The Washington Post

30 September 2023 10:43

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said police were deployed near the border where the potential breach was detected. The statement said residents there received warning alerts that were lifted later in the night.

- A Russian drone attack in a town in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region sparked a fire, prompting authorities to order a limited evacuation of residents near the site.

- Russian air defense systems shot down nine rockets launched by Ukraine over Russia’s Belgorod region overnight, according to the Russian defense ministry.

- Russian authorities in Kursk have reported strikes and shelling nearly every day over the past week. A Ukrainian drone strike on a substation in the Russian region near the border on Friday briefly left 5,000 people without electricity.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

29 September 2023 17:53

Who is Robert Fico? Pro-Russia populist is favored in Slovakia elections.

The most-watched figure in Slovakia’s elections on Saturday is a populist former prime minister who was forced out of office five years ago amid public outrage over a journalist’s slaying, but who is now within reach of leading the country once again.

A return to power for Robert Fico, a brash strongman with sympathies toward Moscow, could break a key link in the Western military alliance supporting Ukraine. That has put outsize international focus on the vote in a country of just 5.5 million people.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

28 September 2023 15:21

Defeated by force, Nagorno-Karabakh government declares it will dissolve

GORIS, Armenia — The leader of the self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh signed a decree Thursday to officially dissolve the breakaway state on Jan. 1, confirming its surrender to Azerbaijan following a failed 32-year quest for independence and international recognition.

Samvel Shahramanyan, president of Nagorno-Karabakh, which its Armenian residents call Artsakh but is internationally recognized as Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, said in a decree that all state institutions will be dissolved.

A lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan last week forced the government of Nagorno-Karabakh to capitulate and agree to dismantle its armed forces. The advance of Azerbaijani forces also set off an exodus of the mountainous region’s ethnic Armenian residents who say they fear genocide and, in any case, are unwilling to live under Azerbaijani rule.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

27 September 2023 16:34

U.S. demands protection for civilians as thousands leave Nagorno-Karabakh

GORIS, Armenia — As thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, called on Azerbaijan to protect the rights of civilians in the region and allow access for international monitors and humanitarian organizations.

With Baku poised to reassert authority over the entire region, which it seized back during a brief war in 2020 after decades of Armenian control, some local officials predicted that the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh — numbering perhaps 120,000 — could end up trying to evacuate, fearing genocide and unwilling to live in Azerbaijan.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

27 September 2023 11:32

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russia’s Defense Ministry released footage on Tuesday purporting to show that the commander of its Black Sea Fleet is still alive, despite Kyiv’s claim that the admiral was killed during a strike last week on the fleet’s headquarters in occupied Crimea.

- The footage, which appears to show Adm. Viktor Sokolov attending a meeting via video link that day, has raised questions about the commander’s fate as well as the veracity of each side’s account. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment Tuesday about whether Sokolov was alive.

- The speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, Anthony Rota, resigned Tuesday after honoring a Ukrainian veteran who fought in a Nazi unit.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

26 September 2023 14:15

Ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh as Russia fails to uphold peace deal

RIGA, Latvia — Hundreds of Armenians waiting for gasoline to flee the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh were injured in an explosion at a fuel depot on Monday, according to local officials, as senior U.S. officials visited Armenia and pledged humanitarian support to deal with a flood of refugees that began Sunday ahead of an imminent takeover by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan recaptured most of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous area that is internationally recognized as its territory, during a brief war in 2020 that ended decades of Armenian occupation and control of the region.

A truce hastily brokered by Russia helped end the fighting but left tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians living in the region, especially in the capital city, Stepanakert, without a long-term plan, but ostensibly under the protection of Russian peacekeepers.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

25 September 2023 21:49

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Less than half the total number of expected M1 Abrams tanks have arrived so far, a senior Ukrainian military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military preparations.

- Russian forces launched an aerial attack on the Black Sea port of Odessa early Monday, Ukraine’s air force and local officials said.

- Some Ukrainian citizens were tortured to death under Russian occupation, a U.N. panel announced Monday.

- A bipartisan group of senators who visited Ukraine recently said there is no evidence that weapons provided by Washington are making their way onto the black market.

- Canada will provide Ukraine with defense support worth $482 million over the next three years, which will fund armored medevac vehicles that “are very much needed at the front,” Zelensky said in his Sunday night address.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

25 September 2023 13:18

Russia attacks Odessa port, in latest assault on Ukrainian grain

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Russia launched drones and missiles at the Black Sea port of Odessa in an overnight attack on Monday, Ukrainian officials said — the latest assault on Ukraine’s vital agriculture sector as Moscow seeks to exploit divisions between Kyiv and its European neighbors over grain exports.

