Here’s the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.
Mariupol: Officials and aid workers remain gravely concerned about those left behind in Mariupol, saying Russian fighters resumed shelling and attempted to storm the Azovstal steel plant’s perimeter after a temporary cease-fire. Two civilians were killed in the attacks, a regional police chief said.
Lviv: Missile strikes damaged the electrical infrastructure and caused power outages in some areas here, local leaders said. Lviv has been a relative safe haven to date, becoming a hub for diplomats, aid agencies and journalists.
Donetsk: A Russian attack appeared to target a coke plant in Avdiivk on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 15 others, a local leader said. Metinvest — the country’s largest steel firm — confirmed the attack and said Russian troops fired on a busload of its workers just after their shift had ended. Metinvest also owns the embattled steel works in Mariupol.
More live updates here.
Mariupol: Officials and aid workers remain gravely concerned about those left behind in Mariupol, saying Russian fighters resumed shelling and attempted to storm the Azovstal steel plant’s perimeter after a temporary cease-fire. Two civilians were killed in the attacks, a regional police chief said.
Lviv: Missile strikes damaged the electrical infrastructure and caused power outages in some areas here, local leaders said. Lviv has been a relative safe haven to date, becoming a hub for diplomats, aid agencies and journalists.
Donetsk: A Russian attack appeared to target a coke plant in Avdiivk on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 15 others, a local leader said. Metinvest — the country’s largest steel firm — confirmed the attack and said Russian troops fired on a busload of its workers just after their shift had ended. Metinvest also owns the embattled steel works in Mariupol.
More live updates here.
Here’s the latest from Ukraine.
- Russia has stepped up missile attacks across Ukraine, striking railways and power stations, just as Western countries are boosting Ukraine’s arsenal. The attacks Tuesday hit at least six train stations in central and western Ukraine and three electrical substations in Lviv, officials said.
- The first evacuees from the Azovstal steel plant have reached Zaporizhzhia. Officials and aid workers have grave concerns about those who remain in the plant as Russian fighters resumed shelling. Ukrainian officials said there was an attempt to storm the plant’s perimeter after a cease-fire allowed more than 100 people to escape.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Wednesday, following recent reports of explosions in Transnistria that have stoked fears about the expanding scope of Russia’s war.
More live updates here.
- Russia has stepped up missile attacks across Ukraine, striking railways and power stations, just as Western countries are boosting Ukraine’s arsenal. The attacks Tuesday hit at least six train stations in central and western Ukraine and three electrical substations in Lviv, officials said.
- The first evacuees from the Azovstal steel plant have reached Zaporizhzhia. Officials and aid workers have grave concerns about those who remain in the plant as Russian fighters resumed shelling. Ukrainian officials said there was an attempt to storm the plant’s perimeter after a cease-fire allowed more than 100 people to escape.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Wednesday, following recent reports of explosions in Transnistria that have stoked fears about the expanding scope of Russia’s war.
More live updates here.
E.U. proposes phasing out Russian oil imports by end of year
BRUSSELS — The European Commission has proposed a plan to phase out Russian oil imports, stepping up its efforts to cut off a key source of funding for the Kremlin.
The proposal, which must still be approved by member states, reflects extended negotiations over how far the European Union should go to penalize and isolate Russia for its war in Ukraine. The phaseout is more gradual than the immediate embargo some countries had been pushing for. It would ban oil imports after six months and refined petroleum products by the end of the year.
But an oil phaseout would still represent a dramatic shift for the E.U., which in March told the United States it couldn’t join a Russian energy embargo.
The oil plan is the centerpiece of E.U.'s sixth round of sanctions, a package that would also remove Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, and two others from the SWIFT payment system.
Read the full story here.
BRUSSELS — The European Commission has proposed a plan to phase out Russian oil imports, stepping up its efforts to cut off a key source of funding for the Kremlin.
The proposal, which must still be approved by member states, reflects extended negotiations over how far the European Union should go to penalize and isolate Russia for its war in Ukraine. The phaseout is more gradual than the immediate embargo some countries had been pushing for. It would ban oil imports after six months and refined petroleum products by the end of the year.
