Russians tied to Putin or military sidestep sanctions and draw protest
LONDON — Despite heavy sanctions intended to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine, dozens of Russians connected to President Vladimir Putin or the Russian military are still welcome in European Union countries, drawing criticism from politicians and antiwar activists.
The critics are pressing for more action by drawing attention to cases that seem to defy the goal of Western sanctions, which have been used to deny travel visas and to seize yachts, real estate and other property.
A daughter and son-in-law of Boris Obnosov, head of the Russian-owned Tactical Missiles Corporation, which produces missiles and aerial bombs that have been destroying Ukrainian cities, continue to live in Prague, where the family owns numerous properties and luxury vehicles.
Last month, 15 members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to impose sanctions on Obnosov’s close family members.
Read the full story here.
LONDON — Despite heavy sanctions intended to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine, dozens of Russians connected to President Vladimir Putin or the Russian military are still welcome in European Union countries, drawing criticism from politicians and antiwar activists.
The critics are pressing for more action by drawing attention to cases that seem to defy the goal of Western sanctions, which have been used to deny travel visas and to seize yachts, real estate and other property.
A daughter and son-in-law of Boris Obnosov, head of the Russian-owned Tactical Missiles Corporation, which produces missiles and aerial bombs that have been destroying Ukrainian cities, continue to live in Prague, where the family owns numerous properties and luxury vehicles.
Last month, 15 members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to impose sanctions on Obnosov’s close family members.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine’s offensive inches forward in search of a breakthrough
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Intense fighting raged in southeastern Ukraine this week as Kyiv continued a major push to reclaim territory with a fresh injection of Western-trained and -equipped troops but no sign yet of a major breakthrough.
Russia’s main defensive line — a phalanx of trenches, tripwires and anti-personnel and anti-armor mines — remains ahead of Ukrainian forces and their objective to drive south and sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, a key military supply route.
Ukrainian troops have begun to make incremental gains toward that line after swapping out an approach that involved small movements of troops on foot for a larger influx of forces from Ukraine’s 10th Corps reserves using tanks and armored vehicles.
Read the full story here.
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Intense fighting raged in southeastern Ukraine this week as Kyiv continued a major push to reclaim territory with a fresh injection of Western-trained and -equipped troops but no sign yet of a major breakthrough.
Russia’s main defensive line — a phalanx of trenches, tripwires and anti-personnel and anti-armor mines — remains ahead of Ukrainian forces and their objective to drive south and sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, a key military supply route.
Ukrainian troops have begun to make incremental gains toward that line after swapping out an approach that involved small movements of troops on foot for a larger influx of forces from Ukraine’s 10th Corps reserves using tanks and armored vehicles.
Read the full story here.
Deal struck to get Leopard tanks to Ukraine from private Belgian broker
BRUSSELS — Dozens of Leopard 1 tanks could be overhauled and sent to Ukraine after an unidentified buyer purchased the German-made fighting vehicles from a private Belgian dealer.
“I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, who is chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, wrote in a LinkedIn post along with a photo featuring rows of tanks in a hanger along with a bottle of “Ukrainian Freedom” brand vodka.
Versluys bought the tanks years ago when the Belgian army sold them as part of cost-cutting measures. Earlier this year, as allies debated if and how to get tanks to Ukraine, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said her country was seeking to re-buy the Leopards, but was quoted an “unreasonable price.”
Read the full story here.
BRUSSELS — Dozens of Leopard 1 tanks could be overhauled and sent to Ukraine after an unidentified buyer purchased the German-made fighting vehicles from a private Belgian dealer.
“I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, who is chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, wrote in a LinkedIn post along with a photo featuring rows of tanks in a hanger along with a bottle of “Ukrainian Freedom” brand vodka.
Versluys bought the tanks years ago when the Belgian army sold them as part of cost-cutting measures. Earlier this year, as allies debated if and how to get tanks to Ukraine, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said her country was seeking to re-buy the Leopards, but was quoted an “unreasonable price.”
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of buzzing the Moscow region with two drones overnight, both of which officials said were downed by air defenses and caused no damage.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials accused Russia of targeting emergency workers by launching missiles at residential areas in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, then hitting the same spot again when rescuers were arriving.
- An explosion at a pyrotechnics warehouse injured 56 people in the Moscow region Wednesday morning, according to local Russian officials.
- Russian shelling killed an 18-year-old in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local military administrator Serhiy Lysak said early Wednesday.
- Ukrainian troops conducted “offensive operations” in the country’s southeast, around the occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, the country’s armed forces said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of buzzing the Moscow region with two drones overnight, both of which officials said were downed by air defenses and caused no damage.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials accused Russia of targeting emergency workers by launching missiles at residential areas in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, then hitting the same spot again when rescuers were arriving.
