‘We Are Still in Shock’: A Month Trapped in a Basement by Russian Forces
More than two months after the residents of Yahidne kicked down the bolted basement door where the Russian army had held them hostage, the village is being rebuilt but the memories remain fresh — and deeply painful.
On March 3, eight days after the full-scale invasion began, Russian forces swept into Yahidne, a village on the main road north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. For nearly a month, until March 31, when Ukrainian troops liberated the town, more than 300 people, 77 of them children, were imprisoned in several rooms in the dank basement of the village school — a human shield for the Russian troops based there. Ten of the captives died. Among those held inside were a baby and a 93-year-old, Ukrainian prosecutors said.
“This is our concentration camp,” said Oleh Turash, 54, one of those imprisoned, who helped bury the people who perished there. Read more
@nytimes
More than two months after the residents of Yahidne kicked down the bolted basement door where the Russian army had held them hostage, the village is being rebuilt but the memories remain fresh — and deeply painful.
On March 3, eight days after the full-scale invasion began, Russian forces swept into Yahidne, a village on the main road north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. For nearly a month, until March 31, when Ukrainian troops liberated the town, more than 300 people, 77 of them children, were imprisoned in several rooms in the dank basement of the village school — a human shield for the Russian troops based there. Ten of the captives died. Among those held inside were a baby and a 93-year-old, Ukrainian prosecutors said.
“This is our concentration camp,” said Oleh Turash, 54, one of those imprisoned, who helped bury the people who perished there. Read more
@nytimes
😢136👍25👎11🤔5❤1
Russia defends death sentences for 3 foreign fighters in Ukraine as outrage grows in the West.
As Western governments condemned the death sentences given to two Britons and a Moroccan by a court in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine, Moscow defended the decision, saying the men were mercenaries who did not have the right to be treated as prisoners of war.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, speaking during a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia, said the “crimes” the men were convicted of had been committed in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, adding that he would not “hinder the operation of the judiciary and law enforcement authorities” in the territory.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, asserted on Friday that the Britons sentenced to death were not defined as combatants under international law and, as such, were not entitled to prisoner of war status — a contention vehemently rejected by experts in international law and the British government. Read more
@nytimes
As Western governments condemned the death sentences given to two Britons and a Moroccan by a court in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine, Moscow defended the decision, saying the men were mercenaries who did not have the right to be treated as prisoners of war.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, speaking during a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia, said the “crimes” the men were convicted of had been committed in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, adding that he would not “hinder the operation of the judiciary and law enforcement authorities” in the territory.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, asserted on Friday that the Britons sentenced to death were not defined as combatants under international law and, as such, were not entitled to prisoner of war status — a contention vehemently rejected by experts in international law and the British government. Read more
@nytimes
👎137👍51😢19🤔9❤6
Shortage of Artillery Ammo Saps Ukrainian Frontline Morale
Nearly four months after Russia invaded, the Ukrainian military is running low on ammunition for its Soviet-era artillery and has not received enough supplies from its allies to keep the Russians at bay, Ukrainian officials and artillery officers in the field say.
The shortage has put Ukrainian troops at a growing disadvantage in the artillery-driven war of attrition in the country’s east, with Russia’s batteries now firing several times as many rounds as Ukraine’s. While the West is sending in weapons, they are not arriving fast enough or in sufficient numbers to make up for Ukraine’s dwindling arsenal.
The Western weapons, heavy, long-range artillery pieces and multiple-launch rocket systems, are more accurate and highly mobile, but it takes time to deploy them and train soldiers to use them. In the meantime, Ukraine is running out of ammunition for the older weapons. Read more
@nytimes
Nearly four months after Russia invaded, the Ukrainian military is running low on ammunition for its Soviet-era artillery and has not received enough supplies from its allies to keep the Russians at bay, Ukrainian officials and artillery officers in the field say.
The shortage has put Ukrainian troops at a growing disadvantage in the artillery-driven war of attrition in the country’s east, with Russia’s batteries now firing several times as many rounds as Ukraine’s. While the West is sending in weapons, they are not arriving fast enough or in sufficient numbers to make up for Ukraine’s dwindling arsenal.
The Western weapons, heavy, long-range artillery pieces and multiple-launch rocket systems, are more accurate and highly mobile, but it takes time to deploy them and train soldiers to use them. In the meantime, Ukraine is running out of ammunition for the older weapons. Read more
@nytimes
😢140👍35👎8❤2🤔2
McDonald’s Is Back, Moscow Style, as Russian Economy Stumbles On
Yevgeny Shumilkin is going back to work on Sunday. To prepare, he pulled the familiar “M” off what had been his McDonald’s shirt and covered the “M” on his McDonald’s jacket with a Russian flag patch.
“It will be the same buns,” promised Mr. Shumilkin, who maintains the equipment at a restaurant in Moscow. “Just under a different name.”
McDonald’s restaurants are reopening in Russia this weekend, but without the Golden Arches. After the American fast-food giant pulled out this spring to protest President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a Siberian oil mogul bought its 840 Russian stores. Because almost all the ingredients came from inside the country, he said, the restaurants could keep on serving much of the same food.
