July 12, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.

A high-profile Russian general in command of forces in occupied southern Ukraine said he was dismissed from his post after accusing the defense ministry of betraying Russian soldiers by not providing sufficient support.

General Ivan Popov was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, which has been involved in heavy fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. He is one of the most senior officers involved in the Russian campaign in Ukraine.

The public resignation or dismissal of such a senior officer amid an open dispute over the conduct of the Russian campaign is unprecedented, according to analysts. 

Here are other headlines you should know:

• On the ground: Ukrainian forces are making further advances in the Bakhmut area and rebuffed Russian assaults elsewhere in the Donetsk region, according to officials. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Ukraine's forces successfully held back the Russian offensive in the Kupyansk, Lyman, Avdiivka and Marinka directions — all areas of the front lines where the Russians have made repeated attempts to break through Ukrainian defenses.
• Death of a general: A popular Russian state television program appeared to confirm the death of a Russian general in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials had claimed that Oleg Tsokov, the deputy commander of the Southern Military District, was among a number of Russians killed in a Ukrainian missile strike Tuesday. The attack was targeted on a Russian headquarters in the occupied city of Berdiansk, Ukrainian officials said. Independent analysts and CNN’s own tally indicate that Russia has lost about 10 generals in combat since the invasion began.

• NATO summit takeaways: US President Joe Biden and G7 leaders unveiled a substantial show of support for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, offering a joint declaration of support for Kyiv aimed at bolstering the war-torn country’s military capability. However, there was still no invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance. In his nightly address after the summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism about Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of NATO. The Russian foreign ministry, for its part, said the NATO summit demonstrated that the alliance has "finally returned to the Cold War schemes.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would "be glad to act as a mediator" between Russia and Ukraine if the two countries agreed to such a proposition. 
• Military assistance: Estonia's prime minister defended her support for the United States' decision to provide Ukraine with controversial cluster bombs. And British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Kyiv's allies "want to see gratitude” from Ukraine for their support while recalling how he told Ukrainian officials during a visit to Kyiv in June of 2022 that the UK was not “Amazon” when he was given a list of weapons demands. Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the US not to grow weary of Ukraine’s grinding battle against Russia.

One person was killed in Kyiv after Ukrainian air defenses intercepted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the region early Thursday morning, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. 

According to Klitschko, the body of a man was found while responders were extinguishing an apartment building fire in Kyiv’s Podil district.

Air defense systems intercepted Russian airstrikes launched early on Thursday morning, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration said on Telegram.

“Air defense is operating in the region, on the outskirts of Kyiv city. Stay in shelters until the air raid is over!" said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration.

Klitschko reported damage in several parts of the capital and said two injured people in the Darnytsia district have been hospitalized.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expressing optimism about Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of NATO.

“It is very important that during these two days of the summit we have removed any doubts and ambiguities about whether Ukraine will be in NATO. It will be! For the first time, not only do all allies agree on this, but a significant majority in the alliance is vigorously pushing for it,” he said in his nightly address on Wednesday following the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

At the summit, US President Joe Biden and G7 leaders unveiled a substantial show of support for Ukraine, offering a joint declaration of support for Ukraine aimed at bolstering the war-torn country’s military capability.

“These are concrete security guarantees that are confirmed by the top 7 democracies in the world. Never before have we had such a security foundation,” Zelensky said.  

In his address, he also thanked the countries that are set to begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 combat aircraft.

A key US House Foreign Affairs Committee member on Wednesday acknowledged progress from Turkey after its decision to support Sweden’s NATO bid – and suggested it could yield progress on a sale of F-16s to Ankara — but a key US Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said that a deal is not yet sealed.

“Turkey’s announcement to drop objections to Sweden’s NATO accession is a significant step forward in addressing the concerns I and many members of Congress have related to approving significant pending weapons packages for Turkey,” House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks said in a statement to CNN.

“Along with ensuring Sweden’s accession proceeds without further delays, I’ve called on Turkey to cease its violations of Greek sovereignty — both by air and sea — and engage in dialogue to de-escalate those tensions,” the New York Democrat said. “Additionally, I hope to see Turkey follows through with commitments to fully implement sanctions on entities providing sensitive military equipment to Russia, cracks down on Russian money laundering, and stop striking our Syrian Kurdish allies.”

However, The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, told CNN that “the F-16 deal is not in writing at this point.” 

“This whole thing is fluid until each party says, this is what we’re going to do, this is what we’re going to do,” the Idaho Republican said. We’re not there yet, but we’re gonna be,” Risch said. 

As CNN reported Tuesday, Biden administration officials had been heavily engaged with lawmakers to try to shift opponents to the F-16 sale, many of whom had tied the issue to Turkey allowing Sweden’s NATO bid to move forward.

One of the key opponents, Sen. Bob Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN on Tuesday afternoon that “as of now” he remains opposed.

Some context: Weapons sales are approved by Congress, and once the administration formally informs Congress it intends to sell arms, lawmakers have 30 days to block the deal, which they can do by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.

