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Editor’s Note: In this appeal to Congress, more than 35 artists, activists, scholars and others call for funding for Ukraine. On territory that Russia occupies, it tortures Ukrainian citizens, kidnaps Ukrainian children and murders Ukrainian leaders. By fighting Russia alone, they protect Europe. By fighting a conventional war against a nuclear power, they are making nuclear proliferation and nuclear war less likely. Together we call upon Congress to do the right thing – right now.

Persons: Read, Stringer, Abrams, José Andrés, Gabrielle Carteris, Mona Charen, Misha Collins, Rosario Dawson, Felicia Day, Doug Fears, Jonathan Safran Foer, Francis Fukuyama, Mark Hamill, Gale Anne Hurd, Dara Khosrowshahi, William Kristol, Eric Edelman, Scott Kelly, Daniel Lubetzky, Michael McFaul, Kate McKinnon, Alyssa Milano, Viggo Mortensen, Patton Oswalt, Phillips O’Brien, Brad Paisley, Sean Penn, Serhii Plokhii, Ivanna Sakhno, Eric Schmidt, Liev Schreiber, Timothy Snyder, Terrell Jermaine Starr, Barbra Streisand, Hilary Swank, Peter Wehner, Katheryn Winnick Organizations: Ukraine, CNN, Getty Locations: Russia, Russian, Crimean Tatars, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Aleppo, Grozny, Europe, Donetsk, Ukraine, AFP, China, Beijing, Asia, East, Africa, United States

☆ The GOP could be about to cost Ukraine the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But House Republicans under Speaker Mike Johnson have no plans to take up the deal, effectively blocking the $60 billion in Ukraine aid it includes. AdvertisementThe war has reached a stalemate even with this support, and a sudden shortage as could come this year drastically weakens Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, analysts told Business Insider. Without US arms support, Ukraine will simply be outgunned and more of its troops will die, experts warn. Other aid will save Ukraine just for monthsA Ukrainian defeat would not be immediate, as Europe could step up its military aid, Herbst said. Losing Ukraine would come at a devastating cost for NATO and the USThese dynamics are perilous for Ukraine and its backers.

Persons: —, Mike Johnson, John Herbst, Herbst, Ukraine’s, Gustav Gressel, Stringer Mark Cancian, they'd, Cancian, Vladimir Putin, Johnson, Hakeem Jeffries Organizations: Service, Business, Patriot, Council’s Eurasia Center, Archer Artillery, Roman, Getty, American Enterprise Institute, Martens, European Council, Foreign Relations, REUTERS, US Marine Corps, Center for Strategic, International Studies, NATO, Russia, Democrats, House Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, Ukrainian, Iran, North Korea, Donetsk Oblast, Europe, Zaporizhzhia region, Russian, Soviet Union, Belarus, Africa, Balkans, America

☆ Video shows Ukraine taking out the front and back vehicles of a Russian armored convoy, trapping the others
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine shared video of four Russian armored vehicles being destroyed over the winter. The drone's-eye-view video shows the first of the four armed vehicles being struck with an explosion. The footage, shared on December 28 and set ironically to the tune of Wham! A month after the assault, Russian forces are still trying to advance on Kupiansk, a crucial railway hub for the region. The Russian army is behaving "recklessly," he said, adding that it has "intensified the use of armored vehicles, actively deploying tanks and infantry combat vehicles."

Persons: —, Volodymyr Fito, Fito, Tabaivka Organizations: Service, 14th Mechanized Brigades, Facebook, Wall Street, Ground Forces, Ukrainska Pravda Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Kupiansk, Berlin, Russia, Synkivka

The fighting is reminiscent of a battle for another eastern city, Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces last May after months of brutal urban combat. Since Moscow launched its renewed offensive around Avdiivka in October, Ukraine's top general and Western military experts have made downbeat assessments of Ukraine's ability to break Russian lines. Located just north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in the industrial Donbas region, Avdiivka hosts deeply entrenched Ukrainian defences. Pushing Ukrainian forces out of Avdiivka would be seen as enlarging the amount of territory Russia controls and making Donetsk city safer. Seizing Avdiivka could boost Russian morale and deal a psychological blow to Ukrainian forces, which have made only incremental gains in a counteroffensive launched in June.

