A Russian missile killed 59 Ukrainian villagers — and divided the survivors
HROZA, Ukraine — A banner at the bus stop outside this grieving village in northeast Ukraine delivers a verdict — and a warning to would-be Russian informants.
“KILLERS HAVE A NAME,” it reads. “KILLED 59 FELLOW VILLAGERS FOR RUSSIAN MONEY.”
Photos show a victim’s limp, dirt-caked hands next to a portrait of former local police officer Volodymyr Mamon, the word “traitor” stamped in bright red letters across his face.
Ukraine’s security services have accused Mamon and his younger brother, Dmytro, who both fled to Russia in 2022, of coordinating a Russian missile strike last October on a cafe hosting a funeral reception in Hroza, their hometown, killing 59 — about one-fifth of the population.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities also charged the younger Mamon brother with treason for voluntarily working for Russian forces when they occupied Hroza and the surrounding area.
Read the full story here.
HROZA, Ukraine — A banner at the bus stop outside this grieving village in northeast Ukraine delivers a verdict — and a warning to would-be Russian informants.
“KILLERS HAVE A NAME,” it reads. “KILLED 59 FELLOW VILLAGERS FOR RUSSIAN MONEY.”
Photos show a victim’s limp, dirt-caked hands next to a portrait of former local police officer Volodymyr Mamon, the word “traitor” stamped in bright red letters across his face.
Ukraine’s security services have accused Mamon and his younger brother, Dmytro, who both fled to Russia in 2022, of coordinating a Russian missile strike last October on a cafe hosting a funeral reception in Hroza, their hometown, killing 59 — about one-fifth of the population.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities also charged the younger Mamon brother with treason for voluntarily working for Russian forces when they occupied Hroza and the surrounding area.
Read the full story here.
What the Pentagon has learned from two years of war in Ukraine
The U.S. military is undertaking an expansive revision of its approach to war fighting, having largely abandoned the counterinsurgency playbook that was a hallmark of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan to focus instead on preparing for an even larger conflict with more sophisticated adversaries such as Russia or China.
What’s transpired in Ukraine, where this week the war enters its third year with hundreds of thousands dead or wounded on both sides and still no end in sight, has made clear to the Pentagon that battlefield calculations have fundamentally changed in the years since it last deployed forces in large numbers. Precision weapons, fleets of drones and digital surveillance can reach far beyond the front lines, posing grave risk to personnel wherever they are.
Read the full story here.
The U.S. military is undertaking an expansive revision of its approach to war fighting, having largely abandoned the counterinsurgency playbook that was a hallmark of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan to focus instead on preparing for an even larger conflict with more sophisticated adversaries such as Russia or China.
What’s transpired in Ukraine, where this week the war enters its third year with hundreds of thousands dead or wounded on both sides and still no end in sight, has made clear to the Pentagon that battlefield calculations have fundamentally changed in the years since it last deployed forces in large numbers. Precision weapons, fleets of drones and digital surveillance can reach far beyond the front lines, posing grave risk to personnel wherever they are.
Read the full story here.
Two years of war in Ukraine, seen through its leader’s biggest moments
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, expecting a quick and painless victory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, often clad in camouflage, has become one of the world’s most recognizable leaders — marshaling his country’s improbably strong and successful defense, and, in his gravelly voice, imploring other nations to help.
Though Zelensky was initially skeptical of warnings from Washington that Russia was about to invade, he stayed put when Russian troops began to attack from the north and the east aiming to seize Kyiv, the capital, and to kill him. He gave emotional speeches that helped secure massive military and financial support from abroad.
Read the full story here.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, expecting a quick and painless victory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, often clad in camouflage, has become one of the world’s most recognizable leaders — marshaling his country’s improbably strong and successful defense, and, in his gravelly voice, imploring other nations to help.
Though Zelensky was initially skeptical of warnings from Washington that Russia was about to invade, he stayed put when Russian troops began to attack from the north and the east aiming to seize Kyiv, the capital, and to kill him. He gave emotional speeches that helped secure massive military and financial support from abroad.
Read the full story here.
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Five maps show where the war in Ukraine stands after two years
Russia’s war in Ukraine has stalled over the past year, with neither side making any huge gains along the hundreds-of-miles-long front line. Attacks including missile strikes, drone strikes and shelling from both Ukrainian and Russian forces remain concentrated in the same general areas they were mired in at the end of 2022.
But the fighting has intensified, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which has been tracking such incidents throughout the war. The organization recorded 9,700 battle events — armed clashes, or the takeover or recovery of territory — in the second year of the war, a 32 percent increase compared with the first year. It said the increase was mainly due to increased fighting in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, both of which Ukraine focused on in its failed counteroffensive.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has stalled over the past year, with neither side making any huge gains along the hundreds-of-miles-long front line. Attacks including missile strikes, drone strikes and shelling from both Ukrainian and Russian forces remain concentrated in the same general areas they were mired in at the end of 2022.
