Russians flee by boat to Alaska after Putin’s military mobilization
Two Russian nationals fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s call-up of military reservists landed by boat on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea and are seeking asylum in the United States, the state’s two senators and U.S. government officials said Thursday.
The unusual incident highlights the lengths some Russians have gone to avoid a mobilization of up to 300,000 as Putin’s military, having suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, has made multiple retreats in recent weeks amid an aggressive offensive push by Ukrainian forces. An estimated 200,000 Russians have fled since the call-up.
The two appeared this week at a beach near Gambell, a tiny community on the northwest tip of St. Lawrence Island about 40 miles from mainland Russia, where they reported having fled “to avoid compulsory military service,” a spokesperson for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told the Associated Press.
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Two Russian nationals fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s call-up of military reservists landed by boat on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea and are seeking asylum in the United States, the state’s two senators and U.S. government officials said Thursday.
The unusual incident highlights the lengths some Russians have gone to avoid a mobilization of up to 300,000 as Putin’s military, having suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, has made multiple retreats in recent weeks amid an aggressive offensive push by Ukrainian forces. An estimated 200,000 Russians have fled since the call-up.
The two appeared this week at a beach near Gambell, a tiny community on the northwest tip of St. Lawrence Island about 40 miles from mainland Russia, where they reported having fled “to avoid compulsory military service,” a spokesperson for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told the Associated Press.
Read the full story here.
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Belarusian Ales Bialiatski and Russian and Ukrainian human rights organizations
The Norwegian Nobel Committee focused on organizations documenting war crimes and human rights abuses. It is the second consecutive year a Russian entity was celebrated with the prize.
“They have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens.” The awardees include Alias Bialiatski who is imprisoned in Belarus, Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine Center for Civil Liberties.
The prize is a gold medal and an award of $1.14 million dollars.
Read the full story here.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee focused on organizations documenting war crimes and human rights abuses. It is the second consecutive year a Russian entity was celebrated with the prize.
“They have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens.” The awardees include Alias Bialiatski who is imprisoned in Belarus, Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine Center for Civil Liberties.
The prize is a gold medal and an award of $1.14 million dollars.
Read the full story here.
Putin confronted by insider over Ukraine war, U.S. intelligence finds
A member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle has voiced disagreement directly to the Russian president in recent weeks over his handling of the war in Ukraine, according to information obtained by U.S. intelligence.
The criticism marks the clearest indication yet of turmoil within Russia’s leadership over the stewardship of a war that has gone disastrously wrong for Moscow, forcing Putin last month to order the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops in a desperate bid to reverse recent battlefield losses.
The information was deemed significant enough that it was included in President Biden’s daily intelligence briefing and shared with other U.S. officials, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
Read the full story here.
A member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle has voiced disagreement directly to the Russian president in recent weeks over his handling of the war in Ukraine, according to information obtained by U.S. intelligence.
The criticism marks the clearest indication yet of turmoil within Russia’s leadership over the stewardship of a war that has gone disastrously wrong for Moscow, forcing Putin last month to order the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops in a desperate bid to reverse recent battlefield losses.
The information was deemed significant enough that it was included in President Biden’s daily intelligence briefing and shared with other U.S. officials, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
Read the full story here.
Biden suggests Putin’s nuclear threats mean a ‘prospect of Armageddon’
President Biden warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons amounted to the most serious “prospect of Armageddon” in 60 years.
Biden’s comments came during a Democratic fundraiser in New York City, where he spent much of the time warning about the threats he said are posed by Republicans but also brought up Putin and Russia’s war on Ukraine. The president told attendees that he knows Putin “fairly well” and said that the Russian president was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”
He added, “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis. I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
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President Biden warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons amounted to the most serious “prospect of Armageddon” in 60 years.
Biden’s comments came during a Democratic fundraiser in New York City, where he spent much of the time warning about the threats he said are posed by Republicans but also brought up Putin and Russia’s war on Ukraine. The president told attendees that he knows Putin “fairly well” and said that the Russian president was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”
He added, “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis. I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The chair of the Nobel committee said it wished “to honor three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbor countries of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”
- The awarding of the peace prize to a Russian group and a Belarusian activist generated immediate criticism in Ukraine, where many politicians and activists view ordinary Russians as complicit in Putin’s war, The Washington Post reported.
