May 26, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The United States Treasury has sanctioned the head of the Wagner private military group in Mali, Ivan Maslov, as part of its pushback on Wagner expansionism in Africa supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to a press release published Thursday.

The Treasury also confirmed the findings of a CNN investigation into Wagner’s support for the Sudan paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the current war devastating the country.

A US official, citing US intelligence, told CNN earlier this month that the Biden administration had been informed that Wagner had been trying to ship equipment for use in Ukraine through Mali and falsifying paperwork for the transactions.

The official said at the time that there were no signs yet that Wagner had successfully procured the equipment, but the group had continued working to procure mines, drones, radar and counter-battery systems from contacts in Mali for use in Ukraine.

Maslov is a senior Wagner Group security official who was tasked by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitriy Valeryevich Utkin to lead the Wagner Group’s mercenary units in Mali, according to the Treasury press release. 

Both Prigozhin and Utkin have been sanctioned by the US, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada.  

The press release added that Wagner has meddled in and destabilized countries in Africa, committed widespread human rights abuses and appropriated natural resources.  

A medical facility has been hit in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the head of the regional military administration said Friday.

Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram that Russian forces “have struck a medical facility. There are casualties." No further details have been given.

Strikes overnight: A series of drone and missile strikes rained down across Ukraine  — in particular the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions — overnight Thursday into Friday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The attacks began at 10 p.m. Thursday night and the last one was reported at 5 a.m. the following morning, the Air Force said.

In the city of Dnipro, Lysak said five cruise missiles and six “Shahed” drones were downed by Ukrainian forces.

Lysak said a fire had broken out in a private household and two private enterprises, but were extinguished, while a transportation company, two houses and a car were damaged. A gas station was also affected and an injured employee had received medical treatment.

Graivoron in Russia's Belgorod region was shelled overnight, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

The area is one of those that has been attacked by anti-Putin Russian nationals, who are aligned with the Ukrainian army, in recent days. Belgorod borders northeastern Ukraine.

Gladkov did not report any casualties, but said a gas pipeline and a power transmission line were damaged by shells, as were several households and a shop.

He added that emergency services were on the scene.

A series of drone and missile strikes rained down across Ukraine — and in particular the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions — overnight Thursday into Friday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The attacks began at 10 p.m. Thursday night and the last one was reported at 5 a.m. the following morning, the Air Force said.

The command reported 17 cruise missiles and 31 “attack drones” and noted that there were strikes in Dnipro and Kharkiv regions using S-300/S-400 missile systems.

In the city of Dnipro, the head of the regional military administration Serhii Lysak said five cruise missiles and six “Shahed” drones were downed by Ukrainian forces.

On the damage caused, Lysak said a fire had broken out in a private household and two private enterprises, but were extinguished, while a transportation company, two houses and a car were damaged. A gas station was also affected and an injured employee had received medical treatment.

Kyiv also saw some air attacks across the city. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, posted on Telegram that Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea area, presumably with Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles, had targeted the city, but all were “detected and destroyed.”

He said in another post shortly after that there was some damage due to falling debris in the Obolon and Shevchenkivskyi districts of the city, but did not cite any casualties.

Some context: The latest round of attacks come as Ukraine has been facing an intensified aerial assault from Russian forces -- providing a key test for its air defense systems.

Russia would launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if the West provided Ukraine with nuclear weapons, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.

Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev saying that "in case the West provides Ukraine with the nuclear weapon, we will have to make a pre-emptive strike."

Russian state media outlet Tass cited Medvedev as saying "the Anglo-Saxons are not fully aware of this and believe that it will not come to this," adding that "it will come, under certain conditions."

The TASS article stated that Medvedev was commenting on the expanding range of weapons that NATO countries have pledged to send to Ukraine, when he said "maybe they will give nuclear weapons."

He then warned, "but then it will mean that a missile with a nuclear charge will arrive at them."

Some context: The US and its allies have not suggested they would provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine. NATO has decried Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear rhetoric and warned of "severe consequences for Russia" if any such weapons were used.

An explosion was heard in the Russian city of Krasnodar on Friday morning, state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported.

