Bunga-bunga bromance: Berlusconi was one of Putin’s best pals in Europe
With the death of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost one of his few remaining friends in Europe.
Putin’s long-standing friendship with the former Italian prime minister was as controversial as it was crucial to cementing ties between the two countries, which often made Rome one of Moscow’s strongest allies in the European Union.
Their glitzy, often strange bromance — in which Berlusconi once presented Putin with gift bedsheets emblazoned with an image of the two men shaking hands — frequently raised eyebrows in diplomat circles.
Read the full story here.
With the death of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost one of his few remaining friends in Europe.
Putin’s long-standing friendship with the former Italian prime minister was as controversial as it was crucial to cementing ties between the two countries, which often made Rome one of Moscow’s strongest allies in the European Union.
Their glitzy, often strange bromance — in which Berlusconi once presented Putin with gift bedsheets emblazoned with an image of the two men shaking hands — frequently raised eyebrows in diplomat circles.
Read the full story here.
Putin wanted Kherson. Now, residents say Russia is trying to destroy it.
KHERSON, Ukraine — Oleh Hryhorak lay on the floor of his friend’s house, his bloodied leg shattered by shrapnel from a Russian mortar, when the floodwaters began to surround him.
As he applied pressure to his leg, the water, unleashed by a catastrophic dam collapse, was rising. With the little strength he had left, Hryhorak, a 38-year-old security guard, hoisted himself onto a couch, fearing he would bleed to death or drown.
“I was trying to keep myself conscious because I wanted to live,” Hryhorak said.
This is the misery of life in Kherson, a riverfront community in southern Ukraine where thousands of residents like Hryhorak have faced one calamity after another. Their homes, already on a deadly front line, are suddenly underwater.
Read the full story here.
KHERSON, Ukraine — Oleh Hryhorak lay on the floor of his friend’s house, his bloodied leg shattered by shrapnel from a Russian mortar, when the floodwaters began to surround him.
As he applied pressure to his leg, the water, unleashed by a catastrophic dam collapse, was rising. With the little strength he had left, Hryhorak, a 38-year-old security guard, hoisted himself onto a couch, fearing he would bleed to death or drown.
“I was trying to keep myself conscious because I wanted to live,” Hryhorak said.
This is the misery of life in Kherson, a riverfront community in southern Ukraine where thousands of residents like Hryhorak have faced one calamity after another. Their homes, already on a deadly front line, are suddenly underwater.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine presses counteroffensive as flood evacuations continue in south
KYIV, Ukraine — Heavy fighting continued Friday in southeast Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces pressed on with a major counteroffensive, but they appeared to be meeting stiff resistance from Russian units dug into fortified positions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Friday that “very tough battles were underway” in the eastern Donetsk region, including in the hotly contested city of Bakhmut, which Russia seized last month. Zelensky hinted at some gains but did not offer details. “Bakhmut — well done,” the president said. “Step by step.”
In some areas, Ukrainian forces were able to take advantage of Russian troop rotations, according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, as fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group were swapped out for regular Russian troops.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Heavy fighting continued Friday in southeast Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces pressed on with a major counteroffensive, but they appeared to be meeting stiff resistance from Russian units dug into fortified positions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Friday that “very tough battles were underway” in the eastern Donetsk region, including in the hotly contested city of Bakhmut, which Russia seized last month. Zelensky hinted at some gains but did not offer details. “Bakhmut — well done,” the president said. “Step by step.”
In some areas, Ukrainian forces were able to take advantage of Russian troop rotations, according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, as fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group were swapped out for regular Russian troops.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- At least 11 people were killed in an overnight missile attack on a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.
- On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it would send Ukraine another $325 million in military supplies from U.S. stockpiles.
- Some 6,000 people were without power early Tuesday as a result of the strike against Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s government said.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine is “making advances” and “gaining ground” in their latest counteroffensive, in remarks made before his meeting with Blinken.
- Belarus’s president said that “everything is ready” for the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia.
- Russia probably is working to ensure its long-term supply of attack drones, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.
More live updates here.
- At least 11 people were killed in an overnight missile attack on a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.
- On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it would send Ukraine another $325 million in military supplies from U.S. stockpiles.
- Some 6,000 people were without power early Tuesday as a result of the strike against Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s government said.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine is “making advances” and “gaining ground” in their latest counteroffensive, in remarks made before his meeting with Blinken.
- Belarus’s president said that “everything is ready” for the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia.
- Russia probably is working to ensure its long-term supply of attack drones, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.
More live updates here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- At least three people were killed and 13 injured after Russian missiles struck a commercial area in Odessa, in southwestern Ukraine, overnight, the Ukrainian army’s southern command said early Wednesday.
- Russia fired four cruise missiles at Odessa from the Black Sea, and three of which were shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian Air Force said. One missile struck a civilian object, it said.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Russian military bloggers and correspondents on Tuesday. He claimed the Kremlin might try to seize more Ukrainian territory bordering Russia to create a “sanitary zone,” but added there was currently “no need” for another troop mobilization.
- The Ukrainian counteroffensive is taking place in at least three directions, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, including around the long-contested city of Bakhmut and along the border between the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
More live updates here.
- At least three people were killed and 13 injured after Russian missiles struck a commercial area in Odessa, in southwestern Ukraine, overnight, the Ukrainian army’s southern command said early Wednesday.
- Russia fired four cruise missiles at Odessa from the Black Sea, and three of which were shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian Air Force said. One missile struck a civilian object, it said.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Russian military bloggers and correspondents on Tuesday. He claimed the Kremlin might try to seize more Ukrainian territory bordering Russia to create a “sanitary zone,” but added there was currently “no need” for another troop mobilization.
- The Ukrainian counteroffensive is taking place in at least three directions, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, including around the long-contested city of Bakhmut and along the border between the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
More live updates here.
Fighting intensifies in Ukraine; missile kills at least 11 in Kryvyi Rih
MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — As battles raged Tuesday along the front line in Ukraine’s southeast, Russia responded to Kyiv’s counteroffensive with its latest deadly overnight missile barrage, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 20 in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s native city of Kryvyi Rih.
In the early morning hours, Russian forces fired 14 cruise missiles, of which the Ukrainian Air Force said 11 were intercepted by air defenses. But missiles struck a residential building and a warehouse in Kryvyi Rih, a working-class steel and mining town.
Zelensky posted a video on his Telegram channel, showing flames leaping from the ruins of a building that was hit and the smoldering remains of cars. “More terrorist missiles,” Zelensky wrote. “Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people.”
Read the full story here.
MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — As battles raged Tuesday along the front line in Ukraine’s southeast, Russia responded to Kyiv’s counteroffensive with its latest deadly overnight missile barrage, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 20 in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s native city of Kryvyi Rih.
In the early morning hours, Russian forces fired 14 cruise missiles, of which the Ukrainian Air Force said 11 were intercepted by air defenses. But missiles struck a residential building and a warehouse in Kryvyi Rih, a working-class steel and mining town.
Zelensky posted a video on his Telegram channel, showing flames leaping from the ruins of a building that was hit and the smoldering remains of cars. “More terrorist missiles,” Zelensky wrote. “Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people.”
Read the full story here.
Criticizing army is a crime in Russia — but not for mercenary boss Prigozhin
RIGA, Latvia — Criticizing the military is illegal in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and openly displaying political ambition that could challenge the strongman president is highly ill-advised. Yet Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin somehow flaunts doing both these days and, for now at least, seems to be getting away with it.
Prigozhin, the caterer-turned-warlord who deployed his private army — reinforced by thousands of convicts whom he recruited from prison — to Ukraine, has been locked for weeks in a vicious feud with Russia’s military leadership, in which he has repeatedly accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other commanders of incompetence.
That fight took a harrowing turn this month when Wagner fighters and regular Russian soldiers ended up in a shootout near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which ended with the mercenaries detaining a lieutenant colonel.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Criticizing the military is illegal in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and openly displaying political ambition that could challenge the strongman president is highly ill-advised. Yet Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin somehow flaunts doing both these days and, for now at least, seems to be getting away with it.
