Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian forces are staging counterattacks on Russian troops on the outskirts of Bakhmut, even as their presence in the eastern city dwindles just to small footholds.
- Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. suggested that any transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv would bring NATO partners into the conflict.
- Workers are focusing on restoring electricity supplies in the Zaporizhzhia area after what a local official described as an “emergency situation” at one of its energy facilities.
- Russia will probably need to send in reinforcements to hold on to Bakhmut and its surroundings “at the expense of operations in other directions,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said.
- Authorities in Kyiv issued the all-clear early Monday after yet another air raid alert in the capital, following a recent string of attacks by Russian drones and missiles.
- Russian and Chinese officials will hold security talks in Moscow on Monday.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian forces are staging counterattacks on Russian troops on the outskirts of Bakhmut, even as their presence in the eastern city dwindles just to small footholds.
- Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. suggested that any transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv would bring NATO partners into the conflict.
- Workers are focusing on restoring electricity supplies in the Zaporizhzhia area after what a local official described as an “emergency situation” at one of its energy facilities.
- Russia will probably need to send in reinforcements to hold on to Bakhmut and its surroundings “at the expense of operations in other directions,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said.
- Authorities in Kyiv issued the all-clear early Monday after yet another air raid alert in the capital, following a recent string of attacks by Russian drones and missiles.
- Russian and Chinese officials will hold security talks in Moscow on Monday.
More live updates here.
As hold on Bakhmut slips, Ukrainian forces push to encircle city
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have been reduced to small footholds in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which despite its limited strategic importance has emerged as the war’s bloodiest battlefield. But they have made gains on the Russian flanks, in a move to encircle the city and extend the fight there, according to Ukrainian officials and military personnel in the field.
“I’m in the trenches. We’ve fortified ourselves in the positions” that Russia once held, Yuriy, a soldier in the Ukrainian army’s 5th Separate Assault Brigade, wrote in a text message from a position to the south of Bakhmut.
“Around us are a lot of dead Russians,” he said.
Ukraine still holds slivers of the city, including the area around what has become a landmark of Ukraine’s last redoubt: a destroyed sculpture of a Soviet MiG fighter jet, according to multiple military personnel involved in defending the position.
Read the full story here.
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have been reduced to small footholds in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which despite its limited strategic importance has emerged as the war’s bloodiest battlefield. But they have made gains on the Russian flanks, in a move to encircle the city and extend the fight there, according to Ukrainian officials and military personnel in the field.
“I’m in the trenches. We’ve fortified ourselves in the positions” that Russia once held, Yuriy, a soldier in the Ukrainian army’s 5th Separate Assault Brigade, wrote in a text message from a position to the south of Bakhmut.
“Around us are a lot of dead Russians,” he said.
Ukraine still holds slivers of the city, including the area around what has become a landmark of Ukraine’s last redoubt: a destroyed sculpture of a Soviet MiG fighter jet, according to multiple military personnel involved in defending the position.
Read the full story here.
Meet the people caught up in Russia’s crackdown on dissent
In wartime Russia, citizens are risking decades in prison for previously permissible acts: denouncing the government and the army on social media, making political speeches — even criticizing the invasion of Ukraine in private with friends.
The Kremlin is jailing its critics at a turbocharged rate. After invading Ukraine, the government of President Vladimir Putin introduced draconian censorship laws that criminalize antiwar protest, make independent journalism almost impossible and outlawed calling its “special military operation” a war.
Here are some of Russia’s most distinctive wartime political prisoners and those facing the longest jail terms. Theirs are a small fraction of the cases now being prosecuted.
Read the full story here.
In wartime Russia, citizens are risking decades in prison for previously permissible acts: denouncing the government and the army on social media, making political speeches — even criticizing the invasion of Ukraine in private with friends.
The Kremlin is jailing its critics at a turbocharged rate. After invading Ukraine, the government of President Vladimir Putin introduced draconian censorship laws that criminalize antiwar protest, make independent journalism almost impossible and outlawed calling its “special military operation” a war.
Here are some of Russia’s most distinctive wartime political prisoners and those facing the longest jail terms. Theirs are a small fraction of the cases now being prosecuted.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- President Biden unveiled a $375 million military assistance package for Ukraine at the G-7 summit in Japan on Sunday, including ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, antitank weapons and armored vehicles and other equipment.
- Russia’s ambassador to the United States suggested that any transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv would bring NATO partners into the conflict.
- Ukraine is probably “several months at best” away from receiving significant numbers of the fighter jets from Western allies, U. S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on Monday.
- The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, accused a Ukrainian “sabotage and reconnaissance group” of crossing into Russia in a Telegram post on Monday.
- The purpose of the alleged crossing was “to divert attention from the Bakhmut direction,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement.
More live updates here.
