It's early morning in Crimea. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
A Moscow-backed official in annexed Crimea said early Monday that an “emergency incident” has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the peninsula and Russia.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the incident.
Last October, a huge blast partially damaged the bridge, causing parts of it to collapse.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October 8 attack.
Here are some other key developments surrounding Russia's war in Ukraine:
Putin's remarks: Russian President Vladimir Putin painted the Ukrainian counteroffensive as "unsuccessful" in an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist published Sunday. Ukraine acknowledges the campaign has been characterized by tough fighting and limited progress but insists it does not feel under pressure by Western allies to deliver quick results as it does the hard work of driving Russian forces out of its territory.
On the front lines: Ukraine reported fierce battles in the east, with the two sides swapping fighting positions and Russia going on the offensive in some areas. Outside the long-contested city of Bakhmut, Ukraine's military has reported slow but steady progress. In southern Ukraine, heavy Russian attacks wounded multiple people in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions on the weekend, Ukrainian officials said.
Grain deal on the brink: The crucial agreement that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports is set to expire Monday unless Russia agrees to an extension. The deal will end at midnight July 17 into July 18 Istanbul time (5 p.m. ET on Monday), a UN spokesperson said. The Kremlin has voiced displeasure with the pact, objecting in particular to the way international sanctions affect its own exports.
Cluster bombs in focus: Putin said Ukraine using cluster munitions should be considered a "crime," and vowed to retaliate if Kyiv uses the ones recently supplied by the US. But Putin's own forces have been using the controversial weapons throughout the course of the war, according to Ukraine, the United Nations and a CNN investigation from last year. Read more about both countries' use of the controversial bombs here.
US ammunition running low: The United States is running low on ammunition from its own stockpile as the country works to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, according to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. President Joe Biden's administration, upon taking office, found that overall stocks of the NATO standard ammunition used for artillery rounds "was relatively low," Sullivan told CNN.
F-16s debate: Sullivan confirmed Sunday the US will allow European countries to start training Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighter jets, after reports that Europe was still awaiting formal approval. The US has not yet said it will supply Kyiv with the planes, however. Two US lawmakers offered differing perspectives on whether that constitutes "slow-rolling" the process to Ukraine's detriment.
51 min ago
"Emergency incident" on Crimean Bridge, Russia-backed official says
From CNN's Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh
An "emergency incident" has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the emergency incident.
"Law enforcement agencies and relevant services are at work. I spoke to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Savelyev, and measures are being taken to ameliorate the situation," Aksenov said.
Aksenov urged residents and those traveling to and from Crimea to choose an alternative land route.
Some context: Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for an attack last October on the bridge.
The attack disrupted major transport links between Russia and Crimea, which Moscow has controlled since it seized the peninsula in 2014. It also hit Russia’s military effort in Ukraine and represented a psychological blow for Moscow and a major propaganda victory for Kyiv.
3 hr 6 min ago
Russian shelling kills at least 1 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Kostan Nechyporenko
At least one person was killed and three others were injured after Russia shelled Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said the victims were all employees of an industrial enterprise in the Osnoviansky district of Kharkiv that was targeted in the attack.
“According to preliminary information, two S-300 missiles were fired from the territory of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation,” it said.
8 min ago
The Black Sea grain deal is set to expire Monday if Russia refuses to renew
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Harvester works on a wheat fields near ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive in Prymorske, Ukraine on July 5, 2023. Amadeusz Swierk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A crucial deal that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea is set to expire Monday unless Russia agrees to an extension.
The grain deal will end at midnight July 17 into July 18 Istanbul time (5 p.m. ET on Monday), according to Ismini Palla, the chief UN media and communications officer for the Black Sea Grain deal.
The last ship to travel under the deal left the port of Odesa early on Sunday, Palla said.
The deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and blockaded ports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a phone conversation Saturday that the deal has not met its objectives.
Though Russia has renewed the deal three times, it has repeatedly complained about international sanctions that hinder its own shipments of fertilizers and grain.
In some previous negotiations on the deal, Putin has maintained a hard line until shortly before a deadline and then ultimately agreed to remain in the pact.
Some context: Under the deal, grain ships are able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosporus Strait — an important shipping corridor in northwest Turkey — in order to reach global markets. It has proven vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries who rely on Ukrainian exports.
3 hr 14 min ago
What we know about Russia's use of cluster munitions in Ukraine
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Maria Kostenko
Despite saying Ukraine using cluster munitions is a "crime" — and vowing to retaliate if Kyiv uses the ones recently supplied by the US — Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces have been using the controversial weapons throughout the course of the war, Ukraine and the United Nations have said.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has launched a number of investigations on Russia’s use of cluster bombs since the very beginning of the war.
