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2023-02-06 18:33:01+00:00
Russia tries to defy pariah image with diplomatic blitz
Russia has launched a broad diplomatic blitz to counter its image as a pariah state in the run-up to the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, which severed Moscow’s ties with the West and even alarmed some of the Kremlin’s traditional allies.
In the past week, President Vladimir Putin phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to coordinate goals for Wednesday’s OPEC Plus meeting of oil producers, showing it’s still a player in oil markets. The government also said it was expecting a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with counterparts from Egypt and Pakistan after returning from a diplomatic trip crisscrossing Africa.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-06 16:22:32+00:00
Zelensky urges E.U. to send weapons faster as Russians close grip on Bakhmut
KYIV, Ukraine — With waves of invading Russian troops pushing for their first significant victory in months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country’s forces would “fight as long as we can” to hold on to the embattled city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
The potentially imminent loss of Bakhmut, which has been under siege by Russian fighters for months, cast a shadow over a meeting in Kyiv where European Union leaders offered pledges of support — and 35 million LED lightbulbs to help mange power outages caused by Russian airstrikes — but no concrete promises about when Ukraine could expect to join the bloc.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-06 11:15:22+00:00
Ukraine’s defense minister to be replaced, top parliamentarian says
A shake-up of Ukraine’s top ministerial positions that will replace the country’s defense minister is coming, a close adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled Sunday, as a midwinter surge in fighting and a possible Russian offensive loom.
Ukraine’s current military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, is slated to replace Oleksii Reznikov as defense minister, David Arakhamia, leader of Zelensky’s party in parliament and a close ally to the president, said on his Telegram channel.
Budanov is known for having correctly predicted Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine when most officials thought any Russian incursions would be much smaller in scope. He carries influence with Zelensky and other officials.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-05 22:40:52+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- In a news conference Sunday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that “only aircraft” are left on his wish list, and that it’s just a matter of time until he gets them from the West.
- Reznikov also hinted at his potential resignation, but said that would be Zelensky’s decision. “No authority sits in the same chair for their entire life, so you have to be prepared for this fate,” Reznikov said.
- Crews expect to finish their work by Friday on Odessa’s electrical substation, where an accident this weekend caused a severe fire, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the Ukrenergo utility’s chairman. About 300,000 people had limited electricity Sunday, down from almost 500,000 who lost power initially.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-05 16:31:02+00:00
Analysis: The argument for why the West should change course on Ukraine
The war in Ukraine, at least for some policymakers in Western capitals, can be measured in deliveries of weapons. Their response to the brutal onslaught unleashed by Russia last February has been a parade of armor and steel: Javelins, howitzers, drones, strike vehicles, antiaircraft systems, HIMARS and, most recently, battle tanks. At every stage, Kyiv has clamored for more to throw out the invading Russians, and at almost every stage, the West has acceded to Ukrainian demands, though perhaps not at the speed Ukraine would like.
The next round of wrangling may center on Ukraine’s desire for scores of multipurpose fighter jets, which Kyiv wants as it prepares to repulse a rumored forthcoming Russian offensive and reclaim Russian-held territory in the country’s southeast, as well as the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
Read the full analysis here.
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2023-02-05 12:30:40+00:00
Attacking Vuhledar, Russia previews new push to seize southeast Ukraine
BOHOYAVLENKA, Ukraine — Russian forces have launched a midwinter surge of attacks in Ukraine’s hotly contested Donetsk region, probing Kyiv’s defenses along a fresh stretch of the sprawling eastern front as President Vladimir Putin’s commanders ready a new push to conquer all of southeast Ukraine.
The attacks in recent days have centered on Vuhledar, a mostly deserted coal-mining city 70 miles southwest of Bakhmut, where Russian fighters have made some of their first territorial gains in months. Plumes of smoke rise almost constantly from Vuhledar, and the dark woods and rolling fields surrounding the city ring with mortar and artillery volleys from each side.
“They have been pushing hard for last four days, but we have stopped them,” said Dykanka, a Ukrainian fighter whom The Post agreed to identify only by his call sign because of security risks.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-05 06:53:47+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation on the war front is “getting tougher,” especially in Bakhmut and Vuhledar.
— Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners of war, freeing 116 Ukrainian troops from Russian captivity and 63 Russians from Ukrainian custody, the countries announced separately.