Citing the operational headquarters of Krasnodar territory, the news agencies said the roof and windows of a building on Morskaya Street had been damaged. No casualties have been reported so far.

Social media videos geolocated by CNN to Morskaya Street show what appears to be an unmanned aerial vehicle in the sky, followed by the sound of an explosion. Other social media images show smoke rising from the building, and another image shows the building damaged.

"Emergency services were sent to the scene. No casualties have been reported. There was damage to the building's roof and windows, but no fire," the report said.

The waters of the Caspian Sea appear deceptively calm. But this sea route – which provides a direct path between Iran and Russia – is increasingly busy with cargo traffic, including suspected weapons transfers from Tehran to Moscow.

As cooperation between the two countries deepens, the Caspian Sea route is being used to move drones, bullets, and mortar shells that the Russian government has purchased from the Iranian regime to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, according to experts. Tracking data shows that vessels in the region are increasingly going “dark” – suggesting growing intent to obfuscate the movement of goods.

Last year, data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence revealed a September spike in the number of gaps in vessels tracking data in the Caspian. That’s shortly after the United States and Ukrainian governments say Moscow acquired drones from Tehran last summer. Russia’s use of Iranian drones increased in the fall, including against critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

And analysts say that Ukraine’s Western allies would have little power to stop such arms deliveries.

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, all former Soviet republics, are the other nations with ports on the Caspian Sea.

It’s a “perfect environment for this trade to go unopposed,” Kelly added.

Read the full story here.

Above Tbilisi’s Old Town stands the Mother of Georgia statue, like a less imposing Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. “Kartlis Deda,” as she is known to Georgians, holds a wine cup in her left hand and a sword in her right. She offers a choice to new arrivals. Come as a friend, you are our guest. Come as an enemy, you are not welcome.

Tbilisi, an ancient Silk Road city, is no stranger to foreigners turning up on its streets. But the arrival of more than 100,000 Russians in the country since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year has left Georgians uncertain whether to welcome them as friends or shun them as foes.

The government’s recent attempt to force through what critics see as a Kremlin-style “foreign agent” law, and the huge protests which prevented this, have not helped émigrés to settle in or locals to feel at ease alongside the new arrivals.

Many in Georgia fear what they see as the creeping Russification of their country – a story they know all too well.

On the streets of Tbilisi, the reception for Russian émigrés has also been mixed. “It’s a whole range of attitudes,” said Ivan, a 20-something IT consultant from a city in Russia’s far east. CNN is withholding Ivan’s real name, to protect him from retribution should he ever return to Russia.

Some Georgians are “warm and welcoming” and treat Russians as their “brothers,” Ivan told CNN. Others tell them to “get out.” The key difference is age, he has found.

Read the full story here.

The Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs was seemingly hit by an unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, new video shows, disputing Moscow's claim it had been able to thwart a Ukrainian attack on the craft.

Footage shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on social media Thursday and analyzed by CNN appeared to show the moments just before the impact. 

Here are other headlines you should know:

Bakhmut developments: Ukraine's number of clashes with Wagner mercenaries in and around Bakhmut has been decreasing over the past few days, according to the spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, more than 100 Ukrainians who fought in the Bakhmut area and were captured by Russian troops have been released in a prisoner swap, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office said Thursday. And the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, told CNN he has handed over to Ukrainian authorities the body of a retired US Army Special Forces soldier who died fighting for Bakhmut.

Elsewhere in Ukraine: Russian officials in the occupied southern city of Berdiansk said Ukrainian forces have struck the city with a missile. A member of Russia's local administration in Zaporizhzhia said he still did not have information on casualties, adding that response teams were on site. And in the eastern Donetsk region, an official has accused Russian forces of destroying a dam and endangering nearby residents.

Military equipment: Finland on Thursday pledged to send additional military equipment to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus has begun, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday, according to state news agency BelTA.

Tariff and quota suspension: European trade ministers agreed to extend the temporary measures that suspend customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian imports to the European Union for another year, until June 2024. The temporary easing of trade regulations between Ukraine and the EU went into force in June 2022.

Foreign fighters on trial: Five foreigners who fought for Ukraine are to stand trial in absentia in Russia, according to state media. The group all fought for Ukraine in the defense of the southern city of Mariupol.