A high-profile Russian general in command of forces in occupied southern Ukraine says he has been dismissed from his post after accusing the defense ministry of betraying Russian soldiers by not providing sufficient support.

General Ivan Popov was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, which has been involved in heavy fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. He is one of the most senior officers involved in the Russian campaign in Ukraine.

In a voice note, Popov said that he raised questions about "the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery. I also raised a number of other problems and expressed it all at the highest level frankly and extremely harshly."

Popov said that the Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu then dismissed him.

"As many commanders of divisional regiments said today, the servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, [but] our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment," he said.

Popov's audio message was relayed by Andrey Gurulev, a member of the Russian parliament and a former Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District, on his Telegram channel.

The public resignation or dismissal of such a senior officer amid an open dispute over the conduct of the Russian campaign is unprecedented, according to analysts. 

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the United States not to grow weary of Ukraine’s grinding battle against Russia and said that victory over Moscow is imperative.

Johnson called on the US to continue its support of Ukraine, including the steady flow of weapons, in an interview with CNN Tonight’s Laura Coates as a key NATO summit concluded Wednesday.

He said that there could be “no possible excuse” to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership.

“There can be no possible excuse or reason to keep faffing around and delaying,” Johnson said, adding that it was “very important” to establish that Ukraine was on the path to NATO membership. “The last remaining objection was that it was going to be provocative to Vladimir Putin. Well, we’ve seen what happens when you don’t have Ukraine in NATO, you provoke the worst war in Europe in 80 years.”

US President Joe Biden and G7 leaders unveiled a substantial show of support for Ukraine on the final day of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania — offering a joint declaration of support aimed at bolstering Kyiv’s military capability.

Biden acknowledged that the alliance did not invite Ukraine to membership during the summit as it works on “necessary reforms,” but said it would continue to boost the country’s security. Biden has emphasized that Ukraine is not ready to enter NATO, telling CNN in an exclusive interview last week that Russia’s war in Ukraine needs to end before the alliance can consider adding Kyiv to its ranks.

During his time as Britain’s prime minister, Johnson was a vocal supporter of Ukraine and developed a close working relationship with Zelensky, becoming one of the first foreign leaders to make the precarious trip to Kyiv. Johnson resigned as prime minister in September 2022 and as a member of parliament in June, in the wake of scandals over his handling of the UK’s coronavirus crisis.

On Wednesday he warned that aside from the Russian army, the biggest enemy that the Ukrainians have in the conflict is “Ukraine fatigue.”

“It’s the exhaustion of the rest of the world, and particularly the supporters of Ukraine, in making sure that they win," he said. “But they’ve got to win, it’s absolutely crucial,” he added, explaining that a Ukrainian victory is “vital for democracy and freedom around the world.”

Read more.

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina says Russia’s invasion of her country has made her “mentally stronger” on the tennis court as she continues her stunning run at Wimbledon.

Svitolina, who returned to tennis this year following the birth of her daughter in October, reached a grand slam semifinal for the third time in her career on Tuesday, ousting world No. 1 Iga Świątek 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2.

The former world No. 3 received a wildcard entry for Wimbledon but now has a chance to reach a first-ever major final when she faces the Czech Republic’s Markéta Vondroušová on Thursday.

That would cap off a whirlwind period in Svitolina’s career, during which she has been at the forefront of tennis’ humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine. The 28-year-old says that the war, combined with the birth of her daughter, has changed her perspective on sport and life.

“I think war made me stronger and also made me mentally stronger,” Svitolina told reporters after her victory against Świątek.

“Mentally, I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster,” said Svitolina. “There are worse things in life. I’m just more calm.

“I think also, because I’m just starting to play again, I have different pressures. Of course, I want to win. I have this huge motivation to come back to the top, but I think having a child, and war, made me a different person. I look at things a bit differently.”

Read more here

Estonia's prime minister is defending her support for the United States' decision to provide Ukraine with controversial cluster bombs.

"We have to do everything to help Ukraine as long as it takes. And of course, when there is no more ammunition to give except the cluster bombs, I think we have to give those as well," Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. "Ukraine has said that they will not use them on those territories where you have civilians, they will just use them to defend themselves and push Russia back to Russia."

Cluster munitions, also called cluster bombs, are canisters that carry and release smaller bomblets that fall to the ground. They are more controversial than other bombs because unexploded munitions can then be detonated by civilian activity years or even decades later, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Kallas also expressed her support for Ukraine to join NATO and said that allies agree that Ukraine's place is ultimately in the alliance. She said the window of opportunity for Ukraine's membership may come after the war is over.

"The question is not if but when it will happen and we have agreed [on] practical steps and pathways to get there," Kallas told CNN. "So if those conditions are met, the opportunity window opens when the war ends, then we can admit Ukraine into NATO and have this article five coverage also for Ukraine."

From CNN's Bianna Golodryga, Zoe Cantley, and Lauren Kent