Triumphal Putin is inaugurated for fifth term as Russian president
In the gilded Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace where Russian czars were once crowned, Vladimir Putin on Tuesday swore the oath of allegiance on Russia’s constitution at his inauguration for a fifth term as president. The traditional pomp and ceremony conveyed his might as Russia’s supreme, uncontested leader for the past quarter-century.
Bristling with optimism about his ongoing war against Ukraine, Putin, 71, declared he would place Russia’s security above all else and promised that the country would be victorious. Russia is seeking to conquer and annex four regions of southeastern Ukraine, in addition to Crimea, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
“We are one, great nation,” Putin declared in his inauguration speech. “Together we will overcome all obstacles. We will fulfill everything we have planned. Together we will win.” A 30-gun salute followed his remarks.
Read the full story here.
In the gilded Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace where Russian czars were once crowned, Vladimir Putin on Tuesday swore the oath of allegiance on Russia’s constitution at his inauguration for a fifth term as president. The traditional pomp and ceremony conveyed his might as Russia’s supreme, uncontested leader for the past quarter-century.
Bristling with optimism about his ongoing war against Ukraine, Putin, 71, declared he would place Russia’s security above all else and promised that the country would be victorious. Russia is seeking to conquer and annex four regions of southeastern Ukraine, in addition to Crimea, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
“We are one, great nation,” Putin declared in his inauguration speech. “Together we will overcome all obstacles. We will fulfill everything we have planned. Together we will win.” A 30-gun salute followed his remarks.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine arrests two colonels in protective service in plot to kill Zelensky
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested two officers in the agency responsible for protecting senior government leaders and accused them of developing a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials — as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his inauguration.
The two suspects were colonels in Ukraine’s State Protection Department, roughly the equivalent of the U.S. Secret Service, and were recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, according to Ukraine’s State Security Service.
The State Security Service, known as the SBU, announced the arrests in a post on the Telegram social media platform. The statement did not identify the suspects, and their faces were obscured in photos showing the arrests and in a subsequent video of an interrogation.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested two officers in the agency responsible for protecting senior government leaders and accused them of developing a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials — as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his inauguration.
The two suspects were colonels in Ukraine’s State Protection Department, roughly the equivalent of the U.S. Secret Service, and were recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, according to Ukraine’s State Security Service.
The State Security Service, known as the SBU, announced the arrests in a post on the Telegram social media platform. The statement did not identify the suspects, and their faces were obscured in photos showing the arrests and in a subsequent video of an interrogation.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine orders nationwide electricity rationing after Russian airstrikes
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they were preparing to order electricity rationing measures across the country following a major overnight missile strike by Russia — the latest in a relentless bombing campaign against civilian infrastructure.
Brownouts “are possible throughout Ukraine” between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the state energy provider, Ukrenergo, said in a statement posted on the Telegram social media platform. The statement cited a “shortage of electricity in the power system.”
The Russian strikes, which lasted more than three hours, targeted energy infrastructure in six Ukrainian regions. Ukraine’s power plants, electrical grid and other infrastructure have become particular vulnerable as Western countries have struggled to supply Kyiv with sufficient air defense systems and ammunition.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they were preparing to order electricity rationing measures across the country following a major overnight missile strike by Russia — the latest in a relentless bombing campaign against civilian infrastructure.
Brownouts “are possible throughout Ukraine” between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the state energy provider, Ukrenergo, said in a statement posted on the Telegram social media platform. The statement cited a “shortage of electricity in the power system.”
The Russian strikes, which lasted more than three hours, targeted energy infrastructure in six Ukrainian regions. Ukraine’s power plants, electrical grid and other infrastructure have become particular vulnerable as Western countries have struggled to supply Kyiv with sufficient air defense systems and ammunition.
Read the full story here.
