Putin made ‘big strategic mistake,’ NATO chief says
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Economic uncertainty and ongoing war cast a cloud over Davos
12:33 p.m.
Hungary continues to block E.U. plan to phase out Russian oil
11:54 a.m.
More than 80 percent of Ukrainians not prepared to cede territory in return for peace, poll finds
11:24 a.m.
Photos show Russian ships loading what could be Ukrainian grain
11:01 a.m.
Kissinger says Ukraine must give up land to Russia to end the war
10:37 a.m.
Czech Republic is first NATO member to give Ukraine attack helicopters
10:26 a.m.
Ukraine’s first lady to set up national mental health program
9:58 a.m.
Ukraine calls for faster arms deliveries with ‘difficult’ weeks ahead
9:27 a.m.
Kremlin on resigned Russian diplomat: ‘He is against us’ now
8:53 a.m.
Turkey to discuss NATO roadblock with Swedish, Finnish delegations
8:32 am.
Key update
Severodonetsk fully under Ukrainian control, Luhansk governor says
8:11 a.m.
Russia has increased intensity of eastern assault, U.K. officials say
7:37 a.m.
Putin made ‘big strategic mistake’ invading Ukraine, NATO chief says
7:14 a.m.
Pro-Moscow official says occupied Kherson seeks to join Russia
6:52 a.m.
Ukraine war roils ‘whole international order,’ E.U. leader tells Davos
6:29 a.m.
Key updates
Severodonetsk fully under Ukrainian control, Luhansk governor says
‘Putin is trying to extinguish a culture’ in Ukraine, Biden says
Updates from key battlefields: 87 dead in missile attacks on northern village
Zelensky says Russian forces killed 87 people in Desna
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 23 that 87 people were killed after strikes in Desna on May 17. (Video: Telegram)
By Paulina Firozi, Annabelle Timsit, Amy Cheng, Adela Suliman, Andrew Jeong and Rachel Pannett
Updated May 24, 2022 at 12:40 p.m. EDT|Published May 24, 2022 at 2:23 a.m. EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin “made a big strategic mistake” in invading Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as the war reached its three-month mark with no end in sight. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of “trying to trample the aspirations of an entire nation with tanks.”
Meanwhile, the European Union is facing a continued hurdle in its bid to phase out imports of Russian oil: Hungary is not yet on board. Concerns from Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban were outlined in a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, according to an E.U. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. And in an interview in Davos, von der Leyen told Politico there was no guarantee of a deal next week, when there will be a special European Council session in Brussels.
As the war continues, Russia has increased the intensity of its operations in Donbas, seeking to surround the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday, adding that capturing Severodonetsk could give Russia control over the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. A regional official said Severodonetsk remains under Ukrainian control but is being pummeled mercilessly by nearby Russian forces that are “destroying the city completely.”
Here’s what else to know
Von der Leyen accused Russia of “hoarding its own food exports as a form of blackmail,” and said the best response is “global cooperation” to get grain out of Ukraine and diversify global supply.
More than 2 million Ukrainians have crossed back into the country since Feb. 28, border authorities said.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general has opened more than 13,000 investigations into cases of suspected Russian war crimes. The first war crimes trial in Ukraine concluded with the sentencing of a Russian soldier to life in prison.
The Washington Post has lifted its paywall for readers in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram users can subscribe to our channel.
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Economic uncertainty and ongoing war cast a cloud over Davos
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By Abha Bhattarai12:33 p.m.
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The logo of the World Economic Forum on a window inside the Congress Center on the opening day of the forum in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg
DAVOS, Switzerland — The annual summit of the world’s financial elite is often a mix of braggadocio and cocktails, with finance ministers and billionaires rubbing elbows and trying to one-up each other on the next big thing.
This year, though, many are worried the “next big thing” might be “the next big recession.”
Beyond the mandatory coronavirus tests, the mood is decidedly somber, weighed heavily by concerns over the covid-19 pandemic, continuing war, widening economic inequality and fears of a global economic slowdown.
