanwhile, Russia hit Kyiv with a "massive" bombardment, killing at least two people, Ukrainian officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has begun a review of military medial commissions following revelations that some officers had accepted bribes to help Ukrainians evade conscription.
Russia is considering the possibility of "deliberate" action in its investigation of the plane crash that killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin — but Moscow won't allow international authorities to intervene, the Kremlin said.
Six Russian regions, including Moscow, came under attack early Wednesday in the biggest drone assault on its territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last February. Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.
A Kremlin spokesman has attributed the assault to the “continued terrorist activity of the Kyiv regime.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the attacks are an indication the "war is increasingly moving to Russia’s territory." But he stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Meanwhile, Kyiv officials said Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a “massive” bombardment that killed two men. Kyiv residents told CNN of their panic and fear as the city was shaken by the powerful assault.
An explosion is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 30. Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters
Here's what else you need to know:
More Ukrainian attacks: A Ukrainian insurgent group has claimed responsibility for an attack Tuesday on the election headquarters of a pro-Russia party in the occupied Kherson region. The group said three Russian soldiers were killed, a claim that was denied by a pro-Russia politician in the area. Additionally, one person has died and 13 others were injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling of Russian-occupied Donetsk, according to the head of the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic. And pro-Ukraine Russian Volunteer Corps guerillas claimed responsibility for an August 27 drone attack on Russia's Kursk region, saying it worked jointly with the Ukrainian Security Service.
Pilots killed: Six Ukrainian pilots were killed during a combat mission near Bakhmut, a military spokesperson told national broadcaster Suspilne on Wednesday. Details of the incident are not being disclosed due to security reasons, the spokesperson said.
Corruption scandal: Ukraine has begun a review of military medial commissions following revelations that some officers had accepted bribes to help Ukrainians evade conscription, President Zelensky said Wednesday. Thousands of military-aged men have fled abroad since the beginning of Russia's invasion with the help of bribes and "unreasonable decisions" by military medical commissions, he said.
Prigozhin probe: Russia is considering the possibility of “deliberate” action in its investigation of the plane crash that killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, but Moscow will not allow international authorities to intervene, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The possibility of a "deliberate atrocity" is one of many scenarios under consideration, he said.
North Korea links: US intelligence says Russia and North Korea are "actively advancing" negotiations over a potential arms deal that would provide significant ammunition for different types of weapons systems, in the latest indication the Kremlin is desperate to obtain further materiel for its invasion of Ukraine. The report comes despite North Korea’s claims to the contrary.
Grain discussions: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will hold meetings on grain supplies in Moscow on Thursday and Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The ministers will discuss alternatives to the Black Sea grain deal that is no longer in effect, the ministry said.
Ukraine has begun a review of military medial commissions following revelations that some officers had accepted bribes to help Ukrainians evade conscription, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.
In his nightly address, Zelensky said “the inspection of military medical commissions across the country is underway.”
Thousands of military-aged men have avoided conscription and fled abroad since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with the help of bribes and “unreasonable decisions” by military medical commissions, the president said.
On Tuesday, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that an investigation is underway into the head of the military medical commission in Kyiv, who is suspected of allowing more than 50 men of enlistment age to evade the draft in exchange for bribes on the basis of fictitious documents about "bad" health.
According to the security service, the head of the military medical commission and five others were part of the criminal scheme that helped men who wanted to evade the draft and flee abroad.
Zelensky said all of those who accepted bribes would be brought to justice.
“It is necessary to check a significant number of decisions of the military medical commissions on disability and unfitness for military service that were made after February 24,” Zelensky said, adding that “there are examples of regions where the number of people removed from the military register due to the MMC's (military medical commissions) decision has increased tenfold since February last year.” “It is absolutely clear these decisions are corrupt decisions,” Zelensky said.
On Sunday, Zelensky announced his intention to equate corruption with treason during wartime in an interview with Ukrainian media. Zelensky said the Ukrainian parliament will get a proposal from him “in the coming week.”
