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.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok, a city in far-eastern Russia close to the Chinese and North Korean borders.
- Russia launched four strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring five people, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.
- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, becoming the first civilian vessels to use a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Saturday.
- A Ukrainian minister vowed there would be further attacks on Russian warships.
More live updates here.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok, a city in far-eastern Russia close to the Chinese and North Korean borders.
- Russia launched four strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring five people, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.
- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, becoming the first civilian vessels to use a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Saturday.
- A Ukrainian minister vowed there would be further attacks on Russian warships.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, the first civilian vessels to travel through a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia.
- Poland will ban Russian-registered cars from entering its borders starting Sunday, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced.
- Jewish pilgrims have gathered in central Ukraine to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which began at sunset on Friday and ends Sunday at sundown.
- An apartment in Crimea owned by Zelensky is among 100 properties on the peninsula that Russian authorities there plan to sell, according to an announcement Saturday by Volodymyr Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea’s parliament.
- Defense firms from 21 countries will participate in Ukraine’s upcoming Defense Industries Forum, Zelensky said in his nightly address Saturday.
More live updates here.
- Two merchant ships approached Ukrainian ports on Saturday, the first civilian vessels to travel through a temporary shipping corridor in the Black Sea following the collapse of a grain deal with Russia.
- Poland will ban Russian-registered cars from entering its borders starting Sunday, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced.
- Jewish pilgrims have gathered in central Ukraine to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which began at sunset on Friday and ends Sunday at sundown.
- An apartment in Crimea owned by Zelensky is among 100 properties on the peninsula that Russian authorities there plan to sell, according to an announcement Saturday by Volodymyr Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea’s parliament.
- Defense firms from 21 countries will participate in Ukraine’s upcoming Defense Industries Forum, Zelensky said in his nightly address Saturday.
More live updates here.
Opinion | Walter Isaacson: How Elon Musk provided pivotal help to Ukraine — until he didn’t
An hour before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, it used a massive malware attack to disable the routers of the U.S. satellite company Viasat that provided communications to the country. The command system of the Ukrainian military was crippled, making it almost impossible to mount a defense. Ukrainian officials frantically appealed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk for help, and the deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, used Twitter to urge him to send Ukraine terminals so it could use the satellite system that the company had built.
Ever since he was a socially awkward kid, Musk has liked to imagine himself as a hero. The war in Ukraine gave him an opportunity to show his humanitarian instincts while playing superhero. It also showed the complexities of critical military infrastructure being controlled by a private citizen.
Read the full op-ed, excerpted from Isaacson's latest book, “Elon Musk,” here.
An hour before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, it used a massive malware attack to disable the routers of the U.S. satellite company Viasat that provided communications to the country. The command system of the Ukrainian military was crippled, making it almost impossible to mount a defense. Ukrainian officials frantically appealed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk for help, and the deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, used Twitter to urge him to send Ukraine terminals so it could use the satellite system that the company had built.
Ever since he was a socially awkward kid, Musk has liked to imagine himself as a hero. The war in Ukraine gave him an opportunity to show his humanitarian instincts while playing superhero. It also showed the complexities of critical military infrastructure being controlled by a private citizen.
Read the full op-ed, excerpted from Isaacson's latest book, “Elon Musk,” here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The retaking of the village of Klishchiivka could be an important development for Ukraine’s prospects in the country’s east, where Russian forces seized control of the destroyed city of Bakhmut this year after months of bloody fighting.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to New York and Washington this week to appeal for more assistance, with a visit to Capitol Hill tentatively expected Thursday.
- Recent drone strikes in Russia were a message from Ukraine that Russia’s airspace is “not as well protected as you think,” Zelensky said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” though he denied having personally ordered those attacks.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed from the city of Vladivostok after concluding his six-day trip to Russia, the North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.
More live updates here.
