Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- NATO called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible” on Sunday after Moscow said it planned to store tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which shares a long border with northern Ukraine.
- European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday that if Belarus agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons, it would be a “threat to European security.” “The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions,” Borrell said on Twitter.
- Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.”
More live updates here.
- NATO called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible” on Sunday after Moscow said it planned to store tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which shares a long border with northern Ukraine.
- European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday that if Belarus agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons, it would be a “threat to European security.” “The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions,” Borrell said on Twitter.
- Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.”
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- The European Union threatened sanctions against Belarus after Russia announced it would store tactical nuclear weapons in the country, which shares a long border with northern Ukraine.
- Russia has continued to attack the embattled city of Bakhmut — an effort the Institute for the Study of War warned was futile and potentially harmful to Moscow — as a Ukrainian counteroffensive looms. Ukraine’s military said Monday that its forces still hold the city.
- Russia’s continued attacks on Bakhmut are not only “pointless, but actually harmful” to Moscow as it prepares for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive in coming weeks, according to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War.
- The actions of the “two unpredictable dictatorial regimes” led by Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko are “dragging Belarus further into the war,” Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said. The country will call for new sanctions, it said in a statement.
More live updates here.
- The European Union threatened sanctions against Belarus after Russia announced it would store tactical nuclear weapons in the country, which shares a long border with northern Ukraine.
- Russia has continued to attack the embattled city of Bakhmut — an effort the Institute for the Study of War warned was futile and potentially harmful to Moscow — as a Ukrainian counteroffensive looms. Ukraine’s military said Monday that its forces still hold the city.
- Russia’s continued attacks on Bakhmut are not only “pointless, but actually harmful” to Moscow as it prepares for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive in coming weeks, according to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War.
- The actions of the “two unpredictable dictatorial regimes” led by Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko are “dragging Belarus further into the war,” Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said. The country will call for new sanctions, it said in a statement.
More live updates here.
West warns Putin against ‘dangerous’ nuclear rhetoric but downplays threat
The United States and its European allies warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday against what they said was “dangerous” nuclear rhetoric after he announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a close ally of Moscow that shares a border with northern Ukraine.
At the same time, Western powers said they saw no immediate danger or reasons to change their own strategic nuclear positions in the wake of his remarks. NATO called his comments, which he made Saturday on television, “irresponsible,” but said it had not seen any changes to Russia’s nuclear posture “that would lead us to adjust our own.”
Read the full story here.
The United States and its European allies warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday against what they said was “dangerous” nuclear rhetoric after he announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a close ally of Moscow that shares a border with northern Ukraine.
At the same time, Western powers said they saw no immediate danger or reasons to change their own strategic nuclear positions in the wake of his remarks. NATO called his comments, which he made Saturday on television, “irresponsible,” but said it had not seen any changes to Russia’s nuclear posture “that would lead us to adjust our own.”
Read the full story here.
Putin, charged with war crimes, must limit travel to avoid arrest
The war crimes charges against Vladimir Putin brought by the International Criminal Court mean that the Russian leader, in theory, is unable to travel to two-thirds of the globe without risking arrest in the 123 countries that are parties to the United Nations treaty underpinning the court’s operations and therefore obligated to detain him.
In practice, the situation is more complex — with some ICC member states condemning the arrest warrant, and others having set a precedent of flouting the court’s orders.
Already, the ICC’s arrest warrant, which accuses Putin, along with his children’s rights commissioner, of illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia, may be weighing on the Kremlin’s travel plans.
Read the full story here.
The war crimes charges against Vladimir Putin brought by the International Criminal Court mean that the Russian leader, in theory, is unable to travel to two-thirds of the globe without risking arrest in the 123 countries that are parties to the United Nations treaty underpinning the court’s operations and therefore obligated to detain him.
In practice, the situation is more complex — with some ICC member states condemning the arrest warrant, and others having set a precedent of flouting the court’s orders.
Already, the ICC’s arrest warrant, which accuses Putin, along with his children’s rights commissioner, of illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia, may be weighing on the Kremlin’s travel plans.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Western sanctions will not affect Moscow’s plans to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus, the Kremlin said Monday.
- In Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council, said Monday that Russia has “advanced unique weapons to eliminate any adversary,” and he accused NATO nations of providing Kyiv with weapons and intelligence.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to counter what it described as “the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.”
- NATO called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible” and said it was “closely monitoring the situation.”
- Grossi plans to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant this week for the second time since the IAEA installed a permanent crew there in September, according to a statement issued Saturday.
More live updates here.
- Western sanctions will not affect Moscow’s plans to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus, the Kremlin said Monday.
