To see Russia’s secret antiwar art: Meet at a bus stop. At dark. Phones off.
ST. PETERSBURG — The meeting place to visit the exhibition is an anonymous bus stop opposite a snowy park in the northern Russian city of St. Petersburg at nightfall. There are no tickets and no website promoting the show — a secret, underground display of antiwar protest art.
A few people gather. A thin artist nods subtly and tells us to turn off our cellphones to avoid tracking by security agents.
Amid President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on human rights activists, lawyers and journalists, Russian antiwar artists are going underground, reprising the covert exhibitions of Soviet times, meeting in secret and passing on details by word of mouth.
For some, going underground is liberating. For others it is a painful choice, as the regime stifles public dissent and portrays the war as an existential battle for Russia’s survival that only traitors oppose.
Read the full story here.
ST. PETERSBURG — The meeting place to visit the exhibition is an anonymous bus stop opposite a snowy park in the northern Russian city of St. Petersburg at nightfall. There are no tickets and no website promoting the show — a secret, underground display of antiwar protest art.
A few people gather. A thin artist nods subtly and tells us to turn off our cellphones to avoid tracking by security agents.
Amid President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on human rights activists, lawyers and journalists, Russian antiwar artists are going underground, reprising the covert exhibitions of Soviet times, meeting in secret and passing on details by word of mouth.
For some, going underground is liberating. For others it is a painful choice, as the regime stifles public dissent and portrays the war as an existential battle for Russia’s survival that only traitors oppose.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian forces are “doing everything possible” to fend off a new Russian push to break through defense lines, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview published by an Italian newspaper that Ukrainian troops were “exceeding” their goals to reduce Russia’s “capable personnel as much as possible” and to bog them down in “wearisome battles.”
- Energy workers were restoring power after Thursday’s missile barrage hit critical infrastructure. Electricity utility Energoatom said on Telegram that electricity had been restored in Kyiv on Saturday.
- Kyiv has ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave a monastery where its headquarters is located. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Telegram that the church — which recently declared independence from the pro-war Moscow Patriarch — “violated the terms of the agreement regarding the use of state property.”
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian forces are “doing everything possible” to fend off a new Russian push to break through defense lines, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview published by an Italian newspaper that Ukrainian troops were “exceeding” their goals to reduce Russia’s “capable personnel as much as possible” and to bog them down in “wearisome battles.”
- Energy workers were restoring power after Thursday’s missile barrage hit critical infrastructure. Electricity utility Energoatom said on Telegram that electricity had been restored in Kyiv on Saturday.
- Kyiv has ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave a monastery where its headquarters is located. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Telegram that the church — which recently declared independence from the pro-war Moscow Patriarch — “violated the terms of the agreement regarding the use of state property.”
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
—The head of Ukraine’s armed forces renewed Kyiv’s call for better air defenses during a telephone call with the Pentagon’s top general, Mark A. Milley, after Russia fired a deadly barrage of hypersonic missiles.
—On the front lines in Bakhmut, Russian fighters have taken control of most of the eastern part of the besieged city in recent days, British defense officials said, while Ukrainian forces are holding their ground on the west.
—Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is apparently embarking on a new recruitment drive aimed at transforming it into a “hard line ideological elite parallel military organization,” according to analysts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.
More live updates.
—The head of Ukraine’s armed forces renewed Kyiv’s call for better air defenses during a telephone call with the Pentagon’s top general, Mark A. Milley, after Russia fired a deadly barrage of hypersonic missiles.
—On the front lines in Bakhmut, Russian fighters have taken control of most of the eastern part of the besieged city in recent days, British defense officials said, while Ukrainian forces are holding their ground on the west.
—Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is apparently embarking on a new recruitment drive aimed at transforming it into a “hard line ideological elite parallel military organization,” according to analysts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.
More live updates.
