Zelensky says Ukraine will not give up territory for peace with Russia: 'This is our land'

By Jeremy Herb, CNN
Updated 7:06 PM EDT, Thu July 7, 2022

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that Ukraine is unwilling to cede any of its land to Russia, standing firm that a concession of Ukrainian territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

"Ukrainians are not ready to give away their land, to accept that these territories belong to Russia. This is our land," Zelensky said in an exclusive interview aired Thursday on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"We always talk about that, and we are intending to prove it," he added.

Zelensky spoke to CNN at the same time as one of his top Western allies, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced he would be resigning. Speaking in Ukrainian via a translator, Zelensky said he was confident that Britain's policy toward Ukraine "will not be changing" even if the country's leadership is in tumult.

"He resigned not because he was in Ukraine. I think on the contrary, what Johnson has been doing for Ukraine was helping us a great deal. I consider him a friend of Ukraine, but I think his society also supported Ukraine in Europe. That's why I think the UK, it's on the side of good, on the side of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

"And I'm sure the UK policy toward Ukraine is not ... changing because of Boris Johnson's resignation. Our relations obviously gained a lot from Boris Johnson's understanding of things. We went through a lot of dramatic moments quite quickly. The help we needed was delivered rather quickly ... if (his resignation) will affect this speed of help I don't know. I will pray to God it won't be affecting that help."

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01:42 - Source: CNN
Zelensky calls Johnson 'a true friend of Ukraine'
Russia's war with Ukraine has now lasted for more than four months, with no sign of either side backing down soon. Ukraine's early successes forced Russia to scale back its initial aims of toppling Kyiv, and Moscow's forces have now focused on taking territory in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have now occupied most of the Luhansk region, outside of a few pockets of resistance, and are pressing toward cities in Donetsk.

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CNN reported last week that White House officials are losing confidence Ukraine will ever be able to take back all of the land it has lost to Russia since the war began, even with the aid of heavier and more sophisticated weaponry that the US and its allies plan to provide Kyiv.

Zelensky acknowledged that Russia controls "almost all the Luhansk region," saying that his forces are now "fighting on the outskirts of this region." He said that Kyiv retreated to avoid mass losses of troops.

"I don't even understand what exactly they're controlling there. They ruined towns, school. They are the occupiers of the rubble?" Zelensky said.

Zelensky said that he was happy that Sweden and Finland were being accepted as NATO members, even though the Western military alliance has long resisted accepting Ukraine as a member.

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"It's not superficial, but deep understanding of the risks for these countries because of the aggressive attitude of Russia to sovereign countries," Zelensky said. "That's why we fully support their membership. The whole world is helping Ukraine, some doing humanitarian aid, some financial or military aid, both houses in the United States support us.

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"The world is doing a lot, but it could have been easier – Ukraine could have been accepted as a NATO member. It would be much more straightforward than people imagine."

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03:39 - Source: CNN
Zelensky: Ukraine not in NATO is wrong decision
Still, Zelensky expressed gratitude for the military support that Ukraine has received from the United States, which has provided weapons with greater capability as the war has dragged on, while urging the West to continue providing military support to help Ukraine keep up its fight.

"(The) United States are helping Ukraine, helping a lot, but it's not enough in order to win. I hope my trust will speed up this help to Ukraine," Zelensky said. "We want the increment of this help – we're fighting for our land, we don't want people from different countries fight for our territory. But the US are a world economy and can help us with both arms and finances.

"And also, the US can influence the decisions of the European countries – this is also the political support. I have to be honest, some countries in Europe want a balance between Russia and Ukraine. But owing to the US help they started supporting us. So, when I talk about the volume and speed of the arms support, I'm not appealing only (to) the United States, I appeal to all the world leaders and saying that the faster help, the increment of help, will save the lives of Ukrainians and help us to regain territories occupied by Russia."

Asked whether the war could be over before the end of the year, Zelensky said, "Our country will stay united and unified. If the powerful weaponry from our partners will be coming to us on-time, and if good luck and God will be on our side, we can achieve a lot of things before the end of the year and we can stop this war. We can stop the military part, at least, of this war."

Zelensky also reiterated his call for US President Joe Biden to visit Kyiv, saying it would send a message to Russia and the world.

"We would love to see President Biden in Ukraine. I heard that he supported the idea. There are some security moments, which stand in the way of his visit, we understand that," Zelensky said. "I truly think this would help the Ukrainians. Ukrainians support (the) United States, the trust of the Ukrainians to the United States is very high, same as to the UK and Poland and the Baltic states.

"So, visits of the world leaders who are not just partners but real friends – they give a signal, a sign, that the United States support Ukraine because they believe in Ukrainian victory and are not afraid of Russia. They come despite the rockets flying in. They are not afraid of Putin because the world is much bigger than one leader of one country."

Boris Johnson leaves world's fifth biggest economy in crisis

Analysis by Mark Thompson, CNN Business
Updated 10:24 AM EDT, Thu July 7, 2022

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Boris Johnson was ultimately forced to resign as UK prime minister Thursday as dozens of members of his party quit the government after one ethics scandal too many.

But his popularity outside parliament has also been badly dented by surging inflation and stagnation in the British economy, a cost-of-living crisis that threatens to impoverish millions more people this winter, and the risk of a damaging trade war with the European Union.

UK stocks rose in response to reports that Johnson was preparing to stand down, and the pound gained 0.75% to trade at $1.20 — recovering slightly from two-year lows hit earlier this week.

"Make no mistake however, the [pound] remains severely weak due to the dire state of the UK economy which is underperforming its peers, [and] likely to enter into a recession," wrote Walid Koudmani, chief market analyst at broker XTB, in a note to clients.

Whoever emerges from the rubble of his administration as new leader of the Conservative Party and the country, they face a series of extraordinary economic and financial challenges.

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The UK has the highest inflation in the G7...
Every major economy has suffered from the pandemic's lingering effects on supply chains, and the shock to energy and food costs delivered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

But the United Kingdom has it worse than most of its peers. Inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in May, the highest among the G7 leading economies — and is forecast to climb above 11% later this year despite a series of interest rate hikes.

The knock-on effects of Brexit — Johnson's signature achievement in government — have exacerbated crippling labor shortages and increased operating costs for businesses. The cost of imports has also been driven higher by a sharp fall in the value of the pound this year.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets with Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas (not pictured) at 10 Downing Street on June 06, 2022 in London, England.
Britain's economy is in a bad place. Removing Boris Johnson might help
The rise in food and fuel prices has created the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, forcing lower-income households to choose between "heating and eating," a rallying cry for anti-poverty campaigners as they demand more government support.

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Johnson's government promised £400 ($502) in grants per family to help out the millions of people struggling to pay their energy bills. It also bowed to pressure last month and unveiled a £5 billion ($6.3 billion) tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.

But those efforts are being swallowed up. Disposable incomes are on track for the second biggest fall since records began in 1964, according to the Bank of England, driven by the soaring cost of energy and food. And those bills are about to get a lot worse.

Annual average household energy bills could rise by about 50% to £3,000 ($3,600) this winter when a cap on the maximum price suppliers can charge customers is revised in the fall. The regulator already raised the cap by a whopping 54% in April.

British households have been left particularly exposed by a persistent decline in living standards. Typical wages are no higher today than they were before the 2008 financial crisis, the Resolution Foundation said on Monday.

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"Britain's poor recent record on living standards — notably the complete collapse of income growth for poor households over the past 20 years — must be turned around in the decade ahead," said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the foundation.

And is heading for the lowest growth...
Without stronger growth, that pay slump won't be reversed. And there's little prospect of that any time soon. Around the world, once-robust recoveries are being dragged down. But the United Kingdom is in a particularly bad spot, with a recession looming.

The world's fifth-biggest economy ground to a halt in February and started shrinking in March. The decline accelerated in April, when GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.3%, with all three major sectors of the economy — services, manufacturing and construction — going backwards, according to the Office for National Statistics. Retail sales fell in May for the second consecutive month.