But the fighting has intensified, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which has been tracking such incidents throughout the war. The organization recorded 9,700 battle events — armed clashes, or the takeover or recovery of territory — in the second year of the war, a 32 percent increase compared with the first year. It said the increase was mainly due to increased fighting in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, both of which Ukraine focused on in its failed counteroffensive.
Read the full story here.
Frontline Ukrainian commander pleads with Senate leader Schumer for aid
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — As U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) led a congressional delegation to western Ukraine on Friday, a 31-year-old Ukrainian drone commander sat perched in a muddy foxhole in the country’s east, scanning his laptop screen for Russian targets.
Schumer and four other U.S. senators were in the western city of Lviv to meet with military leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting was a show of U.S. support as Republicans in Congress continue to block an aid package that would give Ukraine desperately needed military assistance as Russia’s invasion enters a third year.
On Feb. 13, the Senate approved a $95 billion package that would commit $60 billion to Ukraine, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) preemptively rejected the legislation and has refused to bring it up in the House.
Read the full story here.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — As U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) led a congressional delegation to western Ukraine on Friday, a 31-year-old Ukrainian drone commander sat perched in a muddy foxhole in the country’s east, scanning his laptop screen for Russian targets.
Schumer and four other U.S. senators were in the western city of Lviv to meet with military leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting was a show of U.S. support as Republicans in Congress continue to block an aid package that would give Ukraine desperately needed military assistance as Russia’s invasion enters a third year.
On Feb. 13, the Senate approved a $95 billion package that would commit $60 billion to Ukraine, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) preemptively rejected the legislation and has refused to bring it up in the House.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian troops killed since Russian invasion
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since Russia invaded two years ago, marking the first time he has provided an official estimate of Ukraine’s military losses during the conflict.
Zelensky gave the figure at a news conference in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of the war.
“I don’t know if I have a right to tell you the numbers of our losses. Every single person is a tragedy,” he said, adding, “31,000 [members] of Ukraine’s military were killed during this war.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since Russia invaded two years ago, marking the first time he has provided an official estimate of Ukraine’s military losses during the conflict.
Zelensky gave the figure at a news conference in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of the war.
“I don’t know if I have a right to tell you the numbers of our losses. Every single person is a tragedy,” he said, adding, “31,000 [members] of Ukraine’s military were killed during this war.”
Read the full story here.
Aide to Navalny says prisoner swap was in the works before his death
Negotiations were underway on a prisoner exchange that would have involved swapping Alexei Navalny and two Americans for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany when the Russian opposition leader died in prison, one of his associates said Monday.
Maria Pevchikh, who chairs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a video address on YouTube that negotiations were in their final stages on Feb. 15 just before his death in the Polar Wolf prison colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Russia.
Read the full story here.
Negotiations were underway on a prisoner exchange that would have involved swapping Alexei Navalny and two Americans for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany when the Russian opposition leader died in prison, one of his associates said Monday.
Maria Pevchikh, who chairs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a video address on YouTube that negotiations were in their final stages on Feb. 15 just before his death in the Polar Wolf prison colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Russia.
Read the full story here.
With U.S. aid in doubt, Europe struggles to rearm Ukraine
SASTAMALA, Finland — The race to stave off disaster in Ukraine’s war against Russia is unfolding in the battle-scarred fields and forests of Eastern Europe and, in a small way, a quiet wooded area of southwest Finland.
Workers at this plant, which now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have increased their output of 155mm shells fourfold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The scramble here reflects an effort intensifying across the continent, as European nations seek to accelerate the production of weapons needed to sustain Ukraine’s battle against Kremlin forces and to harden their own defenses against what the continent’s leaders now see as a heightened Russian threat.
Read the full story here.
SASTAMALA, Finland — The race to stave off disaster in Ukraine’s war against Russia is unfolding in the battle-scarred fields and forests of Eastern Europe and, in a small way, a quiet wooded area of southwest Finland.
Workers at this plant, which now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have increased their output of 155mm shells fourfold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The scramble here reflects an effort intensifying across the continent, as European nations seek to accelerate the production of weapons needed to sustain Ukraine’s battle against Kremlin forces and to harden their own defenses against what the continent’s leaders now see as a heightened Russian threat.
Read the full story here.
Russian activist from Nobel-winning organization gets prison term
MOSCOW — Prominent Russian activist Oleg Orlov, leader of the Memorial human rights organization that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday for denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orlov, 70, a veteran human rights campaigner who worked as a hostage negotiator during the Chechen War in the 1990s, was initially fined $1,630 for “discrediting the armed forces” for a 2022 article in which he branded Russia a “fascist” regime and said that the army was committing “mass murder.” When he appealed the ruling, a Moscow court slapped him with an even more severe sentence.
The new penalty comes amid a crackdown on Russia’s pro-democracy activists and the death of the most prominent one, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison colony. His spokeswoman said Tuesday that no venue would agree to host his funeral this week.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Prominent Russian activist Oleg Orlov, leader of the Memorial human rights organization that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday for denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orlov, 70, a veteran human rights campaigner who worked as a hostage negotiator during the Chechen War in the 1990s, was initially fined $1,630 for “discrediting the armed forces” for a 2022 article in which he branded Russia a “fascist” regime and said that the army was committing “mass murder.” When he appealed the ruling, a Moscow court slapped him with an even more severe sentence.
