After terror attack, Russia sees U.S. role and claims it is at war with NATO
RIGA, Latvia — In the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, Russian officials not only have blamed Ukraine but also have repeatedly accused the West of involvement — even though U.S. officials insist they gave Moscow a specific warning that the Islamic State could attack the venue.
If the U.S. warning was so detailed, it raises further questions about Russia’s failure to prevent the country’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. But rather than publicly confronting questions about their own actions, Russian security officials have disregarded the claims of responsibility by the Islamic State.
Instead, they have insisted that U.S. and British intelligence were involved in helping Ukraine organize the strike.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — In the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, Russian officials not only have blamed Ukraine but also have repeatedly accused the West of involvement — even though U.S. officials insist they gave Moscow a specific warning that the Islamic State could attack the venue.
If the U.S. warning was so detailed, it raises further questions about Russia’s failure to prevent the country’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. But rather than publicly confronting questions about their own actions, Russian security officials have disregarded the claims of responsibility by the Islamic State.
Instead, they have insisted that U.S. and British intelligence were involved in helping Ukraine organize the strike.
Read the full story here.
Extortion, threats, fear, traitors: How Russia recruits Ukrainian spies
KYIV — The Ukrainian soldier had been fighting the Russians on the battlefield when they came for his parents in occupied eastern Ukraine. They were taken from their home and tortured, according to Ukraine’s security service. Then, a Russian agent contacted the soldier with an ultimatum: Switch sides and spy for Russia, or his family would suffer more harm.
The soldier eventually agreed to help Russia, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU. Acting on instructions from his Russian handler, the SBU said in a press release, the soldier planned to add a poisonous substance to the water supply of the laundry complex used by senior officers.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — The Ukrainian soldier had been fighting the Russians on the battlefield when they came for his parents in occupied eastern Ukraine. They were taken from their home and tortured, according to Ukraine’s security service. Then, a Russian agent contacted the soldier with an ultimatum: Switch sides and spy for Russia, or his family would suffer more harm.
The soldier eventually agreed to help Russia, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU. Acting on instructions from his Russian handler, the SBU said in a press release, the soldier planned to add a poisonous substance to the water supply of the laundry complex used by senior officers.
Read the full story here.
At energy plant bombed by Russia, Ukrainian workers, and a cat, toil on
Little more than rusty, melted metal and piles of ash are left in a control room in this sprawling electric generating station that Russia attacked last month — destroying equipment and igniting a massive fire that shut down the entire plant indefinitely.
Ukraine’s electric grid is such a high-value target for Russian missile strikes that revealing the name or location of this facility, run by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy producer, could put the plant and its employees at risk by allowing Russian forces to assess the extent of damage to the facility to plan future strikes, DTEK and Energy Ministry officials said.
Last month’s strikes, which simultaneously hit numerous energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, obliterated 80 percent of capacity at DTEK’s thermal power plants. Even with the right supplies, it could take many months if not longer to fix the damage.
Read the full story here.
Little more than rusty, melted metal and piles of ash are left in a control room in this sprawling electric generating station that Russia attacked last month — destroying equipment and igniting a massive fire that shut down the entire plant indefinitely.
Ukraine’s electric grid is such a high-value target for Russian missile strikes that revealing the name or location of this facility, run by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy producer, could put the plant and its employees at risk by allowing Russian forces to assess the extent of damage to the facility to plan future strikes, DTEK and Energy Ministry officials said.
Last month’s strikes, which simultaneously hit numerous energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, obliterated 80 percent of capacity at DTEK’s thermal power plants. Even with the right supplies, it could take many months if not longer to fix the damage.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | I am proud to have spoken out against Putin’s crimes in Ukraine
The Russian Supreme Court is considering a cassation appeal against the sentence of Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in a strict-regime colony for public statements he made against the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza, who is being held in Prison Colony No. 7 in Omsk, was blocked from taking part in the hearing via video link.
Instead, he sent the court the following written statement:
“For the first time in my life, I am addressing the Supreme Court. This body has performed different functions in different periods of our country’s history: There was a time when it approved convictions for countless innocent victims, sending them to camps and firing squads; later, it overturned these same sentences for lack of grounds and issued decisions on rehabilitation. Today, we are back in the first of these two phases — but we should not doubt that the second one is sure to come.”