In the middle of war, Ukraine is building a wind farm
Towering wind turbines don’t immediately stand out as unusual on a continent where such machines are becoming part of the landscape. But these were built on sites peppered with bomb shelters, and under the wail of air raid sirens.
The Ukrainian energy company DTEK on Friday hit a milestone in the war-torn nation’s audacious bid to remake its energy economy and become a clean power hub for Europe. It announced a dozen turbines had been built and brought online under some of the most challenging conditions anywhere in the world, just 60 miles from the front lines of the war with Russia.
The project in the Mykolaiv region is now helping generate electricity for the area’s beleaguered residents and the broader power grid. The plan is for it to ultimately grow to several dozen turbines, creating enough energy to power as many as a half-million homes.
Read the full story here.
Towering wind turbines don’t immediately stand out as unusual on a continent where such machines are becoming part of the landscape. But these were built on sites peppered with bomb shelters, and under the wail of air raid sirens.
The Ukrainian energy company DTEK on Friday hit a milestone in the war-torn nation’s audacious bid to remake its energy economy and become a clean power hub for Europe. It announced a dozen turbines had been built and brought online under some of the most challenging conditions anywhere in the world, just 60 miles from the front lines of the war with Russia.
The project in the Mykolaiv region is now helping generate electricity for the area’s beleaguered residents and the broader power grid. The plan is for it to ultimately grow to several dozen turbines, creating enough energy to power as many as a half-million homes.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- President Zelensky said his forces are continuing to inflict heavy losses on attacking Russian fighters in Bakhmut, as Kremlin-backed mercenaries concede the fight is growing more difficult as they approach the city center.
- Russia’s military leadership could be letting Wagner Group bear the brunt of casualties in the battle for Bakhmut to weaken Prigozhin’s political influence within Russia, according to analysts.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces killed more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk region in the past day. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Power was restored to affected areas in Ukraine on Sunday after a hypersonic missile attack last week left regions without electricity, Zelensky said.
- Police in Moldova said they infiltrated a group of Russian-backed “diversionists,” upending their plot to cause mass unrest during demonstrations against the country’s new pro-Western government.
More live updates here.
- President Zelensky said his forces are continuing to inflict heavy losses on attacking Russian fighters in Bakhmut, as Kremlin-backed mercenaries concede the fight is growing more difficult as they approach the city center.
- Russia’s military leadership could be letting Wagner Group bear the brunt of casualties in the battle for Bakhmut to weaken Prigozhin’s political influence within Russia, according to analysts.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces killed more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk region in the past day. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Power was restored to affected areas in Ukraine on Sunday after a hypersonic missile attack last week left regions without electricity, Zelensky said.
- Police in Moldova said they infiltrated a group of Russian-backed “diversionists,” upending their plot to cause mass unrest during demonstrations against the country’s new pro-Western government.
More live updates here.
Ukraine war’s environmental toll will devastate lives for decades
KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine — Gregoriy Sidorenko watched in disbelief as the Russian cruise missile slammed into storage tank number four at the oil depot here, sparking a massive fire that would last roughly 16 hours.
More than 1 million gallons of oil from eight incinerated tanks seeped into the soil, raising concerns about potential contamination at a nearby drinking water reservoir in this industrial city south of Kyiv.
Since the war began more than a year ago, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded on the battlefield. But the Russian invasion has created a lower-profile killer as well — one that could haunt Ukrainians for years, if not decades, scientists say. The war has scarred Ukraine’s natural environment — polluting its rivers, contaminating its soil, eviscerating its forests — a circumstance that experts fear could lead to a long-term increase in cancers and other illnesses.
Read the full story here.
KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine — Gregoriy Sidorenko watched in disbelief as the Russian cruise missile slammed into storage tank number four at the oil depot here, sparking a massive fire that would last roughly 16 hours.
More than 1 million gallons of oil from eight incinerated tanks seeped into the soil, raising concerns about potential contamination at a nearby drinking water reservoir in this industrial city south of Kyiv.
