Ukrainian drones attack Kursk infrastructure, Russian official says
From CNN's Alex Stambaugh and Maria Kostenko
Ukrainian drones hit infrastructure in Russia's southwest Kursk region, causing power outages, a local Russian official said Thursday.
"Ukrainian drones have attacked infrastructure in the Sudzhansky, Korenevsky and Glushkovsky districts tonight. There are power cuts," Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit wrote on Telegram.
Emergency crews have already begun restoring power, he added.
Kursk, which shares a border with Ukraine's northeast Sumy region, is one of several Russian border provinces to report almost daily Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months as the war increasingly spills over into Russian territory.
1 hr 13 min ago
Ukraine says shortage of weapons are causing difficulties on the battlefield. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
As the future of the United States' congressionally-approved assistance for Ukraine remains in question, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv "will do everything" to maintain support from the US and Europe in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Meantime, allies are warning they are running low on ammunition and are ramping up production — the same shortages Zelensky says are creating challenges on the battlefield.
Here's the latest:
US aid concerns: The ousting of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has cast fresh doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is concerned as he works to secure new funding, but he argued that it remains in Americans' interest to continue supporting Ukraine. The leading contenders vying for the speakership have voiced different positions on Ukraine.
Zelensky rallies support: The Ukrainian president said he believes Russia is now weaker than it was at the beginning of the war, so pausing the support or turning the fighting into a frozen conflict would mean helping the aggressor. His comments come in the context of disarray within the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill. Zelensky reiterated that "for the most part" there is bipartisan support for Ukraine.
Iranian arms: The US said it will transfer thousands of seized Iranian weapons and ammunition rounds to Ukraine, which could help to alleviate some of the critical shortages. The Biden administration has for months been weighing how to legally send the seized weapons, which are stored in US facilities across the Middle East.
NATO backing: NATO is reaffirming its long-term support to Kyiv after a meeting of the new defense council between the military alliance and Ukraine. A statement said allies will continue to assist and that Ukraine is "closer to NATO than ever before."
Southern battles: Both Russian and Ukrainian units are trying to take territory around the southern villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, Ukrainian military officials say. Ukraine has had "partial success" in Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's forces in the south. Though progress has been slow, Russian forces are suffering losses of manpower and equipment there, Shtupun said.
Cross-border attacks: Drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service successfully took out a high-value Russian air defense complex in the region of Belgorod early Wednesday, sources say. Belgorod borders northeastern Ukraine. Last month, Ukraine successfully targeted an air defense complex in Crimea.
21 min ago
Biden concerned about Ukraine funding — and is searching for ways to keep aid flowing
From CNN's Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt and Natasha Bertrand
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden walk to the Oval Office of the White House on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Senior Biden administration officials privately believe only weeks remain before a lack of additional Ukraine funding starts to become a serious battlefield concern — a scenario they are trying to avoid with public warnings and a major speech from President Joe Biden himself.
The race for the House speakership set off by the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday portends potentially serious consequences for Biden’s efforts to secure Ukraine funding, leaving the administration looking for solutions.
Publicly, officials say they remain convinced the majority of Americans — including in Congress — support sustained assistance for Ukraine. Yet the maneuvering this week demonstrates the persistent concern that American assistance to Kyiv could soon slow. Biden on Wednesday hinted that administration officials have been searching for workaround methods of providing Ukraine assistance should the White House’s funding requests go unmet.
“It does worry me,” Biden said when asked Wednesday whether he was concerned about delivering Ukraine the aid he’s promised. “But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”
Administration officials have been warning Congress it must urgently approve additional funds to aid Ukraine’s war efforts — “obviously time is of the essence,” stressed one official.
Yet without even the chance for a vote on a new speaker until at least next week — and no clear pathway for a vote on new Ukraine assistance after that — the prospects of a new assistance package in the near-term appear slim.
Privately, officials believe a weekslong period where Congress were to hypothetically operate without a permanent House speaker — and not be able to legislate — would not be hugely concerning as it pertains to Ukraine funding.
Much more troubling, they said, would be if lawmakers begin to approach the end of the length of the most recently passed continuing resolution — which runs out November 17 — without any realistic prospects of approving additional funding for Ukraine.
Feeling the urgency, Biden told reporters Wednesday he was planning an address laying out the imperative of continued support for Ukraine.
“I’m going to make the argument that it’s overwhelmingly in the interests of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed,” he said. White House officials provided no other details about the speech, including when Biden might deliver it.
