Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine sees no hope for F-16s this year; Naftogaz CEO wants EU talks on Russia gas transit

Google was fined 3 million rubles ($32,000) for failing to remove banned content and “fakes” about what it describes as its “special operation” in Ukraine, according to a Google translation of a report by state media outlet Tass.

According to the report, Google received a notice from Moscow asking it to remove videos from YouTube that contain “false information.”

Russia has fined Google multiple times for distributing content it deems illegal.

Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for confirmation of the fine.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The CEO of Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, said Kyiv should discuss the Russian gas transit deal with the EU, in a Thursday interview with CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche.

“I believe we should discuss it, together with European Union consumers, and understand the position of the European Union,” Chernyshov said, when asked on the future of the arrangement that currently allows Russia to send gas to Europe via Ukraine. The deal is set to expire at the end of 2024.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko had signaled that Ukraine would not discuss a renewal of the contract with Russia, according to Reuters.

Chernyshov said that the gas transit deal is for the sake of European countries, rather than Ukraine, and that the fees that Ukrainian companies receive for allowing the movement of the supplies “will never be justified in the current full-scale war situation.”

“Naftogaz is continuing doing that and servicing this transit only in favor, only in support of certain European countries that are not capable to stop the consumption of gas right now, that is the only reason,” he said.

“We will take it into consideration while viewing the future of this contract,” Chernyshov added.

Russia previously said it would consider extending the contract. The European Union has pledged to no longer rely on Russian gas by 2027.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive Wednesday, making advances in western Zaporizhia Oblast and on the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border, and liberating the village of Urozhaine, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest conflict update. 

The liberation report is in line with similar statements previously made by Ukraine, and also matches recent reports by Russian forces saying Russian units in the area were withdrawing, the ISW said.

Russian claims about Ukrainian assaults further south and east of the limits of the settlement further indicate that Ukrainian forces likely control the majority of the settlement, according to the update.

CNBC was unable to independently verify the information provided by the ISW.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

North Korean state media site Yunhap reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reached an agreement with Kim Jong Un on a “large-scale military cooperation plan” during his time in North Korea last month, according to a Google translation of the report.

“It is judged that Minister Shoigu met with Chairman Kim Jong-un alone and agreed on a plan for military cooperation in a broad framework,” North Korea’s National Intelligence Service said, according to the report.

Russia allegedly proposed sales of artillery shells and missiles, and joint training, while North Korea requested loans of Western weapons and technical support, the report said.

Shoigu visited North Korea in late July for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, celebrated in North Korea as “Victory Day.”

He accompanied Kim Jong Un to a defense exhibition featuring the North’s banned ballistic missiles as the neighbors pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported at the time.

CNBC was unable to independently verify the claims made in this report.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The U.S. once again condemned Russia’s attacks on grain infrastructure in Ukraine in a press briefing by government spokesperson Vedant Patel Wednesday.

Patel made the comments on reports of Russian drone attacks having damaged warehouses and granaries in a Ukrainian port near the Danube River, in addition to port infrastructure in Odesa, Reni and Izmail.

“This escalation demonstrates Moscow continues to prevent grain and foodstuffs from reaching those who need it most throughout the world,” Patel said.

“It is unacceptable. Putin simply does not care about global food security,” he added.

Danube ports have become the primary export route for Ukrainian grain since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Ukraine will not be able to use U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets in 2023, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television Wednesday night, according to Reuters.

“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” Ihnat reportedly said in a joint telethon broadcast by Ukrainian channels.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked Western allies to provide F-16 fighter jets, which the country sees as a key element in defeating Russian forces.

U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed training Ukrainian pilots to use F-16s in May, but has not given a timeline for when planes would be delivered.

“We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism,” Ihnat said, as reported by Reuters.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described any suggestion Ukraine could cede territory in exchange for NATO membership as “ridiculous.”

“That means deliberately choosing the defeat of democracy, encouraging a global criminal, preserving the Russian regime, destroying international law, and passing the war on to other generations,” Podolyak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It follows a report in the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that NATO chief of staff Stian Jenssen said in a Tuesday panel discussion: “I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory, and get NATO membership in return.”

CNBC did not attend the panel event and has reached out to Jenssen for comment.

— Jenni Reid

Russian drone attacks on a Ukrainian port on the Danube river caused a fire and damaged warehouses and granaries, Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said in a Telegram post, according to a Google translation.

There were no deaths or injuries, Kiper said, later adding anti-aircraft defense systems had destroyed 11 attack drones.

Images posted by Kiper show grain spilled onto the ground and structural damage. CNBC has not independently verified the report or images.

Danube ports have become the primary export route for Ukrainian grain since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July.

— Jenni Reid

Ukraine said Wednesday a cargo ship was using a temporary corridor for cargo ships exiting and entering Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea amid continued uncertainty over Russia’s response to such vessels.

The ship was named as the Joseph Schulte, traveling under the Hong Kong flag.

“The first vessel is moving along the temporary corridor established for civilian vessels to/from the Black Sea seaports,” Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Telegram, according to a Google translation.

Ukraine’s navy announced the corridor on Aug. 10. Russia in July pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had facilitated the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods through the war, sparking concerns over global food supply.

Cargo ships have been stuck in various ports since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia said in July it would consider all Ukraine-bound ships as potential carriers of military equipment. Tensions heightened on Sunday when Moscow said one of its warships had fired warning shots at a cargo vessel in the Black Sea, a move Ukraine called “provocative.”

— Jenni Reid