Analysis: Crimea looms in the crosshairs as Ukraine’s counteroffensive bogs down
After a week of summitry and politicking, all eyes returned to the war. On Monday morning, Ukrainian forces used a sea surface drone to strike and damage the Crimean Bridge, a vital road and rail artery connecting mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014. Russian officials said a married couple that was headed to Crimea on vacation were killed, and their teenage daughter was wounded in the attack.
Despite the raging war in Ukraine that was prompted by Moscow’s invasion last year, the peninsula remains a hugely popular tourist destination for Russians. But the targeted explosion spooked many, and led to a rush of Russians snarling traffic on the other main route out of Crimea and through Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.
Read the full analysis here.
After a week of summitry and politicking, all eyes returned to the war. On Monday morning, Ukrainian forces used a sea surface drone to strike and damage the Crimean Bridge, a vital road and rail artery connecting mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014. Russian officials said a married couple that was headed to Crimea on vacation were killed, and their teenage daughter was wounded in the attack.
Despite the raging war in Ukraine that was prompted by Moscow’s invasion last year, the peninsula remains a hugely popular tourist destination for Russians. But the targeted explosion spooked many, and led to a rush of Russians snarling traffic on the other main route out of Crimea and through Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.
Read the full analysis here.
Russia pummels Odessa with airstrikes
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia pounded the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa early Wednesday morning — the second overnight attack in a row after Moscow terminated an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grain from its Black Sea ports.
Local officials called the bombardment “hellish” and “never-ending” but there were no immediate reports that anyone had been killed.
The assault also came two days after Russia promised retaliation for Kyiv’s maritime strike on the Crimean Bridge, which links Russia to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
On Wednesday, however, Ukrainian officials made a direct connection between the end of the grain deal and the attacks on the Odessa port infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that Russia “absolutely deliberately targeted the infrastructure of the grain agreement.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia pounded the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa early Wednesday morning — the second overnight attack in a row after Moscow terminated an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grain from its Black Sea ports.
Local officials called the bombardment “hellish” and “never-ending” but there were no immediate reports that anyone had been killed.
The assault also came two days after Russia promised retaliation for Kyiv’s maritime strike on the Crimean Bridge, which links Russia to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
On Wednesday, however, Ukrainian officials made a direct connection between the end of the grain deal and the attacks on the Odessa port infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that Russia “absolutely deliberately targeted the infrastructure of the grain agreement.”
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia attacked the key Ukrainian port city of Odessa with missiles and drones overnight, its regional governor said, injuring six people, including a 9-year-old-boy, and marking the second consecutive night of attacks.
- Russia has said that its attack was in retaliation for the deadly explosion on the Crimean Bridge.
- U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary General António Guterres would “continue to explore all possible avenues to ensure that Ukrainian grain, Russian grain and Russian fertilizer are out into the global market” after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
- A fire broke out early Wednesday at a military training ground on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
- Traffic has partially resumed on the Crimean Bridge, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Telegram, adding that fully restoring the structure could cost between $11 million and $14 million.
More live updates here.
- Russia attacked the key Ukrainian port city of Odessa with missiles and drones overnight, its regional governor said, injuring six people, including a 9-year-old-boy, and marking the second consecutive night of attacks.
- Russia has said that its attack was in retaliation for the deadly explosion on the Crimean Bridge.
- U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary General António Guterres would “continue to explore all possible avenues to ensure that Ukrainian grain, Russian grain and Russian fertilizer are out into the global market” after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
- A fire broke out early Wednesday at a military training ground on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
- Traffic has partially resumed on the Crimean Bridge, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Telegram, adding that fully restoring the structure could cost between $11 million and $14 million.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- For a third successive night, missile strikes pummeled Ukraine’s Odessa region, where the country’s Black Sea ports are located. Eight aircraft carrying long-range supersonic missiles were recorded flying in the direction of the Black Sea, while anti-ship cruise missiles were launched toward the Odessa region, Ukraine’s air force said.
- An attack on the city of Mykolaiv left 18 wounded, including five children, the regional military administration said.