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There's more bad news ahead. In a report on financial stability published earlier this week, the Bank of England said that the outlook for the UK economy had "deteriorated materially."

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast last month that the UK economy was heading to stagnation, with zero growth in GDP forecast for 2023. That would be the worst performance in the G7 next year.

Weak growth is bad news for government debt, which has shot up to more than 90% of GDP as a result of measures taken to help businesses and households cope with the pandemic and the energy crisis.

Throw in the pressures of an aging population and UK public debt is on "an unsustainable path and projected to surpass 250% of GDP over the long term," the government's fiscal watchdog — the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) — said on Friday.

That means there's little room for the next prime minister to make big tax cuts or spending pledges.

Brittney Griner pleads guilty to drug charges in Russian court

By Anna Chernova, Abby Phillip, Dakin Andone and Alaa Elassar, CNN
Updated 5:24 PM EDT, Thu July 7, 2022

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U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained in March at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
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Why Brittney Griner pleading guilty is significant
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 7: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid attend a news conference in Downing Street on September 7, 2021 in London, England. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined plans to raise taxes to pay for reforms to the social care system and the recovery of the NHS after the pandemic. (Photo by Toby Melville-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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Why Brittney Griner pleading guilty is significant
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Irina Colon, who was related to the deceased woman, Irina McCarthy, shared an undated photo with CNN of the couple at their wedding in Chicago. Colon says she was not at the parade and later learned of the couple's death by Irina's McCarthy father. She said the couple leave behind their 2-year-old son, Aiden, who will now be cared for by his family.

The Lake County Coroner's Office previously confirmed Irina and Kevin McCarthy were killed in the shooting.
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Two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court near Moscow, her lawyers confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

Griner, whom the US State Department has classified as wrongfully detained, faces up to 10 years in prison under the charge. Supporters of the Phoenix Mercury player have called for her release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 05: U.S. President Joe Biden bows his head in prayer before presenting the Medal of Honor to four U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War during an event in the East Room of the White House on July 05, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Army Specialist Dwight W. Birdwell, Major John J. Duffy, Specialist Dennis M. Fujii, and posthumously to Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Biden is caught in a storm between Russia and its US prisoners
Griner's lawyers expect the court to take into account the 31-year-old athlete's guilty plea and hope for leniency, Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina told journalists Thursday.

Samples taken from Griner did not show any traces of drugs, Boykov added. "She was clean, and she was tested," the lawyer said.

It was her decision to plead guilty, Griner's Russian legal team said in a statement, adding that she "sets an example of being brave."

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"She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people," their statement read.

"Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG's personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence."

Her lawyers said they expect the trial to end around the beginning of the August.

Griner left the courtroom Thursday without giving any comment to reporters. Her next hearing is set for July 14.

Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after Russian officials say they found cannabis oil in her luggage. The basketball star, who plays in Russia during the WNBA's offseason, has been held since then on drug smuggling charges. Her trial began last week.

Griner told the court Thursday she had not intended to commit a crime, state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Griner had not meant to carry drugs in her luggage, she said through an interpreter, and it was the result of her packing in a hurry, the report said.

Brittney Griner's wife, Chenelle, in an interview with CNN.
It's been 130 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia and her trial is about to start. Her wife wants US officials to do more to bring her home

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The decision to plead guilty was made by Griner alone, a source close to her said. But in recent weeks, Griner, her family, lawyers and experts had discussed this decision extensively. Given the 99% reported conviction rate in Russian criminal cases, Griner was urged to weigh all the factors, including a plea that could ultimately result in a shorter sentence.

Some have speculated Griner could be released and returned to the US in a prisoner swap, as was Trevor Reed, an American veteran detained in Russia for three years before his release in April.

There is no indication such a swap is imminent in Griner's case.

