Ukraine war live updates: Russian military chief visits Ukraine after gains; Belarus signals armed patrols could take to streets

Russia’s financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has put Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on its list of “terrorists and extremists,” Russian state news agency Tass reported.

The listing of Graham, who is well known for his strong anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian stance, appears to be largely symbolic, as the senator has no Russian assets for the financial watchdog to freeze. Graham has called numerous times for Russia to be added to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror.

The “terrorists and extremists” list on Rosfinmonitoring includes more than 12,000 people and 400 companies, both domestic and foreign, and features both terrorist entities and political opposition groups, according to the platform opensanctions.org.

In a post on the X social media platform, Graham reacted to the news with what appeared to be sarcasm: “There goes all my rubles!”

— Natasha Turak

Russia is Sweden’s top external security threat, the Nordic country’s security service said, detailing parts of an annual report on domestic and international menaces.

“We must all learn to live with the serious security situation,” Charlotte von Essen, the head of Sweden’s Security Service, told a press conference, according to Reuters.

“Above all Russia, but also China and Iran continue to constitute the biggest threat to Sweden and they are working and to a certain extent also working together to change the current security system,” she said.

Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Sweden, along with its neighbor Finland, broke with a historic position of nonalignment and applied to join the NATO alliance. Stockholm is waiting for the approval of one holdout member state, Hungary.

Moscow has vocally condemned Sweden’s move.

In a statement accompanying the report, Sweden’s Security Service described domestic threats from both Islamists and far right groups, and warned that Russia and other outside actors may look to exploit those risks.

— Natasha Turak

The European Union has approved in principle its 13th sanctions package against Russia, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced in a post from its official account on X.

“EU ambassadors just agreed in principle on a 13th package of sanctions in the framework of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” the post said, calling it “one of the broadest approved by the EU.”

The new measures will sanction some 200 people and entities, but no specific sectors will be targeted in this round, according to reports. The package is expected to take effect in time for the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

— Natasha Turak

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko called on law enforcement agencies on Tuesday to organise patrols with small arms on the streets of Belarusian cities to ensure the safety of people.

“People should feel safe at home, at work, on the street, at any time of the day,” Lukashenko said in a video from a meeting with the country’s top security bodies, posted on Pul Pervovo, a state outlet that reports on Lukashenko’s activities.

Lukashenko said that while the crime rate in Belarus was decreasing, the country was at risk of crimes of an “extremist nature.”

“Today, this is the most important aspect of maintaining law and order – to suppress the actions of thugs and preventing the loss of souls, who do not yet fully understand what foreign curators are targeting them,” he said in the video clip.

“I warn the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the special services, everyone, the prosecutor’s office – anyone: we need to take control of this. Our patrol guys must be on the streets…Patrols must be armed with small arms, at least pistols.”

Lukashenko backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by allowing Moscow to use its territory to launch the war and agreed last year to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in his country on Russia’s western border.

Last week he said several “saboteurs”, including Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals, had been detained on the border of the two countries in a “counter-terrorist operation” and that similar groups were detained “two or three times a week”.

In January, authorities in Belarus launched an investigation into a group of 20 independent analysts and commentators now outside the country and accused of conspiring to seize power and promote extremism.

In power since 1994, Lukashenko staged a new crackdown on dissent after stamping out unprecedented demonstrations against what his opponents say was his rigged re-election in 2020.

— Reuters

Russia’s military chief has visited troops in eastern Ukraine as Moscow continues to promote its capture of Avdiivka after months of intensified fighting.

On Wednesday, Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov met troops involved in offensive operations around Avdiivka in Donetsk and “presented state awards to military personnel who distinguished themselves during the liberation of Avdiivka,” the defense ministry said, according to news agency RIA Novosti.

“To date, the main task that was set has been completed, Avdiivka has been liberated. I must say that it was liberated in a fairly short time, but this was preceded by a long period of preparation,” Gerasimov said in a video distributed by the ministry and cited by RIA.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin about Avdiivka’s capture last Saturday, with the president congratulating troops on their success. Capturing the industrial city of Avdiivka means that the front line moves farther away from the nearby city of Donetsk and bolsters Russia’s defensive position.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted Tuesday that Russia is relishing its victory, stating that Putin and Shoigu have since “preened themselves on the Russian seizure of Avdiivka.”

The success has come at a high cost, however, with estimates suggesting that Russia lost between 16,000 and 47,000 troops in the fight for the city.

— Holly Ellyatt

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. plans to announce a “major sanctions package” on Friday, seeking to hold Russia responsible for the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

No further details about the measures were available at the time of writing.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that “Putin is responsible” for Navalny’s death.

The Kremlin has rejected such allegations, with the Russian foreign ministry calling the reaction from some world leaders “self-exposing,” given that no forensic medical examination has yet been made available.

— Sam Meredith

Oleg Navalny, the brother of dead Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been put back on Russia’s wanted list, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Oleg Navalny had been placed on the list.

Tass reported Tuesday, citing Russia’s Interior Ministry, that the move was in connection to “an article of the Criminal Code,” without providing further details.

— Sam Meredith

Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday that the country, which borders Russia, successfully thwarted a hybrid operation by Russia’s security services on its territory.

“We know the Kremlin is targeting all of our democratic societies,” Kallas said via social media platform X.

“Our answer: be open and reveal their methods. This is the way to deter harmful actions and make us resilient,” she added.

Public broadcaster ERR reported Tuesday that Estonia’s Internal Security Service said a total of 10 people were detained as part of a criminal investigation linked to vandalized cars belonging to the country’s interior minister and a journalist.

The ISS said the purpose of the hybrid operation, which took place last year, was to “sow fear and create tension in Estonian society.”

— Sam Meredith

X restored access to the social media account of Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, after a brief suspension.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the suspension, which lasted less than an hour. A spokesperson for X has yet to respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Navalnaya created her account earlier this month. Her first public post dates Feb. 19 and features a video address to the Russian followers of Navalny.

Supporters of Navalny have rallied around Navalnaya since the death of her husband, amid international outcry and vigils that have led to 397 detentions across 39 cities in Russia as of Tuesday, according to rights group OVD-Info.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin hand over her son, so that she can bury him.

“Behind me is the penal colony IK-3 ‘Polar Wolf’ where my son, Alexey Navalny, died on February 16th. I haven’t been able to see him for five days. I’m not handed over his body and I’m not even told where he is,” Navalnaya said in comments broadcast on the Navalny LIVE YouTube channel, according to an NBC translation.

“I am addressing you, Vladimir Putin — the solution of the issue depends only on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexei’s body be immediately handed over so that I can bury him humanely,” Navalnaya said.

Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh on Monday said that investigators had told Lyudmila Navalnaya they would not give her his body for another 14 days while a “chemical examination” is carried out. CNBC could not independently confirm the report.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused authorities of holding the activist’s remains to wait for traces of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, with which he was reportedly poisoned in 2020, to leave his body. The Kremlin said Tuesday that these allegations were “unfounded.”

— Sam Meredith