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Russia’s new commander reflects Putin’s plan to push for victory in Ukraine
With the appointment of Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s highest-ranking military officer, as direct operational commander of the troubled war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his conviction that the invasion’s objectives can be achieved without new leadership — and is now turning to a trusted confidant who will carry out his orders without question, analysts said.
“Gerasimov’s appointment is likely intended to support an intended decisive Russian military effort in 2023,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis Wednesday.
Other analysts said Gerasimov was potentially being set up to take the fall for further Russian failures on the battlefield.
Read the full story here.
With the appointment of Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s highest-ranking military officer, as direct operational commander of the troubled war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his conviction that the invasion’s objectives can be achieved without new leadership — and is now turning to a trusted confidant who will carry out his orders without question, analysts said.
“Gerasimov’s appointment is likely intended to support an intended decisive Russian military effort in 2023,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis Wednesday.
Other analysts said Gerasimov was potentially being set up to take the fall for further Russian failures on the battlefield.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces took “complete” control of Soledar, calling it an “important” step to help Moscow’s offensive in the Donetsk region, Russia’s Tass news agency reported. Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, said otherwise. The “fighting continues in Soledar,” he said, but would not say how many Ukrainian troops remained or what area they held. The Post could not verify the claims.
- “Our fighters are bravely trying to hold the line” under a barrage through the night, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said earlier Friday.
- Fighting has prevented the evacuation of residents still in Soledar, said Ukraine’s governor for Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
- Russian advances in Soledar would not “have a strategic impact on the war itself,” according to John Kirby, communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council.
More live updates here.
- The Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces took “complete” control of Soledar, calling it an “important” step to help Moscow’s offensive in the Donetsk region, Russia’s Tass news agency reported. Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, said otherwise. The “fighting continues in Soledar,” he said, but would not say how many Ukrainian troops remained or what area they held. The Post could not verify the claims.
- “Our fighters are bravely trying to hold the line” under a barrage through the night, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said earlier Friday.
- Fighting has prevented the evacuation of residents still in Soledar, said Ukraine’s governor for Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
- Russian advances in Soledar would not “have a strategic impact on the war itself,” according to John Kirby, communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council.
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
— Russia and Ukraine disputed control of the eastern salt mining town of Soledar, with the Kremlin claiming to have seized it after a bloody battle even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that his forces were continuing to fight.
—Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Moscow on Jan. 17. Iran has emerged as a key weapons supplier to Russia during the invasion and Iranian drones have been used to target energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
— Russia is deliberately slowing down the inspection of ships leaving Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and delaying crucial grain shipments to the developing world, according to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Read more updates here.
— Russia and Ukraine disputed control of the eastern salt mining town of Soledar, with the Kremlin claiming to have seized it after a bloody battle even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that his forces were continuing to fight.
—Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Moscow on Jan. 17. Iran has emerged as a key weapons supplier to Russia during the invasion and Iranian drones have been used to target energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
— Russia is deliberately slowing down the inspection of ships leaving Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and delaying crucial grain shipments to the developing world, according to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Read more updates here.
Ukraine liberated Kherson city. Now, Russia is destroying it.
KHERSON, Ukraine — Four charred baby cribs were all that was left in the maternity ward’s bomb shelter.
The rest of the room was destroyed when Russian forces attacked the city, striking one of the only hospitals in Kherson where babies can still be delivered.
Residents who survived nine months of Russian occupation say that now that their city is back under Ukrainian control, they face a painful reality: If Russia can no longer have the city, it seems hellbent on destroying it.
The strike on Tomchenko’s hospital marked at least the fifth time Russian forces hit a medical facility in Kherson city since December.
One attack hit a different maternity ward 20 minutes after a baby was born, and this week, another struck the city’s children’s hospital. Russian forces are also shelling other civilian infrastructure. In recent weeks, they hit a market, a museum and many homes. Dozens were killed and more than 150 wounded.
Read the full story here.
KHERSON, Ukraine — Four charred baby cribs were all that was left in the maternity ward’s bomb shelter.
