“Concentrations of Russian artillery are causing many of the casualties in the eastern regions …. Retired [U.S.] Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges … described the Russian strategy as a ‘medieval attrition approach’ and said that until Ukraine gets promised deliveries of U.S., British and other weapons to destroy and disrupt Russian batteries, ‘these kinds of casualties are going to continue.’ ‘This […]
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“In an exclusive interview with Sky News, General Paul Nakasone confirmed for the first time that the U.S. had ‘conducted a series of operations’ in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” “… [NSA Director, Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, Chief of the Central Security Service, and four-star] General Paul Nakasone … explained how … ‘hunt forward’ operations were allowing […]
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“…. ‘ The Pentagon said it would send a first consignment of four m142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (himars) …. Each carries a pod of six gps-guided missiles, accurate over distances as far as 70-84km — about three times the range of the howitzers … America has supplied thus far. … Germany and Britain [reportedly] are likely to provide […]
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“While the invasion has tarnished Moscow’s appeal, some in eastern Ukraine still back the Kremlin as Russian forces bombard their hometowns.” “… In … predominantly Russian-speaking parts of eastern Ukraine, a sizable share of the population, especially among older generations, long felt more affinity with Moscow than Kyiv. That sentiment has been eroded by Russia’s conduct in the Donbas region […]
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“Refiners will face fierce competition to secure supplies as Brussels imposes sanctions on seaborne exports.” “… [T]he EU’s 27 member states agreed to ban seaborne Russian oil imports. To placate landlocked countries such as Hungary, pipeline shipments will continue for now. … Germany’s and Poland’s willingness to taper … pipeline purchases by 2022’s close should, combined with the seaborne ban, […]
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“The cost to rebuild Ukraine is expected to be significant. … Zelensky, estimated [in May] that it could be $600 billion after months of artillery, missile and tank attacks — meaning that even if all of Russia’s central bank assets abroad were seized, they would cover only half …. [F]inance ministers from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia urged the [EU] […]
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“… The Ukraine threat got red-hot in October, when the United States gathered intelligence about a renewed Russian buildup on the border …. This operational detail ‘was really the eye opener.’ The Group of 20 … were meeting at the end of October … and [the U.S. gave] … Britain, France and Germany … a detailed readout on … top-secret […]
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“Advancing Russian forces came closer to surrounding Ukrainian troops in the east, briefly seizing positions on the last highway out of a crucial pair of Ukrainian-held cities before being beaten back, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday. … Three months into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has abandoned its assault on the capital Kyiv and is trying to consolidate control […]
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“In Ukraine’s only region fully controlled by Russian troops, Moscow-backed officials are pushing for formal annexation while those still living there say they are apprehensive …. Russian forces swiftly moved in from neighbouring Crimea … in early March. … [when] Ukrainian troops were focused on defending … Kyiv. … By taking control of Kherson and partially occupying the neighbouring region […]
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“… [Zelenskyy] said Wednesday that Russia must pull back to … pre-war positions as a first step before diplomatic talks, a negotiating line … [the Kremlin] is unlikely to agree to anytime soon. … He expressed a willingness to negotiate with … Putin directly, but stressed that Moscow needs to make clear its willingness to engage in serious talks. … […]
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“… Based on current evidence, I would be surprised if [Putin] can rule Russia until the end of this year. … [T]he Kremlin must be … panic[king] … impos[ing] … Stalinist … censorship …. Putin’s war in Ukraine is an outstanding failure for which he is guilty … [h]is aim … too grand and arrogant, … his resources … too […]
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“… Putin’s atrocities … grow[] [daily]. In addition to … the blood of Ukrainians on his hands from his completely unjustified war, [Putin] is … responsible for … growing starvation … around the world. Ukraine is the breadbasket for much of the Middle East and North Africa. … Putin is preventing Ukrainian grain from leaving … Odessa and [blocking] other […]
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“The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 and beyond was a dirty trick for the ages, and now we know it came from the top — candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton … [according to federal courtroom] testimony Friday by 2016 Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook …. [T]he Clinton campaign created the Trump-Alfa allegation, fed it to a credulous press that failed to […]
