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.
Inside the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the war
KHARKIV, Ukraine — After weeks of fighting for scraps of territory on the war’s bloodiest front, Oleh, a 21-year-old Ukrainian company commander, was summoned suddenly last August, along with thousands of other soldiers, to an obscure rendezvous point in the Kharkiv region.
In a patch of villages, farmland and streams in Ukraine’s northeast, the quiet was deeply alarming. “The silence bothered me the most,” Oleh said. “It seemed off. How could this be?”
Even more unsettling were the orders his superiors handed down: to charge as far as 40 miles into enemy territory at high speed in an audacious, top-secret counteroffensive — directly between the Russian-occupied stronghold of Izyum and Russia’s own Belgorod region dotted with military bases. It seemed preposterous. “Some kind of dubious operation,” Oleh said.
Read the full story here.
KHARKIV, Ukraine — After weeks of fighting for scraps of territory on the war’s bloodiest front, Oleh, a 21-year-old Ukrainian company commander, was summoned suddenly last August, along with thousands of other soldiers, to an obscure rendezvous point in the Kharkiv region.
In a patch of villages, farmland and streams in Ukraine’s northeast, the quiet was deeply alarming. “The silence bothered me the most,” Oleh said. “It seemed off. How could this be?”
Even more unsettling were the orders his superiors handed down: to charge as far as 40 miles into enemy territory at high speed in an audacious, top-secret counteroffensive — directly between the Russian-occupied stronghold of Izyum and Russia’s own Belgorod region dotted with military bases. It seemed preposterous. “Some kind of dubious operation,” Oleh said.
Read the full story here.
5 key takeaways on how Ukraine’s counteroffensives reshaped the war
1. Ukrainian Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky suggested the Kharkiv counteroffensive when the General Staff asked for diversionary operations.
2. U.S. officials were not particularly involved in the planning for the Kharkiv counteroffensive. They were as surprised as the Ukrainians when the Russian lines collapsed.
3. In response to the Kharkiv rout, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Gen. Sergei Surovikin as his first overall commander for the Russian war effort.
4. The Americans were deeply involved in helping Ukraine plan for a counteroffensive in the south.
5. Frustration in Kyiv with a lack of progress prompted the Ukrainian government to replace the commander of the Kherson operation in late September. The decision was kept under wraps at the time so as not to provide Russia with any kind of propaganda victory.
Read more about the takeaways here.
1. Ukrainian Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky suggested the Kharkiv counteroffensive when the General Staff asked for diversionary operations.
2. U.S. officials were not particularly involved in the planning for the Kharkiv counteroffensive. They were as surprised as the Ukrainians when the Russian lines collapsed.
3. In response to the Kharkiv rout, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Gen. Sergei Surovikin as his first overall commander for the Russian war effort.
4. The Americans were deeply involved in helping Ukraine plan for a counteroffensive in the south.
5. Frustration in Kyiv with a lack of progress prompted the Ukrainian government to replace the commander of the Kherson operation in late September. The decision was kept under wraps at the time so as not to provide Russia with any kind of propaganda victory.
Read more about the takeaways here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia attacked Ukraine using air and sea-based cruise missiles on Thursday, Ukrainian military chief Valery Zaluzhny said on Telegram.
- Lviv’s mayor said most of the city near the Polish border was “without light.” Andriy Sadovyi also wrote that trams were not running in the city. Kyiv’s mayor said nearly 40 percent of the capital had lost electricity and that workers were trying to restore supply.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the attacks as “senseless barbarism,” writing on Twitter that there could be “no ‘neutrality’ in the face of such mass war crimes.”
- The Ukrainian army could enter Russia territory “if necessary to protect our country,” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told the Kyiv Post Thursday.
More live updates here.
- Russia attacked Ukraine using air and sea-based cruise missiles on Thursday, Ukrainian military chief Valery Zaluzhny said on Telegram.
- Lviv’s mayor said most of the city near the Polish border was “without light.” Andriy Sadovyi also wrote that trams were not running in the city. Kyiv’s mayor said nearly 40 percent of the capital had lost electricity and that workers were trying to restore supply.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the attacks as “senseless barbarism,” writing on Twitter that there could be “no ‘neutrality’ in the face of such mass war crimes.”
- The Ukrainian army could enter Russia territory “if necessary to protect our country,” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told the Kyiv Post Thursday.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping virtually on Friday to discuss “the most pressing regional affairs,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
- Ukraine said that Russia fired 69 missiles and 23 attack drones on Thursday, most of which were intercepted by the country’s air defenses.
- Russia launched air- and sea-based cruise missiles at energy and civil infrastructure facilities across Ukraine on Thursday, the country’s Armed Forces said in a statement.
