The Washington Post

21 September 2023 11:13

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with President Biden on Thursday in what would be his third visit to the White House.

- Zelensky's packed schedule also includes meetings at Congress and at the Pentagon. Biden is seeking approval for another $24 billion in a new aid package to Ukraine.

- On Thursday afternoon, Biden and Zelensky are set to hold their sixth in-person meeting. White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that no decision had been made about U.S.-made long-range missiles known as ATACMS, which Zelensky has requested for months.

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has outlined proposals to boost cooperation with Moscow after a visit to Russia that was “quite eventful,” the Kremlin said Wednesday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

20 September 2023 18:25

Zelensky says U.N. cannot be counted on to stop conflict in his address to its security council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the removal Russia’s veto power on the U.N. Security Council, a reform that would cut to the bones of the institution.

“We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matter of aggression,” he said. “Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the defense of the sovereign border of nations.”

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

20 September 2023 10:08

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- President Zelensky is set to take part in a special Security Council session Wednesday at the United Nations in the hope of solidifying support from Western allies. He may be joined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, making for a dramatic showdown.

- Addressing fellow world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky said that Ukraine would not settle for any peace plan that did not include Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. President Biden vowed sustained support for Kyiv.

- Three people were killed by Russian attacks in Lviv and Kherson, according to local officials, who said that a drone strike hit three warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

- A Russian airstrike killed at least six people Tuesday in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk after a guided missile hit three cars.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

19 September 2023 17:50

As Zelensky arrives at U.N. to pitch for support, Russian drones hit Lviv

KYIV — As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday — his first in-person appearance there since Russia’s invasion of his country — Russian forces launched an overnight missile and drone attack that pummeled cities as far west as Lviv, where officials said a humanitarian aid warehouse was destroyed.

Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday as his forces continue to press a grinding counteroffensive against the Russian invaders occupying large swaths of territory in the south and east. The General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the invasion and demand respect for Ukraine’s borders but the Kremlin has ignored the calls for withdrawal of its troops.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

19 September 2023 11:46

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address fellow world leaders at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, his first in-person visit since the invasion began, as he aims to galvanize support for his embattled country and promote Ukraine’s food security, defense and recovery initiatives. President Biden will also speak at the meeting ahead of Zelensky.

- Germany will prepare a new military and humanitarian assistance package for Ukraine worth about $427 million, according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

- A Russian national accused of smuggling U.S.-sourced dual microelectronics that can be used for rifle scopes, night-vision goggles and thermal optics was arrested, the Justice Department said in a news release.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

18 September 2023 20:30

Ukraine ousts more defense officials and decries grain ban by E.U. neighbors

KYIV — A wide-ranging overhaul of Ukraine’s defense ministry continued Monday as all six deputy defense ministers were dismissed, two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced the top minister amid investigations into overspending and corruption.

The shake-up will allow the new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the opportunity to install his own team. No specific reason was given for the removals.

Ukrainian forces have been making incremental gains in their counteroffensive to break through Russian lines, but the grinding pace of the operation has raised some concerns in the West that Kyiv will not achieve its objectives this year, despite billions in donated weapons and other military aid.

Meanwhile, defense ministry officials have been accused of graft in the country’s military recruiting system and of overspending in the procurement of food and supplies.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

18 September 2023 15:53

Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky under pressure in criminal cases

KYIV — Ihor Kolomoisky once owned Ukraine’s richest bank, a TV station that carried a popular show starring a comedian named Volodymyr Zelensky, and fielded a private militia to defend his home city of Dnipro when it was under threat from Russian-backed separatists in 2014.

Today, he sits behind bars, awaiting the outcome of two investigations and at risk of losing everything.

Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities have opened a series of cases against Kolomoisky in the last two weeks — the most recent on Friday, as the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said it was investigating him for allegedly embezzling some $160 million.

The news came to Kolomoisky as he sat in a pretrial detention center in Kyiv. Earlier this month, the SBU said in a statement that it was investigating him for fraud and laundering more than $14 million between 2013 and 2020.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

17 September 2023 13:41

Opinion | Walter Isaacson: How Elon Musk provided pivotal help to Ukraine — until he didn’t

An hour before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, it used a massive malware attack to disable the routers of the U.S. satellite company Viasat that provided communications to the country. The command system of the Ukrainian military was crippled, making it almost impossible to mount a defense. Ukrainian officials frantically appealed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk for help, and the deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, used Twitter to urge him to send Ukraine terminals so it could use the satellite system that the company had built.

Ever since he was a socially awkward kid, Musk has liked to imagine himself as a hero. The war in Ukraine gave him an opportunity to show his humanitarian instincts while playing superhero. It also showed the complexities of critical military infrastructure being controlled by a private citizen.