- Russia is moving ahead with plans to incorporate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into Russia’s energy system, although the process could take months, according to officials cited in Russian media on Friday.
- A specialist team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is due to visit the Zaporizhzhia plant on Friday, Reuters reports.
- A top Russian official has voiced disagreement directly to in recent weeks, according to U.S. intelligence.
More live updates here.
- The chair of the Nobel committee said it wished “to honor three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbor countries of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”
- The awarding of the peace prize to a Russian group and a Belarusian activist generated immediate criticism in Ukraine, where many politicians and activists view ordinary Russians as complicit in Putin’s war, The Washington Post reported.
- Russia is moving ahead with plans to incorporate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into Russia’s energy system, although the process could take months, according to officials cited in Russian media on Friday.
- A specialist team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is due to visit the Zaporizhzhia plant on Friday, Reuters reports.
- A top Russian official has voiced disagreement directly to in recent weeks, according to U.S. intelligence.
More live updates here.
Kremlin, shifting blame for war failures, axes military commanders
Far from bestowing glory on Russia’s military brass, the war in Ukraine is proving toxic for top commanders, with at least eight generals fired, reassigned or otherwise sidelined since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. Western governments have said that at least 10 others were killed in battle, a remarkably high number that military analysts say is evidence of grievous strategic errors.
The upheaval in the upper ranks of uniformed officers highlights Russia’s fundamental mistakes in war planning, and the dysfunctional chain of command that resulted first in Moscow’s failure to achieve its primary military objective — the quick capture of Kyiv, and toppling of the Ukrainian government — and more recently in the retreats on the eastern and southern fronts.
Read the full story here.
Far from bestowing glory on Russia’s military brass, the war in Ukraine is proving toxic for top commanders, with at least eight generals fired, reassigned or otherwise sidelined since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. Western governments have said that at least 10 others were killed in battle, a remarkably high number that military analysts say is evidence of grievous strategic errors.
The upheaval in the upper ranks of uniformed officers highlights Russia’s fundamental mistakes in war planning, and the dysfunctional chain of command that resulted first in Moscow’s failure to achieve its primary military objective — the quick capture of Kyiv, and toppling of the Ukrainian government — and more recently in the retreats on the eastern and southern fronts.
Read the full story here.
Explosion hits Crimean Bridge, damaging Russian supply route to Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — A giant explosion ripped across the Crimean Bridge, a strategic link between mainland Russia and Crimea, in what appeared to be a stunning blow early Saturday morning to a symbol of President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to control Ukraine.
The damage to the bridge, which provided a road and rail connection from Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014, marks another serious setback to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by disrupting a crucial supply route.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the government had no timeline for repairing the 12-mile bridge.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — A giant explosion ripped across the Crimean Bridge, a strategic link between mainland Russia and Crimea, in what appeared to be a stunning blow early Saturday morning to a symbol of President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to control Ukraine.
The damage to the bridge, which provided a road and rail connection from Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014, marks another serious setback to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by disrupting a crucial supply route.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the government had no timeline for repairing the 12-mile bridge.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Annexations show the depth of Putin’s imperial delusion
On the ground, Russia’s war effort is reeling. Ukrainian forces accelerated their advances on territories occupied by Russian troops and their separatist proxies, liberating towns in the southern Kherson region while also moving toward Luhansk in the east.
After taking back Russian-controlled areas in the northeast Kharkiv region in a lightning campaign last month, Ukraine is hoping to remove Russia’s last footholds north and west of the Dnieper River, which will cripple the Kremlin’s already-waning ability to mount its own campaign on the strategic Ukrainian port of Odesa.
“The Ukrainian armed forces commanders in the south and east are throwing problems at the Russian chain of command faster than the Russians can effectively respond,” said a Western official who briefed my colleagues about sensitive security information on the condition of anonymity.