The rest of the room was destroyed when Russian forces attacked the city, striking one of the only hospitals in Kherson where babies can still be delivered.
Residents who survived nine months of Russian occupation say that now that their city is back under Ukrainian control, they face a painful reality: If Russia can no longer have the city, it seems hellbent on destroying it.
The strike on Tomchenko’s hospital marked at least the fifth time Russian forces hit a medical facility in Kherson city since December.
One attack hit a different maternity ward 20 minutes after a baby was born, and this week, another struck the city’s children’s hospital. Russian forces are also shelling other civilian infrastructure. In recent weeks, they hit a market, a museum and many homes. Dozens were killed and more than 150 wounded.
Read the full story here.
Russian missile attack kills at least 5; Britain to send battle tanks to Ukraine
Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities in a major attack Saturday, with one strike on an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro leaving at least five dead.
More than three dozen people were wounded in the attack, including seven children. One of them, a nine-year-old girl, was in critical condition Saturday.
Earlier, explosions shook Kyiv residents awake in what Ukraine’s air force said was “most likely” a ballistic missile attack. Ukraine lacks the capability to detect ballistic missiles, so Kyiv residents heard sirens only after the attack. The city’s mayor said missile fragments landed in a nonresidential part of the city, sparking a fire that caused no casualties.
In Lviv and Kharkiv, regional authorities reported missile strikes targeting infrastructure.
The attack came as Britain confirmed plans to send heavy battle tanks to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities in a major attack Saturday, with one strike on an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro leaving at least five dead.
More than three dozen people were wounded in the attack, including seven children. One of them, a nine-year-old girl, was in critical condition Saturday.
Earlier, explosions shook Kyiv residents awake in what Ukraine’s air force said was “most likely” a ballistic missile attack. Ukraine lacks the capability to detect ballistic missiles, so Kyiv residents heard sirens only after the attack. The city’s mayor said missile fragments landed in a nonresidential part of the city, sparking a fire that caused no casualties.
In Lviv and Kharkiv, regional authorities reported missile strikes targeting infrastructure.
The attack came as Britain confirmed plans to send heavy battle tanks to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- At least 12 people were killed and 64 hospitalized in the residential building attack, Dnipro regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram.
- The Dnipro strike may have destroyed as many as 30 apartments inside the sprawling complex. Zelensky said all upper floors of the building, from the second to the ninth, were smashed by the missile.
- The initial Kyiv blasts hit the city early Saturday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He said missile fragments landed in a nonresidential part of the city, where a fire erupted with no casualties.
- “Most likely, these are missiles that flew along a ballistic trajectory from the northern direction,” Yuri Ignat, a spokesman for Ukraine’s air force said about the earlier blast.
- On the eastern front, Russia and Ukraine disputed control of the salt mining town of Soledar, a gateway to the city of Bakhmut that has become a recent focus of the fighting.
More live updates here.
- At least 12 people were killed and 64 hospitalized in the residential building attack, Dnipro regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram.
- The Dnipro strike may have destroyed as many as 30 apartments inside the sprawling complex. Zelensky said all upper floors of the building, from the second to the ninth, were smashed by the missile.
- The initial Kyiv blasts hit the city early Saturday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He said missile fragments landed in a nonresidential part of the city, where a fire erupted with no casualties.
- “Most likely, these are missiles that flew along a ballistic trajectory from the northern direction,” Yuri Ignat, a spokesman for Ukraine’s air force said about the earlier blast.
- On the eastern front, Russia and Ukraine disputed control of the salt mining town of Soledar, a gateway to the city of Bakhmut that has become a recent focus of the fighting.
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
—A weekend attack on a residential apartment block in Dnipro killed at least 14 people, including a 15-year-old girl, and injured dozens, shattering the relative calm in a central Ukrainian city that had previously served as a safe haven for people displaced from other regions.
— Missile attacks on Dnipro and several other cities, including the capital, Kyiv, come as Western allies prepare to send more advanced military equipment to Ukraine. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United Kingdom would provide Challenger 2 tanks, along with additional artillery systems.
