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Russian oligarch’s $300 million yacht seized by Fiji on behalf of U.S.
The $300 million superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov was seized Thursday by Fijian authorities on behalf of the United States as part of the ongoing efforts to sanction and punish Russia’s elite in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Justice Department announced that Fiji executed a seizure warrant on the Amadea, a 348-foot-long luxury vessel that authorities say was “subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law.”
Kerimov, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals, who built his fortune in gold mining and is a political ally of President Vladimir Putin’s, has been identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as an official of the government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Council.
Read the full story here.
The $300 million superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov was seized Thursday by Fijian authorities on behalf of the United States as part of the ongoing efforts to sanction and punish Russia’s elite in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Justice Department announced that Fiji executed a seizure warrant on the Amadea, a 348-foot-long luxury vessel that authorities say was “subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law.”
Kerimov, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals, who built his fortune in gold mining and is a political ally of President Vladimir Putin’s, has been identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as an official of the government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Council.
Read the full story here.
Russia tightens grip on Mariupol as Ukraine seeks more Western aid
MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — Russian forces appeared to tighten their grip on the southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday, with a senior police official describing “constant” attempts to overrun the last Ukrainian forces holding out at the embattled Azovstal steel plant.
Seizing the plant would give Russia total control of the city — delivering the Kremlin its largest prize in a 10-week-old invasion that has been marked by immense human suffering and logistical failures, and has shifted to focus on eastern Ukraine after attempts to take control elsewhere faltered.
Mykhailo Vershynin, the chief of the Donetsk regional patrol police, said Russian forces had not observed a promised cease-fire in Mariupol, where a slow stream of about 500 evacuations have been reported in recent days.
Read the full story here.
MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — Russian forces appeared to tighten their grip on the southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday, with a senior police official describing “constant” attempts to overrun the last Ukrainian forces holding out at the embattled Azovstal steel plant.
Seizing the plant would give Russia total control of the city — delivering the Kremlin its largest prize in a 10-week-old invasion that has been marked by immense human suffering and logistical failures, and has shifted to focus on eastern Ukraine after attempts to take control elsewhere faltered.
Mykhailo Vershynin, the chief of the Donetsk regional patrol police, said Russian forces had not observed a promised cease-fire in Mariupol, where a slow stream of about 500 evacuations have been reported in recent days.
Read the full story here.
Pentagon sending Ukraine laser-guided rockets, new surveillance drones
The Biden administration in recent weeks has approved the transfer of more commercially available weapons to Ukraine, including for the first time laser-guided rockets that can be fired from helicopters, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.
The 70mm rockets are part of a system that converts low-cost ammunition into precision weapons.
Additionally, the administration has signed contracts to send Puma unmanned aircraft to Ukraine. The hand-launched drones are used primarily for aerial surveillance and are likely to expand Ukraine’s intelligence gathering capabilities.
Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said in an interview that the Defense Department also has signed a contract worth nearly $18 million to send Ukraine additional Switchblade drones, which are loitering munitions that can be crashed into a target. The Ukrainians have used them to attack armored vehicles and formations of Russian soldiers.
Read the full story here.
The Biden administration in recent weeks has approved the transfer of more commercially available weapons to Ukraine, including for the first time laser-guided rockets that can be fired from helicopters, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.
The 70mm rockets are part of a system that converts low-cost ammunition into precision weapons.
Additionally, the administration has signed contracts to send Puma unmanned aircraft to Ukraine. The hand-launched drones are used primarily for aerial surveillance and are likely to expand Ukraine’s intelligence gathering capabilities.
Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said in an interview that the Defense Department also has signed a contract worth nearly $18 million to send Ukraine additional Switchblade drones, which are loitering munitions that can be crashed into a target. The Ukrainians have used them to attack armored vehicles and formations of Russian soldiers.
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- More than 500,000 Ukrainians have been deported to Russia since the start of the invasion, Zelensky said. “They were forced to go there. Everything is taken away from them. Their documents are taken away, their means of communication are taken away.”
- First lady Jill Biden is visiting Romania and Slovakia this weekend, where she plans to spend Mother’s Day with Ukrainian women.
- European Union ambassadors are debating plans to ban Russian oil imports. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that the proposals would amount to “dropping a nuclear bomb on the Hungarian economy.”
- The United States provided intelligence that helped the Ukrainian military sink the Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea fleet flagship, U.S. officials told The Post, though they insisted Friday that they did not have any involvement in the decision to strike.
More live updates here.
