U.S. to send Ukraine $300 million arms package as further aid stalls
The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will send another $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine as President Biden’s request for billions of dollars more remains stalled in Congress.
The emergency package, announced by the White House on Tuesday, will be funded by “unanticipated cost savings” from contracts the Pentagon had brokered to replace weapons previously provided to Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. The package will include artillery shells and other weapons, he said.
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The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will send another $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine as President Biden’s request for billions of dollars more remains stalled in Congress.
The emergency package, announced by the White House on Tuesday, will be funded by “unanticipated cost savings” from contracts the Pentagon had brokered to replace weapons previously provided to Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. The package will include artillery shells and other weapons, he said.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine launches new wave of strikes against Russia’s oil facilities
KYIV — Ukraine and Russia traded attacks on each other’s territory Wednesday, including a second day of drone attacks against Russian oil facilities, which President Vladimir Putin called an attempt to disrupt presidential elections set for this weekend.
One of the Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, about 100 miles southeast of Moscow, causing a fire that was extinguished after a few hours, local governor Pavel Malkov said. A Ukrainian official with knowledge of intelligence operations, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed that the refinery was the target.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukraine and Russia traded attacks on each other’s territory Wednesday, including a second day of drone attacks against Russian oil facilities, which President Vladimir Putin called an attempt to disrupt presidential elections set for this weekend.
One of the Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, about 100 miles southeast of Moscow, causing a fire that was extinguished after a few hours, local governor Pavel Malkov said. A Ukrainian official with knowledge of intelligence operations, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed that the refinery was the target.
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Opinion | Yulia Navalnaya: Putin isn’t a politician, he’s a gangster
On Feb. 16, one month before the scheduled “presidential elections” in Russia, my husband, Alexei Navalny, was murdered in prison on Vladimir Putin’s direct order. I never wanted to be a politician, I never wanted to speak from the rostrum or write for international media. But Putin left me no other choice. Therefore, I want to tell you a few important things that Alexei had been trying to say all these years.
To defeat Putin, or at least seriously punish him, one must realize who he is. Unfortunately, too many people in the West still see him as a legitimate political leader, argue about his ideology and look for political logic in his actions. This is a big mistake that breeds new mistakes and helps Putin to deceive his opponents again and again.
Putin is not a politician, he’s a gangster.
Read the full op-ed here.
On Feb. 16, one month before the scheduled “presidential elections” in Russia, my husband, Alexei Navalny, was murdered in prison on Vladimir Putin’s direct order. I never wanted to be a politician, I never wanted to speak from the rostrum or write for international media. But Putin left me no other choice. Therefore, I want to tell you a few important things that Alexei had been trying to say all these years.
To defeat Putin, or at least seriously punish him, one must realize who he is. Unfortunately, too many people in the West still see him as a legitimate political leader, argue about his ideology and look for political logic in his actions. This is a big mistake that breeds new mistakes and helps Putin to deceive his opponents again and again.
Putin is not a politician, he’s a gangster.
Read the full op-ed here.
Why does Putin always win? What to know about Russia’s pseudo election.
In a three-day election that leaves no room for doubt, Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to win a fifth term on Sunday, allowing him to stay in power until 2030 — and, should he run again, to 2036.
But many analysts believe the 71-year-old autocrat will rule this nation of 146 million people for life.
It was not supposed to be this way. Under Russia’s constitution, Putin’s term in power was supposed to end in 2008 — but under a tricky bait-and-switch, he effectively ruled Russia as prime minister for four years, swapping places with Dmitry Medvedev. Putin returned as president in 2012, sparking massive protests that changed nothing.
Read the full story here.
In a three-day election that leaves no room for doubt, Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to win a fifth term on Sunday, allowing him to stay in power until 2030 — and, should he run again, to 2036.
But many analysts believe the 71-year-old autocrat will rule this nation of 146 million people for life.
It was not supposed to be this way. Under Russia’s constitution, Putin’s term in power was supposed to end in 2008 — but under a tricky bait-and-switch, he effectively ruled Russia as prime minister for four years, swapping places with Dmitry Medvedev. Putin returned as president in 2012, sparking massive protests that changed nothing.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin’s next term is illegal. The world should call him out on it.
“SPECIAL REGIME” PRISON COLONY No. 7, OMSK, Russia — The radio in my prison cell is turned on all day, from the wake-up call at 5 a.m. to the lights-out at 9 p.m. And the closer it gets to the weekend of March 15, the more announcements I hear on the air about the so-called presidential election. I don’t mean, of course, campaign ads that you would expect in democratic countries. No, the announcements are all simply telling listeners the different ways they can cast their vote, in-person and online.
Many people wonder why dictatorships even bother to hold “elections” when everyone knows that they are nothing but staged, meaningless rituals. But in the 21st century, the only broadly accepted source of legitimacy for any government comes in the form of a ballot box — and even regimes that don’t have real legitimacy feel the need to create an appearance of it.
Read the full opinion here.
“SPECIAL REGIME” PRISON COLONY No. 7, OMSK, Russia — The radio in my prison cell is turned on all day, from the wake-up call at 5 a.m. to the lights-out at 9 p.m. And the closer it gets to the weekend of March 15, the more announcements I hear on the air about the so-called presidential election. I don’t mean, of course, campaign ads that you would expect in democratic countries. No, the announcements are all simply telling listeners the different ways they can cast their vote, in-person and online.
Many people wonder why dictatorships even bother to hold “elections” when everyone knows that they are nothing but staged, meaningless rituals. But in the 21st century, the only broadly accepted source of legitimacy for any government comes in the form of a ballot box — and even regimes that don’t have real legitimacy feel the need to create an appearance of it.
Read the full opinion here.
As voting begins in Russian presidential election, so do the protests
RIGA, Latvia — On the first day of a presidential election widely seen as the least competitive campaign since the fall of the Soviet Union, some Russian voters expressed their anger in stunning individual protests across the country — setting fire to polling booths or pouring green antiseptic fluid or dye into ballot boxes.
At least five people, including several older women, set polling booths on fire, burned ballot papers or threw incendiary devices at polling stations, according to Russian independent media — a wave of highly unusual protest actions in a nation challenged by President Vladimir Putin’s two-year-old war in Ukraine and harsh political repressions.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — On the first day of a presidential election widely seen as the least competitive campaign since the fall of the Soviet Union, some Russian voters expressed their anger in stunning individual protests across the country — setting fire to polling booths or pouring green antiseptic fluid or dye into ballot boxes.
At least five people, including several older women, set polling booths on fire, burned ballot papers or threw incendiary devices at polling stations, according to Russian independent media — a wave of highly unusual protest actions in a nation challenged by President Vladimir Putin’s two-year-old war in Ukraine and harsh political repressions.
Read the full story here.
In this Ukrainian village, almost no men are left
MAKIV, Ukraine — Few men of fighting age are left in this village in southwest Ukraine, and those who remain fear they will be drafted at any moment.
Their neighbors are already hundreds of miles east in trenches on the front lines. Some have been killed or wounded. Several are missing. Others from this rural area — about 45 miles from the borders of Romania and Moldova — have fled abroad or found ways to avoid the war, either with legitimate exemptions or by hiding.
“It’s just a fact,” said Larysa Bodna, deputy director of the local school, which keeps a database of students whose parents are deployed. “Most of them are gone.”
Read the full story here.
MAKIV, Ukraine — Few men of fighting age are left in this village in southwest Ukraine, and those who remain fear they will be drafted at any moment.
Their neighbors are already hundreds of miles east in trenches on the front lines. Some have been killed or wounded. Several are missing. Others from this rural area — about 45 miles from the borders of Romania and Moldova — have fled abroad or found ways to avoid the war, either with legitimate exemptions or by hiding.
“It’s just a fact,” said Larysa Bodna, deputy director of the local school, which keeps a database of students whose parents are deployed. “Most of them are gone.”
Read the full story here.
Russian voters, answering Navalny’s call, protest Putin’s forever rule
MOSCOW — On the final day of a presidential election with only one possible result, Russians protested Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian hold on power by forming long lines to vote against him at noon Sunday — answering the call of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who had urged the midday action before dying suddenly in prison last month.
The “Noon Against Putin” protest, with voters forming queues outside polling stations in major cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, was a striking — if futile — display of solidarity and dissent designed to counteract the Kremlin’s main message — that Putin is a legitimate president commanding massive support.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — On the final day of a presidential election with only one possible result, Russians protested Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian hold on power by forming long lines to vote against him at noon Sunday — answering the call of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who had urged the midday action before dying suddenly in prison last month.
The “Noon Against Putin” protest, with voters forming queues outside polling stations in major cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, was a striking — if futile — display of solidarity and dissent designed to counteract the Kremlin’s main message — that Putin is a legitimate president commanding massive support.
Read the full story here.
Putin claims a new six-year term in vote condemned as not free or fair
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Monday brushed aside condemnation of the Russian presidential election as neither free nor fair and rejected allegations of pervasive electoral fraud as the country’s Central Election Commission claimed record-high turnout and said that Vladimir Putin easily secured a new six-year term.
With genuine opposition candidates barred from running and the Kremlin exerting tight control over the news media to Putin’s benefit, Western nations, including the United States, denounced the vote as failing to meet basic democratic standards. Many Russians protested by forming long lines at polling stations at noon Sunday.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Monday brushed aside condemnation of the Russian presidential election as neither free nor fair and rejected allegations of pervasive electoral fraud as the country’s Central Election Commission claimed record-high turnout and said that Vladimir Putin easily secured a new six-year term.
