Russia bombs market in Kharkiv, killing at least 4 and wounding 40
KYIV — Russian bombs struck a commercial facility in Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding 40, local officials said. The deadly attack on Ukraine’s second largest city comes amid a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine and two days after a barrage of missiles killed seven people at a printing plant.
Around 4 p.m. local time, two glide bombs hit an Epicenter store — a home improvement and supplies chain similar to Home Depot in the U.S. — launched from Russia’s neighboring Belgorod region, Kharkiv’s regional prosecutor’s office said in a post on Telegram.
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KYIV — Russian bombs struck a commercial facility in Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding 40, local officials said. The deadly attack on Ukraine’s second largest city comes amid a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine and two days after a barrage of missiles killed seven people at a printing plant.
Around 4 p.m. local time, two glide bombs hit an Epicenter store — a home improvement and supplies chain similar to Home Depot in the U.S. — launched from Russia’s neighboring Belgorod region, Kharkiv’s regional prosecutor’s office said in a post on Telegram.
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These Ukrainians were musicians before the war. Now they fight with song.
After Yurii Ivaskevych, 51, lost a leg when his unit came under shelling, he was recruited by another branch of Ukraine’s military: the Cultural Forces.
The members of the Cultural Forces, all professional musicians before the invasion, are now back at their craft, traveling across Ukraine’s increasingly pressured front lines to try to give people a flake of their old lives and some diversion from the grinding Russian assault. They play everything from Ukrainian folk songs to Metallica, tapping into a Ukrainian tradition of using music as a form of resistance to Russian rule.
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After Yurii Ivaskevych, 51, lost a leg when his unit came under shelling, he was recruited by another branch of Ukraine’s military: the Cultural Forces.
The members of the Cultural Forces, all professional musicians before the invasion, are now back at their craft, traveling across Ukraine’s increasingly pressured front lines to try to give people a flake of their old lives and some diversion from the grinding Russian assault. They play everything from Ukrainian folk songs to Metallica, tapping into a Ukrainian tradition of using music as a form of resistance to Russian rule.
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NATO chief and European allies urge U.S. to let Ukraine strike inside Russia
Washington is facing mounting pressure from NATO and several key European allies to lift restrictions and allow Ukraine to use the full force of U.S.-provided weapons to strike military targets inside Russia. The demands reflect new alarm in the West over Russian battlefield advances in recent days, including the seizure of several villages in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions and brutal bombings that have killed dozens of civilians.
“If you cannot attack the Russian forces on the other side of the front line because they are on the other side of the border, then of course you really reduce the ability of the Ukrainian forces to defend themselves,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s top political official, said during a visit to Bulgaria on Monday.
NATO’s parliamentary assembly, meanwhile, issued a declaration urging that the restrictions be lifted.
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Washington is facing mounting pressure from NATO and several key European allies to lift restrictions and allow Ukraine to use the full force of U.S.-provided weapons to strike military targets inside Russia. The demands reflect new alarm in the West over Russian battlefield advances in recent days, including the seizure of several villages in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions and brutal bombings that have killed dozens of civilians.
“If you cannot attack the Russian forces on the other side of the front line because they are on the other side of the border, then of course you really reduce the ability of the Ukrainian forces to defend themselves,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s top political official, said during a visit to Bulgaria on Monday.
NATO’s parliamentary assembly, meanwhile, issued a declaration urging that the restrictions be lifted.
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U.S. concerned about Ukraine strikes on Russian nuclear radar stations
The United States fears that recent Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian nuclear early-warning systems could dangerously unsettle Moscow at a time when the Biden administration is weighing whether to lift restrictions on Ukraine using U.S.-supplied weapons in cross-border attacks.
“The United States is concerned about Ukraine’s recent strikes against Russian ballistic missile early-warning sites,” said a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Washington has conveyed its concerns to Kyiv about two attempted attacks over the last week against radar stations that provide conventional air defense as well as warning of nuclear launches by the West. At least one strike in Armavir, in Russia’s southeastern Krasnodar region, appeared to have caused some damage.
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The United States fears that recent Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian nuclear early-warning systems could dangerously unsettle Moscow at a time when the Biden administration is weighing whether to lift restrictions on Ukraine using U.S.-supplied weapons in cross-border attacks.
“The United States is concerned about Ukraine’s recent strikes against Russian ballistic missile early-warning sites,” said a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Washington has conveyed its concerns to Kyiv about two attempted attacks over the last week against radar stations that provide conventional air defense as well as warning of nuclear launches by the West. At least one strike in Armavir, in Russia’s southeastern Krasnodar region, appeared to have caused some damage.
