March 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.?

Dasha?Navalnaya, the daughter of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey?Navalny, on Friday shared a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin:

Navalny, a Kremlin critic and activist, was sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud charges that he said were politically motivated.

Navalnaya said once her father is released from prison,?“he will continue fighting until Russia is a country that’s able to have free and fair elections.”

Navalnaya, 21, said she has not seen her father in person in over a year.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett will interview Dasha Navalnaya, the daughter of jailed Putin opposition leader Alexey Navalny, about the latest on her father’s case, concerns about his health and his nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony as part of a CNN primetime special that airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

Burnett will also speak with the director of the Oscar-nominated documentary,?”NAVALNY,” Daniel Roher, along with?Christo Grozev,?the lead Russia investigator for Bellingcat who helped uncover the perpetrators behind Navalny’s poisoning and tied them to Russia’s FSB security service. In late 2022, Russia’s Ministry of the Interior placed Grozev on its “wanted” list.

The hour will also include conversations with others who are perceived to be Putin’s enemies, including?Bill Browder, an international businessman whom Russia declared an enemy and banned from the country.

Where to watch: “CNN Primetime: Navalny And the Cost of Standing Up to Putin” will stream live for pay TV subscribers via?CNN.com?and CNN OTT, as well as mobile apps under “TV Channels” or CNNgo where available.

The special will also be available on demand beginning Saturday, March 4 to pay TV subscribers via?CNN.com, CNN apps, and cable operator platforms.

The critically-acclaimed, award-winning film,?“NAVALNY,” is available in select theaters in major cities now and is currently streaming via HBO Max. “NAVALNY” will also broadcast on CNN Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m ET.

Fighting is intense around Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military, while Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, said Friday that the fiercely contested eastern city is surrounded.

Russian forces have also launched artillery fire near Lyman, which is north of Bakhmut, and on additional towns in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military said.

In the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation for vulnerable residents due to constant Russian shelling.?

Here are more of the latest headlines:

Top officials gather: US Attorney General Merrick Garland made?an unannounced trip to Ukraine?on Friday where he joined President Volodymyr Zelensky at the “United for Justice Conference.” Zelensky also met with top government officials from the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia in the western city of Lviv. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House.

Sanctions and assistance: The Biden administration on Friday sanctioned a number of Russian individuals connected to the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent human rights advocate and Kremlin critic who has been jailed in Moscow for nearly a year after speaking out against the war in Ukraine in?an interview with CNN. The US also announced a new?security assistance package for Ukraine that is valued at up to $400 million.

Money troubles. Russia could find itself with no money as soon as next year and needs foreign investment, outspoken Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska said. Russia’s economic output shrank 2.1% last year, according to a preliminary estimate from the government. The contraction was more limited than many economists initially predicted. But?cracks are starting to show?— Russia is cutting oil production this month — and Western sanctions could escalate further.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and?Latvian?President?Egils Levits shake hands during a joint news briefing, in Lviv, Ukraine on Friday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he met with the president of Latvia Friday on the sidelines of a conference in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.?

He thanked Ukraine’s allies and politicians who have helped the country “for understanding the price that the Ukrainian people pay for their freedom and that of all Europeans.”

In addition to meetings at the United for Justice Conference, Zelensky visited a Lviv hospital Friday, where wounded soldiers are being rehabilitated.

“I had the honor to communicate with the soldiers and present them with state awards,” he said. “I also presented awards to doctors who save the lives of our soldiers.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks alongside US President Joe Biden meets in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday.

US President Joe Biden said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support for Ukraine has “made a world of difference” during the war, as the two leaders met at the White House on Friday.

“You stepped up and provided?critical military support and you know, I would argue that beyond your?military support, the moral?support you gave to Ukrainians has been profound.?And you’ve driven historic?changes at home — increase in defense spending and?diversifying away from Russian energy sources — I know that has not been?easy, very difficult for you,” Biden said, noting they had moved in “lockstep” in supporting Kyiv.

Scholz said Germany will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

“This is a very,?very important year because of?the very dangerous threat to?peace that comes from Russia?invading Ukraine, and it’s really?important that we acted together, that we organized in lockstep, and that we made it feasible that we can give the necessary support to Ukraine during all this?time,” said Scholz, who added he felt the transatlantic partnership was in “very good shape.”??

