Discreetly, and at peril, Russian volunteers help Ukrainian refugees
To avoid the authorities, thousands of displaced Ukrainians in Russia are relying on a discreet network of unofficial volunteers — a sort of Slavic echo of the Underground Railroad — working to bring war refugees through Russia to safety in Europe.
These volunteers are not linked to each other. Most of them will never see each other in person. The common denominator is the risk they face from the Russian security forces, who are suspicious of citizen initiatives and have cracked down on all manner of civil society groups.
The independent volunteers do all kinds of things. Some work from home processing help requests. Others help care for pets, gather food, clothing and medicine, or deliver to makeshift warehouses. Hosts who open their doors to Ukrainians or drivers who transport them across the Russian border face the steepest risk as they are ones interacting directly with refugees and the authorities.
Read the full story here.
To avoid the authorities, thousands of displaced Ukrainians in Russia are relying on a discreet network of unofficial volunteers — a sort of Slavic echo of the Underground Railroad — working to bring war refugees through Russia to safety in Europe.
These volunteers are not linked to each other. Most of them will never see each other in person. The common denominator is the risk they face from the Russian security forces, who are suspicious of citizen initiatives and have cracked down on all manner of civil society groups.
The independent volunteers do all kinds of things. Some work from home processing help requests. Others help care for pets, gather food, clothing and medicine, or deliver to makeshift warehouses. Hosts who open their doors to Ukrainians or drivers who transport them across the Russian border face the steepest risk as they are ones interacting directly with refugees and the authorities.
Read the full story here.
Married on the day of the invasion, one soldier marks two anniversaries
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — On his 366th day of war, Sgt. Volodymyr Rusyn reached the most dangerous part of his route to the front lines: A 20-yard, don’t-slow-down, cratered stretch of road that is shelled regularly — sometimes hourly — by Russian batteries stationed less than two miles away.
He found it blocked by a military truck.
“This is the worst place to stop,” he muttered, tapping the steering wheel, eager to run the gantlet and get on with his mission. As the deputy commander of the Carpathian Sich 49th Infantry Battalion, Rusyn visits his front line trench fighters, tank drivers and medics every day. But this day is special; it’s an anniversary.
Not the first anniversary of the war that’s being marked from Kyiv to Washington. His wedding anniversary. On the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, he was married, hours after getting the early-morning phone call that Russia had invaded.
Read the full story here.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — On his 366th day of war, Sgt. Volodymyr Rusyn reached the most dangerous part of his route to the front lines: A 20-yard, don’t-slow-down, cratered stretch of road that is shelled regularly — sometimes hourly — by Russian batteries stationed less than two miles away.
He found it blocked by a military truck.
“This is the worst place to stop,” he muttered, tapping the steering wheel, eager to run the gantlet and get on with his mission. As the deputy commander of the Carpathian Sich 49th Infantry Battalion, Rusyn visits his front line trench fighters, tank drivers and medics every day. But this day is special; it’s an anniversary.
Not the first anniversary of the war that’s being marked from Kyiv to Washington. His wedding anniversary. On the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, he was married, hours after getting the early-morning phone call that Russia had invaded.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Biden faces new pressures over U.S. support in Year 2 of Ukraine war
The war in Ukraine has entered its second year, and with that come fresh challenges for President Biden. Whether ensuring that Ukraine has the necessary equipment to fight off the Russian invasion or prodding Western allies to do more to hold together domestic public opinion, the longer the war goes on, the greater those challenges will be.
The president’s stealth trip to Ukraine and his later speech in Poland signaled anew his commitment to the cause.
The people of Ukraine have shown the world courage and resilience — and Ukraine’s military has demonstrated surprising skill on the battlefield.
For Biden, the domestic political implications so far have been generally favorable. As the 2024 presidential campaign unfolds, the debate over U.S. support and leadership is likely to become more pointed. The result could be more questions about the president’s handling of the effort.
Read the full story here.
The war in Ukraine has entered its second year, and with that come fresh challenges for President Biden. Whether ensuring that Ukraine has the necessary equipment to fight off the Russian invasion or prodding Western allies to do more to hold together domestic public opinion, the longer the war goes on, the greater those challenges will be.
The president’s stealth trip to Ukraine and his later speech in Poland signaled anew his commitment to the cause.
The people of Ukraine have shown the world courage and resilience — and Ukraine’s military has demonstrated surprising skill on the battlefield.
For Biden, the domestic political implications so far have been generally favorable. As the 2024 presidential campaign unfolds, the debate over U.S. support and leadership is likely to become more pointed. The result could be more questions about the president’s handling of the effort.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainians reflect on a year of loss, unity and fear
The war has torn families apart. Many have lost homes, relatives or friends. Others have lost their jobs and dreams. Everyone has been robbed of their sense of security.
