Russia unleashes missile barrage at Ukraine as holiday airstrikes persist
KHARKIV — Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with an overnight assault of drones and missiles on Tuesday, extending a vicious wave of holiday-season strikes on population centers by Moscow and Kyiv that has left dozens of civilians dead and suggests a brutal new stage of the war that is being felt well beyond the stagnating front lines.
In Kyiv, there were loud explosions shortly after 7 a.m. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Telegram that one woman died and 49 people were injured after a fire broke out in a high-rise building “as the result of the missile attack” and that electricity and water were cut off in some areas of the capital.
Klitschko said that “civilian infrastructure” in two regions of the capital had been damaged and that fires broke out in numerous locations, including a warehouse in Kyiv’s Podil district.
Read the full story here.
KHARKIV — Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with an overnight assault of drones and missiles on Tuesday, extending a vicious wave of holiday-season strikes on population centers by Moscow and Kyiv that has left dozens of civilians dead and suggests a brutal new stage of the war that is being felt well beyond the stagnating front lines.
In Kyiv, there were loud explosions shortly after 7 a.m. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Telegram that one woman died and 49 people were injured after a fire broke out in a high-rise building “as the result of the missile attack” and that electricity and water were cut off in some areas of the capital.
Klitschko said that “civilian infrastructure” in two regions of the capital had been damaged and that fires broke out in numerous locations, including a warehouse in Kyiv’s Podil district.
Read the full story here.
In Kharkiv, ambulance crews await shelling — and a new year of war
At a medic base an hour’s drive from the Russian border, Iryna Peshykova waited for the new year to arrive — and with it, more explosions, more carnage.
The ambulance out back was already running, ready to go as the clock ticked closer to midnight, bringing her country into a third year of war with no end in sight. It was New Year’s Eve and Peshykova, 40, knew that she’d be among the first to bear witness to the fallout.
She’d seen Russia bombard Ukraine — firing more than 150 missiles and drones on Friday in one of the largest attacks since invading in February 2022.
The tit for tat shelling foreshadowed a long winter to come as the counteroffensive ground to a halt and soldiers dug into front lines that barely budged. Like in the trenches, morale at the medic base was low. The group was the first to confront the human damage done by missiles in Kharkiv, hoping victims would survive the race to the hospital.
Read the full story here.
At a medic base an hour’s drive from the Russian border, Iryna Peshykova waited for the new year to arrive — and with it, more explosions, more carnage.
The ambulance out back was already running, ready to go as the clock ticked closer to midnight, bringing her country into a third year of war with no end in sight. It was New Year’s Eve and Peshykova, 40, knew that she’d be among the first to bear witness to the fallout.
She’d seen Russia bombard Ukraine — firing more than 150 missiles and drones on Friday in one of the largest attacks since invading in February 2022.
The tit for tat shelling foreshadowed a long winter to come as the counteroffensive ground to a halt and soldiers dug into front lines that barely budged. Like in the trenches, morale at the medic base was low. The group was the first to confront the human damage done by missiles in Kharkiv, hoping victims would survive the race to the hospital.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine and Russia exchange nearly 500 prisoners of war
KYIV — Ukraine and Russia exchanged nearly 500 prisoners of war Wednesday — including Ukrainian service members taken prisoner during fighting at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol and Snake Island in the Black Sea — a sign that talks between Kyiv and Moscow continue, even as the two sides appear frozen in peace negotiations.
It was the largest trade since Russian forces invaded the country nearly two years ago, Ukraine’s coordinating headquarters for POW issues said in a post on Telegram. Officials from the United Arab Emirates helped mediate the process, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian officials said that 230 of their service members returned home, while Russians said 248 of theirs had been released. Neither set of figures could be independently verified.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukraine and Russia exchanged nearly 500 prisoners of war Wednesday — including Ukrainian service members taken prisoner during fighting at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol and Snake Island in the Black Sea — a sign that talks between Kyiv and Moscow continue, even as the two sides appear frozen in peace negotiations.