— A significant accident at a substation in Odessa left a half-million people in the southern city out of power, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-04 20:57:42+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the return of 63 prisoners of war from Ukraine on Saturday, describing the negotiation process for their release as complex.
- Ukraine secured the release of 116 of its forces in the swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Saturday.
- “We will continue to work. We will bring everyone back,” Zelensky adviser Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram, adding that Ukraine had also returned the bodies of two foreign volunteers — Christopher Matthew Perry and Andrew Tobias Matthew Bagshaw.
- The small diameter bombs promised by the U.S. have an approximate range of 95 miles, nearly twice the capability previously provided by the United States.
- Pete Reed, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and medical volunteer, was killed in an explosion in Bakhmut, according to his wife, Alex Potter, and Global Outreach Doctors, where he served as country director for Ukraine.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-04 15:51:01+00:00
Ukraine accused of using banned mines in Izyum
KYIV, Ukraine — Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that it had uncovered evidence that Ukrainian forces fired “thousands” of antipersonnel land mines into Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine, in an apparent violation of Kyiv’s commitments not to use the weapons, injuring and maiming dozens of civilians.
The land mines were scattered “in and around” the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, the New York-based organization said in a news release. Russian forces seized and held the region from April until Ukrainian forces dislodged them in September.
Human Rights Watch called on Ukrainian authorities to investigate the allegations immediately.
“[There was] a whole range of evidence that we believe, when you look at it in its totality, strongly suggest that Ukraine was responsible,” Mary Wareham, advocacy director for the group’s arms division, told The Washington Post.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-04 12:45:05+00:00
Opinion | Boris Johnson: Putin has paved the way for Ukrainian membership in NATO
Well, we tried creative ambiguity, and see where it got us. For decades, we have used diplomatic doublespeak on the subject of NATO and Ukraine — and it has ended in total disaster.
We spent years telling Ukrainians that we have an “open door” policy in NATO, and that they have the right to “choose their own destiny,” and that Russia should not be able to exercise a veto.
And all that time we have overtly signaled to Moscow that Ukraine is never going to join the alliance — because so many NATO members will simply exercise their veto themselves.
In principle, yes; in practice, no. That has been the message.
Read the full opinion here.
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2023-02-04 07:42:26+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
—The Pentagon said Friday that it would give Ukraine longer-range rocket artillery, doubling the reach of its current munitions, amid expectations that fighting will intensify in the next few months. Ukraine will receive the ground-launched, small diameter bombs (GLSDB) as part of a new aid package worth more than $2 billion.
— Pete Reed, 33, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and medical volunteer, was killed in a front-line explosion in Bakhmut, according to his wife and Global Outreach Doctors, where he served as the country director for Ukraine.
—Hopes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s summit with European Union leaders in Kyiv would deliver fast-track E.U. accession were dashed Friday. In a joint statement, the leaders in attendance offered a “commitment to further deepening our relationship” but no further action.
Read more updates here.
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2023-02-03 21:07:28+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- European Union leaders are in the Ukrainian capital for a summit meant to express solidarity with Ukraine and send a message to Moscow.
- A center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine will be established in The Hague, von der Leyen also said.
- Germany has issued an export license for Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Friday, without providing further details.
- Ukraine’s prosecutor general is pressing criminal charges against the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, whose private military forces are fighting alongside the Russian army.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-03 18:18:01+00:00
Who’s sending what to Ukraine: A new wave of Western weapons explained
A new surge of increasingly elaborate weapons from Western countries could change the balance on the battlefield in Ukraine as Kyiv’s major backers agree to successive requests that once made them balk.
Control of terrain and fighting conditions have shifted in recent months, with Ukraine’s allies recalibrating their concerns of broader escalation with Russia. Ukraine has ramped up its calls for aid, building on the trust it gained in fighting with the Western weapons that dominated its requests earlier in the war. Those weapons include Javelin antitank missiles, drones and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.
U.S.- and European-made weapons including tanks and air defense systems are expected to complement or replace largely Soviet-era technology in use by Ukrainian forces and allow them to use ammunition manufactured in the West.
Read the full list of what allies sent to Ukraine here.
