August 25, 2023 Russia

By Helen Regan, Joshua Berlinger, Hannah Strange, Aditi Sangal and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.

From CNN's Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh

Russia's air defenses thwarted a new drone attack near Moscow early Saturday, the country's defense ministry said in a post on Telegram.

The drone was destroyed over the Istrinsky district's territory in the Moscow region around 3 a.m. local time, it said.

From CNN staff

Ukrainian units have "almost reached" the main Russian defensive lines in the key southern region of Zaporizhzhia, but have multiple challenges in making further progress, according to a Ukrainian military officer serving on the front lines.

The officer — who CNN is not identifying, as he is not authorized to speak on the record — said the area between the villages of Robotyne and Verbove "is the hottest right now."

But Russian troops have pulled up artillery and their aviation is constantly at work "24 hours a day, there are a dozen air raids a day," he said.

Here are some other headlines you should know:

From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey

The United States will help train Ukrainian pilots and engineers on F-16 fighter jets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.

The Ukrainian president said he talked to US President Joe Biden on Thursday to discuss plans around the jets,.

“It was a good conversation," Zelensky said in his nightly address. "We discussed how to further strengthen freedom. And we have a new important agreement: America will join the training of F-16 pilots and engineers,” he added.

On Thursday night, the White House confirmed that Biden and Zelensky had discussed the commencement of training Ukrainian fighter pilots. That training is expected to start in October, Pentagon Spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.

Zelensky has repeatedly called for support in bolstering Ukraine’s air defense system through F-16 jets and training for pilots to operate the aircraft.

In Friday’s address, Zelensky said the next steps for Ukraine are clear.

Training with other countries: The F-16 training program is being supported by a coalition of 11 NATO countries and requires official US approval because the jets are American technology. Last Friday, the US approved the transfer of instructional materials from Denmark to Ukraine — an important step in starting these programs.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said last week that Ukrainian pilots have already begun training on F-16 aircraft. Reznikov said the “minimal term” for the training is six months, though it would be up to the instructors to decide how long the course will run.

From CNN's Matthew Chance in St. Petersburg

Among the mass of red carnations laid outside Wagner’s St. Petersburg headquarters, a photograph of the Russian private military group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, peers out.

On it, the words “in this hell he was the best” are printed in Russian. His death has still not been officially certified, but everyone is now speaking of him in the past tense.

Across Russia, makeshift memorials for Prigozhin, which sprang up after he was reported killed in a plane crash alongside some top aides Wednesday, have seen a steady stream of Wagner fighters and their supporters come out to pay their respects.

Under Prigozhin, the Wagner Group reveled in the infamy of its brutal methods worldwide and its battleground victories in the Ukraine war. One mourner, named Arkady, said his presumed death was “a huge setback, not just to the city but for our entire country and its prospects in the war.”

A man who identified himself only as Dmitry told CNN the Wagner boss gave work to thousands of people in St. Petersburg, which paid well and provided them with a mission in life. That, he said, was now over.

Nestled among the memorial’s flowers was a sledgehammer. It is a potent symbol of the extreme violence the group represented: Last year, the warlord applauded a video in which a former Wagner member, who had deserted, was brutally murdered with a sledgehammer, cementing Wagner’s image as uncompromising and ruthless.

Some in the crowd at the memorial speculated about the reasons behind Prigozhin’s plane crash. One woman blamed it on Ukraine – a claim that has been denied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Others said that they think Prigozhin might be still alive. Zlata and Vitya, a couple who live in the city, said they think the mercenary leader's death was orchestrated to allow the Wagner boss to be deployed on other missions for the benefit of Russia.

CNN has reported that while the US intelligence community is still determining what happened, it believes the crash was deliberate and the goal was to kill Prigozhin.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that any assertions that the Russian government was somehow involved in the crash are "an absolute lie."

A woman who walked by the St. Petersburg memorial told CNN that his death represented "one mafioso” falling “victim to another, bigger mafioso — who’s become … bigger and stronger by swallowing (the) 'Kremlin’s chef,'" referring to Prigozhin’s nickname.

She added: “No tears shed here. You reap just what you sow."

CNN's Tara John contributed reporting to this post.

Hear why someone left a sledgehammer at a Prigozhin memorial:

From CNN's Eliza Mackintosh, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Benjamin Brown and Katie Polglase

There is a puff of white and then a plane can be seen falling, a trail of smoke or vapor stretching behind it, descending rapidly against a bright blue sky. The person filming the video zooms in as the aircraft spirals downward out of control, revealing that it is missing a wing.

