“Finally, we now propose a ban on Russian oil. Let's be clear: it will not be easy. But we simply have to work on it. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion. To maximise pressure on Russia, while minimizing the impact on our economies.”
Von der Leyen is speaking at the European Parliament during a discussion on a sixth package of sanctions against Russia.
4:11 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Ukrainian military says Russians have made few advances despite heavy bombardments
From CNN's Tim Lister in Lviv, Ukraine
The Ukrainian military said Wednesday that despite heavy artillery fire on a number of fronts, Russian forces have made few advances toward their goal of securing all of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east of the country.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter said the US had "highly credible" intelligence reports that Russia will try to annex the Donetsk and Luhansk regions “sometime in mid-May.”
In its latest operational update, the military said that the Russian missile attacks on Tuesday night were designed to destroy the transport infrastructure. Cruise missiles hit at least a half-dozen targets across central and western Ukraine in what appears to have been an attempt to hamper the transit of military equipment and supplies.
The Ukrainian railway system reported that more than 40 trains were delayed following the attacks.
One of the strikes was in the region of Zakarpattia, near the Slovak border, the first time it has been targeted since the invasion began.
Viktor Mykyta, head of Zakarpattia regional military administration, said a populated area had been hit but there were no casualties and work was underway to restore utilities.
Tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainians have moved from the east to the Zakarpattia region.
The Ukrainian General Staff update reported that there were few signs of Russian ground forces getting ready to move, but that more units from Russia's Central Military District had been brought into border areas in Russia's Bryansk region, which neighbors northeast Ukraine.
The General Staff said most of the offensive action continued to be in the form of artillery attacks. It said a ground advance toward Dovhenke had failed. Russian forces have been trying to push south from the Kharkiv region in an effort to surround Ukrainian units defending the Donetsk region, but with limited success, it said.
CNN is unable to confirm the details of the Ukrainian military's update.
The military leadership did acknowledge that the Russians are advancing in the direction of the village of Shandryholove, where Ukrainian troops are trying to defend the approaches to the towns of Lyman and Sloviansk in the Donetsk oblast. In recent weeks, the Russian military has conducted repeated military strikes on Lyman, including on its railroad infrastructure.
"The enemy strengthened the group of troops and intensified air reconnaissance," in the Lyman area, according to the update.
CNN has geolocated video from that same area showing Russian armor being destroyed by Ukrainian fire in recent days.
The military also reported continued fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Russian forces had failed to advance on the town of Orikhiv.
Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said rocket and bomb attacks continued on the towns of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne and Lysychansk. Two people had died. He said fighting also continued in the town of Popasna. CNN has geolocated video showing intense street fighting among the town's ruins.
"The Russians are not just destroying Popasna. They are removing it from the map of Luhansk region," Haidai said.
In neighboring Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of Donetsk regional military administration, said the towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka were bombarded again Wednesday morning.
1:57 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Australia imposes more sanctions on Ukrainian separatists and Russian officials
From CNN's Lizzy Yee in Hong Kong
Australia imposed further sanctions and travel bans against members of Russia’s parliament and Ukrainian separatists on Wednesday, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The new listings will target 110 individuals, including 34 "senior members of the Russian-led movements" in Donetsk and Luhansk.
"These individuals have violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine through their assertion of governmental authority over areas of Ukraine without the Ukrainian Government’s authorization," the statement said.
Among those sanctioned are also 76 members of the State Duma, Russia’s parliament. The sanctioned individuals voted "to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter said the US had "highly credible" intelligence reports that Russia will try to annex the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk “sometime in mid-May.”
Russian politician Oleg Matveichev was also sanctioned by Australia “for the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda.”
“With these announced listings, the Government will have sanctioned 812 individuals and 47 entities in response to Russia’s illegal war,” the statement said. “Australia reiterates our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the people of Ukraine.”
Some background: Australia is one of a number of countries, including the United States, that have been continually imposing fresh sanctions on Russia since the invasion began. On April 14, Australia sanctioned 14 Russian state-owned enterprises of "strategic and economic importance."
12:20 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Russian soldier allegedly says more lives lost in Ukraine than in 4 years of fighting in Chechnya
From CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey
Russian forces have lost more lives in Ukraine than in four years in Chechnya, a Russian soldier said in an audio clip that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) claims was an intercepted communication between the soldier and his friend.
CNN has not verified the authenticity of the audio. The SBU did not provide further details on the soldier speaking in the audio file or how it was intercepted.
In the audio, the Russian soldier expressed discontent that the elite members of RosGvardia, Putin’s National Guard, and OMON, the Special Police Force, have left Ukraine.
“They are f***ing unnecessary. They’re going back because they’re making scenes about not wanting to keep going,” he says. “All of these special forces ‘f***ing awesome’ fighters we had, all of them pulled back, f***ing fled to Russia, and refuse to keep going further,” he continued.
Even the elite enemy units can't stand the pressure of Ukrainian defenders," the SBU said in a statement on social media.
Some context: The exact number of Russian troops that have been killed in Ukraine remains unclear.
The Russian government has not provided updates. However, in mid-March, the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda published — then later removed — a report that the Russian Ministry of Defense had recorded 9,861 Russian Armed Forces deaths in the war.