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2023-02-03 15:31:02+00:00
Biden’s ‘no’ on F-16s for Ukraine met with skepticism in Pentagon
President Biden’s brusque refusal to fulfill Ukraine’s request for F-16 jets has been greeted with skepticism at the Pentagon, where some officials, citing the administration’s pattern of reversal after first rejecting other pleas from Kyiv, foresee eventual approval or a scenario where American allies provide the aircraft with administration approval.
The conjecture among U.S. defense officials follows the commander in chief’s one-word response on Monday when a reporter asked if he would send F-16s to Ukraine.
One senior defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that while the Pentagon’s calculus was unlikely to shift soon, there remains a possibility that the discussion could be “M1-ed,” a reference to Biden’s recent commitment of M1 Abrams tanks after administration officials suggested for months that the arms would be too complex for Ukraine to maintain.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-03 12:51:02+00:00
Celebrating Stalingrad, Putin tries to justify his Ukraine war
Celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday evoked Red Army glory in World War II in an attempt to justify his war in Ukraine. In a fiery speech, Putin drew false parallels, claiming that Russia was once again in a military conflict with Germany and would again triumph over its enemies.
“Unfortunately, we see that the ideology of Nazism in its modern form and manifestation again directly threatens the security of our country,” Putin told a group of soldiers and members of local patriotic groups.
The Battle of Stalingrad is regarded as the most crucial standoff between the Soviet army and Nazi Germany, one that is credited with turning the tide of the war.
Putin insisted that Russia would win its current war. “Russia is confident in itself, in its rightness and victory,” he said.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-03 09:51:26+00:00
Here’s the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday in his nightly address that Russia’s strategic defeat is “already clear,” though he acknowledged it could still launch offensive operations.
- The same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin described his invasion of Ukraine as akin to the Soviet Union’s struggle against Nazi Germany in World War II. He made the comment during a speech in Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, the site of a Soviet victory over invading German forces that marked a turning point in that war.
- Russian forces have intensified ground attacks on Ukrainian positions near Kreminna, an eastern Ukrainian town about 60 miles from the Russian border, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, citing reports from the Ukrainian military.
- The E.U. will “deepen further our support and cooperation” with Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-02 20:54:43+00:00
Here’s the latest from Ukraine:
- The E.U. will “deepen further our support and cooperation” with Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, while noting that it was the fourth time she has visited Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
- Von der Leyen said an international center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine will be established in The Hague.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised an ongoing anti-corruption drive as “movement toward justice,” after the home of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and construction companies were raided in Kyiv and top officials were investigated and dismissed Wednesday.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sidestepped questions about Ukraine’s request for F-16 fighter jets during his visit to the Philippines.
- Russia’s foreign minister appeared to suggest that Moscow would need to launch an offensive in response to the Western supply of weapons in Ukraine.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-02 18:15:03+00:00
Kramatorsk strike kills three
Senior European officials arrived in Kyiv on Thursday, in what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted was a demonstration “that the EU stands by Ukraine as firmly as ever.” The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced that the bloc would double the number of Ukrainian soldiers it trains, and it pledged around $27 million to fund demining efforts.
E.U. leaders will take part in a wartime summit with Ukraine on Friday, which Kyiv hopes will help its bid to become a member of the bloc. However, E.U. officials are unlikely to offer Ukraine any concrete promises during the meeting, and full membership is likely to be years, if not decades, away.
Two more Russian missiles hit a residential area of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, according to a local official. At least three people were killed Wednesday night in a missile strike that destroyed a residential building, the governor of the Donetsk region said.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-02 15:15:00+00:00
Russia defies pariah image with diplomatic blitz ahead of war anniversary
Russia has launched a broad diplomatic blitz to counter its image as a pariah state in the run-up to the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, which severed Moscow’s ties with the West and even alarmed some of the Kremlin’s traditional allies.
In the past week, President Vladimir Putin phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to coordinate goals for Wednesday’s OPEC Plus meeting of oil producers, showing it’s still a player in oil markets. The government also said it was expecting a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with counterparts from Egypt and Pakistan, after returning from diplomatic trip crisscrossing Africa.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-02 11:05:00+00:00
In visit to wartime Kyiv, E.U. sells ‘European dream’ that remains distant
Ukrainian officials have a long list of requests for their European allies this week: fighter jets and other heavy weaponry to fend off a looming Russian offensive, E.U. membership within a few years, legal mechanisms to hold Russians to account, and a plan to use seized Russian assets for reconstruction.