Prigozhin, the caterer-turned-warlord who deployed his private army — reinforced by thousands of convicts whom he recruited from prison — to Ukraine, has been locked for weeks in a vicious feud with Russia’s military leadership, in which he has repeatedly accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other commanders of incompetence.
That fight took a harrowing turn this month when Wagner fighters and regular Russian soldiers ended up in a shootout near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which ended with the mercenaries detaining a lieutenant colonel.
Read the full story here.
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American musician detained in Russia on drug charges
An American expatriate living in Russia has been arrested there on drug charges, according to the U.S. State Department.
Michael Travis Leake was arrested and is detained in Moscow, a State Department spokesperson said in an email, adding that embassy officials attended his arraignment on Saturday.
“When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the Department pursues consular access as soon as possible and works to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will continue to monitor the case closely.”
Read the full story here.
An American expatriate living in Russia has been arrested there on drug charges, according to the U.S. State Department.
Michael Travis Leake was arrested and is detained in Moscow, a State Department spokesperson said in an email, adding that embassy officials attended his arraignment on Saturday.
“When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the Department pursues consular access as soon as possible and works to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will continue to monitor the case closely.”
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is at U.S. military headquarters in western Germany ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of leaders from dozens of countries assisting the government in Kyiv.
- A Russian missile strike hit a commercial area in Ukraine’s major southern port of Odessa overnight, killing at least three people and injuring 13, the Ukrainian army’s southern command said early Wednesday.
- Russia fired four cruise missiles at Odessa from the Black Sea, three of which were shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian air force said.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on manufacturers of missile components following a Russian attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed 12 people and injured more than 30.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the Kremlin might try to seize more Ukrainian territory bordering Russia to create a “sanitary zone.”
More live updates here.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is at U.S. military headquarters in western Germany ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of leaders from dozens of countries assisting the government in Kyiv.
- A Russian missile strike hit a commercial area in Ukraine’s major southern port of Odessa overnight, killing at least three people and injuring 13, the Ukrainian army’s southern command said early Wednesday.
- Russia fired four cruise missiles at Odessa from the Black Sea, three of which were shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian air force said.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on manufacturers of missile components following a Russian attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed 12 people and injured more than 30.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the Kremlin might try to seize more Ukrainian territory bordering Russia to create a “sanitary zone.”
More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels on Thursday to host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes leaders from dozens of countries assisting Kyiv’s war efforts.
- Ukrainian forces are making grinding advances in several directions in the early stages of their counteroffensive, according to officials. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops have advanced between 200 to 500 meters around Bakhmut and 300 to 350 meters in parts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
- The Australian government passed legislation Thursday to curtail plans by Russia to build a new embassy in the capital, Canberra, alongside Parliament.
- The U.S. has sent Air Force F-22 Raptors to the Middle East to counter what military officials described as increasingly “unsafe and unprofessional behavior” by Russian aircraft in the region.
More live updates here.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels on Thursday to host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes leaders from dozens of countries assisting Kyiv’s war efforts.
- Ukrainian forces are making grinding advances in several directions in the early stages of their counteroffensive, according to officials. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops have advanced between 200 to 500 meters around Bakhmut and 300 to 350 meters in parts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
- The Australian government passed legislation Thursday to curtail plans by Russia to build a new embassy in the capital, Canberra, alongside Parliament.
- The U.S. has sent Air Force F-22 Raptors to the Middle East to counter what military officials described as increasingly “unsafe and unprofessional behavior” by Russian aircraft in the region.
More live updates here.
On front lines of Ukraine counteroffensive, soldiers pay heavy price
ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine — The men of Ukraine’s 37th Brigade were freshly trained and armed with Western-supplied weapons, tasked with an initial push through Russian-occupied territory in the early days of a long-awaited counteroffensive.
They would pay a heavy price.
Within 20 minutes of their June 5 advance south of Velyka Novosilka, in the southeast Donetsk region, mortars exploded all around them, soldiers said. A 30-year-old soldier known as Lumberjack saw two of the men in his vehicle bleeding heavily; one lost an arm as he cried out for his family. Lumberjack crawled into a crater, but the shrapnel from a mortar went through the soil and pierced his shoulder.
There were fewer than 50 men in the unit, he said, and 30 did not return — they were killed, wounded or captured by the enemy.
The 37th’s reconnaissance push would eventually help other Ukrainian brigades liberate four villages in Donetsk.
Read the full story here.
ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine — The men of Ukraine’s 37th Brigade were freshly trained and armed with Western-supplied weapons, tasked with an initial push through Russian-occupied territory in the early days of a long-awaited counteroffensive.
They would pay a heavy price.
Within 20 minutes of their June 5 advance south of Velyka Novosilka, in the southeast Donetsk region, mortars exploded all around them, soldiers said. A 30-year-old soldier known as Lumberjack saw two of the men in his vehicle bleeding heavily; one lost an arm as he cried out for his family. Lumberjack crawled into a crater, but the shrapnel from a mortar went through the soil and pierced his shoulder.
There were fewer than 50 men in the unit, he said, and 30 did not return — they were killed, wounded or captured by the enemy.
The 37th’s reconnaissance push would eventually help other Ukrainian brigades liberate four villages in Donetsk.
Read the full story here.
U.S. seeks to expand developing world’s influence at United Nations
The Biden administration is developing plans for overhauling the U.N. Security Council, an initiative that U.S. officials hope will restore confidence in the world’s preeminent governance body by recognizing today’s diffuse map of global power.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President Biden’s envoy to the United Nations, is consulting with diplomats from the organization’s 193 member states to solicit feedback about a potential expansion of the powerful council ahead of world leaders’ annual gathering in New York this fall.
The evolving U.S. proposal, which is expected to include the addition of roughly a half dozen permanent permanent seats to the council without granting those nations veto power, reflects Biden’s desire to acknowledge the developing world’s growing clout and to address widespread frustration with the council’s members and their inability to stanch global conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
The Biden administration is developing plans for overhauling the U.N. Security Council, an initiative that U.S. officials hope will restore confidence in the world’s preeminent governance body by recognizing today’s diffuse map of global power.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President Biden’s envoy to the United Nations, is consulting with diplomats from the organization’s 193 member states to solicit feedback about a potential expansion of the powerful council ahead of world leaders’ annual gathering in New York this fall.
The evolving U.S. proposal, which is expected to include the addition of roughly a half dozen permanent permanent seats to the council without granting those nations veto power, reflects Biden’s desire to acknowledge the developing world’s growing clout and to address widespread frustration with the council’s members and their inability to stanch global conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive heats up, Washington holds its breath
As Ukraine launches its long-awaited counteroffensive against entrenched Russian occupiers, both Kyiv and its backers are hoping for a rapid retaking of strategically significant territory. Anything less will present the United States and its allies with uncomfortable questions they are not yet prepared to answer.
With this year’s flow of billions of dollars’ worth of advanced Western weaponry to Ukraine, “everybody’s hopeful that, you know, you’d see overwhelming success,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters last week. But, he said, adding a note of caution, “I think most people have a realistic outlook on this.”
Read the full story here.
As Ukraine launches its long-awaited counteroffensive against entrenched Russian occupiers, both Kyiv and its backers are hoping for a rapid retaking of strategically significant territory. Anything less will present the United States and its allies with uncomfortable questions they are not yet prepared to answer.
With this year’s flow of billions of dollars’ worth of advanced Western weaponry to Ukraine, “everybody’s hopeful that, you know, you’d see overwhelming success,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters last week. But, he said, adding a note of caution, “I think most people have a realistic outlook on this.”
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels to host a meeting Thursday of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes ministers from almost 50 countries assisting Kyiv’s war efforts.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that financial and military aid is making a difference on the battlefield as Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive begins.
- Sweden has agreed to some form of fighter jet “testing” for Ukraine as part of a program that committed several countries to training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets.
- Norway and Denmark have agreed to send an additional 9,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine, Norway’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
- More than 2 million Ukrainian children have been forced to flee since the war began, according to UNICEF.
- Ukrainian forces are making grinding advances in several directions in the early stages of their counteroffensive, according to officials.
More live updates here.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels to host a meeting Thursday of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes ministers from almost 50 countries assisting Kyiv’s war efforts.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that financial and military aid is making a difference on the battlefield as Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive begins.
- Sweden has agreed to some form of fighter jet “testing” for Ukraine as part of a program that committed several countries to training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets.
- Norway and Denmark have agreed to send an additional 9,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine, Norway’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
- More than 2 million Ukrainian children have been forced to flee since the war began, according to UNICEF.
- Ukrainian forces are making grinding advances in several directions in the early stages of their counteroffensive, according to officials.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Several leaders of African nations arrived in Ukraine on Friday before heading to Russia on a diplomatic tour aimed to encourage peace negotiations and highlight the impact of the conflict on their continent.
- In Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials from NATO member nations continue a second-day of defense ministerial meetings in Brussels, as Ukraine pushes on with its counteroffensive.
- Ukrainian officials have said their forces have made small gains, of up to 40 square miles, and liberated seven small villages in the country’s southeast. The claims could not be verified independently.
- Sweden will probably not join NATO before next month’s gathering of the military alliance, said Jeff Flake, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
More live updates here.
- Several leaders of African nations arrived in Ukraine on Friday before heading to Russia on a diplomatic tour aimed to encourage peace negotiations and highlight the impact of the conflict on their continent.
- In Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials from NATO member nations continue a second-day of defense ministerial meetings in Brussels, as Ukraine pushes on with its counteroffensive.
- Ukrainian officials have said their forces have made small gains, of up to 40 square miles, and liberated seven small villages in the country’s southeast. The claims could not be verified independently.
- Sweden will probably not join NATO before next month’s gathering of the military alliance, said Jeff Flake, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
More live updates here.
Ukraine claims small territorial gains as counteroffensive grinds forward
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials said Thursday that the country’s military had retaken approximately 40 square miles of territory from Russian occupying forces and that Kyiv’s counteroffensive was advancing “gradually but surely.”
The territorial claims could not be verified independently as the Ukrainian military has restricted access to the front lines for independent journalists. But, if confirmed, the gains would represent further modest progress in a long-awaited counteroffensive, which Kyiv is hoping will force the Russians to retreat and shore up the confidence of Ukraine’s Western supporters.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian military said it had liberated seven small villages in southeastern Ukraine, most clustered near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials said Thursday that the country’s military had retaken approximately 40 square miles of territory from Russian occupying forces and that Kyiv’s counteroffensive was advancing “gradually but surely.”
The territorial claims could not be verified independently as the Ukrainian military has restricted access to the front lines for independent journalists. But, if confirmed, the gains would represent further modest progress in a long-awaited counteroffensive, which Kyiv is hoping will force the Russians to retreat and shore up the confidence of Ukraine’s Western supporters.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian military said it had liberated seven small villages in southeastern Ukraine, most clustered near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Read the full story here.
Pentagon predicts Ukraine offensive will be long and ‘very violent’
Pentagon officials predicted on Thursday a long, violent battle as Ukrainian forces attempt to drive occupying Russian troops out of their country, offering their most candid comments to date about a new offensive campaign reliant on Western military equipment and training.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be “very premature” to estimate how long Ukraine’s counteroffensive could take, considering that Russia has several hundred thousand troops dug in on the front lines. But he characterized the operation as “a very violent fight” that will “likely take a considerable amount of time — and at high cost.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, appearing alongside Milley at NATO headquarters, noting that photographs of damaged Western combat vehicles have begun to emerge from the battlefield, said Ukrainian forces have the ability to recover damaged military equipment and repair it.
Read the full story here.
Pentagon officials predicted on Thursday a long, violent battle as Ukrainian forces attempt to drive occupying Russian troops out of their country, offering their most candid comments to date about a new offensive campaign reliant on Western military equipment and training.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be “very premature” to estimate how long Ukraine’s counteroffensive could take, considering that Russia has several hundred thousand troops dug in on the front lines. But he characterized the operation as “a very violent fight” that will “likely take a considerable amount of time — and at high cost.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, appearing alongside Milley at NATO headquarters, noting that photographs of damaged Western combat vehicles have begun to emerge from the battlefield, said Ukrainian forces have the ability to recover damaged military equipment and repair it.
Read the full story here.
Amid NATO divisions, U.S. backs incremental step for Ukraine’s entry
The United States is giving tentative backing to a plan that would remove barriers to Ukraine’s entry into NATO without setting a timeline for its admission, a modest step that American officials hope can bridge divisions among member nations over Kyiv’s path to joining the transatlantic military alliance.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration is “comfortable” with a proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that would permit Ukraine to forgo a formal candidacy process that has been required of some nations, a move that could hasten its entry.
The NATO chief’s proposal, if accepted by all 31 members, would cap a polarizing debate about what to offer the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky when alliance leaders gather for a major summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Read the full story here.
The United States is giving tentative backing to a plan that would remove barriers to Ukraine’s entry into NATO without setting a timeline for its admission, a modest step that American officials hope can bridge divisions among member nations over Kyiv’s path to joining the transatlantic military alliance.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration is “comfortable” with a proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that would permit Ukraine to forgo a formal candidacy process that has been required of some nations, a move that could hasten its entry.
The NATO chief’s proposal, if accepted by all 31 members, would cap a polarizing debate about what to offer the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky when alliance leaders gather for a major summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Several leaders of African nations arrived in Ukraine on Friday on a diplomatic tour aimed at encouraging peace negotiations and highlighting the impact of the conflict on their continent.
- In Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials from NATO member nations continue a second day of defense ministerial meetings in Brussels, as Ukraine wages its counteroffensive against entrenched Russian occupation forces.
- U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that would authorize using confiscated Russian assets to pay for aid to Ukraine and help finance the country’s reconstruction.
- The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog concluded a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine late Thursday.
- Putin called Zelensky a “disgrace to Jewish people,” while addressing business leaders during his keynote speech at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
More live updates here.
- Several leaders of African nations arrived in Ukraine on Friday on a diplomatic tour aimed at encouraging peace negotiations and highlighting the impact of the conflict on their continent.
- In Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials from NATO member nations continue a second day of defense ministerial meetings in Brussels, as Ukraine wages its counteroffensive against entrenched Russian occupation forces.
- U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that would authorize using confiscated Russian assets to pay for aid to Ukraine and help finance the country’s reconstruction.
- The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog concluded a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine late Thursday.
- Putin called Zelensky a “disgrace to Jewish people,” while addressing business leaders during his keynote speech at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The Kremlin said the African delegation would arrive in St. Petersburg on Saturday. “Vladimir Putin will receive the leaders of a number of African states who, in accordance with an earlier agreement,” will “hold talks on possible ways to reach settlement in Ukraine,” the Kremlin said.
- The Russian missile attack on Kyiv only made the African peace mission more important, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
- Ukraine has advanced up to two kilometers, or about 1.25 miles, in the south, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said late Friday.
- Russia has no reason to resort to nuclear weapons for now, Putin said Friday while speaking to Russian business elites at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
More live updates here.
- The Kremlin said the African delegation would arrive in St. Petersburg on Saturday. “Vladimir Putin will receive the leaders of a number of African states who, in accordance with an earlier agreement,” will “hold talks on possible ways to reach settlement in Ukraine,” the Kremlin said.
- The Russian missile attack on Kyiv only made the African peace mission more important, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
- Ukraine has advanced up to two kilometers, or about 1.25 miles, in the south, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said late Friday.
- Russia has no reason to resort to nuclear weapons for now, Putin said Friday while speaking to Russian business elites at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
More live updates here.