12:57 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
It's 7 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
Russian forces launched attacks on several targets that appear related to the transport of military equipment in Ukraine. They included three railway power substations damaged by missile strikes in the western city of Lviv, a local official said.
Four evacuation corridors planned: Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, announced four planned evacuation corridors to the city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday "if the safety situation allows." They will allow evacuations from Mariupol, Lunacharske Circle, Tokmak and Vasylivka, Vereshchuk said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday that 156 people had arrived in Zaporizhzhia from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Mariupol visit by a high-level Russian-backed official: Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Russian-backed separatist region of Donetsk, has become the first known high-ranking official — Russian or Russian-backed — to visit the besieged Ukrainian city, according to photos posted on his Telegram channel. The visit is the first major sign of the impending Russification of Mariupol.
At least 290 civilian bodies found in Irpin since Russian withdrawal: The bodies of 290 civilians have been recovered in the town of Irpin, outside of Kyiv, since the withdrawal of Russian forces, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushin said Tuesday. Markushin said 185 of the dead have been identified and most were men. "Shrapnel and gunshot wounds" were the causes of death.
US hoping to attract highly skilled Russians: US President Joe Biden has asked the US Congress to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it easier for highly educated Russians to obtain visas to work in the US. Tens of thousands of highly educated Russians have reportedly fled Russia since the war, and the US administration is hoping to take advantage of that brain drain, officials said.
Biden administration says it won't allow Russia to "co-opt" Victory Day: White House National Security Council senior director for Europe Amanda Sloat told CNN the Biden administration does not want to allow Putin to "co-opt" Monday’s Victory Day by tying it to the invasion of Ukraine. She declined to weigh in on intelligence indicating Putin may use the holiday to rally support for his invasion of Ukraine, including possible steps to formally declare war on its neighbor or annex the Donbas and Luhansk regions.
Two-hour call between Macron and Putin: French President Emmanuel Macron had a call with Putin that lasted over two hours, the Élysée Palace said Tuesday. Macron warned Putin of the consequences of the war and called for an end to the “devastating aggression,” it said. Macron also “expressed his deep concern about Mariupol" and the situation in the Donbas region.
Israel-Russia diplomatic dispute: Russia accused Israel of supporting "the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv" Tuesday, raising the stakes in a diplomatic dispute between Moscow and the Jewish state over Ukraine, anti-Semitism and Adolf Hitler. The accusation potentially increases pressure on Israel, which voted in the UN to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has not fully joined Western sanctions on Moscow or supplied Ukraine with weapons.
US classifies WNBA player as "wrongfully detained" in Russia: The US State Department has now classified WNBA player Brittney Griner as wrongfully detained in Russia and her case is now being handled by the office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, a State Department official confirms to CNN. The SPEHA office leads and coordinates diplomatic efforts aimed at securing the release of Americans wrongfully detained abroad. It played a major role in securing the release of American Trevor Reed from Russia last week.
12:00 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Four planned evacuation corridors to Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday "if safety situation allows"
Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, announced four planned evacuation corridors to the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday “if the safety situation allows.”
They are planned from Mariupol, Lunacharske Circle, Tokmak and Vasylivka, Vereshchuk said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday that 156 people arrived to Zaporizhzhia from the besieged Azovstal steel plant and surrounding areas in Mariupol by evacuation corridors.
"I am grateful to all of those on whom the salvation of these people depended. Who agreed and who helped. I am grateful to everyone who provided physical movement of people through the humanitarian corridor," he said.
12:02 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Ukrainians strike Russian positions in Oleksandrivka, newly released video shows
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy and Tim Lister
The Ukrainian military took out a number of Russian military vehicles in Oleksandrivka, south southeast of Russian-occupied Izium, newly released video from the Ukrainian Armed Forces shows.
The armed forces did not disclose where, or when, the video was taken. CNN verified its authenticity, and has geolocated it to Oleksandrivka, a small village in the Donestk oblast.
Sensory satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System has detected a number of fires in the village, and around the area, since April 27.
In the drone video, there are a number of smoldering Russian military vehicles.
In a Sunday briefing posted on Telegram, the Ukraine Armed Forces said Russian forces were moving south from the Kharkiv oblast and into Oleksandrivka.
According to briefing, the Russians were attempting to advance on Lyman, a strategic and heavily contested city just south of the village.
In recent weeks, the Russian military has conducted repeated military strikes on Lyman, including on its railroad infrastructure.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also admitted to military activity near Oleksandrivka, saying in a Monday briefing posted to Telegram that they targeted the area around the village with missiles.
9:46 a.m. ET, May 4, 2022
Ukrainians strike Russian positions on Snake Island with military drone, video shows
From CNN’s Paul P. Murphy and Tim Lister
The Ukrainian Armed Forces say they hit at least two Russian military positions on Russian-occupied Snake Island purportedly using a Bayraktar UAV, a military drone.
It’s unclear what date the Ukrainian military strikes were conducted, but the video was posted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces Southern Operation Command on Tuesday.
CNN has geolocated the video showing the strikes and verified its authenticity.
The military strikes appear to have targeted an area between a building and a communications tower, and another area that appears to have contained ammunition or another explosive. A number of explosions are seen after the initial one in the second area.
Snake Island, and the Ukrainian border guards on it, gained significant notoriety at the beginning of the Russian invasion when the island was targeted by Russian soldiers and the Ukrainian guards refused to surrender.