U.S. files its first war-crimes charges related to Russia-Ukraine war
Justice Department officials have filed war crimes charges against four Russian men accused of torturing an American in the Ukraine war — the first such U.S.-based charges filed as a result of that conflict.
According to court documents, the charges include torture, mistreatment, and unlawful confinement of an American citizen in Ukraine following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The four people charged — Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, and two others whose full names are not yet known — allegedly interrogated, tortured and threatened to kill the victim, including holding a mock execution.
Read the full story here.
Justice Department officials have filed war crimes charges against four Russian men accused of torturing an American in the Ukraine war — the first such U.S.-based charges filed as a result of that conflict.
According to court documents, the charges include torture, mistreatment, and unlawful confinement of an American citizen in Ukraine following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The four people charged — Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, and two others whose full names are not yet known — allegedly interrogated, tortured and threatened to kill the victim, including holding a mock execution.
Read the full story here.
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‘Modest’ Putin makes low-key announcement of 2024 presidential run
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his long-expected run for another six-year presidential term in 2024, bringing him closer to beating Joseph Stalin’s record as the longest-serving Russian leader.
This time, the announcement did not come directly from Putin or the Kremlin but from a Russian military officer, who told a group of state media reporters that he had pleaded with Putin to run on behalf of soldiers fighting in Ukraine — and that the president agreed.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his long-expected run for another six-year presidential term in 2024, bringing him closer to beating Joseph Stalin’s record as the longest-serving Russian leader.
This time, the announcement did not come directly from Putin or the Kremlin but from a Russian military officer, who told a group of state media reporters that he had pleaded with Putin to run on behalf of soldiers fighting in Ukraine — and that the president agreed.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine cracks down on draft-dodging as it struggles to find troops
VELIATYNO, Ukraine — Soon after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine beefed up its border defenses near this Carpathian mountain village.
But the extra patrols and reels of barbed wire fencing rolled out along the top of a mountain pass along the Romanian border were meant to keep people in — particularly draft-eligible men seeking to flee the country.
As Ukraine approaches its third year of war, those men are needed more than ever. The leaders are still pleading for more weapons and ammunition from the United States and Europe — even as signs of flagging support among those allies suggest that Ukraine may have to do more to arm itself. But even more than bullets, Ukraine needs fighters, leading to a search for new ways to mobilize the population and stronger measures against draft dodgers.
Read the full story here.
VELIATYNO, Ukraine — Soon after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine beefed up its border defenses near this Carpathian mountain village.
But the extra patrols and reels of barbed wire fencing rolled out along the top of a mountain pass along the Romanian border were meant to keep people in — particularly draft-eligible men seeking to flee the country.
As Ukraine approaches its third year of war, those men are needed more than ever. The leaders are still pleading for more weapons and ammunition from the United States and Europe — even as signs of flagging support among those allies suggest that Ukraine may have to do more to arm itself. But even more than bullets, Ukraine needs fighters, leading to a search for new ways to mobilize the population and stronger measures against draft dodgers.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine’s Zelensky appears increasingly embattled as U.S. backing wavers
KYIV — Anxiety is mounting in Ukraine as disagreements in Washington continue to stall billions of dollars of urgently needed wartime funding — aid that officials here say is crucial to keep the country running as the war with Russia grinds on.
The strain in the relationship between Kyiv and Washington comes as internal political divisions have resurfaced for President Volodymyr Zelensky, with fears over the potential gaps in funding feeding into other tensions in the capital. Relations between officials who have previously maintained a public appearance of unity are now openly fraying.
A delegation of top Ukrainian officials visited Washington this week to plead for more funding for both the military and the national budget — calls that appear to have gone unheard as Senate Republicans once again blocked the proposed aid, which has been tied to controversial border control measures.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Anxiety is mounting in Ukraine as disagreements in Washington continue to stall billions of dollars of urgently needed wartime funding — aid that officials here say is crucial to keep the country running as the war with Russia grinds on.
