Lavrov talks grain deal and says US is "directly at war" with Moscow at UN General Assembly
From CNN's Sahar Akbarzai, Darya Tarasova, Sahar Akbarzai and AnneClaire Stapleton
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN General Assembly in New York City on Saturday. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal on what he described as broken promises by Ukraine and the United Nations, in remarks made after his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
He also said that the United States and other allies of Ukraine are "directly at war" with Moscow, and told a news conference that Ukraine's blueprint for peace is not “feasible” or “realistic."
Black Sea grain deal: Lavrov shut down the possibility of Russia returning to the Black Sea grain deal, saying the Kremlin felt it had been deceived. Lavrov said the agreement — which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, but fell apart a year later — rested on guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow. "If the Ukrainian part of the package was carried out quite efficiently and quickly, then the Russian part was not carried out at all," Lavrov said.
"Direct" war with US: When asked by a journalist at what point the US becomes directly involved in war against Russia, as opposed to engaged in a proxy conflict, Lavrov said “You can call this whatever you want to call this, but they are directly at war with us. We can call this a hybrid war, but that doesn’t change the reality." He added; “They are effectively engaged in hostilities with us, using the Ukrainians as fodder."
Peace plan: Lavrov also told the news conference in New York that Ukraine's blueprint for peace is not “feasible” or “realistic." The Russian Foreign Minister said everyone understands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula — which he has said cannot include ceding any territory to Russia — is not feasible. But “at the same time, everyone says this is only conditions for negotiation,” Lavrov said.
Read more on Lavrov's comments at the UN General Assembly here.
1 hr 10 min ago
Two killed in strikes across southern Ukraine overnight
From CNN's Svitlana Vlasova and Alex Stambaugh
Two people have been killed in the latest Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson overnight.
A 53-year-old man died as a result of an artillery strike on Zaporizhzhia, according to Yurii Malashko, head of the region's military administration.
Russia fired at 25 locations across Zaporizhzhia, Malashko said, damaging houses and infrastructure.
In Kharkiv, a 67-year-old was wounded in Russian attacks over the past day, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration said on Sunday.
Meanwhile in Kherson region, one person died as a result of Russian shelling over the past day, according to the Kherson city military administration.
Damage was recorded in Kherson and five other settlements in the region, it said.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, Russia launched several artillery attacks on Nikopol region, injuring a 25-year-old man who has been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and is in serious condition, Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration said on Telegram Sunday.
A department store building and a kindergarten were damaged in Nikopol, Lysak said.
In the northeast, Russia also attacked the Sumy region overnight, firing three times at two communities, the Sumy regional military administration said. There were no reports of injuries.
1 hr 10 min ago
What we know about the attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters
From CNN staff
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from the Russian Black Sea Navy HQ after a missile strike in Sevastopol on Friday. Planet Labs PBC/Reuters
Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks yet on Crimea Friday, targeting Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. The Crimean peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and Ukraine has vowed to reclaim it. Here's what we know:
What happened? Ukraine said its forces carried out a “successful” missile attack on the naval HQ. A fire broke out in the aftermath of the attack, which also left debris scattered hundreds of meters away. Plumes of smoke could be seen pouring from the building, while officials also said shrapnel landed in a nearby theater.
What has Ukraine said? The country’s Special Operations Forces said Saturday that the strike was timed for when senior members of Russia's navy were convening and has left dozens dead and wounded, “including senior leadership.” Ukrainian officials have commented on the strike, with the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Ukraine, Refat Chubarov, thanking those involved in the operation to "liberate" Crimea. Another Ukrainian official said that Russia's Black Sea Fleet could be "sliced up like a salami."
What has Russia said?Russia’s Ministry of Defense has said so far only one soldier is missing following the attack. “As a result of the attack, the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged,” the defense ministry stated, adding that five missiles were also shot down by their air defense systems. CNN has not been able to verify Ukraine's claim it killed Russian naval leaders.
What does it mean for the war? Hitting Russian facilities on occupied Crimea is a display of Ukraine's confidence — and the vulnerability of said vital infrastructure.There are plenty of reasons for Ukraine to target Crimea. It’s a sign that despite the slow progress on the front lines in its counteroffensive, Ukraine can still inflict serious damage on the Russian military. Targets such as the Crimea bridge have considerable symbolic value as well as strategic purpose. Ukrainian Defense Intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said “the ultimate goal, of course, is the de-occupation of Ukrainian Crimea.”