- President Biden unveiled a $375 million military assistance package for Ukraine at the G-7 summit in Japan on Sunday, including ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, antitank weapons and armored vehicles and other equipment.
- Russia’s ambassador to the United States suggested that any transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv would bring NATO partners into the conflict.
- Ukraine is probably “several months at best” away from receiving significant numbers of the fighter jets from Western allies, U. S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on Monday.
- The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, accused a Ukrainian “sabotage and reconnaissance group” of crossing into Russia in a Telegram post on Monday.
- The purpose of the alleged crossing was “to divert attention from the Bakhmut direction,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement.
More live updates here.
Belarus pardons opposition blogger arrested after plane’s forced landing
Roman Protasevich, a dissident blogger arrested in 2021 after Belarusian authorities forced his flight to divert from its route and land in Minsk, was pardoned on Monday, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported.
Protasevich co-founded Nexta, an influential Telegram channel that was a major source of news about opposition protests against President Alexander Lukashenko that erupted after the 2020 presidential election.
The unprecedented wave of demonstrations swept Belarus after authorities claimed that Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won by a landslide against main opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya despite a vote marred by widespread fraud.
Read the full story here.
Roman Protasevich, a dissident blogger arrested in 2021 after Belarusian authorities forced his flight to divert from its route and land in Minsk, was pardoned on Monday, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported.
Protasevich co-founded Nexta, an influential Telegram channel that was a major source of news about opposition protests against President Alexander Lukashenko that erupted after the 2020 presidential election.
The unprecedented wave of demonstrations swept Belarus after authorities claimed that Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won by a landslide against main opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya despite a vote marred by widespread fraud.
Read the full story here.
Anti-Putin militias mount cross-border incursion in western Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian officials said Tuesday that a counterterrorism operation was underway in the western region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, after anti-Russian militias fighting on Ukraine’s side in the war mounted an attack on a border post and on an office of the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
The governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Tuesday that one person had died and eight people were injured.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the cross-border attack was an attempt by Ukraine to distract attention from Russia’s seizure of Bakhmut, the long-embattled city in eastern Ukraine that Russia claimed this week to have finally captured.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian officials said Tuesday that a counterterrorism operation was underway in the western region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, after anti-Russian militias fighting on Ukraine’s side in the war mounted an attack on a border post and on an office of the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
The governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Tuesday that one person had died and eight people were injured.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the cross-border attack was an attempt by Ukraine to distract attention from Russia’s seizure of Bakhmut, the long-embattled city in eastern Ukraine that Russia claimed this week to have finally captured.
Read the full story here.
IAEA chief pushes plan to secure nuclear plant ahead of Ukraine offensive
VIENNA — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is pushing for a last-minute agreement to secure Ukraine’s huge atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia ahead of a counteroffensive that could see Kyiv’s forces drive directly through the potentially hazardous facility.
After nearly nine months of failed efforts to forge an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to establish a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is now pushing for a new proposal to reduce the possibility of a catastrophic nuclear disaster. He plans to present a list of five principles for the U.N. Security Council to endorse later this month, U.S. and European diplomats told The Washington Post.
Read the full story here.
VIENNA — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is pushing for a last-minute agreement to secure Ukraine’s huge atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia ahead of a counteroffensive that could see Kyiv’s forces drive directly through the potentially hazardous facility.
After nearly nine months of failed efforts to forge an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to establish a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is now pushing for a new proposal to reduce the possibility of a catastrophic nuclear disaster. He plans to present a list of five principles for the U.N. Security Council to endorse later this month, U.S. and European diplomats told The Washington Post.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine
- As their foothold in Bakhmut shrinks, Ukrainian troops are focused on counterattacks on the city’s periphery, officials said. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said early Tuesday that fighting inside the city has subsided and that Russian forces are sweeping areas under their control, while battles rage on the city’s edges.
- Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the Russian region was targeted by a sabotage group and that a “counterterrorism operation” is underway. Russian officials described the incident as a cross-border attack on the Grayvoron district, and the country’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal case.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed “members of Ukrainian armed formations” for the Belgorod incident, after Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that Ukraine had “nothing to do with it.”
Read more updates here.
- As their foothold in Bakhmut shrinks, Ukrainian troops are focused on counterattacks on the city’s periphery, officials said. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said early Tuesday that fighting inside the city has subsided and that Russian forces are sweeping areas under their control, while battles rage on the city’s edges.
- Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the Russian region was targeted by a sabotage group and that a “counterterrorism operation” is underway. Russian officials described the incident as a cross-border attack on the Grayvoron district, and the country’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal case.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed “members of Ukrainian armed formations” for the Belgorod incident, after Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that Ukraine had “nothing to do with it.”
Read more updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The United States is trying to distance itself from an incident in the Russian region of Belgorod, which Russia alleged was attacked by pro-Ukrainian fighters. Ukraine has denied direct involvement in the episode.