- A drone attack in Russian-held Crimea killed a teenage girl, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian head of Crimea, said in a statement. The attack damaged four administrative buildings, he added. Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
- Russian forces could be preparing to attack civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea, the White House said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
- In a new video, Wagner Group head Yevgeniy Prigozhin appeared to confirm he was in Belarus.
More live updates here.
- For a third successive night, missile strikes pummeled Ukraine’s Odessa region, where the country’s Black Sea ports are located. Eight aircraft carrying long-range supersonic missiles were recorded flying in the direction of the Black Sea, while anti-ship cruise missiles were launched toward the Odessa region, Ukraine’s air force said.
- An attack on the city of Mykolaiv left 18 wounded, including five children, the regional military administration said.
- A drone attack in Russian-held Crimea killed a teenage girl, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian head of Crimea, said in a statement. The attack damaged four administrative buildings, he added. Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
- Russian forces could be preparing to attack civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea, the White House said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
- In a new video, Wagner Group head Yevgeniy Prigozhin appeared to confirm he was in Belarus.
More live updates here.
Putin, facing war crimes arrest, will skip BRICS summit in South Africa
RIGA, Latvia — Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not attend next month’s summit of the BRICS group of nations in South Africa “by mutual agreement,” South Africa’s presidential administration said Wednesday.
The agreement with the Kremlin puts an end to a diplomatic quandary for host nation South Africa: As a member of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, it would have an obligation to arrest Putin on his arrival in the country.
The awkward situation, which prompted some officials in South Africa to propose that the country withdraw from the court, highlighted how Moscow’s war against Ukraine has damaged Putin’s international standing.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not attend next month’s summit of the BRICS group of nations in South Africa “by mutual agreement,” South Africa’s presidential administration said Wednesday.
The agreement with the Kremlin puts an end to a diplomatic quandary for host nation South Africa: As a member of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, it would have an obligation to arrest Putin on his arrival in the country.
The awkward situation, which prompted some officials in South Africa to propose that the country withdraw from the court, highlighted how Moscow’s war against Ukraine has damaged Putin’s international standing.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine begins firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions at Russian forces
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine has begun firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine in a push to break up well-fortified Russian positions that have slowed Ukraine’s summer offensive, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter.
The use of the controversial U.S.-made weapons, which has not been previously reported, follows President Biden’s “difficult decision” to order the delivery of the widely banned munitions last week, a move that human rights groups, European allies and some Democrats criticized due to the risk of civilian casualties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to retaliate against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” although Russia has already used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine at least 24 times since the start of Moscow’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the United Nations.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine has begun firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine in a push to break up well-fortified Russian positions that have slowed Ukraine’s summer offensive, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter.
The use of the controversial U.S.-made weapons, which has not been previously reported, follows President Biden’s “difficult decision” to order the delivery of the widely banned munitions last week, a move that human rights groups, European allies and some Democrats criticized due to the risk of civilian casualties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to retaliate against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” although Russia has already used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine at least 24 times since the start of Moscow’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the United Nations.
Read the full story here.
Prigozhin says Wagner mercenary group for now will not fight in Ukraine
RIGA, Latvia — Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin, in what appeared to be the first video of him since he led a short-lived rebellion in late June, said the Russian mercenary group will for now not fight in Ukraine and repeated his criticism that Russia’s Ukraine invasion has been botched.
The blurry clip, apparently filmed at dusk, showed a man resembling Prigozhin addressing a crowd of at least several hundred men in military fatigues. He vowed to continue operating the Wagner Group in Africa and turn the military of Belarus, his new host country, into “the second army in the world.”
“Congratulations on the arrival to the Belarusian land. We fought well. You have done a lot for Russia,” Prigozhin said in the clip, posted by the ‘Wagner Unloading” Telegram channel and verified by The Post. “
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin, in what appeared to be the first video of him since he led a short-lived rebellion in late June, said the Russian mercenary group will for now not fight in Ukraine and repeated his criticism that Russia’s Ukraine invasion has been botched.
The blurry clip, apparently filmed at dusk, showed a man resembling Prigozhin addressing a crowd of at least several hundred men in military fatigues. He vowed to continue operating the Wagner Group in Africa and turn the military of Belarus, his new host country, into “the second army in the world.”
“Congratulations on the arrival to the Belarusian land. We fought well. You have done a lot for Russia,” Prigozhin said in the clip, posted by the ‘Wagner Unloading” Telegram channel and verified by The Post. “
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Missile strikes pummeled Ukraine’s Black Sea port region of Odessa for the third night in a row, while an attack on the nearby port city of Mykolaiv left two killed and 19 people wounded, including five children, Ukrainian officials said early Thursday.
- The United States slapped sanctions Thursday on Russian technology supply and development companies, as well as Kyrgyz companies that the U.S. accused of acting as intermediaries to allow Russia to import electronic equipment, bypassing Western sanctions.
- In the southeast, Ukraine has started using controversial U.S.-made cluster munitions, hoping to break up fortified Russian positions that have slowed its offensive, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter.
- Ships headed to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea could be considered potential carriers of military cargo as of Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
More live updates here.
- Missile strikes pummeled Ukraine’s Black Sea port region of Odessa for the third night in a row, while an attack on the nearby port city of Mykolaiv left two killed and 19 people wounded, including five children, Ukrainian officials said early Thursday.
- The United States slapped sanctions Thursday on Russian technology supply and development companies, as well as Kyrgyz companies that the U.S. accused of acting as intermediaries to allow Russia to import electronic equipment, bypassing Western sanctions.
- In the southeast, Ukraine has started using controversial U.S.-made cluster munitions, hoping to break up fortified Russian positions that have slowed its offensive, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter.
- Ships headed to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea could be considered potential carriers of military cargo as of Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia struck Odessa early Friday in the fourth day of pounding the Ukrainian port region on the Black Sea, the governor said. The attack on an agricultural facility there injured two employees and destroyed tons of peas and barley, Oleh Kiper said, days after the Kremlin pulled out of a U.N.-backed grain export deal.
- On the battlefield, Ukraine is using U.S.-provided cluster munitions in an attempt to push through Russian lines in the southeast, The Washington Post reported.
- The CIA director suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin may still seek revenge on Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin over his short-lived mutiny last month.
- The U.N. Security Council will meet Friday to discuss Russia’s pullout from the grain deal and the humanitarian consequences, Britain’s Mission to the United Nations said.
More live updates here.
- Russia struck Odessa early Friday in the fourth day of pounding the Ukrainian port region on the Black Sea, the governor said. The attack on an agricultural facility there injured two employees and destroyed tons of peas and barley, Oleh Kiper said, days after the Kremlin pulled out of a U.N.-backed grain export deal.
- On the battlefield, Ukraine is using U.S.-provided cluster munitions in an attempt to push through Russian lines in the southeast, The Washington Post reported.
- The CIA director suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin may still seek revenge on Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin over his short-lived mutiny last month.
- The U.N. Security Council will meet Friday to discuss Russia’s pullout from the grain deal and the humanitarian consequences, Britain’s Mission to the United Nations said.
More live updates here.
Ukraine’s new Bradley Fighting Vehicles face damage and quick repairs
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — The Ukrainian commander of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle was unloading troops at the front and then planned to transport three injured soldiers back to a field hospital. “But in that one minute, you suddenly have 30, 40, 50 shells flying in — everything explodes, soil is flying around, everything lights up,” said the commander, who asked to be identified by his call sign, CZ, in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol.
The Bradley — a heavily armed troop transporter that can destroy other armored vehicles — was damaged by shrapnel, but CZ and his crew survived. In the opening month of Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, newly provided Bradleys and German Leopard tanks — predictably — have taken hits.
Read the full story here.
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — The Ukrainian commander of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle was unloading troops at the front and then planned to transport three injured soldiers back to a field hospital. “But in that one minute, you suddenly have 30, 40, 50 shells flying in — everything explodes, soil is flying around, everything lights up,” said the commander, who asked to be identified by his call sign, CZ, in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol.
