Ukraine

CNN reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed to Kyiv a congressional delegation led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Zelensky said on his Instagram account that the visit “is a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States Congress and the American people.” He added: “Thank you for your leadership in helping us in our struggle …

The Associated Press reports: A Russian soldier went on trial in Ukraine on Friday for the killing of an unarmed civilian, marking the first time a member of the Russian military has been prosecuted for a war crime during the 11-week conflict. A 21-year-old captured member of a tank unit is accused of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the …

“NATO countries pumping weapons into Ukraine, training troops to use Western equipment, sending in mercenaries and the exercises of Alliance countries near our borders increase the likelihood of a direct and open conflict between NATO and Russia. Such a conflict always has the risk of turning into a full-fledged nuclear war. This will be a disastrous scenario for everyone.” – …

Reuters reports: Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev accused the United States on Wednesday of waging a “proxy war” against Russia after the House of Representatives approved a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, and said the U.S. economy would suffer. Writing on the messenger app Telegram, Medvedev said that the bill approved by the House on Tuesday read more was …

CBS News reports: The House on Tuesday night approved $39.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, with just days to go before President Biden says his authority to fund military supplies to help fend off Russian aggression runs dry. The bill passed 368 to 57. It will now go to the Senate and then to Mr. Biden’s desk. Senate Majority Leader …

The Associated Press reports: To join or not to join? The NATO question is coming to a head this week in Finland and Sweden where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered the long-held belief that remaining outside the military alliance was the best way to avoid trouble with their giant neighbor. NATO membership was never seriously considered in Stockholm and …

The Washington Post reports: Protesters doused Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreev, in bright red paint — resembling blood — as he was arriving at an event to honor Soviet soldiers who fought in World War II. Footage posted by Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti showed the ambassador’s face dripping with the liquid as he arrived to lay flowers …

NBC News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to justify his war in Ukraine on Monday, blaming the West and linking the conflict to World War II but not announcing any escalation despite fears from Kyiv and its allies. In a speech at Moscow’s Victory Day parade to celebrate the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany, Putin framed the struggling …

The Independent reports: U2 band members Bono and the Edge have shown their support for Ukraine by performing in bomb shelter in Kyiv. According to a post from the band’s official social media, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky invited the Irish rock singer and the lead guitarist to play in his embattled country. At Khreshchatyk metro station, the duo performed for …

The Washington Post reports: First lady Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Sunday, stopping at the border town of Uzhhorod after visiting a refugee processing center in Slovakia. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his own unannounced stop the same day in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv devastated in the early weeks of the Russian invasion. During …

Reuters reports: U.S. first lady Jill Biden met Ukrainian refugees in eastern Slovakia on Sunday, the last full day of her tour of Romania and Slovakia to visit U.S. servicemen deployed there and women and children who fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden spoke to families, volunteers and local authority workers at a refugee centre in the eastern Slovak city …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin will send a “doomsday” warning to the West when he leads celebrations on Monday marking the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, brandishing Russia’s vast firepower while its forces fight on in Ukraine. Defiant in the face of deep Western isolation since he ordered the invasion of Russia’s neighbour, Putin will …

Politico Europe reports: A yacht worth $700 million with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been impounded as part of the European Union’s ongoing sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from Italy’s Economy Ministry. The boat — the Scheherazade, located in the Italian town of Marina di Carrara, north of Pisa — had “significant economic and business …

Haaretz reports: In a call with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assertion that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins. Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the Russian president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust, Bennett’s office said in a statement. …

Religion News Service reports: Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper on Tuesday (May 3) that NATO may be partly to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and he said he hopes to visit Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of brokering a peace. Talking to reporters from Il Corriere della Sera, Francis said that “NATO barking …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he asked for a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply. The pope also told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has given the war …

Reuters reports: Israel denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday for suggesting that the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins, saying his comments were anti-Semitic and dangerous. Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid said the Russian ambassador would be summoned for “a tough talk” over the assertion, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television. “It …

The New York Times reports: After a secret visit to Kyiv and a three-hour meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday pledged broad economic, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine’s government, saying the United States would stand with its ally until Russia was defeated. Drawing parallels with the American Revolution, the comments by Ms. Pelosi — who …

CNN reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital on Saturday, becoming the most senior United States official to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the war broke out more than two months ago. Pelosi’s office confirmed the trip in a statement on Sunday, saying that the speaker had led an official congressional delegation to …

The Washington Post reports: Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have seized more than 2,000 pieces of artwork from the besieged port city of Mariupol. They have been taken to Russian-occupied Donetsk, local channel TV7 reported. The Mariupol City Council wrote in a Telegram message Thursday that Russian forces have raided the three local museums, including the Kuindzhi Art Museum, since …