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The official Washington Post channel, sharing live news coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. You can find our full coverage at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ukraine-russia/.

The Post’s coverage is free to access in Ukraine and Russia.
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Here's the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian troops have recaptured the village of Urozhaine in the southeastern Donetsk region, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday, as the country continues a slow-moving counteroffensive against Russian forces.

- Ukraine does not expect to use F-16 advanced fighter jets this fall or winter, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said on Wednesday.

- Russia launched eight missiles and 82 airstrikes against Ukraine in the past day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. The casualties include children, the statement said.

- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone on Wednesday to Paul Whelan, an American jailed in Russia, CNN reported. Whelan, a Marine turned corporate security executive, was convicted of espionage and sentenced in 2020 in a trial he argued was politically motivated.

More live updates here.
Exclusive: Inside the Russian effort to build 6,000 attack drones with Iran’s help

The engineers at a once-bustling industrial hub deep inside Russia were busy planning. The team had been secretly tasked with building a production line that would operate around-the-clock churning out self-detonating drones, weapons that President Vladimir Putin’s forces could use to bombard Ukrainian cities.

A retired official of Russia’s Federal Security Service was put in charge of security for the program. The passports of highly skilled employees were seized so they could not leave the country. In correspondence and other documents, engineers used coded language: Drones were “boats,” their explosives were “bumpers,” and Iran was “Ireland” or “Belarus.”

This was Russia’s billion-dollar weapons deal with Iran coming to life in November, 500 miles east of Moscow in the Tatarstan region. Its aim is to domestically build 6,000 drones by summer 2025.

Read the full story here.
‘A jumble of tendons, bones and muscles’: Mine injuries haunt doctors in Ukraine

Bodies ripped to pieces. Arms and legs mangled beyond recognition.

The mental anguish of amputating limb after limb after limb is a grim reality of Ukraine’s counteroffensive for doctors working in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Heavily mined Russian defenses have slowed Ukraine’s attack to a bloody, painstaking crawl, and hard-won gains come at the cost of mine blast injuries more abundant than some medical professionals say they have seen in the war thus far. With Russian forces having dug in over months, any push to regain territory means traversing land dense with mines — even as civilians far from the front lines also grapple with a diffusion of mines and other explosives in previously contested areas across much of the country.

Read the full story here.
Zelensky extends martial law, casting doubt on fall parliamentary elections

KYIV — As Russian forces continued to bombard regions across Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed legislation extending martial law and a general military mobilization until mid-November. If martial law is not lifted, it would require postponing national parliamentary elections scheduled to take place this fall.

Under Ukrainian legislation, martial law must be prolonged every 90 days — a process put into motion on the first day of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. While in effect, political activity is curtailed and elections cannot be held.

The constitution stipulates that parliamentary elections should take place no later than Oct. 29 and presidential elections early next year. However, in an interview with The Post in May, Zelensky said, “If we have martial law, we cannot have elections. … If there is no martial law, then there will be [elections].”

Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation extending martial law and a general military mobilization until mid-November.

- Ukrainian officials said they do not expect to be able to deploy U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year.

- The State Department condemned what it called Moscow’s “continued attacks on Ukrainian grain infrastructure,” after reports of Russian drones targeting Ukrainian grain warehouses near Danube ports this week.

- Russia and Iran are working to expand the Kremlin’s drone program, according to leaked documents seen by The Post.

- NATO official Stian Jenssen apologized and withdrew his suggestion that Ukraine cede land to Russia to make peace and join the military alliance, Dutch media outlets reported.

- Two Russian Ka-52 helicopters shot down Thursday in Ukraine had “high-tech components from Western countries and Asian countries,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak.

More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukraine’s forces, which are pushing toward Melitopol from the town of Robotyne more than 50 miles away, will remain several miles outside the city, U.S. officials predicted. If they fail to eject Russian troops from Melitopol, it will mean Ukraine will fail to achieve one of its key goals in the ongoing counteroffensive: to sever the land bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Kyiv in 2014.

- In Moscow, officials reported early Friday that a drone was shot down. Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of “launching a terrorist attack.” There were no casualties or fires resulting from the interception, the ministry said.

- Germany unveiled a new security assistance package to Ukraine. Berlin will send Kyiv two IRIS-T SLS air defense systems, 10 ground surveillance radars and several thousand rounds of smoke ammunition, according to an updated list of Germany’s military aid to Ukraine.

More live updates here.
U.S. intelligence says Ukraine will fail to meet offensive’s key goal

The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will fail to reach the key southeastern city of Melitopol, people familiar with the classified forecast told The Washington Post, a finding that, should it prove correct, would mean Kyiv won’t fulfill its principal objective of severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea in this year’s push.

The grim assessment is based on Russia’s brutal proficiency in defending occupied territory through a phalanx of minefields and trenches, and is likely to prompt finger pointing inside Kyiv and Western capitals about why a counteroffensive that saw tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons and military equipment fell short of its goals.

Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- U.S. intelligence officials don’t expect Ukraine to reach the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in its counteroffensive, according to people familiar with a classified forecast.

- In Moscow, officials reported early Friday that a drone was shot down. Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of launching “another terrorist attack.”

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed legislation extending martial law until mid-November.

- A large fire broke out at a cargo terminal in the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

- Russia is attempting to “erode Ukrainian national identity” in the areas it occupies, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.

- Ukraine will host a defense industries forum in the fall, Zelensky said.

- A new Pentagon review of biological threats says Russia probably maintains the ability to create deadly toxins and pathogens, The Post reported.

More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he hopes as much as 60 percent of Ukraine’s grain exports might pass through Romania following the new agreement, Reuters reported.

- Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra welcomed Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending F-16s to Ukraine, calling it “a major milestone for Ukraine to defend its people and its country” on social media.

- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended Moscow’s nuclear weapons, claiming they are for security purposes only in an interview published on the foreign ministry website Saturday.

- It is “premature to make assessments about the overall success” of Kyiv’s counteroffensive, the Institute for the Study of War said a report Friday.

- A court in Russia on Friday ordered the dissolution of the Sakharov Center.

More live updates here.
Russia recruited operatives online to target weapons crossing Poland

WARSAW — The cryptic job listings began appearing online early this year.

The tasks were menial — posting fliers or hanging signs in public spaces — and the pay meager. But for a handful of refugees from eastern Ukraine, the promise of quick cash was too good to pass up.

Respondents soon realized there was a catch: The jobs involved distributing pro-Russian propaganda on behalf of an anonymous employer. For those willing to complete the assignments anyway, the work then took a more ominous turn.

Within weeks, recruits were tasked with scouting Polish seaports, placing cameras along railways and hiding tracking devices in military cargo, according to Polish investigators. Then, in March, came startling new orders to derail trains carrying weapons to Ukraine.

Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- A strike on a theater in the northern city of Chernihiv killed at least seven people, including a 6-year-old child, and injured 140, Ukrainian authorities said Saturday.

- Chernihiv will observe three days of mourning, from Saturday to Monday, acting mayor Oleksandr Lomako said on Telegram. The injured included bystanders, the region’s administration said on Telegram. The city was besieged by Russian troops for weeks early in the war, with more than half the city’s population fleeing — but Ukrainian troops regained control.

- Videos verified by The Washington Post showed an explosion on the roof of the theater before a fiery projectile slammed into a building about 320 feet away. The venue reportedly hosted a gathering for drone demonstrations on Saturday.

- Zelensky is visiting Sweden for meetings with the country’s leaders, including Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and King Carl XVI.

More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The Chernihiv strike “probably” involved a ballistic missile, the regional governor said. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, condemned the attack, saying in a statement that it “is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to the church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians.”

- Videos verified by The Washington Post showed an explosion on the roof of the theater before a fiery projectile slammed into a building about 320 feet away.

- Kyiv has an agreement with Stockholm to produce armored vehicles known as CV-90s inside Ukraine, Zelensky said in his nightly address. He did not specify how many, or what the agreement entailed.

- Five people were injured after a drone attack on a train station in Russia not far from the Ukrainian border.

More live updates here.
Russian court dissolves Sakharov Center, a prominent human rights group

A court in Russia on Friday ordered the dissolution of the Sakharov Center, an organization that ran a renowned museum and cultural space in Moscow, the Associated Press reported, amid an ongoing purge of human rights groups in Russia.

The Moscow City Court ruled in favor of the Ministry of Justice, which had demanded the center’s liquidation in July alleging “violations” following an unscheduled inspection, Russia’s state-run Tass news agency said.

Separately, the Ministry of Justice on Friday designated six Russians, including academics and activists, as “foreign agents” for opposing the Ukraine war.

The crackdown on human rights groups and critics under Russian President Vladimir Putin has been expanding for years, but has escalated since the invasion of Ukraine. The authorities have brought in laws and measures described by Human Rights Watch as an “all-out drive to eradicate public dissent” in Russia.

Read the full story here.
As Ukraine flies through artillery rounds, U.S. races to keep up

The Biden administration’s sprint to supply Ukraine with weapons central to its military success against Russia has yielded a promising acceleration of arms production, including the standard NATO artillery round, output of which is expected soon to reach double its prewar U.S. rate of 14,000 a month.

The stakes in the U.S. effort to shake up a sclerotic defense acquisition system are particularly high as Kyiv tries to claw back territory from Russian control in a slow-moving counteroffensive whose fate, U.S. officials now say, hinges on the West’s ability to satisfy Ukraine’s astonishing hunger for artillery ammunition.

But industry experts warn of major challenges in sustaining an elevated output of arms and equipment needed not just to aid Ukraine but to ensure the United States’ own security in potential conflicts with Russia or China.

Read the full story here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukraine will get F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark, the Dutch prime minister and Danish Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday. The announcement came during a visit to the Netherlands by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and after the Biden administration said it would green-light such transfers once Ukrainian pilots are trained to use the American-made aircraft.

- Russian officials reported drone strikes in four regions of western and southern Russia, and blamed Ukraine. An uptick in attacks deep inside Russian territory likely means Russian military leaders are under pressure to tighten air defenses, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.

- Zelensky said the military would “respond tangibly” to an attack on Chernihiv, which killed at least seven people, including a 6-year-old child. Ukrainian authorities said 144 people were injured in the daytime strike on a theater in the northern city.

More live updates here.
Here's the latest from Ukraine:

- The Netherlands and Denmark pledged to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, a move that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called “powerful” and “historic” as he wrapped up a diplomatic tour to several European countries this weekend.

- Ukraine will receive 42 F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark, Zelensky said on Telegram.

- Rescue operations for the deadly Saturday attack on Chernihiv have ended, with seven dead and 156 injured, Ukraine’s operational armed forces said Sunday, adding that 66 residential buildings were damaged.

- E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s strike on Chernihiv as “cowardly and deliberate” in a social media post. Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the incident a “horrific missile attack on innocent civilians.”

- Russian attacks in the Kherson region killed at least two people and injured three others, its governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Monday.

More live updates here.
Ukraine running out of options to retake significant territory

Ukraine appears to be running out of options in a counteroffensive that officials originally framed as Kyiv’s crucial operation to retake significant territory from occupying Russian forces this year.

More than two months into the fight, the counteroffensive shows signs of stalling. Kyiv’s advances remain isolated to a handful of villages, Russian troops are pushing forward in the north and a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16s is delayed.

Ukraine’s inability to demonstrate decisive success on the battlefield is stoking fears that the conflict is becoming a stalemate and international support could erode. A new, classified U.S. intelligence report has predicted that the counteroffensive will fail to reach the key southeastern city of Melitopol this year.

Read the full story here.