Since the war began more than a year ago, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded on the battlefield. But the Russian invasion has created a lower-profile killer as well — one that could haunt Ukrainians for years, if not decades, scientists say. The war has scarred Ukraine’s natural environment — polluting its rivers, contaminating its soil, eviscerating its forests — a circumstance that experts fear could lead to a long-term increase in cancers and other illnesses.
Read the full story here.
Defending Ukraine’s ‘highway of life’ — the last road out of Bakhmut
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Russia has committed hordes of soldiers and mercenaries to capturing Bakhmut. Those fighters have pushed Ukrainian troops to the city’s western edge and, like an alligator’s maw, are closing in from the south and north, aiming to encircle and annihilate them.
The maneuver has cut off virtually all roads — except Highway T0504, a two-lane hardball that connects to Bakhmut’s southwestern edge and is so vital that troops have branded it “the highway of life.”
“It’s the only road left in which we can evacuate the wounded, evacuate the dead,” said Maj. Oleksandr Pantsernyi, the commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion, one of the units responsible for defending the corridor. Just as important is the road’s role in sustaining the fight, he said, by enabling the movement of ammunition, water and fresh troops east.
Read the full story here.
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Russia has committed hordes of soldiers and mercenaries to capturing Bakhmut. Those fighters have pushed Ukrainian troops to the city’s western edge and, like an alligator’s maw, are closing in from the south and north, aiming to encircle and annihilate them.
The maneuver has cut off virtually all roads — except Highway T0504, a two-lane hardball that connects to Bakhmut’s southwestern edge and is so vital that troops have branded it “the highway of life.”
“It’s the only road left in which we can evacuate the wounded, evacuate the dead,” said Maj. Oleksandr Pantsernyi, the commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion, one of the units responsible for defending the corridor. Just as important is the road’s role in sustaining the fight, he said, by enabling the movement of ammunition, water and fresh troops east.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces are continuing to inflict heavy losses on attacking Russian fighters in the besieged front-line city of Bakhmut, where Kremlin-backed mercenaries concede the fight is growing more difficult as they approach the city center, bombarded by artillery and tank fire.
- Ukraine killed “more than 1,100” Russian fighters in Bakhmut in the past week, Zelensky said in his nightly address, while 1,500 others were put out of action because of the severity of their injuries.
- The head of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group described the situation in Bakhmut as “very difficult.”
- A captured Ukrainian soldier summarily executed on video by Russian forces was awarded the title of “Hero of Ukraine” by Zelensky.
- Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv destroyed residential buildings and killed a man and woman in their 40s, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said Monday on Telegram.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces are continuing to inflict heavy losses on attacking Russian fighters in the besieged front-line city of Bakhmut, where Kremlin-backed mercenaries concede the fight is growing more difficult as they approach the city center, bombarded by artillery and tank fire.
- Ukraine killed “more than 1,100” Russian fighters in Bakhmut in the past week, Zelensky said in his nightly address, while 1,500 others were put out of action because of the severity of their injuries.
- The head of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group described the situation in Bakhmut as “very difficult.”
- A captured Ukrainian soldier summarily executed on video by Russian forces was awarded the title of “Hero of Ukraine” by Zelensky.
- Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv destroyed residential buildings and killed a man and woman in their 40s, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said Monday on Telegram.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal, which aims to prevent a global food crisis by letting Ukraine export vital food sources from its southern coast, “but only for 60 days,” according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
- Almost all roads out of Bakhmut have been cut off by Russian troops and fierce fighting. Just one viable road out of the city remains, Highway T0504, also known as the “highway of life.”
- Russia’s military leadership could be letting the Wagner Group bear the brunt of casualties in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city to weaken Prigozhin’s political influence within Russia, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that its forces killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members in the eastern Donetsk region in the past day and destroyed several combat vehicles and a long-range artillery piece.
More live updates here.
- Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal, which aims to prevent a global food crisis by letting Ukraine export vital food sources from its southern coast, “but only for 60 days,” according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
- Almost all roads out of Bakhmut have been cut off by Russian troops and fierce fighting. Just one viable road out of the city remains, Highway T0504, also known as the “highway of life.”
- Russia’s military leadership could be letting the Wagner Group bear the brunt of casualties in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city to weaken Prigozhin’s political influence within Russia, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that its forces killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members in the eastern Donetsk region in the past day and destroyed several combat vehicles and a long-range artillery piece.
More live updates here.
Ukraine short of skilled troops and munitions as losses, pessimism grow
DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine — The quality of Ukraine’s military force, once considered a substantial advantage over Russia, has been degraded by a year of casualties that have taken many of the most experienced fighters off the battlefield, leading some Ukrainian officials to question Kyiv’s readiness to mount a much-anticipated spring offensive.
U.S. and European officials have estimated that as many as 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of Russia’s invasion early last year, compared with about 200,000 on the Russian side, which has a much larger military and roughly triple the population from which to draw conscripts. Ukraine keeps its running casualty numbers secret, even from its staunchest Western supporters.
Read the full story here.
DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine — The quality of Ukraine’s military force, once considered a substantial advantage over Russia, has been degraded by a year of casualties that have taken many of the most experienced fighters off the battlefield, leading some Ukrainian officials to question Kyiv’s readiness to mount a much-anticipated spring offensive.
U.S. and European officials have estimated that as many as 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of Russia’s invasion early last year, compared with about 200,000 on the Russian side, which has a much larger military and roughly triple the population from which to draw conscripts. Ukraine keeps its running casualty numbers secret, even from its staunchest Western supporters.
Read the full story here.
Russian jets force down U.S. drone over Black Sea, military says
A pair of Russian fighter jets intercepted and forced down an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, with one Russian jet colliding with the propeller of the unmanned aircraft after both Russian warplanes dumped fuel on it.
The incident prompted Air Force drone pilots to bring down the MQ-9 Reaper in international waters in what U.S. officials said has become a “pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots” while interacting with American and allied aircraft in international airspace. The actions, U.S. military officials said in a statement, “could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation” between the two countries.
Read the full story here.
A pair of Russian fighter jets intercepted and forced down an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, with one Russian jet colliding with the propeller of the unmanned aircraft after both Russian warplanes dumped fuel on it.
The incident prompted Air Force drone pilots to bring down the MQ-9 Reaper in international waters in what U.S. officials said has become a “pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots” while interacting with American and allied aircraft in international airspace. The actions, U.S. military officials said in a statement, “could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation” between the two countries.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- A Russian jet collided with the propeller of the U.S. drone over the Black Sea, forcing it down, the U.S. air force said Tuesday.
- At least two people died in separate strikes in Ukraine’s east and northeast Tuesday morning, according to officials.
- Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal that aims to prevent a global food crisis by letting Ukraine export vital food sources from its southern coast, “but only for 60 days,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.
- Russia does not recognize the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, Peskov said, according to the state-owned Tass news agency.
- An ongoing ammunition shortage among Russian artillery units has probably worsened in recent weeks, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
- Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks in towns around Bakhmut, Ukraine’s military said Tuesday.
More live updates here.
- A Russian jet collided with the propeller of the U.S. drone over the Black Sea, forcing it down, the U.S. air force said Tuesday.
- At least two people died in separate strikes in Ukraine’s east and northeast Tuesday morning, according to officials.
- Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal that aims to prevent a global food crisis by letting Ukraine export vital food sources from its southern coast, “but only for 60 days,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.
- Russia does not recognize the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, Peskov said, according to the state-owned Tass news agency.
- An ongoing ammunition shortage among Russian artillery units has probably worsened in recent weeks, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
- Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks in towns around Bakhmut, Ukraine’s military said Tuesday.
More live updates here.