From a bunker, an acting mayor keeps her front-line Ukraine town alive
ORIKHIV, Ukraine — It was the only time of day when the Russians weren’t shelling, so the people of Orikhiv rushed toward city hall, looking for the woman in charge.
They found the acting mayor, Svitlana Mandrych, where she always is, in the building’s basement, running what is left of her town from a cramped bunker.
Much like the rest of Orikhiv, the city hall’s battered walls looked as if they were falling apart.
Its second floor was blown out; the windows and doors were all shattered or badly damaged. The building has been hit by artillery fire so incessantly that 51-year-old Mandrych was forced to move her office to a cold, concrete-walled room underground, lit by a single lightbulb.
Read the full story here.
ORIKHIV, Ukraine — It was the only time of day when the Russians weren’t shelling, so the people of Orikhiv rushed toward city hall, looking for the woman in charge.
They found the acting mayor, Svitlana Mandrych, where she always is, in the building’s basement, running what is left of her town from a cramped bunker.
Much like the rest of Orikhiv, the city hall’s battered walls looked as if they were falling apart.
Its second floor was blown out; the windows and doors were all shattered or badly damaged. The building has been hit by artillery fire so incessantly that 51-year-old Mandrych was forced to move her office to a cold, concrete-walled room underground, lit by a single lightbulb.
Read the full story here.
Ukranian drone downed near Russian base, Moscow says, as Kyiv flexes reach
The Russian military claimed Monday to have shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching the Engles airfield deep inside Russian territory — in what would be the second such attack in a month, raising questions about the vulnerabilities of Russia’s air defenses.
“A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” and three Russian servicemen were killed by the falling wreckage, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Engels is located more than 370 miles east of the border with Ukraine and is home to Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
Usually, these are held in reserve to ensure Russia’s nuclear deterrence capabilities. No aircraft were damaged in Monday’s attack, according to the Russian military. The Washington Post could not independently verify Moscow’s claims.
Read the full story here.
The Russian military claimed Monday to have shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching the Engles airfield deep inside Russian territory — in what would be the second such attack in a month, raising questions about the vulnerabilities of Russia’s air defenses.
“A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” and three Russian servicemen were killed by the falling wreckage, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Engels is located more than 370 miles east of the border with Ukraine and is home to Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
Usually, these are held in reserve to ensure Russia’s nuclear deterrence capabilities. No aircraft were damaged in Monday’s attack, according to the Russian military. The Washington Post could not independently verify Moscow’s claims.
Read the full story here.
Captured Russian tanks and equipment are coveted trophies — and a headache
KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine — When Ukrainian forces came across the abandoned Russian fighting vehicle on the battlefield, they knew they had found a rare prize.
The BMP-3, armed with a 100mm machine gun and a 30mm cannon, was one of the few of its kind that the Ukrainian military had seized from the Russians since the start of the invasion. But about a month ago, after weeks of being operated by Ukrainian soldiers, its engine compartment and fueling system began to fail.
Ever since, the Russian fighting vehicle has been out of commission, stuck at a repair site in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian forces have seized hundreds of what they call “trophies” — Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles — since the start of the war. They’ve become valuable assets for Kyiv.
Read the full story here.
KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine — When Ukrainian forces came across the abandoned Russian fighting vehicle on the battlefield, they knew they had found a rare prize.
The BMP-3, armed with a 100mm machine gun and a 30mm cannon, was one of the few of its kind that the Ukrainian military had seized from the Russians since the start of the invasion. But about a month ago, after weeks of being operated by Ukrainian soldiers, its engine compartment and fueling system began to fail.
Ever since, the Russian fighting vehicle has been out of commission, stuck at a repair site in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian forces have seized hundreds of what they call “trophies” — Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles — since the start of the war. They’ve become valuable assets for Kyiv.
Read the full story here.
Front-line video makes Ukrainian combat some of history’s most watched
User-generated content has been essential to coverage of the war in Ukraine since it began in February. Soldiers, civilians, aid workers and other witnesses have posted footage of fighting and destruction in real time, making this war one of history’s most visually documented.
“With such prevalent access to the internet, it means that soldiers can upload things to show people the experiences they’re having right now,” said Matthew Moss, a weapons historian who uses open-source material — data posted publicly on social media and other digital platforms — to track modern warfare.
