Ukrainian attacks on supply lines slowed Russians in Kharkiv, intercepts show
Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines have left Russian units scrambling for food, water and ammunition, blunting Moscow’s renewed invasion into Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian field commanders who shared radio and phone intercepts.
The intercepts and extensive interviews with 10 Ukrainian commanders and troops operating across the front line in Kharkiv paint a picture of increasingly desperate Russian ground troops who are losing personnel and momentum after reinvading across the border in May.
In the transcript of one radio conversation, intercepted in June and shared with The Post, a Russian soldier orders another to ensure incoming troops responsible for carrying supplies understand that there is a dire shortage of food and water.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines have left Russian units scrambling for food, water and ammunition, blunting Moscow’s renewed invasion into Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian field commanders who shared radio and phone intercepts.
The intercepts and extensive interviews with 10 Ukrainian commanders and troops operating across the front line in Kharkiv paint a picture of increasingly desperate Russian ground troops who are losing personnel and momentum after reinvading across the border in May.
In the transcript of one radio conversation, intercepted in June and shared with The Post, a Russian soldier orders another to ensure incoming troops responsible for carrying supplies understand that there is a dire shortage of food and water.
Read the full story here.
Missile strike on Kyiv children’s hospital sparks call for more air defenses
Devastating Russian missile attacks Monday that killed at least 37 people across Ukraine and destroyed a Kyiv children’s hospital have intensified fears that Ukraine’s air defenses remain insufficient and that Moscow will continue exploiting weaknesses, officials said Tuesday.
“Ukraine needs more weapons. We don’t have enough,” Yuriy Ignat, head of the press office of Ukraine’s air force, said in a telephone interview. “The fact that rockets are hitting Kyiv from all different directions is because we need enough equipment to shoot them down.”
“Air defense is a theme that is discussed every day with our partners as something that must be strengthened,” he added.
According to Ukrainian authorities, 33 out of 44 missiles were intercepted during Monday’s attack.
Read the full story here.
Devastating Russian missile attacks Monday that killed at least 37 people across Ukraine and destroyed a Kyiv children’s hospital have intensified fears that Ukraine’s air defenses remain insufficient and that Moscow will continue exploiting weaknesses, officials said Tuesday.
“Ukraine needs more weapons. We don’t have enough,” Yuriy Ignat, head of the press office of Ukraine’s air force, said in a telephone interview. “The fact that rockets are hitting Kyiv from all different directions is because we need enough equipment to shoot them down.”
“Air defense is a theme that is discussed every day with our partners as something that must be strengthened,” he added.
According to Ukrainian authorities, 33 out of 44 missiles were intercepted during Monday’s attack.
Read the full story here.
NATO vows lasting support for Ukraine, but won’t promise membership
NATO leaders will unveil new steps to train and arm Ukraine at an alliance summit this week but will stop short of concrete advances toward its membership in the Western bloc, underscoring questions about how Kyiv can prevail in its grinding war against Russia.
President Biden will host leaders from more than 30 nations in the U.S. capital for a gathering marking the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as he and other leaders try to refocus attention away from Ukraine’s gloomy battlefield outlook and their own domestic challenges by highlighting ongoing alliance support for Kyiv.
The urgency of NATO’s task was starkly visible on Monday when Russian missiles slammed into a pediatric hospital and other sites in Kyiv, illustrating the need for air defense assets and other military hardware Ukraine requires to hold off a much larger, better-armed adversary.
Read the full story here.
NATO leaders will unveil new steps to train and arm Ukraine at an alliance summit this week but will stop short of concrete advances toward its membership in the Western bloc, underscoring questions about how Kyiv can prevail in its grinding war against Russia.
President Biden will host leaders from more than 30 nations in the U.S. capital for a gathering marking the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as he and other leaders try to refocus attention away from Ukraine’s gloomy battlefield outlook and their own domestic challenges by highlighting ongoing alliance support for Kyiv.
The urgency of NATO’s task was starkly visible on Monday when Russian missiles slammed into a pediatric hospital and other sites in Kyiv, illustrating the need for air defense assets and other military hardware Ukraine requires to hold off a much larger, better-armed adversary.
