May 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Catherine Nicholls, Christian Edwards, Adrienne Vogt, Maureen Chowdhury and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 10:44 AM ET, Fri May 19, 2023
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5:58 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Ukrainian military claims gains around Bakhmut

From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

Ukrainian forces have made advancements around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut over the past day, despite coming under heavy fire from Russian troops, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Thursday. 

“In the course of the fighting, our units continue to advance on the flanks, despite the fact that they do not currently have an advantage in personnel, ammunition and equipment,” Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Ukrainian TV. 

“We managed to advance from 150 (492 feet) to 1,700 meters (5,577 feet),” he added.

CNN cannot verify the battlefield reports.

The head of the Russian paramilitary Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has also claimed that his fighters have advanced within the eastern city, as fierce fighting continues for the territory still controlled by Ukrainian troops.

Some background: Bakhmut has been the target of a months-long assault by Russian forces that has so far failed to capture the city. 

Last week, Ukrainian forces claimed to have conducted “effective counterattacks” in the area. Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, said his army had forced Russian troops to retreat by “a distance of up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).”

Those gains have reportedly continued this week. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar claimed Wednesday that “our troops liberated about 20 square kilometers (more than 7 square miles) of the Bakhmut suburbs in the north and south of the city.”

However, Maliar acknowledged that Russia is also making advances in Bakhmut, bringing in paratroopers and "destroying the city with artillery."

4:58 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Russian missile strikes on Kyiv “unprecedented,” authorities say, after ninth attack this month

From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

A police officer inspects remains of a Russian cruise missile shot down by air defences in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 18.
A police officer inspects remains of a Russian cruise missile shot down by air defences in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 18. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The wave of Russian missile strikes launched at Kyiv this month has been “unprecedented in its power,” city authorities said early Thursday.

"A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in its power, intensity and variety, continues. The ninth air attack on the capital since the beginning of May,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, in a Telegram post.

Popko said that the latest wave of missiles was fired toward Kyiv from Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea.

After the launch, Russian reconnaissance drones were seen over the capital, he added.  

All the missiles that crossed Kyiv’s airspace were intercepted, Popko said, but falling debris caused a fire at a garage. Andrii Nebytov, police chief for the Kyiv region, posted photos on Telegram of what he said were missile fragments in fields outside the capital.

Kyiv under strike: Until recently, most analysts and even United States defense officials simply doubted Ukraine’s air defenses would be up to the job of repelling a sustained Russian assault – and this latest Moscow offensive has been particularly sustained.

But Kyiv’s air defenses are holding firm – thanks, in large part, to US-made Patriot missile defense systems.

Read our full report on how Kyiv has steeled its skies.

4:09 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Guard killed by falling missile fragments in Odesa, Ukrainian military says

From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

An industrial building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 18.
An industrial building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 18. (Operational Command South of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters)

A civilian security guard was killed in Odesa overnight after fragments of a Russian missile shot down by air defenses fell on an industrial building in the southern port city, the Ukrainian military said.

“As a result of the air battle, the downed missiles fell on industrial buildings, which were damaged. Unfortunately, as a result of the destruction, one civilian guard was killed and two others were injured,” Ukraine’s Operational Command South said on Facebook.

The command said the missiles were launched at Ukraine’s southern coast from Russian carriers in the Black Sea and ground-based missile systems in occupied territory. 

Missiles shot down: Ukraine said its air defenses intercepted 29 out of 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight at cities nationwide, including Kyiv.

Kyiv police chief Andrii Nebytov posted photos on Telegram of what he said were fragments of Russian missiles downed over fields outside the capital. 

“Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or casualties,” in the Kyiv region, he said.

3:48 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Russia's war in Ukraine is weakening its influence in Central Asia. China aims to fill the void

From CNN's Simone McCarthy

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Tajikistan's President in Xi'an on Thursday.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Tajikistan's President in Xi'an on Thursday. Florence Lo/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is rolling out the red carpet for Central Asian nations this week as Beijing attempts to expand its reach into a region that has long been regarded as Russia’s sphere of influence.

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are gathering in the central Chinese city of Xi’an for a summit that began Thursday.

It is the first in-person meeting of the heads of state together with China since they established diplomatic relations after the fall of the Soviet Union, according to China’s state media, and comes as the region grapples with the knock-on economic effects of neighboring Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China has billed the meeting as the “first major diplomatic activity” its hosted this year and an opportunity to draw a “new blueprint” with the sprawling bloc of post-Soviet states that lie between between its western borders, Europe and the Middle East.

The two-day event is also a play from Beijing to expand its influence in Central Asia, where Russia — now distracted by its debilitating and unsuccessful invasion of Ukraine — has long been the dominant great power partner.

“The most important context of this summit is the Ukraine war and the region’s uncertainty with Russia’s future commitment, influence and role in the region,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
“Central Asia is always seen as Russia’s backyard, and China has been expanding its influence in the region … and there are new aspirations and directions for China-Central Asia relations — opportunities that were not present or available in the past,” she said.

Read the full story here.

5:36 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Ukraine says Russia launched 30 missiles overnight and it intercepted all but one

From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

Ukraine claims to have downed 29 out of 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.  

The missiles came in “several waves” and “from different directions,” the statement said.

"A total of 30 sea-, air-, and land-launched cruise missiles were launched,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in the statement, adding that air defenses “destroyed 29 cruise missiles.”