Read the full analysis here.
On the ground, Russia’s war effort is reeling. Ukrainian forces accelerated their advances on territories occupied by Russian troops and their separatist proxies, liberating towns in the southern Kherson region while also moving toward Luhansk in the east.
After taking back Russian-controlled areas in the northeast Kharkiv region in a lightning campaign last month, Ukraine is hoping to remove Russia’s last footholds north and west of the Dnieper River, which will cripple the Kremlin’s already-waning ability to mount its own campaign on the strategic Ukrainian port of Odesa.
“The Ukrainian armed forces commanders in the south and east are throwing problems at the Russian chain of command faster than the Russians can effectively respond,” said a Western official who briefed my colleagues about sensitive security information on the condition of anonymity.
Read the full analysis here.
After Russian retreat in east Ukraine, police find dozens of torture sites
PISKY RADKIVSKY, Ukraine — It wasn’t the sort of house that neighbors gave much thought to in peacetime. With its white brick walls and metal gate, it looked much like the others.
But when Russian forces arrived in the springtime, it turned into a place that residents looked away from as they hurried past. Asking questions might lead them to be the ones whose screams rang out at night, locals said.
Civilians and soldiers were tortured on Parkova Street, according to the Ukrainian police investigators now combing the towns and villages from which Russian forces beat a hasty retreat last month. But what is stark about this place is how unremarkable its horrors have become.
Across at least five different provinces, Russian troops left the remnants of an archipelago of torture in their wake, often in buildings where families had lived or children had played.
Read the full story here.
PISKY RADKIVSKY, Ukraine — It wasn’t the sort of house that neighbors gave much thought to in peacetime. With its white brick walls and metal gate, it looked much like the others.
But when Russian forces arrived in the springtime, it turned into a place that residents looked away from as they hurried past. Asking questions might lead them to be the ones whose screams rang out at night, locals said.
Civilians and soldiers were tortured on Parkova Street, according to the Ukrainian police investigators now combing the towns and villages from which Russian forces beat a hasty retreat last month. But what is stark about this place is how unremarkable its horrors have become.
Across at least five different provinces, Russian troops left the remnants of an archipelago of torture in their wake, often in buildings where families had lived or children had played.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to reference a giant explosion that collapsed part of a strategic bridge connecting Russia to Crimea — in a blow to Moscow’s faltering war effort — in his nightly speech Saturday, suggesting that Ukraine enjoyed a “good and mostly sunny day” while “unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea.”
- Rocket attacks on the city of Zaporizhzhia killed 17 people overnight and damaged high-rise apartment buildings and educational facilities, according to a city official.
- Traffic resumed on part of the Crimean Bridge on Saturday afternoon, according to Russia’s Transportation Ministry. A single lane of vehicles waiting to cross the bridge stretched roughly four miles, Russian media reported.
- The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had to rely on emergency generators after Russian shelling disrupted its power supply, Ukrainian state firm Energoatom said Saturday.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to reference a giant explosion that collapsed part of a strategic bridge connecting Russia to Crimea — in a blow to Moscow’s faltering war effort — in his nightly speech Saturday, suggesting that Ukraine enjoyed a “good and mostly sunny day” while “unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea.”
- Rocket attacks on the city of Zaporizhzhia killed 17 people overnight and damaged high-rise apartment buildings and educational facilities, according to a city official.
- Traffic resumed on part of the Crimean Bridge on Saturday afternoon, according to Russia’s Transportation Ministry. A single lane of vehicles waiting to cross the bridge stretched roughly four miles, Russian media reported.
- The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had to rely on emergency generators after Russian shelling disrupted its power supply, Ukrainian state firm Energoatom said Saturday.
More live updates here.
Putin’s bridge of dreams explodes in flames
It was a media extravaganza, Putin-style. At the lead of a small truck convoy, Russian President Vladimir Putin drove an orange dump truck flying Russian flags across a portion of the Crimean Bridge in 2018, proudly inaugurating a 12-mile colossus of steel and concrete connecting the Crimean Peninsula he illegally annexed from Ukraine to mainland Russia. At the end of the ride, he was met with cheers and applause.