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“Zelensky says Ukrainian forces have ‘broken’ Russia’s troops ‘psychologically’.” “The [UN] and [ICRC] have directed … Putin to remove his ‘mountain of corpses,’ … Zelenskyy said Saturday. ‘They abandoned their military,’ Zelenskyy said …. ‘They were dying, but they didn’t care. Recently I was told that they are only now thinking about taking the corpses.’ ‘When the war started…they used […]
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“Ukraine on Saturday ruled out … a ceasefire with Russia and said Kyiv would not accept any deal … ceding territory. Acknowledging that Kyiv’s stance … was becoming more uncompromising, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said … concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting. … Podolyak dismissed as ‘very strange’ [Western] calls […]
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“Patriarch Kirill I has provided spiritual cover for the invasion of Ukraine, reaping vast resources for his church in return. Now, in an extraordinary step, the E.U. is threatening him with sanctions.” “… Kirill … has staked the fortunes of his branch of Orthodox Christianity on a close and mutually beneficial alliance with [] Putin …. To his critics, the […]
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of using food as a weapon in Ukraine by holding ‘hostage’ supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions around the world. A [Russian] senior official … rejected the allegations, saying Russians … would not export food while being subject to tough sanctions. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Blinken […]
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“Kyiv must reclaim territory in Crimea and the east effectively seized by Russia in 2014, Maj. Gen. Budanov says.” “Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said the country would keep fighting until it evicts Russian forces from all of its territory … and called for deliveries of longer-range heavy weapons and warplanes from the West …. [P]eace negotiations … stalled, Ukrainian forces […]
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“A former U.S. National Security Council official … described an odd dinner encounter with … Putin — who smelled ‘almost like he had stepped out of some special preparatory bath.’ … ‘I took in … one of the finely tailored suits …’ … ‘I noticed right away that, like the rest of us, he really could have done with glasses […]
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“… Russian columnist [Mikhail Kodaryonok] … appear[ing] on [Russian-state-owned] television … gave a damning assessment of the situation in Ukraine from Russia’s perspective. … Khodaryonok’s comments come after Russian military forces have suffered a series of setbacks …. Khodaryonok … painted an even grimmer situation [ahead] for Russia … [anticipating] the vast supply of arms … soon likely … available […]
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“… Moscow’s military is bogged down and has taken heavy losses. Russia’s international isolation is getting worse … Finland and Sweden are planning to join Nato. … [E]ven a war against a smaller, weaker neighbour can go badly wrong. Larger conflicts invite disaster. Even nominal victory can leave your economy and society in a ruinous condition. … [H]istorian AJP Taylor […]
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“A Wall Street Journal investigative report … underlines just how frivolous were the claims in the Steele dossier … how nonexistent was the attempt by … Steele … to verify or even vet them. … [S]ources for many of the … allegations [were] three people ‘brought together over a minor corporate-publicity contract,’ not one of whom had any inside knowledge […]
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“Russian forces also face ‘low morale and reduced combat effectiveness,’ the report said.” “… [Russian] forces who remain [in Ukraine] are depleted and have been unable to make any territorial progress in recent weeks, British intelligence … said …. Russia ‘has now likely suffered losses of one-third of the ground combat force it committed in February,’ the [UK] Ministry of […]
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“Postwar reconstruction will hinge on reducing corruption and forging a genuinely close relationship with the EU.” “… [W]estern governments … are beginning to weigh up the costs and planning … needed for a postwar reconstruction effort [in Ukraine] that will rival anything … since [World War II]. The project … is going to be immensely complex and costly, running into […]
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“Russia’s nearly three-month-old invasion of … Ukraine has been punctuated by flawed planning, poor intelligence, barbarity and wanton destruction. … [O]bscured in the daily fighting is the geographic reality that Russia has made gains …. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces … had advanced to the border between Donetsk and Luhansk, … Russian-speaking [eastern Ukrainian] provinces where […]