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As Ukraine stumbles in war, Kyiv and Western powers struggle to coordinate
Sharp fractures are opening between Kyiv and its Western backers, including the United States, over the future of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian leaders have increasingly complained that Washington is restricting their ability to respond to Russian attacks as U.S. policymakers push them to do more to fight corruption even amid the worsening war. Meanwhile, European and American officials are quarreling about strategy to turn the tide on the battlefield.
There have been frustrations virtually from the moment Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, but policymakers in Washington, Kyiv and around Europe said tensions have grown sharper in recent weeks as Russia has seized the initiative on the front lines and started recapturing territory liberated earlier in the war.
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Sharp fractures are opening between Kyiv and its Western backers, including the United States, over the future of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian leaders have increasingly complained that Washington is restricting their ability to respond to Russian attacks as U.S. policymakers push them to do more to fight corruption even amid the worsening war. Meanwhile, European and American officials are quarreling about strategy to turn the tide on the battlefield.
There have been frustrations virtually from the moment Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, but policymakers in Washington, Kyiv and around Europe said tensions have grown sharper in recent weeks as Russia has seized the initiative on the front lines and started recapturing territory liberated earlier in the war.
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Blinken opens the door to attacks with U.S. weapons deeper inside Russia
PRAGUE — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday opened the door to allowing Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided weapons deeper into Russian territory, just a day after President Biden, in a major policy shift, okayed counterattacks aimed at limited Russian military targets across the border.
“The hallmark of our engagement has been to adapt and adjust as necessary, to meet what’s actually going on the battlefield, to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, when it needs it,” Blinken told reporters while in the Czech capital for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers.
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PRAGUE — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday opened the door to allowing Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided weapons deeper into Russian territory, just a day after President Biden, in a major policy shift, okayed counterattacks aimed at limited Russian military targets across the border.
“The hallmark of our engagement has been to adapt and adjust as necessary, to meet what’s actually going on the battlefield, to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, when it needs it,” Blinken told reporters while in the Czech capital for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers.
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Basic training in Ukraine is barely covering the basics, commanders say
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — As Ukraine prepares to mobilize tens of thousands of men to address a critical shortage of soldiers amid intensified Russian attacks, Ukrainian commanders in the field say they are bracing for most of the new troops to arrive with poor training.
Ukrainian commanders have long griped about lackluster preparation for recruits at training centers. But with Russia on the offensive, the persistent complaints are a reminder that a newly adopted mobilization law intended to widen the pool of draft-eligible men is just one step in solving the military’s personnel problems.
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KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — As Ukraine prepares to mobilize tens of thousands of men to address a critical shortage of soldiers amid intensified Russian attacks, Ukrainian commanders in the field say they are bracing for most of the new troops to arrive with poor training.
Ukrainian commanders have long griped about lackluster preparation for recruits at training centers. But with Russia on the offensive, the persistent complaints are a reminder that a newly adopted mobilization law intended to widen the pool of draft-eligible men is just one step in solving the military’s personnel problems.
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Russia co-opts far-right politicians in Europe with cash, officials say
For nearly a year, European intelligence officials said, the Czech authorities secretly recorded hours of meetings between several far-right politicians from across Europe and the associate, Artem Marchevsky, who was running the propaganda website, Voice of Europe, including at its offices on a quiet side street in the center of Prague. E.U. and Czech authorities, which have shut down the site, have labeled Voice of Europe a Russian propaganda operation.
The Czech probe rapidly expanded into Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and France, European security and intelligence officials said, as investigators concluded that Voice of Europe represented far more than its official veneer as a pro-Russian website interviewing favored European politicians about ending aid to Ukraine.
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For nearly a year, European intelligence officials said, the Czech authorities secretly recorded hours of meetings between several far-right politicians from across Europe and the associate, Artem Marchevsky, who was running the propaganda website, Voice of Europe, including at its offices on a quiet side street in the center of Prague. E.U. and Czech authorities, which have shut down the site, have labeled Voice of Europe a Russian propaganda operation.
The Czech probe rapidly expanded into Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and France, European security and intelligence officials said, as investigators concluded that Voice of Europe represented far more than its official veneer as a pro-Russian website interviewing favored European politicians about ending aid to Ukraine.
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Outages shroud Ukraine as Russian strikes on power plants take their toll
KYIV — The cutoffs started Monday and have only increased throughout the week, plunging much of Ukraine’s capital into darkness save for a few hours every day. In some parts of the city, even the traffic lights are turned off, and at night entire neighborhoods are draped in black.
