Ukraine war live updates: Russia set to bolster its air defenses near Finland in response to NATO accession; U.S. is investigating intelligence leak

Ukrainian first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova arrived in India for a four-day visit to New Delhi, the first visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Ukraine would like to see India involved in helping find solutions to the conflict “to a great extent,” Dzhaparova said. She also said that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is requesting a phone call with Indian leader Narendra Modi, who has so far refrained from vocally condemning Russia for its invasion of its neighbor.

“We believe intensification of political dialogue on the highest level is first step towards this big goal. My president is requesting a phone conversation with the prime minister. We are looking forward to welcome him in Kyiv one day,” Dzhaparova said in an interview with CNBC TV18.

— Natasha Turak

World Bank President David Malpass strongly criticized Russia’s detention of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been charged with espionage by the Russian government. Gershkovich, his family, the Wall Street Journal, and the Biden administration strongly reject the charges and have demanded his release.

“It’s a brazen act by Russia. It violates press freedom, freedom of the press, which the World Bank Group has long recognized as vital. That includes the safety of journalists,” Malpass told reporters.

“Press freedom increases transparency and accountability. It keeps a check on governance, it exposes corruption, transmits ideas, promotes innovation,” he said, adding that he hoped Gershkovich is released and reunited with his family as soon as possible.

— Natasha Turak

The main opposition party in South Korea’s government is demanding answers after documents purported to be classified Pentagon intelligence leaked onto social media, reportedly revealing — among many other things — that the CIA had been monitoring South Korean government conversations.

The discussions disclosed in the leaked documents reportedly exposed worries in Seoul that the weapons South Korea sells to the U.S. could end up in Ukraine.

South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine and sells its advanced weaponry to NATO countries, but has a longstanding policy of not providing lethal weapons to war zones.

“If the report is true, it would be an action that can never be acceptable between allies of 70 years, and an infringement of sovereignty and diplomatic foul play that breaks bilateral trust head-on,” Park Hong-keun, the leader of South Korea’s Democratic party, told local media.

— Natasha Turak

For the past year, it’s been harder and more expensive for Russians to travel abroad.

But some say that’s only the beginning of their concerns.

With anti-Russian sentiment on the rise, several Russian citizens spoke to CNBC Travel about their worries, how they’re treated when they travel, and what goes through their minds when people ask where they are from.

“You understand that you personally haven’t done anything wrong, but you can’t get rid of the idea that something’s wrong with you personally,” one Russian journalist who left her country because of the war told CNBC.

Read the full story here.

— Monica Pitrelli

Hundreds of supporters turned out on April 8, 2023, for the funeral of a high-profile Russian military blogger killed in a bombing attack. 

Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was a vocal cheerleader of Russia’s war in Ukraine. And while he was critical of Russia’s defense establishment, he advocated for more aggression against Ukraine, for instance demanding the assassination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

— Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images

The U.K. Ministry of Defence believes Russia has increased its assaults on the town of Marinka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast, some 13 miles from Donetsk city.

The town has been fought over since 2014 and largely destroyed as a result, the ministry wrote in its daily intelligence update on Twitter. Still, Russian forces appear to be deploying substantial firepower over it.

Marinka “commands the approaches to Donetsk and the key H15 road,” the ministry wrote. “Russia continues to give a high priority to resourcing operations in the broader Donetsk sector, including the Marinka and Avdiivka areas, expending significant resources for minimal gains.”

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia for its shelling of civilian areas on Sunday, which was Orthodox Palm Sunday, while mourning the deaths of those he said perished in these attacks.

“They hit a house, an apartment building,” Zelenskyy said during his nightly address, referring to Russian forces. “Three people were inside. A man, a woman and a child — a girl, her name was Iryna, she would have turned 11 this year. She died. The man died too. My condolences… The woman is in critical condition, in the hospital, she is being provided with medical care.”

“This is how the terrorist state spends this Palm Sunday,” he said. “This is how Russia puts itself in even greater isolation from the world, from humanity.”

Ukraine is majority Orthodox Christian and celebrates Easter on April 16 this year.

— Natasha Turak

The Pentagon has launched an interagency investigation into a slew of leaked classified intelligence documents on Ukraine and other countries, and is assessing the impact that these breaches could have on the national security of the U.S. and its allies.

“The Department of Defense continues to review and assess the validity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites and that appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The Justice Department has also opened a criminal investigation.

The leaked documents cover a range of topics beyond just Ukraine, including China and the Middle East. For some, this suggests that the source of the leak may have been American.

“The focus now is on this being a U.S. leak, as many of the documents were only in U.S. hands,” Michael Mulroy, a former Pentagon official, told Reuters.

— Natasha Turak

Russia will increase its air defenses along its north-west border with Finland in response to Helsinki’s NATO accession, a Russian air force commander said in an interview.

Russian air defense forces have been challenged by Ukrainian strikes, and the country aims to revamp and reform them following the experience it’s gained in the war so far, Lieutenant General Andrei Demin told Russian newspaper Red Star in an interview, according to Reuters.

Finland’s new NATO membership means that the Western military alliance now occupies an additional 830 miles along Russia’s border.

“In these conditions, the air defense forces are working out issues of protecting the state border in the north-west of the country in accordance with the increased threat level,” Demin said, according to a Reuters translation.

— Natasha Turak