Granaries were destroyed by cruise missiles, and Odessa’s port was “significantly damaged,” according to Ukraine’s southern command, which said part of the attack was carried out by Russian warships.

The strikes and falling debris shattered windows and ignited several fires, including at a home and warehouse buildings, officials said. No one was killed, and an injured civilian woman was provided medical assistance, the officials said. The Ukrainian command claimed its air defense intercepted the majority of the threats, including all 19 of the Iranian-designed drones involved.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

24 September 2023 10:06

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Lavrov indicated there was little hope of resuming a Black Sea grain deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to export grain by sea from Ukraine.

- Ukrainian forces and their armored vehicles have pushed through Russia’s main defensive line on the war’s southern front, known as the “Surovikin line,” a local commander told The Washington Post on Saturday.

- Ukraine launched back-to-back strikes in Crimea over the weekend.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Sudanese Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Ireland on the way back from his trip to Canada and the United States.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

23 September 2023 20:30

Ukraine breaches Russian defensive line on southern front

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces and their armored vehicles punched through Russia’s main defensive line on the war’s southern front and are operating on the other side, a local commander said Saturday, in a modest but crucial gain for Kyiv as it seeks a major breakthrough in its grueling counteroffensive.

A Ukrainian air assault unit commander fighting in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said that over the past week, the armored vehicles pushed through the so-called “Surovikin line” near Verbove, a small village located several miles from Robotyne, which Ukrainian forces liberated last month. Russia still has substantial defenses built south of the line, such as those surrounding Tokmak, about 25 miles southwest of Verbove.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

23 September 2023 13:55

Russia asks citizens to use new app to report drones and other attacks

RIGA, Latvia — Millions of Russians got a notification on Wednesday from the country’s main government portal inviting them to download an app to report incoming drone attacks and other security incidents, which have become a nearly daily occurrence as the Kremlin presses on with its nearly 20-month invasion of Ukraine.

“Help in the fight against dangerous drones! The Radar app can be used to report suspicious drones or other terrorist emergencies,” the notification said. “You can help avoid the consequences of possible attacks.”

A similar app has operated in Ukraine for nearly a year, with residents aiding the country’s forces in tracing and preventing Russian drone and missile attacks that have devastated Ukrainian cities for months. This year, Ukrainian forces have grown more brazen in striking Russian territory.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

22 September 2023 21:47

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Canada, where he is set to deliver an address to Parliament, according to the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

- Following Zelensky’s visit, the Biden administration is close to deciding to provide Ukraine with a version of ATACMS tactical missiles armed with cluster bomblets rather than a single warhead, according to several people familiar with the ongoing deliberations, The Post reports.

- The Ukrainian military said a missile strike Friday damaged the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Russian-occupied Crimea.

- The European Union has disbursed another 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Friday.

- Both Russia and Ukraine “have experienced unusually intense attacks deep behind their lines” in the past four days, according to the British Defense Ministry, as the ground battle remains “relatively static.”

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

22 September 2023 17:14

U.S. close to providing Ukraine with long-range cluster missiles

The Biden administration is close to deciding it will provide Ukraine with a version of ATACMS long-range missiles armed with cluster bomblets rather than a single warhead, according to several people familiar with the ongoing deliberations.

Interagency discussions on whether to approve the weapons moved in recent days from the deputies committee, a meeting of representatives of the No. 2 officials in national security agencies, to the principals committee, involving the heads of each agency, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity about the sensitive issue. The process culminates with a decision by President Biden.

The cluster-armed ATACMS could allow Ukraine to strike command posts, ammunition stores and logistics routes far behind Russian front lines and dug-in defenses. Ukraine has been asking since last year for ATACMS, which stands for Army Tactical Missile System.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

22 September 2023 10:36

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Canada in a surprise visit after his trip to the United States, according to the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

- “While in Ottawa, President [Zelensky] will deliver an address to Parliament,” according to the office. Trudeau and Zelensky “will then travel to Toronto, where they will meet with Canadian business leaders to strengthen private sector investment in Ukraine’s future.”

- The Biden administration announced a $325 million military aid package to Ukraine. This tranche will include air defense systems, munitions and .50-caliber machine guns that can be used against Russian drones that have terrorized Ukrainian cities and towns in recent months.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

21 September 2023 17:10

Poland to stop sending weapons to Ukraine over grain fight

WARSAW — Poland will no longer send weapons to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday, sharply escalating a battle over grain exports that has driven a wedge between Kyiv and one of its strongest supporters in the fight against Russia’s invasion.

Russia has targeted Ukraine’s vital agricultural sector, disrupting transit routes in the Black Sea and repeatedly bombing the country’s grain infrastructure. That has left Ukraine desperate for other export routes, but also prompted Poland and other neighboring countries to impose an import ban, aiming to protect their farmers from the market being flooded with low-cost Ukrainian grain.

The feud has intensified ahead of Polish elections on Oct. 15.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

29 September 2023 21:26

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukraine hit an electrical substation with a drone in Russia’s Kursk region in a “successful attack” near the border, an official with the SBU security service said Friday.

- The governor of the Kursk region said a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on the substation in the Russian village of Belaya, cutting off the power supply nearby, including at a hospital.

- The attack on the power facility sparked a blaze, and firefighters rushed to the site in the Kursk region of western Russia, the governor, Roman Starovoyt, wrote on Telegram.

- Air defenses shot down several other drones targeting Kursk, the governor and the Russian Ministry of Defense said, also blaming Kyiv.

- Britain imposed asset freezes and travel bans on officials in Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Russia last year, the Foreign Office announced Friday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

28 September 2023 20:53

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Kyiv, where he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday about the country’s “most urgent needs” as its efforts to reclaim territory from Russian forces grind on.

- Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has tweeted that he will be moved to a stricter prison for one year.

- Russia released more video of its Black Sea Fleet commander, Adm. Viktor Sokolov, whom Ukraine claimed to have killed in a strike in the annexed Crimean Peninsula last week.

- Speaking in Kyiv, Stoltenberg said Ukrainian forces “are gradually gaining ground” in southeastern Ukraine, where “they face fierce fighting” with Russian troops.

- Air defense systems in southern Ukraine destroyed more than 30 drones in a Russian attack overnight, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s southern command said Thursday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

27 September 2023 21:11

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russia on Wednesday published more video of Adm. Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, in efforts to counter Kyiv’s claims that he died in a Ukrainian strike on the fleet’s headquarters in occupied Crimea last week.

- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday accused the West of aiding Ukraine on Friday’s attack on the fleet headquarters.

- Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the exiled mayor of Mariupol, said Russia had begun constructing a railway to the occupied cities of Mariupol, Volnovakha and Donetsk in southeastern and eastern Ukraine.

- The Ukrainian government has fully implemented seven recommendations from the European Commission to further its path to E.U. membership, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

- The Ukrainian government has fully implemented seven recommendations from the European Commission to further its path to E.U. membership, the Ukrainian Prime Minister said.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

27 September 2023 12:29

Kyiv says it killed Russian admiral. Moscow says he’s taking video calls.

Ukraine said a barrage of missiles it rained down on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, last week killed numerous high-ranking Russian military officials — including the fleet’s commander, Adm. Viktor Sokolov.

In refutation of that claim, Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday released footage that appeared to show Sokolov alive, attending by video link a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The Washington Post did not detect any signs of obvious manipulation in the video but could not independently verify its authenticity.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

26 September 2023 21:15

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russia has denounced the arrival in Ukraine of the first batch of U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday the delivery would “in no way” affect the outcome of the war.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the first M1 Abrams tanks are “already in Ukraine.”

- At least 504 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, according to data from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office released Tuesday.

- Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has suffered “damaging” and “coordinated” attacks in recent weeks, according to Britain’s Defense Ministry.

- Russia is seeking to rejoin the U.N. Human Rights Council, the BBC reported.

- One year since underwater explosions damaged the Nord Stream pipelines, official investigations in three countries have yielded few answers, and the question of who was behind the blasts endures.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

26 September 2023 12:30

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the first batch of U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks is “already in Ukraine.”

- President Biden committed in January to sending 31 of the advanced battle tanks. U.S. military officials have said that the deliveries would be gradual but that they expected them all to arrive in coming weeks.

- A town near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was shelled overnight, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said early Tuesday. At least four people were injured.

- The Canadian speaker of the House of Commons apologized after praising a 98-year-old Ukrainian man who had served in a notorious Nazi military unit during World War II.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

25 September 2023 20:17

Tucker Carlson takes a dubbing in debut Russia ‘show’

RIGA, Latvia — The blustering American TV personality Tucker Carlson has lambasted the United States for sending too much aid to Ukraine, called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky “sweaty and rat-like” and given credence to Russia’s baseless justifications for its invasion.

The former Fox News host’s rhetoric on the war and his attacks on Zelensky’s government aligns so well with the major propaganda points of Russian state television that one channel has decided to broadcast Carlson’s new show on X, formerly Twitter, to millions of Russians, though apparently without Carlson’s permission.

The channel, Rossiya 24, had recently been teasing a new show “Tucker,” and the first episode aired over the weekend.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

25 September 2023 13:05

Western officials press Ukraine to hold elections despite war

KYIV — Despite Russia’s war in Ukraine and a nationwide state of martial law, some Western politicians are pushing the government in Kyiv to hold parliamentary and presidential elections — a prospect that has left many Ukrainian officials scratching their heads.

The proposal — initially floated by Tiny Kox, the Dutch head of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly — was also pressed by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), during a visit to Kyiv last month with Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), which otherwise focused on solidifying U.S. assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

23 September 2023 21:36

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian armored vehicles had breached the “Surovikin line” near Verbove, the commander said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss battlefield developments candidly.

- The armored vehicles observed in the breach underscore the need for soldiers to retake territory on foot. Open source imagery of the operation shows U.S.-provided Strykers, which have limited protection against threats like tanks and anti-armor rockets, heading into the fight.

- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Pyongyang in October, he told reporters after a U.N. speech Saturday.

- The United States plans to supply Ukraine with a version of ATACMS long-range missiles armed with cluster bomblets rather than a single warhead, The Post reported.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

23 September 2023 18:16

Watch Ukraine’s helicopters fire rocket salvos — from treetop level

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — The two helicopters flew low and loud in eastern Ukraine, thwop-thwopping over tilled black soil. They skimmed small lakes glinting in the early-morning light. They glided across tributaries in the rolling hills that knot the region, cloaking themselves from lurking Russian fighter jets.

The mission on Tuesday was straightforward: Head toward an enemy position in Bakhmut and shower the Russians with rocket fire, flying at treetop level or even just a few feet off the ground.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

23 September 2023 10:09

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russian media reported that six people were injured in the strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, but officials have not confirmed the number.

- Russia has maintained the headquarters since the fall of the Soviet Union, and it is believed that Russian military personnel stationed there participated in the 2014 invasion of Crimea.

- In his address to Canadian Parliament on Friday, Zelensky praised Canada for being on the “bright side of history.”

- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau framed the war in Ukraine as a defense of global democracy.

-A Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk killed one and injured 31, including three children, Dmytro Lunin, a regional official, wrote on Telegram.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

22 September 2023 19:11

Ukraine hits headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol

KYIV — Ukrainian forces on Friday fired a barrage of missiles at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea — striking a target thought to be heavily protected and demonstrating Kyiv’s growing ability to attack Russian military infrastructure throughout the peninsula.

Ukraine’s Air Force posted a statement saying that “around 12:00, the Ukrainian defense forces successfully struck the command headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in temporarily-occupied Sevastopol,” located on the southwest tip of Crimea, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.

No further details of the strike were given, and it was not immediately clear what type of missiles were used, but the commander of Ukraine’s air force issued a statement that appeared to mock Russia’s claims that all of the missiles fired at the Sevastopol headquarters had been shot down by air defenses.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

22 September 2023 15:20

Zelensky blitzes Washington in urgent effort to bolster support

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last visited Washington, it was a top-secret journey and his first trip outside his country since Russia invaded Ukraine. He received a hero’s welcome at the White House and on Capitol Hill that day in December, evoking comparisons to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s wartime visit to Washington in 1941.

Zelensky returned here on Thursday to dramatically different circumstances. A growing number of Republicans are vowing to reject additional aid for Ukraine as a U.S. government shutdown looms. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) denied the Ukrainian leader’s request to address a joint meeting of Congress, and Zelensky was unable to tout any major breakthroughs in his military’s current counteroffensive against Russia.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

21 September 2023 21:22

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with President Biden on Thursday in the Ukrainian leader’s third visit to the White House.

- Zelensky spoke with lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in separate meetings.

- Poland said it would no longer sell new arms to Ukraine, as tensions over grain exports from Ukraine to its Eastern European neighbors continue to escalate.

- Ukraine’s armed forces said they successfully targeted a Russian air base in Crimea overnight, the latest in a series of similar claims publicly acknowledging that the peninsula.

- Slovakia and Ukraine agreed to develop a licensing system for Ukrainian grain imports, the Slovak Agriculture Ministry said in an email Thursday.

- Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces fired 43 rockets at cities across Ukraine overnight, injuring around two dozen people.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

21 September 2023 13:35

Zelensky accuses U.N. of inaction on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday denounced what he called U.N. Security Council inaction on Russia’s invasion of his country, in a rare interaction with senior Russian policymakers inside the United Nations.

Zelensky demanded that countries that violate U.N. principles and unjustly invade other nations be suspended from their Security Council seats, speaking just steps away from the fiery Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, who scrolled through his phone and stared ahead with ambivalence as the Ukrainian leader spoke.

“Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war,” Zelensky told the chamber. “We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression,” he said.

Read the full story here.