The relentless pounding of Ukraine’s power plants by Russian drones and missiles are finally being felt. The state electricity distributor, Ukrenegro, said the latest onslaught on the power grid over the weekend meant rationing power throughout the country. It had been the sixth such barrage since March.
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KYIV — The cutoffs started Monday and have only increased throughout the week, plunging much of Ukraine’s capital into darkness save for a few hours every day. In some parts of the city, even the traffic lights are turned off, and at night entire neighborhoods are draped in black.
The relentless pounding of Ukraine’s power plants by Russian drones and missiles are finally being felt. The state electricity distributor, Ukrenegro, said the latest onslaught on the power grid over the weekend meant rationing power throughout the country. It had been the sixth such barrage since March.
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France, allies to ‘finalize’ plan to send military trainers to Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that a coalition of countries has agreed to send military trainers to Ukraine, suggesting that plans could come together in the coming days but not offering concrete details.
The comment, made in a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is the latest sign that France and other allies may now be willing to put NATO country troops on Ukrainian soil — an idea that some allies, including the United States, have long considered potentially escalatory.
Macron on Friday called Ukraine’s request for in-country training “legitimate” and said several partners have “already given their agreement.”
“We are going to use the coming days to finalize a coalition, as broad as possible,” he said.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that a coalition of countries has agreed to send military trainers to Ukraine, suggesting that plans could come together in the coming days but not offering concrete details.
The comment, made in a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is the latest sign that France and other allies may now be willing to put NATO country troops on Ukrainian soil — an idea that some allies, including the United States, have long considered potentially escalatory.
Macron on Friday called Ukraine’s request for in-country training “legitimate” and said several partners have “already given their agreement.”
“We are going to use the coming days to finalize a coalition, as broad as possible,” he said.
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In Putin’s wartime Russia, military corruption is suddenly taboo
Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned out to be a powerful anti-corruption initiative — at least at the Ministry of Defense.
For years, Russia tolerated rampant graft within its military and Defense Ministry. But in a bid to be certain that the country’s ballooning military and security spending results in more soldiers, weapons and other equipment and supplies on the front line, the Kremlin has suddenly undertaken an aggressive crackdown — purging officials with extravagant lifestyles or who have been critical of the military command.
Last month, President Vladimir Putin reassigned his longtime defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, to be head of Russia’s national security council. In Shoigu’s place, Putin appointed a former economy minister, Andrei Belousov, with a mandate to use the country’s growing defense budget “sparingly yet effectively.”
Read the full story here.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned out to be a powerful anti-corruption initiative — at least at the Ministry of Defense.
For years, Russia tolerated rampant graft within its military and Defense Ministry. But in a bid to be certain that the country’s ballooning military and security spending results in more soldiers, weapons and other equipment and supplies on the front line, the Kremlin has suddenly undertaken an aggressive crackdown — purging officials with extravagant lifestyles or who have been critical of the military command.
Last month, President Vladimir Putin reassigned his longtime defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, to be head of Russia’s national security council. In Shoigu’s place, Putin appointed a former economy minister, Andrei Belousov, with a mandate to use the country’s growing defense budget “sparingly yet effectively.”
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Poll: Many Ukrainians see war as stalemate but most back fight vs. Russia
Nearly half of Ukrainians believe the war with Russia is at a stalemate, according to a new poll, but nearly three-quarters said they were “very confident” or “somewhat confident” that Ukraine “will eventually liberate all of its territories” — a potentially unrealistic expectation but one that suggests little willingness to surrender land now occupied by Moscow’s forces.
The poll, conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and a Ukrainian sociological research firm, Rating, is one of the most extensive measures of public opinion in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, its organizers said. The poll surveyed 2,000 people across all regions of Ukraine but not those living abroad, where millions have fled.
Read the full story here.
Nearly half of Ukrainians believe the war with Russia is at a stalemate, according to a new poll, but nearly three-quarters said they were “very confident” or “somewhat confident” that Ukraine “will eventually liberate all of its territories” — a potentially unrealistic expectation but one that suggests little willingness to surrender land now occupied by Moscow’s forces.
The poll, conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and a Ukrainian sociological research firm, Rating, is one of the most extensive measures of public opinion in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, its organizers said. The poll surveyed 2,000 people across all regions of Ukraine but not those living abroad, where millions have fled.
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U.S. lifts weapons ban on Ukrainian military unit
The Biden administration will allow a Ukrainian military unit with a checkered past to use U.S. weaponry, the State Department said Monday, having lifted a ban imposed years ago amid concerns in Washington about the group’s origins.