It was the largest trade since Russian forces invaded the country nearly two years ago, Ukraine’s coordinating headquarters for POW issues said in a post on Telegram. Officials from the United Arab Emirates helped mediate the process, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian officials said that 230 of their service members returned home, while Russians said 248 of theirs had been released. Neither set of figures could be independently verified.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine Marines recount deadly mission to free towns east of Dnieper River
KHERSON, Ukraine — On the morning of his first crossing of the Dnieper River — where his unit was being sent in a desperate effort to claw back occupied land from Russia — the 21-year-old Ukrainian marine woke up “ready to die.”
With their counteroffensive stalled, Ukraine’s military and political leaders were eager to show their Western backers some progress — any progress. But the 21-year-old marine, Dmytro recounted fording a river of death for little reward, aside from some political messaging.
Dmytro described being “tossed like a piece of meat to the wolves” during the crossing, which takes 30 minutes to an hour. His account was corroborated by six others involved in the operation to lodge a toehold on the river’s Russian-occupied east bank.
“We bear many losses,” said another marine, 22. “We simply lose people, but there is no result.”
Read the full story here.
KHERSON, Ukraine — On the morning of his first crossing of the Dnieper River — where his unit was being sent in a desperate effort to claw back occupied land from Russia — the 21-year-old Ukrainian marine woke up “ready to die.”
With their counteroffensive stalled, Ukraine’s military and political leaders were eager to show their Western backers some progress — any progress. But the 21-year-old marine, Dmytro recounted fording a river of death for little reward, aside from some political messaging.
Dmytro described being “tossed like a piece of meat to the wolves” during the crossing, which takes 30 minutes to an hour. His account was corroborated by six others involved in the operation to lodge a toehold on the river’s Russian-occupied east bank.
“We bear many losses,” said another marine, 22. “We simply lose people, but there is no result.”
Read the full story here.
Russia fires missiles supplied by North Korea into Ukraine, says U.S. intelligence
Russia has begun firing ballistic missiles into Ukraine that were provided by North Korea, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive U.S. intelligence.
Russia’s deployment of North Korean ballistic missiles, which has not been previously reported, indicates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s growing support for Moscow’s war effort.
It also shows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to lean on pariah countries to make up for deficiencies in his own arsenal as the war in Ukraine approaches its third calendar year.
“Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment,” said a U.S. official, who partially attributed Russia’s limited options to sanctions imposed by Washington.
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Russia has begun firing ballistic missiles into Ukraine that were provided by North Korea, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive U.S. intelligence.
Russia’s deployment of North Korean ballistic missiles, which has not been previously reported, indicates North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s growing support for Moscow’s war effort.
It also shows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to lean on pariah countries to make up for deficiencies in his own arsenal as the war in Ukraine approaches its third calendar year.
“Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and been forced to look to like-minded states for military equipment,” said a U.S. official, who partially attributed Russia’s limited options to sanctions imposed by Washington.
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Russian strike kills 11, including children, Ukraine says
KYIV — At least 11 people were killed, including five children, after a Russian missile struck a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. Another eight people were injured, and emergency workers continued to dig through the rubble late Saturday, searching for survivors.
The early evening strike, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was fired from an S-300 missile system, is the latest amid an escalation in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in the past 10 days. Other major attacks in recent days struck Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and other Ukrainian cities, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
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KYIV — At least 11 people were killed, including five children, after a Russian missile struck a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. Another eight people were injured, and emergency workers continued to dig through the rubble late Saturday, searching for survivors.
The early evening strike, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was fired from an S-300 missile system, is the latest amid an escalation in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in the past 10 days. Other major attacks in recent days struck Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and other Ukrainian cities, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
Read the full story here.
She’s 16. The war in Ukraine wrecked her city — and her childhood.
IZYUM, Ukraine — Newly 16, she likes to walk alone, hands shoved in pockets, music loud in her ears, for mile after mile.
If Kate Kobets walks far enough, she can escape into her own world. It is a place where her childhood hasn’t been destroyed — her home loud with war, her soldier stepfather locked away as a Russian prisoner of war, she and her mom confined to a bomb shelter for much of the year after she turned 14.
She is part of a generation of Ukrainian teenagers living through a conflict entering its third year with no end in sight. Raised during a pandemic — then through gunfire and bloodshed — Kate, like many of her peers, is unsure what it means for her future. She knows she is luckier than some of her friends — who have lost their homes or even their lives. Still, it is difficult to make sense of it all.
