After missile strikes, Ukrainians persist without electricity, water, heat
KYIV, Ukraine — The electricity was out and the water service was cut off, and in an eighth-floor apartment in one of Kyiv’s outer neighborhoods, Olha Tkachuk felt like her world was coming apart.
A priest had come to her home to baptize her 4-month-old daughter, Nikol, who was scheduled to undergo lifesaving heart surgery the next day. Guests had arrived for the ceremony, and her oldest daughter, Kristina, 17, stepped out to grab extra pizza from a nearby cafe.
Just then, Russian missiles started slamming into the Ukrainian capital — again. The power went out. Kristina was trapped in the elevator. The surgery was thrown into doubt.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — The electricity was out and the water service was cut off, and in an eighth-floor apartment in one of Kyiv’s outer neighborhoods, Olha Tkachuk felt like her world was coming apart.
A priest had come to her home to baptize her 4-month-old daughter, Nikol, who was scheduled to undergo lifesaving heart surgery the next day. Guests had arrived for the ceremony, and her oldest daughter, Kristina, 17, stepped out to grab extra pizza from a nearby cafe.
Just then, Russian missiles started slamming into the Ukrainian capital — again. The power went out. Kristina was trapped in the elevator. The surgery was thrown into doubt.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine deployed HIMARS rockets in Melitopol, Russian-installed officials said on Telegram, with regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky adding that the recreation center they hit was “destroyed” and civilians were eating dinner there. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Ukrainian and pro-Russian officials reported different death tolls in the Melitopol strikes, with Balitsky claiming two deaths and more than 10 injuries. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, said 200 people were killed or injured. The Post could not independently verify the figures.
- Ukraine’s biggest rock star, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, showed support for Melitopol by posting a selfie on Instagram wearing a shirt that said, “Melitopol is Ukraine!” to his 342,000 followers.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine deployed HIMARS rockets in Melitopol, Russian-installed officials said on Telegram, with regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky adding that the recreation center they hit was “destroyed” and civilians were eating dinner there. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Ukrainian and pro-Russian officials reported different death tolls in the Melitopol strikes, with Balitsky claiming two deaths and more than 10 injuries. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, said 200 people were killed or injured. The Post could not independently verify the figures.
- Ukraine’s biggest rock star, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, showed support for Melitopol by posting a selfie on Instagram wearing a shirt that said, “Melitopol is Ukraine!” to his 342,000 followers.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- President Biden underlined the United States’ ongoing support for Ukraine during a weekend call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses against tactical strikes by Russia on civilian infrastructure.
- Western military experts say Russia is firing larger batches of missiles against Ukraine, which risks depleting Kyiv’s stockpiles of interceptor missiles. Dara Massicot, a senior policy researcher at Rand Corp., wrote in a thread on Twitter that Russia is trying to “confuse and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.”
- Russian forces have made marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank.
- Moscow is unlikely to make significant advances in the next few months, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its Monday update. It said Russia’s goal is to extend control over each of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
More live updates here.
- President Biden underlined the United States’ ongoing support for Ukraine during a weekend call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses against tactical strikes by Russia on civilian infrastructure.
- Western military experts say Russia is firing larger batches of missiles against Ukraine, which risks depleting Kyiv’s stockpiles of interceptor missiles. Dara Massicot, a senior policy researcher at Rand Corp., wrote in a thread on Twitter that Russia is trying to “confuse and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.”
- Russian forces have made marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank.
- Moscow is unlikely to make significant advances in the next few months, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its Monday update. It said Russia’s goal is to extend control over each of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
More live updates here.
Russia killed 441 civilians extrajudicially in Kyiv area early in war, U.N. finds
Russian forces killed extrajudicially at least 441 civilians outside of Kyiv, in what likely amounted to war crimes, in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. The actual number of civilians summarily killed is likely to be “considerably higher,” the report found.
Based on investigations launched after hundreds of bodies of civilians were found following the Russian retreat from the Kyiv area in early April, the report by the office of the U.N. high commission for human rights documents in brutal detail the violence inflicted on Ukrainians in occupied areas around the capital.
The findings add to mounting evidence that Russian forces have targeted and summarily executed Ukrainian civilians in grave violations of international law.
Read the full story here.
Russian forces killed extrajudicially at least 441 civilians outside of Kyiv, in what likely amounted to war crimes, in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. The actual number of civilians summarily killed is likely to be “considerably higher,” the report found.
Based on investigations launched after hundreds of bodies of civilians were found following the Russian retreat from the Kyiv area in early April, the report by the office of the U.N. high commission for human rights documents in brutal detail the violence inflicted on Ukrainians in occupied areas around the capital.
The findings add to mounting evidence that Russian forces have targeted and summarily executed Ukrainian civilians in grave violations of international law.
Read the full story here.