The Azov Brigade, known for its tenacious but ultimately unsuccessful defense of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is regarded as a particularly effective fighting force. But it was barred about a decade ago from using American arms because U.S. officials determined that some of its founders espoused racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views, and U.N. human rights officials accused the group of humanitarian violations.
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The Biden administration will allow a Ukrainian military unit with a checkered past to use U.S. weaponry, the State Department said Monday, having lifted a ban imposed years ago amid concerns in Washington about the group’s origins.
The Azov Brigade, known for its tenacious but ultimately unsuccessful defense of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is regarded as a particularly effective fighting force. But it was barred about a decade ago from using American arms because U.S. officials determined that some of its founders espoused racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views, and U.N. human rights officials accused the group of humanitarian violations.
Read the full story here.
U.S. will send Ukraine a second Patriot air defense battery
The Biden administration is planning to provide Ukraine an additional Patriot air defense system as Kyiv struggles to shield key cities and infrastructure from ongoing Russian assaults, three U.S. and a senior European official said Wednesday.
According to the European official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe plans that had not been made public, the United States has informed some allies of its decision to send Ukraine the additional battery.
One of the U.S. officials said the system will be sent to Ukraine from an airfield in southeastern Poland that the Pentagon has used as a staging base to send weapons and supplies to Ukrainian forces. Multiple Patriot batteries have been based there since Russian’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
U.S. military officials plan to backfill the system in Poland with another Patriot from elsewhere, this person said.
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The Biden administration is planning to provide Ukraine an additional Patriot air defense system as Kyiv struggles to shield key cities and infrastructure from ongoing Russian assaults, three U.S. and a senior European official said Wednesday.
According to the European official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe plans that had not been made public, the United States has informed some allies of its decision to send Ukraine the additional battery.
One of the U.S. officials said the system will be sent to Ukraine from an airfield in southeastern Poland that the Pentagon has used as a staging base to send weapons and supplies to Ukrainian forces. Multiple Patriot batteries have been based there since Russian’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
U.S. military officials plan to backfill the system in Poland with another Patriot from elsewhere, this person said.
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‘Ram him’: How Ukraine is pushing U.S. combat gear to the extreme
The Ukrainians’ radio crackled with an urgent announcement: A Russian vehicle stacked with infantry troops was lurking in a forest and had to be taken out.
The mission went to Viktor, the commander of an American-made Bradley Fighting Vehicle, whose crew roared down the main road in the village of Sokil, in eastern Ukraine, where the Kremlin has gained ground this year.
The Russians emerged from the trees, and for a few chaotic seconds, the two vehicles barreled toward each other while firing their heavy guns. Viktor’s took a catastrophic hit to its targeting system, disabling the main weapon.
The May 31 exchange, captured on drone video that subsequently went viral online, underscores how Kyiv has used U.S.-provided Bradleys in unique and extreme ways to work around its depleted artillery stocks and manpower shortages, soldiers and analysts said.
Read the full story here.
The Ukrainians’ radio crackled with an urgent announcement: A Russian vehicle stacked with infantry troops was lurking in a forest and had to be taken out.
The mission went to Viktor, the commander of an American-made Bradley Fighting Vehicle, whose crew roared down the main road in the village of Sokil, in eastern Ukraine, where the Kremlin has gained ground this year.
The Russians emerged from the trees, and for a few chaotic seconds, the two vehicles barreled toward each other while firing their heavy guns. Viktor’s took a catastrophic hit to its targeting system, disabling the main weapon.
The May 31 exchange, captured on drone video that subsequently went viral online, underscores how Kyiv has used U.S.-provided Bradleys in unique and extreme ways to work around its depleted artillery stocks and manpower shortages, soldiers and analysts said.
Read the full story here.
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to be tried on espionage charges in Russia
American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal will soon stand trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on charges of spying for the CIA, Russian authorities said Thursday, after announcing that they had finalized an indictment against the Wall Street Journal reporter.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. Gershkovich, the journal and U.S. officials have repeatedly rejected the charges as baseless.
Russian prosecutors said in a statement that they had “established and documented” that Gershkovich “collected secret information” about a military factory in the Sverdlovsk region “on assignment from the CIA.”
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American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal will soon stand trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on charges of spying for the CIA, Russian authorities said Thursday, after announcing that they had finalized an indictment against the Wall Street Journal reporter.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. Gershkovich, the journal and U.S. officials have repeatedly rejected the charges as baseless.
Russian prosecutors said in a statement that they had “established and documented” that Gershkovich “collected secret information” about a military factory in the Sverdlovsk region “on assignment from the CIA.”
Read the full story here.