By This was CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine.
Russians head to the polls on Friday in a presidential election that is all but certain to grant President Vladimir Putin a fifth term in power.
Voting will take place over three days, though there is no credible opponent to the incumbent leader.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Russian attempts to hold elections in occupied territories or to force regional residents to head to the polls would be “illegal” — a sentiment echoed by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in a separate briefing, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, skirmishes continued Thursday in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk as three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups — the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberia and RDK battalions — seek to break into Russian territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app that it repelled another attempted incursion in Belgorod on Thursday, but the Freedom of Russia Legion said the assaults would continue until the region is “completely liberated from the troops of the Putin regime.”
The death toll is mounting in the southern Ukrainian of Odesa after a Russian missile attack struck a residential area in the early hours of Friday morning, according to regional officials.
Ukraine also shot down 27 Iranian-made drones over seven regions across the country in the early hours of Friday morning, including around the capital, Kyiv’s air force claimed.
Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised interview aired Thursday evening that Russia cannot be allowed to win the war, and doubled down on his refusal to rule out sending troops from NATO countries to Ukraine.
“If Russia were to win, the lives of French people would change. We would no longer have security in Europe. Who can seriously believe that Putin, who has respected no limits, would stop there?” Macron said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voted in the Russian election, which he is almost certainly going to win. According to Russian state media, the Kremlin said that Putin voted online.
Earlier in the day, Putin told members of the Russian Security Council that Ukraine was trying to sabotage the election and had carried out attacks in the Russian border region in an attempt to disrupt the elections, state media reported.
This would not go unpunished, Putin said, adding that Russia would respond to the attacks with stronger unity.
Meanwhile, Reuters said disruptions such as dye being poured into ballot boxes, a molotov cocktail being thrown in Putin’s hometown and reports of cyberattacks had taken place on the first day of the three-day election.
— Sophie Kiderlin
G7 leaders on Friday urged Iran not to send ballistic missiles to Russia.
“We are extremely concerned about reports that Iran is considering transferring ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia after having supplied the Russian regime with UAVs, which are used in relentless attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine,” the statement said.
The G7 called on Iran not to deliver missiles, and said there would be consequences if they did.
“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the statement said.
A senior official in the U.S. administration said the country had not yet seen confirmation that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia, but noted that negotiations between the countries have been advancing.
The official reiterated that measures would be taken against Iran if it supplied Russia with missiles, including a potential ban of flights by state-owned Iran Air into Europe.
— Sophie Kiderlin
The toll of deaths and injuries following Russia’s attack of Ukrainian city Odesa is continuing to rise. Latest figures, shared by the Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram, suggest 16 people were killed and 73 injured.
This includes members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service and police.
“Rescuers arrived to help the victims when the Russians struck again,” Klymenko wrote on Telegram according to a Google translation.
CNBC could not independently verify the reports.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Ukraine on Friday shelled a polling station in Russian-controlled Kherson, Russian state news agency TASS reported citing Moscow-installed election officials in the Ukrainian region.
Russia is conducting polls for its presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin is certain to secure another six years in power, in occupied Ukrainian territories despite international condemnation.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Russian attempts to hold elections in occupied territories or to force regional residents to head to the polls would be “illegal” — a sentiment echoed by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in a separate briefing, Reuters reported.
CNBC was not able to independently verify the reports.
– Elliot Smith
A new report from a U.N. commission of inquiry on Ukraine, published Friday, said it had found further evidence of systemic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces.
“The Commission has found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding war crimes, in areas that came under their control in Ukraine,” the summary stated.
The three-member panel said Russia had shown a “disregard for basic principles of humanitarian laws and of human rights obligations,” and said the evidence confirmed the necessity of further investigation to establish whether Moscow is guilty of “crimes against humanity.”
It highlighted new evidence of “widespread and systemic” torture used by Russian authorities against Ukrainian prisoners of war in several detention facilities across the country.
“The report documents incidents of rape and other sexual violence committed against women in circumstances which also amount to torture. It also details incidents of torture with a sexualised dimension and threats of rape against male prisoners of war,” the commission stated.
The commission’s report has been submitted to the 47-member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which will determine whether the commission’s mandate should be renewed for another year to continue its investigative work.
Russia has denied torture and other forms of mistreatment of POWs.
– Elliot Smith
The death toll in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa has now risen to 14 while a further 46 have been injured, according to the region’s governor.
Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional state administration, said on Telegram that the dead included local residents, a medic and a rescue worker while the injured included seven employees of the State Emergency Service, and that “all necessary assistance” is being provided.
“Mourning will be announced tomorrow in Odesa and the region. I express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” Kiper added.