With genuine opposition candidates barred from running and the Kremlin exerting tight control over the news media to Putin’s benefit, Western nations, including the United States, denounced the vote as failing to meet basic democratic standards. Many Russians protested by forming long lines at polling stations at noon Sunday.
Read the full story here.
With Putin’s new coronation, Kremlin cultivates image of leader for life
When Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared for a late-night news conference to claim a fifth term, he looked visibly elated, as if manipulating another election to remain indefinitely in power with 87.28 percent of the vote were a triumphal victory in a real competition.
The tally, virtually unimaginable in any democratic nation, suggests that the Kremlin is now less focused on manufacturing a veneer of electoral legitimacy and more on creating a cult of personality around Putin as Russia’s undisputed national patriarch and leader for life.
Read the full story here.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared for a late-night news conference to claim a fifth term, he looked visibly elated, as if manipulating another election to remain indefinitely in power with 87.28 percent of the vote were a triumphal victory in a real competition.
The tally, virtually unimaginable in any democratic nation, suggests that the Kremlin is now less focused on manufacturing a veneer of electoral legitimacy and more on creating a cult of personality around Putin as Russia’s undisputed national patriarch and leader for life.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine races to build weapons at home
KYIV — Ukraine manufactured practically no weapons before Russia invaded in February 2022, but the local arms industry is now booming.
Factories spit out shells, mortar rounds, military vehicles, missiles and other items crucial to the war effort. Production tripled in 2023 and is expected to increase sixfold this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a Ukrainian government meeting in January.
Local production is not sufficient to make up for a loss of international support, especially weapons from the United States. But with a $60 billion aid package stalled in Congress, domestic manufacturing is more critical than ever.
For certain crucial items, such as the drones that have transformed how the war is fought, Ukraine is already making 90 percent of what it needs, Mykhailo Fedorov, the digital transformation minister, said.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukraine manufactured practically no weapons before Russia invaded in February 2022, but the local arms industry is now booming.
Factories spit out shells, mortar rounds, military vehicles, missiles and other items crucial to the war effort. Production tripled in 2023 and is expected to increase sixfold this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a Ukrainian government meeting in January.
Local production is not sufficient to make up for a loss of international support, especially weapons from the United States. But with a $60 billion aid package stalled in Congress, domestic manufacturing is more critical than ever.
For certain crucial items, such as the drones that have transformed how the war is fought, Ukraine is already making 90 percent of what it needs, Mykhailo Fedorov, the digital transformation minister, said.
Read the full story here.
Two years after start of Ukraine war, Russian titanium keeps flowing to West
Western firms bought hundreds of millions of dollars of titanium metal from a Russian company with deep ties to the country’s defense industry after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a review of Russian export data.
The purchases illustrate how the West remains dependent on Russia for certain products despite pledges to break economic ties with Moscow. In the case of titanium, that dependence raises security concerns, industry and defense analysts say, as the metal is vital in the manufacturing of both commercial and military airplanes.
“Russia could shut off the flow of these … materials and leave companies critical to national defense and civil aviation scrambling,” said William George, director of research at ImportGenius, the company that supplied the trade data gathered from an official Russian database to The Post.
Read the full story here.
Western firms bought hundreds of millions of dollars of titanium metal from a Russian company with deep ties to the country’s defense industry after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a review of Russian export data.
The purchases illustrate how the West remains dependent on Russia for certain products despite pledges to break economic ties with Moscow. In the case of titanium, that dependence raises security concerns, industry and defense analysts say, as the metal is vital in the manufacturing of both commercial and military airplanes.
“Russia could shut off the flow of these … materials and leave companies critical to national defense and civil aviation scrambling,” said William George, director of research at ImportGenius, the company that supplied the trade data gathered from an official Russian database to The Post.
Read the full story here.
Russia hits energy targets in Ukraine, showing need for more air defenses
KYIV — Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities early Friday that destroyed energy infrastructure, caused power blackouts in different regions and killed several people — highlighting the country’s urgent need for stronger air defenses outside Kyiv.
The strikes, which hit Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, amounted to “the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the strikes showed that Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, in the northeast, urgently need Patriot air defense systems to protect infrastructure and civilians as Ukraine waits for more Western aid, including $60 billion blocked in Congress by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities early Friday that destroyed energy infrastructure, caused power blackouts in different regions and killed several people — highlighting the country’s urgent need for stronger air defenses outside Kyiv.
The strikes, which hit Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, amounted to “the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the strikes showed that Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, in the northeast, urgently need Patriot air defense systems to protect infrastructure and civilians as Ukraine waits for more Western aid, including $60 billion blocked in Congress by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Read the full story here.