Germany and the US were in a standoff earlier this year over sending tanks to Ukraine, but both countries announced plans to send the vehicles after intense pressure on Berlin and prolonged diplomacy between Germany, the United States and other European allies.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top government officials from the Netherlands and Estonia in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv Friday, his office said in a statement.

Zelensky expressed his gratitude?for the “significant defense, financial, energy and legal support” provided by both countries since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, his office said.

The Netherlands: During his meeting with Wopke Hoekstra, the?Dutch deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Zelensky outlined the situation on the front line and the needs of Ukraine’s military. He emphasized the need for more, swift aid from partners, according to the statement.??

Zelensky also said he was grateful for the Dutch government’s decision to establish an international center in The Hauge investigating the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Zelensky also outlined Kyiv’s hopes for the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and discussions on Ukraine’s accession to the EU “by the end of the year,” according to the statement.

Estonia: During the conversation with Urmas Reinsalu, Estonia’s minister of foreign affairs, Zelensky said that “bringing to justice all those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide of the Ukrainian people is a fundamental issue for our country,” and is a key component of Ukraine’s proposed peace formula, according to the statement.

Zelensky noted Estonia’s “substantial defense and humanitarian assistance,” his office said.?

“Ukraine especially appreciates the medical and rehabilitation assistance to our wounded, the training missions for the Ukrainian military, as well as the support for Ukrainians who left for Estonia because of the war,” Zelensky said.

“The parties emphasized the importance of further increasing sanctions pressure on Russia,” Zelensky’s office added.?

Left to right: Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and National Prosecutor of Poland Dariusz Barski meet in Lviv, Ukraine, with a group of international prosecutors on Friday.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland made?an unannounced trip to Ukraine?on Friday, his second trip to the country since Russia invaded a little more than a year ago.

The trip was not announced for security reasons, according to a Justice Department official.

Garland was invited to Lviv?by the Ukrainian prosecutor general, the official said, and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky at the “United for Justice Conference.”

The attorney general “held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” the official said.

The trip comes nearly two weeks after President Joe Biden made his first trip to Ukraine since the war began and is one of several trips made by members of Biden’s Cabinet. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also recently made a trip to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky.

The Justice Department has taken several steps to hold the Russian government and its supporters accountable since the invasion began.

On Wednesday, Garland testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he believed the Russian government was committing crimes against humanity and said the Justice Department supports efforts by The Hague to investigate and prosecute those crimes.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre listens as National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Thursday.

China could still take the escalatory step of providing lethal military aid to Russia, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday.?

On fighter jets for Ukraine: Kirby also said that F-16 fighter jets are not a “key part” of the agenda for US President Joe Biden’s meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this afternoon, but the two leaders will speak extensively on what Ukraine will need this spring and summer for the tough fighting ahead.?

About US detainee in Russia: Asked about detained American Paul Whelan, Kirby said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “absolutely” brought it up with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, despite Russian claims otherwise.?

“Paul Whelan needs to be home with his family and with his friends,” Kirby said. “We’re going to keep working to get him released and get him back home.”

Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire a Msta-B howitzer towards Russian positions near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 2.

Russian forces have continued their efforts to encircle the eastern city of?Bakhmut?in the Donetsk region Friday, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in an evening update.

The first two communities referenced in the report are small villages located just north of the city.

Elsewhere in Ukraine: Russian forces have also launched artillery fire near Lyman, which is north of Bakhmut, and on additional towns in the Donetsk region, the military said. Further attacks were reported near?the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region, and Kreminna and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the General Staff said Russia “is on the defensive, attempting to improve their tactical position to resume the offensive.” Moscow shelled 15 settlements with artillery, the Ukrainian military added.

“There are dead and wounded civilians,” it said, without elaborating on the specific numbers.?

Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have also carried out strikes on enemy personnel and military equipment, the General Staff said.?

“Our defenders shot down an enemy Su-34 aircraft and a ZALA UAV,” it said, repeating an earlier claim from the Ukrainian Air Force about downing a Russian fighter jet and drone.

CNN is not able to independently verify this claim. Russian state media has reported that a plane has been downed in the area indicated by the Ukrainian Air Force, but does not specify the plane’s model and ownership.

The United States announced a new?security assistance package for Ukraine on Friday that is valued at up to $400 million.

This is the thirty-third presidential drawdown on US inventories, totaling more than $32 billion, used to aid Ukraine since Russian’s full-scale invasion began more than one year ago.

In a drawdown, the Defense Department pulls weapons and equipment from US inventories to send abroad, rather than purchasing new weapons from manufacturers.

CNN reported earlier Friday key details of the package, including that the aid would include Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges for the first time, a system used to launch bridges to cross trenches and narrow water obstacles.

Here’s a look at the weapons, munitions and equipment included in the package:

Last week, the US announced $2 billion in aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which contracts with the industry to procure the supplies and takes more time.

Ukrainian officials have also been pushing to obtain US F-16 fighter jets, which President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have opposed so far.?

Ukrainian authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation for vulnerable residents of the eastern city of Kupyansk, located in the Kharkiv region, due to “constant” Russian shelling.?

The city administration said utilities “are operating as usual” and that online classes are being organized for students.?

“The educational process continues in the Kupyansk community. According to the head of the education department, 480 students have already joined the online education program. Classes are being formed,” the administration said.?

The Kharkiv region military administration announced the start of the mandatory evacuation on Thursday, saying the decision was made “due to constant shelling of the Kupyansk community by Russian troops.”?

As of Thursday, there were 812 children and 724 people with disabilities, including 140 of low mobility, in the city, according to the regional military administration.?

Russian forces occupied the city in the early days of the invasion but Ukraine was able to recapture it in September 2022.?

The city remains close to the hotly contested frontline east of the city, and as close as some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from areas under Russian control, according to the latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the city of Kupyansk is located in southern Ukraine. It is located in eastern Ukraine.

Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza sits on a bench inside a defendants' cage during a hearing at the Basmanny court in Moscow, Russia, on October 10.

The Biden administration on Friday sanctioned a number of Russian individuals connected to the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent human rights advocate and Kremlin critic who has been jailed in Moscow for nearly a year after speaking out against the war in Ukraine in?an interview with CNN.

The United States has called for Kara-Murza’s “immediate and unconditional release,” but Friday’s actions represent a long-awaited decision on imposing sanctions against Russia for his imprisonment.

Kara-Murza, who has survived two poisonings, has been incredibly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine, and he continues to speak out even as he is detained.?

In March 2022, Kara-Murza spoke before the Arizona House of Representatives and spoke out against the war. In an April 2022 interview with CNN, he called Putin’s government “a regime of murderers.” He was arrested shortly thereafter for “failing to obey the orders of law enforcement,”?according to his wife.

The Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions under an expansion of the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets serious human rights abusers, more than five months after the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called on the Biden administration to take action under that law.?

The sanctions target Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya, Andrei Andreevich Zadachin, and Danila Yurievich Mikheev.

Oleg?Deripaska?attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 17.

Russia could find itself with no money as soon as next year and needs foreign investment, outspoken Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has said.

The remarks from the billionaire — who?called for an end to Moscow’s war?in Ukraine in the early days of the conflict last year — contrast with a more upbeat assessment of Russia’s economic fortunes by President Vladimir Putin last week. Putin praised the resilience of the country’s economy in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions imposed in the past year.

More background: Russia’s economic output shrank 2.1% last year, according to a preliminary estimate from the government. The contraction was more limited than many economists initially predicted.

But?cracks are starting to show?— Russia is cutting oil production this month — and Western sanctions could escalate further. Ultimately, Russia’s economic prospects are contingent on what happens in Ukraine.

Foreign investors, especially from “friendly” countries, also have a big role to play, Deripaska said. Whether they will come depends on whether Russia can create the right conditions and make its markets attractive, he was quoted as saying.

In a bid to starve Russia of funds for its aggression, Western countries have announced more than 11,300 sanctions since the February 2022 invasion, and frozen some $300 billion of Russia’s foreign reserves.

But China has thrown the Kremlin an?economic lifeline?by buying Russian energy, replacing Western suppliers of machinery and base metals among other products, and providing an alternative to the US dollar.

Read more here.

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House on March 2, in Washington, DC.

A Ukraine security aid package worth approximately $400 million is expected?to be announced Friday around the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House,?according to two US officials.

The package will include ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers and different artillery systems such as 155mm and 105mm. It will also include Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges for the first time, a system used to launch bridges to cross trenches and narrow water obstacles, the officials said.?

On Thursday, John Kirby, the National Security Council strategic communications coordinator, said the US will announce another round of assistance to Ukraine, including ammunition for HIMARS and artillery, but he did not specify how much.

This security assistance will be drawn directly from US inventories under Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), meaning the weapons and equipment can arrive in Ukraine quickly. Last week, the US announced $2 billion in aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which contracts with the industry to procure the supplies and takes more time.

Ukrainian officials have also been pushing to obtain US F-16 fighter jets, which President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have opposed so far.?

With the package expected Friday, the US will have committed more than $32 billion to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than one year ago.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Friday it has shot down a Russian fighter jet in the eastern Donetsk region. Russian state media is also reporting the incident, without specifying the model or ownership of the plane.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed in a post published on its official Telegram channel that a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber was shot down near the town of Yenakiieve, in the Donetsk Region. Yenakiieve is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city of Donetsk, inside territory controlled by Russian forces.

CNN is unable to verify the Ukrainian Air Force’s claims about the model or ownership of the jet. ?

A photo posted by the mayor shows black smoke rising in the sky not too far from several buildings in the city and the city’s streets.?

Later, Khramenkov said he had visited the site of the plane crash, together with representatives from the police and emergency services. He said the current thaw is preventing access to the crashed plane, according to RIA Novosti.?

“The plane has crashed, there is smoke, it is on fire. We could see two pilots who ejected on parachutes,” the mayor told Russian television, according to RIA Novosti.?

“No one is hurt on the ground because the crash site is a farm. Its owner says the plane is in the fields, in woodland. We are relying on his information. No one in the village or in the city has been affected,” Khramenkov said.

The Ukrainian military said “intense fighting is taking place in and around the city” of Bakhmut in the east, with Russian forces deploying their more experienced units.

“The Russian occupiers have sent the most trained units of the PMC Wagner and other regular units of the Russian army to capture the city. Intense fighting is taking place in and around the city,” the Ukrainian Army Land Forces said in a post highlighting the visit to the front line by the commander of the Eastern Group of Forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.?

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia continues to press in the hopes of “capturing Bakhmut and continues to accumulate forces to occupy the city.”

Earlier Friday: CNN reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner said that?Bakhmut?was?“surrounded,”?and called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to order his forces to withdraw. Ukraine dismissed Prigozhin’s remarks, calling it a “disinformation campaign.”

A view across the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on October 15.

Russian forces are edging closer and closer to capturing the?city of Bakhmut, after weeks of bloody fighting gradually wore down a resolute Ukrainian resistance. Here’s what you need to know about the battle for Bakhmut:

Why is Bakhmut in focus?

Bakhmut is not the sort of city Moscow had hoped to be fighting for in the?second year of its invasion?– it is a relatively small location in eastern Donetsk, which has remained out of reach of Russia’s sluggish ground campaign for many months.

Russian forces have been making incremental gains around the city, but Ukrainian forces are yet to retreat, creating a standoff that recalls drawn-out battles for other eastern cities such as Severodonetsk over the past year.

Bakhmut’s capture would represent some military progress for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and give his forces the opportunity to launch aerial attacks on more urban areas further west.

What’s happening on the ground?

There are still around 4,500 civilians in Bakhmut, including 48 children, the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Donetsk regional military administration Tetiana Ignatchenko told CNN on Wednesday. She called on people to evacuate the city due to the danger.

But Ukrainian troops have acknowledged that it is becoming harder to hold onto the city as the routes in from the west are squeezed by Russian forces, who have advanced both to the north and south of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian military has also confirmed that Russian forces are employing more experienced fighters from the ranks of the Russian private military company Wagner as they attempt to capture the town.

