Ukraine war live updates: Suspects in Moscow concert terror attack appear in court; Kyiv rocked by explosions

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next move is being watched closely after he linked Ukraine to the deadly terrorist attack that took place in a Moscow concert hall Friday, leaving at least 137 people dead.

Russian officials and pro-Kremlin hawks continue to level blame at Kyiv for the attack at the Crocus City Hall venue, where gunmen killed concert-goers, including three children, and wounded at least 140.

Kyiv vehemently denies any involvement and Russian authorities are investigating the attack.

Political analysts say that whatever the outcome of that investigation, Putin is likely to use the tragedy to his advantage as he looks to boost domestic support for the war in Ukraine and to “advance its broader geopolitical objectives,” as one analyst put it.

Read more on the story here: Putin expected to use deadly Moscow attack to Russia’s advantage, whoever’s to blame

Ukraine’s air force said two ballistic missiles had been destroyed over the capital Kyiv Monday morning.

“TWO BALLISTIC MISSILES DESTROYED,” the air force posted on Telegram, attributing the comments to Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk.

“Around 10:30 am, the enemy attacked Kyiv with two ballistic missiles from the temporarily occupied Crimea. Targets destroyed.” CNBC was unable to verify the information in the update.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine is keeping electricity imports high and not planning to export power on Monday after Russian attacks on the energy sector, the energy ministry said.

Russia attacked Ukrainian generating and transmission facilities last week and over the weekend, causing blackouts in many regions.

“For the current day, electricity imports are forecast at 14,887 megawatt hours (MWh). No exports are expected,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine imported 14,900 MWh on Sunday and 3,300 MWh a day before the first in the latest wave of attacks on its power sector on March 22.

Emergency power outages were introduced in Ukraine’s port of Odesa on Monday after a Russian air attack damaged one of the high-voltage facilities there, Ukraine’s top energy provider DTEK said in a separate statement.

It said that to reduce the load on the network electric transport would not operate in the city and industrial consumption was also limited.

The Ukrainian military says air defences destroyed eight out of nine drones launched by Russia overnight. Most of the drones were destroyed in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.

Debris from a falling drone sparked a fire at a power facility, which was promptly put out, the Odesa city administration said.

“The enemy has started systematically hitting the city’s energy infrastructure. The situation is bad. They’re hitting civilian targets,” Mykolaiv’s governor Vitaly Kim told national television.

— Reuters

A Russian investigation into the deadly shootings at the Crocus concert hall on Friday is ongoing, and the Kremlin is not commenting on the involvement of the Islamic State group, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

In Google-translated comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass, he added that Russian special services are working independently on the probe and that there is no discussion of help from foreign countries.

At least 137 people were killed in the attack, and another 97 who were injured remain hospitalized, Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov said in separate Google-translated comments reported by Tass.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the possibility of Ukrainian involvement in the shootings — which Kyiv denies. Four men Moscow claims were involved in the terror attack appeared in court late on Sunday.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday that an attempted Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv underscored the urgent need for more air defense support.

In a social media post on X, Kuleba posted a video of children in Ukraine’s capital running for cover as Russian missiles were shot down over the capital. CNBC could not independently verify the video nor developments on the ground.

“This is a reminder that Ukraine urgently requires more air defense, particularly Patriot systems and missiles capable of repelling any Russian attack,” Kuleba said.

Ukrainian officials had earlier reported explosions in Kyiv, along with debris falling in several districts of the capital.

U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with hypersonic missiles on Monday morning, adding “there is not a moment to lose” in providing further assistance to Ukraine.

“Loud explosions in Kyiv,” Brink said via X on Monday. “Over the last 5 days, Russia has launched hundreds of missiles and drones against a sovereign country,” she added.

— Sam Meredith

Photos published via Getty Images show people gathering at a memorial service on Sunday in the Russia-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

Russia on Sunday observed a national day of mourning after deadly shootings at the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday evening. At least 137 people were killed in the attack.

— Sam Meredith

Ukrainian officials reported explosions erupting in Kyiv on Monday morning, along with debris falling in several districts of the capital city.

A multi-story building sustained damage in the Pechersk district as the result of a missile attack, while debris has fallen in the Solomyansk and Dnipro districts, according to a Google-translated Telegram update from the Kyiv military administration.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said emergency services were called to attend at the site of the two districts and in Dniprovskyi, after reporting explosions in the capital city earlier in the day, in two separate Google-translated Telegram posts.

CNBC could not confirm developments on the ground.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Eleven people were injured, as fire broke after the collapse of a downed drone in the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, according to the country’s state emergency service.

It added that two of the injured were hospitalized in the Sunday night attack. No casualties were reported.

In a Google-translated update on Telegram, the agency said that a two-story residential building was destroyed as a result of the debris, while nearby houses were damaged by a blast wave.

In a separate Google-translated post on social media platform X, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Ukrainian factions shot down eight out of nine Russian-deployed “Shahed” missiles in the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

CNBC could not independently verify the reports.

— Ruxandra Iordache

More than 200,000 electricity consumers in Kharkiv city and a regional district are without stable power supply following Russian strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday.

Oleh Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, confirmed the number of disconnected electricity subscribers in a Google-translated update on Telegram, adding that a schedule of power outages is in effect at Kharkiv and eight regional communities.

Zelenskyy separately assessed that Russian forces deployed 190 missiles and nearly 140 Iranian-make Shahed drones against Ukraine over the last week, as well as launched almost 700 guided aerial bombs.

CNBC could not independently verify these reports.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s hyper focus on Ukraine could expose Russians to more security threats, warns Maximilian Hess, fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Hess’ comments come after a terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow left more than 130 people dead, according to Reuters. Islamic State terrorist group said it was behind the attack. Russian forces have stressed a potential link between the responsible gunmen and Ukraine, while Kyiv denies any involvement.

“Putin is so obsessed with this conflict in Ukraine that I think he’s going to focus his security response there and use this, essentially, as an excuse to try to build up that narrative,” Hess told CNBC’s “Capital Connection,” stressing that the “whole security apparatus has been focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

He noted that the Islamic State has previously carried out attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg and may be motivated by Moscow’s operations in Syria.

“What’s interesting though is that Putin doesn’t seem to be focusing on that aspect of it. He’s very much trying to blame Ukraine for this attack. There’s no evidence of Ukrainian involvement, it doesn’t fit in line with the types of attacks that Kyiv has carried out in the past, including ongoing,” Hess said. “That will itself leave Russians less secure, because he’s focusing on a non-real security risk.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Four men Russia says were involved in the deadly shootings at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow Friday night appeared in court late on Sunday.

The men, three of whom confirmed as Tajik nationals, were charged with committing an act of terrorism when they appeared in the Basmanny district court late last night. They’re accused of carrying out an attack in the Crocus City Hall concert venue in which 137 concertgoers were killed and at least 140 were injured.

The suspects, identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, Dalerdzhon Barotovich Mirzoyev, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov, will be detained in custody until May 22, pending trial, the court said on Telegram. The suspects may face life in prison if found guilty, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

One of the suspects was brought into court in a wheelchair while another had a bandage removed from his face, revealing a black eye. Another appeared dazed and disoriented, video footage of the suspects released by the court showed.

— Holly Ellyatt

Two units at the Novocherkassk thermal power plant in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region were shut down early Monday morning after a fire, the region’s governor said.

“Due to the fire, the 330 kV high-voltage lines — Tikhoretskaya and Rostovskaya — were automatically switched off,” Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

It’s unclear whether the fire at the plant was linked to a purported Ukrainian drone attack against the region overnight; Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had intercepted 11 Ukrainian drones over Rostov.

CNBC could not independently verify the report and Ukraine has not commented on the attacks.

— Holly Ellyatt

Emergency power outages were introduced in Ukraine’s port of Odesa on Monday after a Russian air attack damaged one of the high-voltage facilities there, Ukraine’s top energy provider DTEK said on Monday.

“The situation remains difficult,” DTEK said on the Telegram messaging app. “In order to reduce the load on the network, electric transport will not operate in the city today, and industrial consumption is also limited.”

The administration of Odesa said on Telegram that the city and the region were attacked by several waves of drones launched by Russia. Four of the air weapons were shot down over the Odesa and neighbouring Mykolaiv regions.

Debris from a falling drone sparked a fire at the power facility, which was promptly put out, the administration added.

DTEK said power was restored by Monday morning to two city districts.

— Reuters