Widespread access to cellphones and the internet means virtually anyone can find an unvarnished look at the war from the point of view of residents and fighters.
Read the full story here.
User-generated content has been essential to coverage of the war in Ukraine since it began in February. Soldiers, civilians, aid workers and other witnesses have posted footage of fighting and destruction in real time, making this war one of history’s most visually documented.
“With such prevalent access to the internet, it means that soldiers can upload things to show people the experiences they’re having right now,” said Matthew Moss, a weapons historian who uses open-source material — data posted publicly on social media and other digital platforms — to track modern warfare.
Widespread access to cellphones and the internet means virtually anyone can find an unvarnished look at the war from the point of view of residents and fighters.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- Ukraine is seeking a United Nations-backed peace summit to end the war with Russia, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with the Associated Press.
- Another Russian tycoon has died under mysterious circumstances. Russian sausage magnate and lawmaker Pavel Antov died after apparently falling from a hotel in India on Saturday, two days after another member of his group died at the same hotel, local officials said.
- About 9 million Ukrainians were without power across the country as of Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
- Russia has continued to launch small-scale attacks around Bakhmut in Donetsk and Svatove in Luhansk, but it has not made significant territorial gains, the British Ministry of Defense reported.
Follow our live updates here.
- Ukraine is seeking a United Nations-backed peace summit to end the war with Russia, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with the Associated Press.
- Another Russian tycoon has died under mysterious circumstances. Russian sausage magnate and lawmaker Pavel Antov died after apparently falling from a hotel in India on Saturday, two days after another member of his group died at the same hotel, local officials said.
- About 9 million Ukrainians were without power across the country as of Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
- Russia has continued to launch small-scale attacks around Bakhmut in Donetsk and Svatove in Luhansk, but it has not made significant territorial gains, the British Ministry of Defense reported.
Follow our live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Western countries for aiding Ukraine with money and weapons and prolonging the conflict.
- Russia is banning the sale of oil to countries involved in capping its price on the global market, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday in response to a Group of Seven resolution to cap the price of crude oil from Russia at $60 a barrel.
- Putin met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a St. Petersburg summit amid rising fears about Moscow using Belarus to launch fresh attacks on Ukraine.
- Civilian infrastructure was struck during attacks in the Kherson area Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian official.
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- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Western countries for aiding Ukraine with money and weapons and prolonging the conflict.
- Russia is banning the sale of oil to countries involved in capping its price on the global market, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday in response to a Group of Seven resolution to cap the price of crude oil from Russia at $60 a barrel.
- Putin met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a St. Petersburg summit amid rising fears about Moscow using Belarus to launch fresh attacks on Ukraine.
- Civilian infrastructure was struck during attacks in the Kherson area Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian official.
Follow our live updates here.
Ukraine’s combat amputees face a hard road home
The war’s toll has been devastating, with U.S. officials estimating recently that around 100,000 service members have been killed or wounded on each side. It’s unclear how many Ukrainian soldiers have lost limbs, but their government — with its economy in tatters and hospitals under constant attack — possesses neither the funds nor the expertise to equip its military’s growing number of amputees with state-of-the-art prosthetics, leaving many to seek help in Western countries sympathetic to their cause.
Read the full story here.
The war’s toll has been devastating, with U.S. officials estimating recently that around 100,000 service members have been killed or wounded on each side. It’s unclear how many Ukrainian soldiers have lost limbs, but their government — with its economy in tatters and hospitals under constant attack — possesses neither the funds nor the expertise to equip its military’s growing number of amputees with state-of-the-art prosthetics, leaving many to seek help in Western countries sympathetic to their cause.
Read the full story here.
“Nothing left to destroy”: Russia is fighting for land already in ruins
LYMAN, Ukraine — Tamara Klimashenko stood in what was once her cherished flower garden and pulled out her phone to show photos of the peonies, petunias and chamomiles that once covered this patch of dirt now littered with shrapnel.
Her husband, Anatoly Klimashenko, pointed to where the shells exploded: one near the cabbage patch; another where the strawberries grew; yet another on the garage he built.