But an oil phaseout would still represent a dramatic shift for the E.U., which in March told the United States it couldn’t join a Russian energy embargo.
The oil plan is the centerpiece of E.U.'s sixth round of sanctions, a package that would also remove Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, and two others from the SWIFT payment system.
Read the full story here.
CIA instructs Russians on how to share secrets with the spy agency
With the war in Ukraine in its third month, the CIA is taking a new approach to its core job of recruiting spies and soliciting secrets.
On Monday, the CIA published instructions for how Russians can covertly volunteer information using an encrypted conduit to the agency’s website. The hope is to attract intelligence — and potentially gain more access to official Russian secrets — from disaffected people who have been trying to contact the CIA since the war began.
To ensure the would-be informants are not caught by Russian state security, the CIA spelled out detailed Russian-language instructions in three social media posts on how to use the Tor Internet browser, which lets users move online anonymously, as well as virtual private networks, or VPNs.
The steps will open a dedicated channel to the CIA that is more secure than navigating to the agency using an ordinary Web browser or Internet connection.
Read the full story here.
With the war in Ukraine in its third month, the CIA is taking a new approach to its core job of recruiting spies and soliciting secrets.
On Monday, the CIA published instructions for how Russians can covertly volunteer information using an encrypted conduit to the agency’s website. The hope is to attract intelligence — and potentially gain more access to official Russian secrets — from disaffected people who have been trying to contact the CIA since the war began.
To ensure the would-be informants are not caught by Russian state security, the CIA spelled out detailed Russian-language instructions in three social media posts on how to use the Tor Internet browser, which lets users move online anonymously, as well as virtual private networks, or VPNs.
The steps will open a dedicated channel to the CIA that is more secure than navigating to the agency using an ordinary Web browser or Internet connection.
Read the full story here.
Three dozen tycoons met Putin on invasion day. Most had moved money abroad.
On the day he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called to the Kremlin a group of his nation’s top businessmen.
The invasion was a “necessary measure,” Putin told the group, according to news agencies.
Each of the invitees was a stalwart of the Russian economy. Fourteen have ranked as billionaires. Their companies represented the nation’s key industries — oil and gas, banking, chemicals.
Yet despite their ties to Putin and standing within Russia, many of them had been moving their wealth out of the country for years, documents show. Of the 37 attendees, more than half are linked directly or through a close relative to offshore companies that handled transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, making financial investments, issuing loans and forming family trusts, according to a Washington Post tally based on secret documents known as the Pandora and Paradise Papers.
Read the full story here.
On the day he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called to the Kremlin a group of his nation’s top businessmen.
The invasion was a “necessary measure,” Putin told the group, according to news agencies.
Each of the invitees was a stalwart of the Russian economy. Fourteen have ranked as billionaires. Their companies represented the nation’s key industries — oil and gas, banking, chemicals.
Yet despite their ties to Putin and standing within Russia, many of them had been moving their wealth out of the country for years, documents show. Of the 37 attendees, more than half are linked directly or through a close relative to offshore companies that handled transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, making financial investments, issuing loans and forming family trusts, according to a Washington Post tally based on secret documents known as the Pandora and Paradise Papers.
Read the full story here.
Evacuees from Mariupol steel plant describe brutality of long siege
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — From their cold and fetid bunker, deep underground, the survivors of Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works had feared the wreckage that would greet them if they made it out alive.
As they staggered upstairs and into the light this week, the scene of charred and twisted metal eclipsed their worst nightmares.
After a three-day-long evacuation from the steelworks under Russian siege, during which Ukrainian soldiers have been staging a dramatic last stand for weeks with hundreds of civilians also sheltering there, the first 100 civilians arrived 140 miles northwest in the relative safety of the town of Zaporizhzhia, and began to tell their stories.
Read the full story here.
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — From their cold and fetid bunker, deep underground, the survivors of Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works had feared the wreckage that would greet them if they made it out alive.