Civilians have picked up arms to fight or volunteered to treat the wounded and deliver humanitarian aid. They have learned to survive and support each other under extreme circumstances, in bomb shelters and hospitals, destroyed apartment complexes and ruined marketplaces, under Russian occupation and in areas Ukraine still controls.
No one has been left untouched.
Read the full story here.
The war has torn families apart. Many have lost homes, relatives or friends. Others have lost their jobs and dreams. Everyone has been robbed of their sense of security.
Civilians have picked up arms to fight or volunteered to treat the wounded and deliver humanitarian aid. They have learned to survive and support each other under extreme circumstances, in bomb shelters and hospitals, destroyed apartment complexes and ruined marketplaces, under Russian occupation and in areas Ukraine still controls.
No one has been left untouched.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Putin claimed, again without giving evidence, that the West is trying to threaten the survival of the Russian nation, saying in an interview with the state-owned Rossiya 1 channel: “We are forced to respond to it.” Putin has increasingly framed the war in Ukraine as an existential battle between Russia and the West.
- Lukashenko is visiting China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. The visit will start Tuesday and end Thursday.
- The United States hopes to deter China from supplying Russia with lethal weaponry, CIA Director William J. Burns said in a television interview. “We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment,” Burns told CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” adding that intelligence officials had not yet seen evidence of equipment being shipped and did not believe a final decision had been made.
More live updates here.
- Putin claimed, again without giving evidence, that the West is trying to threaten the survival of the Russian nation, saying in an interview with the state-owned Rossiya 1 channel: “We are forced to respond to it.” Putin has increasingly framed the war in Ukraine as an existential battle between Russia and the West.
- Lukashenko is visiting China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. The visit will start Tuesday and end Thursday.
- The United States hopes to deter China from supplying Russia with lethal weaponry, CIA Director William J. Burns said in a television interview. “We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment,” Burns told CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” adding that intelligence officials had not yet seen evidence of equipment being shipped and did not believe a final decision had been made.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned China that there would be “real costs” if Beijing decides to provide military aid to Russia.
- CIA Director William J. Burns echoed concerns about China providing military aid to Russia, stating in a separate CNN interview that the U.S. is “confident” China is “considering the provision of lethal equipment,” but that it would be a “very risky and unwise bet.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed a senior military official without explanation, according to a one-line decree posted Sunday. Eduard Moskalyov, commander of Ukraine’s joint forces, was removed from his role just less than a year after he was appointed.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the West is trying to dismantle Russia. In an interview with the state-owned Rossiya 1 channel, he said of the United States: “They have one goal: to scatter the former Soviet Union and its main part, the Russian Federation.”
More live updates here.
- U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned China that there would be “real costs” if Beijing decides to provide military aid to Russia.
- CIA Director William J. Burns echoed concerns about China providing military aid to Russia, stating in a separate CNN interview that the U.S. is “confident” China is “considering the provision of lethal equipment,” but that it would be a “very risky and unwise bet.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed a senior military official without explanation, according to a one-line decree posted Sunday. Eduard Moskalyov, commander of Ukraine’s joint forces, was removed from his role just less than a year after he was appointed.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the West is trying to dismantle Russia. In an interview with the state-owned Rossiya 1 channel, he said of the United States: “They have one goal: to scatter the former Soviet Union and its main part, the Russian Federation.”
More live updates here.
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.
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.
Bloodied Wagner fighters captured in Ukraine recount path from prison to war
The two men lay on the dirty tile floor of an empty office, still in their bloodied combat fatigues and bandages. One dozed without a pillow under a blanket; the other stretched out with a tourniquet strapped above the knee of his blood-soaked pants.
The men were two of three Russian fighters with the Wagner mercenary group who had been captured a few hours earlier in a northern section of the embattled city of Bakhmut, according to a Ukrainian officer with a sidearm on his hip, who was the only other person present. The third, more seriously injured, had been taken to a hospital, the officer said.
One had his hands tightly bound with green tape; the other was not bound and accepted a cigarette from the officer.
“Do you want to smoke? Water?” the officer asked in Russian after a group of Post journalists entered the ground-floor room with clearance from Ukrainian officials. “They want to interview you.”
Read the full story here.
The two men lay on the dirty tile floor of an empty office, still in their bloodied combat fatigues and bandages. One dozed without a pillow under a blanket; the other stretched out with a tourniquet strapped above the knee of his blood-soaked pants.