Lyman was the site of fierce fighting in May, when Russian forces seized the city, and in the summer. The Russians occupied Lyman until Oct. 1, when they fled a fast-advancing Ukrainian counteroffensive.
But even amid the wreckage of their home — with the walls blown out and wood planks hanging from the ceiling — the Klimashenkos said they feared an even worse fate: another Russian invasion, potentially their third in eight years.
Read the full story here.
LYMAN, Ukraine — Tamara Klimashenko stood in what was once her cherished flower garden and pulled out her phone to show photos of the peonies, petunias and chamomiles that once covered this patch of dirt now littered with shrapnel.
Her husband, Anatoly Klimashenko, pointed to where the shells exploded: one near the cabbage patch; another where the strawberries grew; yet another on the garage he built.
Lyman was the site of fierce fighting in May, when Russian forces seized the city, and in the summer. The Russians occupied Lyman until Oct. 1, when they fled a fast-advancing Ukrainian counteroffensive.
But even amid the wreckage of their home — with the walls blown out and wood planks hanging from the ceiling — the Klimashenkos said they feared an even worse fate: another Russian invasion, potentially their third in eight years.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- In his first visit to Ukraine since the war started, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday pledged that France would increase aid to Kyiv, including 200 million euros to buy weapons.
- American Paul Whelan has now been detained in Russia for four years.
- Emergency power outages continued to affect Ukraine’s capital.
- Any peace plan must take into account “today’s realities regarding Russian territory,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, the Tass news agency reported.
- At least 6,884 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Ukraine since February, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights’ latest tally.
More live updates here.
- In his first visit to Ukraine since the war started, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday pledged that France would increase aid to Kyiv, including 200 million euros to buy weapons.
- American Paul Whelan has now been detained in Russia for four years.
- Emergency power outages continued to affect Ukraine’s capital.
- Any peace plan must take into account “today’s realities regarding Russian territory,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, the Tass news agency reported.
- At least 6,884 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Ukraine since February, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights’ latest tally.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the capital Thursday morning, as city officials urged residents to head for shelters.
- In his year-end address to parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed confidence and hope while speaking about the impact 10 months of war have had on his country.
- Dozens of ethnic Chechens have fled Russia in an effort to escape Putin’s draft for the war in Ukraine.
- Shelling in the Kherson area continued Wednesday, following attacks Tuesday in which the maternity ward of a hospital in Kherson was hit.
Follow our live updates here.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the capital Thursday morning, as city officials urged residents to head for shelters.
- In his year-end address to parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed confidence and hope while speaking about the impact 10 months of war have had on his country.
- Dozens of ethnic Chechens have fled Russia in an effort to escape Putin’s draft for the war in Ukraine.
- Shelling in the Kherson area continued Wednesday, following attacks Tuesday in which the maternity ward of a hospital in Kherson was hit.
Follow our live updates here.
Russia pummels Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in ‘massive’ missile attack
KYIV, Ukraine — Explosions rocked cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, as Russia continued its unrelenting pummeling of the country’s energy infrastructure, launching dozens of missiles and hospitalizing at least three people in the capital, Ukrainian officials said.
Air raid sirens sounded out across Ukraine at 6 a.m. Washington Post journalists heard the first of several explosions in Kyiv a little over an hour later. Local officials in Odessa in the south, Kharkiv in the east, Lviv in the west and other regions reported missile attacks on social media. It was not immediately whether the sounds of blasts were from strikes or air defenses.
“The enemy attacks Ukraine from various directions with air and sea-based cruise missiles from strategic aircraft and ships,” Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement on Telegram, calling it a “massive missile attack.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Explosions rocked cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, as Russia continued its unrelenting pummeling of the country’s energy infrastructure, launching dozens of missiles and hospitalizing at least three people in the capital, Ukrainian officials said.
Air raid sirens sounded out across Ukraine at 6 a.m. Washington Post journalists heard the first of several explosions in Kyiv a little over an hour later. Local officials in Odessa in the south, Kharkiv in the east, Lviv in the west and other regions reported missile attacks on social media. It was not immediately whether the sounds of blasts were from strikes or air defenses.
“The enemy attacks Ukraine from various directions with air and sea-based cruise missiles from strategic aircraft and ships,” Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement on Telegram, calling it a “massive missile attack.”
Read the full story here.