Read the full op-ed, excerpted from Isaacson's latest book, “Elon Musk,” here.

The Washington Post

16 September 2023 21:02

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok, a city in far-eastern Russia close to the Chinese and North Korean borders.

- Russia launched four strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring five people, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.

- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, becoming the first civilian vessels to use a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Saturday.

- A Ukrainian minister vowed there would be further attacks on Russian warships.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

16 September 2023 13:55

Scottish zoo will adopt Yampil the bear, rescued from Ukrainian front line

Hiding in the wreckage of an abandoned zoo in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the eastern front line so fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces that entire cities were reduced to rubble in the fighting, was an unlikely survivor.

Shells had battered his home, and his caretakers were long gone. Around 200 of his companions had perished. But somehow, a lone Asian black bear was clinging to life in a cell when Ukrainian soldiers discovered the zoo last fall.

A shell had exploded near the bear’s cage, concussing him, and he was emaciated from a lack of food, according to a press release. He seemed to be days from death.

But volunteers bundled the bear into a truck and drove him to safety. They named him Yampil, after the village where he was found, and hoped he might make a symbolic recovery.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

15 September 2023 21:10

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Washington visit was coordinated with the Biden administration in a joint push to get Congress to provide $24 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, The Post reported.

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a plant that builds fighter jets during his ongoing Russia trip.

- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed three-way cooperation with Russia and North Korea, at a meeting with Putin in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

- Ukrainian forces have recaptured Andriivka, a Russian-held village near Bakhmut, according to Ukraine’s general staff early Friday.

- Wednesday’s attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet “almost certainly” caused major damage to a landing ship and submarine as they underwent maintenance at the Sevastopol naval base, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Friday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

15 September 2023 13:35

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Washington next week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to Washington next week after a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Zelensky’s visit was coordinated with the Biden administration in a joint push to reinforce the importance of Congress granting the White House’s supplemental request for more than $24 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, a person familiar with the matter said.

This marks his second visit to Washington since the war in Ukraine began.

Last December, Zelensky left for the United States in what was his first trip abroad since the war began.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

14 September 2023 21:15

Here is the latest from UIkraine:

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues his visit to Russia’s Far East, where he is expected to tour an aviation factory and inspect Russia’s Pacific naval fleet this week.

- Ukraine has claimed a number of strikes on Russian military sites on Crimea, with Ukrainian news outlets also reporting that an S-400 air defense system was destroyed on the illegally occupied peninsula on Thursday.

- The White House is monitoring developments from the Putin-Kim summit, according to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

- Russia claimed to have it stopped an attempted drone assault on Crimea and an attempted attack on a patrol boat belonging to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on Thursday.

- Russia said it thwarted drone attacks over Bryansk Oblast, a region southwest of Moscow near the Ukrainian border.

- Russian officials accused Ukraine of shelling a village in the Kursk region overnight, killing one person and injuring another.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

14 September 2023 13:52

Russia ramps up drone, guided bomb attacks to thwart counteroffensive

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine —Russia’s defense of occupied territory in southern Ukraine began with dense spiderwebs of trench lines, hardened fortifications and stubby concrete dragon’s teeth. Now, months into Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the sky over the Zaporizhzhia region has become another threat for Ukraine to overcome.

Russian forces are bedeviling Ukrainian troops with attack drones and guided bombs, soldiers and analysts said, part of an evolving strategy to exploit Ukraine’s shortfalls, including limited air defense systems and having far fewer fighter jets than Moscow.

Moscow has stepped up aerial attacks in the region using two abundant weapons — self-detonating attack drones, and airplane bombs modified to make them more accurate. Together, they form a constant explosive drumbeat in the fight.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

13 September 2023 21:34

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in four years to state that his country views relations with Russia as a “first priority,” and he offered a complete endorsement of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and violation of recognized international borders.

- Drones attacked Ukraine’s Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, the Ukrainian governor of the area, said.

- Russia’s Defense Ministry said two ships undergoing repairs in Sevastopol were damaged by an attack that it blamed on Ukraine.

- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine is making “great strides” toward joining the European Union.

- Romania’s Defense Ministry said that possible fragments of a Russian drone were found near Romania’s border with Ukraine.

- A representative of the Catholic pope is expected to arrive in China as part of a push to facilitate peace in Ukraine, Chinese and Vatican officials confirmed.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

20 September 2023 21:20

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- In his remarks Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the U.N. General Assembly to remove Russia’s veto power on the Security Council, a reform that would cut to the bones of the institution.

