The Washington Post

14 August 2023 18:23

Wagner’s prisoner of war: A Ukrainian soldier’s 46-day nightmare

Wagner mercenaries were within shouting distance when the ambush began.

From the high ground, they raked a column of Ukrainian military armor below. An antitank rocket punched through Ilia Mykhalchuk’s vehicle, and the 36-year-old recalled quickly taking stock of his injuries.

They were ghastly.

Right arm: ribbons of shredded flesh. His left: pocked with shrapnel.

Mykhalchuk stumbled from the burning wreckage, fell to the frozen ground and, using his fractured teeth for leverage, tightened a tourniquet onto each of his mangled arms. Moments later, his attackers drew near, shooting him through the legs. They moved closer. Death, Mykhalchuk believed, was imminent.

“I was sure,” he recently recalled, “they wouldn’t capture me.”

Yet that is exactly what happened.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

14 August 2023 10:01

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Shots from a Russian warship at a Ukraine-bound cargo vessel in the Black Sea on Sunday drew condemnation from Ukrainian officials, with one calling it a “clear violation of international law.”

- Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov used automatic weapons to fire “warning” shots on a Palau-flagged bulk carrier after its captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. It was the first such incident since Russia withdrew from a U.N.-brokered grain deal last month.

- Ukrainian forces reported drone and missile attacks in the Odessa region overnight. Three people were injured by debris from the rockets being shot down, according to the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

13 August 2023 17:26

In war against its Soviet past, Ukraine refaces towering Kyiv monument

A Kyiv monument traded a 42-year-old Soviet coat of arms for a modern trident Sunday, a swap that exemplifies the war-torn country’s fight against the 21st-century Russian army and the vestiges of Ukraine’s Soviet past.

The Motherland Monument, a 335-foot statue of a woman holding a sword and shield, has towered over Kyiv since 1981 as a symbol of the U.S.S.R.’s triumphs during World War II. Workers dismantled the part of the shield featuring the Soviet hammer-and-sickle and wheat beginning in late July; on Sunday they replaced it with the Ukrainian emblem.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

13 August 2023 10:03

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russia’s account Saturday that it had intercepted 20 drones over the Crimean Peninsula marked the third straight day that officials had reported thwarting such an attack. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the assault.

- Ukraine has made “tactically significant advances” along the border between the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, according to an analysis Saturday by the Institute for the Study of War.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired all heads of regional military recruitment centers in a sweeping move he described as a crackdown on corruption.

- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

12 August 2023 19:31

Ukraine’s elite forces rely on technology to strike behind enemy lines

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — Some of Ukraine’s most elite special forces are now operating slightly back from the front line — with virtual-reality glasses that give a drone’s-eye view.

Last year, there were opportunities to creep into Russian-occupied territory at night to take out enemy targets. Now, with vast minefields and other fortified Russian defenses stalling Ukraine’s sweeping counteroffensive, an uncrewed aerial vehicle armed with explosives does that during daylight instead.

A three-man team last month manually directed a drone to hit a cluster of antennas affixed to a tower in Polohy, a town occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. The Russians were using the electronic warfare system to spoil the work of Ukraine’s satellite-guided rockets.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

12 August 2023 13:42

Zelensky fires military recruitment center chiefs after corruption probe

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the heads of all of his country’s regional military recruitment centers Friday, a sweeping move he said was aimed at combating corruption and ensuring that the recruitment system is “run by people who know exactly what war is.”

Zelensky announced the blanket dismissal after a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which he heads. He cited instances of “illicit enrichment,” laundering “illegally obtained funds” and “illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.”

“Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency — that’s the only difference,” Zelensky said in a statement published on the official presidential website. “The cynicism is the same everywhere.” Zelensky did not specify the total number of regional recruitment heads.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

11 August 2023 21:20

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed all the heads of regional military recruitment centers on Friday as part of what he called a crackdown on corruption, and said “the system should be run by people who know exactly what war is.”

- In Kyiv, officials said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital after the sound of explosions rang out in the capital on Friday.

- Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday’s drone crashed in a forest in the Moscow region after being intercepted by electronic warfare systems.

- A top United Nations official in Ukraine was “appalled” by a Russian strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia.

- Kyiv will probably go another year without F-16 fighter jets, The Post reports.

- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut as they fight to encircle Russian troops in the eastern city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

11 August 2023 14:10

Yandex co-founder calls war ‘barbaric,’ signaling dismay in Russian elite

A co-founder of Yandex, Russia’s biggest tech company, has become the second major Russian businessman under Western sanctions to publicly denounce President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, even as other Russian billionaires remain silent.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Arkady Volozh said in a statement on Thursday. “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine, where like many I have friends and relatives, and every day bombs are hitting their homes.”

Volozh’s decision to openly condemn the war comes amid complex wrangling with the Kremlin over restructuring Yandex, known to many as Russia’s Google. Some Moscow business executives believe the government may seek a partial nationalization of the company as the environment becomes increasingly hostile for foreign investors.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

10 August 2023 21:08

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The co-founder of Russian technology giant Yandex called the war in Ukraine “barbaric,” a rare display of dissent among the Russian elite. He has lived in Tel Aviv since 2014.

- Russian officials said early Thursday that air defenses shot down two drones flying over Moscow, the latest in a spate of drone attacks apparently targeting the Russian capital.

- An unidentified buyer purchased dozens of German-made tanks from a Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported.

- Two months after Ukraine went on the attack, with little visible progress on the front, a bloody summer across the country and a slow counteroffensive are fraying the narrative of Ukrainians’ endless perseverance, Post journalists report from Ukraine.

- Russian forces are pressing their offensive operations in Kupyansk in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar and a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry said separately.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

10 August 2023 14:11

Slow counteroffensive darkens mood in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine — This nation is worn out.

For nearly 18 months, Ukraine has stood against its Russian invaders — rallying support for its troops by embracing last year’s battlefield victories in the Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

Those wins carried beleaguered Ukrainians through a winter of airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and a brutal and symbolic battle for Bakhmut, the eastern city that fell to the Russians in May.

Throughout, Ukrainian officials and their western partners hyped up a coming counteroffensive — one that, buoyed by a flood of new weapons and training, they hoped would turn the tide of the war.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

09 August 2023 21:15

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of buzzing the Moscow region with two drones overnight, both of which officials said were downed by air defenses and caused no damage.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials accused Russia of targeting emergency workers by launching missiles at residential areas in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, then hitting the same spot again when rescuers were arriving.

- An explosion at a pyrotechnics warehouse injured 56 people in the Moscow region Wednesday morning, according to local Russian officials.

- Russian shelling killed an 18-year-old in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local military administrator Serhiy Lysak said early Wednesday.

- Ukrainian troops conducted “offensive operations” in the country’s southeast, around the occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, the country’s armed forces said Wednesday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

09 August 2023 16:30

Ukraine’s offensive inches forward in search of a breakthrough

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Intense fighting raged in southeastern Ukraine this week as Kyiv continued a major push to reclaim territory with a fresh injection of Western-trained and -equipped troops but no sign yet of a major breakthrough.

Russia’s main defensive line — a phalanx of trenches, tripwires and anti-personnel and anti-armor mines — remains ahead of Ukrainian forces and their objective to drive south and sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, a key military supply route.

Ukrainian troops have begun to make incremental gains toward that line after swapping out an approach that involved small movements of troops on foot for a larger influx of forces from Ukraine’s 10th Corps reserves using tanks and armored vehicles.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

09 August 2023 09:48

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Officials including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of targeting emergency workers by launching missiles at residential areas to lure rescuers before hitting the same spot with a second strike.

- Zelensky said Russia will “bear maximum responsibility” for the pair of missile strikes that killed at least nine people, including one rescue worker, and injured more than 80 in the city of Pokrovsk this week. The attacks, in the city’s center, came within 40 minutes of each other.

- At least five others were killed in recent attacks on Ukraine, officials said, including three in the Kharkiv region, one person in Kherson and another in the southern city of Nikopol.

- Russian forces shot down two drones in the Moscow region, the country’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday. It accused Ukraine of trying to carry out a terrorist attack using the unmanned aerial vehicles. There were no casualties or damage, the ministry said.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

08 August 2023 13:14

Woman arrested in plot to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian security officials said Monday they had arrested a Ukrainian woman on suspicion of aiding Russia’s intelligence services, including involvement in an assassination attempt on President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.

“The security service detained an informant of the special services of the Russian Federation, who, on the eve of the recent working trip of the president of Ukraine to the Mykolaiv region, was gathering intelligence about the planned visit,” Ukraine’s state security service, the SBU, said in a statement posted on its website.

“The perpetrator tried to establish the time and list of locations of the approximate route of the head of state,” the statement said.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

07 August 2023 12:12

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Diplomats and security policy advisers from more than 40 countries had “an extremely honest, open conversation” on key principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which ended Sunday.

- Russia was not invited to the meeting, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called it part of the West’s “futile, doomed efforts” to swing the Global South to Ukraine’s side, according to state media.

- China sent a peace envoy to the Jeddah talks after failing to show up for an initial gathering in Copenhagen in late June.