What does Bakhmut mean for the war?

The city’s capture would represent a long sought-after success for Moscow’s forces – and bring some limited strategic value. It has important road connections to other parts of the Donetsk region; eastwards to the border with Luhansk, northwest to Sloviansk and southwest to Kostiantynivka.

If the Russians can take the high ground to the west of the city, nearby industrial towns Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk would be at the mercy of their artillery and even longer range mortars. And it is unclear where exactly Ukrainian forces would fall back to should they retreat from the city.

It also matters to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been keen to show his men can deliver with the seizure of Soledar and now Bakhmut.

But?experts say?capturing Bakhmut is unlikely to dramatically alter the overall picture of the war in eastern Ukraine, where little territory has changed hands in 2023.

CNN’s Tim Lister, Vasco Cotovio, Olga Voitovych, Jessie Gretener, Eleanor Pickston, and Laura Ford contributed reporting

The founder of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin delivers a video message outside of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 3.

The founder and financier of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin says his forces have all but surrounded Bakhmut, and is calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order a withdrawal from the Donetsk city.

“The PMC Wagner units have almost surrounded Bakhmut, there is only one road left,” he said to Zelensky in a video filmed on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut and posted on his social media channels. “The pincers are tightening.”

Russian attempts at encircling the city seemed to have eased Thursday into Friday, according to the Institute for the Study of War, with focus shifting toward pushing Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the city.

What Kyiv is saying: Ukraine dismissed the video, with Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communication saying on Friday that “this is part of a disinformation campaign against the population of Ukraine to spread panic and provoke the top military and political leadership.”

The organization highlighted that Prighozin’s video was filmed on the outskirts of Bakhmut and not inside the city – matching CNN’s geolocation and analysis.

“The Russian command avoids visiting the front line, and it is not the first time that Prigozhin has imitated being on the front line while actually being in the rear,” the center added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends press conference at an international conference of experts for reconstruction in Ukraine on October 25, in Berlin, Germany.

A year ago,?when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last visited Washington, Russian forces hadn’t yet crossed the border into Ukraine, and dire warnings from the White House about an imminent invasion were met with skepticism.

Scholz returns Friday for meetings with President Joe Biden after a transformative 12 months that required Europe to dramatically rethink its own security and Germany to undergo its most significant shift in military and energy policy in decades.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned Scholz — who took office two months before Russia’s invasion — into a crisis leader, overseeing Europe’s largest economy and most powerful democracy during the worst violence on the continent since World War II.

And it has thrust him and Biden into one of the world’s most consequential relationships, sustained by shared opposition to Russia’s invasion but strained at moments over how to respond.

White House officials say over the past year, Biden has developed a solid relationship with Scholz, who succeeded longtime chancellor Angela Merkel at the end of 2021. They spoke by phone three times in January alone, and during Friday’s session at the White House they are expected to speak extensively one-on-one in the Oval Office.

The overwhelming topic of discussion will be Ukraine, according to senior administration officials, including discussions the two?men have each held recently with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,?who is pressuring the West for more powerful weapons as he prepares for a spring counteroffensive against Russia.

They could also touch on recent intelligence suggesting China is considering providing Russia with lethal aid, a step US officials fear could prolong the conflict, though China won’t be a “driving focus” of the talks.

The founder and financier of the Wagner mercenary group has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order a withdraw from Bakhmut, saying the city is “surrounded.”

Russian forces are advancing on the city, but the Ukrainian military said it is holding its ground in the battle for the eastern city and is not planning to withdraw.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukrainian forces have blown up the remainder of a railway bridge inside the city of Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian forces and social media video geolocated by CNN.

The bridge was previously damaged by Ukrainian forces in August, and has now been blown up further.

The video of the controlled explosion was widely shared on social media on Friday, along with unconfirmed reports it was a sign Ukrainian forces were preparing to withdraw from the city.

Ukraine’s 46th Brigade, currently operating in the city, denied the reports, saying the bridge was already unusable.

“The bridge that is now being shown as proof that we are leaving was blown up a long time ago. Those who are in Bakhmut know that. Now it was just a control shot. Don’t spread panic,” the soldiers said. “And yes, one can cross the river there without a bridge.”