- Two heavily damaged U.S.-made Humvees were seen in a video verified by The Washington Post on the Russian side of a border station near Belgorod. It is unclear whether the militias used them or whether Ukrainian forces provided them to the group. The United States has provided more than 2,000 Humvees to Ukraine.
- The Pentagon said it did not approve any transfers of equipment to paramilitary organizations outside the Ukrainian military.
- Russia extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months. The White House said it was “deeply concerned” by the extension.
Read more updates here.
- The United States is trying to distance itself from an incident in the Russian region of Belgorod, which Russia alleged was attacked by pro-Ukrainian fighters. Ukraine has denied direct involvement in the episode.
- Two heavily damaged U.S.-made Humvees were seen in a video verified by The Washington Post on the Russian side of a border station near Belgorod. It is unclear whether the militias used them or whether Ukrainian forces provided them to the group. The United States has provided more than 2,000 Humvees to Ukraine.
- The Pentagon said it did not approve any transfers of equipment to paramilitary organizations outside the Ukrainian military.
- Russia extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months. The White House said it was “deeply concerned” by the extension.
Read more updates here.
Russia controls Bakhmut, for now, but holding it will be difficult
Russia now effectively controls Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers died in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle. But it is unclear that Moscow’s disjointed forces will be able to hold the decimated city amid a Ukrainian counterattack that has already begun.
For now, Russia appears to control what’s left of the city, once home to some 70,000 people, though Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command, insisted Tuesday that Kyiv’s troops still held small positions on Bakhmut’s southwestern edge and were fighting Russian forces on the outskirts.
In any case, Russia’s victory celebration may be brief, military analysts said, with Bakhmut potentially following the fate of Izyum, Lyman, Kherson and other cities occupied by Russia only to be retaken by Ukraine. Moscow’s fighting forces are stretched thin after months of significant losses.
Read the full story here.
Russia now effectively controls Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers died in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle. But it is unclear that Moscow’s disjointed forces will be able to hold the decimated city amid a Ukrainian counterattack that has already begun.
For now, Russia appears to control what’s left of the city, once home to some 70,000 people, though Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command, insisted Tuesday that Kyiv’s troops still held small positions on Bakhmut’s southwestern edge and were fighting Russian forces on the outskirts.
In any case, Russia’s victory celebration may be brief, military analysts said, with Bakhmut potentially following the fate of Izyum, Lyman, Kherson and other cities occupied by Russia only to be retaken by Ukraine. Moscow’s fighting forces are stretched thin after months of significant losses.
Read the full story here.
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Before-and-after images of the destroyed Ukrainian city of Bakhmut
One year ago, the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, home to some 70,000 people, was known locally for its salt mines and sparkling wine. Today, it is a symbol of Russia’s brutal and relentless war.
For months, both armies have been heavily shelling the city, as seen in video recently released by Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian forces have been pushing back against Russian troops and Wagner Group mercenaries — many of them released from Russia’s prisons and sent to the front lines after only brief training — since the fall, making the battle for Bakhmut the war’s longest.
Over the weekend, Moscow claimed to have taken Bakhmut, but Kyiv denied this, saying its forces are still holding on to a small part of the city and staging counterattacks as part of a plan to encircle the area.
Read the full story here.
One year ago, the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, home to some 70,000 people, was known locally for its salt mines and sparkling wine. Today, it is a symbol of Russia’s brutal and relentless war.
For months, both armies have been heavily shelling the city, as seen in video recently released by Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian forces have been pushing back against Russian troops and Wagner Group mercenaries — many of them released from Russia’s prisons and sent to the front lines after only brief training — since the fall, making the battle for Bakhmut the war’s longest.
Over the weekend, Moscow claimed to have taken Bakhmut, but Kyiv denied this, saying its forces are still holding on to a small part of the city and staging counterattacks as part of a plan to encircle the area.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The United States is trying to distance itself from an incident in the Russian region of Belgorod, where two heavily damaged U.S.-made Humvees were seen in a video verified by The Post on the Russian side of a border station.
- The Pentagon on Thursday is set to host a virtual meeting of military leaders from the dozens of nations providing weapons and other support to Ukraine.
- China intends to elevate its cooperation with Russia “to a higher level,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Wednesday during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing.
- F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine by its Western allies will become a “legitimate target” for Moscow’s forces, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.
- The head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, said Moscow’s plan to demilitarize Ukraine is not working.
More live updates here.
- The United States is trying to distance itself from an incident in the Russian region of Belgorod, where two heavily damaged U.S.-made Humvees were seen in a video verified by The Post on the Russian side of a border station.
- The Pentagon on Thursday is set to host a virtual meeting of military leaders from the dozens of nations providing weapons and other support to Ukraine.