Persons: Nuzhnenko, Ukraine's, Russia's, Andrei Gurulyov, Semyon Pegov, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mykola Bielieskov, Bielieskov, Dan Peleschuk, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White Organizations: Ukraine's National Guard Omega, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, REUTERS Acquire, Mechanized Brigade, Avdiivka, National Institute for Strategic Studies, Kyiv, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Radio Free Europe, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Russian, Moscow, Kyiv, Soviet, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russia

☆ Who’s Gaining Ground in Ukraine? This Year, No One.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Josh Holder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

Frontline on Jan. 1, 2023 Kyiv UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK HELD BY RUSSIA DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK HELD BY RUSSIA DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK HELD BY RUSSIA DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA Kyiv UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Bakhmut DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Bakhmut DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Bakhmut DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA Kyiv UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Robotyne DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Robotyne DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK Robotyne DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA Kyiv UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro River LUHANSK DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA The front line in Ukraine changed little last winter. Amount of territory Russia gained 20,000 square miles 10,000 Russia’s winter offensive captured about 100 square miles per month. Amount of territory Ukraine gained Amount of territory Russia gained 10,000 0 10,000 20,000 sq. miles Amount of territory Ukraine gained Amount of territory Russia gained 10,000 sq. Since Jan. 1, Ukraine gained: 143 square miles Russia gained: 331 square miles Net gain: 188 square miles Since Jan. 1, Ukraine gained: 143 square miles Russia gained: 331 square miles Net gain: 188 square milesWhen all the territorial changes are added together, Russia controls an additional 100 square miles of Ukraine, compared to Jan. 1, 2023.

Persons: Jan, Marina Miron, “ It’s, ”, Ukraine’s, Miron, Abrams Organizations: RUSSIA DONETSK, DONETSK, Territory Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine’s, New York Times, Institute for, American, Kyiv, Queens, King’s College London, Challenger Locations: Ukraine, UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro, LUHANSK, KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro, KHERSON CRIMEA, DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA UKRAINE KHARKIV Dnipro, DONETSK Zaporizhzhia KHERSON CRIMEA, LUHANSK DONETSK, Russia, Territory, Kherson, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, NYC, Kyiv, New York City, Ukraine’s, Switzerland, Crimea, Robotyne, Verbove, Britain

☆ Russia's possession of nuclear arms is response to threats, Lavrov says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that possession of nuclear weapons protects Russia from security threats and Moscow keeps reminding the West of risks to prevent a conflict of nuclear powers. "The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of significant external threats to security of our country," Lavrov said in an interview for state-owned magazine The International Affairs, published early on Saturday on the foreign ministry website. Last month, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian troops was a success. Lavrov said that the United States and NATO allies risk ending up in "a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers". U.S. President Joe Biden has called a threat of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons "real" while NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said this week that the military alliance has not detected any changes to Russia's nuclear forces.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov, Dmitry Medvedev, Joe Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Maria Tsvetkova, Diane Craft, Grant McCool Organizations: International Affairs, NATO, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, United States, New York

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Updates: Bridge to Occupied Crimea Is Damaged
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Image The damaged Chonhar bridge connecting Russian-held parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region to the Crimean peninsula, on Thursday. Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-installed leader of Crimea, said that there were no casualties from the overnight attack on the Chonhar bridge that connects the peninsula to the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The Russia-backed governor of occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, was direct in blaming Ukraine. Videos and photographs verified by The New York Times show damage to both bridges that run across the Chonhar Strait between Crimea and the Kherson region. The main road bridge has a hole, and the surface of the smaller bridge that runs alongside it also appears damaged.

Persons: Vladimir Saldo, Sergei Aksyonov, ”, Haley Willis Organizations: ., Reuters, The New York Times Locations: Russian, Ukraine’s Kherson, Kherson, Reuters Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, Crimean, Russia, Britain, Chonhar

☆ Russia tries to signal normalcy as Ukraine forces advance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But corpses of Russian soldiers and burnt-out armoured vehicles lining the roadside in villages newly recaptured by Ukrainian troops attested to Kyiv's biggest advances since last year. Several bodies of Russian soldiers lay in the streets of ruined and depopulated villages. Ukrainian troops in Storozheve told Reuters they had killed around 50 Russians and captured four there. Kyiv says any elections staged by Russians on Ukrainian territory would be invalid and illegal. Ukrainian troops have yet to reach the heaviest Russian defensive fortifications, which are set back from the front line.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Moscow's, Oleksii Hromov, Vladimir Putin, Ella Pamfilova, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Vitalii, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Ukrainian, Troops, TASS, Defence Ministry, Federal Security Service, U.S . Defense, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Storozheve, Donetsk region, UKRAINE, Russia, Ukrainian, Neskuchne, Moscow, Mala Tokmachka, Bakhmut, Europe, Kyiv, Brussels, U.S, Washington