Some context: Russian forces are advancing on Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian military says it is holding its ground in the battle for the eastern city and is not planning to withdraw.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said Friday the city is “surrounded” and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order a withdrawal.

The Kremlin said Friday additional measures were being taken to ensure the safety of the Russian borders from further incursions following an attack on the Bryansk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there was an attack in the Ukraine-bordering Bryansk region, which he blamed on “neo-Nazis” who he said had penetrated the area.

In a press briefing Friday, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a special “border regime” is in place and additional measures to protect the frontiers are being taken. He added that no decisions were made by Putin as of yet in regard to introducing martial law following the attack.

Russian security officials claimed Thursday that a small Ukrainian armed group had crossed the Russian border into the southern Bryansk region, claims dismissed by a top Ukrainian official as a “classic deliberate provocation.”

Peskov’s claims: Peskov praised a boy who reportedly survived the incident with injuries and a driver who the local authorities claimed died under fire.

Commenting on the incident earlier, Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov called the boy a hero and added that he had saved two other children from the car that was under shelling.

“A 10-year-old boy took two children out of the car, and they escaped. This is a real heroic deed,” the minister said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey?Lavrov?speaks during the Raisina Dialogue 2023, in New Delhi, India, on March 3.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that “nothing except Ukraine” was of interest to the G20, calling it “a shame.”

“[The] G20 was formed in 1999 at the level of ministers of finance and central bank directors. And then in 2008, it became a ’summit G20.’ Nobody was giving a damn about anything except finances, and macroeconomic policies, which G20 was formed for,” Lavrov told the audience of the Raisina Dialogue, an annual geopolitics conference in New Delhi, India.

Answering a question on how the Ukraine war affected Russia’s energy interest, Lavrov called the conflict “the war which we are trying to stop and which was launched against us using the Ukrainian people,” remarks that were met with generalized laughter from the audience in Delhi.

Some background: Since the beginning of the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has portrayed his military operation as a response to a threat posed by NATO to its territory, claiming Moscow had no choice but to defend itself by attacking Ukraine without provocation.

A few days into the war, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring the “aggression” committed by Russia against Ukraine. Russian diplomacy, meanwhile, has assiduously courted nations in the developing world – particularly those which suffered from colonial rule – as a counter to Western condemnation.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said he is “confident” that Western countries will supply fighter jets to Ukraine despite resistance from some allies, according to an interview published in Germany’s Die Bild newspaper Friday.

Reznikov is?confident Ukraine?will?receive “two to three different types of fighter jets,”?he?is quoted as saying in the newspaper, adding ”this will depend on the engineers, air fields, maintenance and spare parts.”

He said he believes there will be a “so-called fighter jet coalition,” like there is with the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks from Western allies.

Reznikov believes that Western countries will not initially approve the delivery of fighter jets, drawing parallels to the delivery of Leopard 2 battle tanks, which Germany initially did not agree to.

Western allies have signaled to Kyiv that they are ready to start training pilots on fighter jets and understand that fighter jets are the next step in strengthening Ukraine’s air defense system, according to Die Bild.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning gestures during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China, on February 27.

China acknowledged Friday that there are “different views on the Ukraine crisis” among G20 members but stopped short of explaining its reasons for not signing a joint statement following the group’s foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.

G20 is the “main forum for international economic cooperation” and not a forum for “resolving security issues” — as agreed upon in the G20 leaders summit in October 2022 in Bali — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a regular press briefing.

On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar announced that the G20 meeting of the foreign ministers was unable to reach a consensus to issue a joint statement due to “differing opinions” by various parties regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.

China has attempted to present itself as a neutral peace broker in conflict while at the same time deepening its “no-limits” partnership with Moscow.

A vital supply bridge to Bakhmut, Ukraine, destroyed by a Russian attack, on March 3.

A vital bridge connecting the besieged city of Bakhmut to the nearby village of Khromove, and the last main supply route from Bakhmut to the city of Chasiv Yar, has been blown up overnight by Russian forces, according to multiple sources speaking with CNN.

