The Washington Post

2022-05-20 01:56:08 Russian foreign minister tries to keep the Kremlin’s few allies onside

Before the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was one of the world’s most well-traveled diplomats — jetting off to countries near and far to discuss strategic concerns, sign cooperation deals with allies and scold what he has called the “golden billion” Western consumers who gobble up the world’s resources at everyone else’s expense.

But Lavrov’s world has shrunk in the past three months. He has been to China, for a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring states, and to India, a major purchaser of Russian oil and weaponry. He spent a day in meetings at the Turkish resort of Antalya in early March.

In his most extensive trip since the invasion, he traveled last week to Algeria, a longtime Russian partner; to Oman, which prides itself as a neutral go-between in international disputes; and to Tajikistan for meeting of Central Asian allies.

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2022-05-19 22:32:39 Here is the latest from Ukraine.

- The International Committee of the Red Cross said it logged the details of hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war to “track those who have been captured” after their negotiated surrender from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol this week. Moscow and Kyiv have given different accounts of how many fighters evacuated their last holdout in that city, and their fate was uncertain after they were taken to Russian-held territory.

- The Russian military has fired or replaced some field commanders in Ukraine in recent weeks, including one who was suspended after his unit failed to capture the northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to the British Defense Ministry.

- Russian forces made “incremental progress” in the southern Kherson region toward the Black Sea, while in the northeast, Ukrainian troops have in some cases pushed them “back to as close as three to four kilometers from the border,” a U.S. defense official said.

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2022-05-19 21:15:08 Russian soldier asks victim’s family for forgiveness in Ukraine court

A Russian soldier asked the widow of a slain Ukrainian civilian for “forgiveness” in a dramatic Kyiv court session Thursday, as the trial of two other Russian soldiers began in central Ukraine.

Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, the first Russian soldier to face a war crimes trial in Ukraine, pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian in the country’s Sumy region. He is facing a life sentence.

Prosecutors contend that Shishimarin, 21, who appeared gaunt, violated Ukrainian laws on war crimes when he fired multiple rounds from his Kalashnikov rifle at Oleksandr Shelipov, who was pushing his bicycle near the village of Chupakhivka in late February.

A government attorney said the sergeant was part of a group of five soldiers who had fled a nearby battle in a stolen car.

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2022-05-19 20:34:26 U.S. Senate passes $40 billion in Ukraine aid, sending bill to Biden

The Senate voted Thursday to deliver more than $40 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, sending the measure to President Biden after a week-long delay sparked by a lone senator’s objection.

The new package comes as the pipeline of U.S. aid to Ukraine threatens to run dry within days amid a war that has entered a grueling new phase three months after Russia’s initial invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his western allies are readying for a protracted battle in the east and south of the country lasting months or years to repel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.

The bill provides a combined $20.1 billion in military aid that is expected to provide for the transfer of advanced weapons systems, such as Patriot antiaircraft missiles and long-range artillery.

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2022-05-19 18:28:45 Pro-war Russians are increasingly critical of the Ukraine conflict

Battlefield setbacks in Ukraine are prompting mounting criticisms of the Russian military among Russians who support the war but are increasingly frustrated with the way it is being fought.

Military analysts, veterans, mercenaries and journalists are among those who have begun speaking out on social media and state-run television against the blunders and shortcomings that continue to plague Russia’s efforts in Ukraine, even after the Russian military narrowed its goals to the capture of territory in the eastern Donbas region.

Thousands of Russians have been detained or harassed because they oppose President Vladimir Putin’s decision to go to war. The pro-war critics are different — they support the war but are frustrated with the pace of progress and in many instances want Putin to get tougher.

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2022-05-19 16:44:38 Russia touts new laser weapons, but Ukraine and U.S. are skeptical

A senior Russian official told state media on Wednesday that a state-of-the-art laser weapons system has been deployed for active use in Ukraine, a claim that U.S. defense authorities and military experts say has not been substantiated and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has mocked.

In a TV interview, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said the country’s latest laser weapon, dubbed “Zadira,” is now used by military units fighting in Ukraine. The equipment is capable of incinerating targets up to three miles away within five seconds, he added, and is more advanced than the Peresvet, another laser system unveiled in 2018.

A senior Pentagon official told reporters that the United States has not seen any evidence to corroborate Borisov’s claim.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky mocked the notion of Zadira’s use and compared it to the Nazi's “wunderwaffe,” or wonder weapons.

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2022-05-19 12:59:17 Global economic tremors complicate Western leaders’ Russia sanctions

Growing fears of a global economic slowdown are complicating Western allies’ economic campaign against Russia, as world leaders struggle to craft new punishments for Moscow without compounding inflation and other domestic financial challenges.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, American and European economic leaders believed their countries were on track for a successful rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and hopeful that inflation might abate.

But three months later, the global finance ministers gathering in western Germany this week face a more worrying international economic outlook amid fears that central bank interest hikes could help push parts of the global economy into recession. These head winds are putting additional pressure on the United States and Europe to ensure their sanctions on Russia do not further tip the world into a new economic crisis.

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2022-05-19 10:08:31 Here is the latest from Ukraine.

- The United States will roll out $215 million in new emergency food assistance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday during a U.N. meeting that discussed global hunger and how the war in Ukraine has exacerbated the crisis. The United States has already announced $2.3 billion to meet global humanitarian needs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said.

- The Senate on Wednesday night unanimously confirmed career diplomat Bridget A. Brink as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The confirmation makes Brink the first full-fledged ambassador to Ukraine since May 2019, when President Donald Trump recalled Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

- Ukrainian authorities have brought war crimes charges against two more Russian troops, the general prosecutor’s office said, and their trial is set to begin Thursday, one day after a 21-year-old Russian soldier pleaded guilty in a Kyiv court in the war’s first such proceeding.

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2022-05-19 08:47:51 Here’s the latest from key battlegrounds in Ukraine.

Mariupol: Local officials have warned of a possible “environmental catastrophe” during Russia’s siege of the city’s Azovstal steel plant. They said tens of thousands of tons of toxic chemicals stored there could leak into the Sea of Azov, and subsequently the Black and Mediterranean seas.

Donetsk region: Russian forces killed 10 civilians, including two children, in this eastern region Wednesday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the region’s governor, said on Telegram.

Luhansk region: This region was without electricity, according to its governor, Serhiy Haidai, because power lines were cut and a major substation was damaged during fighting.

Kyiv region: As of Wednesday, authorities had located the bodies of 1,288 civilians killed by Russian forces during their occupation of towns and villages in the Kyiv region in the early phase of the conflict, regional police chief Andriy Niebytov told local media.

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2022-05-18 23:10:01 Here is the latest from Ukraine.

- Three months after closing its doors at the outset of Russia’s invasion, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv reopened Wednesday. Additional safety measures and protocols are in place to protect returning staff.

- The U.S. Senate is set to hold a final vote Thursday on a $40 billion package of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

- The financial leaders of the Group of Seven nations are expected to unveil a new economic aid package as soon as Wednesday to help Ukraine offset the costs of Russia’s invasion. International officials have discussed providing as much as $15 billion, though the final details are still being worked out.

- The European Union is pledging to spend about $315 billion to speed up efforts to wean nations off Russian oil. The plan includes measures to save energy, transition to renewables and diversify imports. The bloc is struggling to reach an agreement on a more immediate push to phase out Russian oil.

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