“We’ve never had a Davos like this one,” Rich Lesser, global chair of Boston Consulting Group, said in an interview. “The challenges of the world feel pretty immense. There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the tightrope governments need to walk to contain inflation without pushing economies into recession. How will the war play out? What will happen in China? We’re staring into all of that.”
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Hungary continues to block E.U. plan to phase out Russian oil
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By Emily Rauhala and Quentin Ariès11:54 a.m.
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BRUSSELS — The European Union’s push to phase out imports of Russian oil continues to face one major roadblock: Hungary.
In the lead-up to a special European Council session in Brussels next week, the bloc has tried to move forward on a European Commission proposal to wean member states off Russian imports, but it has been unable to get Budapest on board.
With the summit approaching, Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other top officials have made it clear that Hungarian support for the sanctions will have a price. They argue that the country would need billions in aid to upgrade its oil infrastructure before it could consider a deal.
Some of Orban’s concerns were outlined in a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, according to an E.U. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. According to the Financial Times, which first reported the letter, Orban wrote that he will refuse to discuss the issue at the upcoming meeting.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also seems to be lowering expectations for the Brussels meeting. In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she told Politico that there was no guarantee of a deal next week.
Some E.U. officials and diplomats appear to sympathize with Hungary on grounds it remains heavily dependent on Russian oil and needs time and money to find new suppliers and upgrade its infrastructure. But many see Orban’s remarks and moves as an effort to extract additional concessions from the bloc.
More than 80 percent of Ukrainians not prepared to cede territory in return for peace, poll finds
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By Timothy Bella11:24 a.m.
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A poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology this month found that 82 percent of Ukrainians are not prepared to give up any of Ukraine’s land, even if it means the war will drag on.
Only 10 percent believe that giving up land is worth it to end the invasion, while 8 percent were undecided, according to the poll conducted between May 13 and last Wednesday.
The sample did not include residents of territories that were temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities until Feb. 24 — such as Crimea, Sevastopol and some districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The survey was not conducted with citizens who went abroad after Feb. 24.
Annabelle Chapman contributed to this report.
Photos show Russian ships loading what could be Ukrainian grain
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By Andrew Jeong11:01 a.m.
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Overview of a Russian bulk carrier ship appearing to load grain in Sevastopol on May 21, 2022. (Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)
Overview of a Russian bulk carrier ship appearing to load grain in Sevastopol on May 21, 2022. (Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)
Satellite photos show Russian ships apparently loading grain at Sevastopol, a port in the Crimean Peninsula that was annexed by Moscow in 2014, possibly backing up Ukrainian accusations that Russia is stealing grain from Ukraine.
The photos, taken on May 19 and 21 and published by Maxar Technologies, show two Russian bulk carriers, the Matros Pozynich and the Matros Koshka. The Matros Pozynich is expected to reach Beirut on Thursday morning local time, according to Marine Traffic, a ship data tracker. The Matros Koshka is set to arrive at the Russian port of Kavkaz on Tuesday.
Close-up of a bulk carrier ship appearing to load grain in Sevastopol, on May 19. (Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)
The photos do not prove Ukraine’s claims that Russia is stealing grain. But Ukrainian officials have said “almost all grain-laden ships” leaving Sevastopol are carrying stolen Ukrainian goods, citing testimony from Ukrainian farmers and public Russian government documents. Russia has stolen more than $100 million worth of crops, Ukraine has said.
Kissinger says Ukraine must give up land to Russia to end the war
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By Timothy Bella10:37 a.m.
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Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger in January 2020.
Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger in January 2020. (Christoph Soeder/Picture Alliance/Getty Images)
Veteran U.S. diplomat Henry A. Kissinger said Monday that Ukraine should concede territory to Russia to help end the three-month-old war, suggesting a position that a vast majority of Ukrainians oppose.
Speaking at a conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kissinger urged the United States and the West to not seek an embarrassing defeat of Russia in Ukraine, warning it could worsen Europe’s long-term stability. After noting that Western countries should remember Russia’s importance to Europe and not get swept up “in the mood of the moment,” Kissinger also pushed for the West to force Ukraine into accepting negotiations with a “status quo ante,” implying that Russia takes on Ukrainian land if it means the war is ended.
“Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome. Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the status quo ante,” said Kissinger, 98, according to the Daily Telegraph. “Pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself.”
The “status quo ante” mentioned by Kissinger, who was secretary of state to Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford, refers to restoring a situation in which Russia formally controlled Crimea and informally controlled Ukraine’s two easternmost regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that part of his conditions for entering peace talks with Russia would include a restoration of pre-invasion borders.
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Czech Republic is first NATO member to give Ukraine attack helicopters
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By Annabelle Timsit10:26 a.m.
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The Czech Republic has donated attack helicopters, tanks and rocket systems to Ukraine — one of 20 countries to have pledged new military aid, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday after a meeting of more than 40 nations committed to helping Kyiv withstand and recover from the Russian invasion.
The donation makes the Czech Republic the first NATO member to donate attack helicopters to Ukraine since the start of the war, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Prague, which previously sent tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, has not formally announced its pledge of attack helicopters and other weapons, and Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said Monday that she would not reveal details about the donation.
“I really appreciate how [Austin] appreciated the Czech Republic,” she wrote on Twitter. “But on principle, I am not providing further specifics about our assistance to Ukraine, sorry.”
Austin also publicly thanked Denmark on Monday after the country pledged to send Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a launcher to Ukraine, arms that Austin said would “help Ukraine defend its coast.”
Ukraine’s first lady to set up national mental health program
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By Adela Suliman and Jennifer Hassan9:58 a.m.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, attend the funeral of the first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 17.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, attend the funeral of the first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 17. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, has set out a plan to establish a “nationwide initiative to enhance mental health and psychological support,” working with government officials and civil society.
Speaking in a video address to the World Health Organization late Monday, Zelenska appealed for help from the global body and said the national program would be set up “quickly,” but she gave no time frame.
“Let us use this period as an opportunity to integrate psychological support into all areas,” she said, to gain “victory over the grief, shock and stress of our citizens.”
She added that in addition to fighting Russia, Ukraine is engaged in a “battle for the mental health of our people,” with the experiences of occupation, life in shelters and service on the front lines leaving millions in need of “rehabilitation.” The “wounds will heal,” she said.
Zelenska, 44, is a screenwriter and has rarely been seen in public since the war began, although she met with U.S. first lady Jill Biden earlier this month in western Ukraine to celebrate Mother’s Day. She also appeared over the weekend alongside her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a rare joint television interview. In it, couple described how Russia’s invasion has “torn apart” their family life, along with the lives of millions of others across the country.
Ukraine calls for faster arms deliveries with ‘difficult’ weeks ahead
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By Annabelle Timsit9:27 a.m.
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked supporting nations to accelerate their deliveries of weapons after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the coming weeks of the war will be particularly tough.
Kuleba said Tuesday on Twitter that it is “too early to conclude that Ukraine already has all the arms it needs.” He urged Ukraine’s supporters to “speed up” the delivery of sophisticated weapons systems and ammunition.
Zelensky, in his nightly address on Monday, warned that “the coming weeks of the war will be difficult,” as Russian forces pummel eastern Ukraine in an attempt to take full control of the strategic Donbas region. Zelensky said the “absolute priority” of Ukrainian diplomats attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, should be to secure “weapons and ammunition for our state.”
On Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that 20 countries announced new security assistance packages for Ukraine, including weapons and pledges to train Ukrainian soldiers. He spoke after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which Austin said now includes more than 40 nations committed to helping Ukraine in the short and long term.
Kremlin on resigned Russian diplomat: ‘He is against us’ now
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By Mary Ilyushina8:53 a.m.
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The Kremlin had harsh parting words for the Russian diplomat who quit Moscow’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva over the war in Ukraine, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the diplomat, Boris Bondarev, is now “against” Russia.
“Mr. Bondarev is no longer with us. Rather, he is against us,” Peskov said in a news briefing Tuesday, relaying Moscow’s first official reaction to the highest-profile criticism of the invasion from a Russian diplomat to date.
Bondarev “condemns the actions of the Russian leadership, and the actions of the Russian leadership are supported by almost the entire population of our country,” Peskov continued. “This means that this gentleman opposed our country’s general consolidated opinion.”
In a letter circulated to colleagues in Geneva and posted on his social media accounts, Bondarev, a counselor at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, said he quit the civil service Monday in shame and indignation.
“For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year,” he wrote, referring to the date the invasion was launched.
In his letter, Bondarev also took a swipe at Russia’s elites, alluding to the reported riches that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his close allies have amassed over the years of his tenure.
“Those who conceived this war want only one thing — to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” Bondarev wrote. “Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this.”
Turkey to discuss NATO roadblock with Swedish, Finnish delegations
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By Zeynep Karatas and Annabelle Timsit8:32 a.m.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a NATO summit in Brussels last year. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that senior Turkish officials, including Ibrahim Kalin, an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would hold “consultations” with delegations from Sweden and Finland on Wednesday in Ankara.
Sweden and Finland have applied to join NATO in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — but Turkey, an influential member of the defense alliance, has expressed misgivings about their accession, accusing the Nordic nations of harboring Kurdish separatists.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday, told reporters that after the meeting between representatives of Turkey, Sweden and Finland in the Turkish capital, the talks could be broadened to include NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Cavusoglu said Stoltenberg has offered to join the talks, according to CNN Turk.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stoltenberg said he was “confident” that any security concerns regarding Finland’s and Sweden’s membership bids could be resolved.
“Finland and Sweden’s decision to apply for NATO membership is historic,” Stoltenberg said Tuesday. “It demonstrates that European security will not be dictated by violence and intimidation.”
“All allies agree that NATO enlargement has been a great success,” he continued. “So I am confident that we will be able to find a way to address all allies’ security concerns.”
Timsit reported from London.
Key update
Severodonetsk fully under Ukrainian control, Luhansk governor says
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By Adela Suliman and Annabelle Chapman8:11 a.m.
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A Ukrainian main battle tank drives on a street during nearby mortar shelling in Severodonetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
The major city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine has emerged as a key focal point in the war with Russia in the last few days, as Moscow continues to push its offensive in the region. However, the city, which had a prewar population of about 100,000 people, remains under Ukrainian control, its officials said Tuesday.
“Severodonetsk is fully under the Ukrainian authorities’ control. The armed forces are holding the defense,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said in a video Tuesday. He added that the situation was “stable” but “difficult.”
Haidai estimated that “at least 10,000″ Russian troops are in the Luhansk region, as well as “a huge amount of equipment.” Russia is seeking to encircle Severodonetsk now that a protracted battle for the port city of Mariupol has ended. More broadly, Russian forces are fighting to gain control of Donbas, which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“We understand that the Russians have now thrown all [their] forces in order to capture Severodonetsk,” Haidai said. He added that evacuations of the civilian population there are difficult but ongoing, with those who remain in the city seeking safety in shelters. In a separate Telegram post, he said four civilians were killed when the Russians shelled a high-rise residential building in Severodonetsk — claims that could not be independently verified by The Washington Post.
Russia has increased intensity of eastern assault, U.K. officials say
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By Rachel Pannett7:37 a.m.
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A Ukrainian armored vehicle in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on May 18.
A Ukrainian armored vehicle in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on May 18. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia has increased the intensity of its operations in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, seeking to surround the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne, according to British defense officials.
The northern and southern ends of the Russian operation are separated by about 15 miles of Ukrainian-held territory, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
Russian troops are being met with “strong Ukrainian resistance,” it added, with Kyiv’s forces occupying “well dug-in defensive positions” that are limiting any Russian advances. Russia has achieved “some localized successes,” however, by concentrating its artillery units, the officials said.
The battle for Severodonetsk — one of the last big cities under Ukrainian control in a key eastern province — is emerging as a focal point in the war. Capturing it would place the entire Luhansk region under Russian occupation.
British defense officials said that while Severodonetsk is currently the main target, it is only part of Russia’s campaign to seize Donbas. They predicted that if the front line moves west, Russia will again encounter the kind of logistical supply problems that plagued its early campaign.
Putin made ‘big strategic mistake’ invading Ukraine, NATO chief says
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By Adela Suliman and Annabelle Timsit7:14 a.m.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin “made a big strategic mistake” invading neighboring Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
He said the invasion has “shattered peace in Europe,” calling it a “game changer” both for European security and the wider international order.