But a group of senior E.U. officials trekking to Kyiv, Ukraine, this week are unlikely to offer concrete promises on any of these. Instead, an unusual, wartime summit in Kyiv is expected to just yield a statement lauding Ukraine’s efforts and urging the country to continue reforms, as well progress on issues like roaming-free mobile access. That, and photo ops.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-02 08:05:17+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine.
- President Zelensky praised an ongoing anti-corruption drive after Ukrainian authorities raided multiple locations tied to incumbent and past members of government. The push comes days ahead of a summit in Kyiv between Ukraine and the E.U.
- The former head of procurement at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry was charged with embezzlement for allegedly buying nearly 3,000 bulletproof vests of inadequate quality for more than $2.7 million.
- Russia may launch an offensive on or around Feb. 24, the anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion last year, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said.
- At least three were killed in Kramatorsk in a missile strike on a residential building, Ukrainian officials said Thursday. The building was “completely destroyed” by a Russian missile, the governor of the Donetsk region said.
- France is supplying Ukraine with air defense radar systems to track incoming missiles and drones in the area around Kyiv.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-01 20:03:24+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, undertook "a series of large-scale and investigative measures aimed at fighting the internal enemy,” which included dozens of searches across the country, it said in a news release Wednesday.
- President Biden’s blunt “no” when asked whether he would send F-16s to Ukraine was met with skepticism at the Pentagon.
- Russia is preparing to hold elections in the Ukrainian territories it occupies, Russian Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko told reporters Wednesday.
- The Dnieper River in southern Ukraine has been subjected to “some of the most intense shelling in the conflict” so far, the British Defense Ministry said.
- Russian shelling in Kherson resulted in civilian casualties, and civilian infrastructure has been damaged in Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff reported early Wednesday.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-01 18:36:01+00:00
Along front-line river, this deadly road shows toll of Russia’s war
ALONG THE SOUTHERN DNIEPER RIVER, Ukraine — Only the water keeps them apart.
Russian soldiers — pushed into retreat by a counteroffensive late last year — control the east bank of the mighty Dnieper River. Ukrainians control the west.
As Ukraine awaits new tanks from the United States and Europe, and fighting rages over strategic towns in the east, a war of attrition is underway in this southern battleground. The river limits territorial advances, permitting — for now at least — only destruction from a distance.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-01 15:17:41+00:00
Ukraine announces new round of anti-corruption measures ahead of E.U. summit
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials announced high-profile searches, firings and investigations on Wednesday just ahead of an E.U. summit, in what appears to be the second round in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ongoing campaign to crack down on the corruption that could undermine support for his country.
The anti-corruption measures take place two days before Ukraine prepares to host a summit with the European Union in Kyiv, which Ukrainian officials hope will bolster their bid to become a full member of the political and economic bloc.
In his regular evening address on Tuesday, Zelensky said officials were “preparing new reforms” that would “change the social, legal and political reality in many ways, making it more human, transparent and effective,” adding that “details will be announced later.”
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-01 11:55:21+00:00
Here’s the latest from Ukraine:
- President Biden’s blunt “no” when asked Monday whether he would send F-16s to Ukraine was met with skepticism at the Pentagon.
- Ukraine’s Defense Ministry responded to a report accusing it of firing rockets carrying banned antipersonnel mines into Russian-controlled territory. In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said Ukraine is exercising its right to self-defense, according to Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. It also urged Human Rights Watch, which released the report, to pressure Russia to end its “criminal war.”
- The Dnieper River in southern Ukraine has been subjected to “some of the most intense shelling in the conflict” so far, the British Defense Ministry said in an update Wednesday. It called Kherson “the most consistently shelled large Ukrainian city” outside the eastern Donbas region. The reason for this military focus was unclear.
- Poland and France appear open to supplying Ukraine with fighter jets.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-07 20:11:53+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
- Ukraine continued to appeal for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, with Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk urging Germany to help establish a coalition to supply equipment.
- Sweden is ready to restart negotiations over its application to join NATO as soon as Turkey is ready, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with senior Biden administration officials and members of Congress this week.