Even during the reign of the Czars, “people dreamed of building this bridge,” Putin boasted. “Finally, thanks to your hard work and talents, this project, this miracle, has come true.”
Early Saturday, a giant explosion sent a fireball rolling across Putin’s crown jewel thanks, it could be said, to Putin’s own hard work in launching an invasion of Ukraine in February. Portions of the bridge, among the longest in Europe, could be seen sinking in the water.
Read the full story here.
It was a media extravaganza, Putin-style. At the lead of a small truck convoy, Russian President Vladimir Putin drove an orange dump truck flying Russian flags across a portion of the Crimean Bridge in 2018, proudly inaugurating a 12-mile colossus of steel and concrete connecting the Crimean Peninsula he illegally annexed from Ukraine to mainland Russia. At the end of the ride, he was met with cheers and applause.
Even during the reign of the Czars, “people dreamed of building this bridge,” Putin boasted. “Finally, thanks to your hard work and talents, this project, this miracle, has come true.”
Early Saturday, a giant explosion sent a fireball rolling across Putin’s crown jewel thanks, it could be said, to Putin’s own hard work in launching an invasion of Ukraine in February. Portions of the bridge, among the longest in Europe, could be seen sinking in the water.
Read the full story here.
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How Ukrainians, targeting by drone, attacked Russian artillery in Kherson
KHERSON REGION, Ukraine — The discovery was made by two Ukrainian soldiers staring wide-eyed at their laptop screens, set up in the trunk of their SUV. They sat on a makeshift bench, the large plastic case for their drone. What they were looking at was some 25 miles away, deep into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
It was a Russian artillery battery positioned in a thin slice of tree line. The drone operator, Leonid Slobodian, started counting out loud as he zoomed in and took screenshots of the findings. He saw at least five guns, trucks that probably carried ammunition inside and counterbattery radar. This was what the Ukrainian military calls a “fat” target.
Beside him, Oleksandr Kapli fired off a voice message to the members of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade also watching a live stream of the drone camera.
Read the full story here.
KHERSON REGION, Ukraine — The discovery was made by two Ukrainian soldiers staring wide-eyed at their laptop screens, set up in the trunk of their SUV. They sat on a makeshift bench, the large plastic case for their drone. What they were looking at was some 25 miles away, deep into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
It was a Russian artillery battery positioned in a thin slice of tree line. The drone operator, Leonid Slobodian, started counting out loud as he zoomed in and took screenshots of the findings. He saw at least five guns, trucks that probably carried ammunition inside and counterbattery radar. This was what the Ukrainian military calls a “fat” target.
Beside him, Oleksandr Kapli fired off a voice message to the members of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade also watching a live stream of the drone camera.
Read the full story here.
In Russian-occupied Izyum, she was raped and tortured
IZYUM, Ukraine — Soon after Russian forces took her prisoner, the 52-year-old woman picked up a nail and carved her name into a brick wall.
A-L-L-A, she wrote.
Below, she scratched how many days she had been held in the shed outside a medical clinic in her hometown. Above, she wrote in simple words what she had endured in captivity: ELECTRICAL SHOCK. UNDRESS. PAINFUL.
She hoped the markings would one day serve as clues for her son about what she expected to be the final days of her life.
“I thought if my son would look for me, he could find these writings and understand that I was there and died there,” she later recalled.
Some of Alla’s writing is still visible in the small shed in Izyum, the city in northeast Ukraine, where she said occupying Russian forces tortured, raped and beat her while she was held captive for 10 days in July.
Read the full story.
IZYUM, Ukraine — Soon after Russian forces took her prisoner, the 52-year-old woman picked up a nail and carved her name into a brick wall.
A-L-L-A, she wrote.
Below, she scratched how many days she had been held in the shed outside a medical clinic in her hometown. Above, she wrote in simple words what she had endured in captivity: ELECTRICAL SHOCK. UNDRESS. PAINFUL.
She hoped the markings would one day serve as clues for her son about what she expected to be the final days of her life.
