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These Ukrainian villagers live in Cold War nuclear bunkers — and plan to stay
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there are only 50 residents left in the southern village of Luch. And most of them are living together in Cold War-era Soviet bunkers.
Svitlana Gynzhul, 55, is one of them — and has no plans to leave anytime soon.
When Russia occupied the village, situated 25 miles northwest of Kherson, residents turned to the bunkers for safety. “When shells flew overhead, we had our comforts down here,” Gynzhul told Reuters. “And now we still live here.”
Luch was once home to 935 people before the war, the outlet reported. The bunkers were initially a place for residents to seek refuge at night during heavy shelling at the start of the war.
“From the first day, when everything started, we started to clean up the bomb shelter. And it was very good that we started doing that because on February 24 last year, at night at 11 p.m., a shell exploded in our village,” Gynzhul said.
Read the full story here.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there are only 50 residents left in the southern village of Luch. And most of them are living together in Cold War-era Soviet bunkers.
Svitlana Gynzhul, 55, is one of them — and has no plans to leave anytime soon.
When Russia occupied the village, situated 25 miles northwest of Kherson, residents turned to the bunkers for safety. “When shells flew overhead, we had our comforts down here,” Gynzhul told Reuters. “And now we still live here.”
Luch was once home to 935 people before the war, the outlet reported. The bunkers were initially a place for residents to seek refuge at night during heavy shelling at the start of the war.
“From the first day, when everything started, we started to clean up the bomb shelter. And it was very good that we started doing that because on February 24 last year, at night at 11 p.m., a shell exploded in our village,” Gynzhul said.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest in Ukraine:
- A grueling seven-month battle for the front-line city of Bakhmut is coming down to street-by-street fighting and skirmishes on its outskirts, where Ukrainian forces are digging narrow trenches into the muddy ground to fortify their positions.
- Russian forces appear to have conducted a “turning movement” in parts of the city, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said — a military maneuver intended to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their defensive positions — but have not yet forced their withdrawal or encircled the city.
- The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said that if its forces were to retreat from Bakhmut, “the entire front will collapse.” Yevgeniy Prigozhin made the comment in a video that circulated over the weekend, in which he also complained of an ammunition shortage, according to media outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
More live updates here.
- A grueling seven-month battle for the front-line city of Bakhmut is coming down to street-by-street fighting and skirmishes on its outskirts, where Ukrainian forces are digging narrow trenches into the muddy ground to fortify their positions.
- Russian forces appear to have conducted a “turning movement” in parts of the city, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said — a military maneuver intended to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their defensive positions — but have not yet forced their withdrawal or encircled the city.
- The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said that if its forces were to retreat from Bakhmut, “the entire front will collapse.” Yevgeniy Prigozhin made the comment in a video that circulated over the weekend, in which he also complained of an ammunition shortage, according to media outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine.
- Ukrainian troops are “continuing to inflict high casualties” against Russia’s military and mercenary forces in Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War, even as they may be conducting a “limited fighting withdrawal” from the area. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have not seized full control of the city.
- Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’s center-right party appears to be on track for a resounding election victory, according to the early results of Sunday’s poll. Kallas has been a vocal backer of Kyiv, and the vote was considered a test of the Baltic nation’s strong military support for Ukraine.
- Russia launched four missile strikes and 23 airstrikes on Sunday, according to Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Beijing there would be consequences if China supplies lethal military aid to Russia.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian troops are “continuing to inflict high casualties” against Russia’s military and mercenary forces in Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War, even as they may be conducting a “limited fighting withdrawal” from the area. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have not seized full control of the city.
- Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’s center-right party appears to be on track for a resounding election victory, according to the early results of Sunday’s poll. Kallas has been a vocal backer of Kyiv, and the vote was considered a test of the Baltic nation’s strong military support for Ukraine.
- Russia launched four missile strikes and 23 airstrikes on Sunday, according to Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Beijing there would be consequences if China supplies lethal military aid to Russia.
More live updates here.