- An explosion at a pyrotechnics warehouse injured 56 people in the Moscow region Wednesday morning, according to local Russian officials.
- Russian shelling killed an 18-year-old in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local military administrator Serhiy Lysak said early Wednesday.
- Ukrainian troops conducted “offensive operations” in the country’s southeast, around the occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, the country’s armed forces said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- An unidentified buyer has purchased dozens of German-made Leopard 1 tanks from a private Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported. “I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, said in a LinkedIn post.
- Versluys, chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, did not disclose the price paid for the tanks and disputed reports suggesting he had demanded 500,000 euros per vehicle after purchasing them for 15,000 euros each.
- Four drones targeting Moscow and Crimea were shot down by Russia in separate incidents, its Defense Ministry said on Telegram early Thursday.
- Ukraine will require at least $42 billion in international assistance in 2024, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said in an interview Wednesday with Radio Liberty.
- A Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia killed at least three people, governor Yuriy Malashko said Thursday on Telegram.
More live updates here.
- An unidentified buyer has purchased dozens of German-made Leopard 1 tanks from a private Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported. “I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, said in a LinkedIn post.
- Versluys, chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, did not disclose the price paid for the tanks and disputed reports suggesting he had demanded 500,000 euros per vehicle after purchasing them for 15,000 euros each.
- Four drones targeting Moscow and Crimea were shot down by Russia in separate incidents, its Defense Ministry said on Telegram early Thursday.
- Ukraine will require at least $42 billion in international assistance in 2024, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said in an interview Wednesday with Radio Liberty.
- A Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia killed at least three people, governor Yuriy Malashko said Thursday on Telegram.
More live updates here.
Slow counteroffensive darkens mood in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — This nation is worn out.
For nearly 18 months, Ukraine has stood against its Russian invaders — rallying support for its troops by embracing last year’s battlefield victories in the Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions.
Those wins carried beleaguered Ukrainians through a winter of airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and a brutal and symbolic battle for Bakhmut, the eastern city that fell to the Russians in May.
Throughout, Ukrainian officials and their western partners hyped up a coming counteroffensive — one that, buoyed by a flood of new weapons and training, they hoped would turn the tide of the war.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — This nation is worn out.
For nearly 18 months, Ukraine has stood against its Russian invaders — rallying support for its troops by embracing last year’s battlefield victories in the Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions.
Those wins carried beleaguered Ukrainians through a winter of airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and a brutal and symbolic battle for Bakhmut, the eastern city that fell to the Russians in May.
Throughout, Ukrainian officials and their western partners hyped up a coming counteroffensive — one that, buoyed by a flood of new weapons and training, they hoped would turn the tide of the war.
Read the full story here.
What is happening in Niger, and how could the coup there affect the region?
Russia and the Wagner mercenary group have “tried to take advantage” of instability in Niger, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Tuesday, two weeks into a bloodless military coup that ousted Niger’s U.S.-allied president.
Last month’s coup was Niger’s fifth since it gained independence from France in 1960. Washington — worried about the West’s waning influence in Africa and two U.S. military bases in Niger — has called for the restoration of democracy and paused security coordination and financial aid.
Alongside homegrown extremism, Russia and its Wagner mercenary group have been gaining a foothold by backing military leaders and developing security and business ties in some of these countries.
The Wagner Group — in turmoil since its founder and leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accepted exile in Belarus after a mutiny and failed march on Moscow in June — has provided fighters for hire across Africa.
Read the full story here.
Russia and the Wagner mercenary group have “tried to take advantage” of instability in Niger, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Tuesday, two weeks into a bloodless military coup that ousted Niger’s U.S.-allied president.
Last month’s coup was Niger’s fifth since it gained independence from France in 1960. Washington — worried about the West’s waning influence in Africa and two U.S. military bases in Niger — has called for the restoration of democracy and paused security coordination and financial aid.
Alongside homegrown extremism, Russia and its Wagner mercenary group have been gaining a foothold by backing military leaders and developing security and business ties in some of these countries.
The Wagner Group — in turmoil since its founder and leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accepted exile in Belarus after a mutiny and failed march on Moscow in June — has provided fighters for hire across Africa.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The co-founder of Russian technology giant Yandex called the war in Ukraine “barbaric,” a rare display of dissent among the Russian elite. He has lived in Tel Aviv since 2014.
- Russian officials said early Thursday that air defenses shot down two drones flying over Moscow, the latest in a spate of drone attacks apparently targeting the Russian capital.