The strain in the relationship between Kyiv and Washington comes as internal political divisions have resurfaced for President Volodymyr Zelensky, with fears over the potential gaps in funding feeding into other tensions in the capital. Relations between officials who have previously maintained a public appearance of unity are now openly fraying.
A delegation of top Ukrainian officials visited Washington this week to plead for more funding for both the military and the national budget — calls that appear to have gone unheard as Senate Republicans once again blocked the proposed aid, which has been tied to controversial border control measures.
Read the full story here.
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is missing, supporters say
MOSCOW — Supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that they had lost contact with him and that they have been unable to ascertain his whereabouts for almost a week.
Navalny, who has been convicted on an array of charges widely viewed as political retribution and carrying combined sentences totaling 30 years, was no longer in the prison colony IK-6, in the Vladimir region, about 140 miles east of Moscow where he had been held in recent months, his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, posted Monday on X.
Following his conviction last summer on extremism charges, Navalny was due to be transferred to a “special security” penal colony, a facility with the most severe restrictions in the Russian prison system, but officials from Russia’s penitentiary service had not informed Navalny’s lawyers or family of his new location.
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MOSCOW — Supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that they had lost contact with him and that they have been unable to ascertain his whereabouts for almost a week.
Navalny, who has been convicted on an array of charges widely viewed as political retribution and carrying combined sentences totaling 30 years, was no longer in the prison colony IK-6, in the Vladimir region, about 140 miles east of Moscow where he had been held in recent months, his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, posted Monday on X.
Following his conviction last summer on extremism charges, Navalny was due to be transferred to a “special security” penal colony, a facility with the most severe restrictions in the Russian prison system, but officials from Russia’s penitentiary service had not informed Navalny’s lawyers or family of his new location.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky arrives in Washington as Ukraine aid stalls in Congress
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the United States on Monday against allowing politics to “betray” his beleaguered army in its war with Russia, registering the latest appeal for further support as some Republican lawmakers appear disinterested in renewing President Biden’s request for billions of dollars in U.S. military assistance as the conflict stalemates.
Zelensky, speaking to an audience of U.S. and international military personnel at the National Defense University in Washington, said that his government’s chance at victory was in the balance. And although he did not single out Republicans, the Ukrainian leader claimed that Russia and the aims of its president, Vladimir Putin, stand to benefit from a lack of action in Congress.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the United States on Monday against allowing politics to “betray” his beleaguered army in its war with Russia, registering the latest appeal for further support as some Republican lawmakers appear disinterested in renewing President Biden’s request for billions of dollars in U.S. military assistance as the conflict stalemates.
Zelensky, speaking to an audience of U.S. and international military personnel at the National Defense University in Washington, said that his government’s chance at victory was in the balance. And although he did not single out Republicans, the Ukrainian leader claimed that Russia and the aims of its president, Vladimir Putin, stand to benefit from a lack of action in Congress.
Read the full story here.
Cyberattack hits Kyiv as Zelensky pitches U.S. for a lifeline for Ukraine
KYIV — As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to meet U.S. lawmakers and President Biden in Washington on Tuesday in an urgent bid to drum up some $60 billion of crucially needed U.S. aid, a giant cyberattack hit the Ukrainian capital, targeting Kyivstar, one of the country’s principal mobile phone and internet providers as well as at least one bank.
The hacking assault underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine’s statehood, as political infighting between Democrats and Republicans in Washington risks cutting off aid to Ukraine from its most important ally.
Ahead of his visits to Congress and the White House, Zelensky laid out the stakes in a series of posts on the social media platform X, summarizing a speech he made Monday at the National Defense University in Washington in which he said Ukraine is fighting to “stop Russia right at the start of its global war on freedom.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV — As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to meet U.S. lawmakers and President Biden in Washington on Tuesday in an urgent bid to drum up some $60 billion of crucially needed U.S. aid, a giant cyberattack hit the Ukrainian capital, targeting Kyivstar, one of the country’s principal mobile phone and internet providers as well as at least one bank.
The hacking assault underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine’s statehood, as political infighting between Democrats and Republicans in Washington risks cutting off aid to Ukraine from its most important ally.
Ahead of his visits to Congress and the White House, Zelensky laid out the stakes in a series of posts on the social media platform X, summarizing a speech he made Monday at the National Defense University in Washington in which he said Ukraine is fighting to “stop Russia right at the start of its global war on freedom.”
Read the full story here.
Zelensky warns of guerrilla war as Ukraine aid stalls in Congress
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Congress on Tuesday that his country will never give up in its fight to expel invading Russian forces, but he warned that without additional U.S. assistance, the conflict will turn far more brutal as his military inevitably cedes ground to its determined and well-armed adversary.
Zelensky has come to Washington as Ukraine, low on weaponry and cash, faces a stalemate in the war with Russia and growing resistance among some Republican lawmakers to President Biden’s request for billions of dollars in U.S. aid. This is his second visit to the United States in the past three months, as negotiations have stalled on Capitol Hill.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Congress on Tuesday that his country will never give up in its fight to expel invading Russian forces, but he warned that without additional U.S. assistance, the conflict will turn far more brutal as his military inevitably cedes ground to its determined and well-armed adversary.
Zelensky has come to Washington as Ukraine, low on weaponry and cash, faces a stalemate in the war with Russia and growing resistance among some Republican lawmakers to President Biden’s request for billions of dollars in U.S. aid. This is his second visit to the United States in the past three months, as negotiations have stalled on Capitol Hill.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky unable to win over Congress as Biden’s Ukraine package stalls
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed on Tuesday to secure a breakthrough with Congress as it remains firmly deadlocked over President Biden’s request for additional U.S. military assistance for the embattled country, even though many lawmakers appeared to agree that the war’s outlook would only worsen without a continuation of American support.
Zelensky told lawmakers that his country will never give up in its fight to expel invading Russian forces, but he warned that without more aid, the conflict will turn far more brutal as his military inevitably cedes ground to its determined and well-armed adversary.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed on Tuesday to secure a breakthrough with Congress as it remains firmly deadlocked over President Biden’s request for additional U.S. military assistance for the embattled country, even though many lawmakers appeared to agree that the war’s outlook would only worsen without a continuation of American support.
Zelensky told lawmakers that his country will never give up in its fight to expel invading Russian forces, but he warned that without more aid, the conflict will turn far more brutal as his military inevitably cedes ground to its determined and well-armed adversary.
Read the full story here.
Ballistic missile strike on Kyiv follows major cyberattack
KYIV — Russia fired a barrage of hypersonic ballistic missiles at Kyiv in the early hours of Wednesday morning, injuring dozens of people and causing damage and fires from falling debris throughout the capital, city authorities said.
Loud explosions jolted many residents out of bed around 3 a.m. in central Kyiv, followed by air raid alert sirens a few minutes later. Ukraine’s air force said that antiaircraft defenses shot down all 10 ballistic missiles that were launched at Kyiv. That assertion could not be independently confirmed.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 53 people were injured, including six children, and that buildings were damaged throughout districts in the part of the city lying on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Russia fired a barrage of hypersonic ballistic missiles at Kyiv in the early hours of Wednesday morning, injuring dozens of people and causing damage and fires from falling debris throughout the capital, city authorities said.
Loud explosions jolted many residents out of bed around 3 a.m. in central Kyiv, followed by air raid alert sirens a few minutes later. Ukraine’s air force said that antiaircraft defenses shot down all 10 ballistic missiles that were launched at Kyiv. That assertion could not be independently confirmed.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 53 people were injured, including six children, and that buildings were damaged throughout districts in the part of the city lying on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.
Read the full story here.
U.S. officials were ‘furious’ about leaks exposing Ukraine war concerns
When U.S. officials were busy resupplying Ukraine’s depleted forces in the spring for what was expected to be a coming counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops, the Pentagon sprung a leak.
Photographs of about 50 highly classified documents — detailing secret intelligence on challenges as diverse as the war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, Chinese aircraft carriers and the killing of Islamic State terrorists — started appearing online.