1 hr 11 min ago
Here's what Ukraine's troops are focused on accomplishing along the southern front, according to top general
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Daniel Hodge and Konstyantyn Gak
The general leading Ukraine's fight along the southern front line spoke this week about his focus in the fiercely contested Zaporizhzhia region.
Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky believes Ukraine’s big breakthrough — the biggest of its ongoing counteroffensive — is yet to come, he told CNN’s senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen during an exclusive interview Friday.
"I think it will happen after Tokmak," Tarnavsky said, referring to a city that serves as a southern strategic hub for Russia, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the positions where Ukrainian troops are currently fighting. "At the moment they are relying on the depth of their defensive line there.”
Rather than the "Surovikin line," which is a defensive line built on the orders of former Gen. Sergey Surovikin, Tarnavsky says the bigger issues are the “crossroads, tree lines and minefields between the tree lines.”
“(There’s) a combination of small, harmful enemy defense groups that currently are planted very precisely and competently,” he said. “But the actions of our fighters force them to slowly pull back when they face our assault squads.”
Positive about the ultimate outcome, the general conceded that for the counteroffensive to be a success, Ukrainian forces need to at least reach Tokmak.
“Tokmak is the minimum goal,” he said. “The overall objective is to get to our state borders.”
Tarnavsky said Friday that his forces had made a breakthrough near the village of Verbove, located northeast of Tokmak in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.
1 hr 12 min ago
3 more ships pass through designated Black Sea corridors to load at Ukrainian ports
From CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton
Three more ships passed through humanitarian corridors in the Black Sea to load at Ukrainian ports this week, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink said Saturday.
“Two outbound ships carrying grain destined for ports in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are now on their way to the Bosphorus," Brink added in a post on X, formally known as Twitter. "Despite Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine continues its efforts to feed the world."
Some context: Russia pulled out of a UN and Turkish brokered deal in July that had allowed Ukraine to export grain via Black Sea shipments. Moscow warned that any ships headed to Ukraine would be treated as potentially carrying weapons.
Last month, the Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring "temporary corridors" for merchant ships sailing to and from Ukrainian ports, though it admitted there was still a threat of encountering mines or attacks by Russia along all routes.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the US is "directly at war" with Russia. Speaking while attending the UN General Assembly in New York, he also said Ukraine's plan for peace was not "realistic."
Two people have been killed in fresh Russian shelling on the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson overnight. Russia also launched several artillery attacks on Nikopol region.
Three more ships passed through humanitarian corridors in the Black Sea to load at Ukrainian ports this week, the US says. Ukraine has created corridors for merchant ships after the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the UN General Assembly in New York City on Saturday. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal on what he described as broken promises by Ukraine and the United Nations, in remarks made after his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
He also said that the United States and other allies of Ukraine are "directly at war" with Moscow, and told a news conference that Ukraine's blueprint for peace is not “feasible” or “realistic."
Black Sea grain deal: Lavrov shut down the possibility of Russia returning to the Black Sea grain deal, saying the Kremlin felt it had been deceived. Lavrov said the agreement — which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, but fell apart a year later — rested on guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow. "If the Ukrainian part of the package was carried out quite efficiently and quickly, then the Russian part was not carried out at all," Lavrov said.
"Direct" war with US: When asked by a journalist at what point the US becomes directly involved in war against Russia, as opposed to engaged in a proxy conflict, Lavrov said “You can call this whatever you want to call this, but they are directly at war with us. We can call this a hybrid war, but that doesn’t change the reality." He added; “They are effectively engaged in hostilities with us, using the Ukrainians as fodder."
Peace plan: Lavrov also told the news conference in New York that Ukraine's blueprint for peace is not “feasible” or “realistic." The Russian Foreign Minister said everyone understands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula — which he has said cannot include ceding any territory to Russia — is not feasible. But “at the same time, everyone says this is only conditions for negotiation,” Lavrov said.
Read more on Lavrov's comments at the UN General Assembly here.
Two people have been killed in the latest Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson overnight.
A 53-year-old man died as a result of an artillery strike on Zaporizhzhia, according to Yurii Malashko, head of the region's military administration.
Russia fired at 25 locations across Zaporizhzhia, Malashko said, damaging houses and infrastructure.
