Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is in a “lull” as it struggles with heavy losses.

Speaking to a journalist in the Kremlin Wednesday, Putin claimed that the slowdown in the counteroffensive was “due to the fact that the enemy suffers serious losses – both in personnel and in equipment.”

Defense analysts at the Institute for the Study of War pointed out, however, that Putin then “preposterously” claimed that Russian forces had destroyed 244 tanks and 679 armored vehicles since counteroffensive operations began in early June.

The ISW noted that while Russian forces’ “doctrinally sound defense in western Zaporizhia and prepared defensive positions throughout southern Ukraine are likely slowing Ukrainian advances,” the pace of counteroffensive operations “is not emblematic of Ukraine’s wider offensive potential and Ukrainian forces are likely successfully setting conditions for a future main effort despite initial setbacks.” 

Ukrainian officials have long signaled that the Ukrainian counteroffensive “would be a series of gradual and sequential offensive actions,” the ISW noted, and have more recently observed that “currently ongoing operations do not represent the main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive planning.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “tough fights” are ongoing as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive, having acknowledged that progress is slower than expected.

In his nightly address Wednesday, Zelenskyy first focused on the war, saying there are “Tough fights. South – we destroy the enemy. Donetsk region – we are destroying the enemy. Kupiansk direction – no matter what Russian terrorists plan, we will destroy the enemy.”

In the counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, “there is our movement forward,” he said, while in the east of the country, the defense is holding. Ukraine says it has so far reclaimed eight villages predominantly in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia over the past two weeks of counteroffensive.

In an interview published by the BBC Wednesday, Zelenskyy conceded that the progress of Ukrainian counteroffensive has been “slower than desired.”

“Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,” he said. “What’s at stake is people’s lives.”

“Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best,” he added.

The president noted that Ukrainian advances are not easy because Russian forces have mined 200,000 square kilometers (77,220 sq miles) of front-line territory.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that there was a “lull” in the counteroffensive.

— Holly Ellyatt

The chief of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office reiterated calls that Kyiv should ascend to the NATO military alliance.

“Ukraine should be in NATO. This will save Europe from a major war,” Andrii Yermak wrote on his official Telegram channel, according to an NBC News translation. 

Zelenskyy began an expedited process of applying to the world’s most powerful military alliance in late September.

— Amanda Macias

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia’s new generation of Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads, would soon be deployed for combat duty.

In a speech to new graduates of military academies, Putin stressed the importance of Russia’s “triad” of nuclear forces that can be launched from land, sea or air.

“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,” he said.

“Already about half of the units and formations of the Strategic Missile Forces are equipped with the latest Yars systems, and the troops are being re-equipped with modern missile systems with the Avangard hypersonic warhead.”

The first Sarmat launchers would be put on combat duty “in the near future”, Putin said.

— Reuters

The Kremlin said U.S. President Joe Biden calling his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a “dictator” shortly after a high-profile meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials shows confusion in the White House’s foreign policy.

Biden’s comment at a Tuesday fundraiser came just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his first official visit to Beijing.

Referring to Biden’s remark, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said “on the one hand, of course, this is a very contradictory manifestation of U.S. foreign policy, which speaks of a large element of unpredictability,” he told reporters, according to a NBC translation.

“And on the other hand, the continuation of such mentoring manifestations of U.S. foreign policy, which have already become unacceptable for a huge number of states and the number of these states is constantly growing,” he added.

“However, this is their business. We have our own bad relations with the United States of America and its very good relations with the People’s Republic of China,” Peskov said.

Blinken’s visit to Beijing on Monday took place at a time of high tension between the U.S. and China, with Beijing’s close relationship with Moscow a concern for the West.

Biden’s “dictator” comment is bound to fray relations further and on Wednesday, China responded by saying the comment was “ridiculously absurd.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Britain, the United States and the European Union pledged on Wednesday billions of dollars more help to rebuild Ukraine, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launching a war insurance framework to try to spur companies to invest.

While welcoming the support, the answer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was blunt – Kyiv needs concrete commitments to projects that will help Ukraine not only recover but to develop into a powerful member of the Western world.

After nearly 16 months of a war that has destroyed homes, hospitals and other critical infrastructure across Ukraine, Sunak appealed to businesses and governments at a recovery conference in London to do more to help rebuild the country.

Addressing the key difficulty for most companies wanting to invest in Ukraine – insurance against war damage and destruction – Sunak announced the London Conference Framework for War Risk insurance, which could pave the way for derisking investment, though he was light on details.

He said the London Conference Framework was “a huge step forward towards helping insurers to underwrite investments into Ukraine, removing one of the biggest barriers and giving investors the confidence they need to act”.

Sunak also unveiled measures including $3 billion of additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending that Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, said would allow his group to continue to help “people rebuild their lives after devastation”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros for 2024-27, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered $1.3 billion in additional aid.

Ukraine is seeking up to $40 billion to fund the first part of a “Green Marshall Plan” to rebuild its economy, including developing a coal-free steel industry, a senior Ukrainian official said before the conference.

The total bill will be huge, with Ukraine, the World Bank, the European Commission and the United Nations estimating in March that the cost was at $411 billion for the first year of the war. It could easily reach more than $1 trillion.

— Reuters

A ceasefire in Ukraine is not enough for European officials, who want lasting peace in the region, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNBC.

“We are very clear we do not want only a ceasefire and a frozen conflict in regions of Ukraine, because these regions will always be fragile. No investment will go there, and the conflict could [at] any time flare up again, as we have learned since 2014. So it has to be a real peace,” von der Leyen said on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.

Speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, von der Leyen said that China can nevertheless be a crucial player in the peace process.

“China is a permanent member of the UN, and this comes with responsibility. And China has influence on Russia, so we expect China to use this influence to convince Russia to sit down at the negotiating table,” she said.

Read more on the story here: ‘We do not want only a ceasefire’: EU chief calls for lasting peace in Ukraine

It’s becoming clear that Ukraine could have a long and bloody slog ahead of it when it comes to its counteroffensive aiming at recapturing Russian-occupied territory in the south and east of the country.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has produced only limited gains so far, with eight settlements reclaimed in the last two weeks. Ukrainian officials are the first to admit that the country’s armed forces face a “tough duel” with Russia in the weeks and months ahead.

“We knew from before we started [the counteroffensive] that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park,” Yuriy Sak, a senior advisor in Ukraine’s defense ministry, told CNBC Tuesday.

“We knew that Russians had months to prepare for it, we knew that they have built very, very strongly-fortified defense lines, that they have laid millions of mines along the front line. They’re dug in so deep, that we already had a very good idea that this will be not an easy task,” he added.

Read more on the story here: ‘Tough duel’ ahead for Ukraine as Russia mounts fierce resistance to counteroffensive

— Holly Ellyatt