- The retaking of the village of Klishchiivka could be an important development for Ukraine’s prospects in the country’s east, where Russian forces seized control of the destroyed city of Bakhmut this year after months of bloody fighting.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to New York and Washington this week to appeal for more assistance, with a visit to Capitol Hill tentatively expected Thursday.
- Recent drone strikes in Russia were a message from Ukraine that Russia’s airspace is “not as well protected as you think,” Zelensky said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” though he denied having personally ordered those attacks.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed from the city of Vladivostok after concluding his six-day trip to Russia, the North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.
More live updates here.
Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky under pressure in criminal cases
KYIV — Ihor Kolomoisky once owned Ukraine’s richest bank, a TV station that carried a popular show starring a comedian named Volodymyr Zelensky, and fielded a private militia to defend his home city of Dnipro when it was under threat from Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
Today, he sits behind bars, awaiting the outcome of two investigations and at risk of losing everything.
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities have opened a series of cases against Kolomoisky in the last two weeks — the most recent on Friday, as the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said it was investigating him for allegedly embezzling some $160 million.
The news came to Kolomoisky as he sat in a pretrial detention center in Kyiv. Earlier this month, the SBU said in a statement that it was investigating him for fraud and laundering more than $14 million between 2013 and 2020.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ihor Kolomoisky once owned Ukraine’s richest bank, a TV station that carried a popular show starring a comedian named Volodymyr Zelensky, and fielded a private militia to defend his home city of Dnipro when it was under threat from Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
Today, he sits behind bars, awaiting the outcome of two investigations and at risk of losing everything.
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities have opened a series of cases against Kolomoisky in the last two weeks — the most recent on Friday, as the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said it was investigating him for allegedly embezzling some $160 million.
The news came to Kolomoisky as he sat in a pretrial detention center in Kyiv. Earlier this month, the SBU said in a statement that it was investigating him for fraud and laundering more than $14 million between 2013 and 2020.
Read the full story here.
Biden, at U.N., faces a tough sell on extending support for Ukraine
NEW YORK — President Biden has a clear agenda for this week’s annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly here in New York: Maintain robust global support for Ukraine.
But executing on that will be difficult — particularly this year.
Ukrainian officials had hoped to ride into New York this week touting major gains in their summer counteroffensive, but Russia’s entrenched forces have stymied efforts to achieve a major breakthrough, and both sides continue to sustain heavy casualties.
The conflict’s toll on food and energy prices has accelerated calls in the developing world for a negotiated settlement. And support among the American public has been slipping as a segment of the Republican Party criticizes the war effort’s estimated $73 billion price tag.
Read the full story here.
NEW YORK — President Biden has a clear agenda for this week’s annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly here in New York: Maintain robust global support for Ukraine.
But executing on that will be difficult — particularly this year.
Ukrainian officials had hoped to ride into New York this week touting major gains in their summer counteroffensive, but Russia’s entrenched forces have stymied efforts to achieve a major breakthrough, and both sides continue to sustain heavy casualties.
The conflict’s toll on food and energy prices has accelerated calls in the developing world for a negotiated settlement. And support among the American public has been slipping as a segment of the Republican Party criticizes the war effort’s estimated $73 billion price tag.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine ousts more defense officials and decries grain ban by E.U. neighbors
KYIV — A wide-ranging overhaul of Ukraine’s defense ministry continued Monday as all six deputy defense ministers were dismissed, two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced the top minister amid investigations into overspending and corruption.
The shake-up will allow the new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the opportunity to install his own team. No specific reason was given for the removals.
Ukrainian forces have been making incremental gains in their counteroffensive to break through Russian lines, but the grinding pace of the operation has raised some concerns in the West that Kyiv will not achieve its objectives this year, despite billions in donated weapons and other military aid.
Meanwhile, defense ministry officials have been accused of graft in the country’s military recruiting system and of overspending in the procurement of food and supplies.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — A wide-ranging overhaul of Ukraine’s defense ministry continued Monday as all six deputy defense ministers were dismissed, two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced the top minister amid investigations into overspending and corruption.
