May 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Catherine Nicholls, Christian Edwards, Adrienne Vogt, Maureen Chowdhury and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 10:44 AM ET, Fri May 19, 2023
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8:39 p.m. ET, May 17, 2023

2 Patriot system components were damaged in Russian attack, official says

From CNN's Oren Liebermann

Two components of a Patriot battery were damaged in a Russian attack Tuesday, but the system “was never offline," according to a US official familiar with the matter.

The Russian barrage — which consisted of hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and other munitions — damaged the Patriot battery’s generator and part of the system’s electronics.

The damage was minimal, according to three other US officials, with one describing it as “minor.” The system remained functional throughout the attack and remains online, an official said.

The US sent inspectors to examine the system on Tuesday, after being told by the Ukrainians that it appeared to have been damaged, one of the officials said.

US officials are still assessing how exactly the Patriot components were damaged since it does not appear that any of the components sustained a direct hit from a Russian Kinzhal missile or other munition.

One possibility is that debris from a falling missile damaged the Patriot components, but officials are examining other options as well. 

1:07 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Hungary may halt further EU sanctions against Russia after Ukraine blacklists Hungarian bank

From CNN's James Frater

Peter Szijjarto speaks during an interview at the United Nations headquarters on Friday, March 24.
Peter Szijjarto speaks during an interview at the United Nations headquarters on Friday, March 24. John Minchillo/AP

A Hungarian official says it would be very difficult for Hungary to join the European Union’s next round of sanctions against Russia after Ukraine blacklisted a Hungarian bank.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó described the move by the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) to include Hungarian Bank OTP on its list of “international sponsors of war” as “outrageous.” 

He added “that as long as OTP stays on this list, it will be very difficult for us to even enter into negotiations on the eleventh sanctions package,” and “it will be very difficult for us to negotiate economic restrictions that require additional sacrifices.”

In a statement earlier this month, NAZK said the decision to classify OTP bank as an international sponsor of war was “due to the position of the bank’s management to continue operations in Russia” as well the bank’s “recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics.’”

The Hungarian Foreign Minister refuted Kyiv’s claims on Monday, saying that as Hungary’s biggest bank, “OTP has not violated any international laws. Its operations fully comply with all kinds of expectations and legislation.”

Szijjártó also said placing the bank “on the list of international sponsors of war is unacceptable and scandalous.”

What the EU is saying: A senior EU official, briefing journalists in Brussels on Wednesday, said the EU’s priority “is to ensure that we can support Ukraine so that they can win,” and that “we're going to talk to the Ukrainian side. We'll talk to the member states, talk to Hungary, of course.” 

The senior official said it’s not for the EU “to decide what private banks do. But again, we have to deal with a question that is influencing and affecting decisively one of our main foreign policy objectives, which is to support Ukraine.”  

“It's affecting our decisions on military and financial support. We have to deal with that, we will be dealing with that and I can tell you that the High Representative [Josep Borrell] is already dealing with that,” the official added.

The official also said that EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue on Monday in Brussels at a scheduled meeting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will also attend the meeting virtually.

1:18 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Ukraine says heavy fighting continues in Bakhmut as videos show intense shelling and damage

From CNN's Tim Lister, Josh Pennington and Yulia Kesaieva

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces launched S-300 missiles at Bakhmut, adding there were airstrikes in several locations around the eastern city.

“Heavy fighting for Bakhmut continues. In addition, during the day the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Ivanivske,” the military’s General Staff said.

Ivanivske is a village to the west of Bakhmut.

Meanwhile, videos emerging from Bakhmut show intense shelling and heavy destruction in the western part of the city, the last area where Ukrainian forces have a presence.

Video published by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and RIA FAN showed Moscow's forces moving through abandoned apartment buildings and across courtyards littered with debris.

RIA FAN is part of Russia's Patriot Media Group. Its board of trustees is headed by Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, whose mercenary fighters have laid siege to Bakhmut for months.

Drone video of Bakhmut showed clouds of gray smoke rising from several neighborhoods — with an Orthodox church on the western outskirts of Bakhmut as one of very few buildings apparently unscathed. It’s not clear exactly when the videos were shot. 

Across the front lines, the General Staff said there were 32 airstrikes. That would be slightly lower than the recent average, according to Ukrainian estimates.

What the situation is like in other parts of Ukraine: In the northern region of Kharkiv, according to the General Staff, the Russians are continuing to try to improve their “tactical situation” in the Kupyansk sector — where there had been unsuccessful offensives close to the Oskil River and heavy shelling of Ukrainian-held areas.

The General Staff added that the situation had been quieter in another hotspot, around Avdiivka in Donetsk, where “the enemy did not conduct any offensive actions over the last day.”

The military officials said Russian forces in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia had continued to shell settlements in the area, striking more than 20 places over the past day.