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Opinion | Read Vladimir Kara-Murza’s Pulitzer Prize-winning commentary on Russia
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributing columnist who has been imprisoned in Russia since April 2022, was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Arrested voicing his opposition to the war in Ukraine, Kara-Murza courageously continued to send his incisive, historically informed columns about the Russian system to The Post from his prison cell. The Pulitzer judges recognized Kara-Mura’s “passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell, warning of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and insisting on a democratic future for his country.”
In April 2023, Kara-Murza received a 25-year prison sentence. He is being held in a prison colony in Omsk in central Russia. Evgenia Kara-Murza, his wife, gave this speech in The Washington Post newsroom on his behalf.
Read the seven columns for which he was honored.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributing columnist who has been imprisoned in Russia since April 2022, was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Arrested voicing his opposition to the war in Ukraine, Kara-Murza courageously continued to send his incisive, historically informed columns about the Russian system to The Post from his prison cell. The Pulitzer judges recognized Kara-Mura’s “passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell, warning of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and insisting on a democratic future for his country.”
In April 2023, Kara-Murza received a 25-year prison sentence. He is being held in a prison colony in Omsk in central Russia. Evgenia Kara-Murza, his wife, gave this speech in The Washington Post newsroom on his behalf.
Read the seven columns for which he was honored.
Emboldened Russia marks Victory Day with parade of nuclear-capable weapons
With his armies grinding forward in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin on Thursday marked Victory Day, the World War II commemoration that is Russia’s most significant holiday, with an unusually harsh speech, accusing the West of “hypocrisy and lies” and of inciting global conflicts, and warning that Russia’s nuclear weapons are always ready for war.
Appearing confident and confrontational at the ceremony on Red Square, two days after his inauguration for a fifth term as president, Putin accused Russia’s former allies against Nazi Germany of distorting the truth about World War II. After his speech, the traditional parade showcased Russia’s military prowess, including the Yars and Iskander-M nuclear-capable missile systems.
“Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in combat readiness,” Putin said.
Read the full story here.
With his armies grinding forward in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin on Thursday marked Victory Day, the World War II commemoration that is Russia’s most significant holiday, with an unusually harsh speech, accusing the West of “hypocrisy and lies” and of inciting global conflicts, and warning that Russia’s nuclear weapons are always ready for war.
Appearing confident and confrontational at the ceremony on Red Square, two days after his inauguration for a fifth term as president, Putin accused Russia’s former allies against Nazi Germany of distorting the truth about World War II. After his speech, the traditional parade showcased Russia’s military prowess, including the Yars and Iskander-M nuclear-capable missile systems.
“Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in combat readiness,” Putin said.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | Fulbright scholars are trapped in a Catch-22
Two years ago, when I received the email accepting me into the Fulbright exchange program, it felt like a dream come true. With fully paid tuition at Syracuse University, plus a monthly stipend, I could envision my plan to study instructional design, then return to Russia to create an innovative textbook for teaching English as a second language.
Today, that dream is history. Today, I am regarded as a security threat and potential fifth columnist by my own country. If I return home — as I am required to do under the Fulbright rules — I face the very real possibility of arrest and a 15-year prison sentence. Roughly 150 fellow Russian scholars are in the same boat.
Our situation demands a more urgent response. We have appealed to the State Department and Congress to assist us in dealing with our Catch-22: being forced to return to a country that, by virtue of who we are, regards us as traitors.
Read the full op-ed here.
Two years ago, when I received the email accepting me into the Fulbright exchange program, it felt like a dream come true. With fully paid tuition at Syracuse University, plus a monthly stipend, I could envision my plan to study instructional design, then return to Russia to create an innovative textbook for teaching English as a second language.
Today, that dream is history. Today, I am regarded as a security threat and potential fifth columnist by my own country. If I return home — as I am required to do under the Fulbright rules — I face the very real possibility of arrest and a 15-year prison sentence. Roughly 150 fellow Russian scholars are in the same boat.
Our situation demands a more urgent response. We have appealed to the State Department and Congress to assist us in dealing with our Catch-22: being forced to return to a country that, by virtue of who we are, regards us as traitors.