- An unidentified buyer purchased dozens of German-made tanks from a Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported.
- Two months after Ukraine went on the attack, with little visible progress on the front, a bloody summer across the country and a slow counteroffensive are fraying the narrative of Ukrainians’ endless perseverance, Post journalists report from Ukraine.
- Russian forces are pressing their offensive operations in Kupyansk in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar and a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry said separately.
More live updates here.
- The co-founder of Russian technology giant Yandex called the war in Ukraine “barbaric,” a rare display of dissent among the Russian elite. He has lived in Tel Aviv since 2014.
- Russian officials said early Thursday that air defenses shot down two drones flying over Moscow, the latest in a spate of drone attacks apparently targeting the Russian capital.
- An unidentified buyer purchased dozens of German-made tanks from a Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported.
- Two months after Ukraine went on the attack, with little visible progress on the front, a bloody summer across the country and a slow counteroffensive are fraying the narrative of Ukrainians’ endless perseverance, Post journalists report from Ukraine.
- Russian forces are pressing their offensive operations in Kupyansk in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar and a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry said separately.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Officials in Kyiv said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital on Friday. The Kyiv military administration said air defense systems were working, and there were no initial reports of casualties.
- In Moscow, Russian officials said they intercepted yet another drone targeting the capital on Friday.
- The military administration of Ukraine’s Kupiansk ordered an evacuation of civilians from the area in the northeast Kharkiv region. Authorities have said thousands of civilians would need to leave towns and villages near the combat zone around Kupiansk, where Ukrainian and Russian officials separately reported a raging battle.
- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and are encircling Russian troops in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian. Maliar said progress was being made in outflanking enemy forces after months of deadly battle. The Post could not immediately verify the claims.
More live updates here.
- Officials in Kyiv said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital on Friday. The Kyiv military administration said air defense systems were working, and there were no initial reports of casualties.
- In Moscow, Russian officials said they intercepted yet another drone targeting the capital on Friday.
- The military administration of Ukraine’s Kupiansk ordered an evacuation of civilians from the area in the northeast Kharkiv region. Authorities have said thousands of civilians would need to leave towns and villages near the combat zone around Kupiansk, where Ukrainian and Russian officials separately reported a raging battle.
- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and are encircling Russian troops in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian. Maliar said progress was being made in outflanking enemy forces after months of deadly battle. The Post could not immediately verify the claims.
More live updates here.
Yandex co-founder calls war ‘barbaric,’ signaling dismay in Russian elite
A co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s biggest tech company, has become the second major Russian businessman under Western sanctions to publicly denounce President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, even as other Russian billionaires remain silent.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Arkady Volozh said in a statement on Thursday. “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine, where like many I have friends and relatives, and every day bombs are hitting their homes.”
Volozh’s decision to openly condemn the war comes amid complex wrangling with the Kremlin over restructuring Yandex, known to many as Russia’s Google. Some Moscow business executives believe the government may seek a partial nationalization of the company as the environment becomes increasingly hostile for foreign investors.
Read the full story here.
A co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s biggest tech company, has become the second major Russian businessman under Western sanctions to publicly denounce President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, even as other Russian billionaires remain silent.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Arkady Volozh said in a statement on Thursday. “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine, where like many I have friends and relatives, and every day bombs are hitting their homes.”
Volozh’s decision to openly condemn the war comes amid complex wrangling with the Kremlin over restructuring Yandex, known to many as Russia’s Google. Some Moscow business executives believe the government may seek a partial nationalization of the company as the environment becomes increasingly hostile for foreign investors.
Read the full story here.
Russian opera star sues the Met for alleged ousting over Ukraine war
Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, one of opera’s biggest stars, sued the Metropolitan Opera and its general manager Friday, alleging discrimination when the company dropped her after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, includes claims of national origin discrimination, breach of contract and defamation. Netrebko is asking for at least $360,000 in damages, citing lost performance and rehearsal fees.
The Met severed its relationship with Netrebko in March 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the previous month. Netrebko had made several statements opposing the war and violence at the time of her ouster, but did not agree to Gelb’s request that she specifically condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to her suit.
Read the full story here.
Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, one of opera’s biggest stars, sued the Metropolitan Opera and its general manager Friday, alleging discrimination when the company dropped her after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, includes claims of national origin discrimination, breach of contract and defamation. Netrebko is asking for at least $360,000 in damages, citing lost performance and rehearsal fees.
The Met severed its relationship with Netrebko in March 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the previous month. Netrebko had made several statements opposing the war and violence at the time of her ouster, but did not agree to Gelb’s request that she specifically condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to her suit.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed all the heads of regional military recruitment centers on Friday as part of what he called a crackdown on corruption, and said “the system should be run by people who know exactly what war is.”