As Ukraine and Russia step up prisoner exchanges, scarred POWs tell of abuse
NORTHEAST UKRAINE — The 60 prisoners of war arrived on Ukrainian soil Tuesday afternoon — free after the latest trade between Moscow and Kyiv, but still under strict rationing.
The nurses treating them at a hospital in northeast Ukraine were instructed to give each soldier no more than 300 milliliters of chicken soup, or about 20 tablespoons. Many were so malnourished during Russian captivity that they would be unable to digest more that, the hospital director said.
The POWs who arrived here, at a location that military authorities asked not be disclosed for security reasons, were a reminder that in addition to the thousands killed in action in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and tens of thousands more wounded, there is yet a third category whose fate is often far murkier and about whom often far less is known.
Read the full story here.
NORTHEAST UKRAINE — The 60 prisoners of war arrived on Ukrainian soil Tuesday afternoon — free after the latest trade between Moscow and Kyiv, but still under strict rationing.
The nurses treating them at a hospital in northeast Ukraine were instructed to give each soldier no more than 300 milliliters of chicken soup, or about 20 tablespoons. Many were so malnourished during Russian captivity that they would be unable to digest more that, the hospital director said.
The POWs who arrived here, at a location that military authorities asked not be disclosed for security reasons, were a reminder that in addition to the thousands killed in action in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and tens of thousands more wounded, there is yet a third category whose fate is often far murkier and about whom often far less is known.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- A U.S. shipment of power equipment worth $13 million was on its way to Ukraine on Tuesday, with a handover expected in Poland, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to help rebuild Ukraine’s battered electrical grid.
- An international donor conference on Tuesday in Paris aims to provide quick support to Ukraine, French officials say, following criticism that other pledges made by the international community in recent months may only have a noticeable impact after the winter is over.
- U.S. and Russian officials will discuss efforts to free Paul Whelan this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday, adding that U.S. officials have been in frequent communication with Russia about securing Whelan’s release.
- Bakhmut, a city in the Donbas region, is facing heavy fighting, a senior U.S. military official said in a Monday briefing.
More live updates here.
- A U.S. shipment of power equipment worth $13 million was on its way to Ukraine on Tuesday, with a handover expected in Poland, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to help rebuild Ukraine’s battered electrical grid.
- An international donor conference on Tuesday in Paris aims to provide quick support to Ukraine, French officials say, following criticism that other pledges made by the international community in recent months may only have a noticeable impact after the winter is over.
- U.S. and Russian officials will discuss efforts to free Paul Whelan this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday, adding that U.S. officials have been in frequent communication with Russia about securing Whelan’s release.
- Bakhmut, a city in the Donbas region, is facing heavy fighting, a senior U.S. military official said in a Monday briefing.
More live updates here.
As Finland and Sweden wait to join NATO, Turkey extracts concessions
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined NATO ministers gathered in Romania last week, hailing the unity of the alliance in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has seen member states scramble to provide weapons and funding to aid Kyiv’s fight.
But when Blinken welcomes his counterparts from Finland and Sweden in Washington this week, it will be the differing, and sometimes dissonant, agendas of the bloc’s 30 members that will take center stage.
Long after the June 2022 summit when Western leaders had hoped to cement the Nordic nations’ entry into NATO, the accession of Finland and Sweden remains blocked by two holdouts, Turkey and Hungary, which have not yet ratified the required protocols.
Read the full story here.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined NATO ministers gathered in Romania last week, hailing the unity of the alliance in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has seen member states scramble to provide weapons and funding to aid Kyiv’s fight.
But when Blinken welcomes his counterparts from Finland and Sweden in Washington this week, it will be the differing, and sometimes dissonant, agendas of the bloc’s 30 members that will take center stage.
Long after the June 2022 summit when Western leaders had hoped to cement the Nordic nations’ entry into NATO, the accession of Finland and Sweden remains blocked by two holdouts, Turkey and Hungary, which have not yet ratified the required protocols.
Read the full story here.
These musicians are on a mission to make a global tribute song for Ukraine
Back in February, Mike Wolf watched in horror as videos of bombs raining down in Ukraine flooded his television screen. Wolf sat in front of his piano to channel his emotions and, within minutes, his hands were creating a song.
“I was watching my hands compose it. I wasn’t doing the work. It was like my hands had a life of their own. My brain wasn’t in it, but my heart sure was,” Wolf, 76, told The Washington Post. Though the business owner and composer had no personal connection to the war raging nearly 5,000 miles from his home in Wisconsin, he decided he had to do something — anything — to support Ukraine.
The result was “Our Place in Time,” a ballad in which hope, joy, grief and anguish collide, he said. Now his plan is to enlist artists from across the globe to sing “Our Place in Time” in unison. A chance online encounter led him to his first partners, who were far from both Wisconsin and Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Back in February, Mike Wolf watched in horror as videos of bombs raining down in Ukraine flooded his television screen. Wolf sat in front of his piano to channel his emotions and, within minutes, his hands were creating a song.