The gambit might just work — underscoring the Russian economy’s surprising resilience in the face of the one of the most intense barrages of sanctions ever meted out by the West. Read more
@nytimes
Yevgeny Shumilkin is going back to work on Sunday. To prepare, he pulled the familiar “M” off what had been his McDonald’s shirt and covered the “M” on his McDonald’s jacket with a Russian flag patch.
“It will be the same buns,” promised Mr. Shumilkin, who maintains the equipment at a restaurant in Moscow. “Just under a different name.”
McDonald’s restaurants are reopening in Russia this weekend, but without the Golden Arches. After the American fast-food giant pulled out this spring to protest President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a Siberian oil mogul bought its 840 Russian stores. Because almost all the ingredients came from inside the country, he said, the restaurants could keep on serving much of the same food.
The gambit might just work — underscoring the Russian economy’s surprising resilience in the face of the one of the most intense barrages of sanctions ever meted out by the West. Read more
@nytimes
👎148👍54🤔49❤8
Russia is resorting to less-precise weapons that cause major damage, intelligence agencies say.
While Ukraine is badly outgunned and has been making desperate pleas for the West to speed up the delivery of heavy weapons, Russia also appears to be running low on precision missiles — but unlike the Ukrainians, the Russians can turn to other powerful weapons systems.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that a shortage of precision weapons had led the Russians to resort to inefficient weapons systems that are less precise but can still cause major damage, including significant civilian casualties. Since April, Russian bombers appear to have hit land-based targets with dozens of 1960s-era six-ton missiles designed to destroy aircraft carriers, the ministry said.
The assessment came amid reports by Ukrainian military intelligence in recent days that some Russian units in the Donbas region are composed of “forcibly mobilized personnel” and are refusing to participate in combat there. Read more
@nytimes
While Ukraine is badly outgunned and has been making desperate pleas for the West to speed up the delivery of heavy weapons, Russia also appears to be running low on precision missiles — but unlike the Ukrainians, the Russians can turn to other powerful weapons systems.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that a shortage of precision weapons had led the Russians to resort to inefficient weapons systems that are less precise but can still cause major damage, including significant civilian casualties. Since April, Russian bombers appear to have hit land-based targets with dozens of 1960s-era six-ton missiles designed to destroy aircraft carriers, the ministry said.
The assessment came amid reports by Ukrainian military intelligence in recent days that some Russian units in the Donbas region are composed of “forcibly mobilized personnel” and are refusing to participate in combat there. Read more
@nytimes
👎89👍30😢28🤔8❤3
Moscow issues passports in parts of occupied Ukraine, pressing on with ‘Russification.’
The Kremlin began formally issuing Russian passports to Ukrainians living under occupation on Saturday, even as Moscow’s forces confront a growing insurgency in areas they control in southern Ukraine and struggle to provide essential services like medical care.
The move to hand out Russian identification papers is just one facet of Russia’s attempts to solidify Moscow’s control in the south, including making the ruble the legal currency and cutting off Ukrainian cellphone networks. The Ukrainian authorities have warned about such a move for weeks, with Ukraine’s foreign ministry saying it would be “a flagrant violation” of the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukraine’s military has also claimed to have found evidence of earlier plans by Moscow to issue Russian passports around Kyiv, the capital. Read more
@nytimes
The Kremlin began formally issuing Russian passports to Ukrainians living under occupation on Saturday, even as Moscow’s forces confront a growing insurgency in areas they control in southern Ukraine and struggle to provide essential services like medical care.
The move to hand out Russian identification papers is just one facet of Russia’s attempts to solidify Moscow’s control in the south, including making the ruble the legal currency and cutting off Ukrainian cellphone networks. The Ukrainian authorities have warned about such a move for weeks, with Ukraine’s foreign ministry saying it would be “a flagrant violation” of the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukraine’s military has also claimed to have found evidence of earlier plans by Moscow to issue Russian passports around Kyiv, the capital. Read more
@nytimes
👎144👍27🤔9❤8😢5
As the Russians close in, civilians in Lysychansk must decide whether to stay or go.
Between the loud thuds of artillery shells landing a few blocks away, dozens of people emerged from a communal shelter in this eastern Ukrainian city Saturday to receive packets of food from a red armored van crewed by a group of volunteers.
It was the first aid they had seen in months.
Lysychansk, an industrial city with a prewar population of around 100,000, is quickly becoming the focal point of Russia’s slow and methodical advance in Ukraine’s east. Russian forces have seized most of the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of vicious street fighting and artillery duels. Lysychansk lies just across the Seversky Donets River and will likely be the next city the Russian army will try to capture.
Though much of Lysychansk has been evacuated, many residents remain. Read more
@nytimes
Between the loud thuds of artillery shells landing a few blocks away, dozens of people emerged from a communal shelter in this eastern Ukrainian city Saturday to receive packets of food from a red armored van crewed by a group of volunteers.
It was the first aid they had seen in months.