The new penalty comes amid a crackdown on Russia’s pro-democracy activists and the death of the most prominent one, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison colony. His spokeswoman said Tuesday that no venue would agree to host his funeral this week.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Zelensky’s increasingly blunt comments about Trump
The relationship between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been one of intrigue and consequence from the start. What began with then-President Trump’s attempts to leverage Zelensky for political gain over Joe Biden in the 2020 election — the thing Trump was initially impeached for — has more recently involved candidate Trump’s efforts to kill two attempts at funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Through much of it, Zelensky has been mostly diplomatic toward the former and potentially future president who, regardless of the 2024 election results, holds considerable sway over the survival of Zelensky’s country.
But increasingly, Zelensky has apparently decided that diplomacy involves putting pressure on and, in some cases, directly criticizing Trump.
Read the full analysis here.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been one of intrigue and consequence from the start. What began with then-President Trump’s attempts to leverage Zelensky for political gain over Joe Biden in the 2020 election — the thing Trump was initially impeached for — has more recently involved candidate Trump’s efforts to kill two attempts at funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Through much of it, Zelensky has been mostly diplomatic toward the former and potentially future president who, regardless of the 2024 election results, holds considerable sway over the survival of Zelensky’s country.
But increasingly, Zelensky has apparently decided that diplomacy involves putting pressure on and, in some cases, directly criticizing Trump.
Read the full analysis here.
Navalny’s widow warns in E.U. speech of arrests at husband’s funeral
MOSCOW — Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, warned the European Parliament on Wednesday of possible arrests at her husband’s funeral, which is now set for Friday.
Wearing a somber black and white dress, Navalnaya went on to chastise Western politicians and officials for their policies on Russia and Ukraine, and she implored them to change their tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin and treat him not as a statesman but as a mafia leader.
She spoke on the same day that Navalny’s supporters were finally able to find a venue for his funeral. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media that the ceremony would take place in his home district of Maryino, on the southwestern edge of Moscow, at 2 p.m. Friday and that he would then be buried in Borisov Cemetery.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, warned the European Parliament on Wednesday of possible arrests at her husband’s funeral, which is now set for Friday.
Wearing a somber black and white dress, Navalnaya went on to chastise Western politicians and officials for their policies on Russia and Ukraine, and she implored them to change their tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin and treat him not as a statesman but as a mafia leader.
She spoke on the same day that Navalny’s supporters were finally able to find a venue for his funeral. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media that the ceremony would take place in his home district of Maryino, on the southwestern edge of Moscow, at 2 p.m. Friday and that he would then be buried in Borisov Cemetery.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Foreign troops in Ukraine? They’re already there.
Kyiv has suffered recent battlefield setbacks as it grapples with shortages in munitions and workforce. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had earlier suggested that there were European countries “prepared to send their own troops to Ukraine” — a revelation that was put to other European officials in attendance.
Officials from the United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and a number of other NATO countries all dismissed the suggestion that they were considering sending troops. But French President Emmanuel Macron chose “strategic ambiguity” and stressed the importance of not allowing Russia to win the war.
Leaked documents last year confirmed that some NATO countries — including the United States, Britain and France — had deployed small numbers of special forces and military advisers to Ukraine in unspecified roles probably related to logistical support work and training.
Read the full analysis here.
Kyiv has suffered recent battlefield setbacks as it grapples with shortages in munitions and workforce. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had earlier suggested that there were European countries “prepared to send their own troops to Ukraine” — a revelation that was put to other European officials in attendance.
Officials from the United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and a number of other NATO countries all dismissed the suggestion that they were considering sending troops. But French President Emmanuel Macron chose “strategic ambiguity” and stressed the importance of not allowing Russia to win the war.
Leaked documents last year confirmed that some NATO countries — including the United States, Britain and France — had deployed small numbers of special forces and military advisers to Ukraine in unspecified roles probably related to logistical support work and training.
Read the full analysis here.
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Putin threatens nuclear response to NATO troops if they go to Ukraine
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday to take aim at the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries if they send forces to help defend Ukraine from a Russian victory.
In a speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly that was predominantly dedicated to the economy, Putin delivered a tough warning, threatening retaliatory strikes against the West in the event of attacks on Russian territory.
“They must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” he said, warning of “tragic consequences” if NATO forces were ever deployed to Ukraine. “All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?”
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday to take aim at the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries if they send forces to help defend Ukraine from a Russian victory.
In a speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly that was predominantly dedicated to the economy, Putin delivered a tough warning, threatening retaliatory strikes against the West in the event of attacks on Russian territory.
“They must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” he said, warning of “tragic consequences” if NATO forces were ever deployed to Ukraine. “All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?”
Read the full story here.