Zelensky calls fight for east ‘painful’ as options dwindle in Bakhmut
Ukrainian forces clung to their positions in Bakhmut on Sunday, fiercely resisting a Russian push to encircle the city in the eastern Donetsk region and prolonging a fight that has become a symbol of Ukraine’s battlefield defiance.
Ukrainian officials have described their grip on Bakhmut, a small industrial city, as increasingly tenuous in recent days, suggesting they may need to withdraw to prevent their troops from being trapped by Russian fighters advancing on three sides.
The fate of the city, which military experts say holds little strategic value, assumes outsize importance a year into President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war, as Ukraine prepares for what is likely to be a grueling spring offensive and Western leaders scramble to deliver arms and ammunition they hope will tip the scales in its favor.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian forces clung to their positions in Bakhmut on Sunday, fiercely resisting a Russian push to encircle the city in the eastern Donetsk region and prolonging a fight that has become a symbol of Ukraine’s battlefield defiance.
Ukrainian officials have described their grip on Bakhmut, a small industrial city, as increasingly tenuous in recent days, suggesting they may need to withdraw to prevent their troops from being trapped by Russian fighters advancing on three sides.
The fate of the city, which military experts say holds little strategic value, assumes outsize importance a year into President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war, as Ukraine prepares for what is likely to be a grueling spring offensive and Western leaders scramble to deliver arms and ammunition they hope will tip the scales in its favor.
Read the full story here.
Talking to children who left Russia about the war in Ukraine
YEREVAN, Armenia — After last year’s invasion of Ukraine, academic freedom was among the first casualties. In wartime Russia, schoolchildren are now required to attend compulsory “patriotism” classes, teachers face jail time for expressing antiwar opinions in their classrooms and, in some kindergartens, there have even been weapons demonstrations.
But outside the country, in Russia’s emigre communities — swelled by the hundreds of thousands who fled in response to the invasion or to avoid military conscription — newly established Russian schools are grappling with a different challenge: how to talk to children about the war, which has displaced their families but also spurred a wave of anti-Russian sentiment.
Vladislav Povyshev, a history teacher from Siberia, said he left Russia after it became clear he would not be able to teach in the way he wanted.
Read the full story here.
YEREVAN, Armenia — After last year’s invasion of Ukraine, academic freedom was among the first casualties. In wartime Russia, schoolchildren are now required to attend compulsory “patriotism” classes, teachers face jail time for expressing antiwar opinions in their classrooms and, in some kindergartens, there have even been weapons demonstrations.
But outside the country, in Russia’s emigre communities — swelled by the hundreds of thousands who fled in response to the invasion or to avoid military conscription — newly established Russian schools are grappling with a different challenge: how to talk to children about the war, which has displaced their families but also spurred a wave of anti-Russian sentiment.
Vladislav Povyshev, a history teacher from Siberia, said he left Russia after it became clear he would not be able to teach in the way he wanted.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- A victory for Russia in Bakhmut won’t change the tide of the war, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday, as the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city intensified.
- Ukrainian energy and defense officials will “do everything to be ready to face any threat next winter,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
- Russia’s defense minister visited the occupied city of Mariupol, according to videos and a statement by the Defense Ministry.
- Ukraine made a rare claim of responsibility for an attack behind Russian borders.
- Russia is deploying decades-old battle tanks amid heavy losses of more contemporary ones, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.
- Russia launched 15 attacks against Ukraine overnight using Iranian-made drones, Ukraine’s air force said.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed last week’s attack on two villages in Russia with his security council, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
More live updates here.
- A victory for Russia in Bakhmut won’t change the tide of the war, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday, as the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city intensified.
- Ukrainian energy and defense officials will “do everything to be ready to face any threat next winter,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
- Russia’s defense minister visited the occupied city of Mariupol, according to videos and a statement by the Defense Ministry.
- Ukraine made a rare claim of responsibility for an attack behind Russian borders.
- Russia is deploying decades-old battle tanks amid heavy losses of more contemporary ones, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.
- Russia launched 15 attacks against Ukraine overnight using Iranian-made drones, Ukraine’s air force said.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed last week’s attack on two villages in Russia with his security council, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
More live updates here.