Read the full op-ed here.
Russia unleashes new attacks on Ukraine’s Kharkiv border region
KYIV — Russian forces opened a heavy assault on Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region, prompting Kyiv to send reinforcements on Friday to defend its border — and territory that had been occupied and liberated — even as Kyiv’s troops are already outnumbered and losing ground across other sections of the front line.
The attack started at about 5 a.m. on Friday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, with intense aerial bombardment and shelling followed by armored columns trying to break through at several points along the border.
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KYIV — Russian forces opened a heavy assault on Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region, prompting Kyiv to send reinforcements on Friday to defend its border — and territory that had been occupied and liberated — even as Kyiv’s troops are already outnumbered and losing ground across other sections of the front line.
The attack started at about 5 a.m. on Friday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, with intense aerial bombardment and shelling followed by armored columns trying to break through at several points along the border.
Read the full story here.
Putin reassigns defense minister Shoigu in shakeup of Kremlin security team
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has removed Sergei Shoigu from his longtime position as defense minister and appointed him to lead the country’s security and defense council, a consultative body that advises the president — a major government shake-up of the Kremlin’s security team, the Kremlin said Sunday.
Putin has nominated former vice prime minister Andrei Belousov as defense minister, according to a statement posted by the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, on its official Telegram channel.
The shake-up comes days after Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term, and as Russian forces have launched major new attacks in northeast Ukraine.
Read the fully story here.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has removed Sergei Shoigu from his longtime position as defense minister and appointed him to lead the country’s security and defense council, a consultative body that advises the president — a major government shake-up of the Kremlin’s security team, the Kremlin said Sunday.
Putin has nominated former vice prime minister Andrei Belousov as defense minister, according to a statement posted by the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, on its official Telegram channel.
The shake-up comes days after Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term, and as Russian forces have launched major new attacks in northeast Ukraine.
Read the fully story here.
Putin taps economist Andrei Belousov to lead defense ministry in wartime
Vladimir Putin’s surprise selection of Andrei Belousov, an economist, as defense minister is the clearest sign yet that Russia has shifted its economy onto a war footing and that the fate of Russian forces in Ukraine depends heavily on winning an arms manufacturing race with the West.
“Belousov’s appointment is, in part, a recognition of how central the war has become to the economy, and how central the economy is to the war,” said Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at King’s College London.
Beluosov, 65, a former economic development minister who began his career in academia and has no background in military or law enforcement, was nominated by Putin on Sunday to replace Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister since 2012, in a dramatic reshuffle of Kremlin security chiefs.
Read the full story here.
Vladimir Putin’s surprise selection of Andrei Belousov, an economist, as defense minister is the clearest sign yet that Russia has shifted its economy onto a war footing and that the fate of Russian forces in Ukraine depends heavily on winning an arms manufacturing race with the West.
“Belousov’s appointment is, in part, a recognition of how central the war has become to the economy, and how central the economy is to the war,” said Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at King’s College London.
Beluosov, 65, a former economic development minister who began his career in academia and has no background in military or law enforcement, was nominated by Putin on Sunday to replace Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister since 2012, in a dramatic reshuffle of Kremlin security chiefs.
Read the full story here.
Blinken visits Ukraine to push U.S. support as Russia pummels Kharkiv
KYIV — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in Ukraine’s capital, part of a mission to display Washington’s continued support for the country’s faltering war effort after months of congressional inaction choked off military assistance. The delay in aid weakened Ukraine’s ability to repel renewed Russian attacks.
Blinken’s two-day trip is the first high-level visit by a Biden administration official since Congress last month approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine after seven months of obstruction by Republicans. The visit was intended as a show of solidarity as the Pentagon speeds antiaircraft defenses, artillery and other key equipment into the country to try to stabilize Kyiv’s front lines. But officials concede that given Ukraine’s sizable challenges, its military may not regain a battlefield advantage before 2025 at the earliest.
