April 10, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Russia has switched to so-called "scorched Earth" tactics in the eastern city of Bakhmut and is destroying buildings and positions with airstrikes and artillery fire, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces.

On Sunday, Syrskyi visited some of the hottest spots on the front line in the Bakhmut area and met with the brigades who are defending Ukrainian positions near the embattled city, according to a statement posted on Telegram by the Ukrainian military on Monday.

"Our brave soldiers have exhausted the Wagner fighters with their actions, so the enemy is now forced to engage special forces and air assault units in the battle for Bakhmut," Syrskyi said in the statement. "The fighting is fierce on both sides."

"The defense of Bakhmut continues. The situation is difficult but under control," he added. 

On Monday, the Ukrainian military General Staff said in its latest operational update that Russia continues to focus its main efforts on offensive operations in the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Mariinka.

On Sunday, Ukrainian defenders repelled 58 enemy attacks on these axes, the General Staff said. 

Highly classified Pentagon documents leaked online in recent weeks have revealed how the US spies on allies and foes alike — with leaked conversations including those about the war in Ukraine and international efforts to supply aid.

One document reviewed by CNN describes, in remarkable detail, a conversation between two senior South Korean national security officials about concerns by the country’s National Security Council over a US request for ammunition.

The officials worried that supplying the ammunition, which the US would then send to Ukraine, would violate South Korea’s policy of not supplying lethal aid to countries at war. According to the document, one of the officials then suggested a way of getting around the policy without actually changing it – by selling the ammunition to Poland.

Seoul's response: The document has already sparked controversy in Seoul, with the country's presidential office saying on Sunday it would hold “necessary discussions with the US” regarding the leak.

The office said the government will “review precedents and other countries’ cases, and come up with our response accordingly.” 

South Korea’s policy of not supplying lethal aid to countries at war remains unchanged, the office said.

Read the full story here.

The massive leak also reveals that US penetration of Russia’s Defense Ministry and the mercenary organization Wagner Group goes deeper than previously understood.

Much of the information about Russia was gathered via intercepted communications, raising concerns that the Russians might now change their method of communication to better conceal their planning.

Human sources could be at risk too. Maps of Russian troop movements and capabilities included in the trove of documents are sourced in part to human confidential sources, prompting fears among US officials that those assets could now be in danger.

What was eavesdropped: The documents show that the US has been able to intercept Russian targeting plans, down to which exact thermoelectric power plants, electric substations and railroad and vehicle bridges Russian forces planned to attack inside Ukraine and when.

The US was also able to intercept the Russian strategy for combating NATO tanks due to enter Ukraine beginning in April. The plan “called for establishing three fire zones based on range – long, medium, and short – with each zone covered by specific weaponry and unit types,” the US intelligence report says.

Highlighting US concerns about the Wagner Group, which has thousands of personnel operating in Ukraine, the documents discuss Wagner’s renewed recruitment of Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine – underscoring its leader’s “continued influence with Putin,” one report says – and the group’s plans to strengthen its presence across Africa and in Haiti.

Rising casualties: The documents also provide a window into casualty figures on both sides, numbers that are notoriously difficult to estimate accurately and that the US has been reluctant to share publicly in detail.

According to one of the documents, Russian forces had suffered 189,500 to 223,000 casualties as of February, including as many as 43,000 troops killed in action. Ukraine, meanwhile, had suffered 124,500 to 131,000 casualties, with up to 17,500 killed in action, the report says.

Read more here.

Ukraine has had to alter some of its military plans after the leak of highly classified Pentagon documents, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN, as US officials race to assess the damage.

CNN has reviewed 53 leaked documents, all of which appear to have been produced between mid-February and early March.

One document reveals that the US has been spying on Zelensky. That is unsurprising, said the source close to the President, but Ukrainian officials are deeply frustrated about the leak.

War plans: The US intelligence report, which is sourced to signals intelligence, says that Zelensky in late February “suggested striking Russian deployment locations in Russia’s Rostov Oblast” using unmanned aerial vehicles, since Ukraine does not have long-range weapons capable of reaching that far.

Signals intelligence includes intercepted communications and is broadly defined by the National Security Agency as “intelligence derived from electronic signals and systems used by foreign targets, such as communications systems, radars, and weapons systems.”

The intelligence could explain public US comments about not wanting to give Ukraine long-range missile systems over fears that Kyiv will use them to strike inside Russia. But Ukraine has pledged not to use US-provided weapons to do so.

Ukraine's response: Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on his Telegram channel Friday that he believes the documents that have been disseminated are inauthentic, have “nothing to do with Ukraine’s real plans” and are based on “a large amount of fictitious information” disseminated by Russia.

Read the full story here.

A massive leak of classified Pentagon documents reveal the US' efforts in spying on Russia, with details of intercepted communications of Russia's Defense Ministry and the mercenary organization Wagner Group.