- Ukraine conducted counteroffensive operations in Kreminna, advancing 1.5 miles the past week, according to Brig. Gen. Oleksiy Hromov, the deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Ukrainian General Staff.
Follow our live updates here.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping virtually on Friday to discuss “the most pressing regional affairs,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
- Ukraine said that Russia fired 69 missiles and 23 attack drones on Thursday, most of which were intercepted by the country’s air defenses.
- Russia launched air- and sea-based cruise missiles at energy and civil infrastructure facilities across Ukraine on Thursday, the country’s Armed Forces said in a statement.
- Ukraine conducted counteroffensive operations in Kreminna, advancing 1.5 miles the past week, according to Brig. Gen. Oleksiy Hromov, the deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Ukrainian General Staff.
Follow our live updates here.
Putin, unaccustomed to losing, is increasingly isolated as war falters
When Vladimir Putin visited Minsk last week to discuss deepening cooperation, a sarcastic joke by his host, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, seemed to ring all too true. “The two of us are co-aggressors, the most harmful and toxic people on this planet. We have only one dispute: Who is the bigger one? That’s all,” Lukashenko said.
As Putin approaches New Year’s Eve, the 23d anniversary of his appointment in 1999 as acting Russian president, he appears more isolated than ever.
More than 300 days of brutal war against Ukraine have blown up decades of Russia’s carefully cultivated economic relations with the West, turning the country into a pariah, while Kremlin efforts to replace those ties with closer cooperation with India and China appear to be faltering the longer the war grinds on.
Read the full story here.
When Vladimir Putin visited Minsk last week to discuss deepening cooperation, a sarcastic joke by his host, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, seemed to ring all too true. “The two of us are co-aggressors, the most harmful and toxic people on this planet. We have only one dispute: Who is the bigger one? That’s all,” Lukashenko said.
As Putin approaches New Year’s Eve, the 23d anniversary of his appointment in 1999 as acting Russian president, he appears more isolated than ever.
More than 300 days of brutal war against Ukraine have blown up decades of Russia’s carefully cultivated economic relations with the West, turning the country into a pariah, while Kremlin efforts to replace those ties with closer cooperation with India and China appear to be faltering the longer the war grinds on.
Read the full story here.
Putin, Xi highlight Russia, China cooperation against backdrop of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met remotely via video link Friday — an indication of Moscow’s latest efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing as Russia’s international isolation grows in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin stressed the importance of Chinese-Russian relations on the world stage, calling them “a model of cooperation between major powers in the 21st century,” and said that Moscow hoped to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.
Moscow has actively sought to boost economic cooperation with Beijing after sweeping Western sanctions.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met remotely via video link Friday — an indication of Moscow’s latest efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing as Russia’s international isolation grows in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin stressed the importance of Chinese-Russian relations on the world stage, calling them “a model of cooperation between major powers in the 21st century,” and said that Moscow hoped to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.
Moscow has actively sought to boost economic cooperation with Beijing after sweeping Western sanctions.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s air force said all 16 self-detonating drones that attacked the country were destroyed overnight.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow for a visit next year as the two leaders affirmed their ties at an online meeting Friday.
- The Ukrainian energy grid was restored to the same level as before the Thursday’s missile strikes, the national energy company said in a Telegram statement on Friday, but Ukrenergo said challenges continue in the southern and eastern regions.
- With two new laws signed Thursday, Putin continues a pattern of manipulating Russian law to suppress opposition, according to a new report from the Institute for the Study of War.
- Ukraine’s security services have placed the mayor of the city of Poltava, in central Ukraine, under suspicion for sharing information on troop deployment.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine’s air force said all 16 self-detonating drones that attacked the country were destroyed overnight.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow for a visit next year as the two leaders affirmed their ties at an online meeting Friday.
- The Ukrainian energy grid was restored to the same level as before the Thursday’s missile strikes, the national energy company said in a Telegram statement on Friday, but Ukrenergo said challenges continue in the southern and eastern regions.
- With two new laws signed Thursday, Putin continues a pattern of manipulating Russian law to suppress opposition, according to a new report from the Institute for the Study of War.
- Ukraine’s security services have placed the mayor of the city of Poltava, in central Ukraine, under suspicion for sharing information on troop deployment.
More live updates here.
As war drags on, young Ukrainians are rethinking their futures
KYIV, Ukraine — For at least one night, they thought, they would use the basement of the university building not as a bomb shelter but as a place to twirl and hop and stomp — to celebrate their Ukrainian heritage, to again relish being young.