- Russian shelling overnight in Kherson targeted a residential building, killing one person and injuring several others, the city’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram Monday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

14 August 2023 13:23

Songs of war: The Ukrainian musicians merging art and propaganda

Music has always been an important part of Maria Kvitka’s life. Before the war, she worked as a costume designer in Ukraine’s film industry, traveling frequently across the country to gather inspiration for her designs. Along the way, she collected traditional songs and sounds from Ukraine’s disparate regions.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country last year, Kvitka, in shock and out of a job, sought refuge in the folk songs she had compiled.

“It was like therapy for me,” said Kvitka, 30. “Listening to them, you got the sense that Ukrainians were doing exactly the same thing for hundreds of years — they were always under attack from Russia. And you realize that if they can survive it, we can too.”

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

13 August 2023 19:15

Tensions between Ukraine and Poland over grain hint at exhaustion from war

KYIV, Ukraine — Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Poland has been among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, providing military and economic aid, taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees, championing Kyiv’s position in international forums and transforming its territory into the main conduit for Western arms shipments.

But even among the closest of friends, serious quarrels can arise.

Last week, Polish and Ukrainian officials clashed openly, after Marcin Przydacz, a foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, said that Ukraine should “start appreciating the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years.”

Under a deal brokered by the European Union, Poland and four other neighboring countries are allowed to ban Ukrainian grain imports to protect their domestic farmers, but allow the grain to cross their territory into other countries.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

13 August 2023 13:32

U.S. imposes sanctions on prominent Russian financiers with ties to West

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group, a prominent financial services firm — a sign that the Biden White House is seeking to increase pressure on Russian elites who have carved out international profiles while maintaining business operations in Russia.

“Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement announcing the new punitive measures. “Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

12 August 2023 21:22

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Russian air defenses shot down at least two missiles fired at the Crimean Bridge and thwarted an attempted drone attack in the same region overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.

- The Russian-appointed head of Crimea said there was no major damage and no casualties in the bridge incident. He said that three missiles were thwarted, although Russia’s Defense Ministry reported downing two.

- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down 14 drones over Crimea overnight and that electronic warfare systems blocked the rest.

- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

12 August 2023 17:15

F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots faces delays and uncertainty

KYIV — A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to complete training on the U.S.-made F-16 before next summer, senior Ukrainian government and military officials said, following a series of delays by Western partners in implementing an instruction program for the sophisticated fighter jet.

The timeline reflects the disconnect between Ukraine’s supporters, who envision F-16s as a key tool in the country’s long-term defense, and Kyiv, which has desperately requested that the jets reach the battle space as soon as possible, viewing them as critical for the current fight against occupying Russian forces.

President Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, reversed course in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, and supported the transfer of the planes by other countries. Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

12 August 2023 10:46

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Earlier this month, Zelensky condemned the “revolting” practices at military recruitment centers that were uncovered during an audit, Reuters reported. He said Friday that there are 112 criminal proceedings against officials of the territorial recruitment centers.

- Zelensky’s mass dismissal is a part of larger efforts to root out corruption, particularly in the military.

- The new round of U.S. sanctions includes Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group.

- Security is “increasingly distant” for Moscow residents, who can expect “an increase in daily attacks,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said in an interview with the Kyiv Post published Friday.

- Russia launched hypersonic missile attacks on Friday that killed an eight-year-old boy in Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, and injured others, regional Gov. Svitlana Onyshchuk and the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

11 August 2023 17:52

Russian opera star sues the Met for alleged ousting over Ukraine war

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, one of opera’s biggest stars, sued the Metropolitan Opera and its general manager Friday, alleging discrimination when the company dropped her after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, includes claims of national origin discrimination, breach of contract and defamation. Netrebko is asking for at least $360,000 in damages, citing lost performance and rehearsal fees.

The Met severed its relationship with Netrebko in March 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the previous month. Netrebko had made several statements opposing the war and violence at the time of her ouster, but did not agree to Gelb’s request that she specifically condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to her suit.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

11 August 2023 11:19

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Officials in Kyiv said fragments of a missile hit a children’s hospital on Friday. The Kyiv military administration said air defense systems were working, and there were no initial reports of casualties.

- In Moscow, Russian officials said they intercepted yet another drone targeting the capital on Friday.

- The military administration of Ukraine’s Kupiansk ordered an evacuation of civilians from the area in the northeast Kharkiv region. Authorities have said thousands of civilians would need to leave towns and villages near the combat zone around Kupiansk, where Ukrainian and Russian officials separately reported a raging battle.

- Ukrainian forces have recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and are encircling Russian troops in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told the Guardian. Maliar said progress was being made in outflanking enemy forces after months of deadly battle. The Post could not immediately verify the claims.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

10 August 2023 17:45

What is happening in Niger, and how could the coup there affect the region?

Russia and the Wagner mercenary group have “tried to take advantage” of instability in Niger, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Tuesday, two weeks into a bloodless military coup that ousted Niger’s U.S.-allied president.