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“… [Previously] [t]he Ukrainians could not understand why the U.S. national security establishment continued to privilege maintaining stable relations with Russia — an irredentist and revanchist authoritarian state — over support for Ukraine, a democratic state that had made important strides in weeding out corruption and implementing democratic reforms. In the two months since Russia attacked Ukraine, the United States […]
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“Russia is facing the deepest economic contraction in nearly three decades as pressure from [U.S. and allied] sanctions … mounts, according to [anonymous sources describing an unpublicized Russian Finance Ministry forecast, later publicly denied by the Finance Ministry]. [GDP reportedly] is likely to shrink as much as 12% this year, deeper than the 8% decline expected by the Economy Ministry. […]
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“Strikes and explosions — some attributed to Ukrainian forces — have hit infrastructure vital to Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine.” “… [A]ttacks inside Russian territory and unexplained explosions at Russian targets near the border … have expanded the scope of the conflict … underscoring Russian vulnerabilities in regions … crucial to Moscow’s renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine. … Ukraine has […]
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“The strikes have been one of the most intriguing, and opaque, new elements of the recent fighting. But when it comes to confirming their origins, “we don’t say yes and we don’t say no,’’ said the official.” “…. If carried out by Ukraine, they represent acts of once nearly unimaginable audacity … Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out the […]
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“Governments see Ukrainian success offering chance of curbing Russian expansionism.” “Ukraine’s military successes against Russia have transformed [Western] calculations … leading to a sharp increase in military help for Kyiv as a war that started with Western efforts at damage control … [now] offers a strategic opportunity to constrain Russia[n] expansionis[m] …. [Western] allies are now shipping large volumes of […]
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“… ‘Ukraine fatigue’ is a real risk in western democracies[,] [whose] citizens are repulsed by … Putin’s war of unprovoked aggression and are full of sympathy for the Ukrainian people. … But as things drag on … [i]t is easy to see how the cost of living crisis … compounded by war and snarled-up supply chains, … probably already putting […]
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“… nearly 400 … in the Kharkiv region alone … have been detained under anti-collaboration laws enacted … after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion[] … [imposing] up to 15 years in prison for collaborating with Russian forces, making public denials about Russian aggression or supporting [the Kremlin]. Anyone whose actions result in deaths could face life in prison. … Political analysts […]
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“… [There are] eerie — and alarming — parallels [between the Russian Federation’s leadup to its massive invasion of Ukraine] and … what has been happening … in … Moldova. … [B]etween Romania and Ukraine, this poor, militarily weak former Soviet republic has been partially occupied since 1992 by Russian troops. They intervened during a brief civil war, purportedly to […]
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“The Russian army’s strangely stumble-footed invasion of Ukraine is only the latest reminder of the pervasive and long-standing ‘human resource’ woes that frustrate … Putin’s aspirations for superpower status. … Russia is depopulating — even after Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its total numbers are lower today than when the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia’s working-age population and its pool […]
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“Russia’s military is gradually seizing more territory in Ukraine’s east … apparent[ly] aim [ing] … [to] cut[] off Ukrainian forces. But Ukrainian and Western officials and analysts say Moscow’s progress is slow and yet to achieve a decisive breakthrough. … [A]ny success in severing Ukrainian units’ supply lines may not be decisive … as Russian forces would be vulnerable to […]
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“Russian tanks were rolling over the border and Kyiv … was in … fear and panic. Street fighting broke out … [A] Russian armored column … advanced to within two miles of the office of … Zelensky. In those tense first days of the war, almost everyone … expected the Ukrainian leadership to fracture. Instead, [] Zelensky decided to personally […]
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“Russia … warned the West that there would be a tough military response to any further attack on Russian territory, accusing the United States and its key allies of undermining European security by openly inciting Ukraine to assault Russia. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands … displaced millions more and raised fears of the most serious confrontation […]