The Air Force also claimed to have also shot down two attack drones and two reconnaissance drones. 

Some background: Several explosions were heard overnight across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, as authorities activated air defenses against a nationwide Russian attack.

Ukraine’s Operational Command South said earlier Thursday that one person had been killed and two injured when a Russian missile hit an industrial infrastructure facility in the southern port city of Odesa.

2:31 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

At least 1 killed in Odesa after Russian missile attack, Ukrainian officials say

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

An industrial building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, on May 18.
An industrial building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, on May 18. Operational Command South of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters

At least one person was killed and two others wounded after a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday night, according to Ukrainian military officials.

“Late night, the enemy launched a missile attack on Odesa. The attack was carried out using various missiles from different directions. Most of them were destroyed by air defense, but unfortunately [an] industrial infrastructure was hit,” Ukraine’s Operational Command South said in a statement on Facebook.

Explosions were heard overnight across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, as authorities activated air defenses against a nationwide Russian attack.

1:24 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

"No panacea in resolving the crisis," Chinese envoy tells Ukrainian officials

From CNN’s Wayne Chang and Simone McCarthy

China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that Beijing's special envoy Li Hui met with President Volodomyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said Li reiterated that China is willing to serve as a peace broker for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, on the basis of its previously stated positions on the war.

“There is no panacea in resolving the crisis. All parties need to start from themselves, accumulate mutual trust, and create conditions for ending the war and engaging in peace talks,” Li said, according to the readout.

Kyiv’s readout made no mention of the meeting with Zelensky.

Instead it said Li met foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed “topical issues of cooperation between Ukraine and China,” as well as “ways to stop Russian aggression.”

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry announced Li would visit Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia starting May 15 — just days before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders are expected to affirm their solidarity against Moscow in a summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

China has attempted to cast itself as a peace broker and deflect criticism that it has not acted to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, more than one year after Moscow invaded its western neighbor.

The Ukrainian statement on Li’s visit appeared to allude to daylight between Beijing and Kyiv’s positions on ending the conflict.

Kuleba talked about restoring peace “based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and emphasized “that Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict.”

He also stressed the importance of China’s participation in the implementation of Zelensky’s “peace formula,” according to the statement.

Read more here.

1:35 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Russia launches new assault as air raid warnings sound across Ukraine. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

Smoke rises after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 18.
Smoke rises after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 18. Stringer/Reuters

Explosions were heard in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions in the early hours of Thursday, as authorities reported a nationwide air attack.

Kyiv military officials said the capital's air defenses were activated, resulting in falling debris that caused a fire.

Authorities are yet to provide information on casualties or the extent of the damage.

Here's what else to know:

  • On the ground: Ukraine's deputy defense minister says Kyiv's forces are holding substantial areas around Bakhmut that it claims to have retaken from Russia as "fierce fighting" rages in the eastern city. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his Russian mercenaries advanced 260 meters [0.16 miles] in the city. Videos emerging from the battles show intense shelling and heavy destruction in the city's western part, the last area where Ukrainian forces have a presence.
  • Elsewhere on the front lines: According to Ukraine's military, the Russians aretrying to improve their "tactical situation" in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region but offensives close to the Oskil River were unsuccessful amid heavy shelling of Ukrainian-held areas. The General Staff added that the situation had been quieter in another hotspot, around Avdiivka in Donetsk, and that Russian forces in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia had continued to shell settlements in the area, striking more than 20 places over the past day. Meanwhile, at least three civilians were killed near the southern city of Kherson following Russian shelling, according to Ukrainian officials.
  • Damaged defenses: Two components of a US-made Patriot battery were damaged in a Russian attack Tuesday, but the system "was never offline," according to a US official familiar with the matter. The Russian barrage damaged the Patriot battery’s generator and part of the system’s electronics.
  • Budapest pushes back: A Hungarian official said Wednesday it would be very difficult for Hungary to join the EU's next round of sanctions against Moscow after Kyiv blacklisted a Hungarian bank. A senior EU official said later that it’s not for the EU "to decide what private banks do. But again, we have to deal with a question that is influencing and affecting decisively one of our main foreign policy objectives, which is to support Ukraine."
  • Chinese envoy departs: Beijing’s Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui wrapped up a two-day visit to Ukraine Wednesday, Kyiv said, completing the first stop on his European tour as China attempts to fashion itself as a peacemaker despite its close ties with Russia. 
1:37 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Explosions heard in Kyiv as Ukraine raises nationwide air raid alert

From CNN’s Mia Alberti and Josh Pennington

Smoke rises after a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 18.
Smoke rises after a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 18. Stringer/Reuters

Explosions were heard Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions in the early hours of Thursday, as authorities reported a countrywide air attack.

"Multiple explosions have occurred in the capital, in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts. Emergency services are en route to the affected areas,” Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Telegram. Other explosions were reported in the Desnianskyi district.

The Kyiv city military administration said the capital's air defenses were activated, resulting in falling debris in the Darnytskyi district, which caused a fire.

"Data on casualties and damage are currently being updated. Remain in your shelters until the air raid alert is over!" Serhiy Popko, the head of the city military administration, said on Telegram.

Nationwide air raid alert: Air defense forces in Vinnytsia, in west-central Ukraine, were activated to "countering airborne threats,” Serhiy Borzov, the head of the region's military administration, said on Telegram.

"We are currently facing another wave of cruise missile attacks from the enemy!" Borzov wrote.