- In Kyiv, officials said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital after the sound of explosions rang out in the capital on Friday.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday’s drone crashed in a forest in the Moscow region after being intercepted by electronic warfare systems.
- A top United Nations official in Ukraine was “appalled” by a Russian strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia.
- Kyiv will probably go another year without F-16 fighter jets, The Post reports.
- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut as they fight to encircle Russian troops in the eastern city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed all the heads of regional military recruitment centers on Friday as part of what he called a crackdown on corruption, and said “the system should be run by people who know exactly what war is.”
- In Kyiv, officials said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital after the sound of explosions rang out in the capital on Friday.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday’s drone crashed in a forest in the Moscow region after being intercepted by electronic warfare systems.
- A top United Nations official in Ukraine was “appalled” by a Russian strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia.
- Kyiv will probably go another year without F-16 fighter jets, The Post reports.
- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut as they fight to encircle Russian troops in the eastern city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Earlier this month, Zelensky condemned the “revolting” practices at military recruitment centers that were uncovered during an audit, Reuters reported. He said Friday that there are 112 criminal proceedings against officials of the territorial recruitment centers.
- Zelensky’s mass dismissal is a part of larger efforts to root out corruption, particularly in the military.
- The new round of U.S. sanctions includes Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group.
- Security is “increasingly distant” for Moscow residents, who can expect “an increase in daily attacks,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said in an interview with the Kyiv Post published Friday.
- Russia launched hypersonic missile attacks on Friday that killed an eight-year-old boy in Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, and injured others, regional Gov. Svitlana Onyshchuk and the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram.
More live updates here.
- Earlier this month, Zelensky condemned the “revolting” practices at military recruitment centers that were uncovered during an audit, Reuters reported. He said Friday that there are 112 criminal proceedings against officials of the territorial recruitment centers.
- Zelensky’s mass dismissal is a part of larger efforts to root out corruption, particularly in the military.
- The new round of U.S. sanctions includes Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group.
- Security is “increasingly distant” for Moscow residents, who can expect “an increase in daily attacks,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said in an interview with the Kyiv Post published Friday.
- Russia launched hypersonic missile attacks on Friday that killed an eight-year-old boy in Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, and injured others, regional Gov. Svitlana Onyshchuk and the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram.
More live updates here.
Zelensky fires military recruitment center chiefs after corruption probe
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the heads of all of his country’s regional military recruitment centers Friday, a sweeping move he said was aimed at combating corruption and ensuring that the recruitment system is “run by people who know exactly what war is.”
Zelensky announced the blanket dismissal after a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which he heads. He cited instances of “illicit enrichment,” laundering “illegally obtained funds” and “illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.”
“Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency — that’s the only difference,” Zelensky said in a statement published on the official presidential website. “The cynicism is the same everywhere.” Zelensky did not specify the total number of regional recruitment heads.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the heads of all of his country’s regional military recruitment centers Friday, a sweeping move he said was aimed at combating corruption and ensuring that the recruitment system is “run by people who know exactly what war is.”
Zelensky announced the blanket dismissal after a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which he heads. He cited instances of “illicit enrichment,” laundering “illegally obtained funds” and “illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.”
“Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency — that’s the only difference,” Zelensky said in a statement published on the official presidential website. “The cynicism is the same everywhere.” Zelensky did not specify the total number of regional recruitment heads.
Read the full story here.
F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots faces delays and uncertainty
KYIV — A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to complete training on the U.S.-made F-16 before next summer, senior Ukrainian government and military officials said, following a series of delays by Western partners in implementing an instruction program for the sophisticated fighter jet.
The timeline reflects the disconnect between Ukraine’s supporters, who envision F-16s as a key tool in the country’s long-term defense, and Kyiv, which has desperately requested that the jets reach the battle space as soon as possible, viewing them as critical for the current fight against occupying Russian forces.
President Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, reversed course in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, and supported the transfer of the planes by other countries. Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to complete training on the U.S.-made F-16 before next summer, senior Ukrainian government and military officials said, following a series of delays by Western partners in implementing an instruction program for the sophisticated fighter jet.
The timeline reflects the disconnect between Ukraine’s supporters, who envision F-16s as a key tool in the country’s long-term defense, and Kyiv, which has desperately requested that the jets reach the battle space as soon as possible, viewing them as critical for the current fight against occupying Russian forces.
President Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, reversed course in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, and supported the transfer of the planes by other countries. Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort.
Read the full story here.