In Kharkiv, a 67-year-old was wounded in Russian attacks over the past day, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration said on Sunday.
Meanwhile in Kherson region, one person died as a result of Russian shelling over the past day, according to the Kherson city military administration.
Damage was recorded in Kherson and five other settlements in the region, it said.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, Russia launched several artillery attacks on Nikopol region, injuring a 25-year-old man who has been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and is in serious condition, Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration said on Telegram Sunday.
A department store building and a kindergarten were damaged in Nikopol, Lysak said.
In the northeast, Russia also attacked the Sumy region overnight, firing three times at two communities, the Sumy regional military administration said. There were no reports of injuries.
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from the Russian Black Sea Navy HQ after a missile strike in Sevastopol on Friday. Planet Labs PBC/Reuters
Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks yet on Crimea Friday, targeting Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. The Crimean peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and Ukraine has vowed to reclaim it. Here's what we know:
What happened? Ukraine said its forces carried out a “successful” missile attack on the naval HQ. A fire broke out in the aftermath of the attack, which also left debris scattered hundreds of meters away. Plumes of smoke could be seen pouring from the building, while officials also said shrapnel landed in a nearby theater.
What has Ukraine said? The country’s Special Operations Forces said Saturday that the strike was timed for when senior members of Russia's navy were convening and has left dozens dead and wounded, “including senior leadership.” Ukrainian officials have commented on the strike, with the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Ukraine, Refat Chubarov, thanking those involved in the operation to "liberate" Crimea. Another Ukrainian official said that Russia's Black Sea Fleet could be "sliced up like a salami."
What has Russia said?Russia’s Ministry of Defense has said so far only one soldier is missing following the attack. “As a result of the attack, the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged,” the defense ministry stated, adding that five missiles were also shot down by their air defense systems. CNN has not been able to verify Ukraine's claim it killed Russian naval leaders.
What does it mean for the war? Hitting Russian facilities on occupied Crimea is a display of Ukraine's confidence — and the vulnerability of said vital infrastructure.There are plenty of reasons for Ukraine to target Crimea. It’s a sign that despite the slow progress on the front lines in its counteroffensive, Ukraine can still inflict serious damage on the Russian military. Targets such as the Crimea bridge have considerable symbolic value as well as strategic purpose. Ukrainian Defense Intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said “the ultimate goal, of course, is the de-occupation of Ukrainian Crimea.”
The general leading Ukraine's fight along the southern front line spoke this week about his focus in the fiercely contested Zaporizhzhia region.
Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky believes Ukraine’s big breakthrough — the biggest of its ongoing counteroffensive — is yet to come, he told CNN’s senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen during an exclusive interview Friday.
"I think it will happen after Tokmak," Tarnavsky said, referring to a city that serves as a southern strategic hub for Russia, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the positions where Ukrainian troops are currently fighting. "At the moment they are relying on the depth of their defensive line there.”
Rather than the "Surovikin line," which is a defensive line built on the orders of former Gen. Sergey Surovikin, Tarnavsky says the bigger issues are the “crossroads, tree lines and minefields between the tree lines.”
“(There’s) a combination of small, harmful enemy defense groups that currently are planted very precisely and competently,” he said. “But the actions of our fighters force them to slowly pull back when they face our assault squads.”
Positive about the ultimate outcome, the general conceded that for the counteroffensive to be a success, Ukrainian forces need to at least reach Tokmak.
“Tokmak is the minimum goal,” he said. “The overall objective is to get to our state borders.”
Tarnavsky said Friday that his forces had made a breakthrough near the village of Verbove, located northeast of Tokmak in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Three more ships passed through humanitarian corridors in the Black Sea to load at Ukrainian ports this week, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink said Saturday.
“Two outbound ships carrying grain destined for ports in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are now on their way to the Bosphorus," Brink added in a post on X, formally known as Twitter. "Despite Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine continues its efforts to feed the world."
Some context: Russia pulled out of a UN and Turkish brokered deal in July that had allowed Ukraine to export grain via Black Sea shipments. Moscow warned that any ships headed to Ukraine would be treated as potentially carrying weapons.
Last month, the Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring "temporary corridors" for merchant ships sailing to and from Ukrainian ports, though it admitted there was still a threat of encountering mines or attacks by Russia along all routes.
