May 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells CNN he is still not prepared support Sweden's NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

Erdogan can't look favorably on Sweden's membership bid, “as long as Sweden continues to allow the offshoots of terror groups in Turkey to roam free on the streets of Stockholm,” he said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Key context: Erdogan has long accused Sweden of harboring militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, a designated terror group in Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe.

Erdogan says he would like these individuals extradited, but Stockholm has made clear this won’t happen. The stalemate has blocked Sweden's accession to NATO even as fellow Nordic country Finland moved ahead in the process and officially joined the alliance last month.

Some Western officials and Middle East observers have suggested the terrorism claims provide cover for Erdogan not to engage with the NATO question and potentially anger Russian President Vladimir Putin at a politically inconvenient time.

Russia provided an economic lifeline to Turkey after other nations imposed sanctions on Ankara, and Putin remains an attractive partner in the country's post-earthquake rebuilding efforts, Gonul Tol, an academic with the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, told CNN in March.

What it means for the war in Ukraine: Finland’s acceptance into the US-led security alliance dealt a blow to Putin, who has long sought to undermine NATO. Before invading Ukraine, he demanded the bloc refrain from further expansion.

The invasion instead drove non-aligned Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutrality and seek protection within NATO.

If Sweden eventually succeeds in joining the alliance, it will vastly change the security landscape in northeastern Europe, adding significantly to NATO's frontier with Russia.

US President Joe Biden's administration shared details about sweeping new sanctions targeting Russia for its war in Ukraine, which were unveiled as part of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on “22 individuals and 104 entities, with touchpoints in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions,” the agency said in a news release.

The new sanctions target those who are trying to evade existing sanctions on Russia, as well as the country's sources of key technology, its energy capabilities and its financial services sector. The measures also expand the types of industry US sanctions can target.

Separately, the US State Department “is imposing sanctions on or identifying as blocked property over 200 entities, individuals, vessels, and aircraft,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

According to a fact sheet, the State Department imposed sanctions on multiple officials for their involvement in Moscow's alleged schemes to deport Ukrainian children to Russia and enroll them in re-education camps, which are the source of an International Criminal Court warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin's arrest.

More on US sanctions: The US also imposed sanctions on several Putin aides and Kremlin officials, plus Moscow-backed leaders in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

The US State Department designated several companies said to be involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain, and entities tied to the “logistics network” between Russia and Iran, including two Iranian shipping companies. 

They also sanctioned a unit of the Russian Defense Ministry and a Russian state-owned enterprise for supporting the Wagner mercenary group.

The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group has been working to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by trying to source the materials from Mali, where the group has a strong foothold, a US official told CNN.

The official, citing US intelligence declassified within the last week, said the Biden administration has been informed that Wagner has been trying to ship equipment for Ukraine through Mali and falsifying paperwork for the transactions. 

There are no signs yet that Wagner has successfully procured the equipment, but the group has continued working to procure mines, drones, radar and counter-battery systems from contacts in Mali for use in Ukraine, the official said. “We are monitoring this closely,” the official added. 

Wagner has sought to expand its foothold in Africa in recent years and has been operating alongside Mali’s armed forces for more than a year, fighting against a jihadist insurgency. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in September 2021 that the Malian government would be hiring private Russian mercenaries for help with security.

Mali is not the only country Wagner has turned to for help in Ukraine, officials believe, as the mercenary group faces severe shortages of weapons and ammunition amid fierce fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. 

A US intelligence document contained in a trove of classified information leaked online in recent months and obtained by CNN says that Wagner Group personnel met with “Turkish contacts” in early February with the intent “to purchase weapons and equipment from Turkey” that could then be used in Ukraine. That document also said that Wagner was likely trying to use weapons procured from Turkey for use in its operations in Mali.

The White House has also previously accused North Korea of supplying Russia's Wagner Group with missiles and rockets for use in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia that “here among you” are people who “turn a blind eye” to Ukraine’s suffering, urging them to “take an honest look.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab League summit for the first time in a decade and was seen on camera in the conference room minutes ahead of Zelensky’s speech. Syria was only one of only two countries in the world (along with North Korea) to recognize Russia’s claimed annexations last year of four Ukrainian regions.

Speaking in English, Zelensky told his counterparts: “Look at how much suffering the long-term wars have brought to Libya, Syria, Yemen, how many lives have been wasted by years of fighting Sudan and Somalia, in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“I hope that most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice,” he said. 

