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NATO must prepare for a long confrontation in Ukraine, Estonia prime minister says
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio in London
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas attends news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, on February 3, 2023. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said NATO countries must prepare for a long war in Ukraine, calling on allies to increase defense spending.
“Russia has prepared for a long confrontation and so must we,” Kallas tweeted on Wednesday.
The Estonian prime minister urged NATO countries to increase defense spending beyond the 2% threshold.
“Estonia has increased its defence budget significantly, it will reach 3% of GDP by 2024,” she said. “2% of GDP on defence spending must be the floor, not the ceiling.”
At least 1 dead and 32 injured in missile strikes in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials say
From Olga Voitovych and Svitlana Vlasova in Kyiv
A residential building damaged after a Russian missile strike in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22. (Kateryna Klochko/AP)At least one person was killed and 32 others were injured by missile strikes in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Wednesday.
“As of now, 32 people have been injured as a result of an enemy missile attack between two nine-story buildings: 27 people have been hospitalized, including 3 children,” it said. “5 people were treated on the spot. One person died.”
According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, Russian forces fired at least six missiles at Zaporizhzhia.
The type of missiles that were used are "currently being established," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The prosecutor’s office went on to say the missiles had caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure and some people are still missing.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian official and adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the strikes deliberately targeted civilians.
“Zaporizhzhia. Today. A specific deliberate strike at a residential building. To kill civilians. No 'military' nearby,” Podolyak posted on Telegram Wednesday. “Once again, the obvious. 'Russian world' came to kill – plain brazenly."
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said rescue operations are still underway.
Russia and US have no common ground on nuclear arms reduction treaty, Russian deputy foreign minister says
From CNN’s Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Moscow and Washington currently have no common ground on the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday in remarks at the Valdai Forum, according to state outlet RIA Novosti.
“There is simply no common ground here. I don’t think that there are any grounds now for discussing the New START issue with the United States,” Ryabkov said of the agreement.
According to Ryabkov, Russia cannot even consider notifications from the American side under the treaty, because from a formal point of view, the contract has been suspended.
“This would be a violation of federal law on our part," he said.
Ryabkov added that Moscow’s condition for returning to START discussions is “a change in the US hostile course towards Russia."
The American counterparts have to “accept the reality for what it is," he added.
Some more context: Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was suspending his country's participation in the nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world's two largest nuclear arsenals.
Putin made the declaration in his much-delayed annual state of the nation address to Russia's National Assembly. Hours after Putin's speech, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the decision to suspend participation in the treaty was "reversible."
The 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 early 2021 for five years, meaning the two sides would soon need to begin negotiating on another arms control agreement.
In photos: See the aftermath of Russia's missile strike on an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia
From CNN Digital's Photo team
Rescuers in Zaporizhzhia are searching for survivors after Russian forces fired at least six missiles at the eastern Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The officials added that the missiles caused extensive damage to residential high-rise buildings.
“One of the missiles hit between two high-rise buildings, partially destroying apartments and balconies, damaging roofs and breaking windows,” the statement said. “The blast wave and debris also damaged other nearby residential buildings, cars and other civilian infrastructure in the city."
Here are some photos showing the aftermath of Russia's latest round of missile strikes in the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Rescuers stand in front of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22. (Reuters)
A ladder extends against a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22. (Reuters)
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22. (Reuters)
A view shows a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22. (Reuters)CNN's Svitlana Vlasova and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv contributed to this post.
7 killed in Kyiv region in wave of Russian drone strikes overnight, Ukrainian police say
From CNN's Svitlana Vlasova in Kyiv
The State Emergency Service for the Kyiv region has told CNN that the number of people killed in a Russian drone strike that hit a residential building in the town of Rzhyshchiv Tuesday night has risen to seven.
Andrii Niebytov, the Kyv region police chief, previously said that a drone had struck a dormitory building.
Police and emergency services evacuated more than 200 people after the strike, Niebytov said.
Moscow will respond to UK supplying Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London
Moscow will not leave unanswered the UK's intention to supply Ukraine with shells that include depleted uranium, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Violating the fundamental norms of international law, London must not forget that it will have to bear full responsibility for this," the statement added.
On Tuesday, the UK defense minister said Russia is “deliberately trying to disinform” since depleted uranium "is a standard component" for shells and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. The comment from the ministry came after Putin warned the UK against supplying the ammunition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the UK's shipment of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine would be a step toward further escalation of the conflict.
Some background: According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, depleted uranium is used in ammunition designed to pierce armor plating because it becomes sharper on impact with a target.
It is “considerably less radioactive than natural uranium,” according to the agency.
CNN's Jessie Gretener, Darya Tarasova and Jack Guy contributed to this post.
At least 1 killed and dozens in hospital after strike hits Zaporizhzhia residential building, mayor says
From Svitlana Vlasova
CCTV footage of the moment of a missile strikes a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. (Reuters)A missile strike on a residential building in Zaporizhzhia has killed at least one and left 25 people in the hospital, Anatolii Kurtiev, acting mayor of the city of Zaporizhzhia, said.
Earlier, the region's military administration said two Russian missiles hit a residential high-rise building in city Zaporizhzhia. Footage posted to social media Wednesday shows extensive damage and a fire at a residential block in Zaporizhzhia, apparently from a missile strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted about the attack on the social media app Telegram, saying Russia was "shelling the city with bestial savagery."
It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's the latest on the war in Ukraine
From CNN staff
Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed Moscow after a three-day visit, attacks on one Donetsk town are intensifying and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting troops on the front lines.
Here's what happening:
- Tokyo and Beijing stake out positions: While Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Kyiv meeting with Zelensky. Both East Asian leaders struck agreements with their hosts, but none of the accords are expected to impact the war in any meaningful way. However, a Ukrainian official told CNN discussions are underway with China to organize a call between Xi and Zelensky to discuss Beijing's peace proposal.
- More strikes across Ukraine: Overnight drone attacks in the region of Kyiv left four people dead. Russian missiles later struck a residential block in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian authorities said.
- Avdiivka under assault: The town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region is being heavily bombarded by Russian forces, a local Ukrainian leader told CNN. Heavy fighting is raging on the town's outskirts, and evacuations have become exceedingly difficult for the estimated 2,000 residents left there. There are concerns the town could become the next Bakhmut.
- Zelensky's trip east: Also in Donetsk, the Ukrainian president surprised troops on the front lines, according to video released by his office. Exactly where is unclear. Standing in a large warehouse at an undisclosed location, Zelensky handed out awards to servicemen who had fought in Bakhmut.
- Financial assistance may be coming: The International Monetary Fund agreed to provide Ukraine a $15.6 billion loan to help stave off financial woes due to the war with Russia, though the package must still be approved by the IMF's executive board.
Zelensky pays surprise visit to troops on front lines in eastern Donetsk region
From Victoria Butenko
During a working trip to the Donetsk region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian military in the Bakhmut area. (President of Ukraine)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a surprise visit to wounded troops at a hospital in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine near the front lines.
Among the wounded Ukrainian servicemen were some of the defenders of Bakhmut, according to a statement from the Presidency.
According to video released by the President's office, Zelensky said from a warehouse at an undisclosed location that he was "honored to be here today, in the east of our country, in Donbas, and to award our heroes, to thank you, to shake hands. Thank you for protecting the state, sovereignty, the east of Ukraine."
English (US) ·