Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.
June 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news
By Tara Subramaniam, Sana Noor Haq, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal and Mike Hayes, CNN
Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, June 22, 2023
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World Bank will provide $1.75 billion in aid to restore Ukraine
The World Bank Group announced an additional $1.75 billion in support for Ukraine on Wednesday.
"The financing is composed of a $500 million World Bank loan guaranteed by the United Kingdom, a $1.25 billion grant from the United States, and a $15 million grant from the Government of Finland," a news release from the group stated.
"This additional financing for the PEACE (Public Expenditure Support for Enhanced Sustainable Governance in Ukraine) project builds on previous funding and will continue to provide support in key sectors such as health care, education, payment of pensions, social assistance programs, and wages for employees providing core government services," the news release continued.
Additional support for Ukraine. More than 400 global companies pledged support Wednesday for rebuilding the war-torn economy at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. Citi, Sanofi and Philips are among firms that have signed up to the Ukraine Business Compact, signaling their intent to boost investment in the country. The UK government has also set out a package of support for Ukraine, including $3 billion of new guarantees to unlock World Bank loans and 240 million pounds ($305 million) of bilateral assistance.
Sanctions, investments for Ukraine and other headlines you should know
From CNN staff
More than 400 global companies pledged support Wednesday for rebuilding the war-torn economy at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. Citi, Sanofi and Philips are among firms that have signed up to the Ukraine Business Compact, signaling their intent to boost investment in the country.
Ukraine faces an enormous fundraising challenge, and it’s one that governments and development finance institutions won’t be able to meet without help from private investors. The World Bank estimated in March that the cost of rebuilding the country one year on from the start of the war amounted to $411 billion — a huge figure that is set to increase as the conflict drags on.
If you're just now catching up, here's what you should know:
Attacks. Russia claimed Wednesday that its forces had attacked units of the Ukrainian army in the area of the Vremivka ledge – one of the epicenters of fighting, located in the southeast of the country near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions – and destroyed their equipment. Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in the eastern Donetsk region as Russian forces keep their focus in the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka, according to an earlier update from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Sanctions. European Union ambassadors have agreed on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council said Wednesday.
Dam collapse latest. Mines displaced by flooding after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam could end up on beaches around the Black Sea, the head of a United Nations mine program said on Wednesday.
Military equipment. Russia will boost the mass production of drones and increase their deployment to the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, during an address to graduates from Russia's military academies in the Kremlin. Russia will also continue improving its armed forces based on the "invaluable" experience gained in its "special military operation" — a term Russian officials and leaders use to refer to the invasion — in Ukraine, Putin said Wednesday.
Zaporizhzhia developments. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine will use multiple different water sources — which have sufficient water for some months — for cooling after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam earlier this month, the UN's nuclear watchdog said in an update.
Black Sea grain deal. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. They discussed "a wide range of areas where Ukraine and Türkiye can advance bilateral cooperation," Kuleba said in a tweet. The Black Sea Initiative agreement is up for renewal on July 17.
US will have representatives at detained journalist Evan Gershkovich’s upcoming hearing in Russia
From CNN's Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler
The US State Department said it would surely have US embassy representation at detained journalist Evan Gershkovich’s hearing Thursday in Russia, but did not have specifics about what to expect at the hearing.
“We continue to feel that this whole legal process as it relates to Evan is a sham,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel at a news briefing Wednesday. “We’ve been very clear that Evan is wrongfully detained, being wrongfully detained and targeted for simply doing his job as a journalist.”
Patel did not know when US officials were last granted consular access to the detained American. Multiple past requests for access have been denied by the Russian government.
Ukrainian foreign minister discussed maintaining Black Sea grain deal with Turkish counterpart
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv and Lauren Kent in London
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.
"We discussed a wide range of areas where Ukraine and Türkiye can advance bilateral cooperation. I reaffirmed Ukraine’s interest in maintaining and expanding the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as mobilizing global support for the Peace Formula," Kuleba said in a tweet.
In an update on Tuesday, the United Nations said exports under the initiative had "dropped significantly from a peak of 4.2 million metric tonnes in October 2022 to 1.3 million metric tonnes in May, the lowest volume since the Initiative began last year."
"The Secretary-General is disappointed by the slowing pace of inspections and the exclusion of the port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi from the Black Sea Initiative. This has resulted in a reduction in the movement of vessels coming in and out of Ukrainian sea ports, leading to a drop in the supply of essential foodstuffs to global markets," the statement said.
The Black Sea Initiative agreement is up for renewal on July 17.
Some more context: The deal, which is key for preventing a global food crisis, was last renewed in May.
Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to the World Food Programme. According to the European Commission, Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market. It is also a key global player in the market of sunflower oil.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is contemplating withdrawing from the grain deal, noting Moscow took part in the agreement to maintain relationships with “friendly” countries.
UN nuclear watchdog: Zaporizhzhia plant will use multiple different water sources for sufficient cooling
From CNN's Lauren Kent in London
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine will use multiple different water sources — which have sufficient water for some months — for cooling after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam earlier this month, the UN's nuclear watchdog said in an update.
