Ukraine’s winter energy woes expected to weigh heavily on a tired people
As Ukraine scrambles to repair the damage that Russian missiles are inflicting on the country’s power stations, the weary population is facing what is shaping up to be one of the worst winters of the war so far.
Power outages are a given — because Ukraine’s energy system is already working at a deficit after receiving heavy blows from Russian strikes this year — but the estimates vary on just how bad it will be. The best-case scenario is just four hours of power cuts a day, but it could also end up being 20 hours of darkness or more a day in the depths of Ukraine’s frigid winter.
In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was trying to break Ukrainians’ spirit by attacking the power infrastructure.
Read the full story here.
As Ukraine scrambles to repair the damage that Russian missiles are inflicting on the country’s power stations, the weary population is facing what is shaping up to be one of the worst winters of the war so far.
Power outages are a given — because Ukraine’s energy system is already working at a deficit after receiving heavy blows from Russian strikes this year — but the estimates vary on just how bad it will be. The best-case scenario is just four hours of power cuts a day, but it could also end up being 20 hours of darkness or more a day in the depths of Ukraine’s frigid winter.
In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was trying to break Ukrainians’ spirit by attacking the power infrastructure.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky holds meeting with Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he decided to meet with Donald Trump on Friday because it was “very important” to keep the United States informed about next steps in Ukraine.
Zelensky said he hoped the support of the United States would be very strong regardless of who wins the election.
“And that’s why I decided to meet with most candidates, with all of them,” he said.
Trump suggested he would try to broker an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled,” said Trump, who added that he has “a very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he decided to meet with Donald Trump on Friday because it was “very important” to keep the United States informed about next steps in Ukraine.
Zelensky said he hoped the support of the United States would be very strong regardless of who wins the election.
“And that’s why I decided to meet with most candidates, with all of them,” he said.
Trump suggested he would try to broker an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled,” said Trump, who added that he has “a very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more here.
Ukraine’s east buckling under improved Russian tactics, superior firepower
Soldiers from several units along the front have described improved Russian tactics this summer that combine their advantages into powerful attacks that Ukrainians have struggled to counteract, even as they achieve local victories. That is apparent in places like Vuhledar, the small Donetsk citadel that fell to Russian forces Tuesday, forcing a Ukrainian withdraw in a hardscrabble town they fiercely defended for two years.
Enemy troops are storming the battlefields in small teams that minimize detection and make return fire difficult, backed by superior quantities of artillery and drones. Russia has also improved its battlefield communication, helping coordinate attacks. While losses are staggering, Ukrainian soldiers have said, the Russians have the numbers to keep up the pressure and Western aid isn’t making up the equipment deficit.
Read the full story here.
Soldiers from several units along the front have described improved Russian tactics this summer that combine their advantages into powerful attacks that Ukrainians have struggled to counteract, even as they achieve local victories. That is apparent in places like Vuhledar, the small Donetsk citadel that fell to Russian forces Tuesday, forcing a Ukrainian withdraw in a hardscrabble town they fiercely defended for two years.
Enemy troops are storming the battlefields in small teams that minimize detection and make return fire difficult, backed by superior quantities of artillery and drones. Russia has also improved its battlefield communication, helping coordinate attacks. While losses are staggering, Ukrainian soldiers have said, the Russians have the numbers to keep up the pressure and Western aid isn’t making up the equipment deficit.
Read the full story here.
Putin signs law giving criminal defendants immunity if they join the army
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday approved a new law that will exempt Russian defendants and suspects who have signed up to fight in the army from criminal liability.
The bill was introduced by the Russian Supreme Court this summer and passed by Russia’s parliament after three readings and will save defendants from facing trial and from criminal prosecution.
Previously, only Russians who had been convicted or were under investigation had the option to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry and join the “Special Military Operation,” the Kremlin’s euphemism for its war against Ukraine. This new bill is intended to close the gap in the chain so anyone facing criminal charges at any stage can sign a contract and avoid prison.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday approved a new law that will exempt Russian defendants and suspects who have signed up to fight in the army from criminal liability.
The bill was introduced by the Russian Supreme Court this summer and passed by Russia’s parliament after three readings and will save defendants from facing trial and from criminal prosecution.
Previously, only Russians who had been convicted or were under investigation had the option to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry and join the “Special Military Operation,” the Kremlin’s euphemism for its war against Ukraine. This new bill is intended to close the gap in the chain so anyone facing criminal charges at any stage can sign a contract and avoid prison.
Read the full story here.
Years after his capture in Mariupol, his family received only his broken body
The day Oleksandr Ishchenko’s body returned to Ukraine, police warned the soldier’s family not to look.
The scene inside the morgue was gruesome: Ishchenko’s remains spent days in transit from the prison in Russia where he died. Russian medics hadn’t sewn him back up after performing an autopsy. His body was in decay, and a Ukrainian doctor concluded his ribs had been broken by blunt force trauma before his death.