The Bradley — a heavily armed troop transporter that can destroy other armored vehicles — was damaged by shrapnel, but CZ and his crew survived. In the opening month of Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, newly provided Bradleys and German Leopard tanks — predictably — have taken hits.
Read the full story here.
In Central Asia, a hidden pipeline supplies Russia with banned tech
On the shipping label, the Chinese drones were billed as heavy-duty cropdusters, the kind used by orchards and big farms. But the identity of the buyer — a Russian company that purchased a truckload of the aircraft in early May at nearly $14,000 each — hinted at other possible uses.
The drones’ potential military value, ironically, had been noted by Russia’s government, which last year seized four aircraft of the same model in eastern Ukraine and claimed that Kyiv was planning to use them for chemical warfare. The sturdy all-weather quadcopters are built to carry payloads of nearly 70 pounds and are designed to glide at treetop level trailing a fog of liquid chemicals.
Whatever their intended use, the drones were on the final leg of a trek across Central Asia when they were intercepted by customs officers near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Read the full story here.
On the shipping label, the Chinese drones were billed as heavy-duty cropdusters, the kind used by orchards and big farms. But the identity of the buyer — a Russian company that purchased a truckload of the aircraft in early May at nearly $14,000 each — hinted at other possible uses.
The drones’ potential military value, ironically, had been noted by Russia’s government, which last year seized four aircraft of the same model in eastern Ukraine and claimed that Kyiv was planning to use them for chemical warfare. The sturdy all-weather quadcopters are built to carry payloads of nearly 70 pounds and are designed to glide at treetop level trailing a fog of liquid chemicals.
Whatever their intended use, the drones were on the final leg of a trek across Central Asia when they were intercepted by customs officers near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Read the full story here.
Russia arrests Igor Girkin ex-security officer who led operations in Ukraine
RIGA, Latvia — Russian authorities on Friday detained Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine and prominent war blogger, reportedly on charges of promoting extremism — marking the first time Moscow has taken action against a fervent supporter of the war in Ukraine but one who voiced loud criticism of Russian leaders and their often botched military strategy.
Criticizing the war and the military is illegal in Russia, and authorities have cracked down mercilessly on those expressing antiwar views, including schoolchildren. But Russian law enforcement has ignored fierce, often fiery, criticism from pro-war hawks who have lambasted battlefield decisions, decried repeated military setbacks and demanded harsher attacks on Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Russian authorities on Friday detained Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine and prominent war blogger, reportedly on charges of promoting extremism — marking the first time Moscow has taken action against a fervent supporter of the war in Ukraine but one who voiced loud criticism of Russian leaders and their often botched military strategy.
Criticizing the war and the military is illegal in Russia, and authorities have cracked down mercilessly on those expressing antiwar views, including schoolchildren. But Russian law enforcement has ignored fierce, often fiery, criticism from pro-war hawks who have lambasted battlefield decisions, decried repeated military setbacks and demanded harsher attacks on Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russian forces held a live-fire exercise in the Black Sea on Friday, and also struck granaries in Ukraine’s port region of Odessa, ramping up tensions days after Moscow pulled out of a U.N.-backed grain export deal.
- Two children were killed in a Russian artillery strike on a village in the Donetsk region.
- Russian authorities detained Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine and prominent war blogger, on Friday.
- The CIA director suggested that Putin could still seek revenge on Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin over his short-lived mutiny.
- Tensions around maritime activity are simmering and the price of wheat futures has risen, though it has not reached its May 2022 high.
- Zelensky called for limits on funding cultural activities during the war in his nightly address.
More live updates here.
- Russian forces held a live-fire exercise in the Black Sea on Friday, and also struck granaries in Ukraine’s port region of Odessa, ramping up tensions days after Moscow pulled out of a U.N.-backed grain export deal.
- Two children were killed in a Russian artillery strike on a village in the Donetsk region.
- Russian authorities detained Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine and prominent war blogger, on Friday.
- The CIA director suggested that Putin could still seek revenge on Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin over his short-lived mutiny.
- Tensions around maritime activity are simmering and the price of wheat futures has risen, though it has not reached its May 2022 high.
