Zelensky urges E.U. to send weapons faster as Russians close grip on Bakhmut
KYIV, Ukraine — With waves of invading Russian troops pushing for their first significant victory in months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country’s forces would “fight as long as we can” to hold on to the embattled city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
The potentially imminent loss of Bakhmut, which has been under siege by Russian fighters for months, cast a shadow over a meeting in Kyiv where European Union leaders offered pledges of support — and 35 million LED lightbulbs to help mange power outages caused by Russian airstrikes — but no concrete promises about when Ukraine could expect to join the bloc.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — With waves of invading Russian troops pushing for their first significant victory in months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country’s forces would “fight as long as we can” to hold on to the embattled city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
The potentially imminent loss of Bakhmut, which has been under siege by Russian fighters for months, cast a shadow over a meeting in Kyiv where European Union leaders offered pledges of support — and 35 million LED lightbulbs to help mange power outages caused by Russian airstrikes — but no concrete promises about when Ukraine could expect to join the bloc.
Read the full story here.
Russia tries to defy pariah image with diplomatic blitz
Russia has launched a broad diplomatic blitz to counter its image as a pariah state in the run-up to the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, which severed Moscow’s ties with the West and even alarmed some of the Kremlin’s traditional allies.
In the past week, President Vladimir Putin phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to coordinate goals for Wednesday’s OPEC Plus meeting of oil producers, showing it’s still a player in oil markets. The government also said it was expecting a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with counterparts from Egypt and Pakistan after returning from a diplomatic trip crisscrossing Africa.
Read the full story here.
Russia has launched a broad diplomatic blitz to counter its image as a pariah state in the run-up to the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, which severed Moscow’s ties with the West and even alarmed some of the Kremlin’s traditional allies.
In the past week, President Vladimir Putin phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to coordinate goals for Wednesday’s OPEC Plus meeting of oil producers, showing it’s still a player in oil markets. The government also said it was expecting a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with counterparts from Egypt and Pakistan after returning from a diplomatic trip crisscrossing Africa.
Read the full story here.
Russia ends disclosure rules for officials, citing wartime secrecy needs
In the latest indication of expanded state secrecy in wartime Russia, President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation that will exempt Russian lawmakers from a previous requirement that they disclose details of their income, expenses and property.
Here are additional updates from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s acting minister of internal affairs, Ihor Klymenko, and the acting director of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, are expected to become permanent positions.
- Crews expect to finish their work by Friday on Odessa’s electrical substation, where an accident this weekend caused a severe fire, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the Ukrenergo utility’s chairman.
- A strike in Kharkiv injured five people and damaged a university and a residential building, local officials said.
More live updates here.
In the latest indication of expanded state secrecy in wartime Russia, President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation that will exempt Russian lawmakers from a previous requirement that they disclose details of their income, expenses and property.
Here are additional updates from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s acting minister of internal affairs, Ihor Klymenko, and the acting director of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, are expected to become permanent positions.
- Crews expect to finish their work by Friday on Odessa’s electrical substation, where an accident this weekend caused a severe fire, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the Ukrenergo utility’s chairman.
- A strike in Kharkiv injured five people and damaged a university and a residential building, local officials said.
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian forces still hold the city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, days after telling the world that the battlefield situation was “very difficult” in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces are still trying to surround the city, he said Monday evening, but Ukraine is “countering them.”
- U.N. Secretary General António Guterres expressed concern that the war in Ukraine could escalate into a broader global conflict in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.
- Western sanctions are to blame for all 2022 losses of Russia’s second-largest bank, Andrei Kostin, the CEO of VTB Bank told state television channel Rossiya 24, according to Reuters on Tuesday.
- Norway hopes to provide a five-year aid package to Ukraine worth about $7.3 billion, an official said Monday, with half the aid funding military requirements and half funding humanitarian aid in 2023.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian forces still hold the city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, days after telling the world that the battlefield situation was “very difficult” in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces are still trying to surround the city, he said Monday evening, but Ukraine is “countering them.”
- U.N. Secretary General António Guterres expressed concern that the war in Ukraine could escalate into a broader global conflict in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.
- Western sanctions are to blame for all 2022 losses of Russia’s second-largest bank, Andrei Kostin, the CEO of VTB Bank told state television channel Rossiya 24, according to Reuters on Tuesday.
- Norway hopes to provide a five-year aid package to Ukraine worth about $7.3 billion, an official said Monday, with half the aid funding military requirements and half funding humanitarian aid in 2023.
More live updates here.
U.S. rocket artillery for Ukraine will double its explosive reach
The United States will provide Ukraine with longer-range rocket artillery that will double the reach of its current munitions, the Pentagon said Friday, as the country’s Western backers anticipate fighting to intensify dramatically in coming months.
