In time of war, Russia turns up aggression on transgender citizens
When Russian authorities took away Yan Dvorkin’s 10-year-old adopted son last spring, there was nothing he could do but shout in frustration. His crime? He was a transgender, nonbinary person, married to a man.
The family had fallen afoul of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vehement obsessions, his rejection of what he sees as Western “degradation and degeneration,” in particular transgender people, leading to a raft of repressive laws and, according to LGBTQ+ activists, rising street violence against transgender people.
Putin has framed the Ukraine invasion as a war against “Satanists,” liberal Western values, and “parent number one and parent number two.” His venom is echoed by everyone from state television propagandists to politicians and, as the war has ground on, Russia has witnessed increasingly harsh measures against these groups.
Read the full story here.
When Russian authorities took away Yan Dvorkin’s 10-year-old adopted son last spring, there was nothing he could do but shout in frustration. His crime? He was a transgender, nonbinary person, married to a man.
The family had fallen afoul of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vehement obsessions, his rejection of what he sees as Western “degradation and degeneration,” in particular transgender people, leading to a raft of repressive laws and, according to LGBTQ+ activists, rising street violence against transgender people.
Putin has framed the Ukraine invasion as a war against “Satanists,” liberal Western values, and “parent number one and parent number two.” His venom is echoed by everyone from state television propagandists to politicians and, as the war has ground on, Russia has witnessed increasingly harsh measures against these groups.
Read the full story here.
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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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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 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.
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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.
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.
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 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.