A soldier in Bakhmut and a local official told CNN that the bridge was taken out by Russia and a photo that confirmed the destruction appeared on social media.

The bridge was hit with a Russian missile and left a large crater, according to the soldier, who added that he believes it was an Iskander missile.

Without any more paved roads for Ukraine to use in or out of Bakhmut, the supply and evacuation route will now be forced to go through dirt roads, according to both sources.

The local official told CNN that they hope to repair the bridge in the coming days.

Some context: A mandatory evacuation order is in place in the Donetsk region and about 5,000 people remain in Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian officials.?

Russian forces are advancing on Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian military says it is holding its ground in the battle for the eastern city and not planning to withdraw.??

This post has been updated with additional details.

Ukrainian commander Robert Brovdi delivers a message via Telegram on March 3.

A Ukrainian drone reconnaissance unit based in Bakhmut has been ordered to leave the besieged eastern city, its commander said in a video posted on Telegram on Friday.

Russian forces have advanced on Bakhmut over the past few days after months of intense shelling and fighting around the battered city, which sits toward the northeast of the Donetsk region and has been a target for Moscow for months.

Antony Blinken speaks during a Quad ministers' panel at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi on Friday, March 3.

Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and the support flooding in to Kyiv from countries across the world, sends a powerful message to “would be aggressors everywhere,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

“Part of the reason countries way beyond Europe are also so focused on this and are working to support Ukraine and deal with the challenge is because they know it could have effect here,” Blinken said in New Delhi.

The comments came as Blinken met with his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia — a grouping known as?the “Quad,” or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

Left to right - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pose for a photograph after the Indo-Pacific Quad Foreign Ministers panel discussion in New Delhi, India, on March 3.

The Quad is an informal group focused on security that dates back to the early 2000s, though it has become more active in recent years as part of efforts to?counter China’s reach and territorial claims?in the Indo-Pacific.

Blinken added that the challenges faced by people around the world cannot be dealt with by “any one country acting alone.”

Though he didn’t specify any “would-be aggressors,” he made several veiled references, saying the Quad is working on increasing countries’ maritime domain awareness — meaning greater surveillance on things happening in their waters — and tamping down on illegal fishing.

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Maria?Zakharova?attends a meeting in Moscow on February 15.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Friday claimed that Antony Blinken did not raise the issue of a US citizen detained in Russia during a meeting with the Kremlin’s foreign minister — directly contradicting earlier comments by the US Secretary of State.

Blinken said Thursday that he pressed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Paul Whelan’s detention and a US offer to free him during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.

But on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman?Maria?Zakharova?claimed: “It turned out that the US Secretary of State did not even mention it,” referring to Whelan’s case.

Some context: Whelan, a former US Marine, was detained in Moscow in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang pose for photo on the sideline of G20 foreign minister's meeting in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, March 2.

Russia and China have once again reiterated their cooperation following a meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers in India amid rising geopolitical tensions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Thursday on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.

In statement released after the meeting, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said “there was a unanimous rejection by the two of attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, or imposing unilateral approaches using blackmail and threats, or to oppose the democratization of international relations,” in an apparent reference to the United States and its NATO allies,

According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout, Qin said Beijing supports any efforts conducive to peace in Ukraine and will continue to play a constructive role in that regard.

Both sides affirmed cooperation and coordination and enhanced strategic communication, according to the Chinese and Russian readouts.?

Some context: Tensions between the United States and China have intensified in recent weeks, including over?concerns from Washington?that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to the Kremlin’s struggling war effort. Beijing has denied those claims and instead sought to portray itself as an impartial agent of peace — in contrast to the US, which it has accused of “adding fuel to the fire” in the conflict and damaging the global economy with sanctions targeting Russia.

National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House on March 2 in Washington, DC.

The?White?House will?announce?another round of?military?assistance for?Ukraine?on?Friday, which is the same day that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with President Joe Biden, according?to?National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby.?

Kirby declined?to?provide a dollar figure for?Friday’s?announcement.?He added that Biden and Scholz will discuss “additional support for?Ukraine?going forward.”