Read the full opinion here.
The Russian Supreme Court is considering a cassation appeal against the sentence of Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in a strict-regime colony for public statements he made against the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza, who is being held in Prison Colony No. 7 in Omsk, was blocked from taking part in the hearing via video link.
Instead, he sent the court the following written statement:
“For the first time in my life, I am addressing the Supreme Court. This body has performed different functions in different periods of our country’s history: There was a time when it approved convictions for countless innocent victims, sending them to camps and firing squads; later, it overturned these same sentences for lack of grounds and issued decisions on rehabilitation. Today, we are back in the first of these two phases — but we should not doubt that the second one is sure to come.”
Read the full opinion here.
With no way out of a worsening war, Zelensky’s options look bad or worse
KYIV — As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse.
Zelensky has said Ukraine will accept nothing less than the return of all its territory, including land that Russia has controlled since 2014. But with the battle lines changing little in the last year, militarily retaking the swaths of east and south Ukraine that Russia now occupies — about 20 percent of the country — appears increasingly unlikely.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse.
Zelensky has said Ukraine will accept nothing less than the return of all its territory, including land that Russia has controlled since 2014. But with the battle lines changing little in the last year, militarily retaking the swaths of east and south Ukraine that Russia now occupies — about 20 percent of the country — appears increasingly unlikely.
Read the full story here.
Inside Donald Trump’s secret plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war
Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force.
Trump’s proposal consists of pushing Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to people who discussed it with Trump or his advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity because those conversations were confidential. That approach, which has not been previously reported, would dramatically reverse President Biden’s policy, which has emphasized curtailing Russian aggression and providing military aid to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force.
Trump’s proposal consists of pushing Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to people who discussed it with Trump or his advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity because those conversations were confidential. That approach, which has not been previously reported, would dramatically reverse President Biden’s policy, which has emphasized curtailing Russian aggression and providing military aid to Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Exclusive: Russian trolls target U.S. support for Ukraine, Kremlin documents show
When President Biden proposed an additional $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine in August, Moscow spin doctors working for the Kremlin were ready to try to undermine public support for the bill, internal Kremlin documents show.
In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions, according to a trove of internal Kremlin documents obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Post.
Read the full story here.
When President Biden proposed an additional $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine in August, Moscow spin doctors working for the Kremlin were ready to try to undermine public support for the bill, internal Kremlin documents show.
In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions, according to a trove of internal Kremlin documents obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Post.
Read the full story here.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hit by drones, U.N. monitor says
KYIV — Drone strikes hit Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Ukraine, on Sunday, significantly increasing the risk of a major nuclear accident, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia immediately blamed Ukraine for the strikes and announced a criminal investigation, but Ukraine denied responsibility and accused Russia of mounting false-flag attacks on the plant in the past.
Grossi, in a statement on X, said Sunday that the three containment structures at the Zaporizhzhia plant, for the first time, had sustained three direct hits.
“This cannot happen,” Grossi wrote, saying it contravened five principles he set down in November 2022 to avoid a catastrophe at the plant.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Drone strikes hit Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Ukraine, on Sunday, significantly increasing the risk of a major nuclear accident, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia immediately blamed Ukraine for the strikes and announced a criminal investigation, but Ukraine denied responsibility and accused Russia of mounting false-flag attacks on the plant in the past.
Grossi, in a statement on X, said Sunday that the three containment structures at the Zaporizhzhia plant, for the first time, had sustained three direct hits.
“This cannot happen,” Grossi wrote, saying it contravened five principles he set down in November 2022 to avoid a catastrophe at the plant.
Read the full story here.
Russians protest and demand help from Putin after floods and dam failure
A major flood in the southern Urals forced thousands of Russians to evacuate their homes, and residents of Orsk, one of the disaster’s epicenters, took to the streets to criticize the authorities’ response and demand help from President Vladimir Putin.
Extreme seasonal floods hit northern parts of Kazakhstan and Russia’s Orenburg region across the border, where the situation was worsened by the collapse of a dam over the weekend. Kazakh media reported that more than 15,000 people had evacuated since water started rising in the first days of April.