Read the full story here.
U.S. to provide more air defenses after missile strike on Kyiv children’s hospital
The United States and its allies have agreed to provide additional air defenses to Ukraine following devastating Russian missile attacks Monday that killed at least 38 people across Ukraine and destroyed a Kyiv children’s hospital.
On the first day of a NATO summit in Washington, President Biden unveiled plans to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities, including Patriot batteries and components and other advanced defense systems.
“I am grateful to our partners — the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Romania — for adopting a strong declaration in support of Ukraine’s air defense system to protect its people, cities, and critical infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post as he joined the NATO summit.
Read the full story here,
The United States and its allies have agreed to provide additional air defenses to Ukraine following devastating Russian missile attacks Monday that killed at least 38 people across Ukraine and destroyed a Kyiv children’s hospital.
On the first day of a NATO summit in Washington, President Biden unveiled plans to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities, including Patriot batteries and components and other advanced defense systems.
“I am grateful to our partners — the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Romania — for adopting a strong declaration in support of Ukraine’s air defense system to protect its people, cities, and critical infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post as he joined the NATO summit.
Read the full story here,
Russia orders arrest of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Putin’s nemesis
In a display of defiance by Russia’s largely obliterated political opposition, Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has called for President Vladimir Putin to be held accountable for her husband’s death, and lawyers for jailed Putin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, demanded that he be released from prison because of his failing health.
A Russian court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Navalnaya — an unlikely prospect given that she no longer lives in Russia and has not returned to the country since her husband died suddenly in an Arctic prison in February.
Navalnaya has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin personally of murdering her husband and repeated that charge in responding to her arrest order.
“When you write about this, please do not forget to write the main thing: Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal,” Navalnaya posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Read the full story here.
In a display of defiance by Russia’s largely obliterated political opposition, Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has called for President Vladimir Putin to be held accountable for her husband’s death, and lawyers for jailed Putin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, demanded that he be released from prison because of his failing health.
A Russian court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Navalnaya — an unlikely prospect given that she no longer lives in Russia and has not returned to the country since her husband died suddenly in an Arctic prison in February.
Navalnaya has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin personally of murdering her husband and repeated that charge in responding to her arrest order.
“When you write about this, please do not forget to write the main thing: Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal,” Navalnaya posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine’s first F-16s will see combat this summer, officials say
The first American-made F-16 fighter jets committed to Ukraine are being transferred and are expected to take to the skies this summer, U.S. and European officials announced Wednesday, saying the advanced warplanes soon will provide another tool for Kyiv’s beleaguered defense in the face of relentless Russian attacks.
An unspecified number of aircraft are en route from the Netherlands and Denmark, the nations’ leaders said in a joint statement with President Biden. The statement noted that the governments of Belgium and Norway have committed to donate others.
Ukraine is expected to field 60 F-16s eventually, officials have said, with a host of nations banding together to provide pilot training, weapons and logistical support.
Read the full story here.
The first American-made F-16 fighter jets committed to Ukraine are being transferred and are expected to take to the skies this summer, U.S. and European officials announced Wednesday, saying the advanced warplanes soon will provide another tool for Kyiv’s beleaguered defense in the face of relentless Russian attacks.
An unspecified number of aircraft are en route from the Netherlands and Denmark, the nations’ leaders said in a joint statement with President Biden. The statement noted that the governments of Belgium and Norway have committed to donate others.
Ukraine is expected to field 60 F-16s eventually, officials have said, with a host of nations banding together to provide pilot training, weapons and logistical support.
Read the full story here.
Russia deems Moscow Times ‘undesirable,’ putting writers, sources at risk
Russia has designated the Moscow Times, a leading English-language media outlet focused on covering Russia, as an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning its operations within the country and exposing anyone collaborating with it to potential criminal charges.
Russia’s prosecutor general’s office accused the outlet of “discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.”