Ishchenko’s mysterious death in Russian captivity in July represents the greatest worry of the many Ukrainian families who have little to no contact with their loved ones in Russian prisons and fear each day that they are being mistreated or may die. More than 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war have died in Russian custody, Ukrainian authorities say, and more than 2,000 have been tortured. The United Nations has expressed concerns over widespread torture in Russian prisons.
Read the full story here.
The day Oleksandr Ishchenko’s body returned to Ukraine, police warned the soldier’s family not to look.
The scene inside the morgue was gruesome: Ishchenko’s remains spent days in transit from the prison in Russia where he died. Russian medics hadn’t sewn him back up after performing an autopsy. His body was in decay, and a Ukrainian doctor concluded his ribs had been broken by blunt force trauma before his death.
Ishchenko’s mysterious death in Russian captivity in July represents the greatest worry of the many Ukrainian families who have little to no contact with their loved ones in Russian prisons and fear each day that they are being mistreated or may die. More than 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war have died in Russian custody, Ukrainian authorities say, and more than 2,000 have been tortured. The United Nations has expressed concerns over widespread torture in Russian prisons.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine left in security limbo with Zelensky U.S. trip results unclear
KYIV — More than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his “victory plan” for how to end the war with Russia to top U.S. officials, details of the strategy and how it was received remain hazy, and Kyiv is scrambling for additional international support just a month before the U.S. election.
Zelensky’s administration has so far kept the points of the victory plan, which was shared with President Joe Biden and other top officials, a secret, but it likely hinges on either accelerated NATO membership or binding security guarantees from the Ukraine’s Western partners.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — More than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his “victory plan” for how to end the war with Russia to top U.S. officials, details of the strategy and how it was received remain hazy, and Kyiv is scrambling for additional international support just a month before the U.S. election.
Zelensky’s administration has so far kept the points of the victory plan, which was shared with President Joe Biden and other top officials, a secret, but it likely hinges on either accelerated NATO membership or binding security guarantees from the Ukraine’s Western partners.
Read the full story here.
Russia sentences U.S. citizen to nearly 7 years for fighting for Ukraine
A Russian court on Monday sentenced 72-year-old American Stephen Hubbard to six years and 10 months in prison after being accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, Russian state media reported.
Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges in a hearing a week ago, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Hubbard allegedly served in a territorial defense unit in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum before Russian soldiers captured him in April 2022, a few weeks after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. It’s not clear how he was transferred to Russia.
Read the full story here.
A Russian court on Monday sentenced 72-year-old American Stephen Hubbard to six years and 10 months in prison after being accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, Russian state media reported.
Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges in a hearing a week ago, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Hubbard allegedly served in a territorial defense unit in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum before Russian soldiers captured him in April 2022, a few weeks after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. It’s not clear how he was transferred to Russia.
Read the full story here.
For a second day, Ukrainian hackers hit Russian institutions
Russia suffered major digital outages for a second day Tuesday after hackers targeted Russia’s court information system, taking down court websites and claiming to have wiped court documents and decisions in the system’s database.
The hackers, who called themselves the “BO Team,” posted a message with an obscenity declaring that the attack was made to mark President Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday Monday, the same day a massive attack on Russia’s online state media channels occurred.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the country’s state television and media company VGTRK suffered an “an unprecedented hacker attack on its digital infrastructure.”
Read the full story here.
Russia suffered major digital outages for a second day Tuesday after hackers targeted Russia’s court information system, taking down court websites and claiming to have wiped court documents and decisions in the system’s database.
The hackers, who called themselves the “BO Team,” posted a message with an obscenity declaring that the attack was made to mark President Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday Monday, the same day a massive attack on Russia’s online state media channels occurred.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the country’s state television and media company VGTRK suffered an “an unprecedented hacker attack on its digital infrastructure.”
Read the full story here.
Zelensky takes his ‘Victory Plan’ to Europe after Biden cancels trip
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his “Victory Plan” to end the war with Russia were dealt a significant blow this week by an unexpected foe — Hurricane Milton.
A meeting of Kyiv’s allies, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, scheduled for this weekend at Ramstein Air Base in Germany was postponed after President Joe Biden canceled his travel plans to stay in the United States as the Category 3 storm made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night. It’s unclear when summit will now take place and whether the same senior delegations, including Biden, will attend.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his “Victory Plan” to end the war with Russia were dealt a significant blow this week by an unexpected foe — Hurricane Milton.
A meeting of Kyiv’s allies, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, scheduled for this weekend at Ramstein Air Base in Germany was postponed after President Joe Biden canceled his travel plans to stay in the United States as the Category 3 storm made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night. It’s unclear when summit will now take place and whether the same senior delegations, including Biden, will attend.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine boosting its defense industries, with a little help from friends
A recent decision by the European Union to contribute some $440 million to Ukraine’s resurgent arms industry marks a significant shift in the bloc’s approach to Russia’s war against its neighbor, but also highlights the E.U. defense sector’s shortcomings in producing weapons and ammunition.
The E.U. contribution will use money taken from the windfall profits of Russian assets that have been frozen in the West. The funding comes on top of some $190 million that the Danish government is providing.