– Elliot Smith
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office says the death toll from the Russian missile attack on Odesa has risen to eight, with more than 20 injured.
The dead include an employee of the State Emergency Service and a paramedic, the Office of the Prosecutor General said on Telegram late Friday morning.
“Under the procedural guidance of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a pre-trial investigation was started in criminal proceedings on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder,” prosecutors added.
– Elliot Smith
Two people were killed by a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Friday, the regional governor announced on Telegram.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian missile attack, a paramedic and an employee of the State Emergency Service, who came to render aid at the scene after the first explosion, were killed,” said Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional administration.
“Among the medics and rescuers there are also seriously wounded. The total number of victims is being determined, all are being provided with the necessary medical assistance.”
— Elliot Smith
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday alleged that the U.S. has been trying to conduct a covert influence campaign against Moscow, according to Reuters.
Peskov reportedly told journalists that Russian security services had taken action to minimize the effectiveness of clandestine social media campaigns, while suggesting similar operations may also be occurring in other countries.
His comments come after Russia’s foreign intelligence on Monday accused the U.S. of election interference ahead of the country’s presidential election this weekend, in which President Vladimir Putin is effectively running unopposed.
— Elliot Smith
Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, on Friday called French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent comments about the potential for Western troops to enter Ukraine “crazy and paranoid dreams,” Reuters reported, citing Russia’s RIA news agency.
In a televised interview on Thursday, Macron doubled down on his refusal to rule out sending troops from NATO countries to Ukraine, presenting a Russian victory as an existential threat to the rest of Europe.
— Elliot Smith
Ukraine shot down 27 Iranian-made drones over seven regions across the country in the early hours of Friday morning, including around the capital, the country’s air force claimed.
Two people were killed in a residential building in the central city of Vinnytsia, the regional governor said on Telegram.
CNBC was not able to independently verify the claims.
— Elliot Smith
Skirmishes continued Thursday in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk as three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups — the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberia and RDK battalions — seek to break into Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Telegram that it repelled another attempted incursion into the Belgorod region on Thursday, this time around the border settlement of Kozinka.
Meanwhile, the Freedom of Russia Legion claimed that an attempt to evacuate civilians from the embattled border regions via a humanitarian corridor had allowed more than 7,000 civilian vehicles of residents from the Belgorod region and more than 600 from the Kursk regions to escape, as of Friday morning.
“After the expiration of the humanitarian corridor, the destruction of military facilities in the Belgorod and Kursk regions will continue until the region is completely liberated from the troops of the Putin regime,” the group said on Telegram.
— Elliot Smith
Russia is thought to have interfered with the satellite signal of an airplane carrying U.K. Defense Minister Grant Shapps on Thursday, Reuters reported citing multiple sources.
The aircraft reportedly could not access GPS and had to use alternative methods to assess its location, and mobile phones were unable to connect to the internet when the plane was flying near Russian city Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. The outage lasted for about thirty minutes, sources said.
Shapps was traveling back to the U.K. from Poland at the time.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Hungary’s allies are cautioning the country about its relationship with Russia, David Pressman, the U.S. ambassador to Hungary said Thursday.
“Hungary’s allies are warning Hungary of the dangers of its close and expanding relationship with Russia,” he said in a speech marking the 25th anniversary of Hungary’s accession to NATO.
As Hungary’s foreign minister and prime minister are continuing to engage with Russia, it appears fostering a close relationship with the country is part of Hungary’s policy, Pressman said. If this is true, the allies would need to decide how to protect their security interests, he noted.
Pressman also criticized Hungary’s position on the war in Ukraine.
“Hungary could stand with Ukraine, alongside all of its NATO Allies, to demand real peace, true peace, which can only be based in freedom rather than standing beside Russia and calling for surrender and subjugation,” he said.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it would be illegal for Russia to hold elections in occupied territories of Ukraine, and that the votes would not have any legal consequences.
“Forcing millions of Ukrainian citizens who live in temporarily occupied territories or who have been forcibly transferred to Russian Federation territory to participate in the so-called “elections” is equally illegal,” a ministry statement said.
Russia’s attempt to hold elections in occupied regions showed the country’s “flagrant disregard” for international laws and conventions, the foreign ministry added.
“We urge Ukrainian citizens who live in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or are forced to stay in the territory of the Russian Federation not to participate in the ‘pseudo-elections’ of the Russian President,” it said.
Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that any efforts to organize elections in Ukraine’s occupied regions would be illegal, Reuters reported.
— Sophie Kiderlin
U.S. brushes off Putin’s ‘nuclear war’ threat; Ukraine says Russian election in occupied regions ‘illegal’
