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.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries deepen tensions with U.S.
BRUSSELS — When Vice President Harris met privately with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference in February, she told the Ukrainian leader something he didn’t want to hear: Refrain from attacking Russian oil refineries, a tactic U.S. officials believed would raise global energy prices and invite more aggressive Russian retaliation inside Ukraine.
The request, according to officials familiar with the matter, irritated Zelensky and his top aides, who view Kyiv’s string of drone strikes on Russian energy facilities as a rare bright spot in a grinding war with a bigger and better equipped foe.
Zelensky brushed off the recommendation, uncertain whether it reflected the consensus position of the Biden administration, these people said. But in subsequent weeks, Washington reinforced the warning in multiple conversations with Kyiv.
Read the full story here.
BRUSSELS — When Vice President Harris met privately with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference in February, she told the Ukrainian leader something he didn’t want to hear: Refrain from attacking Russian oil refineries, a tactic U.S. officials believed would raise global energy prices and invite more aggressive Russian retaliation inside Ukraine.
The request, according to officials familiar with the matter, irritated Zelensky and his top aides, who view Kyiv’s string of drone strikes on Russian energy facilities as a rare bright spot in a grinding war with a bigger and better equipped foe.
Zelensky brushed off the recommendation, uncertain whether it reflected the consensus position of the Biden administration, these people said. But in subsequent weeks, Washington reinforced the warning in multiple conversations with Kyiv.
Read the full story here.
Drones are crowding Ukraine’s skies, largely paralyzing battlefield
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — So many drones patrol the skies over Ukraine’s front lines — hunting for any signs of movement — that Ukrainian and Russian troops have little ability to move on the battlefield without being spotted, and blown up.
Instead, on missions, they rush from one foxhole to another, hoping the pilots manning the enemy drones overhead are not skilled enough to find them inside. Expert drone operators, their abilities honed on the front, can stalk just a single foot soldier to their death, diving after them into hideouts and trenches.
The surge in small drones in Ukraine has turned the area beyond either side of the zero line — normally known as “the gray zone” — into “the death zone,” said Oleksandr Nastenko, commander of Code 9.2, a drone unit in Ukraine’s 92nd brigade. Those who dare to move day or night under the prying eyes of enemy drones “are dead immediately,” he said.
Read the full story here.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — So many drones patrol the skies over Ukraine’s front lines — hunting for any signs of movement — that Ukrainian and Russian troops have little ability to move on the battlefield without being spotted, and blown up.
Instead, on missions, they rush from one foxhole to another, hoping the pilots manning the enemy drones overhead are not skilled enough to find them inside. Expert drone operators, their abilities honed on the front, can stalk just a single foot soldier to their death, diving after them into hideouts and trenches.
The surge in small drones in Ukraine has turned the area beyond either side of the zero line — normally known as “the gray zone” — into “the death zone,” said Oleksandr Nastenko, commander of Code 9.2, a drone unit in Ukraine’s 92nd brigade. Those who dare to move day or night under the prying eyes of enemy drones “are dead immediately,” he said.
Read the full story here.
Russia hits Chernihiv, killing at least 14 as Ukraine pleads for air defense
KYIV — At least 14 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday when Russian missiles struck the downtown area during morning rush hour — an attack officials said could have been stopped if Ukraine had adequate air defenses.
Russia launched three Iskander cruise missiles at the city, which is just 60 miles from the Russian border and was nearly encircled by Russian troops in early 2022.
“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror was also sufficient,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There needs to be sufficient commitment from partners and sufficient support to reflect it.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV — At least 14 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday when Russian missiles struck the downtown area during morning rush hour — an attack officials said could have been stopped if Ukraine had adequate air defenses.
Russia launched three Iskander cruise missiles at the city, which is just 60 miles from the Russian border and was nearly encircled by Russian troops in early 2022.
“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror was also sufficient,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There needs to be sufficient commitment from partners and sufficient support to reflect it.”
Read the full story here.
Secret Russian foreign policy document urges action to weaken the U.S.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document.
In a classified addendum to Russia’s official — and public — “Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation,” the ministry calls for an “offensive information campaign” and other measures spanning “the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres” against a “coalition of unfriendly countries” led by the United States.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document.
In a classified addendum to Russia’s official — and public — “Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation,” the ministry calls for an “offensive information campaign” and other measures spanning “the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres” against a “coalition of unfriendly countries” led by the United States.
Read the full story here.
Russia ramps up weapons production, using mass quantity to outgun Ukraine
Russia has ramped up military production by replenishing stocks of standard weapons and ammunition and probably can sustain its onslaught in Ukraine for at least the next two years, analysts say — a sobering assessment for Kyiv, which is short on weapons and soldiers and losing ground on the battlefield.
While the Kremlin is struggling to expand capacity and to develop modern arms that could improve its army’s battlefield performance, it has capitalized on its overwhelming advantage in numbers of soldiers, its ability to arm them with old but reliable weaponry and a willingness to endure heavy casualties.
Read the full story here.
Russia has ramped up military production by replenishing stocks of standard weapons and ammunition and probably can sustain its onslaught in Ukraine for at least the next two years, analysts say — a sobering assessment for Kyiv, which is short on weapons and soldiers and losing ground on the battlefield.
While the Kremlin is struggling to expand capacity and to develop modern arms that could improve its army’s battlefield performance, it has capitalized on its overwhelming advantage in numbers of soldiers, its ability to arm them with old but reliable weaponry and a willingness to endure heavy casualties.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky urges U.S. to send weapons quickly ahead of Russian offensive
Following passage in the House of a major military aid package for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that his country will only be able to repel an anticipated Russian offensive if the U.S. weapons arrive quickly.
Zelensky said his forces are preparing for a significant battle in the east of the country, where Russia aims to capture the city of Chasiv Yar by May 9, the holiday when Russia marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi forces in World War II.
Zelensky told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Ukrainian forces lack long-range weapons of their own, as well as adequate air defenses, and indicated that while U.S. lawmakers debated the aid package, Ukraine lost time and momentum.
Read the full story here.
Following passage in the House of a major military aid package for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that his country will only be able to repel an anticipated Russian offensive if the U.S. weapons arrive quickly.
Zelensky said his forces are preparing for a significant battle in the east of the country, where Russia aims to capture the city of Chasiv Yar by May 9, the holiday when Russia marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi forces in World War II.
Zelensky told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Ukrainian forces lack long-range weapons of their own, as well as adequate air defenses, and indicated that while U.S. lawmakers debated the aid package, Ukraine lost time and momentum.
Read the full story here.