The announcement comes?just one week?after the Biden administration announced another $2 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds. That funding was for purchases and new contracts for equipment for Ukraine, including:

Ukrainian service members prepare to shoot from a howitzer at a front line near the city of Bakhmut on March 2.

Russian forces continue to press their offensive in the Bakhmut area as Ukrainian forces try to repel ongoing attacks near the key eastern city and nearby areas in the Donetsk region,?the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in an evening update on Thursday.?

Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched rocket attacks on the cities of?Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, located just 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) west of Bakhmut, and?Zaporizhzhia, the General Staff said.?

There were unsuccessful Russian offensive attempts in the?Kupyansk and Lyman directions, it added.

In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, Russian forces continue “to try to create conditions for an offensive” and have fired artillery at more than 40 settlement areas, it said.

Ukraine also responded with 13 strikes over the past day in areas where Russia has personnel and military equipment, the General Staff said, adding that the missile and artillery units hit one Russian ammunition depot.

Russian security officials claimed on Thursday that a small Ukrainian armed group had?crossed the Russian border into the southern Bryansk region, allegations dismissed by Kyiv as a “classic deliberate provocation” by the Kremlin.

The Security Service of Russia (FSB) said in a statement via state-run news agency RIA Novosti on Thursday that the agency was carrying out operations to counter what it said were “armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border” in the district. President Vladimir Putin later described the incident as a terrorist attack, and a local official said two civilians were killed.

CNN cannot independently verify the Russian claims, and local media have not carried any images of the supposed incidents, any type of confrontation or an alleged raid reported by Russian authorities.

US and Ukrainian officials have in the past warned that Russia has planned so-called “false flag” attacks along Russia’s border with Ukraine as a pretext for military escalation, including Russian claims ahead of last year’s full-scale invasion that Ukraine was sending “saboteurs” over the Russian border.

The Bryansk region shares a border to its south with Ukraine, and to its west with Belarus, the close Russian ally nation that helped facilitate Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

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Standing outside a Russian detention center in?Kherson, days after the?southern Ukrainian city was liberated, 29-year-old Ihor shivered as he recalled what he endured inside.

Kherson was the first large city and only regional capital Russian troops were able to occupy since the start of the invasion. Moscow’s armies took over the city on March 2, 2022, and occupied it for several months before being forced to withdraw in early November, after a months-long offensive by Ukrainian forces.

The detention center Ihor was held in was part of a network of at least 20 facilities that Ukrainian and international lawyers said was part of a calculated Russian strategy to extinguish Ukrainian identity.

The investigation found that Russian forces followed a very specific blueprint in several occupied areas, with clear patterns that point to the overarching plan of Moscow’s occupation of Ukraine.

Read more here.

A still image taken from video released on March 2 by founder of Russia's Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin's press service, shows what it said to be Wagner fighters standing with a flag on top of a building in Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of?the Russian mercenary group Wagner, shared a video on Thursday, which he said shows his fighters in the city of Bakhmut.

In the video, geolocated by CNN to the east of Bakhmut, uniformed men can be seen lifting a Wagner banner on the top of a heavily damaged building, with one of the men holding a guitar, presumably in reference to the private military group’s nickname, “the musicians.”

Despite Prigozhin’s claim that his fighters had advanced to the city center, CNN geolocated the video to around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the center of Bakhmut — Wagner fighters have been there for a while.?

The town in the eastern Donetsk region has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in recent weeks.

Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of Ukraine’s Armed forces, told CNN on Wednesday that Russian forces were employing more experienced fighters from Wagner’s ranks as they continued their assault on Bakhmut.

Former US Marine?Paul?Whelan, who was detained and accused of espionage, stands inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Moscow on August 23, 2019.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly revealed for the first time Thursday that the United States has put forward a “serious proposal” to secure wrongfully detained Paul Whelan’s release from Russia.

US officials have long stressed their commitment to bringing home Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018, but the public disclosure that a deal is on the table marks a notable development in those efforts.

In a?“brief engagement” with Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting Thursday, Blinken said he pressed the Russian foreign minister on Whelan’s detention and the offer.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday that this “was not a proposal that the Russians heard for the first time today.” Price declined to give details on that proposal, but said it was one “that we have conveyed to them consistently in the past.”

Read more here.