Russian authorities have used the “undesirable” label to force independent media and civic organizations critical of the Kremlin from the country. Some of the strongest Russian investigative projects, such as Proekt, the Insider and Important Stories, have been similarly labeled in recent years, which severely limited their ability to report inside the country and exposed reporters and potentially their interview subjects to legal risks.
Read the full story here.
Russia has designated the Moscow Times, a leading English-language media outlet focused on covering Russia, as an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning its operations within the country and exposing anyone collaborating with it to potential criminal charges.
Russia’s prosecutor general’s office accused the outlet of “discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.”
Russian authorities have used the “undesirable” label to force independent media and civic organizations critical of the Kremlin from the country. Some of the strongest Russian investigative projects, such as Proekt, the Insider and Important Stories, have been similarly labeled in recent years, which severely limited their ability to report inside the country and exposed reporters and potentially their interview subjects to legal risks.
Read the full story here.
As mobilization rules kick in, some Ukrainian men pay to flee, dodging draft
As Ukraine prepares to ramp up military conscription to defend against Russia’s invasion — after a key deadline to register with recruitment offices passed this week — some men are dodging the draft preemptively by paying thousands of dollars for help to illegally leave the country.
Smugglers who assist with border crossings often charge more than $5,000, according to Ukrainian officials and men who have paid for the service. One man was driven by bus with others in masks to a forest. Guides then led them on foot to breach a fence at the Hungarian border.
Another man said that he and more than 20 other men walked more than 10 miles across difficult terrain and past surveillance posts, drones and even search dogs. One man could not keep up and was left behind.
Those caught often face exactly what they were hoping to avoid: military service.
Read the full story here.
As Ukraine prepares to ramp up military conscription to defend against Russia’s invasion — after a key deadline to register with recruitment offices passed this week — some men are dodging the draft preemptively by paying thousands of dollars for help to illegally leave the country.
Smugglers who assist with border crossings often charge more than $5,000, according to Ukrainian officials and men who have paid for the service. One man was driven by bus with others in masks to a forest. Guides then led them on foot to breach a fence at the Hungarian border.
Another man said that he and more than 20 other men walked more than 10 miles across difficult terrain and past surveillance posts, drones and even search dogs. One man could not keep up and was left behind.
Those caught often face exactly what they were hoping to avoid: military service.
Read the full story here.
Russian foreign minister confirms talks to free reporter Evan Gershkovich
As Russia’s trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich for alleged spying resumed this week, the country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, all but declared the Wall Street Journalist correspondent guilty — echoing earlier Kremlin remarks although authorities have not made public any evidence to support their allegations.
Lavrov on Wednesday confirmed that negotiations over an exchange for Gershkovich were underway, although Russian officials previously have said no trade would be possible until after his trial is complete. More than 99 percent of Russian criminal prosecutions result in convictions.
Read the full story here.
As Russia’s trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich for alleged spying resumed this week, the country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, all but declared the Wall Street Journalist correspondent guilty — echoing earlier Kremlin remarks although authorities have not made public any evidence to support their allegations.
Lavrov on Wednesday confirmed that negotiations over an exchange for Gershkovich were underway, although Russian officials previously have said no trade would be possible until after his trial is complete. More than 99 percent of Russian criminal prosecutions result in convictions.
Read the full story here.
Russian court convicts journalist Evan Gershkovich, imposes 16-year sentence
In a closed trial with secret evidence, a Russian court on Friday convicted American journalist Evan Gershkovich of espionage — charges that the U.S. government said were wholly fabricated — and sentenced him to 16 years in prison, according to Russian state media
The prosecution had requested an 18-year prison term on Friday, close to the 20-year maximum. Gershkovich was the first American journalists arrested in Russia since the Cold War and his case has grave implications for press freedoms.
The trial proceeded with unusual swiftness — suggesting potential developments in negotiations for a prisoner exchange. Trials for espionage in Russia typically take months.
Read the full story here.
In a closed trial with secret evidence, a Russian court on Friday convicted American journalist Evan Gershkovich of espionage — charges that the U.S. government said were wholly fabricated — and sentenced him to 16 years in prison, according to Russian state media
The prosecution had requested an 18-year prison term on Friday, close to the 20-year maximum. Gershkovich was the first American journalists arrested in Russia since the Cold War and his case has grave implications for press freedoms.