Here's what those probes and reports from international organizations have revealed so far:
Ukrainian claims: In a statement on March 27, 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office said Russia has used cluster munitions on civilian targets in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, and the regional prosecutor's office has launched "criminal proceedings over violation of the laws and customs of war."
According to the investigation, Russian forces used cluster bombs in an attack on the region's Kryvyi Rih district, the prosecutor's office said in a Telegram post.
"The missile was equipped with prohibited cluster munitions. In the course of the inspection of the scene, law enforcement officers and explosives experts discovered and seized fragments of the rocket," it said.
In a Telegram post May 11, the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said Russian forces "massively attacked (the town of) Malokaterynivka with multiple rocket launchers, where 8 people were injured by cluster munitions." Three of those wounded were ambulance workers who were responding to a call.
CNN is not able to independently verify the Ukrainian claims.
Reports from outside organizations: Cluster munitions have also been used on civilian targets in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a CNN investigation found last year.
The report documented how a Russian general who oversaw atrocities in Syria led the cluster bombings on Ukraine's second-largest city.
The UN and affiliated organizations have also published reports on the issue.
In a statement on March 30, 2022, the UN rights chief at the time, Michelle Bachelet, said credible reports indicated Russia had already used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine "at least two dozen times," just over a month after the invasion was launched.
In a report published August 25 last year the UN-partnered Cluster Munition Monitor civil society group said Russian forces had “repeatedly” used cluster munitions since the start of the war.
Ukraine's use of the weapons: The same report by the Cluster Munition Monitor group found that Ukrainian forces had also used cluster munitions "several times" and "mostly" in populated areas.
Ukraine has acknowledged its previous use of the weapons, saying it was using the bombs to defend its territory.
Ukrainian and US officials have said the cluster munitions provided by the US won't be used in heavily populated areas, even if those areas are occupied by Russian forces, and that Kyiv will make efforts to sweep areas it bombs with the munitions for unexploded ordnance.
Cluster munitions have killed at least 215 civilians and injured 474 people overall since the start of the war, according to the monitoring group's report.
CNN's Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.
2 min ago
Fighting positions changing for both sides along the eastern front, Ukrainian official says
From CNN's Maria Kostenko and Radina Gigova
Hanna Maliar attends a ceremony at St Sophia in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 23. Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Positions on both sides are "changing dynamically" along the eastern front as fighting there has "somewhat escalated," a Ukrainian official said.
"There are fierce battles, and the positions of the parties are changing dynamically several times a day," Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Sunday.
Russia has been "actively advancing" near the city of Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region for two days in a row, Maliar said. "We are on the defense," she added.
Further south along the eastern front, Maliar said Ukrainian forces are gradually moving forward around Bakhmut and there are "daily advances on the southern flank" of the long-contested city.
On Bakhmut's northern flank, Ukrainian forces are trying to hold their positions, while Russian forces continue to attack, Maliar said.
"In Bakhmut itself, we are shelling the enemy, and the enemy is shelling us," she added.
And south of Bakhmut, Russian forces are also on the offensive in areas surrounding the towns of Avdiivka and Marinka, Maliar said.
"Our defenders continue to effectively hold them back. Hot battles continue with no change in positions," she said.
It is not possible for CNN to immediately verify claims of territorial gains or losses by either side.
Here are the areas each side controls in southern and eastern Ukraine:
3 hr 26 min ago
US gives "green light" to European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16s, Biden official says
“The president has given a green light and we will allow, permit, support, facilitate and in fact provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin being trained on F-16s, as soon as the Europeans are prepared,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
The decision cements a stark turnaround for President Joe Biden, who said earlier this year that he did not believe that Ukraine needed the F-16s. One of the main issues Kyiv’s ground forces have faced as their counteroffensive gets underway is Russian air power holding them back. Russia still maintains air superiority, which makes it difficult for ground forces to advance.
In May, Biden had informed G7 leaders that the US would support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s, though it was unclear at the time when that training would star.
The US-made jet has air-to-air refueling capabilities and is compatible with most NATO weapons already being supplied to Ukraine. Despite first entering production in the 1980s, it has gone through several upgrades, making it more advanced and versatile than any jet Ukraine currently has in its fleet, and a fierce rival for most Russian aircraft, with the exception of newer models that Moscow has hesitated to deploy in Ukraine.
Sullivan noted Sunday that European allies have said they need several weeks to prepare training abilities and that the US would meet whatever timeline they set out.