Paradoxically as a result of the war, Putin is now getting “more NATO on his border, and more members” of the alliance, Stoltenberg said, referring to the increasing likelihood that Sweden and Finland will be admitted to the alliance, which now has 30 members. As a former prime minister of Norway, Stoltenberg welcomed their decision to apply to join the body, calling it “historic,” and said any concerns from NATO member Turkey would be addressed and resolved. Some 96 percent of Europeans would be protected by NATO should Sweden and Finland join, he added.
Speaking shortly after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Stoltenberg told business leaders and chief executives that “freedom is more important than free trade,” and he called for the protection of common values over profit. He warned that dealing with authoritarian regimes is “undermining our security,” citing Russia and China as examples.
Three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Stoltenberg said the task of NATO is to ensure that “this brutal, heinous war doesn’t escalate to a full-fledged war in Europe between NATO and Russia.” The alliance must prevent any “miscalculations” that could trigger its core Article 5 collective self-defense mechanism, he said.
Pro-Moscow official says occupied Kherson seeks to join Russia
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By Amy Cheng6:52 a.m.
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A pro-Moscow official in Russian-occupied Kherson said the region seeks to become part of the Russian Federation, state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.
Kirill Stremousov, who was installed by Moscow as deputy head of Kherson’s civil-military administration, told the agency that a referendum on Kherson’s fate is not necessary for now because such a vote would not be recognized by the West. In the meantime, he added, Kherson must work to meet Russia’s standards and laws by the end of this year before it can formally join.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Kherson residents on April 21 against sharing information, including passport data, with Russian forces, The Washington Post reported at the time. “This is not to help you. … This is aimed to falsify the so-called referendum on your land, if an order comes from Moscow to stage such a show,” Zelensky said.
Kherson was one of the first major cities to come under Russian control after the invasion of Ukraine. Policies including switching the currency used there from the hryvnia to the ruble have been introduced to weaken Kyiv’s hold over the southern city.
Stremousov said he is also planning to request that Russia build a military base in Kherson to safeguard the region from what he alleged are rocket attacks from “Ukrainian nationalists.” The Post could not independently verify that claim.
Ukraine war roils ‘whole international order,’ E.U. leader tells Davos
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By Adela Suliman6:29 a.m.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses delegates of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)
LONDON — The war in Ukraine has thrown the “whole international order into question,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told global leaders and businesses executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
Rather than finding solutions to climate change and shaping globalization, “instead, we must address the costs and consequences of Putin’s war of choice,” she told the audience. “The playbook of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine comes straight out of another century. Treating millions of people not as human beings but as faceless populations. … Trying to trample the aspirations of an entire nation with tanks.”
Von der Leyen, who visited Ukraine in April, said the war is not only “a matter of Ukraine’s survival” or “an issue of European security.” Countering Russia’s aggression, she said, is “a task for the entire global community.”
She lamented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “destructive fury” but said Russia could one day recover its place in Europe if it “finds its way back to democracy, the rule of law and respect for the international rules-based order … because Russia is our neighbor.” Von der Leyen acknowledged that this idea is a “distant dream and hope.”
She noted that the European Union is providing military aid to Ukraine, as well as billions of dollars in financial support for reconstruction, and is hosting about 6 million refugees in its member states. “It is an economic-relief operation with no precedent in recent history,” she said.
Meanwhile, sanctions on Russia are “draining the Kremlin’s war machine,” she added, as she pledged to continue to help Ukraine pursue “its European path” to becoming an E.U. member state. “Ukraine belongs in our European family,” she said. “We stand with them, and I think this is a defining moment for all the democracies of the world.”
As a former defense minister in Germany, von der Leyen underscored that the E.U. would “never be a military alliance” and said NATO remains key. However, “freedom must be fought for,” she said during her speech. “Ukraine must win this war.”
Von der Leyen also chastised Russia for disrupting global supply chains, impeding grain exports from Ukraine and stoking a global food crisis, as well as “weaponizing its energy supplies,” all of which she said were having severe “global repercussions.”
Annabelle Timsit and Emily Rauhala contributed to this report.
Key update
‘Putin is trying to extinguish a culture’ in Ukraine, Biden says
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By Annabelle Timsit6:03 a.m.
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Irpin's Central House of Culture, full of bullet holes and other scars of the war, on May 16. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
President Biden said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “extinguish” Ukrainian culture, and he called on democracies to work together to stop a conflict with global ramifications.
Biden, speaking from Japan at a meeting of the Quad — a partnership of four influential Indo-Pacific democracies — said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “is more than just a European issue. It’s a global issue.”
“The fact is that when you turn on the television and see what Russia’s doing now, it appears to me that Putin is trying to extinguish a culture,” Biden continued. “He’s not trying to hit military targets anymore; he’s taking out every school, every culture, every natural history museum.”
Some of the highest-profile attacks of the war in Ukraine have struck theaters, museums, an art school and a memorial to the victims of a Nazi massacre. Earlier this month, the British ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Neil Bush, said 127 cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, citing the United Nations.
“This is not collateral damage, as some in Russia would have us believe,” Bush said. “Russia is deliberately waging a war with no distinction between military and civilian targets, with no regard for the Ukrainian people, their history or their culture.”
Putin’s attacks on cultural targets contradict his assertion that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and are part of a shared “Russian world,” Ronald G. Suny, a history professor at the University of Michigan, previously told The Post.
Ukraine issues stamp commemorating sinking of Russian warship
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By Annabelle Timsit and Sammy Westfall5:40 a.m.
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A view of postage stamps at a post office in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday, on the occasion of the official release of the second of a series of Ukrainian postage stamps titled, “Russian warship — Done!” (Mykola Tys/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Ukrainians lined up by the hundreds at post offices across the country on Monday after the postal service released stamps commemorating the sinking of a Russian warship in the Black Sea and a group of Ukrainian border guards who insulted Russian forces and were subsequently captured.
The stamps were first issued last month to honor the soldiers of Snake Island, who were hailed as heroes in Ukraine after they insulted Russian forces who were about to attack them. The Ukrainians’ profane response to a Russian warship’s surrender demand subsequently went viral. Proceeds from sales of the stamp went to the Ukrainian war effort.
Now, the stamps have been reissued — with a twist. The previous set of six stamps featured a Ukrainian service member making a rude hand gesture at a Russian warship from the shore; the latest set of stamps includes three of those same stamps — and three modified stamps showing the service member still standing, but not the ship. The release of the altered stamp comes after Ukrainian forces, aided by U.S. intelligence, attacked the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, which later sank, in a setback for the Russian invasion.
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India remains silent on Russia at Quad meetings with Biden
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By Niha Masih5:04 a.m.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. (AFP/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI — President Biden said the world is experiencing a “dark hour” because of Russia’s war on Ukraine, as he met in Tokyo on Tuesday with leaders of the Quad, an Indo-Pacific partnership of the United States, India, Japan and Australia.
One country that remained silent was India. Even as the United States has rallied its allies to condemn Moscow’s invasion and sanction Russia, India has stuck to a delicate balancing act.
It has called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, encouraging a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. It has condemned civilian killings in Bucha but has stopped short of blaming Russia. It has also increased its oil imports from Russia, taking advantage of discounted prices.
After meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi one on one, Biden told reporters that he condemned Russia for its “unjustifiable war.” The Indian readout of the meeting skipped a mention of the war.
Reuters reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that leaders of the four countries discussed the impact of the war on the Indo-Pacific region and that everyone, including Modi, expressed concern.
Putin downplays sanctions, says Russia withstanding them ‘quite well'
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By Andrew Jeong4:39 a.m.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on May 23.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on May 23. (Ramil Sitdikov/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
President Vladimir Putin has downplayed the effects of sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, according to remarks published by his office Monday, while talking up the resilience of his country’s economy.
“Despite all the difficulties, I would like to note that the Russian economy is withstanding the sanctions blow quite well, as evidenced by all the key macroeconomic indicators,” Putin said in conversation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
After plummeting in value when early sanctions were levied, the ruble has since recovered. The Russian economy grew by 3.5 percent during the first three months of this year, according to preliminary estimates from the Russian government last week. Russia is also still earning billions from energy sales to Europe and China.
Growing fears of a global economic slowdown have complicated Western leaders’ efforts to isolate Russia, as they struggle to avoid compounding inflation and other domestic challenges.
But the United States, its allies and major financial institutions maintain that sanctions will eventually bite, as Europe gradually decreases purchases of Russian energy, additional global companies exit the country and Russia’s economy grows more isolated. Multiple forecasts project Russia’s economy will shrink by up to 15 percent this year.
White House officials have also said inflation in Russia has risen at roughly 2 percent a week, The Post reported, which would translate to roughly 200 percent inflation if compounded over a year.
To compensate for longer-term losses brought on by sanctions, Russia will deepen economic ties with China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. His country is also increasing trade with Iran and India.
What rights do prisoners of war have under international law?
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By Claire Parker and Erin Cunningham4:05 a.m.
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Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, stands inside a cage during a court hearing in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on May 23. Shishimarin was sentenced to life in prison for the killing of an unarmed man in northern Ukraine at the beginning of the war. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)
Combatants captured by enemy forces during conflict are protected under international law. As prisoners of war, they are afforded certain privileges, including humane treatment, medical care and a swift return to their home countries when a conflict ends.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, both sides have taken enemy troops captive, drawing scrutiny from rights groups and humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
In Ukraine, authorities have already put three captured Russian soldiers on trial for war crimes. A court in Kyiv on Monday sentenced one soldier, 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin, to life in prison for shooting and killing an unarmed civilian in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine in the first week of the war. Two more Russian troops are also on trial, for shelling civilian targets in the Kharkiv region.
PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 23: Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine plays a backhand against Iga Swiatek of Poland during the Women's Singles First Round match on Day 2 of The 2022 French Open at Roland Garros on May 23, 2022 in Paris, France. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
PARIS — For world-class athletes, the ability to shut out everything that doesn’t relate to the point or the play at hand is an invaluable asset. But with her native Ukraine three months into a war for its survival, Lesia Tsurenko wants fellow players and tournament officials to understand that compartmentalizing is not easy for Ukrainians on the pro tour.
“Being Ukrainian and trying to stay on tour and to continue playing is a big, big issue now,” Tsurenko said Monday at the French Open. “We probably are all working with psychologists now; we are all thinking a lot about the country and about our families.”
For Tsurenko, at 32, life matters far more than what unfolds inside a tennis court’s lines. And since Russia invaded Ukraine, the purpose of her life, with the peak of her playing career behind her, has consumed her, as well.
A diplomat at Russia’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva has resigned over the war in Ukraine, writing that he has never been “so ashamed” of his country, in a rare public rebuke of the war from within the Russian government.
In a letter circulated to colleagues in Geneva and posted on a LinkedIn account in his name, Boris Bondarev, counselor at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, said he left the civil service Monday.
“For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year,” he wrote, referring to the date the invasion was launched.
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U.S. has 30 percent more troops in Europe since invasion began, Milley says
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By Paulina Villegas2:23 a.m.
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The United States has boosted its military presence in Europe since the start of the Ukraine war, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.
There are now 102,000 troops stationed in European ground, sea and air — a 30 percent increase since Russia’s invasion began Feb. 24, Milley said at a news conference after the second meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group.
The body of representatives from 47 countries was first convened last month by the Pentagon and is set to meet monthly to discuss Ukraine aid and other developments of the war.
“The United States military had about 78,000 in EUCOM [European Command], Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Space Force. In a few short months, we bolstered that by over 30 percent,” Milley said. “So this morning, we’ve got, roughly speaking, 102,000 U.S. troops in the EUCOM area of operations in many, many countries.”
He added that there are more than 15,000 sailors in the European operations area and 12 fighter squadrons.
CNN reported last week that the United States is expected to keep 100,000 troops stationed in Europe for the foreseeable future.
More than 2 million Ukrainians returned since Feb. 28, U.N. says
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By Andrew Jeong1:52 a.m.
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A refugee family departs for Pokrovsk, Ukraine, from a border crossing in southeastern Poland on March 30. (Sergei Grits/AP)
More than 2 million Ukrainians have entered their homeland since late February, according to tallies updated Monday from the U.N. refugee agency.
The figure includes Ukrainians who have returned home after initially fleeing the Russian invasion. It also includes those who had been traveling or living abroad before the war but have chosen to go back. The United Nations said it is too early to draw conclusions about the figure because of the “constantly changing situation” in Ukraine.
More than 6.5 million Ukrainians have left their country since the start of the war, according to the United Nations. More than half have fled to Poland. More than 1 million have gone to Russia and Belarus.
Key update
Updates from key battlefields: 87 dead in missile attacks on northern village
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By Rachel Pannett1:31 a.m.
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The battle for Severodonetsk — one of the last big cities under Ukrainian control in a key eastern province — is emerging as a focal point in Russia’s war. Russian troops are constantly bombarding the area and using “scorched-earth” tactics in the city as the Kremlin seeks to capture the Luhansk region, its governor said.
Severodonetsk: Russian forces attempting to surround the city made minor gains in the past 24 hours, driving north through the town of Zolote, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said in its latest assessment. Fighting is also continuing in the town of Lyman, to the north, as Russian forces attempt to cut off Ukrainian supply lines.
Kharkiv: A Ukrainian counteroffensive northeast of Ukraine’s second-largest city continues to threaten Russian positions, the ISW’s military analysts said. The counterattack is forcing Russia to pull units from offensive operations in eastern Ukraine to shore up their defensive positions near the city of Vovchansk, on the border with Russia.
Kyiv: Despite almost daily air raid sirens and the presence of soldiers in the streets, the Ukrainian capital is springing back to life, with restaurants, bars and stores full of people over the weekend.
Chernihiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday night that 87 people were killed after Russian troops on May 17 fired four missiles at Desna, a village on the banks of the Dnieper River north of Kyiv, in what appears to be one of the deadliest attacks of the war. There is a Ukrainian military training center in the area, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the dead were civilians or service members.
Mariupol: The pro-Russian head of an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by separatists said preparations are being made for an “international tribunal” to try Ukrainian fighters who left the Azovstal steel plant in this southern port city under a negotiated surrender.
Paulina Villegas, Kasia Strek and Jennifer Hassan contributed to this report.
E.U. oil embargo breakthrough may come ‘within days,’ German minister says
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By Paulina Villegas1:30 a.m.
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Robert Habeck, Germany's economy and climate minister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday. (Hollie Adams/Bloomberg News)
A breakthrough in the stalled negotiations over a proposed European Union embargo on Russian oil could come in the next few days, a high-ranking German official said Monday.
In an interview with the New York Times, German Vice Chancellor and Energy Minister Robert Habeck said he was “positive that Europe will find a solution within the next days.”
The negotiations have been blocked by Hungary, a country highly dependent on Russian oil imports that has rejected several proposals for the embargo, including recent ones that would grant exemptions for that country.
After weeks of intense debate, the European Commission proposed this month phasing out imports of Russian crude within six months and refined petroleum products by the end of the year.
But Hungary’s government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban — who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin — has insisted that it will not support any sanctions, arguing that it needs more time and money to adjust, particularly to update its oil infrastructure.
Hungary has asked for an extension until the end of 2024, which Habeck said would not make a big difference in the substance of the embargo, the Times reported.
“If Hungary buys it for two years longer, or one and a half years longer, this is acceptable in a way,” he told the Times.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: President Biden signed a $40 billion package of new military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine on Saturday while visiting South Korea, amid signs that the United States and its allies are preparing for a drawn-out conflict. On Sunday, a delegation of U.S. diplomats is set to travel to The Hague for talks with allies “regarding our responses to atrocities committed in Ukraine” and in other conflicts, and on efforts to “bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice,” the State Department said in a news release.
The fight: A slowly regenerating Russian army is making incremental gains in eastern Ukraine against valiant but underequipped Ukrainian forces. The United States and its allies are racing to deliver the enormous quantities of weaponry the Ukrainians urgently need if they are to hold the Russians at bay.
The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
Photos: Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
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