The documents also divulge weaknesses in Ukrainian weaponry — reportedly forcing the country's military to alter some plans as fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with a deadly attack by Russian forces on Easter Sunday.

Here's the latest headlines out of Russia's war on Ukraine today:

Highly classified Pentagon documents leaked online in recent weeks have provided a rare window into how the US spies on allies and foes alike, deeply rattling US officials, who fear the revelations could jeopardize sensitive sources and compromise important foreign relationships.

Some of the documents, which US officials say are authentic, expose the extent of US eavesdropping on key allies, including South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.

Others reveal the degree to which the US has penetrated the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group, largely through intercepted communications and human sources, which could now be cut off or put in danger.

Still others divulge key weaknesses in Ukrainian weaponry, air defense, and battalion sizes and readiness at a critical point in the war, as Ukrainian forces gear up to launch a counteroffensive against the Russians – and just as the US and Ukraine have begun to develop a more mutually trusting relationship over intelligence-sharing.

Ukraine has already altered some of its military plans because of the leak, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.

The leak has also led the Pentagon to take steps to tighten the flow of such highly sensitive documents, officials said, which are normally available on any given day to hundreds of people across the government.

Read more here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Russia during his nightly speech Sunday for the deadly attack reported by Ukraine's emergency service in Zaporizhzhia overnight.

At least two people were killed when Russian strikes hit the southern city overnight, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.

A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after the strikes partially destroyed a residential building, officials said on Telegram. Rescuers pulled a 46-year-old woman out of the rubble, it added. 

Seven-year-old Karolina plays the piano at the Ukraine House cultural center in the United States capital, poking at keys, swinging her sneakers underneath. She could be any child playing the piano — except the legs swinging below the bench are prosthetic.

Karolina lost her legs last fall in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Nikopol and came to the United States to receive treatment.

Sitting with Karolina is Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, who helped arrange the young girl’s care.

Visits like these are now typical for the wartime ambassador.

This month marks two years since Markarova became ambassador. She was less than a year into her post when Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

“We were preparing for it,” she recalled. “We knew that the intent to attack us was there, but you never completely believe until, unfortunately, something horrific like war happens.”

Markarova said that for the first couple of months of the war she would wake up and wonder if it was a bad dream.

“Everyone in Ukraine, of course, it’s more difficult for them,” she acknowledged. “As I say always, the bombs are not falling on us here – but we work literally 24/7 since February 24, and we will continue working like that until we win.”

All around Washington: These days, much of Markarova’s time is spent outside the embassy, shuttling between various government agencies around Washington.

On a recent car ride from the Capitol to the Commerce Department for one of those meetings, Markarova noted the cars she uses have become “a second office.”

“This is where I prepare between the meetings, drive around everywhere,” she told CNN from the back seat.

The former private equity associate said she is not only working on securing military aid from Congress but also seeking support from American companies and entities as Ukraine begins rebuilding.

While House Republicans are divided over helping Ukraine, Markarova said she doesn’t see a difference with the chamber’s new GOP majority. She conceded, however, that there are members she has to “talk to more.”

Markarova hopes the burgeoning political debate will not weaken support overall.

Read CNN's full profile on Markarova here.

The battles inside the eastern town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, are "the most difficult ones since you are very close to the enemy," Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on national television Sunday.

"But the supply route is still open and Ukrainian forces are holding their positions," he said.

Wagner mercenary fighters have been "the most aggressive in the Bakhmut direction" but Russian paratroopers and infantry soldiers are also fighting in Bakhmut and in the area, he said. "Russians still hold a significant advantage in artillery in the areas of their main attack," he said. 

"We are supplying Bakhmut with ammunition, food and supplies, as well as taking our wounded out," Cherevaty, said.

Moscow's recent push: Russian forces continue their push to take "full control" of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military said in its latest operational update Sunday morning.

Unofficial reports suggest Russian forces are maintaining their slow advance through the center of Bakhmut and into the western parts of the city, with the railway station as a potential next key target.

Yuriy Syrotyuk, a grenade launcher in Ukraine's military, said in an interview on national television Sunday that the situation in Bakhmut is "really hard" for Kyiv's forces, as they are outnumbered by Russian troops and Wagner fighters. 

"Bakhmut stands; there is a supply" but "Russians outnumber us and hold more ammunition," Syrotyuk said. 

"It is really hard now because Russian artillery and tanks have pulled up very close, they are trying to shoot everything. (Enemy) paratroopers with weapons have arrived. Unfortunately, the enemy is fine with weapons. In Bakhmut they have no shortage of personnel or ammunition," he added. 

The Russian offensive on the southern flank of the city has weakened, "which is why they are trying to attack head-on through the city," Syrotyuk said. Russia has moved its artillery and rocket launchers within the city's boundaries.