- Zelensky called for limits on funding cultural activities during the war in his nightly address.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan it was an “absolute priority” to restore the Black Sea corridor, where ships carry Ukrainian grain to the world, according to the Ukrainian leader’s office. Turkey’s presidential office acknowledged the two held a phone call Friday and discussed the grain deal from which Russia withdrew this week.
- U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said millions of people are at risk of hunger after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal.
- Zelensky described the Crimean Bridge as a target for Ukraine that must be “neutralized.” “This is not just a logistical road, this is the road used to feed the war with ammunition,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum.
- Radar imagery appears to show newly arrived vehicles and equipment in Belarus, at a rumored base for fighters from the Wagner Group.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan it was an “absolute priority” to restore the Black Sea corridor, where ships carry Ukrainian grain to the world, according to the Ukrainian leader’s office. Turkey’s presidential office acknowledged the two held a phone call Friday and discussed the grain deal from which Russia withdrew this week.
- U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said millions of people are at risk of hunger after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal.
- Zelensky described the Crimean Bridge as a target for Ukraine that must be “neutralized.” “This is not just a logistical road, this is the road used to feed the war with ammunition,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum.
- Radar imagery appears to show newly arrived vehicles and equipment in Belarus, at a rumored base for fighters from the Wagner Group.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- A drone struck a skyscraper in Moscow early Monday, shattering glass on its 17th and 18th floors, Russian officials reported. The wreckage of a second drone was found on Komsomolsky Prospect, a thoroughfare in central Moscow. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said there were no casualties.
- The incident comes after another night of attacks on Ukraine’s Odessa region. Drones targeted port infrastructure along the Danube River, injuring six people and destroying a grain hangar, said Oleh Kiper, the regional governor.
- Ukraine attacked an ammunition depot in Crimea with drones overnight, the Russian-backed head of the peninsula said.
- Ukraine has taken back about half of the land that Russia initially seized in the invasion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview with CNN.
- Ukrainian pilots will begin training with F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft developed by the U.S. Air Force next month, the Ukrainian Defense Minister told CNN.
More live updates here.
- A drone struck a skyscraper in Moscow early Monday, shattering glass on its 17th and 18th floors, Russian officials reported. The wreckage of a second drone was found on Komsomolsky Prospect, a thoroughfare in central Moscow. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said there were no casualties.
- The incident comes after another night of attacks on Ukraine’s Odessa region. Drones targeted port infrastructure along the Danube River, injuring six people and destroying a grain hangar, said Oleh Kiper, the regional governor.
- Ukraine attacked an ammunition depot in Crimea with drones overnight, the Russian-backed head of the peninsula said.
- Ukraine has taken back about half of the land that Russia initially seized in the invasion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview with CNN.
- Ukrainian pilots will begin training with F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft developed by the U.S. Air Force next month, the Ukrainian Defense Minister told CNN.
More live updates here.
Russia comes under global criticism for grain deal pullout, port attacks
Russia is facing a barrage of criticism from countries around the world — including some of its friends — for its strikes on Ukrainian ports and its decision this week to suspend participation in a U.N. deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea.
Senior diplomats at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday excoriated Russia’s moves, which have sent grain prices soaring and which officials warned would exacerbate global food insecurity, leading some people in the world’s poorest countries to starve.
“Russia is waging war on the world’s food supply,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said. “Russian exporters are already benefiting while millions who cannot afford higher-priced grain suffer, especially people in the Middle East and Africa. Let’s be clear: Russia has zero, zero legitimate reason to suspend its participation in this arrangement.”
Read the full story here.
Russia is facing a barrage of criticism from countries around the world — including some of its friends — for its strikes on Ukrainian ports and its decision this week to suspend participation in a U.N. deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea.
Senior diplomats at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday excoriated Russia’s moves, which have sent grain prices soaring and which officials warned would exacerbate global food insecurity, leading some people in the world’s poorest countries to starve.
“Russia is waging war on the world’s food supply,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said. “Russian exporters are already benefiting while millions who cannot afford higher-priced grain suffer, especially people in the Middle East and Africa. Let’s be clear: Russia has zero, zero legitimate reason to suspend its participation in this arrangement.”
Read the full story here.