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“As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has transformed into a grinding war of attrition with no meaningful peace deal in sight, the U.S. and its allies have begun to convey a new, longer-term goal … to defeat Russia so decisively on the battlefield that it will be deterred from launching such an attack ever again. … [O]n Monday … Secretary of […]
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“Russia told the United States to stop sending more arms to Ukraine, warning that large Western deliveries of weapons were inflaming the conflict and would lead to more losses …. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands … displaced millions … and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States …. The United States […]
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“… The present U.S. position might be summarized thus: As U.S. forces fighting and killing Russians in Ukraine would ignite a U.S.-Russia war, which could escalate to nuclear war, we are not going to take that first step and risk the security and survival of our country, even if our staying out … means the defeat of Ukraine. Call it […]
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“… All this points to a long war. … mostly in Ukraine’s east and south …. The elements of a strategy for a long-term, open-ended war …: provide Ukraine with … weapons, ammunition, training, and intelligence … to defend itself …; make sure … NATO remains strong enough to discourage Russia from escalating the conflict or … [blocking Ukrainian] supplies […]
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“Soldiers, plus military brass and overseers in parliament, have been transformed from a rigid Soviet-style force into a modern army that thinks on the move.” “… [There has been] a little-publicized effort by [NATO] countries … that transformed Ukraine’s military up and down the ranks, from foot soldiers to the defense ministry to overseers in parliament. It is one big […]
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“Russian forces Wednesday made incremental gains … in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas … as Western nations rushed more weapons to … Ukrain[e]…. In … Mariupol … Russia … insisted on … unconditional surrender and kept pounding … Ukrainian forces — … mostly holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant — with artillery and airstrikes. Ukraine[] … said … that Russian […]
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“Russia on verge of capturing city; Zelensky warns ‘elimination’ of surrounded troops would endanger peace talks.” “… Ukrainian troops holding out in … Mariupol rejected Moscow’s [Sunday] ultimatum … [to] surrender or face destruction by Russian forces … Zelensky warned an all-out Russian assault on the troops would endanger further peace negotiations. … Russian forces are close to capturing the […]
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“… Biden said … that the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, but lawmakers and advocates have urged the Democratic president to speed up refugee and visa processing. While several thousand Ukrainians have entered the United States via the border with Mexico and some on legal visas, only 12 Ukrainians came through the U.S. refugee […]
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“A new strategy would mark a return to containment after years of seeking cooperation and coexistence with Moscow.” “… At NATO and the [EU] … and at the State Department … Pentagon and allied ministries, blueprints are being drawn up … [for] new policies across virtually every aspect of the West’s posture toward Moscow, from defense and finance to trade […]
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“… [T]he original text of some 200 words was replaced with two sentences: ‘Faced with death, silence is the most eloquent of words. Let us all paused in silent prayer and each one pray in their hearts for peace in the world.’ The crowd … then fell silent for about as long as it would have taken to read the […]
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“No one in Russian-speaking Kharkiv wants to follow rebels into open revolt. But locals say Kiev has no idea how badly it’s aggravating the region with its initiatives, including the ‘Great Wall of Ukraine.’” “… Its planned … barbed-wire fences, watchtowers, berms, and tank traps along Ukraine’s 1,300-mile border with Russia … [i]f … ever completed … will seal a […]
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“The administration is warning of financial implications for countries that don’t condemn the war’s brutality.” “… Biden’s accusation … that Russia is seeking to commit genocide in Ukraine came … [as] the White House began escalating pressure on nations that remain neutral on the war to pick a side. … Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen … warn[ed] that countries … maintain[ing] […]
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“… [Cluster munitions] have been repeatedly used by the Russian military [in] Ukraine …. [with] their presence [linked] to … war-crimes allegations …. But [one] that landed [in a street in Husarivka in eastern Ukraine] … [was believed] likely to have been launched by … Ukrainian troops …. Nobody died in that strike … though at least two people were […]
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