Ukraine

The Associated Press reports: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed the military alliance’s commitment to Ukraine on Tuesday, saying that the war-torn nation will one day become a member of the world’s largest security organization. Stoltenberg’s remarks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts gathered in Romania to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine aimed …

The New York Times reports: Pope Francis on Wednesday compared the war in Ukraine to the “terrible Holodomor genocide” of the 1930s, when the policies of the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, caused a devastating famine in Ukraine. The pontiff’s comparison of Moscow’s attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine to Stalin’s decision to let millions in Ukraine starve represents one of …

CNN reports: Polish President Andrzej Duda said the missile that killed two people in eastern Poland on Tuesday was likely fired by Ukrainian forces defending against a wave of Russian missile strikes, and that the incident appeared to be an accident. “There is no indication that this was an intentional attack on Poland. Most likely, it was a Russian-made S-300 …

The Associated Press reports: Russia pounded Ukraine’s energy facilities Tuesday with its biggest barrage of missiles yet, striking targets across the country and causing widespread blackouts, and a U.S. official said missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, where two people were killed. Polish media reported that two people died Tuesday afternoon after a projectile struck an area where grain was …

The New York Times reports: Senior Russian military leaders recently had conversations to discuss when and how Moscow might use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, contributing to heightened concern in Washington and allied capitals, according to multiple senior American officials. President Vladimir V. Putin was not a part of the conversations, which were held against the backdrop of Russia’s …

Reuters reports: A senior Russian foreign ministry official said that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine. Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control, told the United Nations that the United States and its allies …

The BBC reports: Russian state broadcaster RT has suspended and condemned one of its top presenters, Anton Krasovsky, after he called for the burning and drowning of Ukrainian children. His remarks on TV provoked uproar on social media and he has now apologised. Krasovsky was responding to science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, who said that in western Ukraine back in …

The Daily Beast reports: Pro-war commentator Anton Krasovsky was speaking with sci-fi author Sergei Lukyanenko about the writer’s first trip to Ukraine in 1980, when local kids told him their lives would be better if Moscow wasn’t occupying their homeland. “They should have been drowned in the Tysyna [river],” Krasovsky said. “Just drown those children, drown them.” He added that …

Reuters reports: Western countries accused Russia on Monday of plotting to use a threat of a bomb laced with nuclear material as a pretext for escalation in Ukraine, as Moscow evacuated civilians from a southern city in anticipation of a major battle. With Ukrainian forces advancing into Russian-occupied Kherson province, Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu phoned Western counterparts on Sunday …

The Moscow Times reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in four partially occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed. Kyiv’s forces have been clawing back territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in recent weeks as the Russian military has been plagued by setbacks. Putin said that extra security powers will be …

Axios reports: Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, floated to colleagues the idea of laying the groundwork for an investigation into the Biden administration’s approach to Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Axios has learned. While establishment GOP senators have urged Biden to speed up and diversify weapon sales to Ukraine, MAGA-aligned Republicans have demanded Kyiv enter negotiations …

Mediaite reports: House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made clear this week that if his party retakes the majority in the midterms, Congress is far less likely to continue supporting Ukraine’s military effort to fend off the Russian invasion of its territory. “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank …

Reuters reports: Ukraine said Russia had destroyed almost a third of its power stations over the past week as Moscow stepped up a pre-winter campaign to strike infrastructure, a move the West says is a calculated attempt to disrupt and demoralise. Missiles struck power generating facilities in a clutch of Ukrainian cities home to millions of people and several people …

The BBC reports: Russia has hit Ukraine with a wave of attacks, including Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones on the capital, Kyiv. The strikes hit critical infrastructure in three regions, cutting off electricity in hundreds of villages across the country, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. At least seven people have died so far – four in Sumy and three in Kyiv. …

The Guardian reports: Russian soldiers have shot dead a Ukrainian musician in his home after he refused to take part in a concert in occupied Kherson, according to the culture ministry in Kyiv. Conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko declined to take part in a concert “intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called ‘improvement of peaceful life’ in Kherson”, the ministry said …

The Washington Post reports: Police and military officers swooped down on a Moscow business center this week unannounced. They were looking for men to fight in Ukraine — and they seized nearly every one they saw. Some musicians, rehearsing. A courier there to deliver a parcel. A man from a Moscow service agency, very drunk, in his mid-50s, with a …

Reuters reports: At least 11 people were killed and 15 more wounded at a Russian military training ground on Saturday when two attackers opened fire on a group of volunteers who wished to fight in Ukraine, RIA news agency said. The deadly incident is just the latest in a series of high-profile setbacks for Moscow’s forces since the Feb. 24 …

Reuters reports: Some of oilfield service firm Schlumberger’s more than 9,000 Russian employees have begun receiving military draft notices through work, and the company is not authorizing remote employment to escape mobilization, according to people familiar with the matter and internal documents. Schlumberger’s cooperation with authorities by delivering the military call-ups and its refusal to allow Russian staff to work …

The Hill reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is denying claims by Ian Bremmer, president of political risk research firm Eurasia Group, that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin before posting a controversial tweet implying that Ukraine should not retake more land from Russia than it has lost this year. Musk had a “direct conversation” with Putin about the war, …

Via press release from the Group of Seven: We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), convened today with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Our meeting took place against the backdrop of the most recent missile attacks against civilian infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, leading to the death of innocent civilians. We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms …