June 17, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

We’ve wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more about Russia’s war in Ukraine here, or scroll through the updates below.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with African leaders on June 17 in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is “open to a constructive dialogue” and praised African countries’ diplomatic approach to the war in Ukraine during a meeting he held with several leaders from the continent in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

He maintained that “Russia is ready to consider any African proposals for conflict settlement in Ukraine,” but blamed Kyiv for refusing to negotiate.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr?Zelensky said Friday after meeting with the African leaders that any peace?talks with Russia are possible only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories.

The Black Sea grain deal: Putin also claimed “the crisis on the global food market is not a consequence of conflict in Ukraine.”

“Ukrainian grain supply to the world’s markets doesn’t solve the problem of world hunger,” he said. ??

After invading?Ukraine?in February 2022,?Russia?initially?blockaded vital?grain?exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, including Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian?grain?were not exported to the many countries that rely on the country’s production. Last summer, Turkey and the United Nations helped broker an agreement to enable the safe passage of ships from Ukraine in the Black Sea grain deal.

“Exports of Ukrainian grain under the deal ensuring its safe passage through the Black Sea are not helping to resolve Africa’s problems with high global food prices, as only 3% have gone to the poorest countries,” Putin said.??

Data from the United Nations shows that about 802,000 metric tons of cargo has gone to low-income countries, and three of those five countries are located in Africa. Other African countries receiving cargo are classified as lower-middle income.

A June 15 update from the Office of the UN coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative said that, “In 2022, Ukraine supplied more than half of (the World Food Programme’s) global wheat grain procurement, as was the case in 2021.?The volume of food exported by the Initiative in May was the lowest since the start of the Initiative and well below shipping demand and Ukraine’s export capacity.”

What African leaders said: On Saturday, the leaders offered to be a mediator in the Ukrainian war and encouraged “dialogue and compromise” as well as “de-escalation on both sides.”??

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for “the war to be ended.”?

Ramaphosa also pushed for “opening up of the movement of the grains across the Black Sea so whatever blockages there are should be released.”

On alleged deportation of Ukrainian children: Ramaphosa also called for “all children who have been caught up in this conflict to be returned to their homes.”??

Putin told African leaders that “the Russian authorities absolutely legally took children out of the conflict zone in Ukraine and have never been against their reunification with their families.”?

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16 in Russia.

The Kremlin supports dialogue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French leader Emmanuel Macron,?but no proposals for a conversation have been received yet, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

Key context: Last week, Scholz said he is planning on speaking to Putin “in the near future.”

“Negotiating is OK, but the question is who is negotiating with whom and about what. And what is not reasonable is to force Ukraine to accept that the land grab by Putin is sanctioned and accepted,” the German leader added.

CNN’s Sarah Diab contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State?Antony Blinken is en route to Beijing?for a high-stakes visit meant to steer relations between the United States and China back on course after months of inflamed tensions between the two nations.

Officials from both governments have?signaled low expectations?for the visit, but Blinken has vowed to raise “our very real concerns on a range of issues,” including the war in Ukraine.

While Beijing has sought to play the part of peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv, China’s messaging has been met with significant skepticism by US officials and other Western leaders.

China has released a vaguely worded position paper on a “political settlement” to the conflict, but it has been criticized for not calling on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory, as Kyiv and?more than 100 governments?around the world have done.

And Western officials raised concerns earlier this year that China could be considering providing Russia with lethal military assistance, an accusation denied by Beijing.

In April, senior US Treasury officials said they had not seen evidence China is providing extensive assistance to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but officials remain wary as the two countries forge closer ties.

Ahead of his visit Saturday, Blinken spoke by phone separately with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and?South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin. A US State Department spokesperson said Blinken discussed regional priorities with both leaders, as well as reaffirming each country’s continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Read more about Blinken’s visit to China here:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Bejing, China, on June 18.

Related article Blinken heads to China vowing to raise 'real concerns' but with low expectations for breakthroughs | CNN Politics

The head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says heavy fighting continues Saturday, with Russia launching 37 airstrikes on Ukraine and keeping its focus on its main assault in the northeast toward the city of Bakhmut.

“The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions, and heavy fighting continues. There were 22 combat engagements over the last day,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on its Facebook page.?

In the eastern Luhansk, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions: Russian offensives were “unsuccessful” in the direction of Novoselivske and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region, as well as Berestove in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military said.

In the Donetsk region, the military said Russian offensives were held off near the towns of Stepove and Avdiivka, which was also hit by airstrikes.?West of the city of Donetsk, Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks in the towns of Mariinka, Novomykhailivka and Vodiane. And there were airstrikes in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Zolota Nyva and Blahodatne, according to the military.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions: Russia “continues to conduct defensive actions” in the two regions, the Ukrainian armed forces said.

“The enemy launched an air strike in the areas of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia region and Kozatske in Kherson region,” according to the update.

The Ukrainian Air Force carried out nine strikes on Russian personnel bases and destroyed an?anti-aircraft missile system, it said.?