- More than 500,000 Ukrainians have been deported to Russia since the start of the invasion, Zelensky said. “They were forced to go there. Everything is taken away from them. Their documents are taken away, their means of communication are taken away.”
- First lady Jill Biden is visiting Romania and Slovakia this weekend, where she plans to spend Mother’s Day with Ukrainian women.
- European Union ambassadors are debating plans to ban Russian oil imports. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that the proposals would amount to “dropping a nuclear bomb on the Hungarian economy.”
- The United States provided intelligence that helped the Ukrainian military sink the Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea fleet flagship, U.S. officials told The Post, though they insisted Friday that they did not have any involvement in the decision to strike.
More live updates here.
Italy freezes $700-million megayacht linked to Putin
ROME — Italian financial authorities said Friday that they have frozen a $700-million megayacht that has been linked in media reports and by anti-Kremlin groups to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But an element of mystery remains: Italy, in its decree, did not say who the owner might be.
The move comes after Italian investigators had raced to investigate the vessel and prevent it from leaving the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara. The yacht, known as the Scheherazade, had been undergoing repairs since before the Russia-launched war in Ukraine. But earlier this week, it had returned to the water, according to a New York Times reporter who visited the marina, prompting fears the vessel might depart and evade sanctions.
The ship, until the measures imposed Friday evening, would have been free to leave.
Read the full story here.
ROME — Italian financial authorities said Friday that they have frozen a $700-million megayacht that has been linked in media reports and by anti-Kremlin groups to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But an element of mystery remains: Italy, in its decree, did not say who the owner might be.
The move comes after Italian investigators had raced to investigate the vessel and prevent it from leaving the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara. The yacht, known as the Scheherazade, had been undergoing repairs since before the Russia-launched war in Ukraine. But earlier this week, it had returned to the water, according to a New York Times reporter who visited the marina, prompting fears the vessel might depart and evade sanctions.
The ship, until the measures imposed Friday evening, would have been free to leave.
Read the full story here.
Here's the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.
Odessa: The region surrounding the port city will be under a curfew from the evening of May 8 until the morning of May 10 out of concern for Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, Ukrainian Col. Maksym Mikhailovich Marchenko said in a video message. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a formal war with Ukraine.
Mariupol: About 50 people, including children and women, were evacuated Friday from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in the besieged southern port, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday.
Kyiv: There will be increased patrols around the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced in a Telegram post Friday, adding that authorities won’t implement a curfew.
Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces defending this northeastern city have shifted to counterattacks against their Russian enemies, and as a result, are retaking territory.
More live updates here.
Odessa: The region surrounding the port city will be under a curfew from the evening of May 8 until the morning of May 10 out of concern for Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, Ukrainian Col. Maksym Mikhailovich Marchenko said in a video message. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a formal war with Ukraine.
Mariupol: About 50 people, including children and women, were evacuated Friday from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in the besieged southern port, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday.
Kyiv: There will be increased patrols around the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced in a Telegram post Friday, adding that authorities won’t implement a curfew.
Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces defending this northeastern city have shifted to counterattacks against their Russian enemies, and as a result, are retaking territory.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The Pentagon is buying laser-guided rockets and drones for Ukraine’s military, a U.S. defense official said Friday, while the United States will also send an additional $150 million worth of weapons and equipment suited for the open terrain of Donbas.
- The fresh aid comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Kyiv’s conditions for serious peace talks with Russia: the restoration of Ukraine’s territories before the Kremlin’s Feb. 24 invasion; the return of more than 5 million refugees; membership in the European Union; and accountability from Russian military officials for atrocities.
- Those objectives run counter to the military goals stated by Russia as fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said diplomatic efforts are still underway to free Ukrainian fighters are still holding out at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, the port city that has weathered weeks of Russian shelling.
More live updates here.
- The Pentagon is buying laser-guided rockets and drones for Ukraine’s military, a U.S. defense official said Friday, while the United States will also send an additional $150 million worth of weapons and equipment suited for the open terrain of Donbas.
- The fresh aid comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Kyiv’s conditions for serious peace talks with Russia: the restoration of Ukraine’s territories before the Kremlin’s Feb. 24 invasion; the return of more than 5 million refugees; membership in the European Union; and accountability from Russian military officials for atrocities.
- Those objectives run counter to the military goals stated by Russia as fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said diplomatic efforts are still underway to free Ukrainian fighters are still holding out at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, the port city that has weathered weeks of Russian shelling.
More live updates here.
How millions of Russians are tearing holes in the Digital Iron Curtain
RIGA, Latvia — When Russian authorities blocked hundreds of Internet sites in March, Konstantin decided to act. The 52-year-old company manager in Moscow tore a hole in the Digital Iron Curtain, which had been erected to control the narrative of the war in Ukraine, with a tool that lets him surf blocked sites and eyeball taboo news.
Konstantin turned to a virtual private network, an encrypted digital tunnel commonly known as a VPN.
Since the war began in late February, VPNs have been downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day, a massive surge in demand that represents a direct challenge to President Vladimir Putin and his attempt to seal Russians off from the wider world. By protecting the locations and identities of users, VPNs are now granting millions of Russians access to blocked material.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — When Russian authorities blocked hundreds of Internet sites in March, Konstantin decided to act. The 52-year-old company manager in Moscow tore a hole in the Digital Iron Curtain, which had been erected to control the narrative of the war in Ukraine, with a tool that lets him surf blocked sites and eyeball taboo news.
Konstantin turned to a virtual private network, an encrypted digital tunnel commonly known as a VPN.
Since the war began in late February, VPNs have been downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day, a massive surge in demand that represents a direct challenge to President Vladimir Putin and his attempt to seal Russians off from the wider world. By protecting the locations and identities of users, VPNs are now granting millions of Russians access to blocked material.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine lays out peace-talk demands as the West braces for escalation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined his conditions Friday for entering peace talks with Russia, demanding a restoration of preinvasion borders, the return of more than 5 million refugees, membership in the European Union and accountability from Russian military leaders before Kyiv would consider laying down its arms.
Zelensky’s slate of requirements, which he listed during an online forum organized by Chatham House, are in direct conflict with the military objectives Russian leaders have articulated as they bear down on the Donbas region and southern Ukraine — inflicting additional casualties Friday in apparent violation of a cease-fire.
They also come as Ukraine and its allies await possible pronouncements or dramatic shifts on the battlefield by Moscow before Monday, when Russia observes Victory Day, commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of the European front in World War II.
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined his conditions Friday for entering peace talks with Russia, demanding a restoration of preinvasion borders, the return of more than 5 million refugees, membership in the European Union and accountability from Russian military leaders before Kyiv would consider laying down its arms.
Zelensky’s slate of requirements, which he listed during an online forum organized by Chatham House, are in direct conflict with the military objectives Russian leaders have articulated as they bear down on the Donbas region and southern Ukraine — inflicting additional casualties Friday in apparent violation of a cease-fire.
They also come as Ukraine and its allies await possible pronouncements or dramatic shifts on the battlefield by Moscow before Monday, when Russia observes Victory Day, commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of the European front in World War II.
Read the full story here.
An open-ended war forces one Ukrainian city to reinvent itself
LVIV, Ukraine — Sure, it looks like a pile of dirt ringed by boxy gray shacks, but that’s not what Anton Kolomyeytsev sees at a construction site here in this western Ukrainian city.
As the city’s chief architect, he envisions a village of container-style housing for families displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. He sees playground equipment accessible for wounded children. Meals cooked by students from a nearby culinary institute. And enough greenery to make it “the best courtyard in the whole neighborhood.”
Those plans will take months — and the first families are expected to move in next week.
“We have to invent things out of nothing,” Kolomyeytsev said. “We know that those who came here want to live in Ukraine. They can go west, to Poland or other countries, but it’s their decision to stay in Ukraine, to develop Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
LVIV, Ukraine — Sure, it looks like a pile of dirt ringed by boxy gray shacks, but that’s not what Anton Kolomyeytsev sees at a construction site here in this western Ukrainian city.
As the city’s chief architect, he envisions a village of container-style housing for families displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. He sees playground equipment accessible for wounded children. Meals cooked by students from a nearby culinary institute. And enough greenery to make it “the best courtyard in the whole neighborhood.”
Those plans will take months — and the first families are expected to move in next week.
“We have to invent things out of nothing,” Kolomyeytsev said. “We know that those who came here want to live in Ukraine. They can go west, to Poland or other countries, but it’s their decision to stay in Ukraine, to develop Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
As Russia marks annual Victory Day, Ukrainians scarred by war reject defeat
From Kharkiv to Mariupol, Monday will be a day of dread.
May 9 is Victory Day, when the states of the former Soviet Union celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. In Moscow, tanks will rumble proudly through Red Square. President Vladimir Putin will make a speech many think could signal a new — and potentially devastating — direction for his invasion of Ukraine.
But to Ukrainians, the Russian military is unworthy of celebration. Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, has always treated Victory Day as a holiday. But this year, it will be just another day to take the fight to the Russian army, just another day to survive.
Read the full story here.
From Kharkiv to Mariupol, Monday will be a day of dread.
May 9 is Victory Day, when the states of the former Soviet Union celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. In Moscow, tanks will rumble proudly through Red Square. President Vladimir Putin will make a speech many think could signal a new — and potentially devastating — direction for his invasion of Ukraine.
But to Ukrainians, the Russian military is unworthy of celebration. Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, has always treated Victory Day as a holiday. But this year, it will be just another day to take the fight to the Russian army, just another day to survive.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- A high-ranking Ukrainian official said Saturday that all women, children and the elderly had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were trapped for weeks amid an intense Russian assault.
- Fighting continued in Ukraine’s eastern region, with Kyiv accusing Russian forces Saturday of blowing up three bridges northeast of Kharkiv, to prevent counterattacks. In the south, Russian forces launched cruise missiles at the Black Sea port of Odessa on Saturday, hitting a civilian target, according to the Ukrainian military.
- First lady Jill Biden, who is in Romania as part of a four-day trip to Eastern Europe, met Ukrainian refugee students and their mothers Saturday at a school in Bucharest. The first lady, who often appeared to be on the verge of tears as she heard harrowing stories of how they fled the war in Ukraine, emphasized her concern over a refugee crisis that “keeps going on and on.”
More live updates here.
- A high-ranking Ukrainian official said Saturday that all women, children and the elderly had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were trapped for weeks amid an intense Russian assault.
- Fighting continued in Ukraine’s eastern region, with Kyiv accusing Russian forces Saturday of blowing up three bridges northeast of Kharkiv, to prevent counterattacks. In the south, Russian forces launched cruise missiles at the Black Sea port of Odessa on Saturday, hitting a civilian target, according to the Ukrainian military.
- First lady Jill Biden, who is in Romania as part of a four-day trip to Eastern Europe, met Ukrainian refugee students and their mothers Saturday at a school in Bucharest. The first lady, who often appeared to be on the verge of tears as she heard harrowing stories of how they fled the war in Ukraine, emphasized her concern over a refugee crisis that “keeps going on and on.”
More live updates here.
Here's the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.
Odessa: Russian forces used cruise missiles to strike a civilian target in this port city Saturday, Ukraine’s military said. It reported no casualties. The region will be under a curfew from Sunday evening until Tuesday morning because of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations.
Mariupol: All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukrainian fighters holed up at the plant are clinging to hopes of a diplomatic deal that would allow a peaceful evacuation of their wounded, medics and military.
Luhansk: Russian forces bombed a school in Luhansk, possibly trapping dozens of people in the rubble, the region’s governor said Saturday.
Kharkiv: Ukraine accused Russian forces Saturday of blowing up three bridges northeast of Kharkiv to thwart counterattacks. The Post could not independently verify the assertion.
More live updates here.
Odessa: Russian forces used cruise missiles to strike a civilian target in this port city Saturday, Ukraine’s military said. It reported no casualties. The region will be under a curfew from Sunday evening until Tuesday morning because of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations.
Mariupol: All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukrainian fighters holed up at the plant are clinging to hopes of a diplomatic deal that would allow a peaceful evacuation of their wounded, medics and military.
Luhansk: Russian forces bombed a school in Luhansk, possibly trapping dozens of people in the rubble, the region’s governor said Saturday.
Kharkiv: Ukraine accused Russian forces Saturday of blowing up three bridges northeast of Kharkiv to thwart counterattacks. The Post could not independently verify the assertion.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- As the last of the civilian women, children and elderly were evacuated from a steel plant that has been a stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, Kyiv’s defense of the strategic port city appeared to be nearing an end, with President Volodymyr Zelensky and a Ukrainian commander at the plant appealing for the evacuation of fighters and their wounded.
- Maj. Serhiy Volyna, whose forces are trapped at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works under a constant barrage of Russian fire, made a plea on Facebook for “everyone to make the maximum effort to evacuate the military.” He described life at the plant as “some hellish reality show.”
- Meanwhile, Russian forces bombed a school in Luhansk, leaving as many as 60 people trapped in the rubble and presumed dead, Ukrainian officials said. About 90 people were sheltering in the basement when Russian forces attacked, Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said Sunday.
More live updates here.
- As the last of the civilian women, children and elderly were evacuated from a steel plant that has been a stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, Kyiv’s defense of the strategic port city appeared to be nearing an end, with President Volodymyr Zelensky and a Ukrainian commander at the plant appealing for the evacuation of fighters and their wounded.