Ukraine slowly pushing Russia out — but shortage of weapons poses difficulties, Zelensky says
From CNN's Svitlana Vlasova and Radina Gigova
Ukraine is "slowly but surely" pushing Russia out of its land, but the shortage of weapons and ammunition poses difficulties, Ukraine's president said.
"The difficulty is that the fields are mined. The difficulty is that there is a shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially a great shortage of air defense," President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday in an interview with Italian channel Sky TG24.
He said there is a "deficit in air defense" which is important for the counteroffensive but also to protect the population.
The approaching winter could pose another challenge for Ukrainians, including "all our citizens, all our civilians, ordinary people who work and our soldiers," he said.
"We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield," he said, adding that "intimidations" by Russia will likely intensify during the cold months.
Speaking about engaging in possible negotiations with Moscow, Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is not capable of negotiating anything with anyone," citing Russia's withdrawal in July from the Black Sea grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
"Even after he gave his promise and agreed with the UN Secretary-General, with [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, he still jumped out of this [grain] initiative," Zelensky said.
1 hr 12 min ago
Ukraine "will do everything" to maintain support from US and Europe, Zelensky says
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
As the ousting of US House speaker Kevin McCarthy cast fresh doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country "will do everything" to maintain support from the United States in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
"The United States is one of the leaders in helping and supporting Ukraine, in protecting democracy. I feel that there is support in the United States. I know that there is 100% support from the White House, there is great support in the Congress — it's really powerful, bipartisan," Zelensky said in an interview Wednesday with Italian channel Sky TG24.
"The United States did not let us down in a very difficult time. Although there were different voices. You know that there were different voices among the representatives of the Republican Party. But for the most part, both Democrats and Republicans supported Ukraine," he added.
Zelensky said he believes Russia is now weaker than it was at the beginning of the war, so pausing the support or turning the fighting into a frozen conflict in some way, would mean helping the aggressor.
"This is not about not helping Ukraine and complicating our offensive or defensive actions. No, it is not. Any pauses today are a help exclusively to the Russian Federation," he said.
4 hr 20 min ago
Heavy fighting reported on the southern front in Ukraine with neither side gaining ground
From CNN's Tim Lister, Svitlana Vlasova and Maria Kostenko
Reports of fighting in southern Ukraine suggest intense battles in the area around the villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, with both Russian and Ukrainian units trying to take territory.
"We had partial success in the areas west of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, our soldiers have seen the occupation forces suffer losses in both manpower and equipment," Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Ukraine forces in the south, said Wednesday.
"We continue to gain a foothold in the defended areas and continue to deplete the enemy in that direction. Let's just say that we have advanced from 100 to 600 meters in certain areas," Shtupun said on Ukrainian television.
In the past few weeks, gains and losses in the area have been measured in a few hundred meters, as Ukrainian forces try to break through multiple Russian defensive barriers and make progress toward the important hub of Tokmak.
Shtupun said that "in the Melitopol direction, we are slowly putting pressure," and 25 Russian soldiers had surrendered in the past few days.
"But the enemy is not giving up, the enemy is trying to regain the lost position, in particular, west of Verbove, southeast of Mala Tokmachka, so it is throwing some reserves to the assaults. We also record that elite airborne troops are being sent to attack, but suffer losses," he added.
From the Russian side, one prominent military blogger, WarGonzo, said the "Ukrainian troops, with massive artillery support, are attacking (the village of) Novoprokopivka."
"The Russian Armed Forces were forced to level the front line on the northern approaches to the settlement. In turn, they counterattacked from Verbove and Novofedorivka. In the first of the listed areas they managed to push back the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the blogger said.
Ukraine's strategy has been to hollow out Russian defensive units in the area with long-range artillery. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to recapture lost positions west of Verbove and southeast of Mala Tokmachka.
Here's the latest map of control:
4 hr 25 min ago
Ukraine claims to have destroyed advanced Russian air defense complex in Belgorod
From CNN's Victoria Butenko
Ukrainian security sources say drones operated by the country's Security Service (SBU) successfully took out a high-value Russian air defense complex in the region of Belgorod early Wednesday.
"The cause of the nighttime explosions in Belgorod region: the SBU hit the S-400 Triumph air defense system," a source told CNN.
The S-400 is one of the Russians' most advanced air defense systems.
The source said videos posted by the Russians "show about 20 explosions at the location of the Triumph and its radar. At the same time, neighboring settlements lost power."
Belgorod is a Russian region that borders northeastern Ukraine.
Last month, Ukraine successfully targeted an S-400 complex in Crimea at the city of Yevpatoria and subsequently carried out a series of missile attacks on the peninsula.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Russia is weaker than it was at the start of the war, so pausing support would mean helping Moscow.
In a move that could help to alleviate potential shortages, the US will transfer thousands of seized Iranian arms to Ukraine, officials told CNN.
Meanwhile, Ukraine released video of an amphibious raid along the coast of Crimea, as Russian state media claimed a Ukrainian "saboteur" had been captured. Ukraine said there were losses on both sides.
Ukrainian drones hit infrastructure in Russia's southwest Kursk region, causing power outages, a local Russian official said Thursday.
"Ukrainian drones have attacked infrastructure in the Sudzhansky, Korenevsky and Glushkovsky districts tonight. There are power cuts," Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit wrote on Telegram.
Emergency crews have already begun restoring power, he added.
Kursk, which shares a border with Ukraine's northeast Sumy region, is one of several Russian border provinces to report almost daily Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months as the war increasingly spills over into Russian territory.
As the future of the United States' congressionally-approved assistance for Ukraine remains in question, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv "will do everything" to maintain support from the US and Europe in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Meantime, allies are warning they are running low on ammunition and are ramping up production — the same shortages Zelensky says are creating challenges on the battlefield.
Here's the latest:
US aid concerns: The ousting of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has cast fresh doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is concerned as he works to secure new funding, but he argued that it remains in Americans' interest to continue supporting Ukraine. The leading contenders vying for the speakership have voiced different positions on Ukraine.
Zelensky rallies support: The Ukrainian president said he believes Russia is now weaker than it was at the beginning of the war, so pausing the support or turning the fighting into a frozen conflict would mean helping the aggressor. His comments come in the context of disarray within the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill. Zelensky reiterated that "for the most part" there is bipartisan support for Ukraine.
Iranian arms: The US said it will transfer thousands of seized Iranian weapons and ammunition rounds to Ukraine, which could help to alleviate some of the critical shortages. The Biden administration has for months been weighing how to legally send the seized weapons, which are stored in US facilities across the Middle East.
NATO backing: NATO is reaffirming its long-term support to Kyiv after a meeting of the new defense council between the military alliance and Ukraine. A statement said allies will continue to assist and that Ukraine is "closer to NATO than ever before."
Southern battles: Both Russian and Ukrainian units are trying to take territory around the southern villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, Ukrainian military officials say. Ukraine has had "partial success" in Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's forces in the south. Though progress has been slow, Russian forces are suffering losses of manpower and equipment there, Shtupun said.
Cross-border attacks: Drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service successfully took out a high-value Russian air defense complex in the region of Belgorod early Wednesday, sources say. Belgorod borders northeastern Ukraine. Last month, Ukraine successfully targeted an air defense complex in Crimea.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden walk to the Oval Office of the White House on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Senior Biden administration officials privately believe only weeks remain before a lack of additional Ukraine funding starts to become a serious battlefield concern — a scenario they are trying to avoid with public warnings and a major speech from President Joe Biden himself.
The race for the House speakership set off by the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday portends potentially serious consequences for Biden’s efforts to secure Ukraine funding, leaving the administration looking for solutions.
Publicly, officials say they remain convinced the majority of Americans — including in Congress — support sustained assistance for Ukraine. Yet the maneuvering this week demonstrates the persistent concern that American assistance to Kyiv could soon slow. Biden on Wednesday hinted that administration officials have been searching for workaround methods of providing Ukraine assistance should the White House’s funding requests go unmet.
“It does worry me,” Biden said when asked Wednesday whether he was concerned about delivering Ukraine the aid he’s promised. “But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”
Administration officials have been warning Congress it must urgently approve additional funds to aid Ukraine’s war efforts — “obviously time is of the essence,” stressed one official.
Yet without even the chance for a vote on a new speaker until at least next week — and no clear pathway for a vote on new Ukraine assistance after that — the prospects of a new assistance package in the near-term appear slim.
Privately, officials believe a weekslong period where Congress were to hypothetically operate without a permanent House speaker — and not be able to legislate — would not be hugely concerning as it pertains to Ukraine funding.
Much more troubling, they said, would be if lawmakers begin to approach the end of the length of the most recently passed continuing resolution — which runs out November 17 — without any realistic prospects of approving additional funding for Ukraine.