The trial proceeded with unusual swiftness — suggesting potential developments in negotiations for a prisoner exchange. Trials for espionage in Russia typically take months.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine confronts labor shortage as need for soldiers drains workforce
Were it not for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, Tatyiana Ustymenko wouldn’t have this job. The coal mine in Pavlohrad allowed women to work underground for the first time in its history only after Russia invaded in February 2022. It was desperate to fill the many vacancies left by men who joined the military.
The mine is not the only workplace experiencing a critical labor shortage. Online job portals in Ukraine say they have never advertised so many openings. Millions of Ukrainians moved abroad to escape Moscow’s brutal bombardment, and of those who stayed, hundreds of thousands of men have traded their jobs for military service.
Now, with Kyiv ramping up its mobilization efforts, businesses expect that workers will be even harder to find, further straining Ukraine’s crippled economy. With more openings than jobseekers, many businesses have had to raise wages to compete — or they risk shutting down.
Read the full story here.
Were it not for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, Tatyiana Ustymenko wouldn’t have this job. The coal mine in Pavlohrad allowed women to work underground for the first time in its history only after Russia invaded in February 2022. It was desperate to fill the many vacancies left by men who joined the military.
The mine is not the only workplace experiencing a critical labor shortage. Online job portals in Ukraine say they have never advertised so many openings. Millions of Ukrainians moved abroad to escape Moscow’s brutal bombardment, and of those who stayed, hundreds of thousands of men have traded their jobs for military service.
Now, with Kyiv ramping up its mobilization efforts, businesses expect that workers will be even harder to find, further straining Ukraine’s crippled economy. With more openings than jobseekers, many businesses have had to raise wages to compete — or they risk shutting down.
Read the full story here.
How one Chinese machine tool maker is helping Russia’s war against Ukraine
When NATO this month accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the bloc wasn’t referring to Chinese tanks, or ammunition, or troops.
The statement instead pointed to Chinese transfers of “dual use” equipment, like sophisticated machine tools, that have been used to make Russian weapons. China’s exports of those machine tools more than doubled last year, according to trade data collated by the United Nations.
One of the companies that has benefited from Russia’s hunger for these goods is a midsize laser machine tool company called Shandong Oree Laser Technology Co. — one of dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned last month.
Read the full story here.
When NATO this month accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the bloc wasn’t referring to Chinese tanks, or ammunition, or troops.
The statement instead pointed to Chinese transfers of “dual use” equipment, like sophisticated machine tools, that have been used to make Russian weapons. China’s exports of those machine tools more than doubled last year, according to trade data collated by the United Nations.
One of the companies that has benefited from Russia’s hunger for these goods is a midsize laser machine tool company called Shandong Oree Laser Technology Co. — one of dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned last month.
Read the full story here.
F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine but may not tip advantage against Russia
Long-awaited F-16 fighter jets are set to be flying in Ukraine within weeks, but Ukrainian and Western officials now caution that the aircraft, once championed by Kyiv as a game changer, are unlikely to make an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Russia is slowly advancing.
There are simply too few of the planes and too many Russian air defenses that can shoot them down. That means the first F-16s will likely serve to boost Ukraine’s air defenses — to shoot down aerial targets such as missiles, drones and aircraft — rather than strike Russia’s invading ground forces and other military assets near the front.
Officials have said that the planes, at least initially, are unlikely to fly too close to the front-line fighting, meaning it is unclear they will even be able to deter attacking enemy aircraft from crossing into Ukraine from Russian airspace.
Read the full story here.
Long-awaited F-16 fighter jets are set to be flying in Ukraine within weeks, but Ukrainian and Western officials now caution that the aircraft, once championed by Kyiv as a game changer, are unlikely to make an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Russia is slowly advancing.
There are simply too few of the planes and too many Russian air defenses that can shoot them down. That means the first F-16s will likely serve to boost Ukraine’s air defenses — to shoot down aerial targets such as missiles, drones and aircraft — rather than strike Russia’s invading ground forces and other military assets near the front.