Lysychansk, an industrial city with a prewar population of around 100,000, is quickly becoming the focal point of Russia’s slow and methodical advance in Ukraine’s east. Russian forces have seized most of the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of vicious street fighting and artillery duels. Lysychansk lies just across the Seversky Donets River and will likely be the next city the Russian army will try to capture.
Though much of Lysychansk has been evacuated, many residents remain. Read more
@nytimes
😢108👍26❤5🤔5
Momentum in Ukraine Is Shifting in Russia’s Favor
A war in Ukraine that began with a Russian debacle as its forces tried and failed to take Kyiv has seemingly begun to turn. Russia is picking off regional targets, Ukraine lacks the weaponry it needs and Western support for the war effort is fraying.
On the 108th day of President Vladimir V. Putin’s unprovoked war, driven by his conviction that Ukraine is territory unjustly taken from the Russian Empire, Russia appeared no closer to victory. But its forces did appear to be making slow, bloody progress toward control of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Saturday, “We are definitely going to prevail in this war that Russia has started.”
Yet, the heady early days of the war — when the Ukrainian underdog held off a deluded and inept aggressor and Mr. Putin’s indiscriminate bombardment united the West in outrage — have begun to fade. The war is becoming what analysts say will be a long slog. Read more
@nytimes
A war in Ukraine that began with a Russian debacle as its forces tried and failed to take Kyiv has seemingly begun to turn. Russia is picking off regional targets, Ukraine lacks the weaponry it needs and Western support for the war effort is fraying.
On the 108th day of President Vladimir V. Putin’s unprovoked war, driven by his conviction that Ukraine is territory unjustly taken from the Russian Empire, Russia appeared no closer to victory. But its forces did appear to be making slow, bloody progress toward control of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Saturday, “We are definitely going to prevail in this war that Russia has started.”
Yet, the heady early days of the war — when the Ukrainian underdog held off a deluded and inept aggressor and Mr. Putin’s indiscriminate bombardment united the West in outrage — have begun to fade. The war is becoming what analysts say will be a long slog. Read more
@nytimes
😢128👎30👍18❤5🤔3
Moscow issues passports in parts of occupied Ukraine, pressing on with ‘Russification.’
The Kremlin began formally issuing Russian passports to Ukrainians living under occupation on Saturday, even as Moscow’s forces confront a growing insurgency in areas they control in southern Ukraine and struggle to provide essential services like medical care.
The move to hand out Russian identification papers is just one facet of Russia’s attempts to solidify Moscow’s control in the south, including making the ruble the legal currency and cutting off Ukrainian cellphone networks.
Such documents have not been produced in Ukraine since 1990. Ukrainian officials have urged people living in occupied regions not to apply for the passports, but also fear that Russia could use coercive measures — like requiring them for employment — to force people to exchange their documents.
Read more
@nytimes
The Kremlin began formally issuing Russian passports to Ukrainians living under occupation on Saturday, even as Moscow’s forces confront a growing insurgency in areas they control in southern Ukraine and struggle to provide essential services like medical care.
The move to hand out Russian identification papers is just one facet of Russia’s attempts to solidify Moscow’s control in the south, including making the ruble the legal currency and cutting off Ukrainian cellphone networks.
Such documents have not been produced in Ukraine since 1990. Ukrainian officials have urged people living in occupied regions not to apply for the passports, but also fear that Russia could use coercive measures — like requiring them for employment — to force people to exchange their documents.
Read more
@nytimes
👎128👍33😢17🤔10
Russia’s final push to cut off Sievierodonetsk could happen in days, a Ukrainian official says.
Russian forces are fighting to complete an encirclement of Sievierodonetsk and may completely cut it off in the coming days, the governor of the region that includes the city said on Sunday, suggesting that a major goal of Moscow’s revised military campaign, fought over for weeks, could soon be achieved.
The Ukrainian government has poured troops and resources into its effort to hold on to Sievierodonetsk, a strategically important, industrial city and the last major urban center in Luhansk that has not yet fallen. Russia’s forces are trying to capture all of the wider Donbas region, which includes Luhansk, and where it has held significant territory since 2014.
“The situation in Sievierodonetsk is extremely difficult,” the regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, said on Telegram. “The Russians are making every effort to cut off Sievierodonetsk. The next two or three days will be significant.” Read more
@nytimes
Russian forces are fighting to complete an encirclement of Sievierodonetsk and may completely cut it off in the coming days, the governor of the region that includes the city said on Sunday, suggesting that a major goal of Moscow’s revised military campaign, fought over for weeks, could soon be achieved.
The Ukrainian government has poured troops and resources into its effort to hold on to Sievierodonetsk, a strategically important, industrial city and the last major urban center in Luhansk that has not yet fallen. Russia’s forces are trying to capture all of the wider Donbas region, which includes Luhansk, and where it has held significant territory since 2014.
“The situation in Sievierodonetsk is extremely difficult,” the regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, said on Telegram. “The Russians are making every effort to cut off Sievierodonetsk. The next two or three days will be significant.” Read more
@nytimes
😢144👍37❤14👎13🤔6