Still, before any potential prisoner swap, it was expected Griner would have to be convicted and also admit fault, a senior US official told CNN. Reed had to sign a document saying he was guilty – something he had resisted for almost the entirety of his detention – just days before he was let out, the official said.

"It is part of the show and the document has no legal force or effect in the US. It is effectively meaningless," said Reed family spokesperson Jonathan Franks.

Griner's plea came on the second day of her trial, at which a prosecutor accused her of smuggling less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Prosecutors argue Griner intended to import the drugs into Russia's territory and put the prohibited substances into a backpack and a suitcase, according to TASS, another state news agency.

Griner appreciates letter from Biden, lawyer says
At Thursday's hearing, a senior US diplomat gave Griner a letter US President Joe Biden wrote her in reply to her July 4 letter in which she pleaded for Biden's help. The US Embassy in Moscow shared Biden's letter with Griner during her trial, Charge d'affaires Elizabeth Rood said Thursday.

Griner appreciated Biden's letter "like every citizen of every country would appreciate a personal letter from the President," Boykov said.

On Wednesday, the White House announced Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had spoken by phone with Griner's wife. Cherelle Griner was "grateful" for the call, she said in a statement Wednesday.

TOPSHOT - US WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on June 27, 2022. - Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion, was detained at Moscow airport in February on charges of carrying in her luggage vape cartridges with cannabis oil, which could carry a 10-year prison sentence. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden and Harris speak with Brittney Griner's wife
"While I will remain concerned and outspoken until (Brittney Griner) is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wife's letter and took the time to respond," she said. "I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten."

Meantime, the US government should "continue doing what they are doing and exhaust every measure possible to help bring BG home," Griner's Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard told CNN on Thursday following her plea.

While the focus must be on bringing Griner home safely, Nygaard also called out a perceived double standard in the "lack of coverage and the value of women's sports."

"The question is, would Tom Brady be home?" the coach said. "But Tom Brady wouldn't be there, right, because he doesn't have to go to a foreign country to supplement his income from the WNBA."

A rally Wednesday for Griner held by the Mercury and the office of US Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona was "really, really wonderful," Nygaard said, adding she still was concerned about Griner's safety in Russia.

"In her letter (to Biden), she said that she was scared," the coach said. "This is not just a regular American in another country, but this is a person who is represented our country well. She's also a gay woman. She's also a black woman in Russia. And we need to pay attention to that and help to bring her home."

Biden is caught in a storm between Russia and its US prisoners

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Updated 2:41 PM EDT, Thu July 7, 2022

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03:19 - Source: CNN
Sister of American held in Russia for years speaks out on Biden's efforts
CNN
—
President Joe Biden is in a tightening vise between increasingly fretful families of Americans imprisoned in Russia and Vladimir Putin – a leader who has few scruples about using civilians to grind out his political goals.

Biden is facing rising pressure from relatives of WNBA star Brittney Griner and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan, who are frustrated at his failure to bring them home and have questioned whether their fates have his personal attention.

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But the White House's response is only deepening his political discomfort. After Biden on Wednesday phoned Griner's wife Cherelle and responded to a letter from the basketball player, Whelan's sister said she was "astonished" her brother did not get similar treatment.

TOPSHOT - US WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on June 27, 2022. - Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion, was detained at Moscow airport in February on charges of carrying in her luggage vape cartridges with cannabis oil, which could carry a 10-year prison sentence. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden and Harris speak with Brittney Griner's wife
The situation has become yet another crisis bearing down on the White House and testing its sometimes faltering public messaging machine ahead of midterm elections that are likely to be, in part, a referendum on Biden's presidency.

As the political heat rises on the President, US leverage needed to free the pair is compromised by antagonistic relations between Moscow and Washington, leaving them essentially political pawns caught in a wider geopolitical trap. Given the aftershocks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the relentless US campaign to isolate and punish the Kremlin, there may never have been a worse time to be an American imprisoned in Russia.

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Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport one week before the invasion and after playing in Moscow during the WNBA off-season. Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday.

Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair. He has also questioned whether the Biden White House has been doing everything it can to free him.