As they staggered upstairs and into the light this week, the scene of charred and twisted metal eclipsed their worst nightmares.
After a three-day-long evacuation from the steelworks under Russian siege, during which Ukrainian soldiers have been staging a dramatic last stand for weeks with hundreds of civilians also sheltering there, the first 100 civilians arrived 140 miles northwest in the relative safety of the town of Zaporizhzhia, and began to tell their stories.
Read the full story here.
Russian ally Belarus launches military quick-response drills
The Belarusian military has launched large-scale drills to test the readiness of its armed forces to respond quickly to “possible crises” and counter threats from the air and ground, the country’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday.
The ministry said the training exercise would not “pose any threat to the European community as a whole or to neighboring countries in particular.” Belarus borders Ukraine to its south, Poland to its west, Lithuania and Latvia to its northwest and Russia to its east.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russian troops to assemble and conduct military drills in the Eastern European country in the run-up to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. A large part of Russia’s invasion force crossed into Ukraine from Belarus.
Read the full story here.
The Belarusian military has launched large-scale drills to test the readiness of its armed forces to respond quickly to “possible crises” and counter threats from the air and ground, the country’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday.
The ministry said the training exercise would not “pose any threat to the European community as a whole or to neighboring countries in particular.” Belarus borders Ukraine to its south, Poland to its west, Lithuania and Latvia to its northwest and Russia to its east.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russian troops to assemble and conduct military drills in the Eastern European country in the run-up to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. A large part of Russia’s invasion force crossed into Ukraine from Belarus.
Read the full story here.
Don’t be ‘Putin’s altar boy,’ Pope warns Russian Orthodox leader
Pope Francis warned the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church not to be “Putin’s altar boy” and justify the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a Tuesday interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Francis said he spoke with Patriarch Kirill, a key supporter of Vladimir Putin and his war, for 40 minutes over Zoom. During the March 16 conversation, Francis said, Kirill was listing off all the justifications for the war from a sheet of paper he was holding.
“I listened and then told him: I don’t understand anything about this,” Francis said. “Brother, we are not state clerics, we cannot use the language of politics but that of Jesus. We are pastors of the same holy people of God. Because of this, we must seek avenues of peace, to put an end to the firing of weapons.”
Read the full story.
Pope Francis warned the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church not to be “Putin’s altar boy” and justify the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a Tuesday interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Francis said he spoke with Patriarch Kirill, a key supporter of Vladimir Putin and his war, for 40 minutes over Zoom. During the March 16 conversation, Francis said, Kirill was listing off all the justifications for the war from a sheet of paper he was holding.
“I listened and then told him: I don’t understand anything about this,” Francis said. “Brother, we are not state clerics, we cannot use the language of politics but that of Jesus. We are pastors of the same holy people of God. Because of this, we must seek avenues of peace, to put an end to the firing of weapons.”
Read the full story.
Russian forces, preparing for Mariupol parade, clear ruins of bombed theater
Russian forces in Mariupol are making preparations for a parade in the shattered port city — by clearing debris from the bombed theater that had been sheltering hundreds of civilians, Ukrainian officials say.
“The occupiers continue to dismantle the debris in the city center, including the Drama Theater, in preparation for the parade,” said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency said Wednesday that Russia was planning to turn Mariupol into a center of “celebrations” on May 9. That day, known as Victory Day, marks Russia’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. “To this end, the city is urgently cleaning the central streets of debris, the bodies of killed and unexploded ordnance,” the agency said.
Read the full story here.
Russian forces in Mariupol are making preparations for a parade in the shattered port city — by clearing debris from the bombed theater that had been sheltering hundreds of civilians, Ukrainian officials say.
“The occupiers continue to dismantle the debris in the city center, including the Drama Theater, in preparation for the parade,” said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency said Wednesday that Russia was planning to turn Mariupol into a center of “celebrations” on May 9. That day, known as Victory Day, marks Russia’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. “To this end, the city is urgently cleaning the central streets of debris, the bodies of killed and unexploded ordnance,” the agency said.