“The United States will not be the hold-up in ensuring that this F-16 training can get underway,” he said.
An "emergency incident" has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.
A crucial deal that allows Ukraine to safely export grain will expire Monday unless Russia agrees to extend it. President Vladimir Putin remains critical of the pact.
Ukraine reported fierce battles along the eastern front Sunday, with the two sides swapping fighting positions and Russia going on the offensive in some areas.
Near the southern front, heavy Russian attacks wounded multiple people in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions this weekend, local Ukrainian officials said.
A Moscow-backed official in annexed Crimea said early Monday that an “emergency incident” has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the peninsula and Russia.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the incident.
Last October, a huge blast partially damaged the bridge, causing parts of it to collapse.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October 8 attack.
Here are some other key developments surrounding Russia's war in Ukraine:
Putin's remarks: Russian President Vladimir Putin painted the Ukrainian counteroffensive as "unsuccessful" in an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist published Sunday. Ukraine acknowledges the campaign has been characterized by tough fighting and limited progress but insists it does not feel under pressure by Western allies to deliver quick results as it does the hard work of driving Russian forces out of its territory.
On the front lines: Ukraine reported fierce battles in the east, with the two sides swapping fighting positions and Russia going on the offensive in some areas. Outside the long-contested city of Bakhmut, Ukraine's military has reported slow but steady progress. In southern Ukraine, heavy Russian attacks wounded multiple people in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions on the weekend, Ukrainian officials said.
Grain deal on the brink: The crucial agreement that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports is set to expire Monday unless Russia agrees to an extension. The deal will end at midnight July 17 into July 18 Istanbul time (5 p.m. ET on Monday), a UN spokesperson said. The Kremlin has voiced displeasure with the pact, objecting in particular to the way international sanctions affect its own exports.
Cluster bombs in focus: Putin said Ukraine using cluster munitions should be considered a "crime," and vowed to retaliate if Kyiv uses the ones recently supplied by the US. But Putin's own forces have been using the controversial weapons throughout the course of the war, according to Ukraine, the United Nations and a CNN investigation from last year. Read more about both countries' use of the controversial bombs here.
US ammunition running low: The United States is running low on ammunition from its own stockpile as the country works to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, according to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. President Joe Biden's administration, upon taking office, found that overall stocks of the NATO standard ammunition used for artillery rounds "was relatively low," Sullivan told CNN.
F-16s debate: Sullivan confirmed Sunday the US will allow European countries to start training Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighter jets, after reports that Europe was still awaiting formal approval. The US has not yet said it will supply Kyiv with the planes, however. Two US lawmakers offered differing perspectives on whether that constitutes "slow-rolling" the process to Ukraine's detriment.
An "emergency incident" has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the emergency incident.
"Law enforcement agencies and relevant services are at work. I spoke to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Savelyev, and measures are being taken to ameliorate the situation," Aksenov said.
Aksenov urged residents and those traveling to and from Crimea to choose an alternative land route.
Some context: Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for an attack last October on the bridge.
The attack disrupted major transport links between Russia and Crimea, which Moscow has controlled since it seized the peninsula in 2014. It also hit Russia’s military effort in Ukraine and represented a psychological blow for Moscow and a major propaganda victory for Kyiv.
At least one person was killed and three others were injured after Russia shelled Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said the victims were all employees of an industrial enterprise in the Osnoviansky district of Kharkiv that was targeted in the attack.
“According to preliminary information, two S-300 missiles were fired from the territory of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation,” it said.
Harvester works on a wheat fields near ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive in Prymorske, Ukraine on July 5, 2023. Amadeusz Swierk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A crucial deal that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea is set to expire Monday unless Russia agrees to an extension.
The grain deal will end at midnight July 17 into July 18 Istanbul time (5 p.m. ET on Monday), according to Ismini Palla, the chief UN media and communications officer for the Black Sea Grain deal.
The last ship to travel under the deal left the port of Odesa early on Sunday, Palla said.
The deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and blockaded ports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a phone conversation Saturday that the deal has not met its objectives.
Though Russia has renewed the deal three times, it has repeatedly complained about international sanctions that hinder its own shipments of fertilizers and grain.
In some previous negotiations on the deal, Putin has maintained a hard line until shortly before a deadline and then ultimately agreed to remain in the pact.
Some context: Under the deal, grain ships are able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosporus Strait — an important shipping corridor in northwest Turkey — in order to reach global markets. It has proven vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries who rely on Ukrainian exports.