“Even if there are people here at the summit who have a different view on the war, on our land, calling it a conflict, I am sure that we can all be united in saving people from the cages of Russian prisons. Unfortunately, there are some in the world, and here among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations.”

Zelensky brought the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, with him on this trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“I am also sure all your nations will understand the main call I want to leave here in Jeddah, a noble call to all of you, to help protect our people, including Ukrainian Muslim community,” he said. “With me here is the Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, one of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, whose home is Crimea, the center of Muslim culture in Ukraine.”

“For centuries the Crimean Tatar have been, and should remain, an integral and strong part of the Muslim community of the world," Zelensky added. "But Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation. And until now, most of those who are subjected to repression in the occupied Crimea are Muslims.”

Some context: Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2021, Ukraine has launched multiple strikes against Russian positions in Crimea, which was previously annexed by Moscow in 2014 and is currently under Kremlin control.

Zelensky has repeatedly vowed to liberate Crimea, which he says remains “part of Ukrainian people and society."

Zelensky also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and thanked him for inviting him to the Arab summit.

He said that during their bilateral meeting, he had outlined the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which demands the withdrawal of Russian forces from all parts of Ukraine, including Crimea. 

He also noted the Saudi role in mediating the release of 10 foreign prisoners of war from Russian captivity. 

“We are interested in continuing joint efforts to release people,” Zelensky said.

CNN's Yulia Kesaieva, Mariya Knight and Heather Chen contributed to this post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are attending the Arab League meeting on Friday. 

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed both leaders for the 32nd summit. 

Some context: Assad is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies globally and has been backed militarily by Putin during the Syrian civil war.  

Earlier this month, Arab nations agreed to re-admit Syria into the Arab League despite repeated objections from the United States to ending the more than decade-long isolation of a regime that it holds accountable for the deaths of more than 300,000 civilians and displacement of millions in the country’s civil war.

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Laura Paddison contributed to this post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is capping a frenetic week of diplomacy with visits to Saudi Arabia on Friday and to the G7 summit in Japan this weekend, in a stark display of confidence as Ukraine’s wartime leader tries to harness as much support as possible in anticipation of his forces’ counteroffensive.

Here are the latest developments:

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the Russian-occupied portion of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, which Russia considers to have annexed, Moscow has said.

It is unclear when the reported trip took place. The defense ministry released a video of Shoigu walking in an underground bunker, speaking with commanders, and awarding medals.

“The high awards are a high appreciation of your military work,” Shoigu says in the video. “Thank you for this. I hope you will continue to faithfully serve our country, for the benefit of its people. Congratulations, and take care of yourself.”

Some context: Zaporizhzhia, a region in southeastern Ukraine, is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The plant’s position close to the front lines means shelling in the surrounding towns and near the facility is common, according to local reports.

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from front line areas in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to a member of the Russian-installed main council of the military-civilian administration, Vladimir Rogov, earlier this month.

The evacuations are taking place amidst fears around the “very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant,” according to International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi.

There are currently no “substantive” discussions on arms control between the Russian and United States governments, the Kremlin’s spokesperson said on Friday.

According to Peskov, the limited remaining components of the international legal framework on nuclear arms control are rapidly eroding.

“The situation is lamentable,” he said. “And the responsibility for this lamentable situation lies entirely with Washington.”

Some context: The New START nuclear arms treaty puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have. It was last extended in 2021 and lasts for five years.

Peskov’s comments were made in relation to a proposal by a number of US Senate Republicans, made public on Thursday, to have the US exit the New START treaty. Senator Tom Cotton, who introduced the proposal, said in a press statement that the treaty has “handcuffed America,” while Russia has been able to repeatedly breach its terms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, stating that “Washington must show political will, make conscientious efforts for a general de-escalation and create conditions for the resumption of the full functioning of the Treaty and, accordingly, comprehensively ensuring its viability.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel in person to Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, according to sources, a stark display of confidence and Western solidarity as Ukraine’s wartime leader tries to keep crucial support from allied nations flowing.

Zelensky's expected trip to Hiroshima for the summit follows his attendance at the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday, topping a frenetic week of diplomacy.

Earlier this week, Zelensky completed a whirlwind European tour, where he made a bid to restock Ukraine’s military arsenal during stops in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

It comes as Kyiv is preparing a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russia and building pressure on partner governments for more military aid amid intensifying aerial attacks.

His travels also send a signal of a confident and well-connected Ukraine that contrasts sharply with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has become increasingly isolated and cut off in recent months.

Read more here.