Russia advances in Bakhmut by sending waves of mercenaries to certain death
DNIPRO, Ukraine — It takes Ukrainian troops little more than a glance to tell if Russian fighters advancing on their positions near the fiercely embattled city of Bakhmut are seasoned soldiers or recent recruits.
The men enlisted to fight for Russia’s Wagner mercenary force — composed of many convicted criminals recruited behind bars and sent to fight in Ukraine in exchange for their freedom — are “dirtier and they don’t have the same military uniforms or flak jackets like regular Russian soldiers,” said Dmytro Vatagin, 48, a Ukrainian soldier stationed in the neighboring village of Ivanivske with the volunteer 24th Battalion.
The mercenary fighters typically move on Ukrainian positions early in the morning, he said, attempting attacks in irregular and unpredictable patterns, seemingly without any clear strategy, which makes them seem “unprepared” for battle.
Read the full story here.
DNIPRO, Ukraine — It takes Ukrainian troops little more than a glance to tell if Russian fighters advancing on their positions near the fiercely embattled city of Bakhmut are seasoned soldiers or recent recruits.
The men enlisted to fight for Russia’s Wagner mercenary force — composed of many convicted criminals recruited behind bars and sent to fight in Ukraine in exchange for their freedom — are “dirtier and they don’t have the same military uniforms or flak jackets like regular Russian soldiers,” said Dmytro Vatagin, 48, a Ukrainian soldier stationed in the neighboring village of Ivanivske with the volunteer 24th Battalion.
The mercenary fighters typically move on Ukrainian positions early in the morning, he said, attempting attacks in irregular and unpredictable patterns, seemingly without any clear strategy, which makes them seem “unprepared” for battle.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine does not have plans to withdraw from Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday, adding that top military commanders had unanimously backed reinforcing the city over withdrawing from it. “There were no other opinions,” he said.
- China’s foreign minister accused the United States of double standards over international arms sales on Tuesday, when he compared U.S. military support to Taiwan with warnings from Washington for China not to send “lethal aid” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Russian forces are continuing offensive operations against Bakhmut despite heavy losses, Ukraine’s general staff reported early Tuesday.
- Fighting in Bakhmut has intensified, with the two sides engaging in hand-to-hand combat at times, The Post reported.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine does not have plans to withdraw from Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday, adding that top military commanders had unanimously backed reinforcing the city over withdrawing from it. “There were no other opinions,” he said.
- China’s foreign minister accused the United States of double standards over international arms sales on Tuesday, when he compared U.S. military support to Taiwan with warnings from Washington for China not to send “lethal aid” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Russian forces are continuing offensive operations against Bakhmut despite heavy losses, Ukraine’s general staff reported early Tuesday.
- Fighting in Bakhmut has intensified, with the two sides engaging in hand-to-hand combat at times, The Post reported.
More live updates here.
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These two maps show how the war in Ukraine has evolved
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine one year ago, weapons have punctuated the landscape: Missiles streak through the skies, drones explode outside building windows, and the booms of artillery echo through the days and nights.
As Russia retreated from Kyiv and the north last spring, the fighting became consolidated in the east, forming what is the current front line. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project organization shows how the battlefield changed over the year. While not comprehensive, the information gives a sense of how conflict’s geographic focus and intensity have evolved.
See our mapping of events involving shelling, artillery or missile attacks and air or drone strikes here.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine one year ago, weapons have punctuated the landscape: Missiles streak through the skies, drones explode outside building windows, and the booms of artillery echo through the days and nights.
As Russia retreated from Kyiv and the north last spring, the fighting became consolidated in the east, forming what is the current front line. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project organization shows how the battlefield changed over the year. While not comprehensive, the information gives a sense of how conflict’s geographic focus and intensity have evolved.
See our mapping of events involving shelling, artillery or missile attacks and air or drone strikes here.
Analysis: Putin retreats deeper into his labyrinth
More than a year into the war he launched in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is confronted with failure. Over months of offensives, the Russian war machine faltered badly, failing to capture Kyiv and buckling on other fronts in Ukraine’s south and east. What Putin spuriously billed as a mission to “denazify” Russia’s neighbor has turned into a set of grinding, attritional battles, punctuated by reports of Russian atrocities and war crimes.