- Ukraine’s main Catholic church is set to begin following a new calendar, breaking another link to Russia. Under the change, the church would celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, rather than Jan. 7, when the Russian branch of the Orthodox Church marks the holiday per the Julian calendar.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-08 20:32:09+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on a multicountry Europe tour on Wednesday with a surprise visit to Britain, where he thanked the nation for its support in a speech to Parliament while making a fresh appeal for military aircraft.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Washington for meetings with top national security officials in the Biden administration to discuss defense assistance for Ukraine.
- Ukraine has appealed to Western countries for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, to turn the tide of the conflict, buoyed by recent decisions from its allies to supply Ukraine with tanks.
- The British government announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russian military and Kremlin elites as Zelensky arrived in London.
- Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark will provide Ukraine with at least 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks along with training and logistics support, the nations’ defense ministers said in a statement.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-09 21:42:11+00:00
Exclusive: Ukraine’s rocket campaign reliant on U.S. precision targeting, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials say they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.
The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-10 20:50:02+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- A Russian projectile came within “approximately 35 kilometers” of Romania’s border, the NATO country’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday, adding that it was “mostly likely a cruise missile” launched from a ship near the Crimean Peninsula.
- In Moscow, the Kremlin confirmed Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would deliver a high-profile address to the country’s Federal Assembly on Feb. 21.
- French President Emmanuel Macron said he has not ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a rare trip to Brussels.
- Ukraine uses specific coordinates provided or confirmed by U.S. military personnel for the majority of its rocket strikes, The Post reported.
- The Pentagon is urging Congress to resume funding top-secret programs in Ukraine, current and former U.S. officials have told The Post.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-11 20:29:07+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- President Biden plans to visit NATO ally Poland on Feb. 20, shortly before the first anniversary of the conflict. He will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss “our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO’s deterrence,” the White House said in a statement on Friday, as well as reaffirm “how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
- Ukraine said Russia launched more than 100 missiles on Friday. “The threat of strikes by the Russian federation on civilian targets across Ukraine remains high,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update Saturday, adding that Russia also used Shahed-type drones. Local officials reported that civilian infrastructure was hit, stripping much of the country of power and heat.
- Zelensky visited the Turkish Embassy in Kyiv on Saturday to mourn the more than 25,000 people killed by an earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria this week.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-12 21:43:51+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Kyiv appears to be optimistic that its Western allies will grant its requests for fighter jets. “Let’s wait and see. That’s what we heard about tanks,” Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain, told the BBC on Sunday, referring to apprehension from military backers before an agreement on tanks was made.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to lead a meeting Tuesday of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, attended by senior military officials from more than 50 nations backing Ukraine with weapons and other supplies.
- Zelensky named Ukraine’s security and defense agencies as the next targets of his promised zero-tolerance approach to corruption after high-profile dismissals in recent weeks related to his probe.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-13 20:19:19+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s allies should urgently provide it with more weapons, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia embarks on a new offensive in the country’s east.
- There are concerns that the West’s own stocks of weapons are being depleted after a year of supplying Kyiv.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which is made up of senior military officials from more than 50 nations that have been providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid.
- Ukraine appears hopeful it can win over the West on its request for fighter jets.
- There are concerns that the West’s own stocks of weapons are being depleted after a year of supplying Kyiv.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which is made up of senior military officials from more than 50 nations that have been providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-14 20:12:47+00:00
Here’s the latest from Ukraine:
- Washington and allies have “a lot to get done” to position Ukrainian troops to use advanced weapon systems promised by the West ahead of Russia’s offensive, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. “It’s a monumental task to bring all those systems together, get the troops trained on those platforms, make sure we have sustainment for all those systems and get those systems into the fight,” he said.
- Officials focused on getting ammunition to Ukraine. E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters he’ll propose to the bloc’s foreign ministers next week a plan to jointly procure ammunition, Bloomberg reported. Austin said the U.S. and its partners are doing “everything we can” to give “as much ammunition as quickly as possible.”
- Norway will provide eight Leopard tanks for the war effort, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, joining other European nations that have pledged to send tanks from their stocks to the battlefield.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-15 20:32:20+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels on Wednesday for more meetings on the long-term response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, including boosting the production of armaments and ammunition.
- Ukraine shot down several small Russian balloons over Kyiv on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted to Telegram.
- The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said that “for a long time” he ran the internet troll farm that faced U.S. sanctions over charges of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
- Ukraine’s armed forces said heavy fighting is raging around Bakhmut.
