Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russian media outlets reported that Russia’s security agency, the FSB, said it had detained a reporter for the US newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

Reporter Evan Gerszkovic was detained in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage, TASS and Interfax reported Thursday.

FSP’s press service told TASS, “The FSB of the Russian Federation is a correspondent for the Moscow bureau of the Wall Street Journal, American Gershkovic Evan, born in 1991 and certified by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I stopped doing illegal things,” he said. , is suspected of spying for the U.S. government. “

The FSB also claimed that Gershikowicz was “acting on instructions from the US side” and that the reporter “has been collecting information constituting state secrets regarding the activities of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex”. claimed.

The FSB said that “foreigners were detained in Yekaterinburg while trying to obtain classified information” and did not provide evidence for its claims.

CNBC has reached out to comment and is awaiting a response.

— Holly Eliyat, Ruxandra Yodake

Bakhmut’s Russian Army — Primarily composed of mercenaries belonging to the Wagner group — Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley told Congress on Wednesday that the city has suffered heavy losses with no progress in the past three weeks.

Milly said the so-called “Battle of Bakhmut”, which has now raged for more than seven months, has turned out to be a very exhausting battle for the Russians, despite recent profit claims in the city. said.

“Ukrainians have a very effective regional defense, which has proven to be very costly for the Russians. No,” he told House Armed. Service Commission Public Hearing.

“So for the Russians it’s a slaughterhouse. They’re getting hit near Bakhmut, and the Ukrainians are fighting very well. That applies to the entire front line,” he added.

Mily said he believed there were about 5,000 to 6,000 Wagner Group mercenary fighters in eastern Ukraine, along with up to 30,000 other recruits. Many of them were Russian prisoners of war and offered deals that would allow them to have their sentences commuted if they served in Wagner’s army. 6 months.

Mr Milly said Russian troops fighting around Bakhmut struggled with command and control, logistics and maintenance and received little training. Nevertheless, the Wagner Group is well-funded and has reached out to Russia, parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, making it “very dangerous,” he said.

— Holly Eliyat

Rebuilding Ukraine is the most ambitious project of the 21st century, the country’s prime minister told the Ukrainian government portal.

Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces have largely destroyed several Ukrainian cities. Russia also deliberately targets Ukraine’s energy grid and other civilian infrastructure.

Denys Shmyhal said in an online speech at the conference that the rebuilding would require “huge resources”. He spoke with his more than 200 industry representatives in the EU and Ukraine. The Ukrainian government portal does not quantify the cost of reconstruction.

Business will become the “power of change” for rebuilding the Ukrainian economy, Shmyal said. The most promising sectors in Ukraine are energy, defense, agriculture, natural resources and IT, he said.

The US International Development Finance Corporation has announced that it is ready to mobilize more than $1 billion of private capital to support the Ukrainian economy, he added.

— Audrey Wang

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has been “at war” with democracy for years.

At a democracy summit hosted by the United States, he said, “The United States will use disinformation, election interference, espionage, exporting corruption, and cybercrime to trigger an energy crisis and price explosions in markets, driving people to insane electricity and gas bills.” I’m trying to hit them directly,” he said. President Joe Biden, according to his office.

Since Moscow invaded its neighbor about 13 months ago, Biden and other Western leaders have provided Ukraine with weapons and financial aid and imposed a series of sanctions against Russia. rice field. Zelensky said, “Evil must lose the war.”

The Ukrainian president said the world shouldn’t “think how to save Putin’s face” in trying to end the war. He also called on his allies to provide “all weapons that would guarantee a sure guarantee” of Russia’s defeat.

— Jacob Pramac

A Hungarian government spokesman said Hungary is postponing Sweden’s NATO membership due to dissatisfaction with Stockholm’s criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies.

Bridging the gap will require efforts from both sides, spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said.

Sweden and its neighbor Finland sought to join the NATO military alliance last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, this process was postponed by Hungary and Turkey.

After months of stalling by Orban’s ruling Fides party, the Hungarian parliament approved a bill allowing Finland to join NATO on Monday, but the Swedish bill is still stuck.

“In the case of Sweden, we have a lot of complaints that need to be addressed before the country’s membership is approved,” Kovacs said on his blog.

— Reuters

The head of the Wagner Group, a private military company whose mercenaries have been involved in fierce fighting to seize Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, said Wednesday that the battle for the town had hit both sides hard.

“At the moment, the Battle of Bakhmut has almost destroyed the Ukrainian army and unfortunately defeated PMC Wagner,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said on his Business Telegram channel.

Without further elaboration, Mr. Prigozhin said, “If his Wagnerian troops “victory” in Bakhmut against the Ukrainian army and what he called “foreign forces”, then, without further elaboration, “this war and all modern history He said it would represent the biggest transformation of all.

“PMC Wagner will destroy any foreign army that is trying to bring Russia to its knees. Then only the Russian army will remain on the chessboard and all other pieces will be removed,” he said.

Prigozhin’s Wagner Group has been fighting to capture Bakhmut for over seven months, facing stiff resistance from Ukrainian fighters trying to hold the city. The occupation of Bakhmut is seen as a stepping stone for Russia to expand its control over Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

— Holly Eliyat

British defense officials have disputed Russia’s claims that it took control of a metal factory in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine.

Russian-based officials in Donetsk, where Bakhmut is located, claimed Wednesday that fighters from the Russian private military company Wagner Group had completely overran the Azom factory complex north of Bakhmut town center. .

But the UK Defense Ministry said Wednesday that “the area is likely to be as contested as it has been in the past two weeks”, mercenary fighters and Russians recruited to fight for six months in exchange for freedom. A Wagner group made up of prisoners of war loses manpower.

“With Wagner confirming the release of at least 5,000 prisoner fighters, manpower shortages are likely hampering Russian offensive efforts in this area,” the ministry noted in an update.

The ministry said fighting continued in the Donbass town of Bakmut, but Russian attacks were still at a reduced level compared to recent weeks.

“One of the key achievements of the recent Ukrainian campaign likely pushed Russian Wagner Group fighters back from the 0506 route,” he said, referring to one of the few supply routes to the city.

“This small country road has become an important supply line for the Ukrainian garrison. Wagner was previously within a few hundred meters of the route,” the ministry said.

— Holly Eliyat