Zelensky sees NATO momentum on Ukraine joining, but not yet from U.S.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky projected careful confidence over the Western reception to his proposed “victory plan,” including his hopes for an eventual invitation to join NATO, but said that decision will ultimately depend on the U.S. position, which probably won’t be announced until after November’s presidential election.
Ukraine has framed the invitation to join NATO as a key security guarantee for both Ukraine and Europe — and one of the only ways to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing his violent campaign to annex the country.
“Today, we see the consensus of the majority of the allied countries and the restrained position of a few countries,” he said in a conversation with journalists on Monday. “We will work with it.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky projected careful confidence over the Western reception to his proposed “victory plan,” including his hopes for an eventual invitation to join NATO, but said that decision will ultimately depend on the U.S. position, which probably won’t be announced until after November’s presidential election.
Ukraine has framed the invitation to join NATO as a key security guarantee for both Ukraine and Europe — and one of the only ways to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing his violent campaign to annex the country.
“Today, we see the consensus of the majority of the allied countries and the restrained position of a few countries,” he said in a conversation with journalists on Monday. “We will work with it.”
Read the full story here.
U.S., allies finalize $50 billion Ukraine loan backed by Russian assets
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko held a signing ceremony Wednesday advancing plans to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in loans, breaking a months-long logjam and providing Kyiv with cash it urgently needs before the end of the year.
The plan relies on the interest accruing on roughly $280 billion in Russian central bank assets kept in Western accounts but frozen since the start of the war in 2022. That interest, estimated at several billion dollars each year, would go to repay the loans over time. The United States will lend $20 billion before the end of this year, and European and other Western allies are expected to provide more than $30 billion.
Read the full story here.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko held a signing ceremony Wednesday advancing plans to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in loans, breaking a months-long logjam and providing Kyiv with cash it urgently needs before the end of the year.
The plan relies on the interest accruing on roughly $280 billion in Russian central bank assets kept in Western accounts but frozen since the start of the war in 2022. That interest, estimated at several billion dollars each year, would go to repay the loans over time. The United States will lend $20 billion before the end of this year, and European and other Western allies are expected to provide more than $30 billion.
Read the full story here.
Putin relishes role on stage, but Ukraine war looms over BRICS summit
With the hosting of the annual BRICS summit fortuitously falling on Russia’s shoulders this year, President Vladimir Putin has been handed an opportunity to flaunt his nation’s standing on the world stage, despite Western efforts to ostracize him since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The three-day summit is the largest geopolitical event in Russia since the war and saw the first formal talks between the estranged leaders of China and India in five years, as well as discussions on alternative global financial systems — but there was little focus on the war in Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest ongoing crises.
Leaders and delegations from 36 nations descended on Kazan, one of Russia’s largest and most affluent cities, to discuss their grievances about widely perceived Western hypocrisy over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the dysfunction of the global institutions created since World War II.
Read the full story here.
With the hosting of the annual BRICS summit fortuitously falling on Russia’s shoulders this year, President Vladimir Putin has been handed an opportunity to flaunt his nation’s standing on the world stage, despite Western efforts to ostracize him since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The three-day summit is the largest geopolitical event in Russia since the war and saw the first formal talks between the estranged leaders of China and India in five years, as well as discussions on alternative global financial systems — but there was little focus on the war in Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest ongoing crises.
Leaders and delegations from 36 nations descended on Kazan, one of Russia’s largest and most affluent cities, to discuss their grievances about widely perceived Western hypocrisy over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the dysfunction of the global institutions created since World War II.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian incursion in Kursk struggles as Russians retake territory
KYIV — As President Volodymyr Zelensky toured Europe and the United States to pitch his “victory plan” for how to end the war with Russia, Ukrainian forces suffered new setbacks on the battlefield — including, analysts say, ceding up to half of the territory Kyiv claimed during its cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region this summer.