The footage, published by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, appears to show the moments before a private plane purportedly carrying mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in a field northwest of Moscow, while en route to St. Petersburg.

CNN has reviewed flight data and videos, and interviewed aviation and explosive experts, to piece together what happened in the minutes leading up to the crash. The analysis suggests that the private aircraft experienced at least one “catastrophic inflight incident” before it dropped out of the sky. The available video does not show that catastrophic event.

A passenger manifest released by Russia’s civil aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, on Wednesday showed that Prigozhin’s name and that of Wagner’s top commander, Dmitry Utkin, were among the seven passengers and three crew members, all of whom Russia’s emergency services ministry said were killed.

Russian authorities have yet to officially confirm Prigozhin’s death but, acknowledging the crash in public comments on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to him in the past tense.

Rosaviatsia said it had launched an investigation into “the circumstances and causes of the accident.” The Investigative Committee has also launched a criminal probe.

The crash came two months to the day after Prigozhin launched a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, posing an unprecedented challenge to Putin’s authority.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that Prigozhin was “likely” killed in the crash. US and Western intelligence officials that CNN has spoken to believe it was deliberate. Officials said that it was too early to determine what brought the plane down, but that one possibility being explored was an on-board explosion.

There’s been plenty of speculation. But no evidence has been presented pointing to the involvement of the Kremlin or Russian security services in the crash.

Experts interviewed by CNN say that available evidence indicates that the crash was unlikely to have been caused by a mechanical failure. The dramatic descent of the plane, the way that it broke apart in the air and the extent of the debris field point to an explosion, they said.

Read more about experts' analysis of data and video

From CNN's Josh Pennington

Russian investigators say they've recovered 10 bodies and the flight recorders from a plane crash that is believed to have killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin this week. DNA analysis is also being conducted on the victims to confirm their identities.

"The Russian Investigative Committee continues to investigate the criminal case of the aviation accident in Tver Oblast," the committee said in a statement posted to Telegram Friday.

Flight recorders and other materials are being processed and handed over for forensic examination.

The committee said all possible scenarios for the cause of the incident are being thoroughly reviewed.

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva

A Ukrainian military officer serving on the front lines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region says Ukrainian units have "almost reached" the main Russian defensive lines, but have multiple challenges in making further progress.

The officer — who CNN is not identifying, as he is not authorized to speak on the record — said the area between the villages of Robotyne and Verbove "is the hottest right now."

"We have almost reached their main defense lines. We have constant tactical advances, and we are gradually reclaiming our territory," the officer said.

But Russian troops have pulled up artillery and their aviation is constantly at work "24 hours a day, there are a dozen air raids a day," he continued.

The officer, who previously fought around Bakhmut, said the Russian aerial power he is seeing now is "a lot" compared to when he was fighting around Bakhmut.

"The same thing with mines. There were no dense minefields in Bakhmut ... Now almost everything is mined. It's stressful, there are a lot of wounded from mines and explosions of equipment," he said.

The officer said the open terrain is also a challenge.

He said Ukrainian units use steel nets to protect against drone attacks and are working with small assault groups and equipment.

"We used to work at night and at dusk, but the (Russians) have adapted and started waiting for us at night, so now we have to work during the day as well," the officer said. "It is much more difficult because the enemy immediately sees movement and starts shelling."

A grueling counteroffensive: Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive has been underway for weeks, with fighting focused along the eastern and southern fronts. Kyiv launched the campaign in hopes of recapturing territory seized by Russia. But so far, any gains have been small and painfully fought for.

Now signs are growing that Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian defenses along part of the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region and are expanding a wedge toward the strategic town of Tokmak. As the officer outlined, any progress remains hard-earned.

CNN's Tim Lister, Josh Pennington, Olga Voitovych and Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva

The lack of aerial combat power is hurting Ukraine as it continues its counteroffensive to liberate its territories, but the deployment of F-16 fighter jets would "radically" change the situation, a Ukrainian official said Friday.

Norway, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, have pledged to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but they are unlikely to be in service with the Ukrainian Air Force until some time next year, according to US and NATO officials. The US announced Thursday that it will start training Ukrainian pilots on the advanced aircraft in October.

At the moment, however, Ukraine continues its "complex operation" on the ground, maintaining its approach to keep casualties to a minimum, Danilov said.

"If anyone thought that it was a cakewalk and that we could achieve the goals we set for ourselves — the liberation of all our territories — very quickly, keep in mind that the enemy is powerful. The enemy has a certain system of defenses and protective structures that it has been able to build there," he added.