Brittney Griner's wife, Chenelle, in an interview with CNN.
It's been 130 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia and her trial is about to start. Her wife wants US officials to do more to bring her home
Washington says both Americans were wrongfully imprisoned.

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While the anguish of Griner and Whelan and their families is justified, raising the public profile of their cases is risky. They're trying to prod the administration into urgent action, but signs of rising public pressure on Biden are sure to be reported to Putin and his subordinates by Russian diplomats. This could not only complicate the administration's effort to wall off the fate of the US prisoners from the wider menu of grievances that have shattered US dialogue with Russia; it could also embolden a Russian leader, whom Biden has dubbed a "butcher," keen to lash out over US sanctions and military aid to Ukraine. It could also up the price for any eventual deal between the US and Russia that wins the release of the Americans – perhaps on the lines of the Cold War-style prisoner swap that freed a sick American, Trevor Reed, in April.

The plight of individuals vs. American interests
In the United States, the plight of Griner, especially, is being viewed through a humanitarian lens. And for loved-ones of those in prison, almost any step to bring them home would be viewed as a small price to pay.

But the White House and the State Department must also guard against signaling to US adversaries like Russia, Iran, China or North Korea, or criminal or terrorist groups, that Washington is open for business for deals to return imprisoned citizens. That would leave all Americans deeply vulnerable when they travel overseas.

Biden's headache over this issues is only getting worse. It's politically problematic any time a president looks unable to dictate terms to strongmen abroad. And given his parlous approval ratings, Biden can ill afford his handling of what is essentially a foreign hostage crisis, offering an opening to his domestic political foes.

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Brittney Griner's wife: Effort to free her doesn't match the rhetoric
The President's political exposure grew significantly in recent days after Griner's camp upped the pressure, including with a letter to the President from the Phoenix Mercury star herself in which she wrote that she feared being in prison in Russia indefinitely. Her wife, Cherelle, questioned in an interview with CNN whether the effort to free her matched US rhetoric.

Later, at a rally in Arizona held by Griner's pro-team and Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton, participants expressed concern about her situation.

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"I'm frustrated that my wife is not going to get justice," Cherelle Griner said.

In its rush to make amends with Griner's camp, the administration may have succeeded mostly in ratcheting up the political brouhaha it was trying to tamp down.

Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone on Wednesday with Cherelle Griner to assure her they were pursuing every avenue to free her wife. And the President shared with her a reply he had written to the Phoenix Mercury center. But his attention to Griner's case immediately caused friction with the family of Whelan. The ex-Marine's sister told CNN that while they didn't begrudge the Griner family any of the attention, they wondered why there was outreach to some families and not others.

"I was astonished this morning to hear about this call," Elizabeth Whelan told CNN's Erica Hill. "It did make me wonder, should we be pushing for a meeting with the President? What I would really like to see is a functioning process that really didn't require that."

Whelan said that her brother had written hundreds of letters, including to Biden, ex-President Donald Trump and members of Congress. While she said that she believes the US government is doing everything it can to bring her brother home, its outreach to the families was insufficient.

"My message to the White House is that other families with far less resources have been waiting for years and years to see some action to bring their loved ones home. What we need to see is something a little more even handed," she said.

After Elizabeth Whelan appeared on CNN, White House staff spoke to her on the phone, said John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council.

"I think all of us, and certainly the President, understands the anguish, the fear, the uncertainty and certainly the longing that the family – Elizabeth in particular – is enduring right now," Kirby told reporters. "He understands that, and he's made it clear to the entire team that he wants every effort made to do what we can to get Paul home as well."

Griner and Whelan are not the only Americans imprisoned abroad. A coalition of relatives involved in the "Bring Our Families Home Campaign" has also called on the President to become more personally involved in their cases. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with the families and assured them that the administration was doing everything it could. On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price spoke of the extreme sensitivity of many of the cases while saying he understood the impulse of families to stir as much publicity as possible.

"We don't, we ourselves, don't want to do anything, don't want to say anything that could jeopardize" the cases of Americans imprisoned abroad, Price said. "We have had conversations with families about how they too could avoid doing anything that would further complicate the release of their loved ones."

The US government is also dealing with cases of two other Americans, Alexander John-Robert Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, who are being held by the pro-Russia Donetsk People's Republic after being captured fighting for Ukraine.

Bunny Drueke, the mother of one of the men, told CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday that she was satisfied with the administration's response.

"I have not heard from President Biden or the White House but I have not expected to; that is not really their responsibility," she said, adding that she was a happy with Blinken's role in the matter, and pointing out that her son and his compatriot were different from Griner since they were prisoners of war.

Sensitive diplomatic maneuvering
The position of Americans who are detained by enemies of the United States is especially difficult. While Washington might want to silo the cases of individuals from complicated geopolitical disputes, adversary governments are bound to try to use them for their own ends.

This is why prisoners like Griner have so few options – trapped in a country whose leader has shown little compunction about using innocent civilians as chits.

"Really what's happened to Brittney Griner – she's been kidnapped and she's being held now in exchange for something that Putin wants," Steve Hall, former CIA chief of Russia operations, said last week.

Hall underscored how US negotiations for the release of prisoners overseas would be viewed by the country's enemies. "You're going to incentivize more of this, not just by Russia – North Korea is a perfect example. These rouge states, these authoritarian states ... know that all they have to do is nab one American – whether it's a business person, a tourist, a professional, like Griner – and then they can bargain for whatever it is that they want," said Hall, a CNN national security analyst.

The price that Russia may demand for leniency for such a high-profile figure now may be rising by the day. Moscow would surely like to extract Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death," from US jail.

But Biden would face significant resistance from leaders inside the criminal justice hierarchy if he offered Bout in a prisoner swap. It would, for one thing, equate the integrity of a US prosecution – which saw Bout jailed for 25 years for conspiracy to kill Americans, acquiring and exporting anti-aircraft missiles and providing material support to a terrorist organization – with Russian criminal proceedings that Washington sees as a sham.

Such judicial and geopolitical considerations pale for those Americans whose relatives are imprisoned in often primitive and unhealthy conditions thousands of miles from home. These cases end up on the desks of presidents because they are so intractable and often involve unpalatable trade-offs between humanitarian considerations and national interests.

And every choice a president makes comes with considerable downsides.

(This story has been updated with additional developments.)

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Russia tests Ukraine's defenses with a rarely-used missile

By Rob Picheta, CNN
Published 11:45 AM EST, Fri March 10, 2023

Russia's overnight missile attack on Thursday showered Ukraine with an array of missiles, in one of Moscow's biggest aerial assaults for months.

Nearly half a million people are without power in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, following the latest barrage of strikes, according to the regional governor.

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And there are concerns about how effectively Ukraine can stand up to such bombardments.

"They're sending a very strong signal to everyone in Ukraine, and to perhaps some of our refugees outside of Ukraine, that life is very far from returning to normal despite the fact that over recent weeks there was more quiet," Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Zelensky, told CNN.

Three Russian rockets launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, March 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Vadim Belikov)
Russia pummels Ukraine with array of high-tech weaponry in nationwide assault
But aerial strikes like these are not going to win Russia the war, Western experts say.

"There is a long history of nations trying to win wars through strategic bombardment, to break the will or capacity of an opposing state to resist," Justin Bronk, senior research fellow for airpower and technology at the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told CNN. "It has an incredibly poor record of success."

Russia's limited stockpiles mean it's unlikely they will force a major breakthrough in the war through the skies, so long as its air force is unable to gain supremacy above Ukraine.

Here's what you need to know about Russia's latest missile attacks, and what they mean for the conflict.

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What missiles are Russia using?
Russia launched a total of 95 missiles of various types over the past day, 34 of which were intercepted, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a morning update on Friday, as well as a number of Iranian-made Shahed drones.

That array included cruise missiles that were launched from both the sea and the air; six different kinds were used in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Much attention has been focused on the six launches of Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, which are especially difficult to stop.