— The Ukrainian air force said on Telegram that it had shot down 25 of 38 rockets launched by Russian forces on Saturday as part of a massive attack on infrastructure.
Read more updates here.
—A weekend attack on a residential apartment block in Dnipro killed at least 14 people, including a 15-year-old girl, and injured dozens, shattering the relative calm in a central Ukrainian city that had previously served as a safe haven for people displaced from other regions.
— Missile attacks on Dnipro and several other cities, including the capital, Kyiv, come as Western allies prepare to send more advanced military equipment to Ukraine. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United Kingdom would provide Challenger 2 tanks, along with additional artillery systems.
— The Ukrainian air force said on Telegram that it had shot down 25 of 38 rockets launched by Russian forces on Saturday as part of a massive attack on infrastructure.
Read more updates here.
When Russia bombs a building full of people, this is the aftermath
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Two hours after a Russian missile slammed into a Ukrainian apartment complex on Saturday, shocking the city that has served as a relatively safe haven for the war’s displaced, rescue workers digging through rubble spotted a sudden movement from above.
On the eighth floor, they could see the arm of a bloodied elderly woman, so buried in debris she could barely move, waving a piece of red fabric. Below her, dozens of apartments had collapsed, swallowing residents into some 30 feet of rubble.
From inside the damaged building, she was somehow alive — and calling for help.
Russia’s blatant attack on civilians here — the worst to strike this city since Russia invaded Ukraine last February — came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his most senior military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as the new overseer of his relentless war in Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Two hours after a Russian missile slammed into a Ukrainian apartment complex on Saturday, shocking the city that has served as a relatively safe haven for the war’s displaced, rescue workers digging through rubble spotted a sudden movement from above.
On the eighth floor, they could see the arm of a bloodied elderly woman, so buried in debris she could barely move, waving a piece of red fabric. Below her, dozens of apartments had collapsed, swallowing residents into some 30 feet of rubble.
From inside the damaged building, she was somehow alive — and calling for help.
Russia’s blatant attack on civilians here — the worst to strike this city since Russia invaded Ukraine last February — came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his most senior military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as the new overseer of his relentless war in Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine.
- The death toll of Saturday’s strike in Dnipro has risen to 35, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said Monday on Telegram, adding that the search-and-rescue operation had been going on for 40 hours and would continue.
- The commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, said in a statement that Russia fired five long-range Kh-22 missiles at Ukraine on Saturday. Ukraine doesn’t have the ability to shoot down such missiles, he said. The Post couldn’t immediately verify the type of missile used in the attacks.
- Russia has ramped up its assault around the Bakhmut area in recent days, as it seeks to capture a city many military analysts view as having relatively little strategic significance to the broader battlefield, but which has become a potent political symbol on both sides, The Post reports. Seizing the city would give the Kremlin its first victory since the summer.
More live updates here.
- The death toll of Saturday’s strike in Dnipro has risen to 35, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said Monday on Telegram, adding that the search-and-rescue operation had been going on for 40 hours and would continue.
- The commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, said in a statement that Russia fired five long-range Kh-22 missiles at Ukraine on Saturday. Ukraine doesn’t have the ability to shoot down such missiles, he said. The Post couldn’t immediately verify the type of missile used in the attacks.
- Russia has ramped up its assault around the Bakhmut area in recent days, as it seeks to capture a city many military analysts view as having relatively little strategic significance to the broader battlefield, but which has become a potent political symbol on both sides, The Post reports. Seizing the city would give the Kremlin its first victory since the summer.
More live updates here.
As Dnipro deaths mount, survivors plead for anti-missile defense
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Anger and grief consumed this central Ukrainian city Sunday as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors in the wreckage of an apartment block that collapsed when a Russian missile struck it the day before, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others, including children.
The brazen, midday attack on civilians in their homes has renewed urgent calls for Ukraine’s allies to immediately provide the country with upgraded air defenses that can help repel the missiles used in the attack, which officials here said their current system cannot detect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the death toll from the attack had risen to at least 30, added Sunday that another 30 residents were unaccounted for.