Ukraine will receive ground-launched, small diameter bombs (GLSDB) as part of a new $2.17 billion aid package announced by the Biden administration. The munitions have a range of roughly 95 miles, nearly twice the capability previously provided by the U.S. government, which has until now refused to supply such weapons for fear that Ukrainian forces will use them to strike inside Russia. This will enable them instead to target command posts, ammunition depots and other Russian military facilities in occupied parts of Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
The United States will provide Ukraine with longer-range rocket artillery that will double the reach of its current munitions, the Pentagon said Friday, as the country’s Western backers anticipate fighting to intensify dramatically in coming months.
Ukraine will receive ground-launched, small diameter bombs (GLSDB) as part of a new $2.17 billion aid package announced by the Biden administration. The munitions have a range of roughly 95 miles, nearly twice the capability previously provided by the U.S. government, which has until now refused to supply such weapons for fear that Ukrainian forces will use them to strike inside Russia. This will enable them instead to target command posts, ammunition depots and other Russian military facilities in occupied parts of Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Attacking Vuhledar, Russia previews new push to seize southeast Ukraine
BOHOYAVLENKA, Ukraine — Russian forces have launched a midwinter surge of attacks in Ukraine’s hotly contested Donetsk region, probing Kyiv’s defenses along a fresh stretch of the sprawling eastern front as President Vladimir Putin’s commanders ready a new push to conquer all of southeast Ukraine.
The attacks in recent days have centered on Vuhledar, a mostly deserted coal-mining city 70 miles southwest of Bakhmut, where Russian fighters have made some of their first territorial gains in months. Plumes of smoke rise almost constantly from Vuhledar, and the dark woods and rolling fields surrounding the city ring with mortar and artillery volleys from each side.
“They have been pushing hard for last four days, but we have stopped them,” said Dykanka, a Ukrainian fighter whom The Washington Post agreed to identify only by his call sign because of security risks.
Read the full story here.
BOHOYAVLENKA, Ukraine — Russian forces have launched a midwinter surge of attacks in Ukraine’s hotly contested Donetsk region, probing Kyiv’s defenses along a fresh stretch of the sprawling eastern front as President Vladimir Putin’s commanders ready a new push to conquer all of southeast Ukraine.
The attacks in recent days have centered on Vuhledar, a mostly deserted coal-mining city 70 miles southwest of Bakhmut, where Russian fighters have made some of their first territorial gains in months. Plumes of smoke rise almost constantly from Vuhledar, and the dark woods and rolling fields surrounding the city ring with mortar and artillery volleys from each side.
“They have been pushing hard for last four days, but we have stopped them,” said Dykanka, a Ukrainian fighter whom The Washington Post agreed to identify only by his call sign because of security risks.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
- Ukraine continued to appeal for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, with Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk urging Germany to help establish a coalition to supply equipment.
- Sweden is ready to restart negotiations over its application to join NATO as soon as Turkey is ready, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with senior Biden administration officials and members of Congress this week.
- Ukraine’s main Catholic church is set to begin following a new calendar, breaking another link to Russia. Under the change, the church would celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, rather than Jan. 7, when the Russian branch of the Orthodox Church marks the holiday per the Julian calendar.
More live updates here.
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
- Ukraine continued to appeal for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, with Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk urging Germany to help establish a coalition to supply equipment.
- Sweden is ready to restart negotiations over its application to join NATO as soon as Turkey is ready, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with senior Biden administration officials and members of Congress this week.
- Ukraine’s main Catholic church is set to begin following a new calendar, breaking another link to Russia. Under the change, the church would celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, rather than Jan. 7, when the Russian branch of the Orthodox Church marks the holiday per the Julian calendar.
More live updates here.
Zelensky tells U.K. Parliament victory over Russia will ‘change the world’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British Parliament on Wednesday and will meet King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in what is only his second trip abroad since the Russian invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.
He thanked Britain for its support and predicted victory over Russia with its help.
“We know freedom will win, we know Russia will lose,” he said. “We know the victory will change the world and this will be the change that the world has long needed,” he said. “The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most important victory of our lifetime.”
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British Parliament on Wednesday and will meet King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in what is only his second trip abroad since the Russian invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.
He thanked Britain for its support and predicted victory over Russia with its help.
“We know freedom will win, we know Russia will lose,” he said. “We know the victory will change the world and this will be the change that the world has long needed,” he said. “The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most important victory of our lifetime.”
Read the full story here.
Putin implicated by Dutch prosecutors in downing of Malaysia passenger jet
Dutch prosecutors said Wednesday that it was likely Russian President Vladimir Putin personally signed off on a decision to supply long-range antiaircraft missiles systems to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine before they shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
However, while the prosecutors said they had documented “strong indications” of Putin’s personal role in the decision, they said their evidence “was not concrete enough” for a new prosecution.
Read the full story here.
Dutch prosecutors said Wednesday that it was likely Russian President Vladimir Putin personally signed off on a decision to supply long-range antiaircraft missiles systems to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine before they shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
However, while the prosecutors said they had documented “strong indications” of Putin’s personal role in the decision, they said their evidence “was not concrete enough” for a new prosecution.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on a multicountry Europe tour on Wednesday with a surprise visit to Britain, where he thanked the nation for its support in a speech to Parliament while making a fresh appeal for military aircraft.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Washington for meetings with top national security officials in the Biden administration to discuss defense assistance for Ukraine.
- Ukraine has appealed to Western countries for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, to turn the tide of the conflict, buoyed by recent decisions from its allies to supply Ukraine with tanks.
- The British government announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russian military and Kremlin elites as Zelensky arrived in London.
- Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark will provide Ukraine with at least 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks along with training and logistics support, the nations’ defense ministers said in a statement.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on a multicountry Europe tour on Wednesday with a surprise visit to Britain, where he thanked the nation for its support in a speech to Parliament while making a fresh appeal for military aircraft.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Washington for meetings with top national security officials in the Biden administration to discuss defense assistance for Ukraine.
- Ukraine has appealed to Western countries for advanced weapons, including fighter jets, to turn the tide of the conflict, buoyed by recent decisions from its allies to supply Ukraine with tanks.
- The British government announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russian military and Kremlin elites as Zelensky arrived in London.
- Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark will provide Ukraine with at least 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks along with training and logistics support, the nations’ defense ministers said in a statement.
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine.
- President Zelensky is set to continue his Western Europe visit Thursday in Brussels, where he will meet with leaders and address the European Parliament, according to E.U. officials, who said the meetings will explore legal pathways to use frozen Russian assets to pay for reconstruction in Ukraine.
- Shelling in the Kharkiv region killed two civilians and injured five, its governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said Wednesday.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met in Washington on Wednesday with top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We must continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to retake territory and prevail as a sovereign independent nation,” Stoltenberg said.
- E.U. sanctions against Russia “will continue” and “may even be enhanced,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German lawmakers Wednesday.
More live updates here.
- President Zelensky is set to continue his Western Europe visit Thursday in Brussels, where he will meet with leaders and address the European Parliament, according to E.U. officials, who said the meetings will explore legal pathways to use frozen Russian assets to pay for reconstruction in Ukraine.
- Shelling in the Kharkiv region killed two civilians and injured five, its governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said Wednesday.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met in Washington on Wednesday with top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We must continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to retake territory and prevail as a sovereign independent nation,” Stoltenberg said.
- E.U. sanctions against Russia “will continue” and “may even be enhanced,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German lawmakers Wednesday.
More live updates here.
Ukraine readies along all fronts for Russia’s next big attack
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — Valentyn Lymarenko and his infantry unit have already been seasoned by a year of combat, but they are grunting through exercises in this snowy trench to prepare for the next phase of fighting: a much-anticipated Russian offensive.
“We know they are coming,” Lymarenko said amid the pop of practice rifle fire. “We don’t know where.”
As Moscow struggles to turn the tide of a war that so far has largely failed, Ukrainians are bracing for a Kremlin do-over. But just where Russia will seek to land its blow remains a mystery, forcing Kyiv to ready its troops along a varied and forbidding front stretching from Belarus to the Black Sea.
From boggy northern wetlands to raging street fighting in the east to the treeless southern steppe, each range of terrain presents its own set of challenges and openings for Russian invaders and the Ukrainians intent on expelling them.
Read the full story here.
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — Valentyn Lymarenko and his infantry unit have already been seasoned by a year of combat, but they are grunting through exercises in this snowy trench to prepare for the next phase of fighting: a much-anticipated Russian offensive.
“We know they are coming,” Lymarenko said amid the pop of practice rifle fire. “We don’t know where.”
As Moscow struggles to turn the tide of a war that so far has largely failed, Ukrainians are bracing for a Kremlin do-over. But just where Russia will seek to land its blow remains a mystery, forcing Kyiv to ready its troops along a varied and forbidding front stretching from Belarus to the Black Sea.
From boggy northern wetlands to raging street fighting in the east to the treeless southern steppe, each range of terrain presents its own set of challenges and openings for Russian invaders and the Ukrainians intent on expelling them.
Read the full story here.
SpaceX says it is restricting Ukraine’s use of Starlink internet for drones
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has accused the Ukrainian military of using its Starlink internet service to power drones in its ongoing conflict with Russia — and says it has taken steps to restrict its ability to do so.
Speaking at a Federal Aviation Administration conference in Washington on Wednesday, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, said the company is pleased to help Ukraine in its “fight for freedom” but that the Starlink satellite internet service was “never intended to be weaponized.”
“Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” Shotwell said, Reuters reported. “We know the military is using them for [communications], and that’s okay … but our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes.”
Read the full story here.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has accused the Ukrainian military of using its Starlink internet service to power drones in its ongoing conflict with Russia — and says it has taken steps to restrict its ability to do so.
Speaking at a Federal Aviation Administration conference in Washington on Wednesday, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, said the company is pleased to help Ukraine in its “fight for freedom” but that the Starlink satellite internet service was “never intended to be weaponized.”
“Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” Shotwell said, Reuters reported. “We know the military is using them for [communications], and that’s okay … but our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes.”
Read the full story here.