The powerful weapon has rarely been seen over the country's skies. Its first known use in Ukraine was last March and occasionally used since, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Like virtually all ballistic missiles it is hypersonic, which means it travels at least five times the speed of sound, but it is also particularly difficult to detect because it can be launched from MiG-31 fighter jets, giving it a longer range and the ability to attack from multiple directions, and because it can maneuver as it nears its target.

Is this a new strategy?
The use of so many different weapons systems in one night has increasingly become Russia's preferred method of striking through the skies.

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"Over the last six months or so there's been a trend towards larger gaps between missile raids, but more missiles used at once when they do, to make it harder for defenses to intercept them all," Bronk said.

That shift has come as Ukraine's air defenses have become better equipped and more advanced, and as a way of maximizing the impact of each wave of strikes.

lviv aerial
Russia's war in Ukraine
"Moscow looks to have been adapting its missile attacks to further complicate the challenge for defenders, with a mix of subsonic cruise missiles, the much higher speed Kinzhal aero-ballistic missiles, and possibly also decoys and other counter-measures," Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said.

The use of hypersonic missiles in particular follows the Kremlin's years-long push to equip its military with such weaponry – a move that the United States and the West has been less keen to adopt, given the trade-offs in pursuing hypersonic capabilities.

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"What you get is a missile that is much harder to intercept and gives your opponent much less warning. What you lose is that it's much more expensive, and often can only be carried by a much more limited number of platforms," Bronk explained.

How effective are Ukraine's air defenses?
Ukraine's air defense systems did not stand up well enough against Russia's nuclear-capable Kinzhal missiles, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said following Thursday's missile barrage.

"They are using hypersonic missiles. They are using new types of weapons and they are seeing how our air defense systems can cope with it," Rodnyansky told CNN's Isa Soares in an interview, adding, "they are not coping well enough."

Ukraine has adapted to new Russian aerial bombardments in the past, improving their ability to shoot down incoming cruise missiles with surface-to-air defenses and seeing particularly high levels of success against Shahed drones.

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"They've seen a lot of the potential patterns in terms of routes and the way the Russians plan their missile salvos, so they've got better at positioning their air defense teams," Bronk said. Ukraine's command and control, and its ability to track incoming strikes – often with the help of Ukrainians via an app – has also grown, he added.

But the Kinzhal provides a specific challenge: It is immune to Ukraine's air defenses. An air-launched variant of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) which has also, more frequently, been used in Ukraine, the Kinzhal was unveiled by Putin in 2018 as a cornerstone of a modernized Russian arsenal.

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"Russia likely developed the unique missile to more easily target critical European infrastructure ... (its) speed, in combination with the missile's erratic flight trajectory and high maneuverability, could complicate interception," according to a CSIS report.

How much firepower does Russia have left?
While Russia has deployed a handful of missiles that Ukraine is currently unable to stop, it appears unlikely that such attacks will become a regular or decisive feature of the conflict – because, by most Western assessments, Russia is running low on supplies.

Ihnat said that Russia had about 50 Kinzhals to draw upon, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted, meaning it used a significant proportion in one night.

"The Kremlin likely deliberately launched missiles that Ukrainian air defenses cannot intercept to achieve results within the Russian information space despite the dwindling supplies of such missiles," the ISW wrote in its latest assessment of the conflict, adding that Vladimir Putin "likely used these scarce missiles in fruitless attacks to appease the Russian pro-war and ultranationalist communities."

"The Russians are getting low on missiles and yet they continue to fire them," Bronk added, explaining that Moscow can produce somewhere around 40 cruise missiles each month.

Bronk said Moscow appears comfortable running down supplies that would have been theoretically preserved for an attack on Russian soil. But now they are also "getting to a point where they are really low on certain missile types in absolute terms," he said.