The Ural River, which runs from the Ural Mountains to the Caspian Sea, burst through a dam Friday in Orsk, a city of about 200,000 people. Russia’s main investigative body, the Investigative Committee, opened a criminal case as a result of “violation of safety measures” and “negligence,” citing the dam’s poor maintenance as a cause of the breach.
Read the full story here.
A major flood in the southern Urals forced thousands of Russians to evacuate their homes, and residents of Orsk, one of the disaster’s epicenters, took to the streets to criticize the authorities’ response and demand help from President Vladimir Putin.
Extreme seasonal floods hit northern parts of Kazakhstan and Russia’s Orenburg region across the border, where the situation was worsened by the collapse of a dam over the weekend. Kazakh media reported that more than 15,000 people had evacuated since water started rising in the first days of April.
The Ural River, which runs from the Ural Mountains to the Caspian Sea, burst through a dam Friday in Orsk, a city of about 200,000 people. Russia’s main investigative body, the Investigative Committee, opened a criminal case as a result of “violation of safety measures” and “negligence,” citing the dam’s poor maintenance as a cause of the breach.
Read the full story here.
U.S. sends Ukraine seized Iranian-made weapons
The Pentagon has provided Ukraine with thousands of Iranian-made weapons seized before they could reach Houthi militants in Yemen, U.S. officials said Tuesday. It’s the Biden administration’s latest infusion of emergency military support for Kyiv while a multibillion-dollar aid package remains stalled in the Republican-led House.
The weapons include 5,000 Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, along with a half-million rounds of ammunition. They were seized from four “stateless vessels” between 2021 and 2023 and made available for transfer to Ukraine through a Justice Department civil forfeiture program targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
Read the full story here.
The Pentagon has provided Ukraine with thousands of Iranian-made weapons seized before they could reach Houthi militants in Yemen, U.S. officials said Tuesday. It’s the Biden administration’s latest infusion of emergency military support for Kyiv while a multibillion-dollar aid package remains stalled in the Republican-led House.
The weapons include 5,000 Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, along with a half-million rounds of ammunition. They were seized from four “stateless vessels” between 2021 and 2023 and made available for transfer to Ukraine through a Justice Department civil forfeiture program targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demands more Patriot air defenses
KYIV — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wants the West’s extra, idle Patriot air defense batteries. And he’s not asking nicely anymore.
“Nice and quiet diplomacy didn’t work,” Kuleba, Kyiv’s top diplomat, told The Post in an interview this week.
Patriot, the U.S.-designed air defense system, which costs more than $1 billion per battery, has been at the top of Ukraine’s weapons wish list since Russia invaded more than two years ago. Kyiv received its first Patriot batteries last summer, but the three it has now are not sufficient to defend the entire country against Russia’s increased aerial bombardment.
So in a wartime government that tasks each of its top officials with lobbying Western allies for more weapons, President Volodymyr Zelensky delegated a specific track for Kuleba — to convince countries with spare Patriots to transfer them.
Read the full interview here.
KYIV — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wants the West’s extra, idle Patriot air defense batteries. And he’s not asking nicely anymore.
“Nice and quiet diplomacy didn’t work,” Kuleba, Kyiv’s top diplomat, told The Post in an interview this week.
Patriot, the U.S.-designed air defense system, which costs more than $1 billion per battery, has been at the top of Ukraine’s weapons wish list since Russia invaded more than two years ago. Kyiv received its first Patriot batteries last summer, but the three it has now are not sufficient to defend the entire country against Russia’s increased aerial bombardment.
So in a wartime government that tasks each of its top officials with lobbying Western allies for more weapons, President Volodymyr Zelensky delegated a specific track for Kuleba — to convince countries with spare Patriots to transfer them.
Read the full interview here.
Ukrainian parliament adopts measure to expand military draft
KYIV — Ukraine’s parliament approved legislation Thursday that officials say will simplify conscription, aiding an expected mobilization that could press hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men into the fight against Russia’s invasion.
As Western aid has slowed, including a $60 billion U.S. package stalled in Congress for six months, Ukraine’s armed forces have been struggling with a severe shortage of soldiers, ammunition and weapons — allowing Russia to advance on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted overwhelmingly for the mobilization measure, with 283 votes in favor, one opposed and 49 abstentions, according to a Telegram post by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, that included a photo of the voting results.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukraine’s parliament approved legislation Thursday that officials say will simplify conscription, aiding an expected mobilization that could press hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men into the fight against Russia’s invasion.