“They have forgotten normal life,” said Valerii Valiiev, an 18-year-old who managed a molotov cocktail factory during Russia’s assault on the capital.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the country’s young people have been at the forefront of both its resistance and its trauma. Some fled their homes or were separated from their families. Others volunteered or deployed to the front line. Many lost relatives, friends or neighbors. All are grappling with how the war has forced them to grow up overnight, altered the direction of their lives, reordered their priorities, derailed their dreams.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — For at least one night, they thought, they would use the basement of the university building not as a bomb shelter but as a place to twirl and hop and stomp — to celebrate their Ukrainian heritage, to again relish being young.
“They have forgotten normal life,” said Valerii Valiiev, an 18-year-old who managed a molotov cocktail factory during Russia’s assault on the capital.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the country’s young people have been at the forefront of both its resistance and its trauma. Some fled their homes or were separated from their families. Others volunteered or deployed to the front line. Many lost relatives, friends or neighbors. All are grappling with how the war has forced them to grow up overnight, altered the direction of their lives, reordered their priorities, derailed their dreams.
Read the full story here.
Missiles rain down on Ukraine as Putin gives combative New Year speech
KYIV, Ukraine — As Moscow launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unusually aggressive prerecorded address, which was broadcast as Russians in the Far East began their New Year’s celebrations.
In the address, which was broadcast at midnight on Russian state television, Putin said Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its “motherland” and called 2022 “a year of hard, necessary decisions” and “fateful events” that had laid the foundation of Russia’s future and independence.
Set against a backdrop of Russian military service members, instead of the typical wintry vista of the Kremlin, Putin’s speech marked a significant shift in tone, more combative and nationalistic, instead of festive and celebratory.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — As Moscow launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unusually aggressive prerecorded address, which was broadcast as Russians in the Far East began their New Year’s celebrations.
In the address, which was broadcast at midnight on Russian state television, Putin said Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its “motherland” and called 2022 “a year of hard, necessary decisions” and “fateful events” that had laid the foundation of Russia’s future and independence.
Set against a backdrop of Russian military service members, instead of the typical wintry vista of the Kremlin, Putin’s speech marked a significant shift in tone, more combative and nationalistic, instead of festive and celebratory.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian forces shot down 45 drones on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his first nightly address of the new year. He said “drones, missiles, anything else will not help” Russia win the war.
- Several waves of drones targeted infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv region on Sunday evening and into Monday, said Oleksiy Kuleba, the regional governor.
- At least four civilians were killed and dozens injured during attacks throughout Ukraine on New Year’s Eve, officials said.
- Sweden, which took the reins of the E.U. Council presidency on Sunday, has pledged to support Ukraine through its six-month term.
Follow our live updates here.
- Ukrainian forces shot down 45 drones on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his first nightly address of the new year. He said “drones, missiles, anything else will not help” Russia win the war.
- Several waves of drones targeted infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv region on Sunday evening and into Monday, said Oleksiy Kuleba, the regional governor.
- At least four civilians were killed and dozens injured during attacks throughout Ukraine on New Year’s Eve, officials said.
- Sweden, which took the reins of the E.U. Council presidency on Sunday, has pledged to support Ukraine through its six-month term.
Follow our live updates here.
Dozens of Russian soldiers killed in massive Donetsk missile strike
Dozens of Russian soldiers were killed in a massive missile strike early on New Year’s Day in the country’s Donetsk region, Moscow said.
Without claiming responsibility for the attack, Kyiv’s military command said at least 400 soldiers were killed in the attack in Makiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine under Russian occupation, and at least 300 soldiers were injured. Russia’s defense ministry put the death toll at 63.
In a statement posted to Telegram, the Department of Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine provided little detail, suggesting sarcastically that the incident was the result of “the careless handling of heating devices, neglect of security measures and smoking.”
Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Moscow-backed official for the region, wrote on Telegram that just after midnight on New Year’s Day a Ukrainian missile had struck a vocational school in Makiivka that housed soldiers.
Read the full story here.
Dozens of Russian soldiers were killed in a massive missile strike early on New Year’s Day in the country’s Donetsk region, Moscow said.
Without claiming responsibility for the attack, Kyiv’s military command said at least 400 soldiers were killed in the attack in Makiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine under Russian occupation, and at least 300 soldiers were injured. Russia’s defense ministry put the death toll at 63.
In a statement posted to Telegram, the Department of Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine provided little detail, suggesting sarcastically that the incident was the result of “the careless handling of heating devices, neglect of security measures and smoking.”
Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Moscow-backed official for the region, wrote on Telegram that just after midnight on New Year’s Day a Ukrainian missile had struck a vocational school in Makiivka that housed soldiers.
Read the full story here.