Meanwhile, the number of Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine may reach more than 200,000, its economy has been hobbled by a sweeping regime of Western sanctions, and its society has fallen further into the autocratic clutches of an embittered despot in the Kremlin.
Read the full analysis here.
More than a year into the war he launched in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is confronted with failure. Over months of offensives, the Russian war machine faltered badly, failing to capture Kyiv and buckling on other fronts in Ukraine’s south and east. What Putin spuriously billed as a mission to “denazify” Russia’s neighbor has turned into a set of grinding, attritional battles, punctuated by reports of Russian atrocities and war crimes.
Meanwhile, the number of Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine may reach more than 200,000, its economy has been hobbled by a sweeping regime of Western sanctions, and its society has fallen further into the autocratic clutches of an embittered despot in the Kremlin.
Read the full analysis here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine does not plan to withdraw from Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, adding that senior military commanders supported reinforcing the eastern city.
- Fighting in Bakhmut has intensified, involving hand-to-hand combat at times, The Washington Post reported.
- China pushed back against U.S. warnings against arming Russia.
- Russia and Ukraine swapped prisoners on Tuesday, according to officials on both sides.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said a Russian reconnaissance plane was damaged last month in his country in a drone attack that was claimed by an opposition group but not confirmed by authorities.
- The U.N. secretary general is going to Ukraine, his office said Tuesday.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine does not plan to withdraw from Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, adding that senior military commanders supported reinforcing the eastern city.
- Fighting in Bakhmut has intensified, involving hand-to-hand combat at times, The Washington Post reported.
- China pushed back against U.S. warnings against arming Russia.
- Russia and Ukraine swapped prisoners on Tuesday, according to officials on both sides.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said a Russian reconnaissance plane was damaged last month in his country in a drone attack that was claimed by an opposition group but not confirmed by authorities.
- The U.N. secretary general is going to Ukraine, his office said Tuesday.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine vowed to continue defending Bakhmut to prevent Russia from moving on to nearby towns and cities.
- There is still no forensic evidence from the Nord Stream blast site that ties the sabotage to any country, officials said. However, a senior Western security official told The Washington Post that governments investigating the bombings had uncovered evidence that pro-Ukraine individuals or entities had discussed the possibility of carrying out an attack on the pipelines before the explosions in September.
- U.N. Secretary General António Guterres is heading to Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss the Black Sea grain export deal with President Zelensky.
- Hungary’s government and most of its parliament are supportive of Sweden’s bid to join NATO, a Hungarian delegation said on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine vowed to continue defending Bakhmut to prevent Russia from moving on to nearby towns and cities.
- There is still no forensic evidence from the Nord Stream blast site that ties the sabotage to any country, officials said. However, a senior Western security official told The Washington Post that governments investigating the bombings had uncovered evidence that pro-Ukraine individuals or entities had discussed the possibility of carrying out an attack on the pipelines before the explosions in September.
- U.N. Secretary General António Guterres is heading to Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss the Black Sea grain export deal with President Zelensky.
- Hungary’s government and most of its parliament are supportive of Sweden’s bid to join NATO, a Hungarian delegation said on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
More live updates here.
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Violent clashes in Georgia over ‘foreign influence’ bill opposed by West
Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, after lawmakers moved forward a controversial foreign influence bill that rights groups say will restrict media freedom and civil society.
The bill cleared an initial vote in Georgia, whose government has increasingly clashed with Western officials over its rights record amid fears it is drifting toward the Kremlin. The draft law would require nongovernmental organizations and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their annual revenue from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence,” which would subject them to additional scrutiny, with significant penalties possible for violations.
Read the full story here.
Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, after lawmakers moved forward a controversial foreign influence bill that rights groups say will restrict media freedom and civil society.
The bill cleared an initial vote in Georgia, whose government has increasingly clashed with Western officials over its rights record amid fears it is drifting toward the Kremlin. The draft law would require nongovernmental organizations and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their annual revenue from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence,” which would subject them to additional scrutiny, with significant penalties possible for violations.