- Addressing fellow world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky reiterated his stance that Ukraine would not settle for any peace plan that did not include Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.

- After New York, Zelensky is set to travel to Washington, where he is expected to meet with Biden.

- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought back to the forefront long-smoldering grievances regarding the U.N. Security Council and renewed calls for an overhaul of the global body.

- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama struck a sharp, disapproving tone before the Security Council, saying the body has avoided identifying Russia as the aggressor in the Ukraine war.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

20 September 2023 13:21

U.S. touts commitment to Ukraine despite battlefield challenges

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — The Biden administration called for increased air-defense donations to Ukraine on Tuesday, as Pentagon leaders vowed to sustain weapons supplies that Western nations hope will fuel a breakthrough in the country’s slow-going offensive against Russia.

Officials from more than 50 countries gathered here to discuss sourcing future military aid to Kyiv, now in the fourth month of a counteroffensive that so far has achieved only modest success in piercing thick, deadly defenses laid over the past year by Russian troops.

The meeting occurred as President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to address leaders at the United Nations in New York and, later this week, for a return trip to Washington where they are expected to press the case for additional funding and weaponry.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

19 September 2023 21:00

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday delivered an impassioned speech to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, pushing for sustained support for his embattled nation’s fight against Russia.

- President Biden called on fellow world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to continue to back Ukraine to “deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”

- A Moscow City Court on Tuesday rejected Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal of his pretrial detention, according to the Russian state news agency Interfax.

- Ukraine will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary over bans on food imports from Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

- Local officials in cities and regions across Ukraine said at least five people were killed in another night of Russian attacks.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

19 September 2023 13:39

A glimpse of Ukraine's ruins

Orikhiv, an important juncture for Ukrainian soldiers heading into the counteroffensive fight, has been reduced to a skeleton of its former self by Russia’s invasion. |Russian artillery for months bombarded the small town in southern Ukraine, forcing many residents to flee or take shelter underground, where life and even city business goes on.

These photos, taken by Wojciech Grzedzinski from a U.S.-supplied Humvee driving along the deserted roads in Orikhiv and Novodanylivka, a nearby village liberated by Ukrainian forces in June, provide a glimpse of scenes common in communities along the front lines.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

18 September 2023 21:53

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukraine’s cabinet dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar from her post, along with six other top officials in the Defense Ministry, according to an update Monday shared on Telegram.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to lobby for more support for Ukraine when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly meetings that start Tuesday in New York.

- A damaged drone carrying explosives was discovered in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Tyulenovo on Sunday, the government in Sofia said Monday.

- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to extend an embargo on imports from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.

- Ukraine’s air force said it downed 17 cruise missiles over central and western Ukraine that were fired by Russian aircraft overnight.

- Ukrainian forces are hoping the recapture of the village of Klishchiivka will position them to pursue control of the nearby eastern city of Bakhmut.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

18 September 2023 18:55

Biden, at U.N., faces a tough sell on extending support for Ukraine

NEW YORK — President Biden has a clear agenda for this week’s annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly here in New York: Maintain robust global support for Ukraine.

But executing on that will be difficult — particularly this year.

Ukrainian officials had hoped to ride into New York this week touting major gains in their summer counteroffensive, but Russia’s entrenched forces have stymied efforts to achieve a major breakthrough, and both sides continue to sustain heavy casualties.

The conflict’s toll on food and energy prices has accelerated calls in the developing world for a negotiated settlement. And support among the American public has been slipping as a segment of the Republican Party criticizes the war effort’s estimated $73 billion price tag.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

18 September 2023 11:48

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The retaking of the village of Klishchiivka could be an important development for Ukraine’s prospects in the country’s east, where Russian forces seized control of the destroyed city of Bakhmut this year after months of bloody fighting.

- President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to New York and Washington this week to appeal for more assistance, with a visit to Capitol Hill tentatively expected Thursday.

- Recent drone strikes in Russia were a message from Ukraine that Russia’s airspace is “not as well protected as you think,” Zelensky said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” though he denied having personally ordered those attacks.

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed from the city of Vladivostok after concluding his six-day trip to Russia, the North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

17 September 2023 10:30

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, the first civilian vessels to travel through a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia.

- Poland will ban Russian-registered cars from entering its borders starting Sunday, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced.

- Jewish pilgrims have gathered in central Ukraine to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which began at sunset on Friday and ends Sunday at sundown.

- An apartment in Crimea owned by Zelensky is among 100 properties on the peninsula that Russian authorities there plan to sell, according to an announcement Saturday by Volodymyr Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea’s parliament.