Here’s the latest map of control:

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03:03 - Source: CNN

Nighttime missions have been a defining feature in the initial stages of?Ukraine’s counteroffensive, especially in the southern part of the country, and unmanned aerial vehicles allow Kyiv’s forces to strike Russian targets under the cover of darkness.

CNN followed an elite drone unit as it spent hours scoping out possible nighttime launch sites for their mission, as well as figuring out the exact coordinates of their target.

Before the launch, they drove to the site in complete darkness, turning off their headlights and using night-vision goggles to see the road.

They hid their vehicles and moved into position even as Ukrainian and Russian forces traded artillery salvos nearby.

The whole approach was carefully choreographed to hide their tracks and guarantee their position remained concealed while they carried out their strike.

After hitting their target, the race is on to get the Ukrainian drone back in the team’s hands and to get away before Russia tracks back the source of the attack.

Read the full story here.

US President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media?before departing for Philadelphia on June 17.

When US President Joe Biden was asked whether he would ease barriers for Ukraine’s addition to NATO, he flatly said “no.”

“No. Because they gotta meet the same standards. So I’m not gonna make it easier,” he told reporters Saturday ahead of his departure to Philadelphia for his first official presidential campaign event.?

CNN previously reported that Biden and his team are in the midst of a high-stakes conversation with fellow NATO members on how and when Ukraine may join – a debate that could expose strains in the alliance ahead of a key summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.

CNN reported Friday that a source familiar with the situation said Biden is comfortable with removing one of the hurdles for Ukraine?to join NATO. According to the source, Biden would be willing to drop the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine, which was described in a 2008 agreement as “the next step for Ukraine … on their direct way to membership.” The MAP, characterized as “the program of advice, assistance and practical support tailored to the individual needs of countries wishing to join the Alliance,” is a process that other nations have had to undertake to join NATO.

Its removal would represent a small step in easing Ukraine’s accession into the defensive alliance. It is part of a proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and was discussed when he met with Biden in Washington earlier this week, the source said.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he understands that his country?cannot become a member?of NATO while it is still at war.

On Putin’s nuclear weapons claims: Biden also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim about the arrival of the first?tactical nuclear weapons to be stored in Belarus is “totally irresponsible.”

On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is closely monitoring the situation between Russia and Belarus, but the US has “no reason to adjust” its nuclear posture and doesn’t “see any indications” that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

The governor of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, claimed Saturday that Russian air defense systems intercepted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Druzhba pipeline oil pumping station overnight.

Three drones were shot down in the attack near Novozybkov,?Aleksandr Bogomaz said on Telegram.

There was no damage to the infrastructure, according to Russian media.

Drones in Russian territory: The border region has seen previous attacks blamed on Kyiv.

In late May, Russian state media reported a drone attack in Bryansk. Earlier in May, there were unconfirmed reports that four of Russia’s aircraft?were shot down?inside the region as well.

Ukraine has also cultivated a network of agents and sympathizers inside Russia working to carry out acts of sabotage against Russian targets and has begun providing them with drones to stage attacks, multiple people familiar with US intelligence on the matter told CNN. US officials believe these pro-Ukrainian agents inside Russia carried out a drone attack that?targeted the Kremlin in early May?by launching drones from within Russia rather than flying them from Ukraine into Moscow.

The day after the Moscow incident, a “massive” shelling attack injured four people in Belgorod, which also neighbors Ukraine, and preliminary information indicated a drone crashed and sparked a fire at an oil refinery further south in the Krasnodar region near Crimea.

The Ukrainian government generally does not confirm or deny strikes inside Russian territory.

CNN’s Tim Lister, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Kylie Atwood, Rob Picheta?and?Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.

Two people were killed when a Russian anti-tank guided missile hit their car in the northeastern Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian officials.

The two victims were a 42-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region’s military administration.

Several other parts of Kharkiv have come under mortar and artillery attacks over the past day, according to Syniehubov. The attacks damaged private homes and a two-story apartment building.

With Ukraine’s counteroffensive underway, Russia has continued to pound targets across the country.

In the capital Kyiv, Ukraine’s military said it intercepted 12 Russian missiles in the past 24 hours. And at least two people died and 25 were wounded Friday in artillery fire on the southern city of Kherson.

Ukraine needs more precision weapons with a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles) to “build up” its offensive, according to a deputy defense minister.

“Ukraine is seizing the initiative,” but in order to beat Russia, it needs long-range precision weapons, Volodymyr Havrylov said in a video posted on the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine’s Telegram.?

He added that Ukraine is set to receive aircraft that will primarily defend it from Russian missiles.?

“More than a year of war has passed, and we are confident that we will defeat the Russian invaders, together with our partners who provide us with everything we need,” he said.

Some background on jets: In May, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were reportedly building an?“international coalition”?to help Ukraine procure F-16 fighter jets.

Since Russia’s invasion started, Ukrainian President Volodymyr?Zelensky has struggled to get F-16s to aid his fight, over fears they could be used on Russian soil, potentially triggering an escalation between NATO and Russia.

After saying Kyiv did not need the fighter jets earlier this year, US President Joe Biden reversed his objections by signaling to European allies that they would allow?F-16 exports?to Ukraine.