☆ Putin is setting up excuses to protect himself in case his war in Ukraine fails, says ex-CIA officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently searching for excuses, an ex-CIA official said. Putin has claimed Russian forces in Ukraine need better weapons. In recent remarks to journalists, Putin said that Russian forces in Ukraine were fighting with inferior weapons, and that the country is urgently increasing the production of modern weapons for front-line troops. On Tuesday, Putin specifically told Russian military bloggers and state media war correspondents that Russian forces were short on high-precision ammo and attack drones. "For me, the really fascinating questions is why does Vladimir Putin address this, and for me, we have to turn to history in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, —, Steven Hall, Hall Organizations: CIA, Russian, Service, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia

[1/10] Municipal workers remove debris of a traffic light broken by a part of a missile which landed on a street during a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 29, 2023. A Ukrainian presidential aide said on Monday any post-war settlement should include a demilitarised zone of 100-120 km (62-75 miles) inside Russia along the border with Ukraine. After months of attacks on energy facilities, Russia is now targeting military facilities and supplies to try to disrupt Ukraine's preparations for its counterattack, Kyiv says. Moscow says Ukraine has stepped up drone and sabotage attacks against targets inside Russia as it prepares for the offensive. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said several frontier settlements were shelled simultaneously by Ukrainian forces on Monday.

☆ Ukraine says it routs Russia brigade, Kremlin admits campaign 'very difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The unit's claim appeared to back up comments by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private army, who on Tuesday said the Russian brigade had abandoned its positions. "We managed to beat up the Ukrainian military machine quite a bit," said Peskov, citing Russian missile strikes in Ukraine. His comments did not address claims that Russia's 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade had abandoned positions on the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Prigozhin's report about the flight of Russia's 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians left behind is true." A Russian brigade is typically formed of several thousand troops.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter is now recommending Kremlin-linked accounts to users after restricting them last year, tests suggest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter appears to be amplifying tweets of Russian state accounts after suppressing them last year. The Telegraph created a new account and was recommended the Kremlin-linked accounts, it reported. Elon Musk has been lifting most restrictions on accounts labelled harmful under previous management. Twitter had more broadly limited the reach of state-affiliated media since 2020, by not recommending them to users and labelling them as state-affiliated. The world's second-richest man reinstated Donald Trump's Twitter account in November to this end, although the former president has still not posted any new tweets.

☆ US State Dept says Black Sea drone incident likely unintentional from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. military surveillance drone's crash into the Black Sea after being intercepted by Russian jets was likely an unintentional act from Russia's side, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told MSNBC on Wednesday. The U.S military MQ-9 surveillance drone crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday after a Russian Su-27 jet struck its propeller, the Pentagon said, the first such incident since Russia's invasion of Ukraine over a year ago. The U.S. State Department spokesperson also confirmed there is surveillance video of the incident and that the Department of Defense was determining whether to release it to the public. The Russian and U.S. defense ministers held a phone call on Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry said. Russia has said it will try to retrieve the remains of the drone while White House spokesman John Kirby said the drone may never be recovered.

☆ Russia's Promsvyazbank buys more branches in annexed Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank (PSKBI.MM) said on Friday that it had bought two credit institutions in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, doubling its chain of branches in Ukrainian territory Russia moved to annex last year. Promsvyazbank (PSB), one of Russia's 13 "systemically important credit institutions", offers a wide range of services but has focused on state employees and the defence sector since it was bailed out by the central bank in 2017. It had already been targeted with Western sanctions last year over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian embassy accidentally shares map ignoring Putin's bogus land claims in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's embassy in Sweden tweeted a map that went against Putin's territorial claims in Ukraine. Putin claims a number of Ukrainian regions as part of Russia. Though Putin claims these regions as part of Russia, the territories are not fully controlled or occupied by Russian forces. The map shared by Russia's embassy in Sweden, which claimed to show gas prices in Europe, did not depict these regions as Russian territory. The Russian embassy in Sweden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

☆ The UK is sending Ukraine a newer, longer-range missile that lets humans guide it all the way to the target
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Brimstone missiles are anti-armor weapons, and the original has already been sent to Ukraine. Brimstone 2 has an added feature: the ability for a human to guide the missile to its target. The Brimstone 2 is a longer-range version of the original Brimstone air-launched anti-tank missile already issued to Ukrainian forces. A Brimstone missile at British Royal Air Force base RAF Marham in December 2015. Brimstone missiles are visible at the lowest point under the fuselage.

Putin acknowledged, not for the first time, that the call-up of 300,000 reservists that he ordered in September had not gone smoothly. "The partial mobilisation that was carried out revealed certain problems, as everyone well knows, which should be promptly addressed," he said. Putin also referred to other unspecified problems in the military and said that constructive criticism should be heeded. It was the latest in a series of recent comments in which Putin has acknowledged, albeit obliquely, the challenges his army is facing. Shoigu proposed raising the age for mandatory Russian military service to a new range of 21-30, compared to 18-27 at the moment.

☆ Explosions rock Russian military airbases; new strikes hit Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Explosions rocked two Russian military airbases hundreds of miles from the border with Ukraine on Monday, according to local officials and state media. Russian authorities said they were investigating the media reports about the explosions on the base. A Tu-95 strategic bomber from the Russian air force prepares to take off from an air base in Engels, Russia on Jan. 24, 2022. AP“Engels airfield is one of the most important bases of Russian air forces,” said Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko in a tweet. Analysts said it was unclear that the new wave of Russian strikes were in any way retaliation for the blasts at the airbases.

☆ Russia says the West must recognize its control over land its forces are losing before any Ukraine peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia does not fully control these regions and has been losing ground to Ukraine's forces. Biden said he'd hold talks with Putin if the Russian leader expresses a desire to end the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexations of four Ukrainian regions in September, though Russian forces did not fully control these territories at the time. The president also said the only way for the Ukraine war to end is for Putin to recall his forces. "But at the same time — it is very important to give this in conjunction — President Putin has been, is and remains open for contacts, for negotiations.

☆ New poll suggests Americans' support for Ukraine is softening as GOP vows to slow the massive aid effort
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new Morning Consult poll shows Ukraine is not a top foreign policy priority for US voters. The Ukraine war ranks sixth among Democrats and 10th among Republicans in foreign priorities. This comes as House Republicans signal they'll move to slow US aid to Kyiv. Earlier on in the war, polling showed strong support among US voters for US aid to Ukraine. The incoming Republican majority in the House has signaled that it won't support massive aid packages to Kyiv.

Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness, on Nov. 9 recommended Moscow's forces quit Kherson and the west bank of the River Dnipro where they were dangerously exposed. Simonyan urged Surovikin, a hulking shaven-headed figure who has been shown on TV speaking in clipped Russian military language, to ignore "nonsense" from critics, a reference to influential military bloggers unhappy about his retreat. Nor is taking new ground in the east against a highly motivated and Western-equipped Ukrainian military an easy task, especially in the winter. The appointment of Surovikin on Oct. 8 was the first time Russia had publicly named an overall commander for its forces in Ukraine. With the exception of the city of Lysychansk, in eastern Ukraine, he said all the territory Russia held looked defensible.

☆ Russia tells people in occupied Kherson to 'save your lives' and leave
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary This content was produced in a part of Russian-controlled Ukraine, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations. It's vital to save your lives," Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said in a video message. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Kherson region sits to the north of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Civilians evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Kherson walk from a ferry to board a bus heading to Crimea, in the town of Oleshky, Kherson region, Russian-controlled Ukraine October 23, 2022. "We are not going to give up Kherson," Stremousov said.

☆ Staged Annexation Vote Starts in Russian-Occupied Areas of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Ian Lovett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russian officials opened polling stations on Friday in a staged election to annex the territory Russia controls in Ukraine, a move that Ukrainian and Western officials have derided as a sham by the Kremlin designed to deter further aid to Kyiv. The result of the so-called referendums on whether four Ukrainian regions that Moscow at least partially controls should join the Russian Federation was in little doubt as polling places opened. After annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Russian officials held a similar vote to confirm annexation. According to official results, 97% of voters cast ballots in favor of joining Russia.

☆ Russian soldier in Kharkiv told his father in a call intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence that 'everything's bad,' Russia is 'losing,' and they have 'nowhere to run'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian soldier told his father in an intercepted phone call that "everything's bad" in the war. Ukraine's intelligence service said it intercepted the call and published it to social media. An ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv has sent Russian troops scrambling. Ukraine's intelligence service released on Monday what it said is a phone call between a Russian soldier in the northern Kharkiv region — where President Vladimir Putin's forces have been routed in recent days — and his father. "Everything's bad, pop," the soldier told his father when asked how things were going, according to a translation of the report by the Daily Beast.

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