Read the full story here.
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Anger and grief consumed this central Ukrainian city Sunday as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors in the wreckage of an apartment block that collapsed when a Russian missile struck it the day before, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others, including children.
The brazen, midday attack on civilians in their homes has renewed urgent calls for Ukraine’s allies to immediately provide the country with upgraded air defenses that can help repel the missiles used in the attack, which officials here said their current system cannot detect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the death toll from the attack had risen to at least 30, added Sunday that another 30 residents were unaccounted for.
Read the full story here.
Terrifying images of the aftermath of the strike on Dnipro
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Dozens of people were killed Saturday and dozens of others wounded when a Russian missile struck a nine-floor apartment complex in central Ukraine. The timing, on a weekend afternoon, meant many people were at home at the time of the strike. Their apartments collapsed into a heap of rubble, burying many of them underneath.
The strike was especially shocking because Dnipro has been a relative safe haven for Ukrainians fleeing front-line towns elsewhere. In the hours after the attack, hundreds of people gathered at the scene — some to watch from afar and others to help dig people and pets out. Civilians turned up with hot food and drinks for the rescue teams, who were working in freezing temperatures under falling snow.
See all the images here.
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Dozens of people were killed Saturday and dozens of others wounded when a Russian missile struck a nine-floor apartment complex in central Ukraine. The timing, on a weekend afternoon, meant many people were at home at the time of the strike. Their apartments collapsed into a heap of rubble, burying many of them underneath.
The strike was especially shocking because Dnipro has been a relative safe haven for Ukrainians fleeing front-line towns elsewhere. In the hours after the attack, hundreds of people gathered at the scene — some to watch from afar and others to help dig people and pets out. Civilians turned up with hot food and drinks for the rescue teams, who were working in freezing temperatures under falling snow.
See all the images here.
Former Russian president says Japanese leader should disembowel himself
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and a senior security official in President Vladimir Putin’s administration, said Saturday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should perform a ritualistic suicide by disembowelment to repent for what Medvedev called servitude to the United States.
Medvedev’s remarks were in response to a joint statement Friday by President Biden and Kishida, in which the leaders said that “any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way.”
Russian military leaders have discussed the potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon should their invasion of Ukraine face more setbacks.
Read the full story here.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and a senior security official in President Vladimir Putin’s administration, said Saturday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should perform a ritualistic suicide by disembowelment to repent for what Medvedev called servitude to the United States.
Medvedev’s remarks were in response to a joint statement Friday by President Biden and Kishida, in which the leaders said that “any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way.”
Russian military leaders have discussed the potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon should their invasion of Ukraine face more setbacks.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The U.K. will send self-propelled guns artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other equipment to make sure Ukraine “seizes its upper hand” in the next phase of the conflict, Defense Minister Ben Wallace said in an address at the House of Commons.
- Rescue workers in Dnipro made significant progress overnight. On Monday afternoon, they were removing mounds of rubble from the blast site, and smoke was no longer rising in the air, Washington Post reporters observed. The death toll has risen to 40, Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov told The Post, and dozens of people were missing.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with officials from roughly 50 nations on Thursday in Germany. “We are focused on doing everything we can to help make sure that the Ukrainians have the capabilities that they need to be successful in their efforts to defend their sovereign territory,” Austin said last week.
More live updates here.
- The U.K. will send self-propelled guns artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other equipment to make sure Ukraine “seizes its upper hand” in the next phase of the conflict, Defense Minister Ben Wallace said in an address at the House of Commons.
- Rescue workers in Dnipro made significant progress overnight. On Monday afternoon, they were removing mounds of rubble from the blast site, and smoke was no longer rising in the air, Washington Post reporters observed. The death toll has risen to 40, Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov told The Post, and dozens of people were missing.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with officials from roughly 50 nations on Thursday in Germany. “We are focused on doing everything we can to help make sure that the Ukrainians have the capabilities that they need to be successful in their efforts to defend their sovereign territory,” Austin said last week.
More live updates here.