Ukraine war live updates: Questions arise over U.S. aid to Ukraine after McCarthy ouster; Russia, Ukraine down dozens of drones

Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova was on Wednesday sentenced in absentia to eight years and six months in jail for “public dissemination of knowingly false information” regarding the Russian armed forces, according to a Telegram post by the Moscow City Court.

Ovsyannikova garnered international attention in 2022 when she appeared on a live news broadcast on state TV with a sign saying “Stop the war” and “They’re lying to you” in Russian and “Russians against war” in English, along with the Ukrainian and Russian flags.

She was charged under new Russian laws prohibiting the spread of false information or discrediting of the army, but escaped house arrest last year and fled with her daughter for a European country.

In a statement Tuesday, she called the charges “absurd and politically motivated.”

“Of course, I do not admit my guilt. And I don’t go back on a single word,” Ovsyannikova said.

— Jenni Reid

Ukraine’s navy said on Wednesday that 12 more cargo vessels were ready to enter a fledgling Black Sea shipping corridor on their way to Ukrainian ports, as Kyiv steps up a push to defy a de-facto Russian blockade on its vital sea exports.

Russia, which has a much more powerful and bigger naval fleet in the Black Sea, pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed wartime Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what is traditionally its main export corridor.

Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo vessels, and several ships have departed from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since.

“In total to enter the new corridor we have 12, and 10 to leave. That is as of now,” Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told an online media briefing on Wednesday.

Those figures appeared to indicate an increase in the amount of shipping traffic set to use the corridor, although Pletenchuk did not say when the vessels were expected to sail.

He said Ukraine’s defence forces were doing everything to ensure the safety of civilian ships in their territorial waters and that they were proceeding into the waters of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all of which are NATO member countries.

— Reuters

NATO’s most senior official on Tuesday said “the bottom of the barrel is now visible” when it comes to Western military ammunition for Ukraine, according to a BBC report from the Warsaw Security Forum.

Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said governments and defense manufacturers need to increase the speed of production.

“We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things – but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing,” Bauer said, according to the BBC.

— Jenni Reid

U.K. intelligence suggests Russian air defense “highly likely” shot down one of its own Su-35S Flanker M multi-role combat jets over the Russian-occupied city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region, roughly 20 km behind the front line.

“Although Russia has lost around 90 fixed wing aircraft since the start of the invasion, this is probably only the fifth loss of a Su-35S, Russia’s most advanced combat jet in widespread service,” the Ministry of Defense said in its daily update.

It added that the location is relevant because Tokmak is heavily fortified and often acts as a Russian base for one of the most intensely contested sectors of the front line.

“These headquarters would typically be protected with dedicated short and medium range air defence systems. These are almost certainly held at very high readiness, as Ukraine continues to conduct effective deep strikes against such locations,” the defense ministry said.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. military and financial support for Ukraine may face more obstacles following the unprecedented ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.

Despite President Joe Biden’s continued commitment to aid, a divide is deepening among Republican lawmakers over the issue.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the rebellion against fellow Republican McCarthy, on Monday suggested the speaker had struck a “secret side deal on Ukraine” in order to push through a short-term funding bill that avoided a government shutdown. The bill did not contain Ukraine aid.

In a speech following his removal, McCarthy compared Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine to Hitler in the 1930s.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told the Wall Street Journal it was a “bad day for Ukraine.”

“Kevin supports Ukraine. I’m not sure where the next speaker will be,” he told the WSJ.

— Jenni Reid

Russia will conduct a nationwide test of its emergency public warning systems on Wednesday, blaring out sirens and interrupting television broadcasts to warn the population of an impending danger.

The test, first conducted in 2020, is part of a new initiative that requires authorities to conduct tests twice a year, starting from Sept. 1.

It comes, though, amid the war in Ukraine which has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

At 10:43 a.m. Moscow time (0743 GMT), sirens will wail and stern announcements demanding “Attention everyone!” will alert the public, mimicking what would happen in a true disaster or catastrophe.

“When you hear the sound of a siren, you need to remain calm and not panic, turn on the TV – any publicly accessible channel or radio – and listen to the information message,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.

“The warning system is designed to timely convey a signal to the population in the event of a threat or emergency of a natural or man-made nature.”

The United States is also conducting a large-scale test of its public warning systems on Wednesday, via U.S. mobile phones and TV and radio stations.

— Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his nightly address to give an update from the northeastern border region of Kharkiv, which he said must continue to keep the country’s “entire east strong.”

The region has been subjected to heavy fire and extensive damage and resulted in casualties, with large areas coming under Russian occupation before being recaptured by Ukraine.

During a visit Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he met with battalion commanders and identified changes needed to ensure “greater motivation and combat capabilities.”

“It is extremely important that Kharkiv, despite everything, does not just hold on, but helps keep our entire east strong.”

He also said the region has socioeconomic needs ahead of winter, “given the constant Russian terror against Kharkiv, against the region and the occupier’s attempts to intensify the assaults on our positions.”

— Jenni Reid

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 31 Ukrainian drones overnight in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, without citing any casualties or damage.

The Ukrainian armed forces separately said its anti-aircraft defense systems destroyed one Iskander-K cruise missile and 29 Shahed drones.

Ukraine also said Russia had launched five rocket and 108 airstrikes over the past day. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged and there were civilian injuries and casualties, the army said.

CNBC has not independently verified the reports on the ground.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday held a call to coordinate the support efforts of Ukraine’s allies, NBC reported, citing three administration officials. It comes despite Republican resistance in Congress.

The call featured the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania and the U.K., as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The Kremlin said that Russia has not abandoned a moratorium on nuclear testing, Reuters reported, after a spokesperson dismissed the suggestion that Moscow should detonate a thermonuclear device in Siberia.

The editor of the state-funded channel RT suggested in an interview that the detonation could serve as a warning to the West.

“At present, we have not left the regime of abandoning nuclear tests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the West that he is not bluffing when it comes to the possibility of using nuclear weapons.

“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will without doubt use all available means to protect Russia and our people, this is not a bluff,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation in September 2022, as translated and reported by Reuters.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton