Daily Archives: April 29, 2022

In this image taken from footage provided by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service, Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with U.S. Javelin missiles during military exercises in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, on Jan. 12. The U.S. and NATO allies have been ramping up military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russian forces. Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP hide caption

In this image taken from footage provided by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service, Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with U.S. Javelin missiles during military exercises in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, on Jan. 12. The U.S. and NATO allies have been ramping up military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russian forces.

MOSCOW As the U.S. and Europe boost military aid to Ukraine, Russian authorities have escalated warnings and criticism, arguing the aid is not only fueling the conflict but also boosting the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO powers.

In some ways, Russian criticism over foreign military assistance to Ukraine is not new. Russian President Vladimir Putin seized on the delivery of Western arms to Kyiv as part of his rationale to launch what he insists is a limited "special military operation" in February.

Yet as Russia's stated goals in Ukraine have narrowed to the "liberation" of the eastern Donbas, the Kremlin's amplified rhetoric reflects efforts to build public consensus for the need of a protracted if not existential war with the West.

"The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons into Ukraine and other countries, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday. It was the latest in a series of statements from Moscow that the conflict in Ukraine risks spilling into a wider conflict with the West.

Peskov was reacting to an appeal by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for Western countries to "double down" on their military support for the government in Kyiv.

"Heavy weapons, tanks, airplanes digging deep into our inventories, ramping up production. We need to do all of this" for Ukraine, Truss said in a speech on Wednesday in London.

On Thursday, President Biden asked Congress to approve $33 billion in aid to Ukraine more than double what Washington has already committed since the start of the conflict last February. Nearly two-thirds of that amount is for military aid.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres following their talks in Moscow, Tuesday. Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP hide caption

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres following their talks in Moscow, Tuesday.

This week, Germany's parliament also approved sending anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made impassioned pleas for heavier and more lethal weapons to stem the Russian assault. While Western allies have embraced the call for aid, they've been careful to emphasize that their forces will not join the fight.

"We're not attacking Russia; we're helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression," Biden said in announcing his push for new aid.

Meanwhile, the rhetoric from Russia has grown more heated with each passing day. On state television on Monday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned the West is de facto engaged in a "proxy war" that could lead to World War III. NATO shipments into Ukraine, he said, would be viewed as "legitimate targets" by Russia's military.

Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, accused the West of masterminding a series of disputed attacks on Russian territory near the Ukrainian border.

"In the West, they are openly calling on Kyiv to attack Russia, including with the use of weapons received from NATO countries. ... I don't advise you to test our patience," she said Thursday.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Services claimed that same day to have uncovered a U.S.-Polish plot to send forces into western Ukraine under the guise of a "peacekeeping contingent." Their goal, Naryshkin claimed, without providing evidence, was to seize Ukrainian territory for themselves.

Then there was Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, who told Russia's official state newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday that the U.S. having failed to subdue Russia after the end of the Cold War is now intent on its destruction.

"America divided the world into vassals and enemies long ago," Patrushev said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued his own warnings, too. Interference from outside powers in Ukraine is creating "strategic threats" to Russia itself, he said Wednesday even as he boasted Russia's defenses were up to the challenge.

The West "should know that our retaliatory strikes will be lightning-fast," Putin said in a speech to lawyers in St. Petersburg. "We have all the tools for this, things no one else can boast of having now. And we will not boast about it, we will just use them if necessary."

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Russia sharpens warnings as the U.S. and Europe send more weapons to Ukraine - NPR

Amid mounting fears among western officials that Russias war in Ukraine could drag on for months or years, the Kremlin appears to be focusing its operations around the city of Izium as part of renewed efforts to seize the entirety of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

According to Ukrainian military officials, Russia has been amassing forces around the city, 75 miles south east of Kharkiv on the Donets river, as well as around the Russian city of Belgorod across the border. There are unconfirmed claims that the chief of the Russian general staff, Valery Gerasimov, has been put in command of the push.

In the past week alone, Moscow has added 13 battalion tactical groups to the forces fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, representing between 10,000 and 13,000 extra troops.

The mounting scale of the offensive around Izium comes as an unnamed US official suggested on Thursday that some Russian troops who had been fighting in the southern port city of Mariupol were being moved north west, perhaps as part of an effort to encircle areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions still under Ukrainian control.

According to the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces appeared to be seeking to bypass Izium to avoid getting bogged down in fighting there, instead heading in the direction of Slovyansk, an assessment was echoed by the most recent Ukrainian updates.

Russian forces attacking [the] southwest from Izium likely seek to bypass Ukrainian defences on the direct road to Slovyansk, read the institutes update, noting that Russian forces had only made minor gains in the past 24 hours.

It added, however, that additional Russian reinforcements continue to deploy to Belgorod to support the Izium advance.

Russian forces appear to be attempting to break through the Ukrainian defences on a salient to the north-east of Slovyansk, while attempting to encircle Ukrainian forces to the east at Severodonetsk.

The new focus of the Kremlins war aimed at building a broad land bridge from the Russian border to occupied Crimea and beyond has come with a shift in tactics to a slower and more deliberate advance as the Russian military has continued to struggle with logistics and other problems in managing its campaign.

The latest stage of the offensive has been marked by an increased concentration of artillery, and the use of artillery fire, to support the slowly advancing Russian troops, with a Pentagon official describing slow and uneven progress in fierce fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

According to a Pentagon official quoted by the New York Times, Russian troops, however, are still only making incremental progress in the campaign around Izium.

Commenting on the reported appointment of Gerasimov to command the offensive at the operational and tactical level a senior western official briefed journalists on Friday that it underlined the operational difficulties Russia was seeing that it needed to move its most senior military officer forward.

I think the reports, if credible, show the command and control challenges that Russia is facing. The fact that Gerasimov has come forward to get some momentum behind assaults is a real statement of the challenges in the Donbas.

The official added: In the Donbas, we are seeing slow progress sometimes as little as a kilometre a day in terms of terrain. And what we are seeing there is the indiscriminate use of fire power while they are being smarter using artillery in supporting ground forces. But it is being done in such a way that it puts the civilian population at enormous risk in some towns and villages.

With the failure of its attempted coup de main against Kyiv in the initial weeks of the war, which saw Russian special forces infiltrate perilously close to where Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was sheltering, Moscow has settled on a tactic of slowly grinding away at Ukrainian resistance.

While Moscow has lost thousands of troops and hundreds of armoured vehicles, Ukraines spending on ammunition and weapons systems has also left it depleted, explaining the huge $33bn (26.3bn) military aid package announced this week by US president Joe Biden.

All of which has not only raised the spectre of a long war, but the risk that in the end as Boris Johnson said a week ago Russia might prevail.

We need to be prepared for the long term, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general, told a summit in Brussels this week.

There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years.

That assessment followed comments by Boris Johnson, made while visiting Delhi last week, that painted an equally pessimistic picture, including the prospect of a Russian victory.

I think the sad thing is that that is a realistic possibility, he said. Putin has a huge army. He has a very difficult political position because hes made a catastrophic blunder. The only option he now has really is to continue to try to use his appalling grinding approach led by artillery, trying to grind the Ukrainians down.

Hes very close to securing a land bridge in Mariupol. The situation is, Im afraid, unpredictable at this stage, but weve just got to be realistic about it.

That pessimism has been driven by a number of factors. Even while Bulgaria has offered to help Ukraine export its wheat via the port of Varna, Russias naval blockade of Ukraines coast remains significantly damaging.

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In the short term, despite the heavy losses of men and material, Russian forces still have easier access to equipment resupplies until US and other western arms supplies step up, including a significant advantage in deployed naval and air forces although western officials say that the balance of forces is no longer quite so overwhelming for Ukraine.

While the US and the west believes Ukraine can win the war against Russia a view expressed by US defence secretary Lloyd Austin after his recent visit to Ukraine it is likely to involve a bloody and protracted entanglement.

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Russias push into eastern Ukraine comes amid fears of a protracted war - The Guardian

Ukraine's prosecutor identifies 10 Russian soldiers accused of Bucha atrocities

A grave digger arranges flowers atop the grave of a woman as her husband and son watch on April 20, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Ukraine's prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova has identified 10 Russian soldiers she previously accused of atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

John Moore | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Ukraine's prosecutor general has identified 10 Russian soldiers she said were involved in the atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

Iryna Venediktova appealed to the public on Facebook to help gather evidence against those soldiers whom she said were"involved in the torture of peaceful people."They were from Russia's 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Ground Forces Brigade whose work President Vladimir Putin recently honored, the AP said.

"During the occupation of Bucha, they took unarmed civilians hostage, killed them with hunger and thirst, kept them on their knees with hands tied and eyes taped, mocked and beat them," she reportedly said, adding that the soldiers threatened to shoot the civilians and looted houses.

On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Bucha, calling for an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Chelsea Ong

A woman walks past the closed United States Embassy to Ukraine on April 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

John Moore | Getty Images

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv says one of its employees was killed in the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

"Volodymyr, who took leave from his job as an Embassy bodyguard to rejoin the army and defend Ukraine," the U.S. mission in Kyiv wrote.

"We will never forget his kind spirit, dedication, and bravery. Our deepest condolences go to his family and friends," the embassy wrote in a tweet.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Wednesday that the Biden administration is working on reopening the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

Amanda Macias

Thu, Apr 28 20221:19 PM EDT

Ukrainian servicemen are at work to receive the delivery of FGM-148 Javelins, American man-portable anti-tank missile provided by US to Ukraine as part of a military support, at Kyiv's airport Boryspil on February 11,2022, amid the crisis linked with the threat of Russia's invasion.

Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. President Joe Biden said he will visit a Lockheed Martin plant in Troy, Ala. on Tuesday to thank the workers who are manufacturing Javelin missiles being sent to Ukraine.

Biden said the purpose of the trip was to "thank them for producing the weapons that helped stop Russia's advances in Ukrainian cities like Kyiv."

Since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in late February, the shoulder-fired anti-tank Javelin missiles have proven to to be among the most decisive weapons in the Ukrainian arsenal.

Biden said the Lockheed Martin employees' "hard work has played a critical role in assuring Putin's strategic failure in Ukraine, and they should know that we know it." Biden's remarks were part of a broader announcement that he is seeking a massive $33 billion aid package for Ukraine.

--- Christina Wilkie

Thu, Apr 28 202212:20 PM EDT

This picture shows the partially destroyed Mariupol drama theatre on April 12, 2022. The U.K. defense ministry said Russia is probably unable to effectively discriminate targets when conducting air strikes in Mariupol because of its likely use of unguided free-falling bombs, increasing the risk of civilian casualties,

Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images

The Pentagon has seen some Russian forces leave positions in the coastal Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a senior U.S. Defense official said.

"We don't have an exact number on how many Russian forces are leaving Mariupol," the official said, adding that the number is not insignificant. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to share new details from the Pentagon's latest assessment of the war, said Russian forces are focusing a large number of airstrikes on Mariupol.

Russia has launched more than 1,900 missiles since the beginning of the invasion, according to the official. The person added that almost all of the strikes are coming from Russian airbases and not from inside of Ukraine.

"We are seeing them begin to leave Mariupol," the official said, adding that some troops have moved north and northwest.

Amanda Macias

Thu, Apr 28 202211:19 AM EDT

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks speaks during a joint press with Sweden and Finland's Foreign ministers after their meeting at the Nato headquarters in Brussels on January 24, 2022.

John Thys | AFP | Getty Images

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden would be "welcomed with open arms to NATO" should they apply to the 30-member strong alliance.

"It's their decision," Stoltenberg said. "But if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect that process to go quickly," he said, without offering a timeline. He said the Nordic nations are NATO's closest partners and already have "strong and mature democracies."

"EU members and we have been working with Finland and Sweden for many, many years," he added.

Stoltenberg's comments, which came on the heels of a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, added that the militaries of Finland and Sweden are interoperable with NATO forces.

In recent weeks, Finland and Sweden have said they would consider joining the military alliance amid the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Russia has long warned against any future enlargement of NATO, reportedly accusing the alliance of being "a tool geared towards confrontation."

Amanda Macias

Thu, Apr 28 202211:06 AM EDT

U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed was welcomed home following his release from a prison in Russia where he had been detained since 2019.

Photos shared by U.S. House Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, show Reed with his family, who has waged a public fight for his release, and the lawmaker at the Kelly Field airport in San Antonio, Texas.

Reed was released Wednesday in a brokered prisoner swap.

Reed was accused of assaulting a Russian officer and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison. Reed and his family have maintained his innocence and the U.S. government has described him as unjustly imprisoned.

Amanda Macias

Thu, Apr 28 202210:54 AM EDT

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the media members as he arrives in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 27, 2022.

Andre Luis Alves | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin, where Russian forces have been accused of committing atrocities.

"I imagine my family, in one of those houses," he told reporters while pointing to a charred building behind him. "I see my granddaughters running away in panic. Part of the family eventually killed," he added.

"This horrific scenario demonstrates something that is unfortunately always true, that civilians always pay the highest price. Innocent civilians were living in these buildings," Guterres said.

Earlier in the week, Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later on Thursday.

Amanda Macias

Thu, Apr 28 202210:36 AM EDT

Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's prime minister, meets with President Joe Biden, April 21, 2022.

Source: The White House

President Joe Biden will ask Congress for $33 billion to fund both humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine through September of this year, senior administration officials said Thursday.

The massive aid package will be accompanied by a proposal to Congress that it amend several longstanding criminal laws to make it easier for the U.S. to seize the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, sell the seized property and funnel the proceeds to the Ukrainians.

The $33 billion includes a request for $20.4 billion in additional security and military assistance for Ukraine as well as additional money to fund U.S. efforts to bolster European security in cooperation with NATO allies.

The administration said that $20.4 billion is designed to equip Kyiv and European partners with additional artillery, armored vehicles and anti-armor and anti-air capabilities, accelerate cyber capabilities and advanced air defense systems, and help clear landmines and improvised explosive devices.

Christina Wilkie and Thomas Franck

Thu, Apr 28 202210:27 AM EDT

US President Joe Biden speaks about trade with Russia, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 11, 2022.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. President JoeBidenwill address the nation at 10:45 a.m. from the White House, where he is expected to announce a massive new package of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Precise numbers for the aid have not been released, but the package is expected to dwarf the $3 billion the United States has already committed to Ukraine's defense and survival since Russia invaded its neighbor just over two months ago.

The new funding request will be accompanied by a White House proposal to Congress to change several criminal laws to make it easier for the government to liquidate the seized assets of Russian oligarchs and get that money to Ukraine.

Under federal law, in order to sell off seized assets, prosecutors must first show that they are the proceeds of a crime. Currently, being a sanctioned Russian oligarch isn't a crime.

Legal scholars have noted that without a crime, oligarchs could sue for the return of their property, and would stand a good chance of winning in court. Under Biden's proposal, Congress would create a new federal offense of knowingly possessing proceeds directly obtained from corrupt dealings with the Russian government.

--- Christina Wilkie

Thu, Apr 28 20229:56 AM EDT

Employees package bread at a bakery in Khartoum's al-Matar district, on March 17, 2022 as food prices rise across Sudan and the region due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Ashraf Shazly | AFP | Getty Images

Together,Russia and Ukraine account for roughly one-third of the world's global wheat exports, nearly 20% of its corn, and 80% of its sunflower oil and they provide the majority of the Middle East and North Africa region's supply.

Wheat futures are up 30% since the invasion began in late February.

Before the war, more than 95% of Ukraine's total grain, wheat and corn exports was shipped out via the Black Sea, and half of those exports went to MENA countries. That vital conduit is now shut, choking off Ukraine's maritime trade after its ports came under attack from Russia's military.

The country is now trying to export some of its produce by rail, which has enormous logistical limits, while Ukrainian farmers whose infrastructure hasn't been destroyed attempt to till their fields wearing bulletproof vests.

A farmer wears a bulletproof vest during crop sowing which takes place about 18 miles from the front line in the Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine.

Dmytro Smoliyenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Russia is the world's number one exporter of wheat, as well as crucially the top exporter of fertilizer. Fears of getting caught up in western sanctions on Moscow have already disrupted Russia's exports, too.

Experts have warned of the risk of riots, famine and mass migration hitting the region if basic food staples like wheat and flour become unaffordable or inaccessible.

Read the full story here.

Natasha Turak

Thu, Apr 28 20229:02 AM EDT

Ukrainian craftsmen work to meet the demand of the rising death toll at a coffin factory in Lviv.

A warehouse worker walks past a storeroom of completed coffins at a coffin workshop on April 28, 2022 in Rava-Ruska, Ukraine.

Leon Neal | Getty Images

The United Nations has confirmed 2,829 civilian deaths and 3,180 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24.

Craftsman Ruslan Petryshyn constructs the framework of a new coffin at a coffin workshop on April 28, 2022 in Rava-Ruska, Ukraine.

Leon Neal | Getty Images

Of those killed, the U.N. has identified at least 62 girls and 75 boys, as well as 68 children whose gender is unknown.

Craftsman Ruslan Slyusar sands the lid of a coffin to a smooth finish at a coffin workshop on April 28, 2022 in Rava-Ruska, Ukraine.

Leon Neal | Getty Images

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, citing delayed reports due to the armed conflict.

Craftsman Ruslan Slyusar attaches hingers to the lid of a coffin at a coffin workshop on April 28, 2022 in Rava-Ruska, Ukraine.

Leon Neal | Getty Images

The international body said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.

Craftsman Dmytro Hanyuchenko protectively wraps a coffin at a coffin workshop on April 28, 2022 in Rava-Ruska, Ukraine.

Leon Neal | Getty Images

Excerpt from:

Biden requests $33 billion for Ukraine war; Putin threatens 'lightning fast' retaliation to nations that intervene - CNBC

April 28 | False flag attacks in Transnistria

Explosions in Transnistria, a separatist, pro-Russian region of Moldova, are fueling fears that the Kremlins offensive could spill beyond the borders of Ukraine. On Monday, a Security Ministry building in Tiraspol, the capital of the unrecognized republic, was attacked with grenade launchers. On Tuesday there were blasts that damaged radio antennas in Maiac, and a strike against a military unit near Parcani. On Wednesday, local authorities reported attacks from Ukrainian territory against a weapons and ammunition depot housing thousands of tons of Soviet-era equipment in the town of Cobasna. The government of Moldova attributed the attacks to internal forces that seek to provoke a war and destabilize the situation. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) considers these false flag attacks conducted either by Russian forces or by sympathizers of the Kremlin who are seeking to create the right conditions to justify new operations in the area, or else to destabilize Moldova.

Shots from the

Ukraine border

Attack against

a military unit

Source: Interior Ministry and Security Council of Transnistria, TASS

Shots from the

Ukraine border

Attack against

communication towers

Attack against

a military unit

Source: Interior Ministry and Security Council of Transnistria, TASS

The attacks would serve as a pretext for Moscow to allegedly safeguard its Russian-speaking population in the east, where the Kremlin has had forces deployed for three decades. This same pretext was used in the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. The ISW believes that Russia does not have enough battalions in the area to launch an attack against the city of Odessa, and cannot benefit from reinforcements because they lack access to the areas that are under their control. A study by the Brussels-based think tank CEPS claims that there are nearly 1,500 Russian soldiers deployed on a stretch of land of around 400 kilometers along the eastern bank of the Dniester River. A third of them are there as keepers of the peace, and the rest are there to watch over the Cobasna arsenal, one of the biggest in eastern Europe.

If Russia were to recognize Transnistria, which officially calls itself the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, it would allow separatists there to seek additional protection from the Kremlin. Getting Transnistria involved in the conflict would let Russia launch attacks from that territory, and would increase tensions between Moldova and neighboring Romania, which is a member of NATO. While Moldova is not a member, it is a close collaborator and regularly attends meetings.

The Russian general Rustam Minnekayev said last week that Moscow is targeting the vital centers of the Ukrainian economy and wants access to Transnistria, where he claims there have been cases of oppression against the Russian-speaking population. The ISW has warned that Russian and Transnistrian forces on Wednesday accelerated preparations for potential operations. And Ukrainian intelligence sources cautioned that they could be preparing a missile strike in order to blame it on Kyiv. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies conducted before the start of the invasion foresaw the possibility of a Russian conquest of a strip of territory connecting Crimea (which Russia annexed in 2014) with the Donbas region of Ukraine and Transnistria.

Russian forces are trying to surround Ukrainian defensive lines in the east, according to UK intelligence reports. Russian advances from Izyum in the north and Mariupol in the south would squeeze the Ukrainian fighters who have been repelling the invader for weeks on the Donbas front. Moscows ground operations have barely secured any new territory in the last 24 hours, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The Ukrainians easternmost defensive position is near the town of Severodonetsk; if the Russians manage to fully encircle them from behind, they will be trapped and unable to receive supplies.

The city of Kreminna has reportedly fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izyum, as Russian forces attempt to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east. Ukrainian forces have been preparing defenses in Zhaporizhia ahead of a potential Russian attack from the south, said the UK Defense Ministry in its update.

Area recovered

by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

Area recovered by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

Area recovered by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

The ISWs daily report drew attention to May 9, the day when Russia will hold a Victory Day parade to observe the 77th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. This red-letter day on the Kremlins calendar could be behind the renewed ground attacks against the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the last remaining stronghold of resistance in the port city. The ISW notes that Russian officials in charge of the operation might feel that the strategy of besieging the plant may not be enough to starve out the defenders ahead of May 9.

In the south, Ukrainian defense forces conducted counterattacks to take back control of an area between the city of Kherson, which is under Russian occupation, and Mykolaiv. Local Ukrainian counterattacks in Kherson Oblast are unlikely to develop into a larger counteroffensive in the near term but are disrupting Russian efforts to completely capture Kherson Oblast and are likely acting as a drain on Russian combat power that could otherwise support Russias main effort in eastern Ukraine, said the ISW.

In western and central Ukraine, Russian troops conducted precision missile strikes against five Ukrainian railway stations. The strikes, which took place within the space of an hour, killed at least one person and injured more than 40 in Vinnytsia, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Zhytomyr oblasts. Ukrainian military commanders said the attack sought to disrupt Western weapons supplies to Ukraine.

The self-proclaimed authorities in the separatist region of Transnistria, (Russias occupied territory in Moldova), said that a government building in the capital, Tiraspol, was attacked on Monday with grenade launchers. Before dawn on Tuesday, two relay antennae were destroyed. No victims were reported in either case. Ukrainian authorities depicted the incident as a false flag attack conducted by Russian forces. Moscow said the new goal of its offensive in Ukraine was also to gain access to this Moldovan region located along the border with southern Ukraine, and which has been trapped for years in the Cold War. Russia has not recognized its independence and keeps around 1,000 soldiers in the area in charge of watching over old munitions deposits dating back to Soviet times.

The Russian offensive in Ukraine, focused for weeks in the southeast, has barely altered the frontline in recent days. Small, scattered operations throughout the Russian control line have allowed the invading forces to make very limited gains for example near Severodonetsk, a city of 100,000 residents in eastern Ukraine. In the past week, the Russians have gained around 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of Melitopol, in the south. The ISW believes that the Kremlins troops are still incapable of launching a decisive offensive operation, as they have failed to make a technical stop to regroup the units that withdrew from the north.

Area recovered

by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

Area recovered by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

Area recovered by Ukraine

City controlled

by the Russians

Annexed by Russia

in 2014

Note: What does control mean? It requires exerting a physical influence over an area to prevent its use by the enemy. It could be achieved by occupying the area or by holding power over it with weapons. It does not imply any form of governance or legitimacy. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (for advances and areas under control); UK intelligence (besieged cities); EL PAS and other sources (fighting and airstrikes).

In Mariupol, Russian forces continued to put a stranglehold on combatants and civilians who took refuge at the Azovstal steel plant, which was targeted throughout Sunday. The Russian strategy of besieging the plant means that many troops are focused there and cannot be sent elsewhere on missions such as advancing towards the north to isolate Ukrainian soldiers who continue to hold out in the Donbas region, said UK intelligence reports.

Ukrainian defense sources cited by the ISW said the invading forces appeared to be preparing an attack on the steel plant, because the Kremlin wants to show off its capture of Mariupol on May 9, when it is scheduled to hold a Victory Day military parade to observe the defeat of Nazi Germany 77 years ago.

Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelenskiy on Sunday received a visit from US State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Authorities announced that the US embassy will reopen in Kyiv.

English version by Susana Urra.

Read the original post:

The Ukraine war in maps: Attacks in Transnistria fuel fears that Russian aggression may spill over border - EL PAS in English

Indonesian President Joko Widodo says both leaders invited suggesting a compromise was reached despite pressure to bar Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to the G20 summit in November, which will be attended by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to the leader of host nation Indonesia.

I have invited President Zelenskyy to attend the G20 summit, said President Joko Widodo, suggesting a compromise had been reached following Western pressure to bar Russia from the event in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Putin confirmed in a phone call with Widodo he would participate in the summit, due to take place on Bali island, the Indonesian president said in a live-streamed address.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while Russia was preparing for this years G20 summit in Indonesia, it has not yet decided whether Putin will attend in person or virtually.

Russia is a G20 member, while Ukraine is not.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, now in its ninth week, Indonesia has faced fierce pressure from Western countries, led by the United States, to exclude Russia from the summit.

But the Indonesian government had insisted that, as the host, it must remain impartial, while US President Joe Biden had suggested Ukraine could take part.

Zelenskyy had announced in a tweet that he was invited to the summit by Indonesia on Wednesday, following a call with Widodo.

The war in Ukraine has reduced cities and towns in rubble, killed thousands of people if not more and displaced millions from their homes.

More than five million people, mostly women and children, have been forced to flee abroad. Several rounds of negotiations have failed to reach a breakthrough, while a ceasefire remains elusive in the face of heavy fighting in Ukraines eastern and southern regions.

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Ukraines Zelenskyy invited to G20 summit to be attended by Putin - Al Jazeera English

One British and one American citizen have been killed in Ukraines war against Russia this week.

Scott Sibley, identified as a 36-year-old military veteran by British media, is believed to be the first Briton to die fighting in the conflict.

"We can confirm that a British national has been killed in Ukraine," a Foreign Office spokesperson told AFP on Thursday without officially confirming his identity.

The Foreign Office added that a second British national is missing, saying we are urgently seeking further information.

Separately, CNN reported on the death of former U.S. Marine and private military contractor Willy Joseph Cancel at age 22 on Monday.

He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, Cancels mother Rebecca Cabrera said Thursday.

Cabrera said Cancel had agreed to be deployed in Ukraine when the private military contracting company he had worked with was searching for contractors. CNN did not identify the company.

Cabrera said Cancel had crossed into Ukraine from Poland sometime between March 12 and March 13 and fought alongside a group of men from all different countries.

The State Department said it was aware of these reports of Cancels death but declined to comment further due to privacy considerations.

After Russia invaded his country on Feb. 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for foreigners to volunteer to fight alongside Kyiv's forces.

As many as 20,000 foreign volunteers have reportedly traveled to Ukraine to fight in the countrys so-called international legion against Russian forces.

Russia is believed to be holding captured British soldiers Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.

Britain and the United States have warned their citizens against taking part in the conflict andU.S. President Joe Biden has maintained that he would not send troops to fight Russia on the side of Ukraine.

The Defense Department on Friday reiterated its warning to Americans against going to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia's invasion.

"We continue to urge Americans not to go to Ukraine... this is an active war zone, this is not the place to be traveling to," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN the day after reports emerged of Cancel's death.

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Briton and American Killed in Ukraine - The Moscow Times

Ukraine's defense against Russia is being supported by billions of dollars in military aid from NATO countries. One of the most capable and expensive weapon systems supplied is the FGM-148 Javelin, a U.S.-made anti-armor weapon that costs about $176,000 each.

"We don't know where and when the next kinetic war will be, and producing new weapons, surging production lines takes time," said Cynthia Cook, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This may be a time where we might want to think about how we invest in increasing the inventory of precision-guided weapons and other weapons and missiles."

Although the Javelin has been lauded by the Ukrainian government, the actual effectiveness of the weapon system remains hard to independently verify outside of anecdotal accounts from the battlefield.

"We don't have folks on the ground, and I think that is a policy decision that we should reconsider," said U.S. Rep. Mark Waltz, R-Fla., a former U.S. Army Green Beret. "We could help them be actually more effective if we had advisors alongside, but we'd have to do that in very small numbers very selectively, and very quietly."

Watch the video above to find out what the Javelin is, how it it used and what it will take for the U.S. to produce more of them.

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How this U.S.-made, $176,000 anti-tank weapon could change the war in Ukraine - CNBC

Malcolm Nance, MSNBCS former military and counter-terrorism expert, is always fighting someone.

As a personal and professional acquaintance of Nance, I wasnt the least bit surprised when the literary agent to whom I had introduced him a few months ago, interrogated me about whether I knew that Nance had joined the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine in March.

I had no idea, I replied, extremely unshocked. But it sounds exactly like something Nance would do. Its the most Malcolm thing ever.

Whether jousting with his conservative critics on social media or battling the trend toward authoritarianism that has invaded American politics, Nance has spent most of his life defending the values he endorses. He participated in US combat operations, taught Survival, Evasion, Resistance (Sere) and created advanced programs for the US military. His 20 years of experience in intelligence, counter-terrorism and cryptology as a chief petty officer in the United States navy made him one of the most sought-after intelligence experts in the media. Although his books Defeating Isis and The Plot to Hack America presaged Putins invasion of American elections and Ukraine, Nance is not a war correspondent or a pundit.

When I interviewed him about his recent decision to take up arms in Ukraine, the telephone conversation was typical of our many conversations.

First, let me ask you, as a journalist, not as a friend: what the hell, Malcolm?

Well, what made me decide to do this was a couple of things. But the precipitating event of course, was the invasion of Ukraine. I spent a month in Ukraine, driving around, mapping out the Russian order of battle, driving up and down the highways and analyzing where the invasion routes would come and go. So I knew the country backward and forwards by the time of the invasion. In fact, on the day of the invasion, just by happenstance, I got on the last Lufthansa flight out of the country. A couple of hours later they had leveled the airport.

Plus, Im a widower, which means I understand grief, which is a powerful motivator in this instance. It was the thought of all of the grief this country was taking in that invasion. And I just thought, this is, this was completely uncalled for, this is insanity. To think that I could go to bed and wake up, and these women would just be massive piles of dead bodies and body armor, it just upset me.

So how did you make this happen? Did you just show up with a gun and say: Im here to help?

[Laughing] Ukraine announced that there was an international force on February 27 and I started looking into it on February 28 I called the Ukrainian embassy in Washington and I said: Hey, I want an appointment. They were a little slow, so I just went down there and put in my application. The guy asked if I had combat experience and I said Yep. Then he looked at my application and said, Youre on the team.

How long has it been since you were in a combat zone?

When was the last thing I did, when did I go to Iraq? I moved back to the States in 2016. So 2015, so seven years. When you guys go: Oh yeah. Thats what Malcolm would do, you have to understand that Malcolm maintains his weapons proficiency all the time. Im a collector of firearms and, because I was an intelligence contractor, I just have it in my mind to maintain my proficiency. Im that kind of guy.

Despite the fact that Russian television put my name, face and everything I say on television (except the part about mass murdering civilians) and called me a soldier of fortune, this aint about money. We get paid $600 a month. But I believe in the defense of democracy. Even though my rightwing critics dont believe me or the lies they tell, I actually believe in the things that I espouse on television.

One of the criticisms leveled against you is that you are willing to fight for an army that has been accused of mistreating people of African descent and serving an international training ground for white supremacists.

The Ukrainian army is 250,000 people who are mostly white and mostly male. You know where I can actually show you more Nazis? Aside from the US army, that is? Russias Wagner Group is filled with Nazis. The leader of their group of mercenaries has all sorts of Nazi tattoos all over his body. Look, this is a country of 42 million Caucasians, so, statistically, the US probably has a bigger Nazi contingent. I traveled around this country with Terrell Starr and the Afro-Ukrainian community here and Ive seen fewer Nazis than Ive seen in America.

Quick aside on that, I always mention that Eugene Bullard was the first Black pilot to fly in the first world war. But he flew with the Lafayette Flying Corps for France because, as an African American, he wasnt allowed to fly in his country. In the end, 269 Americans flew in that squadron. He was the only Black pilot. From 1914 to 1917, he was a French legionnaire fighting in Verdun and was wounded three times. So there is a tradition of African Americans fighting in defense of democracy. Im sure we could find some in the Spanish civil war, but Hemingway didnt write about that. African Americans have always fought for the freedom of others, even when they didnt have it themselves.

But I know there is a lot of criticism. And to be honest, what upsets them the most is that Im Black. Its not about how we view the rest of the world. Its about how we view ourselves in that world as free people. And thats what upsets them the most. People have a problem with believing African Americans have ideals and that we stand for what we believe. When you compare the percentage of African Americans in the country to the percentage in the armed forces, we fight disproportionately for the country.

So when you wake up in the morning, what happens?

Well, it depends on where I am and what Im doing. I get up at 4am because I like to be up early. Theres a routine depending on where you are. I get up at four and what I do is I read, I read the news. I try to feel the battlefront based on Ukrainian news and reporting. And then I look at expert analysis from the previous night in the west. If we have PT, we do PT [physical training]. No matter where I am, no matter what Im doing, I constantly check my gear. If Im in a safe house on a press junket, like I am now, I go over all of my gear. I reorganize my pack. I assume that I will have to take everything, get up and run with it or move to a forward location.

Right now, part of my duty is to the press. They were well aware that I was a high-level asset. So, instead of putting me out on the line, Im in a safe house talking to people like you.

For people who are totally ignorant of how the military works, is this legion part of the Ukrainian army of people who are not Ukrainian citizens? Or is it a legion organized outside of the Ukrainian military?

What happened here early on is when Zelenskiy made this call, they started forming TDUs territorial defense units. TDUs were really just men in your neighborhood who, under the state of emergency, had to enlist and register as part of a territory. Its like every neighborhood in Chicago organizing a military unit in expectation of an invasion.

The difference is, the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine is a branch of the Ukrainian army. We are an organized combat element with contracts signed by the Ukrainian army. We are paid by the Ukrainian army and get a Geneva convention ID card. So if a brigade has five battalions and they are on the line and they need more enforcement, they will get a legion unit to give them more manpower. But the legion operates almost exclusively in English, although theres a French squad that generally operates in French, and some Japanese and Koreans also.

What do you think your ultimate value is here?

My ultimate value is that I have experience at this. Now, look, Im not an infantry guy. But despite what critics on Twitter who watch Rambo may think, combat isnt about being a murdering, Seal Team Six assassin; its mainly about precision, accurate fire, selective fire, keeping people calm, getting on the line and moving forward. For almost 15 of my 20 years, my middle name was, I need a Black guy who speaks Arabic. When I was at NSA, I was being loaned out everywhere, so Ive seen a lot and conducted missions behind or near enemy lines. If I was a white guy, I would be a hero. But with some people, its just as simple as: You are Black; you cant have done anything exceptional in your life, nothing. They cant imagine that Im here for altruistic reasons.

And this might explain why Eugene Bullard was in the French Foreign Legion and not the US army. There are a lot of African Americans and young Americans who have been in the military who are gonna see this and are gonna be inspired: this is essentially the French Foreign Legion, and it will be part of the pantheon of the defense of democracy in the defense of Ukraine My dad was one of the first Black master chiefs in the navy. This is just who I am. Im African American, but by God, Im American.

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Malcolm Nance, TV pundit turned fighter in Ukraine: I believe in the defense of democracy - The Guardian US

WASHINGTON The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow President Biden to use a World War II-era law to quickly supply weapons to Ukraine on loan, sending the measure to Mr. Bidens desk hours after he urged Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars worth of additional emergency aid for Kyiv.

The 417-to-10 vote to invoke an extraordinary, eight-decade-old law created to battle Hitler reflected a growing bipartisan sense of urgency in Congress to bolster the Ukrainian military as it digs in for an ugly and protracted artillery war in the south and east of the country. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously this month.

Passage of that act enabled Great Britain and Winston Churchill to keep fighting and to survive the fascist Nazi bombardment until the United States could enter the war, said Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland. President Zelensky has said that Ukraine needs weapons to sustain themselves, and President Biden has answered that call.

The legislation invokes the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, originally proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help arm British forces battling Germany. The legislation allowed the president to lease or lend military equipment to any foreign government whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the United States.

Roosevelt initially faced skepticism from isolationist members of Congress who worried the bill would plunge the United States more directly into the conflict, and he worked feverishly to win public support for the measure.

And so our country is going to be what our people have proclaimed it must be the arsenal of democracy, Roosevelt said after signing the bill into law. By the end of the war, the United States had extended nearly $50 billion in Lend-Lease aid to Allied nations, according to the Library of Congress.

Members of Mr. Bidens administration have offered little in the way of hints as to how aggressively they might seek to use the law. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, demurred on Wednesday when asked about the administrations view of the measure, saying he would not get ahead of pending legislation.

Still, it could become an important tool for the White House as the United States looks to marshal long-term military support for Ukraine, even as the streams of Western weapons flowing into the country including heavy-duty equipment such as howitzers and armed drones increase.

It would allow the United States to deliver arms to Ukraine more speedily by doing away with a variety of procedural hurdles. And it would essentially allow the Biden administration to gift vast tranches of arms to Kyiv, at a time when Mr. Biden has said he has nearly exhausted the emergency military funding Congress approved in March.

Russian oil embargo. European Union countries are likely to approve a phased embargo on Russian oil, sealing a long-postponed measurethat has divided the blocs members and highlighted their dependence on Russian energy sources. The ambassadors expect to give their final approval by the end of the week, E.U. officials said.

On the ground. After a period of relative quiet, Russian rockets slammed into Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The barrage hit an empty weapons factory and a nearby apartment building, and Kyivs mayor said one person was found dead under the rubble.

How we address a threat against one democracys sovereignty sends a message about how well act on others, and adversaries like China are watching, said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and one of the bills original sponsors. If we believe America supports freedom and democracy, we must provide Ukraine with the weapons necessary to protect its citizens.

Mr. Biden on Thursday asked Congress for $33 billion in additional defense, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. The funding, more than twice the size of the $13.6 billion package Congress passed last month, is projected to last for at least five months, according to an administration official who detailed the package on the condition of anonymity before its official release.

Roughly half of that figure is expected to fund new military assistance.

Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.

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Congress Clears Bill to Allow Lending Arms to Ukraine - The New York Times

The Russia-Ukraine war is far from the first time DJI has has come under fire for policy decisions. But the Shenzhen-based drone giant is trying its best to stay away from any implication that it might be taking sides in the on-going conflict. Following calls to halt sales in Russian, the firm issued a statement titled DJI Reassesses Sales Compliance Efforts In Light Of Current Hostilities, which announces a suspension of business in both countries, pending [ ] review.

The full statement is as follows,

DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine. We are engaging with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension of business operations in the affected territories.

The company, which became a favorite target of the Trump administration, has been working to avoid accusations that its been favoring any one side in the conflict. Ukraine officials have, however, previously implied that the company might have intentionally sabotaged its products. For its part, DJI has insisted that its products are not sold for military purposes.

Earlier this month, the company issued a statement reiterating the message, noting in part, Our distributors, resellers, and other business partners have committed to following it when they sell and use our products. They agree not to sell DJI products to customers who clearly plan to use them for military purposes, or help modify our products for military use, and they understand we will terminate our business relationship with them if they cannot adhere to this commitment.

In March, the company responded to a statement from Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, on Twitter, noting that it would set up geofencing upon request. The company was also quick to point out that a determined drone pilot could easily circumvent such restrictions. Please be aware that geofencing is not foolproof, the company wrote, and if the user does not connect to the internet to update the geofence data, the new geofence will not take effect for the drone.

Such a statement does highlight some bigger issues with current drone safety systems, military use or no.

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DJI suspends sales in Ukraine and Russia - TechCrunch