The Washington Post

2022-05-16 10:40:09 Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- The U.S. Senate will advance a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine on Monday, according to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), with a final vote coming as soon as Wednesday. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have urged quick passage of the bill, with the remaining authorized aid set to run out on Thursday. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) delayed expedited passage of the aid last week.

- Moscow’s forces are trying to stave off Ukraine’s advance toward the Russian border near Kharkiv, Ukrainian military officials said. Russia is also continuing attacks in the east as it seeks full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

- Finland and Sweden are all but certain to seek accession to NATO. Both countries have cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a major factor in their decision to abandon years of combat neutrality by joining the military alliance.

More live updates here. Open / Comment

2022-05-16 09:30:21 Here’s the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.

Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces have mounted a counterattack in the area, pushing away Russian troops, officials say.

Luhansk: Ukrainian forces blew up railway bridges between the cities of Rubizne and Severodonetsk to halt Russian advances in the area.

Mariupol: The Ukrainian military on Sunday described “massive artillery and airstrikes” at a steel plant in this shattered city, where the last holdouts from the Ukrainian military have sheltered.

Zaporizhzhia: In this southeastern region, the front lines have almost completely frozen — with both sides effectively in stalemate, a Pentagon intelligence official said last week.

Kyiv: A wartime curfew began an hour later starting Sunday, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Lviv: A Russian missile struck military infrastructure in this city in western Ukraine early on Sunday, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said. No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.

More live updates here. Open / Comment

2022-05-16 00:01:42 Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- Four Russian missiles hit military infrastructure in the Lviv region early Sunday, the regional governor said, destroying military equipment but without causing fatalities or injuries. The claims could not be independently verified by The Washington Post.

- Sweden’s governing party is dropping its opposition to joining NATO — a significant step that paves the way for the nation to join Finland in applying for membership and ending the long-standing military nonalignment of both Nordic countries.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with a U.S. Senate delegation led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday in Kyiv, calling the visit “a powerful signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the U.S. Congress and the American people,” his office said.

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2022-05-15 21:29:38 Ukrainians react to Eurovision 2022 win with ‘happiness’ and ‘tears of joy’

Polina Falkovskaya doesn’t think of herself as much of a party person. “I don’t dance. I never go out,” she says.

But on Saturday, Falkovskaya, a Ukrainian living in Germany, danced — in her kitchen and in pajamas, no less.

Like millions of Ukrainians, Falkovskaya was celebrating the victory of Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest. The band’s victory, which gives Ukraine the right to host the hugely popular spectacle in 2023, was secured by audience votes and cheered by world leaders, in a sign of the strong public support for Ukraine as the war with Russia approaches its three-month mark.

“For the first time [since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine], we were able to listen to music and not feel guilty,” Falkovskaya, 23, told The Washington Post from Munich, where she and her mother have settled since fleeing their home in Odessa.

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2022-05-15 19:41:21 Sweden’s ruling party gives green light to join NATO, paving way for nation to apply for status in the Western military bloc

Sweden’s governing party is dropping its opposition to joining NATO — a significant step that paves the way for the nation to join Finland in applying for membership and ending the long-standing military nonalignment of both Nordic countries.

Ahead of the move, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that the accession of Sweden and Finland would be a “historic moment” — additions that would enhance security and show that “aggression does not pay.”

Earlier on Sunday, Finland’s prime minister and president announced that the nation is seeking NATO membership, with a formal application expected as soon as Tuesday. President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview Sunday on CNN that a call with Vladimir Putin was “calm and cool” and that the Russian president made no specific threats even though he called Finland’s decision a “mistake.”

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2022-05-15 17:21:02 Database of 231 videos exposes the horrors of war in Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is one of the most documented wars ever. Citizens, public officials and soldiers have posted videos every day that show the dead bodies in neighborhoods, the trails of missiles streaking through the skies and the smoldering ruins of entire towns.

The Washington Post’s visual forensics team has been verifying and cataloging videos from the war from the day Russia’s invasion began. This work is now searchable in a database that will be updated. The videos have been uploaded in raw format and graphic content is clearly marked. It also geographically tagged, so it can be searched by location.

The Post will continue to verify videos of the Russian invasion, so if you are in Ukraine and have footage you recorded of what is going on, please send it to us here on Telegram at +1 202-580-1002.

Click here to see the full database. Open / Comment

2022-05-15 15:55:09 Flood of weapons to Ukraine raises fear of arms smuggling

President Biden is expected to sign in the coming days a $40 billion security-assistance package that will supercharge the flow of missiles, rockets, artillery and drones to a war-torn Ukraine.

But what remains unclear is Washington’s ability to keep track of the powerful weapons as they enter one of the largest trafficking hubs in Europe.

Ukraine’s illicit arms market has ballooned since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, buttressed by a surplus of loose weapons and limited controls on their use.

This uncomfortable reality for the United States and its allies comes amid urgent pleas from President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide artillery needed to counter Russian forces in the country’s east and south. But the unprecedented influx of arms has prompted fears that some equipment could fall into the hands of Western adversaries or reemerge in faraway conflicts — for decades to come.

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2022-05-15 14:11:08 Russia is furious that Finland is joining NATO but can’t do much about it

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred Finland to set aside long-standing concerns about provoking Russia and seek NATO membership, a major strategic setback for Russia.

The invasion also means there’s little Russia can do about it.

The Russian military is ensnared in heavy fighting in Ukraine, its ranks depleted by steep losses of men and equipment. Russia withdrew troops from the border with Finland to send them to Ukraine, leaving Moscow with a significantly reduced capacity to threaten Finland militarily.

Russia supplies Finland with small quantities of gas and oil, but Finland was already preparing to sever those supplies in keeping with European Union decisions to reduce dependency on Russian energy. One possible early response came Saturday with an announcement by the Russian state-owned company RAO Nordic that it has halted electricity exports to Finland.

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2022-05-15 11:30:19 Here is the latest from Ukraine:

- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Berlin meeting foreign ministers from NATO, Sweden and Finland. Both Nordic countries recently indicated they want to join the alliance after decades of being militarily nonaligned. Finland’s decision is expected to be formally announced on Sunday.

- Ukrainian forces are continuing to push back against Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, reclaiming towns and launching counterattacks to thwart Moscow’s goal of capturing the eastern Donbas region, analysts and local officials say. The UK’s Ministry of Defense says Russia now looks to have suffered losses to a third of the ground combat force it committed in February.

- As the war raged on back home, the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision song contest on Saturday night — a win that was secured by audience votes, highlighting the way Ukraine’s fierce resistance has galvanized public support around the globe.

More live updates here. Open / Comment

2022-05-15 10:15:00 Here's the latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine.

Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces have mounted an effective counterattack in the area around this northeastern city. But the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration warned residents Saturday that it was still too dangerous to return because of mines.

Mariupol: A convoy of evacuees from this southeastern Ukrainian port city reached safety in the city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, a city official said. Occupying forces continue bombing the Azovstal steel plant, where the last holdouts from the Ukrainian military have sheltered.

Kyiv: A wartime curfew in Kyiv will begin an hour later starting on Sunday, the mayor said, as the capital city treads cautiously toward some semblance of normalcy.

Lviv: A Russian missile struck military infrastructure early Sunday, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said in a message on Telegram. Officials are still working to confirm whether anyone was killed or injured.

More live updates here. Open / Comment