While Europe, and of course the United States, have been sending billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to help Ukraine in its battle against much larger Russia, their national defense industries — long oriented toward an international scene with fewer conflicts — have struggled to keep up with Ukrainian demand.
Read the full story here.
A recent decision by the European Union to contribute some $440 million to Ukraine’s resurgent arms industry marks a significant shift in the bloc’s approach to Russia’s war against its neighbor, but also highlights the E.U. defense sector’s shortcomings in producing weapons and ammunition.
The E.U. contribution will use money taken from the windfall profits of Russian assets that have been frozen in the West. The funding comes on top of some $190 million that the Danish government is providing.
While Europe, and of course the United States, have been sending billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to help Ukraine in its battle against much larger Russia, their national defense industries — long oriented toward an international scene with fewer conflicts — have struggled to keep up with Ukrainian demand.
Read the full story here.
Meet Ukraine’s top fighting unit — at least that’s what their ad says
The machine-gunner gripped his weapon — body taut, eyes focused, finger on the trigger.
Atop the hood of his Humvee, a model in cutoff shorts and cherry-red stilettos leaned back on her elbows, bare legs dripping with bubbles. The soldier took aim with his weapon — a power-washer.
Cameras flashed.
This was no battlefield, but the front lines of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade’s next advertising campaign — a modern take on World War II-style pinup girls, complete with scantily-clad models gripping pistols and straddling soldiers. The brigade hopes this campaign will attract recruits, which are increasingly in short supply as the war with Russia drags toward its third year.
Read the full story here.
The machine-gunner gripped his weapon — body taut, eyes focused, finger on the trigger.
Atop the hood of his Humvee, a model in cutoff shorts and cherry-red stilettos leaned back on her elbows, bare legs dripping with bubbles. The soldier took aim with his weapon — a power-washer.
Cameras flashed.
This was no battlefield, but the front lines of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade’s next advertising campaign — a modern take on World War II-style pinup girls, complete with scantily-clad models gripping pistols and straddling soldiers. The brigade hopes this campaign will attract recruits, which are increasingly in short supply as the war with Russia drags toward its third year.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky reveals Victory Plan, calls for NATO membership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a broad description of his five-point Victory Plan to Ukraine’s lawmakers on Wednesday, describing the first step as an immediate and unconditional NATO invitation and the last an offer to replace U.S. troops in Europe with Ukrainian units after the war — suggestions sure to incense the Kremlin.
The second point in the plan, Zelensky said, is a permanent strengthening of Ukraine’s security through guarantees from partners that their weapons can be used for strikes inside of Russia and that Ukraine’s neighbors will conduct joint air defense operations to protect Ukraine’s skies. It will also allow for continued operations inside sovereign Russian territory to ensure buffer zones that protect Ukraine, he said.
The third is a nonnuclear deterrence plan, and the fourth guarantees economic security and protection of Ukrainian natural resources.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a broad description of his five-point Victory Plan to Ukraine’s lawmakers on Wednesday, describing the first step as an immediate and unconditional NATO invitation and the last an offer to replace U.S. troops in Europe with Ukrainian units after the war — suggestions sure to incense the Kremlin.
The second point in the plan, Zelensky said, is a permanent strengthening of Ukraine’s security through guarantees from partners that their weapons can be used for strikes inside of Russia and that Ukraine’s neighbors will conduct joint air defense operations to protect Ukraine’s skies. It will also allow for continued operations inside sovereign Russian territory to ensure buffer zones that protect Ukraine, he said.
The third is a nonnuclear deterrence plan, and the fourth guarantees economic security and protection of Ukrainian natural resources.
Read the full story here.
Zelensky brings Victory Plan to Brussels, but NATO invite still elusive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky journeyed to Brussels on Thursday to drum up more support for his Victory Plan, but an invitation to join the Western military NATO alliance, a key part of it, appears elusive.
Zelensky has presented the plan in his parliament, describing the first step as an immediate and unconditional invitation to join NATO, a suggestion sure to incense the Kremlin. But NATO officials said they did not expect an invitation to Ukraine anytime soon, especially with the United States absorbed by the last weeks of the presidential race and many European leaders watching to see how the imminent election could change the transatlantic relationship.
Zelensky has visited the United States and toured European capitals in recent weeks to seek their backing, but the visits have drawn limited public comments of support and made little apparent progress.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky journeyed to Brussels on Thursday to drum up more support for his Victory Plan, but an invitation to join the Western military NATO alliance, a key part of it, appears elusive.
Zelensky has presented the plan in his parliament, describing the first step as an immediate and unconditional invitation to join NATO, a suggestion sure to incense the Kremlin. But NATO officials said they did not expect an invitation to Ukraine anytime soon, especially with the United States absorbed by the last weeks of the presidential race and many European leaders watching to see how the imminent election could change the transatlantic relationship.
Zelensky has visited the United States and toured European capitals in recent weeks to seek their backing, but the visits have drawn limited public comments of support and made little apparent progress.
Read the full story here.