A damaged building is seen following a reported drone attack in Kursk, Russia on August 27. Governor of Russia's Kursk Region Roman Starovoit/Telegram/Reuters
The pro-Ukraine Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) guerilla group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a drone attack attack Sunday on the Russian region of Kursk, saying it worked in tandem with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
"Another maximally successful attack [was] carried out jointly with SBU military counterintelligence in the Kursk region. Without hindrance, again passing through a porous border, on the night of August 27, we hit a military facility with drones: an airfield with Putin's vultures," the RVC said in a statement posted to Telegram.
On August 27, the Russian defense ministry claimed it destroyed the drones that were launched at the Kursk region. The RVC has disputed this and accused both the Russian defense ministry and the Kursk governor of covering up that a stray air defense missile hit a residential high-rise building. CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, the Kursk governor and the SBU have not commented on the RVC’s claims.
The Russian Volunteer Corps is a guerilla group made up of Russian citizens fighting on the side of Ukraine. In March, the group claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack on Bryansk, a Russian region bordering Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused deep disruptions in the global food supply, raising prices and increasing the risk of food insecurity in poorer nations in the Middle East and North Africa, America’s top spy agency said in an unclassified report released by Congress on Wednesday.
The direct and indirect effects of the war “were major drivers of one of the most disruptive periods in decades for global food security,” the eight-page report found — in large part because Ukraine and Russia were among the world’s largest pre-war exporters of grain and other agricultural products.
Although food security concerns have abated since the start of this year, according to the report, the future trajectory of global food prices likely will depend in part on what happens with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia ended in July. The deal, facilitated by the United Nations, had allowed Ukrainian agricultural shipments to safely exit Black Sea ports and reach the international market.
How much acreage Ukraine is able to cultivate as the war continues to rage and the cost and availability of fertilizers will also have an impact on global food prices, the report found. Global fertilizer prices reached near-record levels in mid-2022 as global oil and natural gas prices rose.
“The combination of high domestic food prices and historic levels of sovereign debt in many countries — largely caused by spending and recessionary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — has weakened countries’ capacity to respond to heightened food insecurity risks,” the report said. “These factors probably will undermine the capacity of many poor countries to provide sufficient and affordable food to their population through the end of the year.”
Vladimir Putin welcomes Kim Jong Un prior to their talks in Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images/File
Russia and North Korea are “actively advancing” their negotiations over a potential arms deal that would provide significant ammunition for different types of weapons systems, including artillery, in the latest indication that the Kremlin is desperate to obtain further materiel for its faltering invasion of Ukraine, according to newly released US intelligence.
The news of the potential deal comes despite North Korea’s public claims to the contrary.
The Biden administration said Wednesday it remains concerned the two pariah states are in the middle of arms negotiations and that, following Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s trip to North Korea last month, a second delegation of Russian officials have visited Pyongyang for further discussions on a potential deal.
In addition to the second delegation, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged letters “pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation,” according to National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby.
“We remain concerned that the DPRK continues to consider providing military support to Russia’s military forces in Ukraine and we have new information which we are able to share today that arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing,” Kirby said. “Following these negotiations, high level discussion may continue in coming months.”
This image shows a large blaze in Pskov, Russia, on August 29. Ostorozhno Novosti/AP
Russia has seen the biggest drone assault on its territory since it launched its war on Ukraine, while Moscow killed two men in a near-simultaneous bombardment on Kyiv as the aerial intensity of the conflict ratcheted up.
Six Russian regions including Moscow came under attack early Wednesday, while in the city of Pskov, near the Estonian border, several transport planes were reportedly damaged when drones targeted an airport.
Russian officials haven’t reported any casualties, and claimed to have thwarted almost all of the strikes.
They claimed Russian air defense forces also shot down a Ukrainian missile over eastern Crimea and at least one drone over the Bryansk region in western Russia on Wednesday.
Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser for the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, said fragments of the missile that fell in eastern Crimea set the grass in the field on fire, but didn’t provide any additional details about the missile.
Kyiv officials meanwhile said Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a “massive” bombardment overnight. “Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring,” Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram.
Popko said several groups of drones were traveling towards Kyiv “from different directions” and later missiles were launched towards the capital. More than 20 “enemy targets” were destroyed by air defense forces, he added.
Two people were killed — men ages 26 and 36 — and three people sustained injuries of varying severity from falling debris, according to the Kyiv city military administration.