- Maj. Serhiy Volyna, whose forces are trapped at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works under a constant barrage of Russian fire, made a plea on Facebook for “everyone to make the maximum effort to evacuate the military.” He described life at the plant as “some hellish reality show.”
- Meanwhile, Russian forces bombed a school in Luhansk, leaving as many as 60 people trapped in the rubble and presumed dead, Ukrainian officials said. About 90 people were sheltering in the basement when Russian forces attacked, Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said Sunday.
More live updates here.
First lady Jill Biden visits Ukraine in rare trip to war zone
UZHHOROD, Ukraine — First lady Jill Biden crossed the border into Ukraine on Sunday, entering an active war zone in a rare move for the spouse of a sitting president.
Biden entered the country on Mother’s Day from Slovakia after she visited a processing center at the Vysne Nemecke border crossing and met with refugees. Inside Ukraine, she met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who had not appeared in public since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Biden said before the start of a closed-door meeting between the two first ladies. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Zelenska praised Biden “for a very courageous act” in coming to Ukraine.
“We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war," she said.
Read the full story here.
UZHHOROD, Ukraine — First lady Jill Biden crossed the border into Ukraine on Sunday, entering an active war zone in a rare move for the spouse of a sitting president.
Biden entered the country on Mother’s Day from Slovakia after she visited a processing center at the Vysne Nemecke border crossing and met with refugees. Inside Ukraine, she met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who had not appeared in public since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Biden said before the start of a closed-door meeting between the two first ladies. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Zelenska praised Biden “for a very courageous act” in coming to Ukraine.
“We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war," she said.
Read the full story here.
Up to 60 feared dead after Russia bombs school in eastern Ukraine
BERESTOVE, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike on a school that was serving as a bomb shelter for civilians has left as many as 60 people buried under rubble and feared dead, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
If confirmed, the incident in the eastern village of Bilohorivka would rank among the deadliest attacks on civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The strike came as President Vladimir Putin’s forces intensified their push to consolidate territory ahead of May 9, a day of pomp and circumstance in Russia known as Victory Day.
On Sunday, the sounds of clashes boomed out along the road to Bilohorivka. As Ukrainian and Russian forces traded missiles and artillery fire, soldiers urged civilian cars to turn back.
About 90 people were hiding in the basement of the Bilohorivka school when it was attacked, according to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.
Read the full story here.
BERESTOVE, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike on a school that was serving as a bomb shelter for civilians has left as many as 60 people buried under rubble and feared dead, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
If confirmed, the incident in the eastern village of Bilohorivka would rank among the deadliest attacks on civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The strike came as President Vladimir Putin’s forces intensified their push to consolidate territory ahead of May 9, a day of pomp and circumstance in Russia known as Victory Day.
On Sunday, the sounds of clashes boomed out along the road to Bilohorivka. As Ukrainian and Russian forces traded missiles and artillery fire, soldiers urged civilian cars to turn back.
About 90 people were hiding in the basement of the Bilohorivka school when it was attacked, according to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.
Read the full story here.
Last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol vow to fight ‘as long as we are alive’
As the last civilians were evacuated from Mariupol’s embattled steel plant, leaders of the remaining Ukrainian fighters holed up there took to Zoom to issue a defiant message: They will fight to the end.
“We will always fight, as long as we are alive, for justice,” Azov’s deputy commander, Capt. Sviatoslav “Kalina” Palamar, said in an unusual news conference from within the Azovstal steel plant.
Russian forces continued to besiege the steel plant into Sunday with airstrikes; artillery bombardment; tank, drone and sniper fire, as well as infantry assaults, the fighters said.
“We are under constant shelling, so we need to begin,” Palamar warned at the start of a nearly two- hour news conference streamed online from their underground bunker.
Read the full story here.
As the last civilians were evacuated from Mariupol’s embattled steel plant, leaders of the remaining Ukrainian fighters holed up there took to Zoom to issue a defiant message: They will fight to the end.
“We will always fight, as long as we are alive, for justice,” Azov’s deputy commander, Capt. Sviatoslav “Kalina” Palamar, said in an unusual news conference from within the Azovstal steel plant.
Russian forces continued to besiege the steel plant into Sunday with airstrikes; artillery bombardment; tank, drone and sniper fire, as well as infantry assaults, the fighters said.
“We are under constant shelling, so we need to begin,” Palamar warned at the start of a nearly two- hour news conference streamed online from their underground bunker.
Read the full story here.
Kremlin is targeting Ukraine resupply infrastructure, officials say
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.
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.
Read the full story here.