- Britain is “delivering for Ukraine the effects they need on the battlefield,” rather than fighter jets, which require months of training, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-16 20:36:49+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Germany’s armed forces are in a worse place than they were last year, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with The Post, despite boasting a huge boost in defense spending after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Israel’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv in the first visit by an Israeli minister since the war began. Eli Cohen tweeted that he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reopen the Israeli Embassy on his trip. Israel has provided humanitarian support to Ukraine but it has not provided Kyiv with intelligence or weapons.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country will join Russia’s war only if Ukraine attacks Belarus. “I am ready to fight together with the Russians from the territory of Belarus only in one case so far: if a single soldier comes from there to the territory of Belarus to kill my people,” he said Thursday.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-17 20:25:12+00:00
At awkward meeting, Putin and Lukashenko avoid the war, stress economic ties
A week before the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the leaders of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, met in Moscow on Friday. They mostly avoided discussion of the war — a sign of their awkward alliance, and even more awkward political relationship.
A year ago, Putin used Russian forces stationed in Belarus to launch his ultimately catastrophic attempt to conquer, Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Lukashenko, however, has resisted any pressure to deploy his own troops to Ukraine.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Europe to “strategically pull together” on an armaments policy.
- Russian forces and allied mercenaries may have suffered up to 200,000 casualties in Ukraine since the war began, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Friday, putting the number of estimated deaths at between 40,000 and 60,000.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-18 21:25:53+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The Netherlands is limiting the number of Kremlin diplomats allowed there, and it’s closing the Russian trade office in Amsterdam, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra tweeted Saturday afternoon.
- The United States has determined that Russia committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also in Munich, said in a statement Saturday.
- Vice President Harris accused Moscow of undertaking a “widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population,” and she cited deadly attacks in Bucha and Mariupol as she vowed continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
- The West is struggling to find the ammunition Ukraine needs to fight Russia, a consequence of decades of wishful thinking that war would not return to Europe, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the conference.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-19 07:07:05+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
— Ukraine is dominating the agenda at the Munich Security Conference. Vice President Harris reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting Kyiv and, in her address to the annual gathering of officials from across the world, accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine.
—In an interview airing Sunday with CBS’s Margaret Brennan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken again warned that China is considering providing “lethal support” to Russia, including weapons and ammunition. Blinken met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, and said he cautioned Wang that there would be “serious consequences” if Beijing aids Moscow with munitions or helps the Kremlin evade sanctions.
— The West is showing Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine’s allies will not “lose our nerve,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the security conference. I
More live updates.
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2023-02-20 20:02:00+00:00
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- The new U.S. assistance to Ukraine announced in Kyiv by President Biden will comprise a $450 million military aid package to Ukraine and $10 million to support the country’s energy infrastructure, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
- Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia is likely to claim that its forces captured Bakhmut “regardless of the reality on the ground” to align with the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine this week.
- A much-anticipated major Russian offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region is underway, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War.
- Reactions at home to Biden’s surprise stop in Kyiv rippled across social media Monday. His visit drew praise among Democrats, while some Republicans criticized it, seeking to cast the trip to the war-torn country as Biden ignoring domestic problems.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-21 21:30:15+00:00
Putin assures Russia he will win the war, then suspends nuclear arms deal
In the last minutes of a nearly two-hour speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday artfully dropped one bombshell into an otherwise lackluster state-of-the-nation address — suspending Russian participation in New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control accord between Moscow and Washington.
Putin said he was not canceling the treaty, which runs through Feb. 4, 2026, but would not accede to U.S. demands to resume the regular inspections and meetings mandated by the agreement, which limits the number intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The move seemed intended to pressure Washington to curtail its plans to provide more advanced weapons to Ukraine by reminding the United States and NATO allies of the central reason they have avoided direct involvement in the war: Putin controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and has created real uncertainty about his threshold for using it.
Read more about Putin's speech here.
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2023-02-22 23:02:01+00:00
Wagner mercenary boss and Russian military chiefs at war — with each other
In the photos, dozens of dead Russian mercenaries were piled up on frozen ground — some half-naked. Images like these might usually appear on Ukrainian Telegram channels, but this time they were posted by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the financier of the infamous Wagner mercenary group, who went public with his most bitter attack yet against Russia’s regular military, claiming his fighters were deprived of ammunition and, as a result, died “in heaps” in Ukraine.
In his state of the nation address Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin omitted any mention of his battlefield defeats and casualties, and instead attempted to relay an image of a united country working to crush a common enemy.
But even as Putin spoke, the fierce personal attacks unleashed publicly by Prighozin exposed what the Russian president refused to admit: His war is flagging, and key players in the Kremlin’s orbit are at each other’s throats.
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-23 22:01:24+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling on Russia to leave Ukraine on Thursday. The vote came after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged members during a special session to vote for preserving his country’s sovereignty ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion Friday.
- President Biden and G-7 leaders will meet virtually on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to coordinate efforts in support of Ukraine, according to a White House statement.
- Russia’s U.N. ambassador criticized the peace resolution. “Moscow is ready for a solution,” Vasily Nebenzya said.
- Though Russia lost the vote, it did pick up a new supporter at the U.N. Mali voted with Russia for the first time, the latest sign of partnership between the West African nation and Moscow.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-24 22:38:57+00:00
Looking back: One year of Russia's war in Ukraine. Follow our live updates here.
Portraits of Ukraine: Every Ukrainian’s life has changed in ways big and small. They've learned to survive and support each other in bomb shelters, hospitals and ruined marketplaces. Scroll through portraits of Ukrainians reflecting on a year of loss, resilience and fear.
Battle of attrition: The war has gone from a multi-front invasion to a conflict of attrition largely concentrated along an expanse of territory in the east and south. Follow the 600-mile front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
A year of living apart: The invasion has forced agonizing decisions for millions of families about how to balance safety, duty and love. Lives that were once intertwined have become unrecognizable.
Zelensky's rise: President Zelensky has emerged as a far fiercer foe than Moscow expected. As each side gears up for fighting in the spring, he’s hardened into a more uncompromising leader strained by the demands of war.
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2023-02-25 20:45:20+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will visit China next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will make the trip at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ministry said. U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said China is considering sending artillery shells to Russia, but there is no evidence the weapons transfer has occurred.
- Biden said that Ukraine’s defense needs could change in the future, but that the U.S. military determined there currently is no rationale for sending fighter jets to Kyiv.
- An American soldier fighting in Ukraine was killed in action on Feb. 16, his family told The Post. Andrew Peters, 28, arrived in Ukraine in November to join the International Legion of Territorial Defence, said his father, John Peters. Andrew Peters served as a U.S. Army infantryman in Afghanistan from 2014 to 2016, his father told The Post.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-27 10:45:08+00:00
After warnings, no evidence China is supplying arms to Russia, U.S. officials say
Top administration officials said Sunday there is no evidence that China has sent lethal military support to Russia, a step Beijing is said to be considering. One top U.S. official also said China has been surprised by the steadfast support demonstrated by Ukraine’s allies and Russia’s poor military performance on the battlefield over the past year.
The comments, by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J. Burns, were made during separate appearances on news shows Sunday morning.
Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Washington will continue to send “a strong message” to Beijing against giving military aid to Moscow “when they are using their weapons to bombard cities, kill civilians and commit atrocities.”
Read the full story here.
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2023-02-27 21:59:50+00:00
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen arrived Monday in Kyiv, where she met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials. “We both know that effective military resistance on the front lines of this fight requires a functioning economy and government,” she said in prepared remarks.
- China defended its position on the Ukraine war as “consistent” after Zelensky appealed to Beijing not to supply Russia with weapons and suggested a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- “Crimea is Ukraine,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement marking the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the territory. But he demurred when asked whether the United States would support Ukraine in retaking Crimea.
More live updates here.
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2023-02-28 21:23:28+00:00
Russian authorities on alert after flurry of drone sightings
A flurry of overnight drone sightings in western Russia, including in Moscow region about 60 miles southeast of the capital, put authorities on high alert for attacks on Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin ordered a tightening of border controls, and aviation authorities shut the airspace around St. Petersburg’s city airport for about three hours with flights turned away, and many others delayed, after reports of an unidentified object, possibly a drone, in nearby skies.
In only one case did a drone appear to carry out a successful strike, causing a fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse, in the Krasnodar region, not far from the Ukrainian border. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine, claiming that the drones were targeting civilian infrastructure, and said most of the drones had been intercepted and shot down. There were no reports of casualties.
Read the full story here.