The shake-up will allow the new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the opportunity to install his own team. No specific reason was given for the removals.
Ukrainian forces have been making incremental gains in their counteroffensive to break through Russian lines, but the grinding pace of the operation has raised some concerns in the West that Kyiv will not achieve its objectives this year, despite billions in donated weapons and other military aid.
Meanwhile, defense ministry officials have been accused of graft in the country’s military recruiting system and of overspending in the procurement of food and supplies.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine’s cabinet dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar from her post, along with six other top officials in the Defense Ministry, according to an update Monday shared on Telegram.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to lobby for more support for Ukraine when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly meetings that start Tuesday in New York.
- A damaged drone carrying explosives was discovered in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Tyulenovo on Sunday, the government in Sofia said Monday.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to extend an embargo on imports from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.
- Ukraine’s air force said it downed 17 cruise missiles over central and western Ukraine that were fired by Russian aircraft overnight.
- Ukrainian forces are hoping the recapture of the village of Klishchiivka will position them to pursue control of the nearby eastern city of Bakhmut.
More live updates here.
- Ukraine’s cabinet dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar from her post, along with six other top officials in the Defense Ministry, according to an update Monday shared on Telegram.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to lobby for more support for Ukraine when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly meetings that start Tuesday in New York.
- A damaged drone carrying explosives was discovered in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Tyulenovo on Sunday, the government in Sofia said Monday.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to extend an embargo on imports from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.
- Ukraine’s air force said it downed 17 cruise missiles over central and western Ukraine that were fired by Russian aircraft overnight.
- Ukrainian forces are hoping the recapture of the village of Klishchiivka will position them to pursue control of the nearby eastern city of Bakhmut.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address fellow world leaders at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, his first in-person visit since the invasion began, as he aims to galvanize support for his embattled country and promote Ukraine’s food security, defense and recovery initiatives. President Biden will also speak at the meeting ahead of Zelensky.
- Germany will prepare a new military and humanitarian assistance package for Ukraine worth about $427 million, according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
- A Russian national accused of smuggling U.S.-sourced dual microelectronics that can be used for rifle scopes, night-vision goggles and thermal optics was arrested, the Justice Department said in a news release.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address fellow world leaders at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, his first in-person visit since the invasion began, as he aims to galvanize support for his embattled country and promote Ukraine’s food security, defense and recovery initiatives. President Biden will also speak at the meeting ahead of Zelensky.
- Germany will prepare a new military and humanitarian assistance package for Ukraine worth about $427 million, according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
- A Russian national accused of smuggling U.S.-sourced dual microelectronics that can be used for rifle scopes, night-vision goggles and thermal optics was arrested, the Justice Department said in a news release.
More live updates here.
A glimpse of Ukraine's ruins
Orikhiv, an important juncture for Ukrainian soldiers heading into the counteroffensive fight, has been reduced to a skeleton of its former self by Russia’s invasion. |Russian artillery for months bombarded the small town in southern Ukraine, forcing many residents to flee or take shelter underground, where life and even city business goes on.
These photos, taken by Wojciech Grzedzinski from a U.S.-supplied Humvee driving along the deserted roads in Orikhiv and Novodanylivka, a nearby village liberated by Ukrainian forces in June, provide a glimpse of scenes common in communities along the front lines.
Read the full story here.
Orikhiv, an important juncture for Ukrainian soldiers heading into the counteroffensive fight, has been reduced to a skeleton of its former self by Russia’s invasion. |Russian artillery for months bombarded the small town in southern Ukraine, forcing many residents to flee or take shelter underground, where life and even city business goes on.
These photos, taken by Wojciech Grzedzinski from a U.S.-supplied Humvee driving along the deserted roads in Orikhiv and Novodanylivka, a nearby village liberated by Ukrainian forces in June, provide a glimpse of scenes common in communities along the front lines.
Read the full story here.