Despite saying Ukraine using cluster munitions is a "crime" — and vowing to retaliate if Kyiv uses the ones recently supplied by the US — Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces have been using the controversial weapons throughout the course of the war, Ukraine and the United Nations have said.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has launched a number of investigations on Russia’s use of cluster bombs since the very beginning of the war.
Here's what those probes and reports from international organizations have revealed so far:
Ukrainian claims: In a statement on March 27, 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office said Russia has used cluster munitions on civilian targets in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, and the regional prosecutor's office has launched "criminal proceedings over violation of the laws and customs of war."
According to the investigation, Russian forces used cluster bombs in an attack on the region's Kryvyi Rih district, the prosecutor's office said in a Telegram post.
"The missile was equipped with prohibited cluster munitions. In the course of the inspection of the scene, law enforcement officers and explosives experts discovered and seized fragments of the rocket," it said.
In a Telegram post May 11, the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said Russian forces "massively attacked (the town of) Malokaterynivka with multiple rocket launchers, where 8 people were injured by cluster munitions." Three of those wounded were ambulance workers who were responding to a call.
CNN is not able to independently verify the Ukrainian claims.
Reports from outside organizations: Cluster munitions have also been used on civilian targets in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a CNN investigation found last year.
The report documented how a Russian general who oversaw atrocities in Syria led the cluster bombings on Ukraine's second-largest city.
The UN and affiliated organizations have also published reports on the issue.
In a statement on March 30, 2022, the UN rights chief at the time, Michelle Bachelet, said credible reports indicated Russia had already used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine "at least two dozen times," just over a month after the invasion was launched.
In a report published August 25 last year the UN-partnered Cluster Munition Monitor civil society group said Russian forces had “repeatedly” used cluster munitions since the start of the war.
Ukraine's use of the weapons: The same report by the Cluster Munition Monitor group found that Ukrainian forces had also used cluster munitions "several times" and "mostly" in populated areas.
Ukraine has acknowledged its previous use of the weapons, saying it was using the bombs to defend its territory.
Ukrainian and US officials have said the cluster munitions provided by the US won't be used in heavily populated areas, even if those areas are occupied by Russian forces, and that Kyiv will make efforts to sweep areas it bombs with the munitions for unexploded ordnance.
Cluster munitions have killed at least 215 civilians and injured 474 people overall since the start of the war, according to the monitoring group's report.
CNN's Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.
Hanna Maliar attends a ceremony at St Sophia in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 23. Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Positions on both sides are "changing dynamically" along the eastern front as fighting there has "somewhat escalated," a Ukrainian official said.
"There are fierce battles, and the positions of the parties are changing dynamically several times a day," Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Sunday.
Russia has been "actively advancing" near the city of Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region for two days in a row, Maliar said. "We are on the defense," she added.
Further south along the eastern front, Maliar said Ukrainian forces are gradually moving forward around Bakhmut and there are "daily advances on the southern flank" of the long-contested city.
On Bakhmut's northern flank, Ukrainian forces are trying to hold their positions, while Russian forces continue to attack, Maliar said.
"In Bakhmut itself, we are shelling the enemy, and the enemy is shelling us," she added.
And south of Bakhmut, Russian forces are also on the offensive in areas surrounding the towns of Avdiivka and Marinka, Maliar said.
"Our defenders continue to effectively hold them back. Hot battles continue with no change in positions," she said.
It is not possible for CNN to immediately verify claims of territorial gains or losses by either side.
Here are the areas each side controls in southern and eastern Ukraine:
“The president has given a green light and we will allow, permit, support, facilitate and in fact provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin being trained on F-16s, as soon as the Europeans are prepared,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
The decision cements a stark turnaround for President Joe Biden, who said earlier this year that he did not believe that Ukraine needed the F-16s. One of the main issues Kyiv’s ground forces have faced as their counteroffensive gets underway is Russian air power holding them back. Russia still maintains air superiority, which makes it difficult for ground forces to advance.
In May, Biden had informed G7 leaders that the US would support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s, though it was unclear at the time when that training would star.
The US-made jet has air-to-air refueling capabilities and is compatible with most NATO weapons already being supplied to Ukraine. Despite first entering production in the 1980s, it has gone through several upgrades, making it more advanced and versatile than any jet Ukraine currently has in its fleet, and a fierce rival for most Russian aircraft, with the exception of newer models that Moscow has hesitated to deploy in Ukraine.
Sullivan noted Sunday that European allies have said they need several weeks to prepare training abilities and that the US would meet whatever timeline they set out.
“The United States will not be the hold-up in ensuring that this F-16 training can get underway,” he said.