“I thought if my son would look for me, he could find these writings and understand that I was there and died there,” she later recalled.
Some of Alla’s writing is still visible in the small shed in Izyum, the city in northeast Ukraine, where she said occupying Russian forces tortured, raped and beat her while she was held captive for 10 days in July.
Read the full story.
Explosions rock Kyiv in first major strikes on Ukrainian capital in months
Strikes hit across Ukraine, including in the heart of its capital, in apparent Russian retribution for a weekend explosion on the Crimean Bridge. The explosions in Kyiv — some of which came during rush hour— were the first in months after a period of relative calm and came after many diplomats had returned to the capital. Attacks were also reported in key cities including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Zaporzhzhia and Dnipro in the center and the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the attack on the strategic bridge, calling it an “act of terror” by its special services. He is also set to meet with Russia’s Security Council later Monday as prominent Russians urge reprisal for the bridge blast.
Follow our live coverage here.
Strikes hit across Ukraine, including in the heart of its capital, in apparent Russian retribution for a weekend explosion on the Crimean Bridge. The explosions in Kyiv — some of which came during rush hour— were the first in months after a period of relative calm and came after many diplomats had returned to the capital. Attacks were also reported in key cities including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Zaporzhzhia and Dnipro in the center and the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the attack on the strategic bridge, calling it an “act of terror” by its special services. He is also set to meet with Russia’s Security Council later Monday as prominent Russians urge reprisal for the bridge blast.
Follow our live coverage here.
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Russia strikes Kyiv and cities across Ukraine after Crimea bridge attack
KYIV, Ukraine — A series of blasts rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, with some strikes landing in the heart of the Ukrainian capital’s downtown during rush hour, and rocket attacks hit cities across the country, as Russia apparently sought to take revenge for an explosion Saturday on the Crimean Bridge.
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Suspected Russian missiles caused heavy explosions around 8:15 a.m., and vehicles were in flames near Taras Shevchenko Park — on a road often jammed with rush-hour traffic.
At least five people were killed, and at least a dozen others were injured in the strikes, the Kyiv police department reported on its Telegram channel.
Explosions were reported across other major Ukrainian cities on Monday, including in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Lviv, as Moscow unleashed a barrage of missiles in waves.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — A series of blasts rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, with some strikes landing in the heart of the Ukrainian capital’s downtown during rush hour, and rocket attacks hit cities across the country, as Russia apparently sought to take revenge for an explosion Saturday on the Crimean Bridge.
Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Suspected Russian missiles caused heavy explosions around 8:15 a.m., and vehicles were in flames near Taras Shevchenko Park — on a road often jammed with rush-hour traffic.
At least five people were killed, and at least a dozen others were injured in the strikes, the Kyiv police department reported on its Telegram channel.
Explosions were reported across other major Ukrainian cities on Monday, including in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Lviv, as Moscow unleashed a barrage of missiles in waves.
Read the full story here.
Strikes on Ukraine raise pressure on allies to send advanced air defense
BRUSSELS — The string of strikes against Ukrainian cities and key infrastructure on Monday galvanized long-standing calls from the government to its allies for more sophisticated air defense systems and longer-range weapons.
The Russian attacks appeared to signal a significant escalation, raising pressure on the United States and other European countries that have been slow to provide Ukrainian forces with the most advanced weapons systems.
But while a chorus of U.S. and European leaders condemned the attacks and declared their continued support for Ukraine, it was not clear that they would accelerate or expand their deliveries as a result of the strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would address an emergency meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday.
Read the full story here.
BRUSSELS — The string of strikes against Ukrainian cities and key infrastructure on Monday galvanized long-standing calls from the government to its allies for more sophisticated air defense systems and longer-range weapons.
The Russian attacks appeared to signal a significant escalation, raising pressure on the United States and other European countries that have been slow to provide Ukrainian forces with the most advanced weapons systems.
But while a chorus of U.S. and European leaders condemned the attacks and declared their continued support for Ukraine, it was not clear that they would accelerate or expand their deliveries as a result of the strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would address an emergency meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday.
Read the full story here.