Rescuers carry a body after Russian strikes hit Lviv on Thursday.
Rescuers carry a body after Russian strikes hit Lviv on Thursday.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Lviv region via Reuters
Why is Moscow attacking the entire country?
The benefits to Russia in using scant supplies in aerial bombardments appears limited, and seems unlikely to shift momentum in the war – particularly given that Ukraine is through the worst of what turned out to be a mild winter, when Putin had hoped that attacks on energy and electricity supplies would break morale.

"It's very damaging for Ukraine, but is it likely to cause them to lose the ability to keep fighting the war? No, absolutely not," Bronk said, assessing the use of such strikes.

But the use of a frustrating if ultimately fruitless tactic is not out of character for a disjointed Russian war effort.

"They don't really have any military plan beyond outlasting the West's ability to support the Ukrainian military," Bronk said. "In other words, just avoid losing on the battlefield for long enough that the West gets tired of supporting them."

In that context, the strikes serve as a psychological reminder of Russia's military threat without shifting the balance of the war.

And Putin may foremost be playing to a domestic audience with the strikes, as the ISW suggested, amid growing complaints among Russia's hawkish military community that his commanders have been too "soft" or ineffective in Ukraine and have struggled to land lasting blows.

"Putin likely attempted to offset these narratives with another missile attack similar to the ones that Russia conducted in the fall of 2022, using advanced missiles to guarantee some damage in Ukraine," the ISW wrote.

CNN's Jo Shelley, Jessie Gretener and Olga Voitovych contributed reporting.

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Watch live updates on CNN!

Russia's war in Ukraine
By Tara Subramaniam, Helen Regan, Sophie Tanno, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal and Leinz Vales, CNN

Updated 8:58 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
What we're covering here
Two Ukrainians are dead in the Zaporizhzhia region where more than 80 Russian missile strikes were recorded over the past day, the military administration said.
At least one person died in a Russian missile strike targeting civilian buildings in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv Thursday, authorities said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave "words of support" for the Black Sea grain deal. The two leaders held a phone call Wednesday — the first since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
Meanwhile, Russian troops are fortifying their defenses around Mariupol, according to an official. On the other hand, recent satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows Russian forces have emptied out a key base in northern Crimea.

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Russian ground forces "bigger today" than at start of the conflict in Ukraine, US general says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
While Russia has suffered thousands of losses in its war against Ukraine, a senior US military commander in Europe told lawmakers Wednesday that they have plenty more firepower left in their arsenal.

"[T]he Russian ground force has been degenerated somewhat by this conflict, although it is bigger today than it was at the beginning of the conflict," Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, told the House Armed Services Committee.
"The Air Force has lost very little, they've lost 80 planes. They have another 1,000 fighters and fighter bombers," he said. "The Navy has lost one ship."

Classified military documents allegedly leaked by a junior enlisted National Guard airman for months gave a snapshot of where Russia's ground forces were committed in the war. One document, dated February and March, said that 527 of 544 of available Russian battalions have been committed to the war against Ukraine; 474 of them are already in the country, the intelligence said.

One document also estimated that between 35,000 and 43,000 Russian forces have been killed in action during the conflict.

Those losses have recently been particularly heavy in the fight around Bakhmut. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russia is concentrating "all its forces on Bakhmut, and in fact is not conducting such powerful combat operations anywhere else in our operational area of responsibility."

In March, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told lawmakers that Russian troops are "getting slaughtered" in their fight for Bakhmut.

"For about the last 20, 21 days, the Russians have not made any progress whatsoever in and around Bakhmut. So it's a slaughter fest for the Russians," Milley said. "They're getting hammered in the vicinity of Bakhmut and the Ukrainians have fought very, very well."

Still, those losses appear to be only a fraction of Russia's total military force. Asked about Russia's submarine patrols in the Atlantic, Cavoli said that "much of the Russian military has not been affected negatively" by its invasion of Ukraine.

"[T]he Russians are more active than we've seen them in years, and their patrols into the Atlantic, and throughout the Atlantic, are at a high level, most of the time at a higher level than we've seen in years," he said. "And this is, as you pointed out, despite all of the efforts that they're undertaking inside Ukraine."