Officials have said that the planes, at least initially, are unlikely to fly too close to the front-line fighting, meaning it is unclear they will even be able to deter attacking enemy aircraft from crossing into Ukraine from Russian airspace.
Read the full story here.
For Ukrainian diver, 10 meters from water, 1,500 miles from father at war
When the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee brought five athletes and one president to the Main Press Center last Friday, it was the wisp of a guy on the right end of the dais, born on Christmas Day 2005, who ushered the mind all the way to the reality and the heart all the way to the woodshed. For a long while of the hour, he barely spoke.
One might have wondered if this diver, Oleksii Sereda, would speak at all as he sat quietly while words rang from older compatriots such as tennis star Elina Svitolina, that exemplary spokeswoman for the 36 million Ukrainians, or Olga Kharlan, the fencer disqualified from the 2023 world championships because she refused to shake the hand of the Russian opponent she had defeated.
Read the full story here.
When the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee brought five athletes and one president to the Main Press Center last Friday, it was the wisp of a guy on the right end of the dais, born on Christmas Day 2005, who ushered the mind all the way to the reality and the heart all the way to the woodshed. For a long while of the hour, he barely spoke.
One might have wondered if this diver, Oleksii Sereda, would speak at all as he sat quietly while words rang from older compatriots such as tennis star Elina Svitolina, that exemplary spokeswoman for the 36 million Ukrainians, or Olga Kharlan, the fencer disqualified from the 2023 world championships because she refused to shake the hand of the Russian opponent she had defeated.
Read the full story here.
Have babies for Russia: Putin presses women to embrace patriotism over feminism
Vladimir Putin, who has long cultivated an aura of machismo as Russia’s strongman leader, is enlisting women to grow Russia’s population through childbirth and to rebuild his nation as a great power steeped in traditional family values — a campaign that is eroding equal rights and protections, human rights advocates and Russian feminists say.
Russian officials, echoing their leader, are telling women to start young — at 18.
As Putin seeks to restore Russia’s status as a superpower, his revanchist policies are rolling back women’s rights, Russian feminists say, with idealized roles fitted to the imperial era that predated communism. Women are being told to forgo education and careers to prioritize child-rearing, even as the war in Ukraine drains men from the workforce, creating critical labor shortages
Read the full story here.
Vladimir Putin, who has long cultivated an aura of machismo as Russia’s strongman leader, is enlisting women to grow Russia’s population through childbirth and to rebuild his nation as a great power steeped in traditional family values — a campaign that is eroding equal rights and protections, human rights advocates and Russian feminists say.
Russian officials, echoing their leader, are telling women to start young — at 18.
As Putin seeks to restore Russia’s status as a superpower, his revanchist policies are rolling back women’s rights, Russian feminists say, with idealized roles fitted to the imperial era that predated communism. Women are being told to forgo education and careers to prioritize child-rearing, even as the war in Ukraine drains men from the workforce, creating critical labor shortages
Read the full story here.
Breaking news: Evan Gershkovich, others to be freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner swap, Turkish presidency says
In the largest prisoner exchange since the height of the Cold War, officials of the United States, Russia, Germany and other countries met on an airfield tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday and were swapping at least two dozen people, the Turkish presidency said — capping months of painstaking diplomacy involving negotiations at the highest levels of multiple governments.
Those to be released included American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who was accused of espionage without any known evidence, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed for more than five years after an espionage conviction the United States called baseless, as well as several Russian dissidents who demanded freedom and democracy or criticized the war in Ukraine, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor.
Read more here.
In the largest prisoner exchange since the height of the Cold War, officials of the United States, Russia, Germany and other countries met on an airfield tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday and were swapping at least two dozen people, the Turkish presidency said — capping months of painstaking diplomacy involving negotiations at the highest levels of multiple governments.
Those to be released included American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who was accused of espionage without any known evidence, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed for more than five years after an espionage conviction the United States called baseless, as well as several Russian dissidents who demanded freedom and democracy or criticized the war in Ukraine, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor.
Read more here.