- China intends to elevate its cooperation with Russia “to a higher level,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Wednesday during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing.
- F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine by its Western allies will become a “legitimate target” for Moscow’s forces, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.
- The head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, said Moscow’s plan to demilitarize Ukraine is not working.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The delivery of the first F-16 fighter jet to Ukraine will be “one of the strongest signals from the world that Russia will only lose,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday.
- The United States is looking into reports that U.S. equipment and vehicles could have been used in the Russian region of Belgorod, White House spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.
- A fire was alleged to have broken out on a balcony at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass reported on Thursday. However, it later reported that the Ministry of Emergency Situations did not detect a fire.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Thursday. The group includes dozens of countries that provide weapons and military support to Ukraine.
More live updates here.
- The delivery of the first F-16 fighter jet to Ukraine will be “one of the strongest signals from the world that Russia will only lose,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday.
- The United States is looking into reports that U.S. equipment and vehicles could have been used in the Russian region of Belgorod, White House spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.
- A fire was alleged to have broken out on a balcony at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass reported on Thursday. However, it later reported that the Ministry of Emergency Situations did not detect a fire.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Thursday. The group includes dozens of countries that provide weapons and military support to Ukraine.
More live updates here.
Ukraine found an unlikely tool to resist Russia: Solar panels
Russian airstrikes on Ukraine’s power grid plunged many parts of the country into darkness in the fall, but one water company was able to keep its pumps going. Its field of solar panels, installed as an environmentally friendly measure before the war, turned into a tool to resist the Kremlin’s attacks.
Now a growing number of Ukrainian hospitals, schools, police stations and other critical buildings are racing to install solar panels ahead of what many expect will be another hard winter.
A less carbon-intense, decentralized energy system is emerging as a key element of Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts. Seven months of Russian attacks on the energy grid have left it severely damaged. Ukrainian doctors, teachers and others have discovered that efforts to boost sustainability can also improve security by making it harder to knock power offline.
Read the full story here.
Russian airstrikes on Ukraine’s power grid plunged many parts of the country into darkness in the fall, but one water company was able to keep its pumps going. Its field of solar panels, installed as an environmentally friendly measure before the war, turned into a tool to resist the Kremlin’s attacks.
Now a growing number of Ukrainian hospitals, schools, police stations and other critical buildings are racing to install solar panels ahead of what many expect will be another hard winter.
A less carbon-intense, decentralized energy system is emerging as a key element of Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts. Seven months of Russian attacks on the energy grid have left it severely damaged. Ukrainian doctors, teachers and others have discovered that efforts to boost sustainability can also improve security by making it harder to knock power offline.
Read the full story here.
Prigozhin says war in Ukraine has backfired, warns of Russian revolution
RIGA, Latvia — Fresh off his claim of victory in capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin warned that Moscow’s brutal war could plunge Russia into turmoil similar to the 1917 revolution unless its detached, wealthy elite become more directly committed to the conflict.
In a lengthy interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a political operative and pro-war blogger, Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner mercenary group, also asserted that the war had backfired spectacularly by failing to “demilitarize” Ukraine, one of President Vladimir Putin’s stated aims of the invasion. He also called for totalitarian policies going forward.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Fresh off his claim of victory in capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin warned that Moscow’s brutal war could plunge Russia into turmoil similar to the 1917 revolution unless its detached, wealthy elite become more directly committed to the conflict.
In a lengthy interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a political operative and pro-war blogger, Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner mercenary group, also asserted that the war had backfired spectacularly by failing to “demilitarize” Ukraine, one of President Vladimir Putin’s stated aims of the invasion. He also called for totalitarian policies going forward.
Read the full story here.
Russian blogger says he was fired over interview with mercenary boss
RIGA, Latvia — A pro-Kremlin political operative and blogger claimed Thursday that he was fired from an online media company after he published an interview in which the head of the Wagner mercenary group warned of a potential revolution in Russia and said Moscow’s war in Ukraine had backfired.
The blogger, Konstantin Dolgov, worked for the Telega Online video project, which live-streams discussions of news and politics with a pro-Russian slant on RuTube, an online video-hosting website. The Russian government tries to promote the site as an alternative to what it considers “unfriendly” YouTube. YouTube is one of the few Western internet services still available in the country.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — A pro-Kremlin political operative and blogger claimed Thursday that he was fired from an online media company after he published an interview in which the head of the Wagner mercenary group warned of a potential revolution in Russia and said Moscow’s war in Ukraine had backfired.
The blogger, Konstantin Dolgov, worked for the Telega Online video project, which live-streams discussions of news and politics with a pro-Russian slant on RuTube, an online video-hosting website. The Russian government tries to promote the site as an alternative to what it considers “unfriendly” YouTube. YouTube is one of the few Western internet services still available in the country.
Read the full story here.