September 5, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

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

A Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last month has revealed details of the daring operation to fly across the border in his Mi8 combat helicopter, in an interview published by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.

The pilot, named by Ukrainian officials as Maxim Kuzminov, explained in the interview how he planned his defection and why he felt compelled to do so.

“I contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: ‘Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward,’” the pilot said, in a recording released Monday.

The head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Kyrolo Budanov, revealed in August how Ukrainian officials had been able to help the pilot to defect.

“We were able to create the conditions to get his whole family out undetected, and eventually create the conditions so that he could take over this aircraft with a crew that did not know what was happening,” Budanov told Radio Liberty at the time.

“Two more people were with him – a full crew of three persons in total. When they realized where they had landed, they tried to escape. Unfortunately, they were eliminated. We would prefer (to take) them alive, but it is what it is.”

In the interview released Monday, the pilot detailed how the event unfolded.

During one flight, the pilot said “I realized that I was near the border. I relayed my location. I said: ‘Let’s give it a try, I’m not that far away.’ And, having made a final decision, I flew at an extremely low altitude in radio silence mode. No one understood what was going on with me at all.”

The pilot said he was able to land in Ukraine, where he was met by Ukrainian officials.

The circumstances of the interview are unclear, but the pilot appeared to be speaking freely.

Read more about the flight to Ukraine

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday that discussions between North Korea and Russia on a potential deal that would allow Pyongyang to provide military support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are evidence that economic sanctions have succeeded in shrinking Russia’s defense industrial base.

“We will continue to call it out, and we will continue to call on North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians. Over time, we have not seen them actively supply large amounts of munitions or other military capacity to Russia for the war in Ukraine,” Sullivan said. 

Here are the latest developments:

• Ukrainian forces continue to push near the Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne: Ukrainian forces continued to try and expand their gains around the southeastern Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne after they were able to breach Russian defenses, according to Ukrainian sources. Efforts are now focused on widening the bridgehead, with fighting near Verbove, a few kilometers to the east.
• Ukrainian president met with troops: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the combat brigades while on a working trip to the Donetsk region on Tuesday, according to a statement from the president’s office. He discussed the needs of the unit, including "provision of artillery shells, missiles for the frontline air defense systems, evacuation vehicles and electronic warfare equipment."
• US-made Bradley vehicles provide more protection on "road to hell," soldiers say: The T0408 was once a country lane that led peacefully southward through the open fields of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, from Orikhiv through Robotyne and on to Tokmak. Now, the men of Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade have renamed it “the road to hell” and the picture they paint is apocalyptic. Without the Bradleys, say the fighters, no one would have survived. They proudly showed CNN some of the direct artillery hits the US-made armored vehicles had taken, singing their praises repeatedly.
• Russia is covering aircraft with car tires: Russian forces have started covering some of its attack aircraft with car tires, which experts say could be a makeshift attempt to protect them from Ukrainian drone strikes. Satellite imagery from Maxar of Engels Airbase, deep inside Russia, shows two Tu-95 strategic bombers with car tires on top of the airframes. CNN could not independently verify why the tires were placed on the aircraft.
• Lithuania may not need to close Belarusian border, president says: The need to close Lithuania's border with Belarus is becoming less relevant as the threat of encroaching Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group wanes, President Gitanas Nausėda told Lithuanian public broadcaster, LRT, on Monday. At a joint news conference during those meetings, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński outlined the group’s willingness to “act together if there is a critical situation regardless of whether it is a Polish, Lithuanian or Latvian border.” 

he US has notified Russia of an upcoming test of an unarmed ballistic missile scheduled to take place between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the Pentagon. 

The unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile will be launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base and was scheduled years in advance, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, at a news briefing Tuesday. 

Ryder described the test as “routine,” and it is intended to check the effectiveness and accuracy of a part of the US nuclear triad, which consists of ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and strategic bombers. 

“In accordance with standard procedures, the United States has transmitted a pre-launch notification pursuant to the Hague Code of Conduct and notified the Russian government in advance per our existing bilateral obligations,” said Ryder.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday that discussions between North Korea and Russia on a potential deal that would allow Pyongyang to provide military support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are evidence that economic sanctions against Russia have succeeded in shrinking the country’s defense industrial base.

“We will continue to call it out, and we will continue to call on North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians. Over time, we have not seen them actively supply large amounts of munitions or other military capacity to Russia for the war in Ukraine,” Sullivan said during Tuesday’s White House press briefing.

“I cannot predict you what will happen at the end of this, I can only say that the discussions have been actively advancing and the Russians have imbued them with an increased intensity, as reflected in the fact that their defense minister (Sergei Shoigu) — their number-one guy in their defense establishment — actually got on a plane and flew to Pyongyang to try to push this forward,” he said. 

