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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7:01 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Moscow froze Finnish bank accounts in response to “unfriendly actions,” Kremlin spokesperson says

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

Moscow has decided to freeze the bank accounts of Finland’s embassy and consulate in response to “unfriendly actions” by western nations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.  

“This was not the initiative of the Russian side. We are reacting to the situation created by the authorities of a number of countries in the collective West, including, unfortunately, Finland. We always say that we cannot and will not leave unfriendly actions unanswered,” he said.

The bank accounts of the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and General consulate in St. Petersburg were frozen by the Russian government at the end of April, Finland’s Foreign Ministry in Helsinki told CNN on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry added that it had “demanded Russia secure Finland´s diplomatic missions’ local money and payment transactions.”

Russia hits back: Finland is among the host of European countries to have imposed sanctions on Russia, since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. The Baltic nation, which shares over 1,000 kilometers or 621 miles of land border with Russia, has also sought to shore up its own defenses against its neighbor by joining NATO in April.

Russia’s retort shows that it can use similar economic weapons as those used by the West. But it is unclear whether it plans to take similar actions against other nations – or if it has singled out Finland.

6:25 a.m. ET, May 18, 2023

Analysis: What the G7 meeting could mean for the war in Ukraine

From CNN’s Brad Lendon

This year’s G7 meeting in Japan holds special significance, not only for its location.

The leaders of the world’s most advanced democracies are meeting in Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first ever nuclear attack – a fitting reminder of the risks of nuclear war as they discuss Russia and the conflict in Ukraine.

While plenty of topics will be discussed – from countering China’s influence in the region to the United States’ looming debt ceiling – the war in Ukraine will likely remain top of the agenda.

Kyiv’s forces have been bolstered significantly by weapons supplied by most of the countries gathering in Hiroshima – the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – who hails from Hiroshima – visited Kyiv in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised him for keeping the G7 united behind Ukraine.

“Prime Minister Kishida stated that, as the G7 Presidency, Japan would maintain the unity of the G7 in imposing strict sanctions against Russia and providing support to Ukraine,” a joint statement from the two leaders said.

After a week in which Zelensky continued to secure further aid commitments from many of these countries, don’t expect any cracks in G7 unity at the summit.

Read our full analysis here.

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.