As Western aid has slowed, including a $60 billion U.S. package stalled in Congress for six months, Ukraine’s armed forces have been struggling with a severe shortage of soldiers, ammunition and weapons — allowing Russia to advance on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted overwhelmingly for the mobilization measure, with 283 votes in favor, one opposed and 49 abstentions, according to a Telegram post by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, that included a photo of the voting results.
Read the full story here.
Russian troops advance in Ukraine as Kyiv runs low on air defenses
KYIV — As Ukrainian officials plead for more Western arms and a U.S. aid package remains stalled in Congress, Russia is advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, seizing new territory and intensifying attacks to capture the town of Chasiv Yar and others in the Donetsk region.
Away from the front line, Ukraine’s dwindling air defense capabilities are showing vulnerabilities, as more Russian missiles and drones are able to hit targets such as critical infrastructure facilities.
Outside Kyiv — considered Ukraine’s best-protected city — the largest power plant serving the capital was destroyed Thursday, stoking concerns that Ukraine might be running out of surface-to-air missiles to counter the Russian airstrikes.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — As Ukrainian officials plead for more Western arms and a U.S. aid package remains stalled in Congress, Russia is advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, seizing new territory and intensifying attacks to capture the town of Chasiv Yar and others in the Donetsk region.
Away from the front line, Ukraine’s dwindling air defense capabilities are showing vulnerabilities, as more Russian missiles and drones are able to hit targets such as critical infrastructure facilities.
Outside Kyiv — considered Ukraine’s best-protected city — the largest power plant serving the capital was destroyed Thursday, stoking concerns that Ukraine might be running out of surface-to-air missiles to counter the Russian airstrikes.
Read the full story here.
Forces intercepted nearly all 300 Iranian drones and missiles, Israel says
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in its first full-scale military assault against the country. Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz made his military’s intentions clear Sunday: “We will exact a price on Iran, in the manner and at the time that is right for us.”
U.S. military forces in the region helped Israel intercept the strikes, President Biden said. President Biden condemned the Iranian attacks and spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ commitment to Israeli security.
Iranian media said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, which killed members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Stay tuned to live updates here.
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in its first full-scale military assault against the country. Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz made his military’s intentions clear Sunday: “We will exact a price on Iran, in the manner and at the time that is right for us.”
U.S. military forces in the region helped Israel intercept the strikes, President Biden said. President Biden condemned the Iranian attacks and spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ commitment to Israeli security.
Iranian media said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, which killed members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Stay tuned to live updates here.
Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response.
Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones toward Israel late Saturday as regional tensions continued to mount over the war in Gaza.
Iranian state media said the missile and drone assault was in retaliation to a deadly Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria on April 1.
Here's what you need to know about the assault.
Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones toward Israel late Saturday as regional tensions continued to mount over the war in Gaza.
Iranian state media said the missile and drone assault was in retaliation to a deadly Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria on April 1.
Here's what you need to know about the assault.
Arab nations call for restraint as Israel-Iran conflict intensifies
After Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles and drones toward Israel, a rare direct attack by Tehran, much of the Middle East found itself in uncharted territory: bracing for further violence while scrambling to interpret the new rules of confrontation between the region’s most powerful adversaries.
Iranian-backed militant groups that have participated in attacks on Israel over the last six months — in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq — congratulated Iran for the barrage but indicated that, this time, they had largely stayed out of the fray.
Arab governments, already struggling to contain popular fury at Israel’s deadly military offensive in Gaza, pleaded for calm.
Read the full story here.
After Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles and drones toward Israel, a rare direct attack by Tehran, much of the Middle East found itself in uncharted territory: bracing for further violence while scrambling to interpret the new rules of confrontation between the region’s most powerful adversaries.
Iranian-backed militant groups that have participated in attacks on Israel over the last six months — in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq — congratulated Iran for the barrage but indicated that, this time, they had largely stayed out of the fray.
Arab governments, already struggling to contain popular fury at Israel’s deadly military offensive in Gaza, pleaded for calm.
Read the full story here.