The surprise incursion into Russia had been hailed as a success by Ukrainian officials because it led to the capture of hundreds of Russian troops who could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners. But recent Russian counterattacks in Kursk have cast doubt on how long Kyiv will be able to continue holding the territory.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — As President Volodymyr Zelensky toured Europe and the United States to pitch his “victory plan” for how to end the war with Russia, Ukrainian forces suffered new setbacks on the battlefield — including, analysts say, ceding up to half of the territory Kyiv claimed during its cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region this summer.
The surprise incursion into Russia had been hailed as a success by Ukrainian officials because it led to the capture of hundreds of Russian troops who could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners. But recent Russian counterattacks in Kursk have cast doubt on how long Kyiv will be able to continue holding the territory.
Read the full story here.
How Soviet farm planning gave Ukrainian troops vital battlefield real estate
In a modern fight across the Ukrainian steppe, where it is nearly impossible to hide from the digital eyes of day and night drone surveillance, windbreaks have become one of the most valuable terrain features that Russian and Ukrainian troops fight over. They provide a refuge for soldiers to gather for assaults, take cover from enemy fire or, in the quiet moments, listen to the wind blow through the branches.
Control over strategic windbreaks can make a difference in winning a fight or losing one, soldiers said.
“The tree line is life,” said a member of the gun team in the National Guard’s 15th Brigade. He provided only his first name, Oleksandr, in line with Ukrainian military protocols.
Read the full story here.
In a modern fight across the Ukrainian steppe, where it is nearly impossible to hide from the digital eyes of day and night drone surveillance, windbreaks have become one of the most valuable terrain features that Russian and Ukrainian troops fight over. They provide a refuge for soldiers to gather for assaults, take cover from enemy fire or, in the quiet moments, listen to the wind blow through the branches.
Control over strategic windbreaks can make a difference in winning a fight or losing one, soldiers said.
“The tree line is life,” said a member of the gun team in the National Guard’s 15th Brigade. He provided only his first name, Oleksandr, in line with Ukrainian military protocols.
Read the full story here.
NATO says North Korean troops already deployed to Russia’s Kursk region
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian region where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise attack over the summer.
The United States said last week that at least 3,000 North Korean personnel were undergoing combat training in Russia, though it was not yet clear if they would join the war. The U.S. announcement, which officials said was based on newly declassified intelligence, followed similar disclosures from Kyiv and Seoul.
“Today I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,” Rutte told reporters, describing it as an escalation in North Korea’s “growing involvement” in Russia’s war and a “dangerous expansion” of the conflict. The move means North Korean troops could now be in direct combat with Ukrainian forces.
Read the full story here.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian region where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise attack over the summer.
The United States said last week that at least 3,000 North Korean personnel were undergoing combat training in Russia, though it was not yet clear if they would join the war. The U.S. announcement, which officials said was based on newly declassified intelligence, followed similar disclosures from Kyiv and Seoul.
“Today I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,” Rutte told reporters, describing it as an escalation in North Korea’s “growing involvement” in Russia’s war and a “dangerous expansion” of the conflict. The move means North Korean troops could now be in direct combat with Ukrainian forces.
Read the full story here.
North Korea’s elite troops are in Russia to fight Ukraine: What we know
As many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in Russia and some have already been deployed in the war against Ukraine, an unprecedented move by Pyongyang to send its people into danger in a combat zone far from the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have dispatched some of his best soldiers to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort, including the elite “Storms Corps” unit that had long been training to infiltrate the South, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
U.S. and NATO officials have warned that the infusion of North Korean troops could be a “dangerous expansion” of the war in Ukraine and a “very, very serious issue” that could have reverberations in both Europe and the Pacific. The deployment of North Korean forces is the latest sign of the deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as they join forces against the West.
Read the full story here,
As many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in Russia and some have already been deployed in the war against Ukraine, an unprecedented move by Pyongyang to send its people into danger in a combat zone far from the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have dispatched some of his best soldiers to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort, including the elite “Storms Corps” unit that had long been training to infiltrate the South, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
U.S. and NATO officials have warned that the infusion of North Korean troops could be a “dangerous expansion” of the war in Ukraine and a “very, very serious issue” that could have reverberations in both Europe and the Pacific. The deployment of North Korean forces is the latest sign of the deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as they join forces against the West.