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- Only a couple thousand Russian troops remain in Mariupol, according to the Pentagon, as the Kremlin continues to try to press its assault on Ukraine through its eastern and southern regions.
- As Russia intensifies missile attacks across Ukraine, its forces appear to be targeting key infrastructure points — including transport hubs and power stations. The Pentagon said Wednesday that such strikes in western Ukraine appear to be aimed at disabling railroads.
- Belarus has launched large-scale drills that aim to test its armed forces’ ability to respond quickly to “possible crises” and counter threats from the air and ground, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
- The E.U. plans to boost military aid to Moldova, European Council President Charles Michel said Wednesday, amid fears of spillover from Russia’s unprovoked Ukrainian war after recent explosions in the breakaway region of Transnistria.
More live updates here.
- Only a couple thousand Russian troops remain in Mariupol, according to the Pentagon, as the Kremlin continues to try to press its assault on Ukraine through its eastern and southern regions.
- As Russia intensifies missile attacks across Ukraine, its forces appear to be targeting key infrastructure points — including transport hubs and power stations. The Pentagon said Wednesday that such strikes in western Ukraine appear to be aimed at disabling railroads.
- Belarus has launched large-scale drills that aim to test its armed forces’ ability to respond quickly to “possible crises” and counter threats from the air and ground, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
- The E.U. plans to boost military aid to Moldova, European Council President Charles Michel said Wednesday, amid fears of spillover from Russia’s unprovoked Ukrainian war after recent explosions in the breakaway region of Transnistria.
More live updates here.
Pentagon: Russia may be trying to disable Ukraine rail system
The Kremlin is carrying out strikes on infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine’s efforts to resupply its forces in their defense against Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials and the Pentagon said Wednesday.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said Ukraine is still able to move weapons through the country.
Russia’s targets on Tuesday and Wednesday included electrical substations, a railroad facility and a bridge in two major cities in western and central Ukraine. Strikes on Tuesday night caused severe damage at three electrical substations in Lviv, a critical hub for assistance entering the country from Eastern Europe, delaying trains and wiping out power for about a quarter of a million people.
“It was a deliberate blow to supply chains,” Lviv’s regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyy, said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
The Kremlin is carrying out strikes on infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine’s efforts to resupply its forces in their defense against Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials and the Pentagon said Wednesday.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said Ukraine is still able to move weapons through the country.
Russia’s targets on Tuesday and Wednesday included electrical substations, a railroad facility and a bridge in two major cities in western and central Ukraine. Strikes on Tuesday night caused severe damage at three electrical substations in Lviv, a critical hub for assistance entering the country from Eastern Europe, delaying trains and wiping out power for about a quarter of a million people.
“It was a deliberate blow to supply chains,” Lviv’s regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyy, said in a statement.
Read the full story here.
Here's the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.
Mariupol: Russian forces here are preparing for a parade timed for Victory Day on May 9. Ukrainian officials say local crews are apparently working in exchange for food as they clean streets of debris and bodies of the killed. Heavy fighting continued around the Azovstal steel plant, where as many as 200 civilians are still hiding. Only a couple thousand Russian troops remain, the Pentagon said, as Moscow refocuses on its eastern assault.
Donetsk region: Slovyansk and neighboring Kramatorsk, both of which lie near the western border of this region, are considered targets of the Russian advance. Capturing such targets would consolidate Russian military control of the northeastern Donbas.
Dnipro: Moscow struck a railroad facility and targeted a bridge here on Wednesday, the country’s head of railways said. Video verified by The Post showed explosions on a bridge in the city’s center that appears to be used by both cars and trains.
More live updates here.
Mariupol: Russian forces here are preparing for a parade timed for Victory Day on May 9. Ukrainian officials say local crews are apparently working in exchange for food as they clean streets of debris and bodies of the killed. Heavy fighting continued around the Azovstal steel plant, where as many as 200 civilians are still hiding. Only a couple thousand Russian troops remain, the Pentagon said, as Moscow refocuses on its eastern assault.
