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.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The European Parliament’s president urged E.U. nations to provide Ukraine warplanes and long-range weapons, among other military equipment it needs. “We know the sacrifice your people have endured for Europe, and we must honor it not only with words, but with actions,” Roberta Metsola said to Zelensky.
- Zelensky praised the E.U. for weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels in his European Parliament speech.
- Zelensky also thanked the E.U. for awarding candidate status to Ukraine, saying it “motivated us to be strong and stay the course.” Metsola told Zelensky in her introductory remarks that “Ukraine is Europe, and your nation’s future is in the European Union.”
- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “nothing is off the table” after Zelensky asked for fighter jets in his speech to the British Parliament this week.
- Estonia’s prime minister proposed a vaccine-like program to purchase military equipment for Ukraine.
More live updates here.
- The European Parliament’s president urged E.U. nations to provide Ukraine warplanes and long-range weapons, among other military equipment it needs. “We know the sacrifice your people have endured for Europe, and we must honor it not only with words, but with actions,” Roberta Metsola said to Zelensky.
- Zelensky praised the E.U. for weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels in his European Parliament speech.
- Zelensky also thanked the E.U. for awarding candidate status to Ukraine, saying it “motivated us to be strong and stay the course.” Metsola told Zelensky in her introductory remarks that “Ukraine is Europe, and your nation’s future is in the European Union.”
- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “nothing is off the table” after Zelensky asked for fighter jets in his speech to the British Parliament this week.
- Estonia’s prime minister proposed a vaccine-like program to purchase military equipment for Ukraine.
More live updates here.
Exclusive: Ukraine’s rocket campaign reliant on U.S. precision targeting, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials say they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.
The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials say they require coordinates provided or confirmed by the United States and its allies for the vast majority of strikes using its advanced U.S.-provided rocket systems, a previously undisclosed practice that reveals a deeper and more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war.
The disclosure, confirmed by three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior U.S. official, comes after months of Kyiv’s forces pounding Russian targets — including headquarters, ammunition depots and barracks — on Ukrainian soil with the U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and other similar precision-guided weapons such as the M270 multiple-launch rocket system.
Read the full story here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine.
- During a meeting with European leaders Thursday, President Zelensky framed Russia's invasion as an attack on the continent at large. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola urged nations to offer more assistance.
- Air raid alerts rang out across eastern and central Ukraine early Friday. The Kharkiv region came under attack, with about 10 explosions recorded, its governor said.
- Residents of eastern and southern Ukraine were warned of potential drone attacks early Friday. Dnipropetrovsk military administrator Serhiy Lysak told people to stay away from critical infrastructure facilities.
- Russia has begun a major offensive in Luhansk centered on Kremmina, the eastern region’s governor, Serhiy Haidai said.
More live updates here.
- During a meeting with European leaders Thursday, President Zelensky framed Russia's invasion as an attack on the continent at large. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola urged nations to offer more assistance.
- Air raid alerts rang out across eastern and central Ukraine early Friday. The Kharkiv region came under attack, with about 10 explosions recorded, its governor said.
- Residents of eastern and southern Ukraine were warned of potential drone attacks early Friday. Dnipropetrovsk military administrator Serhiy Lysak told people to stay away from critical infrastructure facilities.
- Russia has begun a major offensive in Luhansk centered on Kremmina, the eastern region’s governor, Serhiy Haidai said.
More live updates here.
Russia ousts director of elite museum as Kremlin demands patriotic art
Russia has ousted the longtime director of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, one of the world’s most famous art museums, just days after Russia’s Culture Ministry demanded that she prove the museum’s prestigious collection was “in line with spiritual and moral values.”
The Tretyakov’s director since 2015, Zelfira Tregulova, has been replaced by the daughter of a senior official in the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service.
The new director, Yelena Pronicheva, has little experience in fine art, and her appointment appeared to be the latest move to force Russian artists and cultural institutions to conform with the Kremlin’s increasingly conservative vision for the country.
Read the full story here.
Russia has ousted the longtime director of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, one of the world’s most famous art museums, just days after Russia’s Culture Ministry demanded that she prove the museum’s prestigious collection was “in line with spiritual and moral values.”
The Tretyakov’s director since 2015, Zelfira Tregulova, has been replaced by the daughter of a senior official in the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service.
The new director, Yelena Pronicheva, has little experience in fine art, and her appointment appeared to be the latest move to force Russian artists and cultural institutions to conform with the Kremlin’s increasingly conservative vision for the country.
Read the full story here.
Romania says Russian missile flew over Moldova just outside NATO airspace
A Russian missile fired at Ukraine crossed over Moldova on Friday morning and came within 22 miles of the border of Romania, a NATO member, prompting the Romanians to scramble two fighter jets that were on an exercise under NATO command, the Romanian Defense Ministry said.
The incident was part of the latest Russian barrage of strikes and Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, had initially charged that two Kalibr missiles had violated Romanian airspace — a potentially inflammatory move that could have put pressure on NATO to respond.
The Romanian Defense Ministry, however, said that it had detected “an aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation, near the Crimean Peninsula, most likely a cruise missile,” which flew over Ukrainian territory, then crossed into Moldova “and reentered the Ukrainian airspace without intersecting, at any time, the airspace of Romania.”
Read the full story here.
A Russian missile fired at Ukraine crossed over Moldova on Friday morning and came within 22 miles of the border of Romania, a NATO member, prompting the Romanians to scramble two fighter jets that were on an exercise under NATO command, the Romanian Defense Ministry said.
The incident was part of the latest Russian barrage of strikes and Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, had initially charged that two Kalibr missiles had violated Romanian airspace — a potentially inflammatory move that could have put pressure on NATO to respond.
The Romanian Defense Ministry, however, said that it had detected “an aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation, near the Crimean Peninsula, most likely a cruise missile,” which flew over Ukrainian territory, then crossed into Moldova “and reentered the Ukrainian airspace without intersecting, at any time, the airspace of Romania.”
Read the full story here.