Read the full story here,
Ukraine accuses Russia of sudden spike in POW killings
KYIV — Russian forces are summarily killing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in increasing numbers on the battlefield, often shooting them point blank just after they have been taken prisoner, Ukrainian officials say.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, authorities have opened 43 criminal investigations into 113 possible arbitrary killings, with more than a third of those cases registered since the beginning of the year, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general office. But that does not take into account the more recent spike.
“Since the end of last year, the number of such crimes has been steadily increasing,” the prosecutor general’s office said in written comments to The Washington Post. “We receive reports of such killings almost every week.”
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Russian forces are summarily killing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in increasing numbers on the battlefield, often shooting them point blank just after they have been taken prisoner, Ukrainian officials say.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, authorities have opened 43 criminal investigations into 113 possible arbitrary killings, with more than a third of those cases registered since the beginning of the year, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general office. But that does not take into account the more recent spike.
“Since the end of last year, the number of such crimes has been steadily increasing,” the prosecutor general’s office said in written comments to The Washington Post. “We receive reports of such killings almost every week.”
Read the full story here.
Russian drones hunt civilians in streets of southern Ukrainian city
Russian forces have escalated indiscriminate drone attacks against civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, killing and maiming scores of people in what locals have described as a “human safari.”
Unlike elsewhere on the 600-mile-long front, Russian forces in Kherson are just across the river from the city and are using small drones to harass the population, either by crashing into targets and exploding or by dropping grenades and small camouflaged mines. The situation is fairly unique compared with the rest of Ukraine, where Russian troops must use longer-range weapons to reach civilians.
Humanitarian operations and city services such as fire trucks and buses seem to be under particular threat, officials said, though children on bicycles and older people gathering at markets have also been struck.
Read the full story here.
Russian forces have escalated indiscriminate drone attacks against civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, killing and maiming scores of people in what locals have described as a “human safari.”
Unlike elsewhere on the 600-mile-long front, Russian forces in Kherson are just across the river from the city and are using small drones to harass the population, either by crashing into targets and exploding or by dropping grenades and small camouflaged mines. The situation is fairly unique compared with the rest of Ukraine, where Russian troops must use longer-range weapons to reach civilians.
Humanitarian operations and city services such as fire trucks and buses seem to be under particular threat, officials said, though children on bicycles and older people gathering at markets have also been struck.
Read the full story here.
The new season of ‘The Bachelor’ in Ukraine shows the scars of war
Backstage at Ukraine’s adaptation of “The Bachelor,” makeup artists rushed to fix fake lashes and lipstick, while producers hunched over monitors and adjusted camera angles. For the crew of 200 and the show’s 21 participants, the night was going to be a particularly grueling shoot.
The strict wartime curfew and rolling power cuts in the wake of sustained Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid meant they would have to film the show’s climactic rose ceremony all through the night, from dusk until dawn.
As with every aspect of life in Ukraine, the full-scale invasion in 2022 by Russia has transformed the contest, once the most-watched reality TV show in Ukraine. Forty percent of the camera and lights team was drafted to fight. Curfew restricted working hours so that most of the dating scenes have to be filmed during the day instead of at night, and gone are the exotic foreign shooting locations.
Read the full story here.
Backstage at Ukraine’s adaptation of “The Bachelor,” makeup artists rushed to fix fake lashes and lipstick, while producers hunched over monitors and adjusted camera angles. For the crew of 200 and the show’s 21 participants, the night was going to be a particularly grueling shoot.
The strict wartime curfew and rolling power cuts in the wake of sustained Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid meant they would have to film the show’s climactic rose ceremony all through the night, from dusk until dawn.
As with every aspect of life in Ukraine, the full-scale invasion in 2022 by Russia has transformed the contest, once the most-watched reality TV show in Ukraine. Forty percent of the camera and lights team was drafted to fight. Curfew restricted working hours so that most of the dating scenes have to be filmed during the day instead of at night, and gone are the exotic foreign shooting locations.
Read the full story here.