“We were blindsided and furious,” said a U.S. official who fielded dozens of media inquiries about the leaks. The official, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the disclosure of classified documents.
Read the full story here.
When U.S. officials were busy resupplying Ukraine’s depleted forces in the spring for what was expected to be a coming counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops, the Pentagon sprung a leak.
Photographs of about 50 highly classified documents — detailing secret intelligence on challenges as diverse as the war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, Chinese aircraft carriers and the killing of Islamic State terrorists — started appearing online.
“We were blindsided and furious,” said a U.S. official who fielded dozens of media inquiries about the leaks. The official, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the disclosure of classified documents.
Read the full story here.
Russia advancing in Ukraine war, Putin tells news conference and call-in show
MOSCOW — With his armed forces still on the attack in Ukraine and a reelection campaign getting underway at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his nation Thursday in a marathon news conference and call-in show for constituents where he quickly declared that the war will continue until Russia achieves its aims.
Conference moderators immediately turned to the war in Ukraine, asking Putin to address one of the most sensitive issues: military mobilization. Putin ruled out another conscription wave, claiming that an aggressive Defense Ministry campaign to attract contract soldiers had succeeded in recruiting 486,000 men and asserting that 1,500 men were enlisting each day.
Putin signaled that he feels confident to push ahead with the invasion, saying there will be peace with Ukraine “only when we achieve our goals,” which he identified as “de-Nazification” and “demilitarization” of the country.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — With his armed forces still on the attack in Ukraine and a reelection campaign getting underway at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his nation Thursday in a marathon news conference and call-in show for constituents where he quickly declared that the war will continue until Russia achieves its aims.
Conference moderators immediately turned to the war in Ukraine, asking Putin to address one of the most sensitive issues: military mobilization. Putin ruled out another conscription wave, claiming that an aggressive Defense Ministry campaign to attract contract soldiers had succeeded in recruiting 486,000 men and asserting that 1,500 men were enlisting each day.
Putin signaled that he feels confident to push ahead with the invasion, saying there will be peace with Ukraine “only when we achieve our goals,” which he identified as “de-Nazification” and “demilitarization” of the country.
Read the full story here.
Putin says Russia, U.S. in talks over jailed Wall Street Journal reporter
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow and Washington are in contact over U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed in Russia since March on espionage charges that the Biden administration and the Wall Street Journal have denounced forcefully as baseless.
Putin, speaking at his marathon annual news conference and call-in show for citizens, denied that Russia had refused an offer to release Gershkovich, as the State Department asserted last week, and said talks were ongoing.
Gershkovich, an American citizen who was based in Moscow as a correspondent for the Journal with accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, was arrested by Russian authorities while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, roughly 880 miles east of Moscow.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow and Washington are in contact over U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed in Russia since March on espionage charges that the Biden administration and the Wall Street Journal have denounced forcefully as baseless.
Putin, speaking at his marathon annual news conference and call-in show for citizens, denied that Russia had refused an offer to release Gershkovich, as the State Department asserted last week, and said talks were ongoing.
Gershkovich, an American citizen who was based in Moscow as a correspondent for the Journal with accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, was arrested by Russian authorities while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, roughly 880 miles east of Moscow.
Read the full story here.
E.U. agrees to open membership talks for Ukraine
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Thursday agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, an important sign of support at a moment when battlefield progress has stalled and U.S. commitment to continued funding for the war has wavered.
E.U. leaders gathered in Brussels are still debating a package for Ukraine worth more than $50 billion — aid seen as critical for Kyiv to keep fighting.
Although E.U. membership is likely still many years away, it was a historic moment for Ukraine, which has pushed for years to join the union. “History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Read the full story here.
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Thursday agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, an important sign of support at a moment when battlefield progress has stalled and U.S. commitment to continued funding for the war has wavered.
E.U. leaders gathered in Brussels are still debating a package for Ukraine worth more than $50 billion — aid seen as critical for Kyiv to keep fighting.
Although E.U. membership is likely still many years away, it was a historic moment for Ukraine, which has pushed for years to join the union. “History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Read the full story here.