The national security adviser said President Joe Biden's administration has been discussing the possibility of North Korea providing Russia with weapons “for quite some time,” and it’s possible in the near future that those discussions may see North Korea’s Kim Jong Un participate in “leader-level discussions, perhaps even in-person leader-level discussions.”

“We have also imposed sanctions, specific targeted sanctions, to try to disrupt any effort to use North Korea as a conduit or as a source for weapons going to Russia; we did so as recently as mid-August, and we have continued to convey that privately as well as publicly to the North Koreans and asked allies and partners to do the same,” Sullivan said. “Our view is that they should abide by their publicly stated commitments that they're not going to provide these weapons.”

US State Department Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel acknowledged Tuesday that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea “are actively advancing” after reports that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would be meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin. 

“As you all know, some of you reported, that last month that Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, traveled to the DPRK to try and convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia and we have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” Patel said.

Patel said that it was notable Russia “has been forced to search desperately around the world" for weapons that can be used in war in Ukraine because of US sanctions. 

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday that the Defense Department is also urging North Korea to refrain from selling ammunition and arms to Russia "which would unnecessarily prolong this conflict.” 

“In terms of the report about a potential meeting between the North Korea leader and President (Vladimir) Putin, I don't have anything specific to provide in terms of a potential meeting or nor am I going to speculate on when such a meeting could occur,” Ryder said, referencing reports that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would be visiting with Putin in Russia.

“You have heard the White House talk about the fact that Kim Jong Un is seeking to continue diplomatic engagement with Russia as a follow-on to the Russian Defense Minister's recent visit where Russia is seeking to purchase artillery ammunition from the DPRK," he said.

Ryder noted that "such a sale would violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and it would prolong the unnecessary suffering of Ukrainian civilians who are impacted by Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine." 

A possible deal for North Korea to supply Russia with weapons “is not welcome, but it is a sign that the embargo is effective and working,” US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday.

“The entire endeavor here for Russia was to reestablish its empire, and this empire now is dependent on North Korea,” Emanuel told CNN in an interview. “That tells you how much of a failure this war is.”

The US National Security Council’s spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Monday that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are “actively advancing," adding that US has information that "Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia.”

Watson did not say when and where a potential meeting between Kim and Putin in Russia might take place.

"Russia’s attempt at building an empire has become dependent on North Korea. I think that says it all,” Emanuel said about the negotiations.

As discussions advance, the US and its allies are concerned about the technology North Korea is seeking from Russia in return for weaponry, according to two US officials.

North Korea is seeking technology that could advance their satellite and nuclear-powered submarine capabilities, officials said, which could significantly advance North Korea’s capabilities in areas that the rogue regime has not fully developed.

CNN's Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

Footage allegedly recorded near Robotyne, Ukraine, and posted on social media overnight shows what a Western source says is a recently destroyed UK-donated Challenger 2 tank. 

The tank was being used as part of Ukraine's counteroffensive arsenal, according to the source. 

The video, seemingly filmed from a civilian vehicle, shows a destroyed tank as the car drives through a war-torn road. CNN could not independently verify where the footage was recorded.

“It is a Challenger 2,” a source, who is associated with the West and has knowledge of the battlefield, told CNN on background.

The source added that the crew of the tank “survived the initial attack on the vehicle.” The source spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record about sensitive battlefield logistics.

“It’s a testament to the quality and the level of these capabilities, compared to Soviet equipment Ukraine was using before,” the source added. 

This is the first known instance of a Challenger 2 tank being destroyed on the battlefield since the UK provided Ukraine with the capability earlier this year.

Russian forces have started covering some of its attack aircraft with car tires, which experts say could be a makeshift attempt to protect them from Ukrainian drone strikes.

Satellite imagery from Maxar of Engels Airbase, deep inside Russia, shows two Tu-95 strategic bombers with car tires on top of the airframes. 

CNN could not independently verify why the tires were placed on the aircraft, but experts say it could be a crude attempt at not only adding another layer of protection against Ukrainian drones but also to reduce the aircrafts' detectability aircrafts visibly, especially at night.

The makeshift attempt may have limited effect in terms of mitigating damage, according to Francisco Serra-Martins of drone manufacturer One Way Aerospace whose drones have been used by Ukrainian forces. "It may reduce the thermal signature for exposed strategic aviation assets placed on airfield aprons, but they will still be observable under infrared cameras," he told CNN.

“While it seems pretty goofy, they seem to be trying to do the best they can to up-armor the planes that are otherwise sitting ducks. Whether it works depends on what the warhead is on the missile/drone," said Steffan Watkins, an open-source research consultant who tracks aircraft and ships, adding that the tires could be used to stop fragmentation of an airburst above the plane from piercing the aircraft.

A NATO military official told CNN the alliance had seen the makeshift attempt. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

“We believe it's meant to protect against drones,” a NATO military official told CNN. “We don't know if this will have any effect.”