Last month, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that groups of Ukrainian pilots have?been selected?for?training in?the UK where they will?learn?to fly modern fighter?jets.

CNN’s Maria Kostenko, Jo Shelley and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting to this post.

The leaders of six African countries have arrived in the Russian city of St. Petersburg as part of a peace mission, according to Russian state media agency TASS.?

The leaders of?South Africa, Zambia, the Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, Senegal and Uganda are set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some context: The leaders previously met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in Ukraine.

Rebuffing their efforts to bring Kyiv to the negotiating table immediately, Zelensky ruled out any peace negotiations with Russia until Moscow’s troops withdraw from his country’s territory.

“Today, I have clearly said repeatedly at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land means to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering,” he told journalists in a press conference after the meeting.

On their arrival in Kyiv, the African leaders were greeted with explosions and forced to take shelter in bunkers as Russian airstrikes hit the capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 16, 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned there is a “serious danger” of NATO being drawn further into the Ukraine war if members of the alliance continue to supply military weaponry to Kyiv.

The comment appeared to be a reference to the F-16 fighter jets some members of the NATO alliance are making plans to supply Ukraine with.

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in the aftermath of World War II to defend Western nations from the Soviet Union and the alliance contains a mutual defense clause where an attack on any one member is considered an attack on all.

While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, some NATO members have been supplying Kyiv with tanks, armored vehicles and other weaponry – prompting threats of retaliation from Russia.

During his speech to the forum, Putin also suggested Russia’s large number of nuclear weapons would “guarantee” its security – noting that Russia had more such weapons than NATO countries.

Read the full story here.

There has been no let up in Russian shelling, with attacks reported near the front line and beyond across Ukraine.

At least two people have died and 25 have been injured after artillery fire on the southern city of?Kherson Friday, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia made?75 attacks on the broader Kherson region over the last 24 hours, hitting residential areas and damaging educational, administrative and commercial buildings, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the?Kherson?region military administration,?said on Telegram.

Parts of the region are controlled by Russia’s military, including areas near the city, which remains Ukrainian-held. Russia captured the city in the early stages of the war last year but it was liberated by Kyiv’s forces in November. ?

Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, a woman was wounded in the Nikopol district,?according to Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration.?The region sits across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.?

Russian shelling also hit the?Zaporizhzhia region, destroying civilian buildings, according to?Yurii Malashko, head of the region’s military administration.?

And in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a 36-year-old man was wounded in the town of Dvorichna as a result of Russian shelling, said?Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the regional military administration.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has not yet gained the momentum that some overly optimistic observers anticipated. So far, it feels like the prelude to a more expansive act.

Offensive operations have yielded modest gains in the southern regions like Zaporizhzhia, with multi-layered Russian defenses proving tough to crack.

The area is seen as a major target for Ukraine as it would mean breaking Russia’s land-bridge between annexed Crimea and eastern Donetsk.

But there are also signs that Ukrainian forces are spreading their bets, looking to pare back Russian gains around the city of Bakhmut and exploiting what they perceive as vulnerabilities elsewhere in the east.

Rather than a display of overwhelming force that concentrates newly-formed brigades in one direction, the Ukrainians appear to be trying to pull Russian units in different directions, working out which might be weak or exploiting lines separating different battalions.

Read the full analysis here.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he addresses media after talks with African leaders in Kyiv on June 16, 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out any immediate peace talks with Russia after meeting a high-level African delegation in Kyiv, which was hoping to bring him to the negotiating table.

The African leaders travelled to Kyiv on Friday to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout of Russia’s invasion, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa saying “there should be peace through negotiations.”

But Zelensky told a news conference after their meeting: “Today, I have clearly said repeatedly at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land means to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering.”

On their arrival in Kyiv, the African leaders were greeted with explosions and forced to take shelter in bunkers as Russian airstrikes hit the capital. Ukrainian officials said the attack was repelled by air defenses.

The African delegation is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the League of Conservation Voters annual capital dinner in Washington, DC, on June 14, 2023.

US President Joe Biden is comfortable with removing one of the hurdles for Ukraine?to join NATO, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

According to the source, Biden would be willing to drop the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine, which was described in a 2008 agreement as “the next step for Ukraine … on their direct way to membership.”

The MAP, characterized as “the program of advice, assistance and practical support tailored to the individual needs of countries wishing to join the Alliance,” is a process that other nations have had to undertake to join NATO.

Why this matters:?Its removal would represent a small step in easing Ukraine’s accession into the defensive alliance.

It is part of proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and was discussed when the two leaders met in Washington earlier this week, the source said.?

The US president is most concerned about finding a concrete proposal that will be supported by the rest of the allies and would signal to Ukraine that they are making progress toward membership, the source said.

However, the United States still does not view Ukraine’s membership into the alliance as imminent due to reforms that Kyiv needs to make, and the source said the Stoltenberg proposal reflects this.

The NATO chief’s proposal does not set a specific timeline for Ukraine’s membership into the alliance, which is something that has been pushed by some members of the alliance.?

CNN reported earlier this week that the US might be willing to drop the language around the MAP, according to a European diplomat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he understands that his country?cannot become a member?of NATO while it is still at war.