Donetsk region: Slovyansk and neighboring Kramatorsk, both of which lie near the western border of this region, are considered targets of the Russian advance. Capturing such targets would consolidate Russian military control of the northeastern Donbas.
Dnipro: Moscow struck a railroad facility and targeted a bridge here on Wednesday, the country’s head of railways said. Video verified by The Post showed explosions on a bridge in the city’s center that appears to be used by both cars and trains.
More live updates here.
Here’s the latest from Ukraine.
- European diplomats are set to meet again Thursday as they negotiate a proposal to phase out Russian oil imports. The oil proposal could be finalized by the end of the week but must be approved by all E.U. member states, and two countries — Hungary and Slovakia — have reservations.
- The talks are continuing amid news that Mariupol officials have lost contact with forces at the Azovstal steel plant, where Russian troops used tanks and heavy bombs to strike at the remaining Ukrainian forces.
- Overnight, Russian forces struck the city of Kramatorsk, injuring at least 25 civilians and destroying nine homes, a school and other civilian buildings, according to the regional military chief. A railroad facility and a bridge in Dnipro were hit on Wednesday, continuing the Kremlin’s targeting of infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine’s efforts to resupply its forces.
More live updates here.
- European diplomats are set to meet again Thursday as they negotiate a proposal to phase out Russian oil imports. The oil proposal could be finalized by the end of the week but must be approved by all E.U. member states, and two countries — Hungary and Slovakia — have reservations.
- The talks are continuing amid news that Mariupol officials have lost contact with forces at the Azovstal steel plant, where Russian troops used tanks and heavy bombs to strike at the remaining Ukrainian forces.
- Overnight, Russian forces struck the city of Kramatorsk, injuring at least 25 civilians and destroying nine homes, a school and other civilian buildings, according to the regional military chief. A railroad facility and a bridge in Dnipro were hit on Wednesday, continuing the Kremlin’s targeting of infrastructure that is critical to Ukraine’s efforts to resupply its forces.
More live updates here.
At the scene of Mariupol theater tragedy, Russia prepares for a parade
Russian forces are preparing for a parade in the shattered port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said, clearing debris from a bombed-out theater that had served as the city’s main shelter before it was destroyed seven weeks ago, in an attack that remains one of the deadliest of the war.
City officials estimated at the time that as many as 300 people were killed in the March 16 airstrike. An Associated Press investigation, published Wednesday, put the number killed at close to twice that, based on the accounts of survivors and rescue workers. The report also drew on detailed floor plans of the Mariupol Drama Theater and photos and videos taken before and after the attack.
A white flag had been tied atop the building before the airstrike, and the word “children” was painted in Russian on the ground along two sides.
Read the full story here.
Russian forces are preparing for a parade in the shattered port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said, clearing debris from a bombed-out theater that had served as the city’s main shelter before it was destroyed seven weeks ago, in an attack that remains one of the deadliest of the war.
City officials estimated at the time that as many as 300 people were killed in the March 16 airstrike. An Associated Press investigation, published Wednesday, put the number killed at close to twice that, based on the accounts of survivors and rescue workers. The report also drew on detailed floor plans of the Mariupol Drama Theater and photos and videos taken before and after the attack.
A white flag had been tied atop the building before the airstrike, and the word “children” was painted in Russian on the ground along two sides.
Read the full story here.
Belarus president, Russia’s staunch ally, didn’t expect war to ‘drag on’
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he did not expect the war in Ukraine to “drag on this way.”
Lukashenko told the Associated Press on Thursday that he was doing “everything” he could to stop the 10-week-long conflict and that his own military’s sudden drills this week posed no threat to other countries.
“I want to stress one more time: I feel like this operation has dragged on,” he said in an interview in Minsk, accusing Kyiv and the United States of fueling the war.
The Belarusian leader, whose support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has made him a target of more Western sanctions, allowed Russian troops to assemble for joint military drills in his country in February, with Belarus serving as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine.