- In Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council, said Monday that Russia has “advanced unique weapons to eliminate any adversary,” and he accused NATO nations of providing Kyiv with weapons and intelligence.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to counter what it described as “the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.”
- NATO called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible” and said it was “closely monitoring the situation.”
- Grossi plans to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant this week for the second time since the IAEA installed a permanent crew there in September, according to a statement issued Saturday.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is “the worst thing that could happen in the history” of Europe’s nuclear energy sector.
- Russia test-fired supersonic anti-ship missiles in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. The missiles can carry nuclear warheads.
- Russian officials expressed defiance after the West threatened more sanctions should the Kremlin proceed with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia’s plans wouldn’t be affected by Western sanctions.
- Russia has likely lost a “large proportion of its tanks” while attempting to encircle the front-line town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, noting that Russia had only made “marginal process” during its operation.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is “the worst thing that could happen in the history” of Europe’s nuclear energy sector.
- Russia test-fired supersonic anti-ship missiles in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. The missiles can carry nuclear warheads.
- Russian officials expressed defiance after the West threatened more sanctions should the Kremlin proceed with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia’s plans wouldn’t be affected by Western sanctions.
- Russia has likely lost a “large proportion of its tanks” while attempting to encircle the front-line town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, noting that Russia had only made “marginal process” during its operation.
More live updates here.
Russia sentences dad to two years after daughter’s antiwar art, but he flees
RIGA, Latvia — A Russian court on Tuesday ordered a two-year jail sentence for the single father of a 13-year-old girl who drew an antiwar picture in art class at school, in a case that led to the daughter being seized by authorities and place in an orphanage.
But in a stunning turn, the father, Alexei Moskalyov, 54, escaped from house arrest on Monday night, opting not to wait for the almost-certain guilty verdict after the state prosecutor demanded the two-year jail term on Monday.
Moskalyov was sentenced under Russia’s draconian laws against “discrediting the military,” which were adopted after President Vladimir Putin order his brutal invasion of Ukraine last year. The laws ban any form of antiwar dissent and are part of a wave of political repressions that have only worsened as Russia’s war effort floundered.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — A Russian court on Tuesday ordered a two-year jail sentence for the single father of a 13-year-old girl who drew an antiwar picture in art class at school, in a case that led to the daughter being seized by authorities and place in an orphanage.
But in a stunning turn, the father, Alexei Moskalyov, 54, escaped from house arrest on Monday night, opting not to wait for the almost-certain guilty verdict after the state prosecutor demanded the two-year jail term on Monday.
Moskalyov was sentenced under Russia’s draconian laws against “discrediting the military,” which were adopted after President Vladimir Putin order his brutal invasion of Ukraine last year. The laws ban any form of antiwar dissent and are part of a wave of political repressions that have only worsened as Russia’s war effort floundered.
Read the full story here.
How to flee house arrest in Russia: Escapees tell their secrets
RIGA, Latvia — When she finally crossed into the European Union, Olesya Krivtsova, a 20-year-old pacifist branded a terrorist by the Russian authorities for opposing the war in Ukraine, exhaled the fear of two days on the run and “cried a little,” she said.
Krivtsova fled her apartment in the northern city of Arkhangelsk earlier this month, disguised as a homeless beggar, swapped cars three times, crossed an official border point and announced her safe arrival in a video in Lithuania several days later.
In a video, she unclipped the electronic ankle bracelet attached by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service when she was put under house arrest and tossed it away with a mischievous sideways glance. Then she grinned joyfully, holding a small sign: “Freedom.”
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — When she finally crossed into the European Union, Olesya Krivtsova, a 20-year-old pacifist branded a terrorist by the Russian authorities for opposing the war in Ukraine, exhaled the fear of two days on the run and “cried a little,” she said.
Krivtsova fled her apartment in the northern city of Arkhangelsk earlier this month, disguised as a homeless beggar, swapped cars three times, crossed an official border point and announced her safe arrival in a video in Lithuania several days later.
In a video, she unclipped the electronic ankle bracelet attached by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service when she was put under house arrest and tossed it away with a mischievous sideways glance. Then she grinned joyfully, holding a small sign: “Freedom.”
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia has been “intensifying” its activity in the Far East, Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told reporters after Russia’s military exercise. The Peter the Great Bay, where the missiles were fired, borders Russia’s Vladivostok coast.
- Zelensky met with Rafael Mariano Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, touring areas near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear planet, the president’s office said.
- Britain and Poland will build two temporary housing villages in Ukraine, the British government announced Tuesday. The shelters, in Lviv in the west and Poltava in the east, will provide accommodation to about 700 displaced Ukrainians.