"For the past two weeks, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) has received the cooling water it needs from the reserves held by a discharge channel of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP). This is separate from the reservoir, whose water level has plunged since the dam was severely damaged on 6 June," the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday in the update.
The nuclear plant, which is under Russian control, was supplied by water from the dam's reservoir.
“Together, the large cooling pond, the smaller spray ponds, and the discharge channel have sufficient water for some months," it added.
Meanwhile, even as the war intensifies in the region, ZNPP is taking steps to "preserve and replenish these reserves as much as possible” and also "exploring alternative ways of getting water," the update said.
With the "extremely fragile" security situation around the nuclear plant, the dam's collapse "added to the severe difficulties for this major nuclear power plant," the update said.
Ukrainian military claims advances in the south as heavy fighting continues in eastern Donetsk region
From Yulia Kesaieva, CNN Kyiv and Lauren Kent in London
Heavy fighting continues in the eastern Donetsk region as Russian forces keep their focus in the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka, according to the latest update from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
More than 30 combat engagements took place in those areas in the last day, the General Staff said, noting that Russia conducted several "unsuccessful offensives" in those directions.
Both Ukraine's General Staff and Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, a commander of joint forces in the country's south, said that Russian forces are on the defensive in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine are advancing.
"In the Tavria sector, our army is systematically driving the enemy out of their positions and continues to advance. The successes of the Defense Forces are already noticeable," Tarnavskyi said in a Telegram post.
Within the last day in Tavria, a town in southern Ukraine, "enemy losses in killed and wounded amounted to almost three companies. Ukraine destroyed and damaged 68 units of enemy military equipment," Tarnavskyi claimed.
The General Staff said Russian forces were unsuccessful in offensives in the village of Piatykhatky in the Zaporizhzhia region, while they also conducted air strikes in the areas of Preobrazhenka and Stopnohirsk in the Donetsk region.
In Bakhmut, Ukraine's acting Commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade Maksym Zhorin claimed that Russian troops were unsuccessfully attempting to regain some of their lost positions on the battlefield.
"The result — dead and wounded Russians," he said.
What Russia says: The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on Wednesday that its forces attacked units of the Ukrainian army in the southeast of the country near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, destroying their equipment.
On Belarus: Ukraine's military also noted that "no signs of (the) formation of offensive groups were detected in Belarus" near the border with Ukraine.
"However, combat training and coordination of the Russian Armed Forces units before their deployment to the areas of combat operations in Ukraine are ongoing at the training grounds of the Republic of Belarus," the General Staff claimed.
Belarus, one of Russia's staunchest allies since the invasion of Ukraine, made changes to its constitution renouncing its neutrality on Wednesday.
Russia will continue improving its armed forces, Putin says
From CNN's Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Russia will continue improving its armed forces based on the "invaluable" experience gained in its "special military operation" — a term Russian officials and leaders use to refer to the invasion — in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
"The most important task here is the development of the nuclear triad, which is a key guarantee of Russia's military security and global stability. Already about half of the units and formations of the Strategic Missile Forces are equipped with the latest Yars complexes," he said during an address to graduates from Russia's military academies in the Kremlin.
"The troops are being re-equipped with modern missile systems with a hypersonic avant-garde warhead. In the near future, the first launchers of the Sarmat complex with a new heavy missile will take up combat duty," he added.
Putin met with graduates of universities and academies of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergencies, the Federal Security Service, the Federal Protection Service, the Russian Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and the Federal Penitentiary Service, according to the Kremlin.
On Ukraine's counteroffensive: Putin told reporters that there is a "certain lull" in fighting, with no active offensive operations being carried out by Ukraine yet. He claimed Ukraine is suffering heavy losses on the battlefield.
CNN is not able to independently verify Putin's claims about Ukrainian loses or the course of the operations on the ground.
"But today we see that this (Ukraine's) offensive potential has not yet been exhausted, there are also reserves that the enemy is thinking about where and how to introduce," he said.
More than 400 global companies pledge support for rebuilding Ukraine's war-torn economy
From CNN's Hanna Ziady
More than 400 global companies pledged support Wednesday for rebuilding the war-torn economy at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. Citi, Sanofi and Philips are among firms that have signed up to the Ukraine Business Compact, signaling their intent to boost investment in the country.
The UK government has also set out a package of support for Ukraine, including $3 billion of new guarantees to unlock World Bank loans and 240 million pounds ($305 million) of bilateral assistance.
The United States would send an additional $1.3 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine to “overhaul its energy grid” and modernize other critical infrastructure, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Ukraine faces an enormous fundraising challenge, and it’s one that governments and development finance institutions won’t be able to meet without help from private investors. The World Bank estimated in March that the cost of rebuilding the country one year on from the start of the war amounted to $411 billion — a huge figure that is set to increase as the conflict drags on.
To help meet that need, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has enlisted BlackRock and JPMorgan to advise on the Ukraine Development Fund, a vehicle that seeks to mobilize capital from private and public sector investors toward rebuilding the Ukrainian economy.
The Ukraine Development Fund is still in the planning stages and is not expected to launch until the conflict ends.
CNN's Jo Shelley, Mariya Knight and Yulia Kesaieva contributed to the reporting.