- Defense firms from 21 countries will participate in Ukraine’s upcoming Defense Industries Forum, Zelensky said in his nightly address Saturday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

16 September 2023 19:23

In photos: Centuries-old Kyiv cathedral and monastery on U.N. danger list

The United Nations has named historical locations in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv as World Heritage sites that are classified as “in danger” because of Russia’s war in Ukraine — in the hopes of rallying aid to protect the monuments.

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has suffered multiple Russian missile strikes during the war, prompting the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to highlight the threat of destruction to the landmark St. Sophia’s Cathedral and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves. Along with the Kyiv sites, the U.N. cultural agency added the medieval center of the western city of Lviv to its danger list.

“Faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing of the two cities,” the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said Friday in its announcement.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

16 September 2023 10:24

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The grain import bans do not apply to the transport of Ukrainian goods through the respective countries. Slovakia’s agriculture ministry emphasized this on social media, saying they are “expressing solidarity with Ukraine” and placing its products in “target markets.”

- Ukraine will take measures to avoid grain surges and prevent price distortions after the ban’s expiration, the European Commission said.

- Russia had not signed any agreements “with North Korea in the area of military-technical cooperation” yet, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

- Zelensky is expected to make a trip Washington next week, which would be his second since the war began last year, The Washington Post reported.

- U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne M. Tracy visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at the Lefortovo pretrial detention center in Moscow.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

15 September 2023 17:25

Shuffle of Russian military chiefs preceded death of Wagner boss Prigozhin

A day before the airplane disaster that killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a Prigozhin ally known as “General Armageddon,” was removed as head of Russia’s air force.

Surovikin’s ouster was not the only hint that a consolidation was underway among the commanders of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Four days earlier, the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin had visited the main headquarters for the war along with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff. For months, Gerasimov had rarely been seen in public and, along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, had been a frequent target of Prigozhin’s scathing public tirades accusing Russia’s regular military leadership of incompetence.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

15 September 2023 10:21

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington next week after stopping by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. His visit was coordinated with the Biden administration in a joint push to get Congress to provide $24 billion in additional aid to Ukraine.

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rolled into the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur early Friday and visited a plant that builds fighter jets, Russian news agencies reported.

- The Senate Armed Services Committee is “aggressively probing” possible vulnerabilities related to the use of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites in Ukraine, Sen. Jack Reed said.

- Ukrainian forces have recaptured Andriivka, a Russian-held village near Bakhmut, according to Ukraine’s general staff early Friday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

14 September 2023 18:15

Analysis: Kim and Putin meeting shows just how much the leaders need each other

SEOUL — Russian President Vladimir Putin is notorious for making world leaders wait for scheduled meetings. Yet on Wednesday, Putin showed up 30 minutes early to greet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Whether it was intentional or not, Putin’s unusual punctuality highlighted his keen interest in meeting with Kim — one of Putin’s only friends in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The feeling was clearly reciprocated by the days-long train journey taken by his Korean counterpart in his first trip abroad in four years.

The meeting of the two leaders — who have become pariahs in the West — marks just how much they need each other at this time.

For Putin, it is mostly a short-term need for the Soviet-era ammunition to prosecute his war in Ukraine; Kim’s needs are more long term, including technical assistance to develop weapons, a space program and boost his economy.

Read the full analysis here.

The Washington Post

14 September 2023 09:24

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues his visit to Russia’s Far East, where he is expected to visit aviation factories and inspect Russia’s Pacific naval fleet on Thursday.

- Putin accepted Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea “in the future,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. The Kremlin said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, next month.

- Kim was set to fly to the Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, deviating from his usual preference to travel by armored train, which he used to make the journey from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, along Russia’s eastern coast.

- Russia said it thwarted drone attacks over Bryansk Oblast, a region southwest of Moscow near the Ukrainian border.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

13 September 2023 19:01

Kim pledges to back Putin’s ‘sacred struggle’ during rare summit

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called his country’s relations with Russia his top priority and pledged full support to President Vladimir Putin and his government amid the war in Ukraine, as the leaders met Wednesday for the first time in four years at a space facility in Russia’s far east.

Their remarks underscored the apparent message of the meeting: The two leaders, regarded as outcasts by the West, will back each other to the hilt, in a rebuff to U.S.-led efforts to isolate Putin over his invasion of Ukraine and Kim over his pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The meeting follows months of U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia is looking get more of North Korea’s weaponry to replenish its dwindling supplies for the war in Ukraine, while Pyongyang is seeking to boost its beleaguered economy and get Moscow to share advanced technology for its satellite and nuclear programs.

Read the full story here.