- Russian officials expressed defiance after the West threatened more sanctions should the Kremlin proceed with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
More live updates here.
- Russia has been “intensifying” its activity in the Far East, Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told reporters after Russia’s military exercise. The Peter the Great Bay, where the missiles were fired, borders Russia’s Vladivostok coast.
- Zelensky met with Rafael Mariano Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, touring areas near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear planet, the president’s office said.
- Britain and Poland will build two temporary housing villages in Ukraine, the British government announced Tuesday. The shelters, in Lviv in the west and Poltava in the east, will provide accommodation to about 700 displaced Ukrainians.
- Russian officials expressed defiance after the West threatened more sanctions should the Kremlin proceed with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that calls from some nations for a cease-fire in Ukraine could be a “very cynical trap” that freezes the conflict where things stand, allowing Russia to consolidate the territory it has illegally seized and “use the time to rest and refit and then reattack.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fighting in Ukraine could be over sooner “if the world is faster, if the world is more determined,” an apparent appeal for accelerated support from the West.
- Ukrainian officials say 4,390 children have been forcibly deported to Russia.
- Russian forces now occupy about 65 percent of Bakhmut, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, citing geolocated footage.
More live updates here.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that calls from some nations for a cease-fire in Ukraine could be a “very cynical trap” that freezes the conflict where things stand, allowing Russia to consolidate the territory it has illegally seized and “use the time to rest and refit and then reattack.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fighting in Ukraine could be over sooner “if the world is faster, if the world is more determined,” an apparent appeal for accelerated support from the West.
- Ukrainian officials say 4,390 children have been forcibly deported to Russia.
- Russian forces now occupy about 65 percent of Bakhmut, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, citing geolocated footage.
More live updates here.
He came to D.C. as a Brazilian student. The U.S. says he was a Russian spy.
THE HAGUE — Like anyone who gets into his dream college, Victor Muller Ferreira was ecstatic when he was admitted to Johns Hopkins University’s graduate school in Washington in 2018.
“Today we made the future — we managed to get in one of the top schools in the world,” he wrote in an email to those who had helped him gain entry to the elite master’s program in international relations. “This is the victory that belongs to all of us man — to the entire team. Today we f---ing drink!!!”
The achievement was even sweeter for Ferreira because he was not the striving student from Brazil he had portrayed on his Johns Hopkins application, but a Russian intelligence operative originally from Kaliningrad, according to a series of international investigations as well as an indictment the Justice Department filed in federal court.
Read the full story here.
THE HAGUE — Like anyone who gets into his dream college, Victor Muller Ferreira was ecstatic when he was admitted to Johns Hopkins University’s graduate school in Washington in 2018.
“Today we made the future — we managed to get in one of the top schools in the world,” he wrote in an email to those who had helped him gain entry to the elite master’s program in international relations. “This is the victory that belongs to all of us man — to the entire team. Today we f---ing drink!!!”
The achievement was even sweeter for Ferreira because he was not the striving student from Brazil he had portrayed on his Johns Hopkins application, but a Russian intelligence operative originally from Kaliningrad, according to a series of international investigations as well as an indictment the Justice Department filed in federal court.
Read the full story here.
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Mark Hamill, as Luke Skywalker, voices air raid alerts in Ukraine
Mark Hamill, best known as Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, has lent his famous voice to a popular Ukrainian air raid alert app, joining a growing list of celebrities to support the embattled nation.
“Attention. Air raid alert,” Hamill’s voice booms when the country’s defense system detects a threat of aerial strikes by Russia. “Proceed to the nearest shelter.”
To those who might not heed the warning immediately, Hamill goes on: “Don’t be careless. Your overconfidence is your weakness,” a nod to a Skywalker line from “Return of the Jedi.”
Once the danger has passed, Hamill returns to announce the alert is over, adding: “May the force be with you.”
The app is available for users on Apple and Android devices.
Read the full story here.
Mark Hamill, best known as Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, has lent his famous voice to a popular Ukrainian air raid alert app, joining a growing list of celebrities to support the embattled nation.
“Attention. Air raid alert,” Hamill’s voice booms when the country’s defense system detects a threat of aerial strikes by Russia. “Proceed to the nearest shelter.”
To those who might not heed the warning immediately, Hamill goes on: “Don’t be careless. Your overconfidence is your weakness,” a nod to a Skywalker line from “Return of the Jedi.”
Once the danger has passed, Hamill returns to announce the alert is over, adding: “May the force be with you.”
The app is available for users on Apple and Android devices.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog arrived at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on Wednesday, the country’s atomic energy firm said.
- Zelensky said Ukrainian forces must hang on to the front-line city of Bakhmut.