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KYIV — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in Ukraine’s capital, part of a mission to display Washington’s continued support for the country’s faltering war effort after months of congressional inaction choked off military assistance. The delay in aid weakened Ukraine’s ability to repel renewed Russian attacks.
Blinken’s two-day trip is the first high-level visit by a Biden administration official since Congress last month approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine after seven months of obstruction by Republicans. The visit was intended as a show of solidarity as the Pentagon speeds antiaircraft defenses, artillery and other key equipment into the country to try to stabilize Kyiv’s front lines. But officials concede that given Ukraine’s sizable challenges, its military may not regain a battlefield advantage before 2025 at the earliest.
Read the full story.
Second Russian invasion is worse than the first, Kharkiv region evacuees say
A new Russian offensive into Ukraine’s Kharkiv region has forced more than 6,000 people to evacuate this small city since Friday, fearing for their lives and racing to escape a second occupation more than two years after Moscow’s troops first crossed the border with columns of tanks.
The wave of displaced people from Vovchansk, located just five miles from the Russian border, and surrounding settlements is reminiscent of those early days of the invasion in February 2022 — but this attack by Russia is even worse, the evacuees said.
Russian glide bombs weighing half a ton each have been dropped repeatedly from aircraft on Vovchansk and neighboring border towns for days. The sound of artillery shelling has been constant. Self-destructing drones can be heard buzzing overhead before crashing into vehicles. So much is on fire that the heavy smoke makes it hard to breathe.
Read the full story here.
A new Russian offensive into Ukraine’s Kharkiv region has forced more than 6,000 people to evacuate this small city since Friday, fearing for their lives and racing to escape a second occupation more than two years after Moscow’s troops first crossed the border with columns of tanks.
The wave of displaced people from Vovchansk, located just five miles from the Russian border, and surrounding settlements is reminiscent of those early days of the invasion in February 2022 — but this attack by Russia is even worse, the evacuees said.
Russian glide bombs weighing half a ton each have been dropped repeatedly from aircraft on Vovchansk and neighboring border towns for days. The sound of artillery shelling has been constant. Self-destructing drones can be heard buzzing overhead before crashing into vehicles. So much is on fire that the heavy smoke makes it hard to breathe.
Read the full story here.
U.S. bans Russian uranium imports, key to nuclear fuel supply
President Biden on Monday evening signed a bipartisan bill prohibiting Russian imports of enriched uranium, the main fuel used by nuclear power plants, a move intended to cut off one of the last significant flows of money from the United States to Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Congress took swift action to ban Russian oil and gas imports a month after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But sanctions on uranium imports have taken much longer, in part because Russia supplies roughly 20 percent of U.S. nuclear fuel, leading some lawmakers to fear disruptions to the nation’s 93 nuclear reactors.
Read the full story here.
President Biden on Monday evening signed a bipartisan bill prohibiting Russian imports of enriched uranium, the main fuel used by nuclear power plants, a move intended to cut off one of the last significant flows of money from the United States to Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Congress took swift action to ban Russian oil and gas imports a month after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But sanctions on uranium imports have taken much longer, in part because Russia supplies roughly 20 percent of U.S. nuclear fuel, leading some lawmakers to fear disruptions to the nation’s 93 nuclear reactors.
Read the full story here.
U.S. offers aid as Zelensky drops foreign trip due to Russian advance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday scrapped a planned trip to Spain in order to stay in his capital and address Russia’s expanding front-line assault, his spokesman said, a measure of the rapidly increasing anxieties over the Kremlin’s military advances in recent days.
The decision came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced another $2 billion in U.S. military aid as he wrapped a two-day visit to Ukraine that was intended to demonstrate Washington’s continued support for the war-hit country.