“I was watching my hands compose it. I wasn’t doing the work. It was like my hands had a life of their own. My brain wasn’t in it, but my heart sure was,” Wolf, 76, told The Washington Post. Though the business owner and composer had no personal connection to the war raging nearly 5,000 miles from his home in Wisconsin, he decided he had to do something — anything — to support Ukraine.
The result was “Our Place in Time,” a ballad in which hope, joy, grief and anguish collide, he said. Now his plan is to enlist artists from across the globe to sing “Our Place in Time” in unison. A chance online encounter led him to his first partners, who were far from both Wisconsin and Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
On east front with Ukrainian troops: Constant shelling, no heat or coffee
NEAR KREMINNA, Ukraine — Deep in the forest and less than a mile from enemy Russian positions, the sound of incoming artillery landing nearby thunders every few minutes. The landscape is littered with unexploded ordnance, so the Ukrainian soldiers don’t dare step anywhere they have not before. They pack light because they might be on the move quickly — forward, they hope.
In their cramped, hastily dug mud outpost, they apologize that they only have tea — no room for coffee.
A commander manning one of Ukraine’s forward-most positions did not flinch at the roar of shells crashing close by as he zoomed in on his tablet to show how Kyiv’s forces in the area have advanced within five miles of Kreminna — an occupied stronghold for the Russian military and potential gateway for the Ukrainian forces as they press into the eastern Luhansk region.
Read the full story here.
NEAR KREMINNA, Ukraine — Deep in the forest and less than a mile from enemy Russian positions, the sound of incoming artillery landing nearby thunders every few minutes. The landscape is littered with unexploded ordnance, so the Ukrainian soldiers don’t dare step anywhere they have not before. They pack light because they might be on the move quickly — forward, they hope.
In their cramped, hastily dug mud outpost, they apologize that they only have tea — no room for coffee.
A commander manning one of Ukraine’s forward-most positions did not flinch at the roar of shells crashing close by as he zoomed in on his tablet to show how Kyiv’s forces in the area have advanced within five miles of Kreminna — an occupied stronghold for the Russian military and potential gateway for the Ukrainian forces as they press into the eastern Luhansk region.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Dozens of countries pledged more than $1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine at a conference in Paris on Tuesday, offering short-term support for Ukraine’s energy network and other civilian infrastructure, as the country faces a difficult winter.
- Over $440 million of the total aid pledged is expected to be directed to Ukraine’s energy network. French officials said the final amount would likely rise.
- A U.S. shipment of power equipment worth $13 million was on its way to Ukraine on Tuesday, with a handover expected in Poland, as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to help rebuild Ukraine’s battered electrical grid.
- U.S. and Russian officials will discuss efforts to free Whelan this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday, adding that U.S. officials have been in frequent communication with Russia about securing Whelan’s release.
More live updates here.
- Dozens of countries pledged more than $1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine at a conference in Paris on Tuesday, offering short-term support for Ukraine’s energy network and other civilian infrastructure, as the country faces a difficult winter.
- Over $440 million of the total aid pledged is expected to be directed to Ukraine’s energy network. French officials said the final amount would likely rise.
- A U.S. shipment of power equipment worth $13 million was on its way to Ukraine on Tuesday, with a handover expected in Poland, as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to help rebuild Ukraine’s battered electrical grid.
- U.S. and Russian officials will discuss efforts to free Whelan this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday, adding that U.S. officials have been in frequent communication with Russia about securing Whelan’s release.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- More than a dozen explosions were reported in Kyiv early Wednsday, according to city officials. The attacks on the capital's central Shevchenkivsky district were the first in weeks. The district covers the center of the city, extending to the east, and includes Kyiv’s city hall and some ministries and universities.
- The Pentagon is readying to send Ukraine the Patriot missile system, which would be the most advanced air defense weapon in Kyiv’s hands, senior U.S. officials told The Post on Tuesday.
- Nations around the world pledged at least $67 million for food and water in Ukraine, $18 million for the health sector and $23 million for transportation at a donor conference Tuesday in Paris.
- Russian forces continue to strike Kherson, a port city on the Dnieper River that has been under bombardment this week.
More live updates here.
- More than a dozen explosions were reported in Kyiv early Wednsday, according to city officials. The attacks on the capital's central Shevchenkivsky district were the first in weeks. The district covers the center of the city, extending to the east, and includes Kyiv’s city hall and some ministries and universities.
- The Pentagon is readying to send Ukraine the Patriot missile system, which would be the most advanced air defense weapon in Kyiv’s hands, senior U.S. officials told The Post on Tuesday.
- Nations around the world pledged at least $67 million for food and water in Ukraine, $18 million for the health sector and $23 million for transportation at a donor conference Tuesday in Paris.
- Russian forces continue to strike Kherson, a port city on the Dnieper River that has been under bombardment this week.
More live updates here.