- A Russian official said Moscow will no longer notify the United States when it conducts missile tests, after Russia last month suspended its participation in the nuclear arms control accord New START.
- Zelensky said the fighting in Ukraine could be over sooner “if the world is faster, if the world is more determined,” in an apparent appeal for accelerated support from the West.
- Sweden will summon Moscow’s ambassador after the Russian Embassy appeared to threaten its government with “retaliatory measures” for joining NATO.
More live updates here.
- The chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog arrived at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on Wednesday, the country’s atomic energy firm said.
- Zelensky said Ukrainian forces must hang on to the front-line city of Bakhmut.
- A Russian official said Moscow will no longer notify the United States when it conducts missile tests, after Russia last month suspended its participation in the nuclear arms control accord New START.
- Zelensky said the fighting in Ukraine could be over sooner “if the world is faster, if the world is more determined,” in an apparent appeal for accelerated support from the West.
- Sweden will summon Moscow’s ambassador after the Russian Embassy appeared to threaten its government with “retaliatory measures” for joining NATO.
More live updates here.
Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia by security service
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said Thursday that it had detained a Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen assigned to the newspaper’s Moscow bureau, and had opened an “espionage” case against him.
Gershkovich was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals, the FSB said in a statement.
Earlier, independent Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev had reported the arrest, citing two sources in Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich was detained Wednesday according to local media. He was being taken to Moscow for a court hearing and the case was being handled by the FSB’s central office, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said Thursday that it had detained a Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen assigned to the newspaper’s Moscow bureau, and had opened an “espionage” case against him.
Gershkovich was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals, the FSB said in a statement.
Earlier, independent Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev had reported the arrest, citing two sources in Yekaterinburg.
Gershkovich was detained Wednesday according to local media. He was being taken to Moscow for a court hearing and the case was being handled by the FSB’s central office, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
Read the full story here.
Kyiv doctor killed in Russian airstrike shows war’s fallout far from front
KYIV, Ukraine — Oksana Leontieva was late for work. The 36-year-old doctor was due at Ukraine’s top children’s hospital, where she treated patients with cancer and other serious diseases. But first she had to get her son to kindergarten.
An air raid siren was blaring across Kyiv, which meant, according to school rules, that Oksana, a widow and single mom, could not drop him off. It was Oct. 10. The alerts had been sounding for months, but there had been no strikes in the Ukrainian capital since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion. Most people went on with their lives. “I may be late for the morning meeting,” Oksana texted her colleagues at 7:25 a.m. “Issues with accepting kids.”
Finally, the school staff relented. Oksana told Hrysha, a blond, dark-eyed boy, goodbye. She put the car in gear and pulled out.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Oksana Leontieva was late for work. The 36-year-old doctor was due at Ukraine’s top children’s hospital, where she treated patients with cancer and other serious diseases. But first she had to get her son to kindergarten.
An air raid siren was blaring across Kyiv, which meant, according to school rules, that Oksana, a widow and single mom, could not drop him off. It was Oct. 10. The alerts had been sounding for months, but there had been no strikes in the Ukrainian capital since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion. Most people went on with their lives. “I may be late for the morning meeting,” Oksana texted her colleagues at 7:25 a.m. “Issues with accepting kids.”
Finally, the school staff relented. Oksana told Hrysha, a blond, dark-eyed boy, goodbye. She put the car in gear and pulled out.
Read the full story here.
King Charles III applauds German and British unity in defending Ukraine
BERLIN — King Charles III addressed the German people from its parliament on Thursday and lauded the cooperation between their two countries in helping Ukraine confront the Russian invasion.
The monarch’s first royal visit comes as Britain seeks to turn a page from the fraught Brexit years and rebuild ties with its European neighbors and he spoke fervently, both in English and German, of his history with the country as well as the many visits made by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II — mostly notably in 1965.
“My parents’ 11-day tour proved to be a pivotal moment in reconciliation between our nations. My mother knew what a huge reconciliation this meant,” he said, referring to how the two countries became close allies in the wake of World War II.
Read the full story here.
BERLIN — King Charles III addressed the German people from its parliament on Thursday and lauded the cooperation between their two countries in helping Ukraine confront the Russian invasion.
The monarch’s first royal visit comes as Britain seeks to turn a page from the fraught Brexit years and rebuild ties with its European neighbors and he spoke fervently, both in English and German, of his history with the country as well as the many visits made by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II — mostly notably in 1965.
“My parents’ 11-day tour proved to be a pivotal moment in reconciliation between our nations. My mother knew what a huge reconciliation this meant,” he said, referring to how the two countries became close allies in the wake of World War II.
Read the full story here.