Blinken’s trip was planned before Russia’s weekend advances on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. But it also served to highlight the lingering consequences of Washington’s seven-month delay in approving more military aid for Ukraine. Stocks of artillery shells and other long-range munitions have run perilously low, leaving Ukrainian troops on the back foot.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday scrapped a planned trip to Spain in order to stay in his capital and address Russia’s expanding front-line assault, his spokesman said, a measure of the rapidly increasing anxieties over the Kremlin’s military advances in recent days.
The decision came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced another $2 billion in U.S. military aid as he wrapped a two-day visit to Ukraine that was intended to demonstrate Washington’s continued support for the war-hit country.
Blinken’s trip was planned before Russia’s weekend advances on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. But it also served to highlight the lingering consequences of Washington’s seven-month delay in approving more military aid for Ukraine. Stocks of artillery shells and other long-range munitions have run perilously low, leaving Ukrainian troops on the back foot.
Read the full story here.
Second Russian invasion of Kharkiv caught Ukraine unprepared
KHARKIV, Ukraine — Russia’s new offensive across Ukraine’s northeastern border had been expected for months — yet it still surprised the Ukrainian soldiers stationed there to defend against it.
Ukraine’s 125th Territorial Defense Brigade — stretched thin along a roughly 27-mile stretch of the Kharkiv region’s border with Russia — used reconnaissance drones to monitor, daily, how Moscow was steadily building up forces for a possible attack. But the morning it happened, May 10, the brigade lost all its video feeds due to Russian electronic jamming.
Read the full story here.
KHARKIV, Ukraine — Russia’s new offensive across Ukraine’s northeastern border had been expected for months — yet it still surprised the Ukrainian soldiers stationed there to defend against it.
Ukraine’s 125th Territorial Defense Brigade — stretched thin along a roughly 27-mile stretch of the Kharkiv region’s border with Russia — used reconnaissance drones to monitor, daily, how Moscow was steadily building up forces for a possible attack. But the morning it happened, May 10, the brigade lost all its video feeds due to Russian electronic jamming.
Read the full story here.
With its energy network nearly destroyed, Ukraine already fears the winter
KYIV — While the rolling plains of Ukraine’s countryside are in full spring bloom, officials already fear what the distant winter will bring as a major energy crisis grips the country and power companies resort to phased blackouts to conserve supplies.
Russian territorial gains over the past months have been mirrored by successful missile barrages against Ukraine’s power plants, both abetted by faltering supplies of weapons and ammunition from the country’s foreign backers.
Ukraine’s energy companies are scrambling to repair the power stations damaged by Russian missiles before frigid temperatures set in — and avoid plunging the cities into the cold and dark when winter comes.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — While the rolling plains of Ukraine’s countryside are in full spring bloom, officials already fear what the distant winter will bring as a major energy crisis grips the country and power companies resort to phased blackouts to conserve supplies.
Russian territorial gains over the past months have been mirrored by successful missile barrages against Ukraine’s power plants, both abetted by faltering supplies of weapons and ammunition from the country’s foreign backers.
Ukraine’s energy companies are scrambling to repair the power stations damaged by Russian missiles before frigid temperatures set in — and avoid plunging the cities into the cold and dark when winter comes.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky’s chief aide flexes power, irks critics — and makes no apologies
KYIV — If actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky’s top credential when he was elected in 2019 was that he’d played a president on TV, the top qualification of his all-powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was being Zelensky’s friend.
The head of the office of the president, as Yermak’s post is formally known, has always wielded enormous influence in Ukraine. Wartime conditions, including martial law, have concentrated extraordinary authority in the presidential administration, making Yermak perhaps the most powerful chief of staff in the country’s history — virtually indistinguishable from his boss.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — If actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky’s top credential when he was elected in 2019 was that he’d played a president on TV, the top qualification of his all-powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was being Zelensky’s friend.
The head of the office of the president, as Yermak’s post is formally known, has always wielded enormous influence in Ukraine. Wartime conditions, including martial law, have concentrated extraordinary authority in the presidential administration, making Yermak perhaps the most powerful chief of staff in the country’s history — virtually indistinguishable from his boss.
Read the full story here.