Read the full story here.
IZYUM, Ukraine — Newly 16, she likes to walk alone, hands shoved in pockets, music loud in her ears, for mile after mile.
If Kate Kobets walks far enough, she can escape into her own world. It is a place where her childhood hasn’t been destroyed — her home loud with war, her soldier stepfather locked away as a Russian prisoner of war, she and her mom confined to a bomb shelter for much of the year after she turned 14.
She is part of a generation of Ukrainian teenagers living through a conflict entering its third year with no end in sight. Raised during a pandemic — then through gunfire and bloodshed — Kate, like many of her peers, is unsure what it means for her future. She knows she is luckier than some of her friends — who have lost their homes or even their lives. Still, it is difficult to make sense of it all.
Read the full story here.
Opinion | Yaroslav Trofimov: How the best chance to win the Ukraine war was lost
By November 2022, the Ukrainian offensive had run out of steam. There was no massive resupply of artillery ammunition, and Kyiv’s pleas for Western tanks and fighting vehicles kept getting turned down. Meanwhile, Russia’s new commander for the war, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, had hundreds of thousands of fresh troops at his disposal. Ukraine’s advantage in manpower was over. Surovikin ordered these men to spend the winter digging, creating nearly impregnable fortifications along the entire front line.
All the hardware that Ukraine was begging for in 2022 — Leopard and Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Strykers, and Patriot batteries — was eventually provided the following year. “A mountain of steel,” is how U.S. officials termed it.
But, by then, it was a different war. The Ukrainian offensives of 2023 gained little ground against an entrenched, prepared and more numerous enemy.
Read the full op-ed here.
By November 2022, the Ukrainian offensive had run out of steam. There was no massive resupply of artillery ammunition, and Kyiv’s pleas for Western tanks and fighting vehicles kept getting turned down. Meanwhile, Russia’s new commander for the war, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, had hundreds of thousands of fresh troops at his disposal. Ukraine’s advantage in manpower was over. Surovikin ordered these men to spend the winter digging, creating nearly impregnable fortifications along the entire front line.
All the hardware that Ukraine was begging for in 2022 — Leopard and Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Strykers, and Patriot batteries — was eventually provided the following year. “A mountain of steel,” is how U.S. officials termed it.
But, by then, it was a different war. The Ukrainian offensives of 2023 gained little ground against an entrenched, prepared and more numerous enemy.
Read the full op-ed here.
A Ukrainian lioness concussed in a missile attack needs a new home
CHUBYNSKE, Ukraine — Yuna the lioness lay in the corner of her outdoor enclosure, completely still.
Fragments of a Russian missile, shot out of the sky that morning on its way to Kyiv, sat nearby.
As the veterinarian tried to coax her toward the fence, Yuna’s eyes shifted only horizontally. She didn’t let out her usual growl; she didn’t want food. When she tried to stand up, she collapsed. “She just couldn’t move,” said the vet, Inna Vasylkivska, describing how on Jan. 2 she diagnosed the 2-year-old lioness with a severe concussion.
Ramped-up Russian airstrikes have killed dozens of people and wounded many more in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities over the past two weeks. The increased assaults, paired with doubts about future U.S. support, have stoked anxiety across the country that this will be an especially violent winter. And humans aren’t the only ones in danger.
Read the full story here.
CHUBYNSKE, Ukraine — Yuna the lioness lay in the corner of her outdoor enclosure, completely still.
Fragments of a Russian missile, shot out of the sky that morning on its way to Kyiv, sat nearby.
As the veterinarian tried to coax her toward the fence, Yuna’s eyes shifted only horizontally. She didn’t let out her usual growl; she didn’t want food. When she tried to stand up, she collapsed. “She just couldn’t move,” said the vet, Inna Vasylkivska, describing how on Jan. 2 she diagnosed the 2-year-old lioness with a severe concussion.
Ramped-up Russian airstrikes have killed dozens of people and wounded many more in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities over the past two weeks. The increased assaults, paired with doubts about future U.S. support, have stoked anxiety across the country that this will be an especially violent winter. And humans aren’t the only ones in danger.
Read the full story here.