He cast himself as pivotal to talks between Moscow and Kyiv, which have yet to yield an agreement as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he did not expect the war in Ukraine to “drag on this way.”
Lukashenko told the Associated Press on Thursday that he was doing “everything” he could to stop the 10-week-long conflict and that his own military’s sudden drills this week posed no threat to other countries.
“I want to stress one more time: I feel like this operation has dragged on,” he said in an interview in Minsk, accusing Kyiv and the United States of fueling the war.
The Belarusian leader, whose support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has made him a target of more Western sanctions, allowed Russian troops to assemble for joint military drills in his country in February, with Belarus serving as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine.
He cast himself as pivotal to talks between Moscow and Kyiv, which have yet to yield an agreement as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine says Russia is stealing grain, which could worsen food crisis
Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have taken vast stores of grain from Ukraine and exported them to Russia, exacerbating the risk of shortages and hunger in areas under Russian control.
Farmers in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces reported that the Russians were “stealing their grain en masse,” according to a statement released over the weekend by Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Ukrainian television last week that he had heard a surge of accounts from elevator operators about Russians seizing grain in recent weeks in occupied areas.
“This is outright robbery,” he said, warning that the behavior could cause a food crisis.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have taken vast stores of grain from Ukraine and exported them to Russia, exacerbating the risk of shortages and hunger in areas under Russian control.
Farmers in Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces reported that the Russians were “stealing their grain en masse,” according to a statement released over the weekend by Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Ukrainian television last week that he had heard a surge of accounts from elevator operators about Russians seizing grain in recent weeks in occupied areas.
“This is outright robbery,” he said, warning that the behavior could cause a food crisis.
Read the full story here.
Putin apologizes to Israel for Hitler comments as Zelensky slams Nazi rhetoric
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a rare apology on Thursday to Israel over recent antisemitic comments from Russia’s foreign minister connecting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to Judaism, according to the Israeli prime minister.
The reported apology came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of using Nazi propaganda and antisemitic tropes to justify the invasion as Russian leaders repeatedly compare Zelensky to Hitler.
During a phone conversation between Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Russian president apologized for remarks made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who recently dismissed Zelensky’s Jewish faith by claiming that “Hitler also had Jewish blood” — a discredited antisemitic claim.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a rare apology on Thursday to Israel over recent antisemitic comments from Russia’s foreign minister connecting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to Judaism, according to the Israeli prime minister.
The reported apology came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of using Nazi propaganda and antisemitic tropes to justify the invasion as Russian leaders repeatedly compare Zelensky to Hitler.
During a phone conversation between Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Russian president apologized for remarks made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who recently dismissed Zelensky’s Jewish faith by claiming that “Hitler also had Jewish blood” — a discredited antisemitic claim.
Read the full story here.
Oligarch’s effort to broker peace falters even as it shields him from sanctions
As hundreds of Ukrainians faced annihilation in an encircled steel plant, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich sent word last month that he had achieved a possible breakthrough.
The billionaire and would-be peace broker told officials in Ukraine that he had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-April and “reached an understanding” that would allow wounded soldiers and civilians — children among them — to leave the besieged mill in Mariupol, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
But when Ukrainian officials sought details on how to proceed, they were met by silence from Moscow. Russia continued bombing the Azovstal plant without any letup until the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross brokered a separate commitment from Putin to allow some civilians to be evacuated this week, officials said.
Read the full story here.
As hundreds of Ukrainians faced annihilation in an encircled steel plant, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich sent word last month that he had achieved a possible breakthrough.
The billionaire and would-be peace broker told officials in Ukraine that he had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-April and “reached an understanding” that would allow wounded soldiers and civilians — children among them — to leave the besieged mill in Mariupol, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
But when Ukrainian officials sought details on how to proceed, they were met by silence from Moscow. Russia continued bombing the Azovstal plant without any letup until the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross brokered a separate commitment from Putin to allow some civilians to be evacuated this week, officials said.
Read the full story here.