Read the full story here.
Intelligence officials suspect Ukraine partisans behind Nord Stream bombings, rattling Kyiv’s allies
Intelligence and diplomatic officials in the U.S. and Europe suspect that pro-Ukraine saboteurs may be responsible for explosions in September that severely damaged the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, an attack that could erode support for Ukraine among the Western nations that have come to its defense against Russia.
Questions about Ukrainian culpability first surfaced last year when investigators found no evidence to directly tie the attacks to the Russian government. Within days of the three undersea explosions, officials in Washington and European capitals had publicly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.
But more information shared with officials in Washington and Europe suggests that a pro-Ukraine group, perhaps operating without Kyiv’s direct knowledge, may have carried out the attack, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Read the full story here.
Intelligence and diplomatic officials in the U.S. and Europe suspect that pro-Ukraine saboteurs may be responsible for explosions in September that severely damaged the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, an attack that could erode support for Ukraine among the Western nations that have come to its defense against Russia.
Questions about Ukrainian culpability first surfaced last year when investigators found no evidence to directly tie the attacks to the Russian government. Within days of the three undersea explosions, officials in Washington and European capitals had publicly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.
But more information shared with officials in Washington and Europe suggests that a pro-Ukraine group, perhaps operating without Kyiv’s direct knowledge, may have carried out the attack, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky invites McCarthy to visit Ukraine amid GOP divide over stopping Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to visit Ukraine, amid a growing divide among GOP lawmakers over whether the United States should continue to support the country’s efforts to fight off Russian invasion.
Zelensky noted that other lawmakers have visited Ukraine to witness what war has done to the country and to see firsthand “the supply routes, every shell, every bullet, every dollar [of aid],” Zelensky told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, according to a preview clip of the interview aired Wednesday morning.
“I think that Speaker McCarthy — he never visited Kyiv or Ukraine. I think it would help him with his position. When they come to us … they see the supply routes, every shell, every bullet, every dollar.”
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to visit Ukraine, amid a growing divide among GOP lawmakers over whether the United States should continue to support the country’s efforts to fight off Russian invasion.
Zelensky noted that other lawmakers have visited Ukraine to witness what war has done to the country and to see firsthand “the supply routes, every shell, every bullet, every dollar [of aid],” Zelensky told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, according to a preview clip of the interview aired Wednesday morning.
“I think that Speaker McCarthy — he never visited Kyiv or Ukraine. I think it would help him with his position. When they come to us … they see the supply routes, every shell, every bullet, every dollar.”
Read the full story here.
Video of alleged POW killing angers and inspires Ukrainians
A weary man in combat fatigues, a Ukrainian flag on his arm, smokes a cigarette. He stands over a ditch in the woods, looking toward the camera.
“Well, start taking the video now,” an off-screen voice says in Russian.
“Glory to Ukraine!” the smoker responds, in Ukrainian.
A split-second later: gunshots. The smoker drops to the ground, dead. Two off-camera voices curse him in Russian.
This pixelated clip, just 12 seconds long, appears to show the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war. As it spread on social media, going viral on Monday, it ignited fierce anger in Ukraine, where officials and other public figures have said it shows the cruelty of invading Russian forces and reinforces the need for a war crimes investigation for flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions.
Read the full story here.
A weary man in combat fatigues, a Ukrainian flag on his arm, smokes a cigarette. He stands over a ditch in the woods, looking toward the camera.
“Well, start taking the video now,” an off-screen voice says in Russian.
“Glory to Ukraine!” the smoker responds, in Ukrainian.
A split-second later: gunshots. The smoker drops to the ground, dead. Two off-camera voices curse him in Russian.
This pixelated clip, just 12 seconds long, appears to show the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war. As it spread on social media, going viral on Monday, it ignited fierce anger in Ukraine, where officials and other public figures have said it shows the cruelty of invading Russian forces and reinforces the need for a war crimes investigation for flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions.
Read the full story here.