Feeling the urgency, Biden told reporters Wednesday he was planning an address laying out the imperative of continued support for Ukraine.
“I’m going to make the argument that it’s overwhelmingly in the interests of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed,” he said. White House officials provided no other details about the speech, including when Biden might deliver it.
Ukraine is "slowly but surely" pushing Russia out of its land, but the shortage of weapons and ammunition poses difficulties, Ukraine's president said.
"The difficulty is that the fields are mined. The difficulty is that there is a shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially a great shortage of air defense," President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday in an interview with Italian channel Sky TG24.
He said there is a "deficit in air defense" which is important for the counteroffensive but also to protect the population.
The approaching winter could pose another challenge for Ukrainians, including "all our citizens, all our civilians, ordinary people who work and our soldiers," he said.
"We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield," he said, adding that "intimidations" by Russia will likely intensify during the cold months.
Speaking about engaging in possible negotiations with Moscow, Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is not capable of negotiating anything with anyone," citing Russia's withdrawal in July from the Black Sea grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
"Even after he gave his promise and agreed with the UN Secretary-General, with [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, he still jumped out of this [grain] initiative," Zelensky said.
Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
As the ousting of US House speaker Kevin McCarthy cast fresh doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country "will do everything" to maintain support from the United States in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
"The United States is one of the leaders in helping and supporting Ukraine, in protecting democracy. I feel that there is support in the United States. I know that there is 100% support from the White House, there is great support in the Congress — it's really powerful, bipartisan," Zelensky said in an interview Wednesday with Italian channel Sky TG24.
"The United States did not let us down in a very difficult time. Although there were different voices. You know that there were different voices among the representatives of the Republican Party. But for the most part, both Democrats and Republicans supported Ukraine," he added.
Zelensky said he believes Russia is now weaker than it was at the beginning of the war, so pausing the support or turning the fighting into a frozen conflict in some way, would mean helping the aggressor.
"This is not about not helping Ukraine and complicating our offensive or defensive actions. No, it is not. Any pauses today are a help exclusively to the Russian Federation," he said.
Reports of fighting in southern Ukraine suggest intense battles in the area around the villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, with both Russian and Ukrainian units trying to take territory.
"We had partial success in the areas west of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, our soldiers have seen the occupation forces suffer losses in both manpower and equipment," Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Ukraine forces in the south, said Wednesday.
"We continue to gain a foothold in the defended areas and continue to deplete the enemy in that direction. Let's just say that we have advanced from 100 to 600 meters in certain areas," Shtupun said on Ukrainian television.
In the past few weeks, gains and losses in the area have been measured in a few hundred meters, as Ukrainian forces try to break through multiple Russian defensive barriers and make progress toward the important hub of Tokmak.
Shtupun said that "in the Melitopol direction, we are slowly putting pressure," and 25 Russian soldiers had surrendered in the past few days.
"But the enemy is not giving up, the enemy is trying to regain the lost position, in particular, west of Verbove, southeast of Mala Tokmachka, so it is throwing some reserves to the assaults. We also record that elite airborne troops are being sent to attack, but suffer losses," he added.
From the Russian side, one prominent military blogger, WarGonzo, said the "Ukrainian troops, with massive artillery support, are attacking (the village of) Novoprokopivka."
"The Russian Armed Forces were forced to level the front line on the northern approaches to the settlement. In turn, they counterattacked from Verbove and Novofedorivka. In the first of the listed areas they managed to push back the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the blogger said.
Ukraine's strategy has been to hollow out Russian defensive units in the area with long-range artillery. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to recapture lost positions west of Verbove and southeast of Mala Tokmachka.
Here's the latest map of control:
Ukrainian security sources say drones operated by the country's Security Service (SBU) successfully took out a high-value Russian air defense complex in the region of Belgorod early Wednesday.
"The cause of the nighttime explosions in Belgorod region: the SBU hit the S-400 Triumph air defense system," a source told CNN.
The S-400 is one of the Russians' most advanced air defense systems.
The source said videos posted by the Russians "show about 20 explosions at the location of the Triumph and its radar. At the same time, neighboring settlements lost power."
Belgorod is a Russian region that borders northeastern Ukraine.
Last month, Ukraine successfully targeted an S-400 complex in Crimea at the city of Yevpatoria and subsequently carried out a series of missile attacks on the peninsula.