The men were two of three Russian fighters with the Wagner mercenary group who had been captured a few hours earlier in a northern section of the embattled city of Bakhmut, according to a Ukrainian officer with a sidearm on his hip, who was the only other person present. The third, more seriously injured, had been taken to a hospital, the officer said.
One had his hands tightly bound with green tape; the other was not bound and accepted a cigarette from the officer.
“Do you want to smoke? Water?” the officer asked in Russian after a group of Post journalists entered the ground-floor room with clearance from Ukrainian officials. “They want to interview you.”
Read the full story here.
Poland is on a quest to have Europe’s strongest military — with U.S. arms
At Poland’s Rzeszow airport, where President Biden’s plane touched on his way to Kyiv, U.S.-made Patriot missile batteries point toward the skies. The first American M1A2 Abrams battle tanks are expected to arrive this spring, with hundreds of U.S.-manufactured rocket artillery systems to follow.
It is part of a mammoth military spending spree spurred by the war in neighboring Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hopes the influx of arms will help build “the largest land force in Europe,” and he sees Warsaw signing billions in weapons contracts with U.S. suppliers.
“This modern weaponry will elevate our armed forces to a completely new level of defense capabilities,” Blaszczak said in a written interview with The Post. With relations between Warsaw and Washington at a high when materiel can’t be manufactured in Poland, it’s only natural “we look at our closest ally,” he added.
Read the full story h
At Poland’s Rzeszow airport, where President Biden’s plane touched on his way to Kyiv, U.S.-made Patriot missile batteries point toward the skies. The first American M1A2 Abrams battle tanks are expected to arrive this spring, with hundreds of U.S.-manufactured rocket artillery systems to follow.
It is part of a mammoth military spending spree spurred by the war in neighboring Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hopes the influx of arms will help build “the largest land force in Europe,” and he sees Warsaw signing billions in weapons contracts with U.S. suppliers.
“This modern weaponry will elevate our armed forces to a completely new level of defense capabilities,” Blaszczak said in a written interview with The Post. With relations between Warsaw and Washington at a high when materiel can’t be manufactured in Poland, it’s only natural “we look at our closest ally,” he added.
Read the full story h
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia’s invasion has unleashed “widespread death, destruction and displacement,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said during Monday’s session of the Human Rights Council, which investigates and sets priorities around human rights abuses.
- Russia has supplied Belarus with an Iskander short-range ballistic missile system and an S-400 air-defense missile system, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said China’s 12-point proposal to end the war deserves consideration. The plan, which was unveiled by Beijing Friday and immediately dismissed by Ukraine, calls on the West to ease pressure on Russia and end the use of unilateral sanctions — and does not make any explicit demands for a Russian withdrawal.
More live updates here.
- Russia’s invasion has unleashed “widespread death, destruction and displacement,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said during Monday’s session of the Human Rights Council, which investigates and sets priorities around human rights abuses.
- Russia has supplied Belarus with an Iskander short-range ballistic missile system and an S-400 air-defense missile system, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said China’s 12-point proposal to end the war deserves consideration. The plan, which was unveiled by Beijing Friday and immediately dismissed by Ukraine, calls on the West to ease pressure on Russia and end the use of unilateral sanctions — and does not make any explicit demands for a Russian withdrawal.
More live updates here.
Impact of Ukraine-Russia war: Cybersecurity has improved for all
SAN FRANCISCO — Russia’s cyberspace attacks on Ukraine during the past year have erased data, degraded communication and stolen information, but they have fallen far short of the destruction that many predicted after the invasion a year ago.
In fact, the campaign may have helped inoculate Ukraine against more devastating attacks, experts say, by revealing Russian tactics when the stakes were highest, proving the value of faster collaboration and other defensive measures, and destroying the myth of Russia as an unstoppable cyber superpower.
“We are not only better prepared, we are able to share our lessons learned,” said George Dubynskyi, deputy minister for security in Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
That is resonating in Europe and the United States, which have worked closely to protect Ukraine and now are importing strategy and intelligence in defense of their own cyber networks.
Read the full story here.
SAN FRANCISCO — Russia’s cyberspace attacks on Ukraine during the past year have erased data, degraded communication and stolen information, but they have fallen far short of the destruction that many predicted after the invasion a year ago.
In fact, the campaign may have helped inoculate Ukraine against more devastating attacks, experts say, by revealing Russian tactics when the stakes were highest, proving the value of faster collaboration and other defensive measures, and destroying the myth of Russia as an unstoppable cyber superpower.
“We are not only better prepared, we are able to share our lessons learned,” said George Dubynskyi, deputy minister for security in Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
That is resonating in Europe and the United States, which have worked closely to protect Ukraine and now are importing strategy and intelligence in defense of their own cyber networks.
Read the full story here.
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.
- 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.