Last month’s coup was Niger’s fifth since it gained independence from France in 1960. Washington — worried about the West’s waning influence in Africa and two U.S. military bases in Niger — has called for the restoration of democracy and paused security coordination and financial aid.

Alongside homegrown extremism, Russia and its Wagner mercenary group have been gaining a foothold by backing military leaders and developing security and business ties in some of these countries.

The Wagner Group — in turmoil since its founder and leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accepted exile in Belarus after a mutiny and failed march on Moscow in June — has provided fighters for hire across Africa.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

10 August 2023 11:21

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- An unidentified buyer has purchased dozens of German-made Leopard 1 tanks from a private Belgian dealer, to be refurbished and sent to Ukraine, The Post reported. “I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, said in a LinkedIn post.

- Versluys, chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, did not disclose the price paid for the tanks and disputed reports suggesting he had demanded 500,000 euros per vehicle after purchasing them for 15,000 euros each.

- Four drones targeting Moscow and Crimea were shot down by Russia in separate incidents, its Defense Ministry said on Telegram early Thursday.

- Ukraine will require at least $42 billion in international assistance in 2024, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said in an interview Wednesday with Radio Liberty.

- A Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia killed at least three people, governor Yuriy Malashko said Thursday on Telegram.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

09 August 2023 19:41

Deal struck to get Leopard tanks to Ukraine from private Belgian broker

BRUSSELS — Dozens of Leopard 1 tanks could be overhauled and sent to Ukraine after an unidentified buyer purchased the German-made fighting vehicles from a private Belgian dealer.

“I am glad they will finally join the fight for freedom,” the dealer, Freddy Versluys, who is chief executive of the defense company OIP Land Systems, wrote in a LinkedIn post along with a photo featuring rows of tanks in a hanger along with a bottle of “Ukrainian Freedom” brand vodka.

Versluys bought the tanks years ago when the Belgian army sold them as part of cost-cutting measures. Earlier this year, as allies debated if and how to get tanks to Ukraine, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said her country was seeking to re-buy the Leopards, but was quoted an “unreasonable price.”

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

09 August 2023 12:25

Russians tied to Putin or military sidestep sanctions and draw protest

LONDON — Despite heavy sanctions intended to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine, dozens of Russians connected to President Vladimir Putin or the Russian military are still welcome in European Union countries, drawing criticism from politicians and antiwar activists.

The critics are pressing for more action by drawing attention to cases that seem to defy the goal of Western sanctions, which have been used to deny travel visas and to seize yachts, real estate and other property.

A daughter and son-in-law of Boris Obnosov, head of the Russian-owned Tactical Missiles Corporation, which produces missiles and aerial bombs that have been destroying Ukrainian cities, continue to live in Prague, where the family owns numerous properties and luxury vehicles.

Last month, 15 members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to impose sanctions on Obnosov’s close family members.

Read the full story here.

The Washington Post

08 August 2023 20:56

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The deadly Russian strike on the Pokrovsk city center damaged 12 high-rise buildings, offices, shops and a hotel, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Tuesday on Telegram.

- At least five others were killed in recent attacks on Ukraine, the country’s officials said, including three in the Kharkiv region, one person in Kherson and another in the southern city of Nikopol.

- The detainee allegedly linked to a foiled plot to attack Zelensky tried to give Russian forces information about the president’s visit to Mykolaiv last week, Ukraine’s Security Service said.

- Britain’s Foreign Ministry announced a slew of new sanctions on non-Russian companies Tuesday, with the aim of targeting the global supply chains that support Russia’s military effort in Ukraine.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

08 August 2023 10:30

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- A spate of attacks across Ukraine killed several civilians and injured dozens more, Ukrainian officials said overnight.

- An unidentified woman was detained in connection with a plot to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the country’s Security Service, as the war approaches its 18th month.

- At least seven people were killed and 67 were injured in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s internal affairs ministry said early Tuesday. Two children, 29 police officers and seven rescue workers were among those hurt.

- A group of 22 Ukrainian prisoners of war were brought home from captivity, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said on Telegram on Monday.

More live updates here.

The Washington Post

06 August 2023 21:50

Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- A barrage of Russian missiles targeted two air bases in western Ukraine at night, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday morning, in Starokonstantinov, in the Khmelnitsky region, and Dubno, in the Rivne region, the ministry said.

- Japan’s prime minister condemned Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons in a speech marking the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday. “The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused by nuclear weapons must never be repeated,” Fumio Kishida said in a statement.

- The Soviet coat of arms at Kyiv’s Motherland monument was replaced with the Ukrainian trident symbol ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Aug. 24. Workers began modifying the 200-feet statue last week, despite criticism over funding cultural works amid the war.

More live updates here.